Something that may feel uncomfortable can become undeniable when God brings clarity. This devotional reading looks at how Joseph’s two dreams didn’t repeat the same message — but intensified it, revealing a future his brothers refused to accept.
Nuggets
- Dreams are a communication tool used by Jehovah.
- Joseph shared his dream with his brothers, and it made the situation worse.
- It sounds like Joseph immediately told his brothers the content of his dream.
- The brothers weren’t going to listen to God’s soft promptings if their anger is aroused.
- I wonder if Joseph had ever been rebuked by Jacob before.
- Regardless of how angry Jacob was at the dream, he was more tuned in to following Jehovah’s lead.
There are moments when something shifts from being a feeling to being a reality we can no longer ignore. What was once sensed becomes defined, and what could be brushed aside becomes impossible to dismiss.
Joseph’s dreams mark that kind of moment. They do not introduce something new — they bring clarity to what has already begun, and in doing so, they force a response from everyone involved.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Joseph the Savior of Israel series
The Story is Set Up
“One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever” (Gen. 37: 5 NLT)
A Dream
Dreams are a communication tool used by Jehovah.
Joseph’s dreams introduce a new layer to the narrative. The Hebrew word for dream, ḥalom (חֲלוֹם), doesn’t merely describe the run-of-the-mill sleep time fantasies.
God used them at times to speak to people. Joseph was one person to whom God talked.
We’ve already talked about Jehovah’s dream to Abimelech. Jacob himself had two dreams where Jehovah spoke to him.
What made Joseph’s dreams different was they were revelations about future authority, not warning or instructions.
Told His Brothers
Joseph shared his dream with his brothers, and it made the situation worse.
Why in the world would Joseph tell this dream to his brothers? What was the boy thinking?!?!?! He had to have known of their hostility from when Jacob gave him the coat.
Well, don’t we run to share good news with friends and family? When we get a job promotion, buy a new house, have a baby, etc., they sometimes get tired of hearing about our joy.
But doesn’t this also verify, in a way, the immaturity that we talked about in the last devotion? He carried ḥalom — revelation — but not yet the wisdom to understand what to do with it.
Joseph had the intimation to know of his future greatness. He just wasn’t in a position communicate that to his brothers.
We have to remember something else from the last devotion. We talked about the brothers weren’t upset only because the coat represented Jacob’s favoritism.
The brothers didn’t ridicule Joseph because of his appearance. It doesn’t even say they envied him.
It said they hated him even more because of the underlying message that we miss, which will be even more obvious in the coming sections.
Joseph’s Announcement
“‘Listen to this dream,’ he said. ‘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!’” (Gen. 37: 6-7 NLT)
It sounds like Joseph immediately told his brothers the content of his dream.
Jacob’s family, being shepherds, would have known about agricultural practices. Even if they didn’t grow the grain themselves, they would know how it was grown and harvested.
What Sovereign God told Joseph was people would bow down to him. That had to have been heady information for a 17-year-old boy who was an outcast in his own family.
This is the first dream we are told that Joseph had. It probably was.
We discussed in the last devotion the characteristics that Joseph inherited from his ancestors. To the list of characteristics Joseph possessed, Davies added an active mind. He felt having this dream and his ability to interpret his and those of others gave even more insight to his character. He wrote, “From his aptitude in creating and divining dreams, we may infer his fondness for quiet contemplation.”
Resource
Davies agreed with me about Joseph seemed to be arrogant. He added self-importance.
The Brothers’ Response
“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’” (Gen. 37: 8 NLT)
The brothers weren’t going to listen to God’s soft promptings if their anger is aroused.
Remember ages. Joseph was born in 1709 BC. Reuben probably wasn’t born much before 1715 BC. So, if Joseph was 17, Reuben wasn’t much more than 22. The rest – except for Benjamin, who would have still been in their version of diapers – were in between those two.
Reuben, as so young a firstborn, would probably not have been very confident. Added to that, he would have still been smarting over the failed overthrow attempt to replace Jacob as patriarch.
The rest of the brothers felt they had justified grievances against Joseph.
Remember what I was saying two sections back? They would think of reign over them.
The boys, like all of us, would think in terms of what-does-this-mean-to-me. But I don’t think they would have thought he was going to be crowned king.
