Hear and Listen

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

HEAR AND LISTEN

Gen 37:5-11

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." 8 His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. 9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." 10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

NIV

Two dreams that were not from Joseph's mind, but from God's. They described what would happen in the lives of Joseph's brothers and his father. We know the story, but it is going to unfold to us as we continue with what was recorded for us to learn about God and his relationship with those men and women, which leads us and teaches us about His relationship with us, or we could say, our relationship with Him. Our lesson is not about what the dreams meant, but that God gave them to Joseph. Once again, we face the concept that God speaks to His people. This time he spoke to Joseph through dreams. He has spoken directly to others, as he did with Abraham, Isaac, Israel, and so many more. We think of the conversations he had with Adam and later with Moses. Throughout Scripture, we find the words, "This is what the sovereign Lord said." Because God spoke to Joseph in dreams, we can be certain that Joseph was not talking. This is the key to hearing from God: keep our mouths closed. It is difficult to hear his voice, especially if it is not in a great and powerful wind that can tear a mountain apart. His voice may not be in the wind, nor in an earthquake that shakes the ground around us, or in some flaming fire, but he can speak to us as a gentle whisper, as he did to Elijah. When he heard the Lord's gentle whisper, he pulled his cloak over his face. This gives us that truth about how we should respond to his voice, with complete humility covering our face, so to speak, meaning not talking, but listening. If the Lord asked us a question, we need to respond, but we cannot respond unless we first hear. All too often we babble on and on with all our needs. We might thank him, even praise him, but we are making so much noise that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to hear a still small voice, the gentle voice of God, as in the quietness of a gentle breeze. He wanted Joseph to be quiet enough, so he waited to speak to him while he was asleep. If we listen more than we talk, we will hear God's wisdom, His truth, His plan and direction for us. How often do we hear people talk without listening?  Hearing is not listening, so when we hear God's voice, let us listen.