The dreamer, Joseph, is the next person to play a strategic role in God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And what was that promise? Let’s return to Genesis 12, where God chose Abram and called him to leave Haran for the land He would give him and his posterity. Here’s the promise to Abram that his great-great-grandson Joseph will be instrumental in preserving.
“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; your name will be great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”Genesis 12:2-3.
Joseph was born in Haran while his father, Jacob, worked for Laban. God has blessed Jacob, and after twenty years of service enriching Laban God tells Jacob it’s time to return to his homeland. As we saw in Genesis 35, God peacefully reunites Jacob with Esau and he returns safely to his father with his large family and wealth. Scholars estimate Joseph to be about six or seven years old when this happened.
Joseph’s mother, Rachel, and grandfather, Isaac die after his family settles in Canaan. At the close of Genesis 35, we see Esau and Jacob bury their father; he was 180 years old.
We pick up the dreamer’s story in Genesis 37:2 where he is doing the family business. “Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers…”
Joseph’s story is likely one of the most beloved and well-known in the entire Bible, it certainly is one of my favorites. From our early years, we’ve heard that Jacob favored him above all his sons and provided him with a “coat of many colors.” This favoritism was not lost on his brothers and may explain, but not excuse, how they treat him.
Fourteen chapters, 37-50, are given to the “adventures” of Joseph. This is almost as much coverage given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob combined! You will see why this is as we delve into what happens to him and how he becomes a major instrument in God’s promise to bless all nations through the lineage of Abraham.
Joseph was a dreamer. Later in the story, we will discover how God will use his ability to interpret dreams to save his people. Let’s begin by seeing how this gift sets him up for serious trouble with these brothers who hate him.
Joseph is seventeen and is aware of his favored status with his father. Looking at how he handled his position, a case could be made that he was cocky, a “smart alec” around his brothers. They already hated him for the favoritism given to him by their father. Besides the existing animosity, Joseph’s two dreams ratcheted up their disdain for him.
What were the dreams about? Let’s see what Genesis 37:5-12 says :
“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, ‘ Listen to this dream I had: we were binding sheaves of grain in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.'” Genesis 37:5-7
The meaning of this dream was abundantly clear to his brothers. “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” Genesis 37:8. Their anger and hatred grow stronger.
Let’s not “get lost in the weeds” when we think about what is going on here. I don’t think Joseph had any concrete idea of how this dream will play out. He surely understood the dream was from God and in some way he would rule over his brothers. While we could accuse Joseph of arrogance, maybe enjoying seeing his brothers squirm when they heard his dream, the brothers got lost in their hatred for him. This dream, and the one to follow, is about the role Joseph will play in God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
What is Joseph’s second dream and how is it connected to the first? Genesis 37: 9 gives us the answer.
“Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers, ‘Listen, he said, I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.'”
The meaning of this dream is essentially the same as the first. Joseph is going to rule over the brothers, as well as his parents. The second dream confirms the first. There will come a time when Joseph’s family will bow to him. Jacob rebukes Joseph when he is told the dream but doesn’t dismiss it entirely. ” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.” Genesis 37:11.
His father “kept the matter in mind.” This reminds me of Mary’s response after the shepherds worshipped the Christ Child in the manger, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19. Jacob, the recipient of God’s promise, understands the meaning of the dream but has no idea it is connected to the promise. His experiences with God tell him something important is in the works, He has to trust God and see what He will do.
These dreams exemplify God’s foreknowledge and His loving plan to work in our circumstances to make good come from bad things that happen to us. God kept His promise to Abraham and will keep all His promises to you and me.
“God works in everything for good to those who love Him and are called to His purpose.” Romans 8:28