“So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: (Joseph understands the inherent prophetic significance of the dream; notice how gently and lovingly he entreats his literal brethren to incline their ears to hear his dream: his intentions are pure and honest and it is only through the lens of envy that his tone or motives might irrationally be construed as arrogant by his brothers.) There we were, binding sheaves (definition: “one of the bundles in which cereal plants, as wheat, rye, etc., are bound after reaping in the field”- Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers). Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood UPRIGHT (a blessed invitation to explore the concept of one who is called “upright” throughout The Scriptures); and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” (The finished bundles of sheaves indicate that this will take place after they have gone through their appointed processes of sifting and maturing through their respective walks of life and are ultimately harvested as a “finished product”.) And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. (It is important to understand that Joseph is simply stating objective Truth here. Just like the Lord Jesus answered honestly in the Garden of Gethsemane when asked if He is indeed the Christ [“But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.” – Mark 14:61-64 NKJV] ; so too Joseph simply states the Truth according to the Will of God. Notice however the hatred and envy it incites even in veiled dream-metaphor form. It is again quite interesting to recognise how a God-willed Truth cuts through bone and marrow, soul and spirit, reaching right to man’s core: the hearers of this dream are not in the least bit confused as to its interpretation, it is precisely because it is so True that it is so blinding in its clarity. Real Truth resonates so deeply within a man that if it does produce anger within him it not only instantly exposes the condition of his heart, it also indicates that it is God Himself, the Author of Truth, that he effectively hates in that moment [also see Romans 8:7].) Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. (Dear young Joseph of course does not yet understand these spiritual principles as laid out in the above and continues to proclaim these Truths in his naiveté with the same amount of boldness as another would proclaim a less offensive Truth such as “the Hebrew alphabet has 22 characters”.) And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind. (As previously discussed, young Joseph – knowing that he is deeply loved by him – approached his father Israel [Jacob] with the same sincerity of heart and with the same measure of liberty and spontaneity with which we ought to approach our Heavenly Father. Imagine how disheartened young Joseph must have felt when he was met by such an antithetical response from his beloved dad when sharing this ultimately life-changing Truth. It is of course a lot to take in – we are not to question the ways of the Lord – but when taught a certain hierarchy where the younger serves the older from our youth and then to be confronted with a Truth that completely turns this generally wise principle on its head, one can imagine Jacob’s shock. Nevertheless he is not baited into unbelief, envy and hatred like his sons, but rather, because of his own often painful journey that has sifted, purified, matured and promoted him in wisdom, Jacob has the good sense to realise that this is something worth mulling over and not simply to be dismissed out of hand [also see Luke 2:19].)

“⁶So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: ⁷There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

⁸And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

¹⁰So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” ¹¹And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.”

– Genesis 37:6-11 (NKJV)