Joseph's Dream

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon title is Joseph’s Three D’s: Dreams, Divine Providence and Daily Prayer, and my focus is Genesis 45:3-15. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

I must admit that I have strange dreams almost nightly. Mine seem stranger than any science fiction movie I have ever seen, and although the characters in them are familiar to me, the people are in the most unfamiliar settings. For one who used to study dreams and their meaning, today I wake and think how odd and meaningless they are.

People do have dreams that lead to creative works. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was inspired by a dream. Robert Louis Stevenson dreamed of the plot for his famous novel Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Keith Richards dreamed of the song I Can’t Get No Satisfaction. He said that he ran through it once before falling asleep. When he listened to it in the morning, there was about two minutes of acoustic guitar before you could hear him drop the pick and then him snoring for the next forty minutes. Paul McCartney dreamed the melody to his song, Yesterday. Director James Cameron dreamed of The Terminator. Elias Howe dreamed of the original sewing machine. Dmitri Mendeleev dreamed the Periodic Table, and Neils Bohr discovered the atom through a dream. Most of us have heard Martin Luther King’s dream speech, but the most famous and widely known dreams are those of Joseph.

To appreciate our reading today, we must turn the page back to chapter 37. There we read that in his dreams, Joseph saw 11 plants bowing down to him. He also saw 11 stars and the sun and the moon bowing down to him. Joseph interpreted this as his 11 brothers bowing down to him. This did not endear Joseph to his brothers, who were already jealous because he was Jacob’s favorite son, and wore a special multi-colored coat given to him by his father.

After telling his brothers these dreams, they bound him and threw him in a well, but rather than letting him perish there, they sold him into slavery to some Ishmaelites on their way to Egypt. There, through a series of unfortunate events, Joseph was imprisoned, where he met two other inmates: the pharaoh’s cupbearer and a baker, whose dreams he interpreted accurately.

The cupbearer remembered Joseph when the pharaoh’s magicians could not interpret his dream of seven lean cows devouring seven fat cows. Called to interpret the pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph explained that after seven years of bounteous crops, Egypt would face seven lean years. Based on Joseph’s interpretation, Egypt stored their surplus of those first seven years so it could survive the oncoming seven-year drought.

For this, the pharaoh named Joseph Egypt’s prime minister, gave him a gold seal of authority, and life was good. He was a wonderful man whom everybody loved, and wherever he went they cheered him.

Meanwhile, a famine blighted the rest of the Middle East. Jacob sent 10 of his sons to Egypt because he knew that the country had stored grain. He did not send Benjamin, the youngest, and gave the others enough money to exchange it for grain. That’s where we pick up today’s passage.

Because the brothers did not recognize Joseph, he was able to treat them harshly and kindly. He imprisoned them and then gave them food and their own money before they left for Canaan but warned them that they could only return to Egypt to buy more food if they brought the youngest brother, Benjamin, which they eventually did against the wishes of Jacob.

Joseph again treated them kindly and harshly. He provided a feast, gave them grain, and returned their money. He allowed them to leave for Canaan but secretly had a guard place Joseph's cup in Benjamin's bag. Joseph had stopped, searched, and arrested Benjamin as his servant.

Unable to control himself before his brothers, Joseph dismissed the Egyptians before revealing himself as their brother. They were dismayed, dumbfounded, speechless, stunned and terrified. This man revealed himself as the brother they sold into slavery. They told their father that wild beasts had torn apart from Joseph. Now you know why they were terrified.

As Joseph spoke, he revealed to them not only his identity, but also the fact that God sent him ahead of them to keep their families alive and to save them in a wonderful way. In other words, Divine Providence changed the course of events for Joseph and his brothers. Joseph’s dream came true. That brings me to my second point, Divine Providence.

Divine Providence is not a phrase found in the vocabulary of most people, including Missouri Synod Lutherans. I used it frequently when I was chaplain for the Sisters of Divine Providence, but other than that, it’s not one of my top ten phrases. That said, what do we mean by the phrase Divine Providence?

Divine Providence is the activity of God whereby He uninterruptedly preserves, governs, and directs lifeless creation, plant and animal life, people and their concerns, heaven, hell and everything else. We read in Job that God “can move mountains before they even know it. God can shake the earth loose from its foundations.”[1] The Psalmist wrote that God can rain on the mountains from His heavenly home, and fill the earth with the fruit of His labor. God can cause grass to grow for the livestock and plants for people to use.[2] Jeremiah reminds us that before God formed me in my mother’s the womb He knew me, and before I was born, He consecrated me.[3] Jesus said that God knows the number of hairs on my head.[4] There are fewer to count today, but He still knows the number. Hebrews 1:1-3 reminds us that God is and has always been in control or creation and communication.

God established laws that govern night and day, and seasons for planting and harvesting.[5] We do not always understand the causes of God’s Providence, but He protects us so we can build our homes and our communities.[6] Divine Providence does not deprive us of liberty or responsibility. It does not reduce us to automats making God responsible for sin. Paul reminded Christians in Rome of this in Chapter One.[7]

From our perspective, things happen unexpectedly. Life happens unpredictably. From God’s viewpoint, all is predetermined and fixed. Job reminds us of that when speaking of man: “Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass.”[8] The ultimate goals then of divine providence are: (1) the salvation of souls; (2) spreading the Gospel; (3) and promoting the glory of God.[9]

All creatures promote the glory of God, and in particular, people should because we recognize the work of His hand in nature. We know that God is necessary for all natural operations, whether they are animate (plants, animals and humans), inanimate (planets, stars, rocks, clouds, etc.) or the supernatural order (heaven, hell, angels). God acts in and with every creature in all its activities, except for sin, which is due to human liberty.

