… Joseph dreamed a dream …
5 And Joseph dreamed a
dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. 6 And he said unto them, Hear, I
pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7 For, behold, we were
binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright;
and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. 8 And his brethren said to him,
Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?
And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. 9 And he dreamed yet another
dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more;
and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10 And he told it to his father,
and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is
this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren
indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? 11 And his brethren envied him; but
his father observed the saying. (Gen 37:5-11)
Though there are two dreams recorded within the text, they really apply to the
same revelation. Bear in mind that nothing has transpired yet to warrant, in
human terms, the preeminence of Joseph above his brothers. While it is true
that Jacob was highly disposed to love Joseph more, there was not yet a Godly
warrant to elevate Joseph above his brethren. Human reason would not have
considered such a proposition fair, or justified; and, as one of our good
ministers reminds us, the term ‘fair’ is not to be found in Holy Writ except as
relates to appearance or bearing in speech. God’s measurement is not the rule
that man would use. God sees, not only the beginning of the life of a man, but
the ending of it, and all points in between, as well. So He judges with far
greater evidence than we can see, or have available to us. He sees the secrets
of the heart. The subsequent sinful behavior of Joseph’s brothers reveals the
righteousness of God in sending dreams to Joseph.
Let us discuss the nature of dreams briefly as a context to this devotion.
There are two kinds of dreams just as there are two kinds of families. Just as
all upon the earth belong either to the Family of God, or the family of the
Prince of the Power of the Air; so, too, dreams originate either in the fertile
imagination of man’s heart, or as an omen or prophecy of God. The dream of
Joseph was prophetic. The dream of the wife of Pontius Pilate was an omen from
God: When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him,
saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man (Jesus): for I have
suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. (Matt
27:19) But God
never sends dreams that are inconsistent with His published Word or which adds,
or detracts, therefrom. (Rev. 22:18-19)
There are, too, false dreams of evil intent that the Lord
strongly condemns. We hear such dreams proclaimed by unethical evangelist who
lust after gold more than after God. There are books published for great profit
that claim to be based upon dreams of heaven or hell. These are to line the
pockets of greedy and faithless authors – do not be a dupe! Examples may
be found in such “smiling wonders” as Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, and a host of
others who have grown wealthy on the backs of deceived people. I have heard
what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed,
I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that
prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart. (Jer
23:25-26) Behold,
I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them,
and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent
them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at
all, saith the LORD. (Jer 23:32) I am sorry if toes are bruised
by my comparisons, but let the Word of God stand in lieu of mine, or any man’s,
opinion. Does not verse 32 above perfectly describe the lying and deceitful
Osteen who cause my people to err by their lies, and by their
lightness. Osteen,
with a smile as broad as the road to Hell, disdains to speak of sin and its consequences.
Why? Because the mention of sin makes people unhappy, and he says his job is to
make people HAPPY. Paul describes those who rely on false prophets such as
Osteen and consider the sterner truth of God to be foolishness: For the preaching of the cross is to
them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of
God. (1
Cor 1:18) If the
preacher does not warn about sin, he is sinning himself by the omission.
So now, to Joseph’s two dreams. The first is fairly self-explanatory: For,
behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also
stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance
to my sheaf. The sheaves are a personification of Joseph and his brothers.
Joseph’s sheaf is shown great respect by those of his brothers. Joseph will be
head, and his brothers, the tail, of Israel. Not truly knowing that this is not
only a God-sent dream, but one intended for their comfort and salvation at a
later time when famine and starvation strike Canaan, his brother are angry with
jealousy.
The second dream is a bit more complex, though the meaning is the same. And
he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I
have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven
stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his
brethren: and his father rebuked him.
Why do you suppose Jacob, Joseph’s father, rebuked Joseph at this last
dream? In the first dream, only the brothers of Joseph paid obeisance to him;
but in the last, not only did his brothers, but his father and his father’s
wives paid obeisance. Jacob was, indeed, wroth at the suggestion: What is this dream that thou hast
dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to
bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? This may have not been a comfort to Jacob, but it was the
unadulterated will of God. Godly people would be well-advised to be happy with
the Will of God when they hear it because it is God’s will that shall prevail
and not our own.
