Joseph part 6
6 Now Joseph was the one in power over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their [a]faces to the ground.7 And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
Well, here we are returning for one final Sunday to the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. After this message, we are going to put a pause on our “Firm Foundations” series to do something related to the church health survey. But I wanted to come to a natural stopping point. And that point is the end of the book of Genesis, with all the children of Israel going down into Egypt because of the famine and the eventual death of Israel, and Joseph.
But here we are finishing the story of Joseph. And if you haven’t been with us, this is the 6th sermon based around Joseph. And we are considering Joseph as one of the most perfect, if not the perfect type of Jesus Christ from the Old Testament. What I mean by that is that when we read how Joseph’s life unfolded, it’s almost as though we are getting a sneak peak into the life of Jesus, into the life of the Jewish Promised Messiah.
Now if you haven’t been with us, you’ve missed a lot. You can go online and listen to all of those messages. (Pvbiblealive.com: podcasts: topical: Firm foundations: Joseph part 5) But let me summarize Joseph’s and Jesus’ life parallels so far.
Both Joseph and Jesus are introduced as the beloved sons of their fathers. Both were elevated above their brethren. Joseph and Jesus were both sent to their brethren, and both were rejected by their brethren. Joseph and Jesus were both sold by their brethren, and turned over to the Gentiles. Joseph and Jesus were both tempted, but withstood the temptation. Joseph and Jesus were both bound and imprisoned. Joseph in a jail, Jesus going to trial and to the imprisonment of the tomb. And both Joseph and Jesus were released from the pit/tomb and elevated to the right hand of the highest power. And finally, last time we talked about how Joseph and Jesus both, were used by God to bring salvation, physical and spiritual respectively, to the world.
Now, what we covered last time was the salvation that they both offered. Joseph orchestrated a plan to save the world from death by starvation. Jesus gave Himself in order to save the world from eternal death.
Jesus brought salvation from eternal death by His death on the cross. He made it possible for us to have victory over physical death and spiritual death. Someone once said, “Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.”
And last time we noted some of the parallels between the salvation offered by Joseph, and that offered by our Lord. The first parallel was that both plans came in two phases; Gentile and Jewish. When the seven years of famine began in Egypt, the primary people who took advantage of the grain from Joseph were Gentiles. Joseph’s family, the Jews, were back in Canaan. And we noted that Joseph took a personal interest in distributing the grain, probably because he was anxiously awaiting the day when his brethren would come to Egypt, receive grain, and be reunited.
Jesus’ salvation also has a primarily Gentile phase. The last 2000 years have had primarily Gentiles coming to faith in Christ. But there is a time, right now, where the Lord anxiously waits for the day when His Jewish brethren will come to Him for salvation.
Our Lord desired the day when, at His return, the Jews finally “look on Him whom they have pierced and mourn for Him as an only Son.”
We also noted some other things about both salvations. Both salvations had sufficient supply for all the world. Both salvations were appropriated through one and only one means; go to Joseph for bread, go to Jesus to be saved. And in both salvations, those who received it gave up everything, including themselves, to be saved.
Now, we are going to finish talking about salvation, but we can not do so until we talk about phase two of the salvation; the Jewish phase. Joseph’s brethren came to him for bread, and the Jewish people, Jesus’ brethren in the flesh, who initially rejected Him, will also one day return to Him.
But let’s kind of summarize that reunion with his brethren in Joseph’s story. Joseph’s 10 brothers are sent by Israel to Egypt to buy grain. Benjamin, the youngest, stays at home with his father. Joseph sees them and recognizes them, but they don’t recognize him.
Now, after introductions, many of us know that Joseph speaks roughly to his brothers. Here’s how that went.
Genesis 43: 6 Now Joseph was the one in power over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their [a]faces to the ground. 7 And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
8 But Joseph recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him. 9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he [b]had about them and said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the [c]nakedness of the land.” 10 Then they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.” 12 And he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the [d]nakedness of our land!” 13 So they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.” 14 And Joseph said to them, “It is as I said [e]to you, you are spies; 15 by this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here! 16 Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” 17 Then he put them all together in prison for three days.
Now, you might wonder why he is doing all of this. Is he reacting to his brethren out of vengeance for what they did to him? Well, I don’t think you can discount vengeance as a motive in any sinful human being. But I think the chief motive was that he wanted to test them. He wanted to see if they had changed from the people they were 13 years prior. And he needed to do it without their knowing who he was.
And notice the testing. He accused them of being spies. You might remember that one of the first things we learned about Joseph, when he was 17, was that he was taking care of his father’s sheep with four of his brothers, and that he brought back an evil report to his father about his brothers. They were doing something they shouldn’t have, and he reported it to his father. It wouldn’t at all have surprised me if they began using the word “spy” to refer to Joseph. They held him in contempt. So now Joseph falsely accuses them of the same thing they likely falsely accused him of. Then he throws them in prison for three days, maybe the same prison where he had been held for years.