They would see him being identified as firstborn. Remember, that meant family leadership as well as inheritance. That meant jumping over all of them to grab the prize.
This dream would have strengthened their belief that this was exactly what Jacob was doing.
The dream was clear enough to be dangerous.
The boys, though we don’t see them with Jehovah’s character at this point, would have known enough from Isaac and Jacob to know it was Him talking. They couldn’t live in the covenant family and not know even a limited knowledge of Jehovah.
This was obviously a divine revelation. The boys could no longer deny the meaning.
Is that how Jehovah wants us to respond to His voice, directions, and revelation — with anger and refusal? Big emphatic NO!!!
So, regardless of how Joseph told them about the dream, the content of the dream would have sparked their immediate anger. They weren’t going to sit quietly as they tried to figure out Jehovah’s reasoning. They would have exploded immediately.
A revelation from Jehovah should be accepted and acted upon as told.
If we thought the brothers were angry before, they were livid now. If the situation was filled with tension, it now exploded.
Another Dream
“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!’” (Gen. 37: 9 NLT)
The second dream was like the first
Before we get into the dream itself, we need to talk about the importance of having a second dream. That meant that what is described is fixed and ordered.
The first dream suggested elevation. The second established it.
Jehovah had plans for Joseph – and those plans were going to come to pass.
Many times, when we read about Joseph’s dreams, we think they are two verions of the same idea. They aren’t. The second is intensified.
We know that shepherds, of which a Joseph was, had — at times — to protect the flock over the midnight hours. He would have done this just as the shepherds in Luke 2 were performing this duty.
That doesn’t seem too intensified.
The second dream shakes up the structure. It includes a cosmic shift.
The first dream showed Joseph rising among his brothers. The second showed that his position was not temporary or situational — it was part of a larger order.
Recognized authority is heading for a change.
Jacob’s Response
“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?’” (Gen. 37: 10 NLT)
I wonder if Joseph had ever been rebuked by Jacob before.
Jacob reacted negatively to Joseph’s description of his dream. Instead of just talking about agricultural practices, it told of the family hierarchy.
If Joseph would have humbly told Jacob — the father who loved him above all others — about his dream, maybe he wouldn’t have been rebuked.
But let’s look at it this way. If the brothers knew about the first dream, Jacob had to have known about it also. But as he did when he first found out about Dinah’s defilement, he remained silent.
That is, he remained silent until the second dream made it unavoidable.
We would hope that Jacob didn’t remain silent when he agreed with Joseph being designated as firstborn but then balked when it became clear that Joseph would take Jacob’s power also. Then, Jacob screamed.
Jacob Wondered
“But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant” (Gen. 37: 11 NLT)
Regardless of how angry Jacob was at the dream, he was more tuned in to following Jehovah’s lead.
At some point, Jacob was able to step back and start thinking about what the dream truly meant. He himself had been the recipient of dreams from Jehovah. He knew He was invested in the covenant family. He was going to take care of them.
True Jehovah hadn’t really given them that much insight yet. But they were ready for whatever changes He brought about.
I thought it was interesting that Jacob kept things in his mind. Mary kept things in her heart.
Making the Connections #1
I don’t think Joseph handled it right. The way it reads to me is he informed his family through his arrogance as well as his immaturity. Even Jacob called him on it.
We have to watch in our interactions with others. Our goal should not be to alienate them. We should strive for unity, especially when we are witnessing to others.
But we also have to realize that Jehovah reveals who we will become before we are – and before we think we are – ready for that revelation.
Making the Connections #2
Dreams from Jehovah occur when there are transition points and major shifts. We may see these as the same. In this story, we see:
- The death of Rachel, necessitating the transition of the family power.
- Transitioning the main character in the story from Jacob to Joseph.
- Shifting the covenant story from the family (identified as Jacob) to the nation of Israel.
But there is one other reason why Jehovah comes to people in dreams. It is to reveal something that is currently hidden – but it won’t remain that way much longer.
What would be revealed we know to be a couple of road trip.
How Do We Apply This?
- Guard against showing favoritism in our families.
- Remember that God is not a respecter of persons.
Resource
Father God, help us to hear Your voice without resistance and to respond with humility instead of pride or fear. Shape our hearts so that when You reveal truth, we are willing to receive it and walk in it. Teach us to trust that You are at work, even when we do not yet understand what You are revealing. Amen.
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