JOSEPH, MOSES and JOSHUA
John 11:25 “I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in Me will never dies. Do you believe this?”
1) Joseph was given dreams that he saw the sheaves of his brothers bowing down to the sheaf he had bound, and that the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. (Gn 37:5-36). And for sharing his dreams, his brothers sold him to Egypt where he worked as a slave in Potiphar’s house and ended up in jail because of Potiphar’s wife. Now, as a man, you would have to accept that those dreams of yesteryear are but dreams. You are sold to Egypt and you are now in an Egyptian jail – There is no way that you could do anything great enough, that your brothers and your father would come bowing down to you. Those dreams were dead, but that’s exactly what happened – Through the interpretation of dreams of others – the cup bearer of Pharaoh and the Pharaoh’s two dreams – Joseph became the 2nd most powerful man in Egypt and in the times of the famine – His brothers and even his father came under his care and mercy. (Gn 45,46)
2) Moses, when he grew up, expressed his desire to be a liberator of his people, when in Exodus 2:11 he killed an Egyptian to help one of his people who was being beaten up. However, for that murder, he became a fugitive in the desert for 40 years as a shepherd before the Lord called him to deliver Israel out of Egypt…. At 80 years of age, armed with a wooden stick. Moses saw the fulfilment of his hopes – as the waters of the red sea fell in on the Egyptian’s army and drowned them. When Moses killed the Egyptian in Exodus 2:11, he hid him in the sand – now even that was raised up by God – and the Egyptians that were killed were hidden by the sea.
3) Joshua, as a young man, when he explored the land of Canaan – he had the vision that the land could be taken with God’s help. Joshua 14:7 The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us….” That was not to be, as Israel disbelieved God and his generation spent 40 years perishing in the desert – but when they were all gone, Joshua and Caleb [but Joshua in particular] was used to lead Israel, the 2nd generation from Egypt into the promised land, and he conquered 31 kingdoms in 33 years after 40 years of wandering in the desert.
Joshua in particular, holds a peculiar lesson for us – as a man who learned from his mistakes – when he was defeated at Ai, he realised he had not done at Ai the pattern that God showed him at Jericho – bring out the entire army. You will find he never made that mistake again. He also realised that he did not know the law of God well enough and so in Joshua 8:32 There in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua copied on stones the laws of Moses, which he had written….in fulfilment of the law of Deut 17:18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. – But more than that, as he wrote it on stones, Joshua copied Moses, for Moses was the only man who had written God’s words on stone….
His willingness to learn from his mistake and his mentor Moses, earned him a place in Israel’s history and the history of the world, when God listened to him and stopped the sun and moon for a full day at Gibeon in Joshua 10:12-14.
In the lives of these men, we see not restoration, but resurrection of dreams, hopes and visions. Resurrection, because what they each finally did end up doing was far greater than what they originally had. ….. Likewise now – in Jesus Christ, who is The Resurrection and The Life – the dreams, hopes and visions of Jesus for His Church will be resurrected. Jesus had dreams, hopes and visions – even plans – that the church would disciple all nations and baptise the nations into His Name. – That His gospel would be preached to all creatures and creation, with signs following – which those who would believe in Him would do the things He had done and also do the greater things. – As surely as Joseph, Moses and Jacob experienced the resurrection of their dreams, hopes and visions in their lifetime; so we, the church, the body of Christ, will experience the resurrection of the days when the church had the power to heal all the sick, drive out all the demons – and as in any resurrection – that which is resurrected is always far greater. It may be 2000 years since the church experienced the power of the Holy Spirit as described in Acts 2,3,4,5,6 & 7 – but be assured, as you put your faith into the Lord, Who is The Resurrection and The Life – your own eyes will see these manifestations – even today.
AMEN HOLY SPIRIT
