How Dreams Come True

As we continue studying the life of Joseph, the upcoming chapters in Genesis will reveal a series of remarkable events, starting with Joseph’s meeting with Pharaoh and his appointment as Egypt’s second-in-command, and then leading to his long-awaited reunion with his brothers. Here, the unexpected happens; the story is filled with clear clues about Joseph’s identity—clues the brothers completely overlook. How could they not recognize him, given the many subtle yet obvious signs?

Could this be a foreshadowing of the many clear and compelling messianic prophecies found throughout the Tanach, prophecies that plead with our Jewish people to recognize Yeshua as their Messiah? Yet, here too, they could not identify Him. Let’s begin by summarizing some of these events and clues found in these chapters of Genesis.

When the brothers came to Egypt for grain, Joseph asked them about their father and their missing brother. Why would such a high-ranking Egyptian official be interested in whether these Hebrews had a father or another brother? They could not understand his interest. Later, their bags contained not only more grain than they had purchased, but also the money they had paid. They were puzzled as to why they had been so blessed.

The mystery deepened when Joseph invited them to his own home for a meal—despite Egyptians customarily refusing to eat with Hebrews (Gen. 43:34). At the table, he seated them in the exact order of their ages. The brothers were baffled—how could this Egyptian know so much? They could not make sense of this. If one does not see the hand of God in these events, the story becomes incomprehensible.

And it reminds us: while Israel was (and still is) in the Diaspora—persecuted, misunderstood, and scattered—Yeshua has been watching over them, continually calling them to Himself. Evidence for His identity as the Jewish Messiah abounds—not only in the Torah, but also in revered rabbinical writings such as the Talmud, the Targums, and the Midrashim. Messiah ben Yoseph is still calling His people to look to Him, the One who suffered for them.

But now looking back to Genesis 40, let’s examine Joseph as the interpreter of four dreams, which ultimately led him to his high position in Egypt. We begin by asking, why the use of dreams in this section of the Bible? In Egyptian culture, dreams were a means by which they communicated with their gods. As it was in Egypt, the Babylonians also viewed dreams as a highly acceptable and respected means by which gods communicated with mortals, offering prophecy, warning, or instruction. They had dream incubation, where the individual slept in the temple in hopes of receiving divine dreams for healing or prophecy. They also had dream interpreters, priests who consulted dream books and who called on their gods for interpretations.

But they had a problem at this point. When it came to the first two dreams, from the baker and the cupbearer, Genesis 40:8 says that there was no one to interpret them. Later, when Pharaoh had his dreams, it says, There was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh (41:8). In both situations, God came into action.  He inspired Joseph with the proper explanation. Joseph was the only one in Egypt who could interpret these dreams.

We are seeing something wonderful here. Considering how the Egyptians regarded dreams as a pathway to the unknown, Joseph’s role takes on even greater significance. By faithfully interpreting these dreams, he was not merely decoding mysterious symbols; he was bringing divine revelation into a culture steeped in superstition. He was introducing them to the power and foreknowledge of the God of the Hebrews. Centuries earlier, the Egyptians did encounter Abraham and his God, but in this incident, the entire world was now affected by God’s decree, and Joseph himself was brought second in command to Pharaoh to help the world through this famine. This could have touched the hearts of many Egyptians, as well as those from other nations who were so affected by the famine. Here we see Joseph as one of the first Jews to fulfill Israel’s calling to be a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6), guiding the nations toward the one true God of the Scriptures. In this way, Joseph served as a forerunner of Israel’s ultimate mission: to lead the nations to the knowledge and worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And see how Joseph made sure to give credit to his God. To the baker and the cupbearer, Joseph said, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (40:8). To Pharaoh who was so disturbed by his dreams, Joseph said, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer” And here in Genesis 41:6, the word favorable is the Hebrew word sabbath, indicating that God will give Pharoah rest, securing the present and near future of his country. It is in the Scriptures where we discover our true sabbath rest and the knowledge that calms our deepest anxieties.

But there is something fascinating about dreams and its connection with Israel’s election, especially as we consider Joseph and Daniel. In the Bible, human interpretation of dreams was always given outside of the land of Israel, and it was given for Gentiles. However, within the land of Israel, no human is found interpreting dreams. God gave dreams to some people, like Jacob (Gen.28:12), like Solomon (1Kings 3:5), and even Joseph, the husband of Miriam (mother of Yeshua), but these did not require a human interpreter. This emphasizes the point that when Israel was in her own land, God spoke directly to His people, whereas outside the land, especially in Gentile courts, God’s revelation came through His people interpreting dreams for the nations. All of this emphasizes the words of Paul in Romans 3:1a-2, which says, “Then what advantage has the Jew? First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God”.

Through Joseph, and even before the nation was born, God began to demonstrate that He was going to address the nations of the world through the Jewish people, and in fact, the Bible was written by Jews and transmitted by them. Now, I am not suggesting that when you have a dream, go find yourself a Jew to interpret it, but rather when you want to know something deep, something you have no way of finding out, ask God and read your Scriptures. And to the Jewish people today, we pose this question: Concerning the Messiah, where in the world could anyone find the truth about Him, who He is, how He comes, and from where He comes? The Scriptures hold all the information we need to know about Him.

Click Here for the Video : The Life of Joseph – Part 3