Genesis 124 – Behold, the dreamer comes

The word of the Lord is found in Genesis 37:12-24.

 

“Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, 'Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.' And he said to him, 'Here I am.' So he said to him, 'Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word back.' So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a man found him as he was wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, 'What are you seeking?' 'I am seeking my brothers,' he said. 'Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.' And the man said, 'They have gone away, for I heard them say, "Let us go to Dothan."' So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, 'Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a ferocious animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.' But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, 'Let us not take his life.' And Reuben said to them, 'Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him'—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.” Amen.

 

Joseph's Dream and the Brothers' Jealousy

When we think of Joseph, we naturally think of his 'dream,' and that dream makes his brothers jealous. It wasn't just that Joseph’s words were hateful; they couldn't stand the thought that through this dream, Joseph would become a king and they would become his servants.

 

As I mentioned last time, they didn't accurately grasp the dream's original meaning, but instead accepted that divine revelation based on their own preconceived notions. The dream was not meant for Joseph to become a king in that sense; rather, it was meant for him to save his brothers and parents. They were all on the verge of dying from a famine, but God used this very situation to save them. Nevertheless, the brothers continued to be jealous, and one day they went to pasture their flocks in the land of Shechem.

 

As you read this part, you might have thought it strange. What happened in Shechem? Wasn't it there that Jacob's daughter Dinah was violated, and her brothers responded by killing all the men of the city and plundering it? This event occurred only two or three years before Joseph turned seventeen. Seeing that a marriage proposal was made by the offending party, Dinah, who was younger than Joseph, must have been at least fifteen years old at the time. So, if we consider that the incident took place when Joseph was around fifteen, then today's passage happens a generous two or three years after that. And yet, Jacob sends his sons back to Shechem to tend the flock. Doesn't that sound strange?

 

What we must pay attention to in this passage is what was happening in that area. Do you remember? When they left Shechem, God worked to prevent the surrounding tribes from harming Jacob’s family. We can see that the same thing is still happening now. God is protecting them. That's why Jacob was able to say to his sons, "Go, you are to go and pasture the flock in Shechem." How else could they have gone there? So, in fact, this incident is a very heartbreaking story.

 

The Sin That Could Not Be Forgiven

The brothers who had become enemies of the surrounding people by killing the men of Shechem returned to that very place, yet no one harmed them. Both Jacob sending them there to pasture the flock and the brothers taking the flock there were only possible because God protected them and preserved their lives.

 

And yet, it was in that very place, under God’s protection, that they sought to kill their own brother. Do you feel the gravity of this incident? This is proven to be completely irrational by another event. When Joseph went to Shechem and Dothan, toward Canaan, he found that his brothers had already left and he was wandering in the fields. A man from Shechem approached him and asked, "What are you looking for?" Joseph replied, "I'm looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock." The man kindly told him, "They left here. I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" The man from Shechem likely knew who Joseph’s brothers were, as they traveled in a group of ten. This shows that the people of Shechem were, in fact, treating Jacob and his family favorably, thanks to God's grace and protection, even though an act of war had taken place.

 

Yet even in that favorable land, the brothers saw Joseph from afar and immediately plotted to kill him. This story doesn't just show the problems of the brothers; it also reveals a problem with Joseph. While his brothers were out in the fields toiling, Joseph was at home, comfortable beside his father. In our terms, you could say he was 'playing and eating'. So his father told him, "Go to Shechem and see how your brothers are doing." Jacob was probably worried about the land of Shechem and so he sent Joseph. But what was Joseph wearing when he went? He was wearing his coat of many colors.

 

This is like a church bazaar where everyone is busy working, and someone shows up wearing a party dress and high heels, asking, "Is there anything I can help with?" People would politely say, "No, just sit down and rest," while thinking, 'What's wrong with them?' But Joseph’s mind was so consumed with the thought that he was special, chosen by his father, and the recipient of God’s revelation. So he wore his robe of many colors to meet his brothers on the journey. If he had worn ordinary clothes, they wouldn't have recognized him from a distance, but he brought death upon himself.

 

"Look, here comes Joseph in his coat of many colors!"