As Lutherans, we believe that Divine Providence refers to God's preservation of creation, his cooperation with everything that happens, and his guiding of the universe. While God cooperates with both good and evil deeds, with the evil deeds he does so only inasmuch as they are deeds, not with the evil in them. God concurs with an act's effect, but he does not cooperate in the corruption of an act or the evil of its effect. Lutherans believe everything exists for the sake of the Christian Church, and that God guides everything for its welfare and growth.

According to Martin Luther, Divine Providence began when God created the world with everything needed for human life, including both physical things and natural laws. In Luther's Small Catechism, the explanation of the first article of the Apostles' Creed declares that everything people have that is good is given and preserved by God, either directly or through other people or things. Of the services others provide us through family, government, and work, he wrote, “we receive these blessings not from them, but, through them, from God.” Since God uses everyone's useful tasks for good, people should look not down upon some useful vocations as being less worthy than others. Instead, people should honor others, no matter how lowly, as being the means God uses to work in the world.[10]

From Divine Providence to Daily Prayer. We see Divine Providence in what happened to Joseph – from his dreams to being sold into slavery, from being a prisoner to becoming prime minister. We have an understanding of how Lutherans understand Divine Providence, but what does any of this have to do with my life? That is why I think we need to look at our daily prayer.

What does your daily prayer look like? It’s a question we each need to answer privately. Here’s mine. Each morning I wake around six o’clock. I read a few Psalms, a Biblical passage (Proverbs, these days) and a non-Biblical passage, usually the Church Fathers. I also read the daily readings for Worship. My wife and I recite Morning Prayer together and pray before meals. We often discuss a daily dialogue question which we close with the Lord’s Prayer. Most evenings we say Night Prayer before retiring. Throughout the day, I ponder God’s will for me and call to mind others’ needs, including yours.

Years ago, I started to realize how Divine Providence guided my life. Cindy and I agree that for some reason, God brought us together. We did not know each other. We both lived in Alameda County, California, a large populous county east of San Francisco, but at opposite ends. We met through the most unusual circumstances, which I can reveal over a sandwich. Needless to say, God brought us together. We fell in love and married a year after we met. Again, allow me to say: God brought us together.

A year after we were married, we left very good paying jobs in Northern California for a promised job and a new life in North Texas. Our initial plans did not end well, and we were both unemployed. Two months later, we found ourselves in Oklahoma City, where I began working for an international nonprofit. Cindy worked for the State of Oklahoma. It was providential. I had begun the Colloquy process to become a Lutheran Pastor just as we were leaving California; and several months later, landed in Holy Trinity, the largest congregation in Oklahoma. After meeting with Pastor Barrie Henke, he assigned the Vicar, an academically minded, erudite seminarian, to meet with me weekly to study the Book of Concord and the writings of Walther, Pieper and others. We met for about a year. In December 2012, I was received into the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod as an ordained Pastor. My employer closed its doors on February 28, 2013. Holy Trinity’s Associate Pastor accepted a call out of state; and as Pastor Henke said, God dropped me into his lap. I started working as a Pastor at Holy Trinity on March 1, 2013. Divine Providence.

Throughout the years since then, we moved from Oklahoma to Southern Illinois to Northern Illinois and then to Pennsylvania. With each move, God provided enough sustenance to keep us afloat. As we reflected on our return here in March 2020, we had a house and plans for a new home, but I had no job. That’s when I was asked to serve as Pastor. After that, I was rehired to work as a Background Investigator, and then as a Vacancy Pastor at Prince of Peace. My point is this: I believe Divine Providence is at work in my life no matter what the circumstances. That comes through my daily prayer, my daily examination.

Daily prayer should include the prayers found in Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, and some sort of daily examination. To my surprise, a number of Lutherans practice and promote some sort of daily examination made popular by Ignatius of Loyola. Each version has five steps:

1. Become aware of God’s presence.

2. Review the day with gratitude.

3. Pay attention to your emotions.

4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it.

5. Look toward tomorrow.

 

At times, we may wonder about God’s presence in our lives. I am sure that Joseph wondered that. As a young man he was sold into slavery by his own brothers and imprisoned for years. He must have wondered if God abandoned him. Countless individuals incarcerated as prisoners of an oppressive regime, abusive parents or an unloving spouse must wonder if God abandoned them. Innumerable people with dead end jobs, limited skills, disabilities or dying loved ones must wonder if God abandoned them. We would like to say that everyone’s story ends up like Joseph’s, but many stories do not. Our stories may or may not, but if we believe in God’s Providence, we know that he holds a place for us beyond our wildest dreams.

My friends, I ask you to incorporate into your daily prayer, some time to reflect on how God has been present to you whatever your circumstances. Give God thanks for whatever blessing He has given you. Look forward to tomorrow. If today seemed like Good Friday, know that Easter Morning is just another day away. Believe this, and when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understand keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Job 9:5-6.

[2] Psalm 104:13-14.

[3] Jeremiah 1:5.

[4] Luke 12:7.

[5] Genesis 8:22; Acts 14:7.

[6] Psalm 127:1; 1 Corinthians 12:6.

[7] Romans 1:18-32.

[8] Job 14:5.

[9] See Providence at https://cyclopedia.lcms.org/

[10] Do not confuse what I say here with Calvinism’s Predestination or Double Predestination. For a brief understanding of Predestination, go to the LCMS Cyclopedia and enter Predestination (cyclopedia.lcms.org).