PUSH BUTTONS
Tested Vessel
God is Spirit, He is LORD, and He doesn’t use an untested vessel.
My Pastor shared a wonderful insight some time ago about Joseph, and I thought to pen it down and share it with you this week so that your spirit’s Buttons may be Pushed — when you get it, let me know.😁
My discourse would be built primarily on the following scenarios involving Joseph, his dreams, and his response. Joseph had two dreams (Genesis 37:5–7), two of his fellow prisoners in Egypt each had a dream (Genesis 40:8–23), and Pharaoh had a pair of dreams (Genesis 41:17–36).
Scenario One
Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more. So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed, your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf. — Genesis 37:5–7
What we notice here is either a case of naivety or simply not being able to read the room by Patriarch Joseph at this stage of his life. At this point, the Bible never said He interpreted this dream. It was his listeners who interpreted them (Genesis 37:8a, Genesis 37:10). This situation initiated his being sold into slavery, working with Potiphar, the Potiphar Wife’s Saga, and the Prison season.
This takes us to the next Scenario.
Scenario Two (Genesis 40: 5–22)
In this scenario, what we noticed is that Joseph is now on the lookout for others (it is no longer just about his dreams), and if I dare say, he is reading the room well now. Here Joseph can take note of their countenance and interpret the dreams accurately for each party; the Chief Baker (execution) and the Chief Butler (restoration). The Chief butler, though, forgot about Joseph until Pharoah had a dream, and this leads us to scenario Three.
Scenario Three (Genesis 41: 17–36)
No one could interpret Pharoah’s Dream. Joseph gets the offer to interpret based on a referral; good. But we noticed a significant Change here. Joseph doesn’t just interpret dreams accurately now; he is able to proffer solutions to a horrifying dream.
If it was Joseph of Two years ago, he would just interpret the dreams and hands off. The Joseph standing before Pharoah had been optimised — fully proven. He doesn’t just interpret; he proffers solutions.
Just maybe the Chief baker wouldn’t have died if it was this version of Joseph he met.
Now to my Discourse.
The emphasis of this conversation is not the importance of dreams. Rather it is to observe the transitions in the Life of a person led by the LORD.
Psalm 105:17–22 gives us the back end of the story;
He sent a man before them — Joseph — who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him, The ruler of the people let him go free. He made him lord of his house, And ruler of all his possessions, To bind his princes at his pleasure, And teach his elders wisdom
Verse 19 let us know that Joseph was being tested (evaluated) by the Word during this season until he was proven to be true and that his heart was well aligned. At the end we found out that Joseph got God’s memo with respect to his first dream (Genesis 45:5–8).
As I conclude, earlier this year, Pastor Peace taught on seasoned wisdom, and you want to listen again to that message.
God is taking you and I through a journey. He is working on us (John 15:2b “and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”) He is using His word to clean| test| purge| evaluate| purify us and realign our perspective with His. He is working on our dross. He wants that the man of God may be complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
I think it would be good to say in passing that the first dream was had when Joseph was Seventeen (17) years old (Genesis 37:2), and Joseph became Prime Minister at Age Thirty (30) (Genesis 41:46) — We can deduce that God is willing to take His time.
God is Spirit, He is LORD, and He doesn’t use an untested vessel.
Do have a blessed week!
I remain a fellow Comrade serving with you to actualise the LORD’s Agenda.
Ayomide Arowele
@arowele.ao
Push Buttons is a weekly devotional of The Powerpoint Tribe.
