How Did Joseph's Dreams Really Get Fulfilled in Genesis 41?

   What was going on with Joseph’s dreams?  First off, would you have told your brothers that you had just dreamed that they were all going to bow down to you someday?  Didn’t he know that saying that would make them all hate him? 

On a sky train at River Front Park

     Fast forward to the scene in Genesis  37:18-28 where the brothers all see Joseph coming to check up on them and then conspire to get rid of him.  But when someone spies a caravan of traders in the distance, they change their minds and decide  to sell Joseph instead because after all he is their brother.  I’m totally thinking who are these people? You can almost see them clapping saying something like Let's see what happens to his dreams now!   It’s hard to believe they were actually the sons of a biblical patriarch.

      And as far as the dreams went, things didn’t look very good at all.  Especially when Joseph's working at Potiphar’s and his wife tells a big fat lie that throws him into prison.  And not just for one or two years either.  I did the math one time and it looks like he was there over 10 years!  I wonder if Joseph ever wondered how does working in this prison have anything to do with my dreams?

     When Joseph had been in prison about ten years, the Bible says the chief cupbearer and baker got imprisoned.  They had some really strange dreams, but Joseph explained them, and they come out exactly as he said. His parting words were like hey let Pharaoh know I was thrown in here unjustly.  But we know from Scripture that the cupbearer forgot.

     Have you ever thought about how Joseph’s dreams were actually fulfilled?  I learned in chapter 114 of the Life-Study of Genesis that it came from interpreting the dreams of others when his own hadn’t even been fulfilled.  Here’s some inspiring excerpts from pages 1471-1475 of that chapter:

.Joseph dreamed that he was a sheaf rising up and that his brothers were bowing down to him.  Ten years went by, and still this dream had not been fulfilled.  If this had happened to us, we would have been disappointed to the uttermost and said, ‘Forget about this dream. I’m through with being a dreamer and with hearing about dreams.’  If Joseph had done this, he probably

With my grandkids on the sky train.

would never have been released from prison. He was released from the dungeon by his speaking….Concerning the dream, the vision, it matters a great deal whether we say yes or no; for either our yes or our no will come true. Joseph’s speaking not only released him from prison, but also ushered him to the throne.  Joseph spoke himself to the throne. He was given authority directly through his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams (41:25-44)….Do not say that you are not qualified to speak, for the more you say that you are not qualified, and that you are in a dungeon, the longer you will remain in the dungeon….Learn to speak yourself out of your dungeon….A victorious and overcoming Christian will always be a dreamer….Day by day, let us all speak according to our vision, according to our dreams (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Genesis.  Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry 1978, Print).

      At the end of this chapter Witness Lee says that if Joseph would have gone into Pharaoh with an uncertain attitude about his ability to interpret his dreams, he would have been sent back to prison. In spite of Joseph’s own dreams not being fulfilled, he spoke boldly to Pharaoh. This is the point that touches my heart the most in this chapter--Joseph actually spoke his dreams into being!!

You can  also listen to live excerpts from these messages on  Genesis on Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.  

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Genesis:

From the Life-Study of Genesis - What is the Focus of the Bible?
What Happened Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
Why Did God Create Man in Genesis 1:26?
Why Did God Create Man With 3 Parts in Genesis 2:7?
Why Did God Put Man in Front of the Two Trees in Genesis 2?
Seeing God's Purpose of Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
What is the Story Behind the Story of Cain & Abel?
What Did Enosh Learn to Do in Genesis 4:26?
How Did Enoch Escape Death in Genesis 5:24?
Why Did Noah Need to Find Grace in Genesis 6:8?
What Does the Rainbow Symbolize in Genesis 9:13?
How Did God Call Abraham in Genesis 12:1?
How Did God Fulfill the Birth of Isaac in Genesis 12:7?
What Does the Marriage of Isaac & Rebekah Show in Genesis 24?
How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?
Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?
Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Joseph
Why Did Jacob Call the Two Altars in Genesis 33 & 35 By Different Names?
How Do the Stories of Jacob & Joseph Mirror God's Purpose in Genesis 1:26?

What Does the Marriage of Isaac & Rebekah Show in Genesis 24?

Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah shows two amazing things. I wouldn’t have seen either of these if it weren’t for the help of chapter 60 of the Life-Study of Genesis.  In the opening of this chapter, Witness Lee mentions that most Christians just think this chapter only shows Isaac as a type of Christ as the Bridegroom and Rebekah as a type of  the church as the Bride.

 Then he states that all the events that surround this marriage illustrate their practical living in oneness with the Lord for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. 

For many years Abraham had lived in Hebron, which in Hebrew means fellowship. Undoubtedly Sarah’s death greatly affected this family.  Not long afterwards Abraham realized that Isaac needed to be married to a woman from among his own people.  On pages 790-791 Witness Lee explains how Abraham’s actions showed that he lived in practical oneness with God:

There is no record that God said, ‘Abraham, let Me charge you to send someone to your own country to get a wife for Isaac. I will never allow you to take a Canaanite wife for your son.’ Although there is no record of God’s saying this, Abraham did have this understanding. From where did he derive it?  It came from his living in accordance with God’s concept. Abraham was a man who lived in oneness with God.  If I live in oneness with a certain brother day after day, there will be no need for him to tell me of many things. I will already know what he likes and what he does not like, what pleases him and what offends him. If I love him and live in oneness with him, whatever I say and do will be in accordance with his likes or dislikes….If we would know God’s will, we must live in oneness with Him. If we live in oneness with Him, He will not need to tell us what He desires, because we shall already know it by being one with Him…..Abraham was not the only person who had such a living.  All those mentioned in this chapter were living in an atmosphere of oneness with God. Abraham, the oldest servant, Rebekah, Laban, Bethuel, and Isaac were all living in oneness with God (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Genesis. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1976, Print). 

In the rest of the chapter he covers all of these people and how they lived in practical oneness with God--it totally amazed me: 

1.  Abraham charged his servant by the Lord and told him that God was going to go before him – Genesis  24:2-3, 40 
2.  In Haran the servant prayed at the well for God to lead him to the right girl – Genesis 24:12-14
3. Rebekah was absolutely willing to marry Isaac – Genesis 24:57-58, 61
4. Laban & Bethuel realized everything was under God’s sovereignty  and were willing to let Rebekah marry Isaac– Genesis 24:50-51
5. Isaac was praying in the field when Rebekah arrived - Genesis 24:63

 What touches me is that all of these people were affected by Abraham’s life of fellowship with God, and through his prayer, everyone was brought into oneness with God’s will for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose.

You can  also listen to live excerpts from these messages on  Genesis on Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.  

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Genesis:

From the Life-Study of Genesis - What is the Focus of the Bible?
What Happened Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
Why Did God Create Man in Genesis 1:26?
Why Did God Create Man With 3 Parts in Genesis 2:7?
Why Did God Put Man in Front of the Two Trees in Genesis 2?
Seeing God's Purpose of Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
What is the Story Behind the Story of Cain & Abel?
What Did Enosh Learn to Do in Genesis 4:26?
How Did Enoch Escape Death in Genesis 5:24?
Why Did Noah Need to Find Grace in Genesis 6:8?
What Does the Rainbow Symbolize in Genesis 9:13?
How Did God Call Abraham in Genesis 12:1?
How Did God Fulfill the Birth of Isaac in Genesis 12:7?
What Does the Marriage of Isaac & Rebekah Show in Genesis 24?
How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?
Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?
Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Joseph
Why Did Jacob Call theTwo Altars in Genesis 33 & 35 By Different Names?
How Do the Stories of Jacob & Joseph Mirror God's Purpose in Genesis 1:26?
How Did Joseph's Dreams Really Get Fulfilled in Genesis 41?

Why Did God Create Man With 3 Parts in Genesis 2:7?

God made man with three parts.  Everyone knows that we have a body and a soul, but you don’t always hear about the third part.  But it’s right there in the Bible:
 

I took this last month when I went on a
hike with my family.

     Jehovah God formed man [body] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life  [spirit] and man became a living soul.    Genesis 2:7

   …and may your spirit and soul and body  be preserved  complete and without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Thessalonians 5:23

I have a really great study Bible, and one of the footnotes on Genesis 2:7 says the word “breath” in Hebrew is neshamah, the same word translated spirit in Proverbs 20:27, which says:  The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, searching all the innermost parts of the inner being.  So from these verses don't you think it's clear  that God’s breath formed a spirit inside of Adam?   Have you ever heard that before?  I know I didn't. 

   There's an amazing verse in Job 32:8 that talks about our spirit:  “But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.”  And here’s another one in Zechariah 12:1 that tells us that God created a spirit inside of us:  …Thus  declares Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.

In chapter 10 of the Life-Study of Genesis Witness Lee talks a lot about Genesis 2:7 and on page 127 he talks about how our spirit is like a receiver on a transistor radio:

 "God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life that man may have a spirit as the recipient for him to receive God and as an organ to contact God and the spiritual things (John 4:24; Rom. 1:9).  Within a transistor radio, there is a receiver....Likewise, our body is an outward container and within us is a spirit made by God as a receiver to receive God as the heavenly radio waves.  By means of this organ we may contact spiritual things….Although there are many radio waves in the atmosphere, we cannot substantiate them without a receiver.  Likewise, we cannot substantiate God without the proper receiver, our human spirit"  (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Genesis. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1974, Print).

    This chapter ends with him talking about why God created us with three parts. He mentions  that we're like a living bottle.  Throughout our lives we try to fill our bottles with different things in order to satisfy the deep hunger within us.  We may try different degrees, jobs, hobbies, and myriads of things to try to satisfy this feeling of emptiness.  We feel that way because God made us that way!  Our spirit is actually longing for God.  

    Society helps us to take care of our physical and psychological needs, but only God can satisfy the need in our spirit.  When we open our hearts to the Lord in prayer,  immediately He comes into our spirit.  It always touches me how simple this is.  But that’s not all.  Every day God wants us to contact Him so we can continually receive Him until we fully express Him.  

You can  also listen to live excerpts from these messages on  Genesis on Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.  

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Genesis:

From the Life-Study of Genesis - What is the Focus of the Bible?
What Happened Between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2?
Why Did God Create Man in Genesis 1:26?
Why Did God Create Man With 3 Parts in Genesis 2:7?
Why Did God Put Man in Front of the Two Trees in Genesis 2?
Seeing God's Purpose of Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
What is the Story Behind the Story of Cain & Abel?
What Did Enosh Learn to Do in Genesis 4:26?
How Did Enoch Escape Death in Genesis 5:24?
Why Did Noah Need to Find Grace in Genesis 6:8?
What Does the Rainbow Symbolize in Genesis 9:13?
How Did God Call Abraham in Genesis 12:1?
How Did God Fulfill the Birth of Isaac in Genesis 12:7?
What Does the Marriage of Isaac & Rebekah Show in Genesis 24?
How Does the Story of Jacob Show God's Selection in Genesis 25?
Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?
Seeing Our Spiritual Journey in the Lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Joseph
Why Did Jacob Call theTwo Altars in Genesis 33 & 35 By Different Names?
How Do the Stories of Jacob & Joseph Mirror God's Purpose in Genesis 1:26?
How Did Joseph's Dreams Really Get Fulfilled in Genesis 41?
How Did the Lord Shepherd Jacob in Genesis 45:18?