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“Joseph the Dreamer!” It has become the accepted thing to apply that unflattering title to this young man. Yet it is so completely inadequate, and totally unfair in the light of all of the evidence. It only touches on a very small part of his life and personality. His character is so much bigger, so much stronger, and so much more vital.

This man proves to be such an exciting person to those who will take the time to examine who and what he was. The study of his character and conduct is most inspiring and challenging. There is so much which speaks directly to us today. There are aspects that call us to careful selfexamination What would we have done if we had found ourselves in the same circumstances? How would we have reacted in that type of situation.

The careful study of the life and character of Joseph is most relevant to us today. It reminds us of so many important aspects of God's dealings with us. It compels us to evaluate and understand the significance of His testing of us and of our faith. Helping us to see the need to come to terms with the fires of severe trial to which our character is subjected.

This study also reveals the exciting truth: God is still on the throne. He is still in total control of all of the circumstances that touch our lives in any way whatsoever, reminding us of this comforting truth: "All things work together for good with those who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose"(Romans 8: 28).

As we look at the circumstances of the second verse, Joseph appears to be shown in a very poor light. This is so crucial, because it is our first introduction to him and is, therefore, our first impression of him.

There are times when first impressions have most lasting effects. But In this case, those first impressions prove to be very misleading. In fact they are demonstrated to be quite false.

At this juncture, Joseph was seventeen years of age. All of his brothers, with the exception of one, were older that he was. Actually they were his half brothers, the sons of his father but not the sons of his mother, Rachel. The exception Benjamin, who was also the son of Rachel. He was several years younger than Joseph.

Joseph had been given the responsibility to go out to work with four of his half-brothers. They were the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, who were the handmaids of Rachel and Leah. Jacob had taken these handmaids as his wives at the insistence of both Rachel and Leah.

The responsibility which was given to Joseph and his four brothers was to look after the flock. This involved making sure that there was adequate pasture, as well as protecting the animals from any of the many wild beasts which roamed those areas at that time.

We are told quite simply, "Joseph brought unto his father their evil report." We are not told the actual details of what it was that Joseph was reporting. There is no explanation of any conduct which Joseph thought his father needed to know about. Whatever it was, he went to Jacob to let him know about it.

That revelation immediately creates a bad impression. What kind of person is this 17 year old to act in that manner? Surely this reflects most unfavorably on Joseph. It strongly indicates that he has a serious character defect? Was he out to try and get his father's favor at the expense of his brothers?

Before we hastily jump to any conclusions on the basis of this evidence, we need to pause a moment. Far too often we assume too much, even though we have only the most inadequate information. We assume that we know enough to pass judgment on the individual concerned, even when we do not see the whole picture, but only a very small fragment of the whole picture. Certainly such is not sufficient to pass judgment on Joseph. Yet many have done so.

The problem with many people, including Christians, is that we are much too quick to jump to conclusions, and most often they are wrong. We need to be much more patient. Be far more willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. To wait until we can see much more of the details of the entire picture.

When we move down to verse 14, we find that Jacob said to Joseph, "Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again."

On that occasion Joseph was sent out with the specific responsibility of seeing what his brothers were doing. Then he was to report back to Jacob once again.

This would indicate that it was Jacob who was using Joseph in a way that would inevitably create a serious problem. As we would anticipate, the hostility of Joseph's brothers was aroused by this conduct. Thus Joseph was being placed at a very serious disadvantage by the fact of what his father required him to do.

Another insight into the situation involving Joseph becomes quite evident in verse three. This has to do with the blatant and obvious favoritism that was shown by Jacob to Joseph.

"Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children'' This was a situation that would be clearly evident to every member of the family. It would be particularly obvious to the other sons of Jacob. In fact, Jacob made not the slightest pretense of hiding how he felt about. Joseph.

The reason for this favoritism is also quite clear. He was “the son of his old age!” Also, he was the first son of Jacob's favorite wife: Rachel. The other sons, with the exception of Benjamin, were the offspring of Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah. Rachel was Jacob's only true love!

Leah had to live out her life knowing that at best she was barely tolerated. The only reason that she was the wife of Jacob was the result of her father, Laban, tricking Jacob into taking her as his wife.

The first born son of Rachel was so very special. Jacob had a different, distinct love for Joseph! Was it really: Special love? Or, was it: Twisted love? Tragically sad favoritism! Joseph would pay a very high price as a direct result of his father's blatant attitude.

To demonstrate, to openly advertise, this special relationship Jacob gave to Joseph a special coat. That coat marked Joseph out in a very significant way for everyone to see.

Probably Joseph initially received the coat thankfully. In his youth and immaturity he would be unaware of the sad tragedy it actually represented.

