Joseph's Dreams
Notes
Transcript
Genesis 37
Genesis 37
Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
These are the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
In last weeks episode we saw Abraham being tested by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. We saw Gods provision through it all and through the same provision Isaac had a son named Jacob and Jacob had a son named Joseph. This leads us to where we are today in looking at Josephs dreams.
Joseph at this point in the story was the youngest son and he was also the favorite. His brothers hated him because of this. His father even made him a robe of many colors that went further to show the favoritism. Everything in Josephs life was good.
Joseph later began having these dreams that used imagery from that day and seemed symbolic to Joseph being over all of his brothers. As you can imagine they did not like him even more because of this. We see in the rest of the Chapter that Joseph goes to check on his brothers in the field and they end up selling him into slavery. They had so much hate in their heart for Joseph that they just wanted rid of him. They lied to their father and told him that Joseph was attacked by wild beast and died. Later though in Genesis we see Joseph rise to power in the land of Egypt because of dreams and a great famine came to all of the land. Because of Joseph’s leadership though Egypt was prepared to survive it and help other nations survive it. This story eventually climaxes with his brothers coming to Egypt and bowing down to Joseph as they sought food. This goes to fulfill the dreams that Joseph had in the beginning in the passage that we read. Joseph eventually reveals to his brothers who he is and when talking about them selling him he says this in Genesis 50.20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
All of this began with the dreams that God put in Josephs mind. He always had a plan and was in control every step of the way. His brothers meant evil against Joseph but God used that intention and turned it and used it to save the lives of the brothers and the rest of the family. God is the great provider and at times it must have seemed like all hope was lost but God’s plan never wavered. Sometimes in our own lives small seemingly insignificant things can all be apart of Gods plan. He is in control of everything. We are not all knowing, if Joseph would have known that telling his brothers about his dreams would have got him sold into slavery then he probably would have kept his mouth shut, he would have also starved with his family years later in the famine. Though life does not seem to always be going our way remember that God is in control and through his providence his will will be accomplished.
In the end of the story all of Josephs family, which become the people of Israel, move to Egypt and it is great until they get a new Pharaoh and they get enslaved. Next week we will look at the call of a man named Moses who will be the one to bring Israel up out of Egypt and lead them towards the promised land.