Joseph’s steadfastness to God’s plan meant that Joseph believed God would fulfill the prophecy his dreams had indicated. Joseph understood that God had a personal interest in him and had guided him through all those lonely years.

Introduction

Genesis 37–50 records the incredible account of Joseph, his dysfunctional family, and God’s faithfulness. Joseph’s prophetic dreams during his youth sustained him in his making wise choices throughout his life. He had additional opportunities in the narrative to interpret dreams for the baker, the cupbearer, and for the great Pharaoh. But the ones we will focus on concern the dreams of his eventual exaltation above his brothers.

This prophecy of exaltation has several unique features. First, in a narrow sense, it was focused on just one person—Joseph himself. However, the dreams were not specific enough for Joseph to understand exactly what God had in mind. Joseph did not know when, how, or what God would accomplish as a result of his dreams.

Second, the fulfillment of the prophecy contained in his dreams had a wider scope than Joseph could ever have imagined. God’s plan for its fulfillment was instrumental in preserving the lives of Joseph’s entire family. And there was an even greater aspect to this prophecy that I will discuss at the end of this article.

God’s faithfulness to Joseph’s prophecy reminds believers that His plans and purposes are always best. This is true in spite of the many difficulties Joseph faced waiting for the fulfillment of his dreams. We will examine the difficulties that made waiting such a challenge and the prophecy’s fulfillment and implications to us all. But first we will look closely at the prophetic dreams Joseph had.

Elaboration of the Prophetic Dreams

In Genesis 37 the juvenile Joseph was clearly the favorite of his father, the patriarch Jacob. Jacob demonstrated this favor by giving his favorite son a multicolored coat, which caused tension in the family, especially so since Joseph had previously given an “evil report” of his brothers to his father (Gen. 37:2).

Joseph aggravated the problem further when he boasted to his brothers about a recent dream he had: in the harvest fields Joseph’s sheaf of grain prominently arose while his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to it. His brothers’ reaction was not positive. They immediately understood that Joseph was picturing himself in a position of authority over them (Gen. 37:7–8).

Whether Joseph had not anticipated the negative reaction in his brothers to his first dream, he had to be aware of the provocation his second dream would cause. But he told them anyway—and his father too: the sun, moon, and eleven (!) stars would bow to him. This news earned him a rebuke from his father; no one could miss the implications of priority of Joseph that his dreams described (Gen. 37:9–11).

This set the stage for how Joseph’s brothers would respond to their hatred of their favored brother. By the end of the chapter Joseph found himself sold as a slave in Egypt by his own brothers, despite his pleas for help. Unknown to Joseph, his own father, thought him dead.

Difficulties of the Prophecy

The surprising element in Joseph’s new life was that he still believed in the truth of his prophetic dreams. He had faith that God would somehow, someway, sometime bring to pass this prophecy. Joseph believed in God’s faithfulness. But there were at least two major problems that Joseph had to contend with continually about the fulfillment of the prophecy.

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