(1) Joseph the dreamer.
Genesis 37:1-11
Sheaves of the Field and Stars of the Sky
Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Cor.10:11
And God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years” (Genesis 15:13)
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The events of chapter 42 of Genesis is the occasion for the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and also the fulfillment of the dreams of Joseph mentioned in Gen. 37: 6-7.
In Genesis 42 we learn that the famine predicted in Genesis 41:26-31 by Joseph had created an international disaster. People from the surrounding nations heard that Egypt alone had provisions enough to survive the famine that had ravaged the Near Eastern world. And who should arrive to buy bread but Joseph’s brothers Can you imagine the thoughts that would go through the mind of someone in Joseph’s position?
While the famine was said to be world-wide (41:57), it was particularly intended to be the cause of Jacob’s family going down into Egypt where they would remain for more than 400 years, thus fulfilling the promise given to Abraham.
Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die.” Then ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm may befall him.” So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also. Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers come and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food” (Genesis 42:1-7).
The scene in Canaan is almost amusing. The brothers of Joseph stand in the presence of their father, deeply distressed by the fact that their food supply is nearly depleted, and there is no hope of replenishing it so long as the famine persists. Jacob, aware of the availability of grain in Egypt, prodded his sons into action with the rebuke, “Don’t just stand there, go down to Egypt and get some grain.”
Jacob’s partiality toward the sons of Rachel is still very obvious. While the other ten sons were sent to Egypt, Benjamin was kept near, under the watchful eye of his father (42: 4). It could not have been because Benjamin was too young, for he had to have been in his twenties by now. At the age of 17 Joseph had been sent a considerable distance from home to check on his brothers (37:2, 12). Perhaps the circumstances of Joseph’s disappearance were too suspect for Jacob to take another chance by leaving Benjamin in the care of his other brothers.
The ten brothers arrived in Egypt along with many others to buy grain from Joseph. Without realizing they were fulfilling the prophecy of Joseph’s two dreams years before (37:6-11), his brothers bowed low before him, expressing the respect due to one of such high office. How tempting for Joseph to ask them to bow just a little lower or perhaps to do so just one more time. How easy it would have been to bask in the honor and power which was now his. But all we are told is that Joseph recognized these men as his brothers, yet his identity was not known to them. More than twenty years, along with a clean-shaven face, Egyptian clothing, customs, and language, precluded any thought that this potentate might be their brother. He had, after all, been sold as a slave.
From verse 42: 7 alone we might be inclined to think that Joseph was being harsh with his brothers out of a spirit of vengeance. Certainly this would be the normal reaction of anyone as mistreated as Joseph had been by his brothers. His severity, however, was a “disguise” (verse 7), an effort to keep his identity a secret. Character, someone has said, is what we are in the dark, and Joseph was keeping his brothers “in the dark” until their character could be determined.
The key to Joseph’s actions is found in the next two verses. Here we gain an appreciation for Joseph’s motives and methods in dealing with his brothers:
Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them ….” (Genesis 42:8-9).
God has turned the tables on Joseph’s brothers. Because they once harmed him to prevent the fulfillment of his dreams (37:20), they will now bow down to him, fulfilling those very dreams.
Years earlier, Joseph had journeyed from Canaan as a slave; now Joseph’s brothers make the same journey because of hunger (42:1-5). For silver, they sold Joseph to merchants traveling toward Egypt; now they have come to Egypt to buy grain with silver. Those who plotted to kill him now are sent to buy food so they themselves “might not die” (42:3). In the process, they end up bowing before him (42:6), unwittingly fulfilling his dreams (37:7, 11; 42:9) that they once wished to silence (37:20)
Far more is meant by verse 9 than that Joseph merely remembered his dreams about his brothers and recognized their fulfillment in their bowing down to him. All this would have done would have been to puff up his pride. Joseph not only realized the fulfillment of his dreams but also the reason for them. He saw that God had a purpose for placing him in his position of power, and this purpose was for him to function as the family head, protecting and preserving his family. He had great power and prestige, but God had given these to him for a purpose much greater than merely to seek revenge. He saw that leadership involved power, but that it also brought upon him the weight of responsibility. At times the greatest need is not to be aware of the power at our disposal, but of the purpose for which this power has been given.
I need to digress for just a moment to show how our character affects our understanding and application of the Word of God. It has been observed by saints and sinners for centuries that “you can make the Bible say anything you want.” Like it or not, this is true. Think of what Joseph could have made of his dream. This was a message from God! If he had been dominated by bitterness and hatred, Joseph could have viewed his vision as a mandate from God to make life miserable for his brothers. Hadn’t God revealed to him that his brothers would bow down to him? He could have rubbed their proverbial noses in the dirt and given them a proof text for it, had he wished. It is alarmingly possible for us to justify sinful actions with biblical texts if we choose to, but this will always be at the expense of other clear passages which we have chosen to ignore. To understand what is happening here we have to go back to where it all started. Gen 37 introduces us to the story of Joseph.