 

Since the robe was so colorful, they could see him from a distance, which gave the brothers the chance to conspire to kill him as soon as they saw him. It was that robe that made them want to kill him. Although the brothers were wrong, this was a family with a deep-seated history of conflict.

 

The Dreamer, the Master of the Dream

While Joseph was approaching them, the brothers conspired to kill him. From this point on, there is not a single word in the Bible of Joseph’s dialogue, speech, or any indication that he felt wronged. Only the brothers’ words are recorded. Therefore, if you think Joseph listened to his brothers, realized his mistake, and accepted their judgment, that is a great misunderstanding.

 

Looking at the Bible, this event is truly heartbreaking. When a brother saw Joseph from a distance and said, "Here comes this dreamer," the original Hebrew phrase is actually two words. The first is 'Ba'al'. While this is the name of the idol that often appears in the Bible, it also means 'lord' or 'master'. The next word is 'heromot', which means 'dream'. When these two words are combined, the translation is 'the master of dreams is coming.' While it could be translated as 'the person who had the dream is coming,' a more accurate translation is 'Maestro Dreamer,' meaning someone who knows all about dreams and boasts about them. It was a vicious mockery. It's like the brothers were saying, 'Oh, here he comes, that guy who's always talking about his dreams, acting like he’s the best just because he has them.'

 

The brothers chose the word 'Ba'al' for 'master of dreams,' which makes us think about many things. What the brothers wanted to kill was not just Joseph. They wanted to kill his dream as well, because it didn't align with their own ideas. They wanted to completely reject the content of the dream where Joseph became their king and they became his servants. So they said, "Let's see what becomes of his dreams once he is dead. Will they come true?" This assumes that dreams at that time always contained divine revelation.

 

Jacob's reprimand of Joseph was not a sign that he didn't take the dream seriously; Jacob himself knew from experience how much revelation he had received through dreams. The sons were aware of this, which only made them angrier.

 

In other words, the sons wanted to reject not only Joseph and his dream, but also God, who could be called the true master of the dream. It was as if they were saying, "God, why Joseph? Why do you give so much to him alone? Why don't you take care of us?" "Does it make sense that this little kid thinks he's above us just because he has Dad's favor? God, can you really do this? Then let's kill him!" They wanted to kill Joseph because they wanted to shatter his dream and the God who gave it to him.

 

And so, the dream is shattered. The dreamer, who wore the robe of many colors and thought he had a special place in God’s love, had his robe taken from him as soon as he arrived and was thrown into a pit. It was then that Reuben said, "Let's not kill him." The Bible says that in his heart, he planned to return Joseph to his father later. However, I suspect his intention was to act like the eldest brother rather than to genuinely save Joseph's life. Why? Because when Judah suggested they sell Joseph, none of the other brothers objected. If Reuben had genuinely cared about Joseph’s life, he would have said, "That's enough punishment; let's return him to Father now." But no one objected, and they all agreed to sell Joseph.

 

Isn't this shocking enough? Even though Benjamin was still in the family, they sold Joseph, their youngest brother, and sent him away to another country. But what is truly surprising is what the Bible says they did after they threw Joseph into the pit.

 

Pleading Ignored Amidst Suffering

The Bible records, “Then they sat down to eat a meal.” Their brother was in a waterless pit, but they sat above him and ate lunch. You might think, 'They were hungry; they could talk while they ate.' But consider how cruel it is to eat lunch with your own brother trapped in a deep pit.

 

At this very moment, you must realize, 'This is a serious problem.' What did Joseph do then? Did he pray to God in the pit? "Lord, deliver me from this pit?" The Bible tells us. Joseph himself, when he was a prime minister and met his brothers later, told the story. When Joseph pretended not to know them and accused them of being spies, the brothers said they were a family of twelve brothers, one was with their father, and one was gone. At that moment, Joseph said, "Then bring Benjamin here; you are hostages." And the brothers said to one another:

 

“They said to one another, 'In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.'”

 

Only then did the brothers remember Joseph and realize that the distress they were now experiencing was because of him. Joseph did not just sit in the pit quietly as his brothers had ordered. He begged for his life. The little brother was begging for his life, but they ate lunch nearby. This was a cruel and heartless act. It shows how immense their hatred was, with no room for even a shred of pity for Joseph.

