Genesis 37.5-11-Joseph's Two Prophetic Dreams
Sunday October 29, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 37:5-11-Joseph’s Two Prophetic Dreams
Lesson # 229
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 37:2.
This morning we will continue with our study of Genesis 37, which presents to us the story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers.
By way of review, we have noted the following in our study of this chapter:
Genesis 37:2 presented the account of Jacob’s sons as well as Joseph giving his father Jacob a slanderous report of his brothers.
Then, in Genesis 37:3a we studied the significance of the name Israel and noted that since the name “Israel” is divine in origin and was used in the context of Joseph’s brothers resenting him and selling him into slavery and Joseph ending up in Egypt, that these events in Joseph’s life were a manifestation of the providence of God.
We left off on Thursday evening noting Genesis 37:3-4, which presents to us the record of Jacob favoring Joseph over his other sons because he was the son of his old age, which led to Joseph’s brothers resenting him.
This morning we will study Genesis 37:5-11 where Joseph has two prophetic dreams, which he relates to his brothers resulting in their plotting to kill Joseph but instead sell him into slavery.
Genesis 37:2, “These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.”
Genesis 37:3, “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.”
Genesis 37:4, “His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.”
Genesis 37:5, “Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.”
Genesis 37:6-7, “He said to them, ‘Please listen to this dream which I have had; for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Genesis 37:8, “Then his brothers said to him, ‘Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?’ So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.”
Genesis 37:9, “Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, ‘Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.’”
Genesis 37:10, “He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, ‘What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?’”
Genesis 37:11, “His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.”
In the days of the patriarchs, dreams were a common means of divine communication and were of a prophetic nature, which Joseph’s brothers would be well aware of.
Joseph’s dream was a revelation from God and was prophetic in nature, revealing to Joseph not only his future but those of his brothers and father.
However, Joseph and his brothers, and his father did not grasp the significance of the dream until all the elements of the dream were fulfilled in time.
This is the fifth dream we have seen thus far in our studies of the book of Genesis (Abimelech-Genesis 20; Jacob-Genesis 28:12-15; Jacob-Genesis 31:10-12; Laban-Genesis 31:24).
In each of these four dreams, God spoke audibly to Abimelech, Jacob twice and Laban, however, God never speaks to Joseph in his dream and so his dream is the first in which God never speaks.
The dreams of Abimelech, Jacob and Laban were theophanies or Christophanies, which are theological terms used to refer to either a visible or auditory manifestation of the Son of God before His incarnation in Bethlehem.
In Abimelech’s dream, he received an auditory manifestation of the Son of God whereas Jacob received in his dream at Bethel both a visible and auditory manifestation of the Son of God and in his last dream, Jacob received only an auditory manifestation.
Therefore, Joseph’s dream forms a transition in the primary means by which God communicated with men from theophanies, which appear in Genesis 1-36 to divine providence as manifested in Genesis 37-50.
The fact that Joseph receives this divine revelation in a dream at the beginning of the story of his being sold into slavery by his brothers and ending up in Egypt reveals these things were decreed by God in eternity past so as to raise up the nation of Israel to represent Him and to bring the Savior into the world and to glorify Himself.
This dream at the beginning of Joseph’s ordeal reveal that God was in control of Joseph’s circumstances and that his being sold into slavery by his brothers and ending up in Egypt were due to the providence of God.
The providence of God is the divine outworking of the divine decree, the object being the final manifestation of God’s glory and expresses the fact that the world and our lives are not ruled by chance or fate but by God.
Therefore, Joseph’s two dreams, which appear in Genesis 37:5-11, are a revelation of God’s sovereign will for Joseph and his entire family.
Joseph’s two dreams, which are recorded in Genesis 37:5-11, predict his own career and the arrival of his entire family in Egypt to buy food and bow down to him as the prime minister of Egypt.
Both dreams speak of his family being under his authority at some point in the future, which was fulfilled when Joseph became prime minister of Egypt and his brothers unknowingly bowing down to him.
The doubling of the dream emphasizes that Joseph’s family will indeed bow down to Joseph and that the matter is firmly decided by God and will come to pass.
An isolated dream might be misinterpreted but two dreams with the same meaning confirm the interpretation.
Also, these dreams, which contain revelation from God about the future of Joseph’s family and himself served as a great encouragement to Joseph while he was incarcerated for thirteen years in Egypt.
In our day and age, the Scriptures, which are revelation from God concerning our future (See 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21), serve as encouragement to us when we go through adversity and underserved suffering in our lives.
Romans 15:4, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
The revelation from God that Joseph received in his two dreams constituted the “Word of God” for him whereas here in the church age, the Word of God appears in the original languages of Scripture.
Genesis 37:5, “Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.”
“They hated” means that Joseph’s brothers possessed in their souls an emotional attitude toward him, in which they abhorred, disdained or opposed him and desired to have no relationship with him or amiable reconciliation with him.
The statement “he (Joseph) told it to his brothers” implies that Joseph is bragging about this dream since in context, Joseph has already slandered his brothers to his father revealing a rivalry between Joseph and his brothers.
Also, indicating that Joseph is bragging here is that Joseph obviously knew that his brothers resented him already for their father favoring him over them and so to relate this dream to them would only serve to antagonize his brothers further.