But before he puts them in jail, he plants this thought in their minds. If they were to get grain from him, and live, they would need to return home, get Benjamin, the youngest, the baby of the family, maybe their father’s new favorite, and bring him to Egypt. So, what is the test? He is testing them to see if they will they be willing to turn over another brother who is his father’s youngest and favorite. Have these men changed? Or are they still men who are willing to stop their ears to the cries of their brother in the pit.
I couldn’t help but think of how these things parallel the salvation of the Jews through Jesus Christ. Like Joseph’s brothers rejected him as their father’s heir, the Jews, for the most part have rejected Christ. And if we look at the history of the Jews, we could say that they have been put through a testing of trials. We’ve considered it before, but the Jewish people have a very long history of being tried. I think many Jewish people can identify with the line from Tevye talking to God in musical “Fiddler on the Roof.”
Tevye: (speaking to God) I know, I know. We are Your chosen people. But, once in a while, can't You choose someone else?
The Jewish people have endured trials and hatred on a scale like no other group of people. And as cruel as those trials may seem to us, in the end, we know that our Lord is working to bring the Jewish people to salvation. Like Joseph casting his brothers in jail for 3 days, our Lord works to draw His brethren to Himself. He draws them to repentance. They cannot come to salvation except through repentance.
We may not completely understand it, but Jesus’ heart toward the Jewish people is mirrored in Paul’s words about how he feels about his brethren the Jews.
Romans 9: I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit,2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.3 For I could [a]wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh,
Well, the testing of Joseph’s brothers continued. And he found out that there was evidence of repentance among them.
18 And Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God:19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in [f]your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, bring grain for the famine of your households,20 and bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be proven true, and you will not die.” And they did so.21 Then they said to one another, “Surely we are guilty concerning our brother because we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.”22 And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; yet you would not listen? So also his blood, behold, it is required of us.”23 Now they did not know that Joseph was listening, for there was an interpreter between them.24 And he turned away from them and wept. Then he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
His heart was aching over his brothers. But he needed to know if this was genuine repentance, or simply “sorry I got caught.” Would they sell out their own brother again if it meant saving their own skins? So, he binds Simeon before them and holds him in prison. So, here’s a question. Why Simeon?
Simeon was the second oldest. He was the child of Leah. And we get an early sense that he has a cruel streak in him. There is a story we didn’t cover where Simeon and Levi’s sister is raped. And Simeon and Levi plot revenge. But it was not enough for them to kill the perpetrator. They wiped out all the men of the village where the perpetrator lived. And Israel their father was incensed at their actions. He says,
Genesis 34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my household.”
And later, on his deathbed Jacob would say about Simeon and Levi,
Genesis 49:5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.
We also know that later Simeon and Reuben are disinherited by Jacob. He replaces them in his blessing of his sons with Joseph’s two sons.
Genesis 48:5 So now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.
So, why Simeon? Well, I think it is another test. They are being tested as to whether they are willing to bring the youngest, Benjamin, the new favorite son of their father to Egypt, and subject him to danger. That is a test of whether they still let jealousy drive their actions. And now maybe they are seeing the cruelest son among them tied up and taken away. How is that a test? Well, it would show how truly self-centered they were. They could have easily said, “Simeon is getting what he deserves.” Maybe Simeon led in the conspiracy to throw Joseph in the pit. This may have also been a signal to them that the one who was most guilty regarding Joseph, was suffering most.
25 Then Joseph gave a command to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack and to give them provisions for the journey. And thus, it was done for them.
I think it is noteworthy that he restores their money in their bags. It means that even as he is trying them and testing them, he is ensuring that they are cared for. What a parallel to how our Lord has treated the Jewish people.
The Jewish people, despite their troubles, have also been generally prosperous. I think that this is an interesting study. I did a little searching, and when you compare the household incomes in the U.S. among religious groups, Jewish households are at the top, Hindu second, Southern Baptists are about a quarter of the way up from the bottom. I read another article…
“How did American Jews get so rich?“Since the mass immigration some 100 years ago, Jews have become richest religious group in American society. They make up only 2% of US population, but 25% of 400 wealthiest Americans.”
So, there seems to be a double-edged sword concerning Jewishness that goes all the way back to these sons of Israel. They are blessed, but they are cursed.
Well, back with the story of Joseph’s brothers. After the conflict with Joseph, they head home. And there are details that transpire on the journey. They discover that their money is restored and take it as a bad omen. They return to their father and describe how they were treated, that Simeon is still incarcerated in Egypt and that the overlord of the land demanded that they could only return if they brought their youngest brother.
I said that there was evidence that they had repented. Jacob, their father, is incredulous about the fact that his youngest, Benjamin, may be subjected to danger from this anonymous man.
