Joseph Meets His Brothers 

Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.  Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”  And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” (Genesis 42: 6 to 9) 

After seven years of plenteousness, came years of dearth as Joseph had predicted. And the dearth was in all lands, including Cannon. So, Jacob sent Joseph's ten brothers, except Benjamin, to Egypt to buy food. However, when Joseph saw his brothers bowing down before him, he didn't tell them who he was. Instead, he accused them as spies. In those days, famine was common. And it was vulnerable to travel outside of your territory searching for food.  Abreham and Isaac both had the same dreadful experience. Maybe that's why Jacob didn't let Benjamin go. By seeing his brothers bowed down before him with their faces to the earth, Joseph remembered his dreams. In his dreams, all of his brothers bowed down before him. Especially in his second dream, there were eleven stars that made obeisance to him. Since there were only ten stars at the time not eleven, he knew that the time might not come yet to identify himself. 

In the Bible, dreams and visions played important roles. Because God often used them to convey His messages. In the Bible, it is described as below. 

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.  By mere words a servant is not disciplined, for though he understands, he will not respond. (Proverbs 29: 18 19) 

The amazing thing is that no matter what, God would fulfill his dreams and visions. To see his brothers bowing down to him made Joseph believe that God is in control all the time. God also promised us to have the same experience as described below. 

But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:  “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2: 16 to 18) 

The question is what do we do with our visions and dreams from heaven? Both Jacob and Joseph had dreams from heaven. However, Joseph could interpret the dreams according to God's Spirit to the last detail and obey it. If God showed him eleven stars, then it should be eleven, not ten. He didn't interpret them with his own judgement. This is just like what Jesus said in the Bible. 

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6: 37 to 40) 

This was after Jesus had fed five thousand people with five barley loaves and two small fish. A miracle that amazed people so much that many people wanted to follow him. Yet, Jesus didn't take any credit. He said that he merely did the will of God who sent him. Jesus had performed miracles, cast out demons, cured numerous illnesses. Yet, he never forgot to fulfill God's will till the day he died as described in the Bible below. 

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2: 5 to 11) 

Jesus was highly exalted by God because of his obedience to God's will. Joseph was exalted by Pharaoh because of his obedience to God's will as well. If we partake of the same obedient mind as Jesus Christ, then the dreams and visions we received from heaven will take us to God's glory in both heaven and earth too. Emmanuel. 

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