Sermon Tone Analysis

5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

7 For, ebehold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and fmade obeisance to my sheaf.

8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?

And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed?

Shall I and gthy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

7 For, ebehold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and fmade obeisance to my sheaf.

8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?

And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed?

Shall I and gthy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

This is the story of a man who had “A Servant’s Heart and a Dreamer’s Vision”

I think we can all agree when we think of Joseph, we probably know him best for being the “Joseph the Dreamer”, or “Joseph the Dream Interpreter”.

Reading about his life it should be easy for one to conclude that this man must have a true servant’s heart to endure the loss, gain, loss, and gain over and over again throughout his life.

Next he would be known for

Since small children all over the world are being taught about Joseph the Dreamer, I thought I would talk about his incredible vision and his servant’s heart.

Joseph was highly favored by his father at no fault of his own.

No doubt he lived a protected life under the watchful eye of Jacob/Israel during the years he lived under his father’s care.

Maybe he was assigned the easier chores, or was able to sleep in a little later than the others.

Surely the favoritism he was shown was not hidden from his family.

The coat of many colors might’ve been the straw that broke the camel’s back, I really don’t know how brothers could hate one of their own so badly that they would premeditate murder so openly amongst each other.

When we think of all the misfortune Joseph would endure because of his brother’s decision to get rid of him, I stop to wonder how bitterness didn’t overtake him.

When he told his family of the dream he had about them bowing down to him, I wonder if he felt prideful or did someone like Joseph experience sadness and concern for his family that would bring them to such a lowly place in their lives.

Part of me believes today that what kept him going when he was in the pit awaiting the sentence of brothers that hated him, when he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, when he was living out his sentence in a prison, what kept him going was that last dream he had of his brothers bowing before him.

I know this may be a little different way to look at Joseph’s life, but something had to keep him holding on.

I submit to you today that he had great vision that would carry him when simple dreams wouldn’t.

He saw in his mind that he would again meet his family.

It served as a reassurance from God that his life wouldn’t end in a lowly dungeon.

He had the vision to carry him through the sleepless nights.

He had the vision to carry him through the mistreatments.

It would carry him through moments of weakness, sickness, tiredness, blood and tears.

He allowed the dream to develop into a promise that was directly ordained by God.

He maintained a servant’s heart in spite of all the pain and agony he suffered.

He must’ve had vision that would carry not just him, but an entire nation on his shoulders, as he would become the savior of Israel in the Old Testament.

I’ve prayed for God to give me a servant’s heart plenty of times in my prayer before, but lately I’ve added the part about giving me the dreamer’s vision.

I need both when I can’t see the end of life’s road.

When I don’t see the results of my prayer.

When I only feel weariness and weakness.

When I’ve grown despondent and indifferent.

I need vision to carry me through these times.

I need a promise from God of better days to come that will carry me through the dark days.

I need to hold that promise before my mind’s eye until the vision begins to overtake me.

On my own I’m too weak, so I need the vision that only comes from God to carry me through!

SERVANTS FOR LIFE

In God’s sight, greatness is marked by a humble, servant’s heart

3.

The servant’s heart (3:12–13)

Exod.

21:5, 6

SERVANTS FOR LIFE

Even though we are not bound to follow the Old Testament slave laws today, they teach us practical principles to apply at home and at work.

They also provide wonderful pictures of our salvation in Christ.

The Book of the Covenant showed how a servant living with a bad master could be redeemed and go back home.

It also showed how a slave without any prospects could gain her freedom by marrying her master’s son.

These narratives ought to sound familiar because they are both part of the gospel story.

We were born as slaves to sin, tyrannized by the cruel mastery of the devil.

But when Christ was crucified, he paid the price to redeem us, and now we are free to go back home to God.

To tell the same story a different way, we were all alone, living without hope.

But when we came to God, he engaged us to marry his one and only Son.

Thus the Bible describes the Church as the bride of Christ.

We are married to the Master’s Son.

These are two examples of how the law of Moses points us to salvation in Christ.

But perhaps the most beautiful picture of the gospel comes from the law’s special provision for a slave who wanted to enter his master’s permanent service.

God said: “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges.

He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl.

Then he will be his servant for life” (Exod.

21:5, 6).

It must have been a remarkable occasion.

After six years of labor, a slave decided that rather than going free, he wanted to continue to serve his master.

Some masters might take advantage of this law by forcing their slaves to keep working.

In order to prevent this, there had to be a public ceremony.

First the slave went before the elders to make a formal declaration of his desire to keep serving.

The Bible literally says that the slave must be taken “before God,” meaning in this case his representatives among the spiritual leaders of the covenant community.

Today we would say that the slave made his declaration “before God and these witnesses.”

The declaration had to be emphatic.

The Hebrew idiom could be translated like this: “If the servant truly declares …” There could be no doubt as to the man’s intentions.

Once the servant had made his declaration, everyone went to the doorpost of the master’s house, where a sharp object was driven through the slave’s ear.

This was symbolic.

The ear is the most important part of a servant’s body.

He has to hear before he can obey.

By having his ear pierced, therefore, the servant was making a public commitment to do what his master said.

The doorpost was also symbolic.

Not only did it serve as a place for driving the awl, but it also showed that the servant was now attached to his master’s household.

The doorpost was marked with the blood of a covenant between master and slave.

This form of servitude was totally voluntary.

Anyone who saw the servant’s earring would know that he had chosen to serve.

But why would anyone make this choice?

What could persuade a man to renounce his freedom and remain bound to his master?

The answer is love.

The slave who had his ear pierced swore an oath of allegiance: “I love my master” (Exod.

21:5).

His servitude was not a form of tyranny, but a voluntary act of love.

This raises a further question: What kind of master would deserve so much love?

The master who deserved to be loved was a good master.

He took care of all his servant’s needs.

He was also a kind master, one who treated his servant like a friend.

And he was a generous master: He had his servant’s best interests at heart.

In a word, he was a loving master, and thus it was only natural for his servant to love him in return.

Rather than looking for freedom somewhere else, the servant had found it in his master’s house.