36 And their father Jacob said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.”37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hand, and I will return him to you.”38 But [j]Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone remains. If harm should befall him on the journey on which you are going, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
But, despite his refusals, the famine continues. We will later learn that only two of the seven years has passed. Chapter 43 says.
43 Now the famine was heavy in the land.2 And it happened when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”
But Judah reminds him of what they were told.
3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.5 But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”6 Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly [a]by telling the man whether you still had another brother?”7 But they said, “The man questioned particularly about us and our kin, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we told him concerning these things. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones.9 I myself will be the guarantee for him; from my hand you may require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then [b]I shall bear the sin before you all my days.10 For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your [c]bags, and bring them down to the man as a present, a little [d]balm and a little honey, [e]aromatic gum and [f]myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.12 Now take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was put back in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake.13 And take your brother also, and arise, return to the man;14 and may [g]God Almighty grant you compassion before the man, so that he will release to you your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
And they return to Egypt and to Joseph for a final test. Let me just summarize how Joseph and his brethren are reunited. As soon as Joseph sees them coming, he commands that they come and eat a meal at his house. Simeon is released from jail to join them. Joseph meets his youngest brother, Benjamin. He sets a meal before them but gives Benjamin five times the amount of food given to the other brothers.
After the meal, they again give money to purchase grain to take back home. But Joseph again commands those who are filling the bags to restore each of them the money they paid for the grain, and to put his silver cup in Benjamin’s sack.
When the 11 are packed and leaving Egypt, Joseph sends his servants after them to accuse them of stealing his silver cup. Of course, they plead their innocence. But after their bags are searched, the cup is in Benjamin’s sack.
And here’s the test. Will they be willing to turn over their younger brother, who is likely pleading his innocence? Will they be willing to drive another dagger into their father’s heart? Are they different people? We find out that they are. They all load up their donkey’s and return to Egypt. Judah pleads for them.
“What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s slaves, both we and the one in whose [c]possession the cup has been found.”
Joseph says no, only the one who had the cup should remain as a slave. Judah continues with a long petition. But here’s the high point.
27 And your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons;28 and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since.29 If you take this one also from [g]me and harm befalls him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in [h]evil.’30 So now, when I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us—[i]and his life is bound up in the boy’s life—31 so it will be that when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. Thus your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow.32 For your servant became a guarantee for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, [j]then I shall bear the sin before my father all my days.’33 So now, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a slave to my lord, and let the boy go up with his brothers.34 For how shall I go up to my father if the boy is not with me, lest I see the evil that would [k]overtake my father?”
The emotion in this speech is palpable. And it is not at all insignificant that it is Judah who is pleading, and ultimately offering himself as a slave in place of Benjamin. From the tribe of Judah comes our Lord, who offered Himself as a substitute for us. And just as Joseph finally ends up revealing himself to his brothers, and bringing them to Egypt to be saved, so Jesus will one day reveal Himself, the unrecognized, to the Jewish people for their salvation. As Paul writes, Romans 11:25-27 25 For I do not want you, brothers, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” 27 “And this is [a]My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”
Well, I wish we had the time to flesh out all the details of Joseph and his brothers. But I wanted to get to one final parallel to our Lord. We have seen the parallels between Joseph and Jesus in their introductions, their positions, their being hated, their enslavement, their temptation, their imprisonment, their elevation, their salvation, and now finally their inheritance.
Joseph inherited the exalted position as ruler over the united Jewish and Gentile world. Jesus will inherit the same.
His inheritance
Joseph’s family received the land of Goshen, a rich and bountiful land, from the sovereign, for his family.
Jesus will receive the earth made new from His Father for His united family. Listen to this prophecy from Zechariah about the world after Jesus returns and sits on the throne in Jerusalem. Imagine this day if you will.Zechariah 8Then the word of Yahweh of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘[a]I am jealous with great jealousy for Zion, and with great wrath I am jealous for her.’ 3 Thus says Yahweh, ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of Yahweh of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.’ 4 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the [b]streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of [c]age. 5 And the [d]streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its [e]streets.’7 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land where the [h]sun rises and from the land where the [i]sun sets; 8 and I will bring them back, and they will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in [j]truth and righteousness.’
11 But now I will not [l]treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares Yahweh of hosts. 12 ‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. 13 And it will be that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’
14 “For thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Just as I purposed to bring about evil to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I have not relented, 15 so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!
20 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to [p]entreat the favor of Yahweh and to seek Yahweh of hosts; [q]I will also go.” 22 So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek Yahweh of hosts in Jerusalem and to [r]entreat the favor of Yahweh.’ 23 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from every tongue of the nations will [s]take hold of the [t]garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”
Well, I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait. Maranatha, even so come Lord Jesus!