Chapter 2. 21
Gift of
Interpretation
Interpretation of dreams; the writing on the Wall
Dreams
We
don’t normally think of dreams as a gift, but Joseph, Jacob’s youngest
and favorite son had dreams that were prophetic; they spoke of a time in his
life that his entire family would bow down to him. The dream was the sun and moon and eleven
stars would bow down to him.[1]
Joseph’s first dream was that they were binding sheaves in the
field, and behold, his sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, the other
sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to his sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to
reign over us? So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
Joseph’s second dream was that the sun, the
moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to him.” His brothers, said to him,
“What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your
brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”
Pharaoh’ first dream; he
was standing beside the Nile, when seven healthy-looking, well-fed cows came up
from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds. After them, seven other cows,
sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside those cows along the
bank of the Nile. Then the sickly, thin cows ate the healthy, well-fed cows.
Pharaoh’s second dream was seven heads of grain, plump and ripe,
came up on one stalk. After them, seven
heads of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven
plump, ripe ones
Interpretation: There will be Seven years of great
abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt. After them, seven years of
famine will take place, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be
forgotten. The famine will devastate the land.
Dream fulfilled: Pharaoh put his
signet ring on Joseph’ hand and a gold chain around his neck, clothed him with
fine linen garments and placed him over all the land of Egypt, he was second only
to Pharaoh.[2] No one was able to raise his hand or foot in
all the land of Egypt without Joseph’s permission.”
When the famine
hit the land, Joseph’s
entire family came and bowed before him, just as was prophesized in
his very first dream.
Writing on the wall
King Belshazzar made a great feast and commanded that the vessels of
gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple
in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his
concubines might drink from them. Immediately the fingers of a human hand
appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace and scared
the snot out of him and he called for the wise men to read what it said, but
they could not.[3]
Daniel
was called in and interpreted the
writing; MENE, MENE, TEKEL,
and PARSIN[4] which
means;
MENE, God
has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances
and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the
Medes and Persians.” And that very
night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.
Joel says “Then,
after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons
and daughters will PROPHESY. Your old men will DREAM DREAMS, and your young men will SEE VISIONS. In those days I will pour out my
Spirit even
on servants—MEN AND WOMEN ALIKE.
Interpretation is a Gift from God.
It’s in the Book
[1] Genesis 37:5-10 - Joseph dreamed his entire family would bow down to him
[2] Genesis 41:1-36 – Joseph interpreters Pharaoh’s dream and is exalted over
all his house and affairs -- Genesis 41:38-45 – Joseph received Pharaoh’s
signet ring and placed ruler over all the land of Egypt second only to Pharaoh.
[3] Daniel 5:1-12 - King Belshazzar desecrated the temple vessels and saw the handwriting on the wall.
[4] Daniel 5:13-31 – Daniel interprets the writing: MENE, MENE, TEKEL,
and PARSIN.
No comments:
Post a Comment