Joseph is introduced to us as a brash young man who for some reason is not able to develop healthy relationships with his family. The biblical author seems to suggest that his father’s favoritism plays a role in the poor relationship between Joseph and his brothers, but it also seems that Joseph has some poor social skills. Joseph is given a prophetic vision from God, but he then shares this vision in such a way as to create a wedge between his brothers and himself. Ultimately, this wedge leads to his brothers staging his mock death and selling him into slavery. Eventually God would take the situation and turn it to his will, but it would seem that God’s will could have been fulfilled with less heartache if Joseph had been less abrasive to his brothers.
I believe that God still speaks to us today. I believe that God calls us to speak prophetic words to the Christians around us. However, I believe that we are called to speak these words in such a way that our brothers and sisters in Christ will listen. Too often, the Christian who comes with a word from God presents this word in an objectionable way. If we are called to prophesy we need to be sure that we do it in a humble, loving, Christ-centered manner.
There is a reason that Paul gave instructions on how to prophesy (e.g. 1 Corinthians 14 et. al.); it is because the type of person that is most likely to be given a prophetic word is the type of person who must be careful in how they present that word. We must be sure that our personalities do not cover up the revelation of God.
Is there a way that Joseph could have presented his prophetic word that would not have caused his brothers to hate him? Maybe not. The passage does not say if the revelation from God was for Joseph alone or if he was supposed to share it with his brothers. If God had not instructed him to share this message then it might have been better for him to treasure the dreams in his heart.
Sometimes God does call us to share a message that will cause a negative reaction in the people around us. In these cases we need to be sure that we are absolutely following God’s leading and that we receive confirmation of this calling. If we believe that we are called to share a word that will hurt someone else, we need to take excessive pains to ensure that this really is God’s word. We need to seek out consultation; we need to seek out independent confirmation. If our prophecy is not verified we need to wait and treasure God’s word in our heart.
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