Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams” (Genesis 40:8b NIV).
The Bible deals much about dreams. The Book of Genesis and the Book of Daniel contains many references to dreams and their interpretation. Today, there is much talk about dreams in the Christian world too.
They quote the promise in Joel which speaks of old men dreaming dreams and young men seeing visions (Ref. Joel 2:28). That is fine. But sadly what is not emphasized today is the truth proclaimed by Joseph, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” Yes, it does!
First of all, it would be good to note that the servants of God mentioned in the Bible and who had dreams, never sought to have a dream. It was given to them. This is important because we live in a generation which is obsessed with dreams and visions.
The young man Joseph had dreams. But he never prayed to have a dream given to him. But God gave it to him in order to get him ready for the purpose that He chose to work through his life for the benefit of others. Therefore, do not seek to see to a dream or a vision.
Secondly, as you look through the pages of the Bible, you will find that only those who had an intimate relationship to God and had the fear of God in their heart were given the privilege of interpreting dreams.
On the other hand, you find Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, two kings who knew not God, not able to interpret dreams. Even Daniel had to seek God much in prayer to get the interpretation of dreams.
So fear of God, an intimate relationship with Him and an earnest prayer life are all needed to get the interpretations of dreams.
Thirdly, note that the Bible clearly says that each dream (which the chief cupbearer and the chief baker saw) had a meaning of its own. On the other hand, Joseph told Pharaoh that the dreams that he had were one and the same (see Genesis 41:25 and its reason in 41:32).
So, the interpreter of dreams has to have God-given wisdom to know when dreams have different meanings and when they point to the same thing.
Finally, if you look at Joseph, Daniel, or Joseph the husband of Mary; you will find that the dreams that God gave them had far reaching consequences in world history.
Surely, God has not given that kind of a role to no man or woman on earth today. You can be sure about that fact because God has given a blueprint of the outcome of human history in the pages of the Bible with its culmination in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
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