After focussing on Esau's line in Gen 36, the narrative returns to Jacob's family, this time, moving on to his son, Joseph. In verse 1, we are told that unlike Esau who settled in Seir, Jacob settled in Canaan, the land of his father's sojournings. Two sons, two places.
Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. (NKJV)
In the previous chapter, we saw Esau’s move from Canaan to Seir. This verse then is to remind us that Jacob is the son of promise and the one who has remained in Canaan. Here it says that he “dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger.”
While Esau’s line had moved to and possessed the land where they lived, the son of the promised line is still living as a stranger. It will be several hundred years before the Israelites will possess the land of Canaan as the sons of Esau did in their own land. After the death of Abraham, it was Isaac who was noted, just as Jacob is now –
“And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.” Genesis 25:11
The Bible is reminding us of who is in the covenant line and that God’s plans are being worked out through this line. These men, dwelling in tents as pilgrims, are noted to show that they were waiting on an eternal inheritance.
At the beginning of the story Joseph and his family were living near Hebron. This is just east of the Salt Sea and south of modern day Jerusalem.
Rachel and Leah were in a struggle over who would be loved most by Jacob. Both desperately desired to bear children for their husband. After Leah had already born several God finally opened up Rachel’s womb and she gave birth to Joseph. This was while Jacob was still with Laban.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers.
And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives;
The sons of Bilhah and Zilpah were Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
The story of Joseph proper begins with chapter 37 and continues until his death in chapter 50.
In his first dream he said “Listen to this dream I had: There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” Gen, 37:6-7”
In his second dream, Joseph sees the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing down to his star. Again the symbolism is obvious. The sun and moon represent Jacob and Leah (Rachel has already died), and the eleven stars represent the eleven brothers. The dream, then, pictures the whole family constellation bowing down to Joseph.
Joseph describes this dream, not only to his brothers, but also to Jacob. Even Jacob, who loves Joseph above all his sons, is deeply offended by Joseph’s dream. He rebukes Joseph for suggesting that he (Jacob) would have to bow down to Joseph. (We have no account of Jacob ever bowing down to Joseph, but Joseph will clearly have the power of life or death over Jacob and his brothers when he comes to power in Egypt.)
The Joseph story has clear echoes back to the Cain and Abel story at the beginning of Genesis. Genesis 4 tells the story of one brother favored over another, the resulting jealousy, and the vengeful murder of one brother by another. At the end of Genesis, Joseph's life story offers an alternative possibility that interrupts the spiral of envy and violence that plagues humanity's story in Genesis (Genesis 4:8, 23; 6:11, 13; 12:12; 14:1-16; 20:11; 26:7; 27:41; 32:11; 34:2, 25-31; 37:18).
In these verses we realise that the covenant family, the family through which God seeks to carry out his redemption plan, was characterised by favoritism, jealousy and hatred. Conflict was rife.
Joseph is one of the most inspiring characters in the whole of Scripture. Unlike his often-erring father, Jacob, the errors and mistakes of Joseph are so insignificant as to remain unrecorded. He was one of the few people who were able to maintain their spiritual poise at the peak of success as well as in the midst of trouble. Even though his tremendous organisational ability, his patience through tribulation, his faithfulness in fame and success and his forgiving spirit are all tributes to his character, what stands out above all else is his conviction that God had a specific purpose for his life, and neither his brothers nor Potiphar’s wife could interfere with that purpose. He moved forward in the quiet conviction that his life was not merely a succession of coincidences, but was being directed by a loving God.
Joseph’s story starts with a tattletale moment, a special robe and two dreams One day Joseph carried tales about his brothers, but not just any brothers, the sons of the servants Bilhah and Zilpah (Genesis 37:2). The text highlights this because it is likely that these sons were treated differently since they were not the sons of Leah or Rachel. This information is given to us to help us see that there is already tension in this family. To make matters worse, Jacob favors Jospeh and “loved him more than any other of his sons”. Jacob made Jospeh a coat of “many colors” or what can also be translated a “finely ornamented coat”. This isn’t just a flashy piece of fabric, instead it appears that Jacob made him a royal robe, a symbol that he would pass the family blessing on to Jospeh, his favorite
Part of this growing hatred for Joseph were the dreams God gave him. There are two sets of dreams that define Joseph’s life and they are found in this passage. In these dreams, Joseph is given an image of the future of his life where his brothers and father would come and bow down before him. It appears that God is giving him a picture to help him for the difficult road ahead
From a young age, Joseph believed God had destined him for greatness. In dreams, God assured Joseph that he would rise to a position of leadership over his parents and brothers (Gen. 37:5-11 ). From Joseph’s point of view, these dreams were evidence of divine blessing, rather than his own ambition. From his brothers’ point of view, however, the dreams were further manifestations of the unfair privilege that Joseph enjoyed as the favorite son of their father, Jacob (Gen. 37:3-4).