 

It may seem like this would never happen to us, but it can happen when our emotions build up. Haven’t you seen many cases where a third party thinks forgiveness is possible, but the person involved insists they cannot? Their hearts have hardened so much that not even a needle could be inserted. That's exactly what happened to the brothers. When a person’s heart hardens and they stop listening to anyone else, talking only about themselves, they become very susceptible to Satan’s influence. They fall into a state where their hearts are hardened and they only care about themselves, without even realizing it. They must have thought their actions were justified, that they were simply asserting their rights. They must have thought, 'How can we forgive this guy who had a dream and said we would be his servants? Killing him now is the best way.'

 

But through this event, Joseph was sold, and all of his dreams were shattered. If Joseph had thought, 'I have this dream, so I'll be fine even if I'm sold,' he would have been a truly remarkable person, but that was not the case at all. He begged for his life. He did not say, 'It's no use what my brothers do to me; God's revelation to me is that they will all bow down to me in the end.' He just begged for his life. But we know the outcome. Joseph eventually became prime minister. So we easily say, "See? God held onto Joseph and led him to become prime minister after all; all things work together for good."

 

The True Meaning of ‘All things work together for good’

'All things work together for good' is one of the most famous verses in Romans. But no matter how hard we try to avoid it, we tend to understand this verse similarly to phrases like 'a blessing in disguise' or 'every cloud has a silver lining.' We think, "Even though there are many bad, difficult, and hard things, in the grand scheme of things, they all work together to achieve the good that God desires." It's like many insignificant puzzle pieces that, when put together, form a beautiful picture. This perspective isn't entirely wrong.

 

However, the meaning of Romans 8 is a little different. Let me read it to you so you can see the difference.

 

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

 

This is something that happens to a very specific group of people. If the special things that happen to Christians were the same as what everyone else in the world experiences, there would be no reason for the Bible to record this verse. The Bible means that this verse has a different meaning for those who 'love God and are called according to his purpose.'

 

First, let me talk about the common translation of 'all things work together for good'. This translation comes from the King James Version, which greatly influenced not only the Korean Bible but many Bibles around the world. But if the subject of this sentence is ‘all things,’ it would mean that all things in the world work together like puzzle pieces to eventually achieve a good outcome. However, this interpretation does not align with the preceding phrase, which says this is a special promise for those who are in God's love.

 

In fact, the subject of this verse is not 'all things.' The subject that fits the context much better is 'God.' The verse doesn't mean 'all things work together for good,' but rather, ‘God works in all things to achieve His purpose with you, including all of us.’

 

Do you understand? This is a crucial point, so I'll repeat it. If 'all things' is the subject, it means 'the puzzles will fit together, and all these things will eventually become good.' But this also isn’t saying that 'God takes all these different things and mixes them together to make a delicious bibimbap.' The exact meaning of this verse is ‘God works in everything.’ It’s not 'God works everything,' but 'in everything'. That is, 'God works in all things', and He is doing His work together with us, which includes us.

 

So what does it mean for God to work with us? It means, as Paul wrote in Philippians 2, that 'God works His will in you to do what is good.' God gives us His will, and that will works in us to achieve His good purpose.

 

The subject of this promise is extremely important. The moment God becomes the subject, it means that the one who works with sovereignty through all these things is God. It's not that 'various things will eventually turn out well.' And it's not a trivial statement like 'God will mix all these things together and make them good.' The true meaning of this story is exactly this.

 

God's Ultimate Goal: The Image of Christ

Since God said He would bring about 'good,' it's important to know what that good is. The main text makes it clear. I will read Romans 8:29. The good that God promises to accomplish is this:

 

"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son."

 

This is God’s ultimate goal. It means that God is now working in everything to give us the image of Jesus Christ.

 

And it continues:

 

"in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

 

God is doing this work to make us into the image of Christ, to justify us, to sanctify us, and to glorify us.