To Joseph's brothers it was most offensive and obnoxious. They would rightly see that coat as evidence of their second class status in the family, especially as far as their father was concerned. Did Jacob think about that reality? He should have!

Thank God, HE has no favorites! We are all equal in His sight! "He is no respecter of persons." He gladly shows the total goodness, greatness, and graciousness of His love to all who will receive it. Where men so often fail, and so tragically fail, particularly in their relationships to others, God never makes any such mistakes.

Jacob's expression of favoritism was all too obvious. Verse four states, "And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren.”."

They could not help but take note of this callous, hurtful development. It was speaking too clearly to them. The message which they received was very simple. As far as Jacob was concerned, Joseph mattered far more to their father than all of them combined. This situation was a constant source of irritation and aggravation to them. They could not escape it. Whenever they saw Joseph wearing that coat it was like salt being rubbed into a raw wound.

It is so important that we notice that, in no way was this Joseph's fault. It is wrong to blame him for the crass foolishness of his father, and, yet his brothers did blame Joseph. "They hated him!" That is a strong statement. But that is exactly how they felt: "They hated him!"

Joseph was so clearly the victim in this situation. He was the victim of his father's very foolish doting favoritism. He was also the victim of his brothers' failure to understand the situation as it actually was. Surely they should have been mature enough to see that it was not Joseph's fault? They could not see it! Or, they would not see it! They chose to blame him. "They hated him!"

The situation went from bad to worse. It reached the stage where they could not speak civilly to Joseph, they "could not speak peaceably unto him!" It became a home that was so seriously and so deeply divided. There was constant stress. Unvarying strain. Every word, every expression, every attitude conveyed deep unchanging bitterness and resentment. Every contact which his brothers had with Joseph was marked by hard deliberate rejection. What a tragically sad situation! The beginning of confusion! Yes! And that is all it was: The beginning. Things were going to get far worse. It was anything but a promising beginning for this young man Joseph, yet it would inevitably deteriorate much further.

It should be obvious that very little, if any, blame actually attaches to Joseph for this situation. He was young, still only a teenager. He was living and acting in faithful obedience to His father. Yet, surely no one would deny: he was the victim.

Joseph was still so young, so naive, and so immature. His father's attitude and favoritism had shielded him from a lot of the harsh reality of life. This, along with other factors, inevitably meant that when he had a dream which seemed to be so significant to himhe just could not keep it to himself. He felt compelled to share it with his brothers.

In reality, God Himself was working in these new developments, yet Joseph was quite unaware of that reality. God was quietly, yet so effectively beginning to mold his servant, preparing, and equipping him for a life of service which was still some years out in the future.

The Lord was fully aware of just how young and immature His servant was at that time. As He always does, He was working in Joseph's life according to the level of his age and maturity at that point in his life. The Lord well knew that maturity comes with experience, as character is tempered by trial and testing.

Often we expect far too much of those who are young, naive, and immature. We want them to express a level of experience, maturity and wisdom which their years deny them. We forget that they have yet to go through those character molding experiences that can only come with the passing of years, and the trials and tribulations which passing years bring. In His perfect wisdom, God does not expect the response of greater maturity when He knows that the person has not attained that level of maturity.

The only real problem with Joseph was his immature enthusiasm, and the excitement in which he expressed it. This new situation which confronted him was so different to anything he had yet experienced, even as he found it so exciting.

He just had to talk about it. He could not contain himself. And talk he did, far too much, and with excessive enthusiasm and excitement in his voice.

He told his brothers about his dream. "Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves also stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf."

Remember, it was because of his inexperience that he spoke the way he did. He certainly did not realize that, as a result, he made himself totally vulnerable.

The Apostle Paul demonstrates for us the more mature attitude, as he writes, "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went again into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus." (Galatians 1 15 17)

There are times when it is so much wiser to keep the workings of God in your life to yourself. To get alone. To humbly pray it though. Allow the Lord to help you, step by step, think it through.

Such an approach will be much more conducive to enabling you to really get a good understanding of all that the Lord may be seeking to lead you into.

Joseph had not learned that crucial lesson yet. But he would! He would learn: slowly, painfully, and effectively; which is the way the vast majority of us have to learn the vital lessons the Lord seeks to teach us.

In stark contrast to Joseph, the attitude of his brothers was so harsh, and so very cruel. In their response to Joseph we witness their hatred for Joseph growing increasingly intense. Defiantly, arrogantly they challenged and rejected the dream along with its probable interpretation. And, yet, human nature being what it is, we should not be surprised when we are confronted with these attitudes.

“Shall thou indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" They absolutely rejected any such suggestions outright. After all, they were so much older than Joseph. They could boast that they themselves were obviously more experienced, more knowledgeable, and more sophisticated than he was.