Let us look at this simple dream in detail. I have dreamed a dream more; and……..
1.
. . . . behold, the sun…….. made obeisance to
me. This is the part with which Jacob took issue for Jacob is represented
by the sun. The sun is master of the planets, and the provider of light and
energy to them just as Jacob was father and provider for his sons. Jacob is
Israel in name.
2.
. . . . and the moon………. made
obeisance to me. The moon depicts the wives and concubines of Jacob. They,
too, will come to depend on Joseph in the place of Jacob for their provision in
old Egypt.
3.
. . . . and the eleven stars made
obeisance to me. There are twelve stars that represent Israel as twelve
tribes. The eleven stars mentioned here are the brothers of the twelfth tribe
(Joseph). You will find in the Glory Cloud above the Eagle of the American Seal
twelve Stars representing Israel. The forefathers believed that this nation was
founded upon the same promises made unto Israel. Our history (until very
lately) has revealed that to be the case. America was most favored in the eyes
of the Lord until we turned from our Lord and followed the world.
Do we
find other mention of the nature of Israel being illustrated by the
personifications of Sun, Moon, and Stars? Happily, we do have.
1 And
there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the
moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 2 And
she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 3 And
there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having
seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And
his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the
earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered,
for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 And
she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron:
and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. (Rev
12:1-5)
John, the Revelator, sees visions of hundreds and thousands of years depicted
in a single vision. He sees the Old Testament Church prefiguring the New in
this vision. This is a symbolization in Heaven of a thing symbolized on earth.
The Woman represents national Israel. She is bathed with the Light of the Sun
(God). The Sun is spiritual Israel of which Jacob was the namesake, but
ultimately, God. This is mentioned in Joseph’s dream. The moon is under the
Woman’s feet. The moon may represent the mother’s of Israel as in Joseph’s
dream. The twelve stars are very self-explanatory as the twelve tribes of
Israel (or whole, and complete, Israel). Please remember the words of Paul that
all who are of the race of Israel are not Israel, but only those who have
believed the promise given to Abraham from every nation, tongue and people upon
the earth. The Child that Israel gives birth to is the Lord Jesus Christ. From
the moment of His birth, the Devil attempts to destroy Him. The Devil plants
the seed in Herod’s mind to kill every male child of two years age and under in
Bethlehem. The Devil (Satan) is depicted by the Great Red Dragon. (If I were
China, I would adopt a new symbol). Satan rebelled in Heaven and drew a third
of the angels with him as his being cast down. Those unsavory demons are still
among us. I know some of those personally – or at least, they SEEM to be. This
vision of John helps us to see more clearly the meaning of Joseph’s dream. All else
is history.
Out of jealousy, the
brothers cast Joseph into a well and later sell him as a slave to a passing
caravan. He was taken and sold in Egypt. He gradually, and after much trouble,
gained the confidence of Pharaoh as an interpreter of dreams and a man of wise
counsel. Joseph interpreted the dream of Pharaoh in seeing seven fat cows,
followed by seven lean which devoured the seven fat ones. This represented
seven prosperous years followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh made Joseph
the second ruler of Egypt. When the famine hit Canaan, the brothers of Joseph
were forced to come into Egypt to bargain for grain. Joseph took great pains to
hide his identity, and was able to have his father, Jacob, brought down to
Egypt along with his whole household. In the end, just as God had ordained, all
the brothers of Joseph, and family of Jacob, paid obeisance to Joseph. It all
fit snugly into God’s plan of allowing Israel to experience the hard bondage of
Egypt (symbolizing sin as well) so that they might appreciate more the
salvation of the Lord in bringing them out after 400 years.
We, too, lose patience in our suffering that is sometimes a
test of God so that we might appreciate a much greater blessing later. If we
forget from where we have come, we may not appreciate well the place we are
presently abiding. AMEN.
