Joseph's Dreams: Genesis Chapter 37 Bible Study

Introduction 

Hello, and Welcome to the Daily Manna! 

Chapter 37 jumps into Jacob's son, Joseph's story. Joseph is Jacob and Rachel's first born son. He was a favorite of Jacob's. As we learned before with Issac and Rebecca's story, favoritism causes strain between siblings and can have very troubling consequences for all involved. Today we will see that unfold with Joseph and his older brothers. 

Please read chapter 37 in your Bible as this post is meant to be a Bible study companion and not a substitute for reading your Bible. 

Summary of Genesis Chapter 37

Verses 1-4 beginning of this chapter introduces Joseph, Jacobs 17-year-old son. Joseph is known to complain about his brothers. It is also known that Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons and he made him a colorful robe. This caused jealousy and tension between his brothers who hated him. 

Versus 5 - 11 Joseph has dreams and brags about them to his brothers and father. His brothers hated him all the more. His father rebuked him however he questioned the dreams in his mind. 

Verses 12-17 Jacob orders Joseph to check on his brothers in Shechem. Joseph finds his brothers near Dothan. 

Verses 13- 22 Joseph's brothers seen him in a distance and plotted to kill him. Ruben heard this and tried to deescalate it. He planned to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. 

Verses 23 - 28 when Joseph came to his brothers they stripped his robe and threw him in a cistern. They saw ishmaelites coming on their way to Egypt to trade their goods. Judah comes up with a plan to sell Jacob to the Ishmaelites. They then sold him for 20 shekels. The Ishmaelites then took him to Egypt. 

Verses 29-36 ribbon returned and saw that Joseph wasn't there. He tore his clothes out of grief. Then the brothers took Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe with blood to make it appear as if he had been murdered. Then they showed it to Jacob. Jacob mourned and refused to be comforted. Meanwhile Joseph was sold in Egypt to Potiphar, one of the pharaoh's official captains of the guard. 

Key Themes and Meanings 

Dangers of Favoritism 

Genesis 37:3-4 NIV

[3] Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. [4] When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.37.3-4.NIV

We see the dangers of favoritism in the start of chapter 37. 37 starts with Joseph, who is only 17, bringing their father a bad report about his brothers. And then we hear a commentary of Israel's favoritism of Joseph. If we remember the story of Isaac and Rebecca showing favor with Jacob and Esau, we already know the story is going to have tragedy as well. 

We know that Jacob loved Rebecca the most out of all of his wives. And more than likely the reason why Joseph was his favorite other than the fact that he had been born and Jacob's old age, was also probably because he loved Rebecca the most. 

We can see the tension and the jealousy between his brothers. Not only did Jacob treat Joseph differently but he also made him a rope. For all of this they hated him and could not say any kind word to him. 

Even though as parents we may prefer one child over the other, maybe they have similar mannerisms as us, it is never okay to treat one child differently than the other. Each child should be loved uniquely to them. Always be aware of sibling and family Dynamics. 

Dreams

Genesis 37:2, 5-11 NIV

[2] This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

[5] Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. [6] He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: [7] We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” [8] His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. [9] 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.” [10] When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” [11] His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.37.2-11.NIV

Throughout genesis, dreams often reveal God's plan. Joseph's dreams placed him in the line of those chosen by God to receive blessing. As I mentioned in the last section there was already growing tension and jealousy between his brothers out of favoritism from their father. Even though Joseph may have only been 17, and possibly unaware of the full scope of the situation between his brothers, he shared his dreams which didn't go well with his brothers or even his father. 

Some dreams are not meant to be shared with others. Sometimes it can only be a message for us. Overall though, we are meant to pray for God to reveal it to us when we don't understand a dream and not rely on other people to reveal the message of the dream. 

Sinful Thoughts 

Before Joseph was sold by his brothers we see at the beginning of this chapter that they hated him so much that they could not even speak a kind word to him. After he revealed his dreams to them they hated him all the more because of what he said and his dreams. They were also very jealous of him for finding favor with their father. 

Joseph was more than just the annoying younger brother who tattled on his older brothers and was the favorite of the father. They hated him so much that they plotted to kill him. Family Dynamics can become so unhealthy that they've become dangerous. 

Genesis 37:18-20 NIV

[18] But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. [19] “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. [20] “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.37.18-20.NIV

Sometimes when we feed a bad thought, it can escalate to the point of life or death. Jesus warns that even thinking a thought is sinful. 

Mark 7:20-23 NIV

[20] He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. [21] For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, [22] adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. [23] All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.7.20-23.NIV

 

Even though ultimately his brothers did not kill him they did strip him of his robe and sell him to the ishmaelites for slavery. We even know in Genesis 42:21 that Joseph fled with them not to do this: 

Genesis 42:21 NIV

[21] They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”

https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.42.21.NIV

 However their hatred of their younger brother was so strong that they went through with selling him into slavery. They even went as far as to dip his robe and blood to convince their father that Joseph had died from an animal attack. And they allowed him to grieve for years. 

It is crucial that we protect our thoughts especially around those we are meant to Love. 

Reflections for Today

Did you ever feel like there was jealousy or tension between you and your siblings? 

In what ways can you protect your thoughts so that it might prevent a simple action? 

Have you ever had a dream where you believed God was trying to tell you something? 

Conclusion 

In chapter 37 we learn how favoritism can affect siblings and family dynamics. We also learned how our thoughts can escalate into sinful actions that can affect not only ourselves but others even generations later. And later in Joseph's story we will also learn that even when we do things in our own broken and flawed way, God always has a plan through it. 

Prayer

Dear Father, please help us to protect our thoughts even when we feel wronged by those we love. Help us to not base our decisions on anger in the moment. In Jesus's name, Amen.