 

Therefore, the purpose of the story of Joseph is not to make him prime minister; the end of Joseph's story is 'God's reconciliation.' When Jacob sent Joseph, he said, "Go and see if it is 'well' with your brothers," and the word for 'well' is 'shalom.' A father was telling his troubled son to make 'shalom' with his brothers. And that shalom took 22 years to be realized.

 

Ultimately, Joseph becoming prime minister is not the most important thing; the core of the story is the occurrence of 'God's shalom.' After Joseph became prime minister, the Israelites went down to Egypt and became enslaved. From our perspective, it might look like a good thing, but in a broader view, the Israelites should have been living in Canaan. However, this was the process of God's history, the beginning of a wonderful salvation history where God's shalom would be realized, and after 40 years in the wilderness, victory in Canaan would occur.

 

God, with the purpose of forming us in the image of His Son, will work in 'in everything'—whether it is Satan, angels, death, despair, failure, success, or the lowest point of our lives—to make us into the image of God and to achieve His holiness and glory.

 

God Who Transcends Suffering

Therefore, the story of Joseph is the story of Romans 8. Joseph's dream was shattered. But that shattered dream was not broken into pieces as we might think; instead, God broke through that dream, broke through Joseph's prison, and broke through Potiphar's house to ultimately make him prime minister. This does not mean that his becoming prime minister was simply the sum of all those events. God wanted to show through Joseph the suffering that Christ endured, how He triumphed in that suffering, and what God's will is through that suffering.

 

In Joseph's time, God also accomplished His reconciliation, or shalom, in every situation without giving up. For us, God's presence means that God is working through the storm. It's not a story about how everything will eventually turn out beautifully like a puzzle. Instead, God will use all our tribulations, lies, and even death to form His image in us. And to glorify us, in the New Testament sense, He will take up the cross and go with us.

 

The charge of the cross breaks history and shatters the time and future we fear. God tells us, "I am your God. I am your Father. I have saved you, and the power of that cross, which is your life, will firmly push your life forward." The Lord does not just come into our lives and say, "I have come to this earth for you," and then stop. He intends to go through our lives with us. No matter how the world's history changes, whether AI comes, whether America or Korea's fate changes, or even what happens to the universe, God's amazing purpose for you will surely be accomplished by breaking through everything with the cross. That's why you are living right now.

 

We will not know how incredible it is to fight and overcome sin until we go to heaven. We will surely know then that the work of removing sin and saving us from it is much more incredible than creating the heavens and the earth or performing all the miracles we can imagine. It is truly a tremendous work. Everything of God is being used for us. And so, we have come to be part of the great working together that God is using to glorify us.

 

Unwavering Love

God is not giving us the Stoic message, 'Just accept the bad things; they will ultimately benefit you.' While there is some truth to that, the Lord is saying, "Nothing can separate you from this love with which I love you. I cannot let you go."

 

Even when we curse God and turn away, when we say, "I don't believe in God anymore," or "I'm never going to church again," God does not let us go. When Luther said, "If you are truly a child of God, go ahead and try leaving," it wasn't a threat; it was a rhetorical way of showing how tightly God holds on to us.

 

Nothing can block, sever, or shake this path that God is taking with you. Neither sorrow, despair, failure, nor success can stop this path of truth. One day, you and I will meet before the Lord in His image. When we look at ourselves now, we might wonder how this could be possible. But the Bible tells us that God's zeal will accomplish this work, the cross of Christ will be the evidence, and the Lord’s pierced hands will hold you and surely lead you on this path.

 

Therefore, my beloved, remember one thing. Since I have explained how this work happens and proceeds, now remember the one thing that lies before you. Those who love God and are called according to His purpose must love God. Look to the Lord. For what we can do, what we must do, and what we must never let go of is found right there.

 

Prayer

Loving Lord, we have come before You. We simply wish for many things to end well. But if that is truly 'good,' then who in this world was more wronged than Paul, more messed up than Peter, and all those who were martyred for the gospel were foolish and insignificant?

 

Lord, what is the 'good' that we think of, and what are we pursuing in our lives? Please help us to know and learn Your heart for us. Help us to remember how great Your love is, where Your love is leading us, and what glory we will experience, so that we may have true joy and praise from the truth that You give to our hearts.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.