The whole idea that they would bow down and honor him was utterly ridiculous to them. In fact, “They hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words.”

The sad truth is that they were reacting very foolishly. And yet, we could hardly blame them for that. They had been denied the essential spiritual guidance and help which they so urgently needed.

They were motivated by the compulsion of selfjustification, more than anything else. They responded in this way because they were totally oblivious to any suggestion of the Lord's involvement. Such a possibility never once entered their thoughts.

They were so sure that all this was nothing but the foolish fantasy of their spoiled brother! They convinced themselves that Joseph and his dreams fully deserved all of their contempt that and nothing more.

Thus , they gave this strong and clear evidence of their total rejection, which was fanned by their intense hatred for Joseph. Rejection and hatred! These combined to keep them so completely blind to the actual reality. Their bitter hardness towards Joseph had grown perceptively greater. They wanted nothing to do with him.

Joseph and his presence with them made them feel intensely irritated and aggravated. They were extremely uncomfortable and very angry. And there was no real justification for any part of it, particularly that part of it which was directed against Joseph.

People are so quick to jump to conclusions. All too often the conclusions to which they jump are wrong. This can be particularly true in the area of responding to people, who, for whatever reason, may make us feel uncomfortable. How we all need to carefully think this through. To pray it through.

In Joseph's case there was a most vital factor which was being totally overlooked. That factor was “the unheard message.” It was the message from the Lord.

There was no one who was involved in these developments who was aware of the fact that God Himself was speaking in this situation. Yet, He was speaking!

God is speaking! Yet all too often we are completely oblivious to the fact that He is speaking. We are quite content to thoughtlessly leave God out of all of our considerations. Does this happen out of ignorance? Is it willfulness on our part? How tragic that our response suggests that anything God may be saying is irrelevant in the situation confronting us.

God was speaking. He was saying something which was very important about Joseph. The Lord was affirming: "This is a special person!" Special! to the Lord. Not because God has favorites, no. But because Joseph's character and integrity placed him among those whom God could use most effectively.

“Special!” The Lord had explained to Ananias, when He was speaking about Saul of Tarsus: "He is a chosen vessel unto me!" Chosen for service. And, integral to that service, great suffering. The Lord spelled that out in Saul's case.

It was equally true in Joseph's case. The Lord did have a very special plan for this young man's 1ife. His plan involved both great suffering and great service. The Lord was just beginning to reveal some of the initial details of His plan.

"A chosen vessel'' Is the Lord saying that about us? Are we humble and pliable in His hands? Is He able to begin to have His way with us and with our lives?

Joseph was completely unaware of all that the Lord was doing. Joseph was being: himself, to the best of his ability. Vaguely aware of unusual or unexpected happenings and developments. Yet unaware that it was God who was so dramatically touching his life.

The Lord knew Joseph perfectly. That there were those crucial personality and character traits to which God was applying pressure. His aim was: the right kind of development. There were a variety of the aspects of his attitude and character which the Lord was molding and using in unexpected ways.

Yes. In a sense it is true to say that Joseph was different. Yet, he was different to his brothers, only because he was available to the Lord. He may not have understood all that this involved, but this was key to all God was able to do.

If he had been asked he would not have been able to explain what was happening, either in him, or to him. He did not really understand that he was cooperating with the Lord as he grew to maturity. Yet it was that cooperation which made all the difference.

He may not have known. We may not know, either, all that is involved. Yet, we do have the privilege of totally yielding all to the Lord. We can give ourselves in full willing cooperation with Him. When we do, He makes all the difference. And what an exciting difference it is!

The other side of the situation is also clear. Joseph's brothers were totally blind to the Lord's involvement. They saw everything only from the human point of view. They made their judgments from that point of view. That is why they were always so very wrong.

That problem is also still with us. How often we make that same sad mistake. We can be so quick to explain away differences and do so from the merely human point of view. We can justify our harsh criticisms of others on the basis of that kind of evaluation. Yet all the while we remain totally blind to the touch of the hand of God on the life of the one whom we choose not to understand.

It would be far too easy for us to hastily suggest that after the first unhappy incident Joseph should have learned his lesson. To suggest that he should have learned from his previous experience that, if he had another dream, he should keep everything about it to himself.

But, such a suggestion would indicate that we have chosen to overlook the fact that he was still so young and so very immature. He acted according to his level of maturity, or lack of it, once again.

Yes, he had another dream. This was also a very dramatic dream. In his youthful enthusiasm he could not help himself, he just had to talk about it, sharing the details with his brothers again.

