While Joseph’s brothers were drowning in the water of human anger, Joseph, representing the reigning aspect of a mature life, lived as a sheaf of life and emerged from the death water of human anger. Witness Lee, Life-Study of Genesis
In Genesis 37-39 we see that, while Joseph’s brothers were drowning in the water of human anger and lust, Joseph lived as a sheaf of life and shined as a star of light.
The Bible doesn’t say anywhere that Joseph remembered the dreams and he “did his best to live according to what he dreamed”, but we can clearly see that his life and behavior were guided and governed by the two dreams he saw when he was young.
He might have thought that his brothers are so bad and he is so good, but God clearly showed him that both him and his brothers – in God’s eyes – are sheaves of wheat full of life and heavenly bodies shining with light.
Realizing what he is, Joseph lived and behaved accordingly. His older brothers hated him and were swallowed up in anger, almost killing him, but Joseph was not angry but lived as a sheaf full of life and emerged from the death water of human anger (see Gen. 37:18).
His older brother Judah behaved in a blind way and indulged in his lust in darkness (Gen. 38:15-18), but Joseph lived as a star of light and overcame his lust based on the realization of what he is (Gen. 39:7-12).
Actually, if you read the life of Joseph as described in Genesis and the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens in Matt. 5-7, you will clearly see that Joseph lived the kind of life described by the Lord Jesus.
We today are the kingdom people having God’s life in us, and we need to live a life that is higher than the standard of the law in the Old Testament – we need to live a life according to the highest requirements of the kingdom of the heavens.
According to the constitution of the heavenly kingdom, our anger must be subdued and our lust must be conquered (Matt. 5:21-32), and this is possible only when we have a clear vision that we are children of the King, we are heavenly people and citizens of the kingdom of God.
When we realize that we are kingdom people living the kingdom life in the church life, we will cooperate with God’s life within us to be trained to be kings like Joseph, reigning in life by living Christ as the reigning aspect of the mature life.
Joseph Lived as a Sheaf of Life and Shined as a Star of Light
In Gen. 39 Joseph was put in a situation in which his master’s wife was trying to seduce him and “lie with him”. Even though Joseph was a young single man, he rejected the temptation and overcame it.
While his older brother Judah behaved in a blind way and indulged in his lust in darkness, committing fornication with his daughter-in-law (Gen. 38:15-18), Joseph lived as a star of light and overcame his lust (Gen. 39:7-12).
Joseph must have been governed by the dreams he saw when he was young, realizing that he is a sheaf full of life and a star shining with light, and he did not make any compromise; he didn’t lie with his master’s wife, and he was not angry at his brothers.
Joseph’s brothers were drowning in the water of human anger, hating their brother and conspiring to kill him, but Joseph overcame anger by living as a sheaf of life.
Joseph wasn’t just a dreamer: he was one who practiced living under the heavenly dreams he saw when he was young.
We all have lust and anger in our being – these are in our flesh. Simply by being a man we get angry at others (sometimes for a very small thing) and there’s lust in our being. The only way to overcome the anger and the lust in our being is by being subdued, controlled, and directed by the vision.
The vision of being persons filled with God’s life and shining out God’s light is a powerful “brake” for our spiritual car.
We are heavenly people living a heavenly life on earth, and we are human beings having God’s life in us to express God and represent God. We cannot and should not compromise by getting angry at others or by giving in to the lust of the flesh.
May we be those who are not only dreamers but also those who practice and live out what we see in the heavenly dream. May we not be like the rest, sinking in the death water of anger and indulging in our lust in darkness, but may we live as a sheaf of life expressing Christ and as a star of light shining out God to the ones around us.
Lord Jesus, save us from being like the ones around us, drowning in the water of human anger. Lord, we want to enjoy You as the reigning aspect of the mature life and live by You to be a sheaf of life emerging from the death water of the human anger. Lord, save us from behaving blindly like the rest, indulging in our lust in darkness; we want to live as a star of light by turning to You and overcoming our lust to shine You out to the ones around us!
We’re Being Trained to be Kings, those Reigning in Life by Living the Kingdom Life in the Church Life
We are being trained to be kings, those reigning in life by living the kingdom life in the church life.
