God gave Joseph a dream, and he dared to share it. Joseph spoke the truth; he shared what God had whispered to his heart as he slept. He shared his dreams.
Some say taunting arrogance, lack of discernment, and naivete led him to speak of his dreams. Some say he deserved the scolding from his father and even the harsh treatment he received from his brothers. Some say he never should’ve spoken of the mysteries revealed to him in the darkness.
Perhaps.
Perhaps if he’d just kept his mouth shut, thought before he spoke, put himself in his listeners’ shoes… maybe if he had just pondered the words in his heart without spilling it all out to his family. He could’ve avoided the pain of the next 13 years-slavery and imprisonment in a foreign land.
But as we witness the life of Joseph unfold, we see a young man who believed God.
Speaking of God’s work was a natural part of who Joseph was. He couldn’t stop speaking of what God was doing in his life.
He certainly didn’t hide from his own family what he learned from God. Surely family was the place to share his most intimate thoughts, his quirky dreams, his good news. Wouldn’t they want to know what God was up to in his life? Who else was he going to tell?
His message was true. The events he foretold eventually came to pass. But his willingness to trust his family with his dreams came with a price.
Joseph was misunderstood, rejected, and even hated. It wasn’t his own sin that led to Joseph’s slavery. His brothers chose to embrace murder in their hearts. Joseph wasn’t responsible for their hatred and he didn’t deserve their response.
But Joseph didn’t let their unfair treatment muzzle him. We later see him boldly proclaiming the truth of other dreams, even though he knew the listeners could’ve responded like his brothers with ridicule and harsh consequences.
He understood God was behind the dreams, and knowing that truth gave him the courage to speak up. As in the dreams of his youth, God had given him a message. And he couldn’t keep quiet.
