The Occasion

Joseph was the second youngest son of Jacob through his wife Rachel whom he loved. He was favored by his father who gave him a special tunic of many colors. His brothers were jealous of him. At seventeen, Joseph was feeding the flock with his brothers and he had two dreams which caused his brothers to hate him even more.

The Dream

First dream: “There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” (Genesis 37:7) Second dream: “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” (Genesis 37:9)

The Interpretation

These were not directional dreams; they were a foretelling of future events. Joseph’s eleven brothers caught the significance at once and when his father Jacob heard the second dream he also fully understood the meaning.

To the first dream, the brothers responded; “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” (Verse 8) To the second dream Jacob said; “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall our mother and I and your brothers indeed dome to bow down to the earth before you?” (Verse 10)

The time would come when these things happened. Joseph would rise to a position of second in command under the Pharaoh in Egypt. His brothers and indeed even his father would submit to his authority and they did bow down to him.

The Lesson

Joseph had a special gift of dream interpretation and that would serve him well after he was sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers. However, as a seventeen year old, he did not yet have a very well developed sense of wisdom. He should have kept these dreams to himself and quietly watched to see what God would do.

Having a prophetic dream does not mean we have to publicly proclaim it. This is a big mistake that some prophetic people make. Sometimes God gives us information that he just wants us to set on a shelf. He watches to see if we are trustworthy with the information he gives us. Joseph eventually grew to great maturity but he did so through great suffering.

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