Therefore, Joseph’s boasting about the two prophetic dreams was a sin on his part and contributed to his being sold into slavery by his brothers and then finally ending up in Egypt.
Joseph’s proud boasting of the dreams reveals his immaturity and is in direct contrast to his father’s reaction to the dreams, which is silent meditation upon them as recorded in Genesis 37:11.
The divine revelation that Joseph received from God in two dreams was given to him by God for his own edification and encouragement that God had a plan for his life and not so he could brag and intimidate his family.
The fact that these two dreams that Joseph had came to pass reveals that they were from God, however, Joseph’s use of this divine revelation was not ordained by God.
Genesis 37:6-7, “He said to them, ‘Please listen to this dream which I have had; for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Genesis 37:6-7 records Joseph’s first dream and was “agricultural” as indicated the binding of sheaves, which foreshadows the context in which Joseph’s brothers would bow down to him when he became prime minister of Egypt.
The first dream/prophecy recorded in Genesis 37:6-7 was fulfilled in stages: (1) Joseph’s brothers bowed once to honor him while he was prime minister of Egypt (See Genesis 42:6). (2) Joseph’s brothers bowed down twice to honor him while he was prime minister of Egypt (See Genesis 43:26, 28). (3) Joseph’s brothers throw themselves at Joseph’s feet (See Genesis 50:18).
Genesis 37:8, “Then his brothers said to him, ‘Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?’ So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.”
Joseph’s brothers understood clearly the meaning of the dream that Joseph would one day rule over them and they resented him even more than they already did.
The two rhetorical questions put forth by Joseph’s brothers express their sarcasm and contempt for Joseph.
Indirectly and unknowingly, Joseph’s brothers oppose the sovereign will of God since it was God the Holy Spirit who had given Joseph this revelation concerning his future and that of his father and brothers.
The terms “reign” and “rule” indicate that Joseph’s brothers understood his dream to mean that Joseph would reign over them as a monarch and would have dominion and rule over them.
This was fulfilled when Joseph became the prime minister of Egypt and ruled the entire world with the exception of Pharaoh (See Genesis 41:38-44; 45:8-26; Deuteronomy 33:16).
Furthermore, Joseph’s first dream reveals that God has chosen Joseph to receive the birthright meaning the rights of the firstborn and would receive the double portion of the inheritance since Jacob adopts Joseph’s two sons (See Genesis 48:5).
Joseph’s brothers did not hate him because of the way he communicated the dream to them but simply because of the content of the dream itself, which conveyed to them that Joseph their baby brother would rule over them.
Genesis 37:9, “Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, ‘Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.’”
Where the first dream was “agricultural,” the second, which appears in Genesis 37:9 is “celestial” and emphasizes the idea that is expressed in the first dream.
In the ancient world, astrological symbols such as the sun, moon and stars represented rulers and so therefore, Joseph’s second dream anticipated the elevation of Joseph as ruler over his entire family, which took place when he became prime minister and his family came under his authority.
The “sun” refers to Jacob, now Israel and the “moon” refers to Leah and not Rachel since the latter died while giving birth to Benjamin after Jacob left Bethel according to Genesis 35:19.
Rachel died when Joseph was six or seven years of age and the fact that he had this dream at seventeen years of age indicates clearly that she was already dead when Jacob lived in Hebron where Isaac his father sojourned according to a comparison of Genesis 37:1 with Genesis 35:27.
The “eleven stars” refers to Joseph’s brothers who would be Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali, and Benjamin.
This same image appears in Revelation 12:1 with the only difference being that in Joseph’s dreams there were eleven stars whereas in Revelation 12:1 there are twelve since Joseph is included among the stars in John’s vision.
Revelation 12:1, “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
The “sun” represents Jacob and the “moon” represents Rachel and Leah and the “crown of twelve stars” represents the 12 tribes of Israel that descended from Jacob’s twelve sons.
The “woman” represents the nation of Israel and the child represents the Lord Jesus Christ.
Genesis 37:10, “He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, ‘What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?’”
Jacob rebukes Joseph for his dream since he is said to have bowed down also to Joseph, which initially appeared to Joseph as an attack upon his authority as the father of the family.
Jacob’s rhetorical question expresses his disgust and that he initially did not consider Joseph’s dream as revelation from God but rather the boasting of a spoiled little brat.
Joseph’s brothers remain silent here because their father’s rebuke is sufficient for them.
Joseph’s brothers must have loved for him to be rebuked by their father and taking their side since Joseph was their father’s favorite.
“Your mother” refers to Leah since Rachel was dead at this point in Joseph’s life, which must have pleased Leah’s sons since Jacob favored Rachel over Leah while Rachel was alive.
Genesis 37:11, “His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.”
“Jealous” is the verb qana (anq) (kaw-naw), which is a mental attitude sin directed toward another, which is resentful, intolerant and suspicious of another’s success, possessions or relationships and is vigilant in maintaining or guarding something.
Joseph’s brothers were jealous of Joseph in the sense that they desired the position that God had ordained for Joseph in the dream.
They were resentful and intolerant and suspicious of Joseph and his success that was prophesied of him in Joseph’s dream.
They were also guarded over their position as the older brothers of Joseph and did not tolerate Joseph and considered him a rival.