Joseph had a dream. Genesis 37:5
Throughout the Bible, there is progress in the way that God communicates with His people: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets” (Heb. 1:1). God used multiple ways of communicating with His people in the earliest times. One example is that God revealed His future plans to Joseph in a dream.
Then Hebrews goes on to say, “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (1:2). We have the clearest possible communication from God in Jesus Christ. All that God promises to us and all that He requires of us is made known in Jesus, who we know through the Scriptures. So Christians should not fret about interpreting their dreams. If you want to know what God is saying to you, read your Bible!
In those early days there was no Bible, and so God often made Himself known by appearances, sometimes called theophanies. But in this story, He spoke through dreams. The point of Joseph’s dream is very simple. God would lift Joseph up above his brothers, and this is exactly what happened. Joseph, whom they despised, became the one on whom their hopes depended.
The whole story directs our attention to a greater Son. This Son, who was despised and rejected, was also loved and favored by His Father. This Son, who was betrayed and sold for silver, also went to the lowest place and then was exalted to the highest place. Jesus Christ, the despised and rejected Son, is the hope of all who bow before Him.
Why did God often speak through appearances or dreams in Old Testament times? Why does God normally speak in a different way today?