Dreams were understood in the ancient world to be one way by which the divine realm could communicate with certain individuals. When reading about dreams in the Bible, we need to be careful to not assume that in every dream we have is a prophecy or a vision from God. God’s word is written and we have everything we need in it to understand what He desires from us and for us.
It is true that God spoke through dreams to some people in the past, but even then, it was a rare occurrence. Hebrews 1:1-2 indicates that the principal way in which God communicates with people today is through Christ via the written Word that God inspired, not through visions or dreams. Additionally, the Scripture advises Christians to be on guard against spirits (fallen angels or demons) that attempt to mislead (1 John 4:1). One of the ways that they deceive people is through paranormal activities.
The Bible talks of some dreams that are deceptive (Jeremiah 23:25-27). Most dreams are a natural part of the sleeping state. The Bible talks about the fleeting and unreal nature of dreams (Psalms 126:1; Isaiah 29:8).
Ecclesiastes 5:3 says, “A dream comes through much activity,” implying that normal dreams are natural outgrowths of the stimuli we receive in our waking hours. Dreams could come as a result of our own thoughts, what we hear others say, as well as from material we read or watch (movies or videos).
As Christians, we must guard the information that comes into our minds. If we expose our minds to violence or sexually oriented material, for example, these stimuli can cause unwanted dreams. Paul gives us excellent guidelines on how to orient our thinking in Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Elsewhere in Genesis, Abraham, Abimelech, Laban and Jacob all received messages from God through a dream (15:12-16; 20:3-6; 28:10-22; 31:24; 46:1-4). Three dream sequences play an important role in the Joseph story (37:5-11; 40:5-23; 41:1-36). Each sequence has two paired dreams with similar messages, demonstrating that they are not random but divinely sent and reliable predictors of the future (41:32). The older brothers respond to their younger brother: "they hated him even more" (37:8).
Recall that God accompanied his call to Abraham with core promises (Gen. 12:2-3). First, God would multiply his descendants into a great nation.
Second, God would bless him.
Third, God would make Abraham’s name great, meaning that Abraham would be worthy of his renown.
Fourth, Abraham would be a blessing.
This last item pertains to the future generations of Abraham’s family and beyond them, to all the families of the earth. God would bless those who blessed Abraham and curse those who cursed him. The book of Genesis traces the partial fulfillment of these promises through the chosen lines of Abraham’s descendants, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s sons. Among them all, it is in Joseph that God most directly fulfills his promise to bless the nations through the people of Abraham. Indeed, people from “all the world” were sustained by the food system that Joseph managed (Gen. 41:57). Joseph understood this mission and articulated the purpose of his life in line with God’s intention: “the saving of many lives” (Gen. 50:20, New International Version).
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
(a) When Joseph’s brothers plotted murder against him and sold him into slavery, they did it with the specific intention to defeat his dreams (Genesis 37:19-20). Instead, by sending Joseph to Egypt, they provided the way the dreams would be fulfilled.
(b) The great and glorious truth of God’s providence is He can and does use the evil actions of man towards us to further His good plan. This never excuses man’s evil, but it means God’s wisdom and goodness are greater than man’s evil. Surely the wrath of man shall praise You (Psalm 76:10).
Lessons from his life:
1. Faithfulness- Joseph was a prime example of faithfulness during his entire life. He suffered a lot and was sold into his slavery. It would have been easy to react in anger, to grow bitter and lazy, without caring about the world around him. But Joseph didn’t do that. Whatever task God gave to him, he did it with his whole heart. Everywhere he went success followed, largely because of his shrewd managing and faithful conduct. He was faithful to his master and to the prison where he was unfairly jailed.
2. Resistance to temptation- Joseph is the best example in the Bible of someone who resisted temptation. He was tempted day after day after day. Yet he held firm because he realized it would be sinning against God. When the pressure built up he didn’t give in, but he ran away. His close relationship with God and sensitive conscience helped him escape the lusts of the flesh.
3. God’s sovereignty- Joseph’s life is also a great example of the sovereignty of God. A number of seeming disasters piled up. Many would have pronounced it God’s judgment or even ill fate. However, God was so great He used all of the evil actions of man to bring about His perfect plan. Through Joseph His people were preserved as well as many in Egypt. Joseph’s brothers and he himself
learned much from the experience. In the end God greatly blessed Joseph and didn’t abandon him.
4. Forgiveness- Joseph was treated worst by his own family than any of us have almost surely ever been treated, or ever will be. He was made a slave in a foreign country. However, he didn’t grow bitter. He didn’t hold a grudge against his brothers. Instead he forgave them, recognizing God’s sovereignty. Joseph showed true compassion and true forgiveness.
5. Take advantage of opportunities given us by God- Joseph had a prime opportunity when he met Pharaoh and he fulfilled what God wanted him to do with it.