As believers in Christ we are citizens of the kingdom of God, kingdom people living in the church life as the kingdom life today. Just like Joseph, we are being trained – both by God’s operating in the environment and by our cooperating with the divine life inwardly – to be kings ruling for God.
As kingdom people in the kingdom life, we are being trained to be like Joseph, those manifesting the reigning aspect of the mature life. According to the constitution of the heavenly kingdom revealed in Matthew 5-7, our anger must be subdued and our lust must be conquered (Matt. 5:21-32).
When the Lord Jesus, the King of the kingdom of God, came to bring in the kingdom, He uplifted the law and said concerning anger, Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to the judgement (Matt. 5:22), and concerning lust, Everyone who looks at a woman in order to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5:28).
No one can live according to these high requirements or fulfill them, but we as the children of the heavenly Father can, because His life in us can do this (see Matt. 5:48). I was helped very much by the footnote on Matt. 5:48 in the Holy Bible Recovery Version,
For the kingdom people to be perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect means that they are perfect in His love. They are the Father’s children, having the Father’s divine life and divine nature. Hence, they can be perfect as their Father is. The demand of the new law of the kingdom is much higher than the requirement of the law of the old dispensation. This higher demand can be met only by the Father’s divine life, not by the natural life. The kingdom of the heavens is the highest demand, and the divine life of the Father is the highest supply to meet that demand. First, the gospel presents in the Gospel of Matthew the kingdom of the heavens as the highest demand, and last, it affords us in the Gospel of John the divine life of the heavenly Father as the highest supply, by which we can have the highest living of the kingdom of the heavens. The demand of the new law of the kingdom in chs. 5-7 is actually the expression of the new life, the divine life, which is within the regenerated kingdom people. This demand opens up the inner being of the regenerated people, showing them that they are able to attain to such a high level and to have such a high living.
May we be those to cooperate with the Lord as He is training us to be kings, those experiencing Christ as the reigning aspect of the mature life. May we allow the Lord to subdue us and reign in us inwardly, and may we cooperate with Him by rejecting our anger and condemning our lust.
As kingdom people we have the life of the King in us, and as Christ is being constituted into our being, He in us prepares us to reign as kings.
On our side, we cooperate by exercising our spirit to reject our anger and condemn our lust, and on His side, God brings about the environment and the situation to train us to reign in life by experiencing Christ as the reigning aspect of the mature life.
We need to have the dreams of Joseph: we need to be those having the proper view and attitude toward God’s people as sheaves of life and stars of light, so that we can be built up together as Bethel, the house of God, the fulfillment of the dream of Jacob.
Don’t think you know “the real situation” and you are “clear about everything that’s going on”; rather, come to the Lord again and again to be infused and transfused with Joseph’s dreams, allowing them to control your living and walk as Christians and members of the Body of Christ.
Lord Jesus, make us willing to be trained to become kings, the Josephs of today, those who manifest the reigning aspect of the mature life. Lord, keep us enjoying You and growing in life until You are constituted into us in full to be the One reigning in us. We want to cooperate with Your training by being willing to subdue our anger and conquer our lust. Lord, make us the kingdom people who live the kingdom life in the church life today by exercising to rule over our anger and lust! Gain the Josephs of today in the church life, those who cooperate with Your life within them to rule for You!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. James Lee’s sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Genesis (msg. 111), as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Genesis (3), week 7 / msg 7, The Life of Joseph as a Copy of the life of Christ and Living as a Sheaf of Life and as a Star of Light.
- Similar sharing with portions in the ministry: see Daniel 7:14 Christian Pictures Blog.
- Hymns on this topic:
# But flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, / faith, love, and peace. / Whatever you do, / do in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. / And pursue with those, / Those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (Song on Fleeing Youthful Lusts)
# Oh, trust thyself to Jesus / When tempted to transgress, / By word or look of anger, / Or thought of bitterness: / Then is the hour for claiming / Thy Lord to fight for thee: / Then is the time for singing, / He doth deliver me. (Hymns #646)
# God’s Kingdom today is a real exercise, / But when Christ comes to reign it will be a great prize; / It is wisdom divine that we now may be trained / That His plan be fulfilled and His justice maintained. (Hymns #947)
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