Genesis 42:8-9

New King James Version

So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the ^[a]nakedness of the land!”

For Meditation 

Their journey to the land of the Pharaoh did not go well for them at first. The lord of the land accused them of espionage and subjected them to vehement interrogation (Genesis 42:7-23). They came to buy food, but their story did not fly before the insistent Prime Minister of Egypt. What do they tell this towering authority of the greatest empire of the day to believe their story? Maybe their family story could receive his sympathy, so they said it all, but for one detail.

“Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more” (13).

And one is no more? Is that all they could say? They had disclosed the whereabouts of their youngest, so how about full disclosure of the story of the one who was no more? But how could they? How could they tell on themselves about their sordid adventure at Dothan(37:13-33)? They had lied about it to their father and buried the truth in their minds, so they maintained the lie before the only person who knew the truth—Joseph. How ironic!

As I thought through the line of interrogation, I wondered why nothing incited the brothers’ suspicion that their inquisitor could be Joseph. But how could they imagine that the man they sold into slavery had become the prince of Egypt? Impossible!

Joseph’s dreams had incensed them so much that they wanted him dead, and figuratively, they killed him and his dreams. The man before whom they stood and pleaded for their lives could in no way be Joseph. He dressed as Egyptian, spoke as Egyptian, and behaved as Egyptian. So, he is Egyptian and not a Jew. You see the effect of sin on the minds of wicked people. It numbs the conscience and robs them of the ability to recognize reality (1 Timothy 4:2).

The brothers of Joseph convinced themselves over the years that they had killed him and his dreams, but now they had to deal with their guilty consciences before his ‘ghost.’ What a nightmare their Egypt adventure turned to be!

Dream killers abound everywhere, but God’s power and authority shall always prevail to establish His purpose in the appointed beneficiaries of His favor. The protagonists of the believer’s wellbeing can do their worst to kill our dreams, but the Sovereign Lord, who decreed it before time began, will ride every storm and gale to establish it for His glory.

So, who tried to kill your dream this week, or who has canceled you from their mind? Take heart! If God has said it, you can take it to the bank because it will surely come to pass. It doesn’t matter what anybody thinks.

Have a pleasant weekend.