Although God's people are positioned in heaven as the sun, the moon, and the stars, they are living on earth as sheaves (Phil. 3:20; 2:15), for sheaves grow in the field. Today we are the heavenly people living on earth.
We are God's people. I have been encouraged, strengthened, and edified by this. I have complete faith in you all, and I expect to see you all in the New Jerusalem. I like to have an eternal view, not the view from the earth. I do not want to view things according to my limited sight. Rather, I would use the divine telescope. If you say that the brothers and sisters are so bad, it means that you are extremely shortsighted. But if you use the divine telescope to see through time, you will behold the New Jerusalem where there is nothing but sheaves and stars. In the New Jerusalem there are no "gophers" or "scorpions." There, everything is full of life and light. When we consider Joseph's dreams, we realize that no human mind could have conceived the book of Genesis. Only God could have caused Joseph to have these dreams.
Although Joseph saw these two dreams, he still suffered the hatred and conspiracy of his brothers in that very chapter. Furthermore, in the following chapter we see Judah's lust. This indicates that actually the sons of Jacob were evil. Nevertheless, in the heavenly view they were not evil; they were sheaves full of life and stars full of light. The reason these two chapters are put together is so that we may have a contrast. In God's view the sons of Jacob are bright, but actually they are dark. In actuality they were sinful. Now we can understand why chapter thirty-eight follows chapter thirty-seven.
Although the sons of Jacob were sinful, Christ still came through them (38:27-30; Matt. 1:3). Out of the gross sin committed in chapter thirty-eight, two sons were born, the first of whom was a forefather of Christ. Pharez, mentioned in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1, was one of Christ's forefathers. According to the holy word of Scripture, Christ came through the sinful sons of Jacob. It is similar to David's sin with Bathsheba. The issue of that sin was Solomon, who was also a forefather of Christ, one through whom Christ came (Matt. 1:6).
Do not believe that the church is not good, and do not complain against the saints or say that they are "scorpions." Out of a seemingly hopeless church, full of saints who, in your eyes, are "scorpions," Christ will come forth. However, this does not mean that we should do evil that good may come. Rather, it is a testimony of God's sovereign grace. Whether the believers are good or bad, we must be careful not to speak against them. If we do, God will say, "I do not see any iniquity or perverseness among them. My Christ will come through them. Don't you condemn them." We all need such a heavenly vision.
The mature life has a reigning aspect. The more mature in life you become, the less you will speak negatively concerning the saints or the church. When we came into the church, we had a church-life honeymoon. The honeymoon, however, never lasts very long. After your church-life honeymoon has ended, you may say, "I thought the church would be so good. But actually it is not good at all. If I could find something better, I would certainly not stay here. But, sorry to say, I cannot find anything better. However, I'm still looking. I may even go somewhere to start something on my own. Regardless of what I do, the church here is certainly not very good." Whenever you speak like this, you will suffer death. But one day the heavenly dream will come, and your view will be revolutionized. You will realize that you dare not say anything negative concerning the church or the saints. On the contrary, you will say, "This is the church, and this is God's people. In God's eyes the believers are all sheaves. They are also the sun, the moon, and the stars." When you come to this stage, you will not dare to say anything negative about the church.
After seeing such a vision, I have nevertheless said at times, "Yes, I have seen that the church is wonderful. But actually it is not so." In saying this, the "tail" was exposed. Even this "tail" caused me to suffer death. Eventually, I was completely subdued and convinced, and I said, "Lord, I forget my short sight and use the divine telescope. The church is excellent, marvelous, and wonderful. There is nothing wrong with the church. It is perfect and complete." When I speak like this, I am full of life and I enjoy life. To me, every brother and sister is wonderful, and I love them all, including the backsliders. The more I speak this way about the brothers and sisters, the more I am full of life. I believe many of us have experienced this. We are not the ones to judge. God is the Judge. And He is not judging the saints; He is working on them to transform the "scorpions" into sheaves and the "gophers" into stars. Eventually, we all shall be sheaves and stars. May we all have this eternal view.
Eventually, all Joseph's people will be under his reign (37:8). Joseph signifies the reigning aspect of the mature life. Only the mature life can reign, just as Christ reigns over the Jews (Matt. 27:11; John 19:19).