Pablum or Dreams

A series on God’s calling: Joseph, son of Jacob
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 37:1-11; 42:6-9; 45:1-8 

[Traditionally we think of someone who has received “God’s call on their life” as being a missionary or pastor or some other paid ministry position. But God has called all of us into ministry. And there’s not just one way that He does it. In this series, we will look at how God called people in the Bible to ministry, and what that means to us.]

  

Being the youngest of four, I was very spoiled. Nowhere was that more apparent than at the dinner table. If I didn’t like what we were eating, I’d ask Mom to fix some Pablum for me. And she would oblige me, even until I was eight years old!

 

As an adult, this became a problem because my siblings teased me mercilessly every time we got together. After years of them poking fun, I decided to go on the offense by accusing them of being jealous, even if they weren’t. Joseph, the son of Jacob, had a much more serious problem with jealous siblings.

 

Like myself, Joseph received special treatment from a parent. In his case, it was his father, Jacob. One time Jacob had an expensive robe made for Joseph as a special gift – the “coat of many colors”. His brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more.

 

Joseph also had a unique gift from God. That is, God spoke to him through dreams. Sometimes they were his own dreams. But other times they were the dreams of another person, and he would interpret them.

 

As an immature seventeen-year-old who was full of himself, he didn’t seem to recognize that God was speaking to him through his dreams. Instead, he used them as a way to boast, or even provoke his brothers – which it did.

 

One day Joseph’s brothers were out watching the flocks when they saw him approaching them in the distance. At first, they plotted to kill him, but later decided it would be more advantageous to sell him to a caravan of traders going to Egypt.

 

Despite their evil intentions, God was with Joseph in Egypt. It didn’t matter if he was a slave of Potiphar who had bought him; or a prisoner due to false accusations; or in the presence of Pharoah when Joseph interpreted his dreams. God blessed Joseph in all he did.

 

The result was that Pharoah placed Joseph in charge of managing the whole land during a season of prosperity, followed by a severe drought. It was during the drought that his brothers came to him for food. Not recognizing Joseph, they bowed down to him. And he remembered his dream from twenty years before.

 

With all the adversity that he had faced, Joseph could easily have become a very bitter man, and seen this as the perfect opportunity for revenge. Instead, when he finally disclosed his identity to his brothers, he forgave them. And as he wept, he explained how God had been in control during the whole time.

 

^4b “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you”.   NIV    Genesis 45

 

Joseph realized that God had always been with him and had been working in his life to draw him closer. In fact, God had been calling Joseph to be his servant since his youth through dreams. Joseph had finally understood and fulfilled his call.

 

God isn’t limited in how he calls us into his service. His only limitation is our own shortcomings. How is God calling you into his service? With Pablum or dreams? Or some other means?

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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Pablum: It's Special

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 37:1-11

 [In this series, we will be looking at people in the Bible who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but the metaphorical wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is still with you.]

 

Oftentimes, the baby of the family gets spoiled rotten. I know this from personal experience because I… am the baby of my family. Not only was I spoiled, but in many ways, I was the favorite; or at least my Mom favored me. Whatever I asked for, I got.

 

My siblings observed this special treatment firsthand. To this day, every time we get together, they will bring up how Mom prepared Pablum for me until I was about eight years old. They’re just jealous of course. Not because they wanted Pablum, but because I got special treatment.

 

In Genesis, we read that Joseph was favored by his Father, Jacob. Like me, Joseph got special treatment such as, the “coat of many colors”. This robe was a constant reminder to his brothers of just how much their Father loved Joseph more than them.

 

In addition, Joseph didn’t do himself any favors to endear himself to his brothers. First, he would bring bad reports to his Father regarding them. Secondly, he told his brothers about a dream that he had. In that dream, Joseph’s brothers bowed down to him. Needless to say, they resented him even more.

 

Finally, Jacob sent Joseph to find his brothers and report on their behavior while they were tending the sheep. When he did find them, they hatched a plot to kill him. Instead, they decided to sell him to the Midianites, who then took Joseph to Egypt where he was sold as a slave to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh.

 

In some ways, Joseph lived in two different wildernesses. One was growing up in a family where his brothers resented him to the point of wanting to kill him. The second was living in Egypt, away from his family and home.

 

But the Lord was at work through all of it; He had a plan. That plan was revealed when Joseph spoke these words to his brothers when they came to him during a famine, bowing down, and asking for food.

 

²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.    Genesis 50:20 NIV

 

Thankfully, my siblings never treated me like Joseph’s did. Regardless, I have lived in my share of wildernesses; some of my own making and some not. Looking back, I can see how the Lord has been at work in my life through all of them

 

Regardless of how your wildernesses have come about, take comfort in the fact that the Lord has a plan; that He loves you; and that He is always with you.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams