Genesis 37:8

Joseph was a witness against their evil ways, and his father loved him. That made him hateful to the sons of the servant mothers. The special robe Jacob gave Joseph did not soften their harshness, and neither did his two dreams. Whether it was wise or fitting to repeat his dreams to those who had no love for him may be a question. But the dreams were of God, just as the effect on his brothers was of the enemy.

Joseph tells his brothers his first dream. He and they were binding sheaves of grain in the field: his sheaf rose and stood upright, and the sheaves of his brothers all bowed down to it (v. 7). Joseph probably did not understand that God meant the dream as a prophecy: his brothers would one day bow to his authority. Genesis 42:6 tells us they did. Of course, the most vital lesson here is that all Israel will yet bow to the Lord Jesus, whom they have despised and hated. At the time Joseph's brothers thought it ridiculous that he would ever have dominion over them (v. 8).

And so his sufferings begin. The Lord marks him as the heir of glory. He speaks of the goodness he had found, and of God's high purpose for him. And his brothers hate him. They envy him; and who can stand before envy? They had already begrudged him his father's favour, and now they hate him for God's. They hate him for his words and for his dreams.

Finally, Joseph's brothers hated him for his words. … So too Christ is still the object of a hatred that men cannot hide, however hard they try. … But never forget what lies behind the "harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him": the "ungodly deeds that they have committed in such an ungodly way." The evil lives of Joseph's brothers lay behind the hatred in their hearts and the evil words of their lips (Jude 15).

Now, in Joseph's case, we see that he in no way relaxed his testimony because his brothers refused his first dream. … This was simple testimony founded on divine revelation; but it was testimony that brought Joseph down to the pit. Had he held back his testimony, or blunted its edge and power, he might have spared himself. But no — he told them the truth, and so they hated him.

He was the object of his father's love, and the subject of very high destinies. His brothers' hearts were not in fellowship with these things, so they hated him. They had no share in the father's love. They would not yield to the thought of Joseph's exaltation. In all this they represent the Jews in Christ's day. "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him." … They would neither own Him as the Son of God nor as king of Israel.

Joseph was lord. His rule was absolute in that great land. His dreams came true. The other sheaves bowed to his sheaf; sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed to him. His brothers had said, "Let us … throw him into one of the pits … and we will see what will become of his dreams." Well, now they had seen!