Genesis 37:5–8 (ESV)
Joseph’s Dreams
5 Now
Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold,
we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you
indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
There is already envy, jealousy, and anger towards Joseph, now he has a dream that says they will bow down to him. That is like throwing gasoline on a fire. “So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his
words.” Luther states: ““So far as dreams are concerned, there is the well-known rule that such revelations must be scrutinized with respect to their relation to the Word and to faith. If they are not in harmony with the Word or destroy
faith, they are of Satan” (AE 3:330).” The Lutheran Study Bible points out that “Today, we ought not expect God to reveal Himself in dreams, since we have the full revelation of Scripture.”
I pray: O Lord, help us to love our neighbor as ourselves,
and to love our enemies too. Even if they are our brothers! We live in a world with a lot of prejudice and hatred, help us to love each other. Amen.
Engelbrecht,
E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible (p. 72). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.