Joseph’s Dreams
Genesis 37:1-11
This lesson contains more “personal commentary” than usual. Normally bulletin points are simply a paraphrase of a verse of scripture that is a part of the lesson. Personal commentary bullet points are not based on scriptures from this lesson.
Introduction:
Ecclesiastes 3:7 (NLT)
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
Proverbs 30:33 (NLT)
As the beating of cream yields butter
and striking the nose causes bleeding,
so stirring up anger causes quarrels.
(Making people angry causes trouble.)
Genesis 37:1-11 (NLT)
Joseph’s Dreams
37 So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner.
2 This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.
3 Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. 4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.
5 One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. 6 “Listen to this dream,” he said. 7 “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”
8 His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.
9 Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”
10 This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?” 11 But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.
Examine the Scriptures
Genesis 37:1-11 (NLT)
Joseph’s Dreams
1 So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner.
Genesis 28:13-15 (NLT)
13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”
Genesis 31:3 (NLT)
3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.”
- Jacob returned to the land of his father and grandfather as the Lord had instructed.
2 This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old,
Eleven years had passed since he entered the land of Canaan.
he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah.
Joseph worked for his half-brothers.
Joseph was younger than all of his half-brothers. He was older than his brother Benjamin.
But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.
While this may not have been wrong for Joseph to do, it would cause conflict between and his brothers.
This behavior seems to indicate the fact that he honored his father.
3 Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age.
- Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children.
This would also cause conflict between Joseph and his brothers.
So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe.
- The special gift made for Joseph seems to signify the owner as the one whom the father intended to be the future leader of the household, an honor normally given to the oldest son.
4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them.
- Joseph’s brothers hated Joseph.
More reason for Joseph’s brothers to hate Joseph.
It was wrong for Jacob to love Joseph more than the rest of his sons.
Scriptures related to showing favoritism:
Romans 2:11 (NLT)
11 For God does not show favoritism.
James 2:9 (NLT)
But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
James 2:1 (NLT)
A Warning against Prejudice
My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?
1 Timothy 5:21 (NLT)
I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the highest angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favoritism to anyone.
- Parental favoritism hurts family relationships.
Sin has consequences.
Parental favoritism resulted in Jacob losing Joseph for a lengthy period of time.
(Rebecca had favored Jacob and the result of this was losing him for more than 20 years.)
They couldn’t say a kind word to him.
- Personal commentary: Joseph must have known how his brothers felt about him.
5 One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.
- In Genesis, God used dreams to reveal His plans (divine revelations).
20:3, 28:12, 31:10-11, 40:5-8, 41:1
God’s divine revelation was not just given to God’s chosen people (others included Abimelech, the cupbearer and the baker, and Pharaoh).
6 “Listen to this dream,” he said.
- Personal commentary: It may have been better for Joseph to keep his dreams to himself.
Ecclesiastes 3:7 (NLT)
… A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
Ephesians 4:29 (NLT)
… Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
James 3:5 (NLT)
In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
Proverbs 21:23 (NLT)
Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut,
and you will stay out of trouble.
Proverbs 27:2 (NLT)
Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—
a stranger, not your own lips.
7 “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”
This dream had an agricultural theme. This may have been a hint of the manner in which Joseph’s authority over his brothers would be achieved.
8 His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.
- The envy and hatred of Joseph’s brothers is understandable.
Joseph was the 11th of 12 sons. The youngest of all of his half-brothers.
The brothers did not recognize God’s sovereign choice of Joseph as a leader.
- Personal commentary: Don’t set others up for failure.
9 Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”
This dream had a celestial theme. In ancient cultures, astronomical symbols represented rulers.
This second dream reinforces the expectation that Joseph will have authority over the rest of his family.
His father – sun
His mother – moon
His brothers – the stars
10 This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I
Mother refers to Leah. Rachel had already died (Genesis 35:16-19).
and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?”
At this point Jacob admonished Joseph.
11 But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.
Jacob continued to ponder (think about) the meaning of the dream.
Final thoughts:
Ecclesiastes 3:7 (NLT)
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
Proverbs 30:33 (NLT)
As the beating of cream yields butter
and striking the nose causes bleeding,
so stirring up anger causes quarrels.
(Making people angry causes trouble.)