Notice, that was all he did: he shared it with them. He did not attempt to explain or interpret it. He did not draw any conclusions or applications from it. In his exuberant excitement all he wanted to do was share this new and startling development with them. That was so natural for someone his age. His was the unsophisticated enthusiasm of youth. So very naive And, so very vulnerable.

When we respond to others, and to what they say, we ourselves have a choice. We can respond on the basis of where we think they ought to be in their maturity. What we expect of them. Or, even more, what we demand of them, according to our standards, our understanding, our maturity. In other words, we require them to match our expectations, whether they can do so or not.

That is the easy way of responding to others. It is the way that enables us to put others down. To be critical of them while attempting to show ourselves in the better light. It can so easily lead to ridicule. To the rejection of the other person as one who is too foolish for us to be bothered with. That is too easy. Even as it is utterly unchristian.

There is a much better alternative. This involves taking the time and trouble of attempting to really understand the other person. It means taking the time necessary to see the situation from the prospective of the other person. Communication involves hearing what the other person is actually saying and attempting to understand why they are saying it.

There are far too many people who have real hurts, who have had those hurts aggravated, by cold callous demands that they should be able to act as though nothing was wrong. The hurt is real. To ignore it is unchristian. It is the same with genuine lack of maturity.

To be Christ-like is to be compassionate. It is to be quick to listen and slow to judge. It requires a willingness to make allowances for people. It will take the time and the trouble to really find out where people are coming from, so that we can fully understand all that they are seeking to express..

Joseph had shared his dream, not only with his brothers, but also with his father. His father did not appreciate what he heard. Joseph found himself being reprimanded. In fact, Jacob challenged both Joseph and his dream. How Joseph's brothers must have enjoyed witnessing this unexpected development: Jacob responding harshly to his favorite son! Putting him in his place! We can almost hear the brothers saying: "About time,"

As we listen to Jacob's stern words of rebuke to Joseph we may almost be able to detect a note of contempt in his voice: "What is this dream that thou hast dreamed?" Obviously Jacob was not at all pleased! "Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren, indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?'' The words were spoken in severe correction. The clear suggestion was that such an idea was totally ridiculous!

But was the implication of Joseph's dream really so ridiculous? Not if we keep in mind the most important factor of all: God! God was involved. He was patiently working His gracious purposes out. He was preparing Joseph for the life and service which the future was to bring to him. Therefore, as God Himself was personally involved, how could it be ridiculous?

It is interesting to note the effect Which the dream had on each of the parties involved. At this particular point, nothing more was said about Joseph's own feelings or response to these very negative reactions. He falls silent. No doubt he was feeling quite perplexed. He could not help but wonder what was happening. And, why?

Joseph's brothers were increasingly jealous of him. "His brethren envied him!" This is a very interesting development. It is so obvious that they still hated him. They still despised him. They still found it to be impossible to speak civilly to him.

But, now, they also envied him! Because of a dream! Why? We really do not know. We are not told. It could be due to the faint glimmerings of an awareness that somehow those dreams really may have meant something, a thought which in no way appealed to them. The way they treated Joseph later strongly suggests that they could not dismiss that suspicion from their minds.

There is no doubt about the deep impression that this dream made on Jacob's mind. It had a very real impact. A lasting impact. While he refused to openly accept the most obvious interpretation of the dream, he could not get away from the impression which it created. He repeatedly pondered its possible, or probable, significance

Jacob knew that this dream had a meaning. Not only was that true, but, also, it was a meaning which he believed must be fulfilled. This explains, at least in part, the great anguish which he expressed when he was convinced that Joseph had been killed by some wild animal.

God continued to work quietly, effectively, and powerfully. He is: The Lord! He reigns in eternal sovereign power and authority. Nothing could change that fact. Not the immaturity of Joseph. Not the insolence of his brothers. Not even the ignorance and confusion of Jacob.

All the evidence combines to reveal a vital truth. God was faithfully following through with His own perfect plan. His plan definitely included a special purpose for Joseph. In His own time, in His own way, God would reveal the full picture.

God has not changed. He is still patiently and faithfully working according to His own perfect plan. That plan does involve us, and the special details which will have an impact on our lives. We can trust God to work through His plan for us in His own way and in His own time He does not fail. He understands us perfectly, and He works accordingly.

Joseph. One young man. Merely seventeen years old He was different. But for only one reason. He was responsive to God. His life and character were such that God could work in his life. God could use him. So, God began and continued to work through His preparations.

Those preparations caused a great deal of confusion in that home and family. This was inevitable. It is always inevitable! Some will struggle to understand. Some do not care to try and understand. Through it all God will work, His will His way!

God is active today! He is at work! Whether we can see it, or not! How we need to so live and pray that we will ever remain sensitive to the Lord and His gracious and powerful working in the lives of His people, yes, in our lives, even today!