Joseph, one of the greatest men in the Bible. Almost 25% of the book of Genesis is dedicated to him. Joseph along with Daniel is one of only two significant characters in the Bible of whom there is no mention of sin. It does not mean they did not commit any sins. God told us about the whole creation in 1 chapter and in only 5 words ( Gen 1: 16) for the creation of the universe, but he spends 12 chapters telling us about Joseph. We would have liked more explanation on how the stars and space work. But, God’s priorities are different than ours. As you see Joseph is a type of Jesus. And It is all about Jesus. There are close to 90 similarities between Joseph and Jesus and in the next 12 chapters, we are going to look at each one. As we study Joseph, we will find insight about Jesus, prophesies that point to Jesus, and the nature of Jesus. If you have been reading along with us, buckle up as we tackle this last few chapters. It is a fascinating portion of scripture which will help you understand the whole ministry of Jesus as well as what is going to happen at the end in Revelation.
Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a [a]stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
Jacob was back in the promised land, and in his old age, sons were doing most of the work. It almost sounds like Joseph was a spy, but this could not be farther from the truth. You see, he was all about the father’s business. He had no other regard. Here is one of the first similarities between Joseph & Jesus. What did Jesus say in the Gospel of John “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”( John 6:38) Whose business are you about? Are you more interested in pleasing the world or are you willing to go against the world that you may follow Jesus and do his will? Joseph could have had a better relationship with his brothers, or his brothers would have liked him more if he chose not to report to Jacob all their deeds, but in the long run, it would lead to brother’s destruction. Sometimes, it is better to correct a loved one than to let them live a life of SIN. They might not like you for a season, but in the end, they will appreciate you saving them from themselves.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children because he was the son of his old age. Also, he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
The right interpretation should be “coat of many sleeves” NOT many colors. Jacob favored Joseph because he showed maturity and was wise enough to understand his responsibility and was obedient to his father. This is the reason why Jacob bought him the coat. You see, Joseph was in charge. He had more responsibility than his brothers. The coat had many sleeves( Pocket) because he needed to carry all the stuff he needed to do his job. There were no briefcases in those days. The brothers were jealous not because of a piece of clothing but because of what it represented. Joseph, being the younger brother was in charge, and that did not sit well with them. Jealousy is a dangerous sin which led them to almost murder their own brother. Many of you might say, we would never do such thing but how many of us gossip and bad mouth other Christian brothers because of our jealousy of their position? You see, we want their place, but we are not willing to make a sacrifice and be obedient. We want the glory but not the responsibility. There is a price to be paid for doing the right thing. Like Joseph, Jesus was hated by his brothers ( Jews), and they hated him and his teaching that they killed him. All Jesus did was tell them, they are not doing father’s will. Do you struggle with Jealousy? It may lead you to a path of destruction.
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Why did Joseph share his dreams? He knew his relationship with his brothers was not good. He knew sharing this dreams would create a further rift, yet he chose to share. Like Jesus, Joseph knew truth had to be shared no matter what the consequences. The sheaves speak of the world’s resources, and stars speak of the worldly leaders. In other words, the world’s resources and rulers will bow down to the Greater than Joseph, Jesus Christ.( Colossians 1:16-18) Listen closely to Joseph’s brothers, and you will hear the nation of Israel say, ” We will not have this man rule over us.” John 19:15
12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”
Do you recall Shechem from our previous study? This is the place Dinah was raped, and the brothers became murderers. It is a place of wickedness and sin. Here, Jacob, the father asks his son Joseph to go to such place to help his brothers. Our father in heaven sent his only son Jesus to help his brothers who were in a place full of sin and wickedness. Do you see the similarities? Wherever you touch Joseph, you find Jesus. Think through with me as we study nest few chapters. I can not touch on every single reference, but you research for yourself.
14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this [b]dreamer is coming! 20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”
Hebron Means “FELLOWSHIP.” Joseph went from place of fellowship to a place of wickedness. Jacob sent Joseph as a messenger. Jesus was in a fellowship with his father, and he gave them up to save us. His brothers plotted to kill him even before he came near them. They saw Joesph approaching them, and right away they planned to kill him. Does this remind you of the parable of vineyard owner in Matthew 21? He also sends messengers and finally his son, and they murder the son. Jews plotted to kill Jesus even before they knew him ( John 5:13).
21 But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.23 So it came to pass when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.
Reuben is a lot like Pontius Pilot. He does not know how to handle this situation. If you recall, Pilot did not know what to do with Jesus, and he flogged him beyond recognition (John 19) to satisfy Jews. In same way Reuben thought, throwing Joseph in a pit will satisfy his brothers. Who else had a coat ( seamless robe) stripped from him? Jesus. The empty pit is a picture of the empty tomb in which Jesus was buried, for tomb had never held a body before.
25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
Are you beginning to see the story unfold? What did the Jews do? They handed Jesus over to Romans because they said it was against Roman law for them to execute Him. But, if you recall the story of a woman caught in adultery ( John 8 ), they were ready to kill her. Why did they do this? To unknowingly fulfill prophecy. You see, Jews did not crucify people, Gentiles did, and the prophecy was clear on how Jesus was to die. Do I even need to mention who else was sold for silver?
29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit, and he tore his clothes. 30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”
Reuben was absent when the sale of Joseph had taken place. He finds the empty pit. Reuben was profoundly impacted much like Pilot was when told of the empty tomb. Many history books tell us he went insane. Here we see Jacob deceived by the blood of a goat much like he betrayed his father with the skin of a goat. Joseph’s brothers lied about the disappearance of their brother whom they knew to be alive. What did the jews leaders do when they heard the truth about the empty tomb? They paid off the soldiers to lie. They covered up the resurrection.
33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without a doubt, Joseph is torn to pieces.”34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
The brothers never told Jacob that Joseph was killed. All they did was present him with the coat, and Jacob assumed the rest. How many times we let our imagination take us in the wrong direction. A small piece of information and we break up our relation because we think the worst. We are going to see how wrong Jacob was here. Later on, we will see a similar reaction when he thinks, he lost Benjamin. He lacked the faith to see that everything was, in fact working out beautifully. Please make a note, you see it is Jacob not ISRAEL who rent his clothes. How many times do we react in the same manner? Like Jacob we forget, God is in charge of our lives and everything works out in the end.
36 Now the [c]Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Next chapter story shifts to Judah, and after that, we will continue with the life of Joseph. Our focus is on creation. We want to create, new ministry, new programs in church etc. We want to know how? When? What? Who? The world wants to focus on these questions, but the story of Joseph teaches that it is all about JESUS. God, the father, says to us, focus on Jesus. I want you to know him and make him known. May our lives be a picture of Christ. Amen
only savior jesus 