I.
There are over 100 incidents and details in the history of Joseph that point
beyond any question to the One to come.
A. There are
probably more parallels and similarities showing Joseph a type Christ than any
other Old Testament character.
B. Many more
similarities can be found in chapters 37-50 then we will look at here.
1. The name given
to Joseph by his father means “adding to” or “increasing.”
2. The first Adam
was the great subtractor, the last Adam is the great multiplier.
Speaking of Himself, Jesus says:
John 12:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if
it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
B. The other name given to him when he was
exalted to the throne of Egypt.
1. Joseph is the equivalent of the name Jesus, His human name, given
Him by His parents under instruction of the Holy Ghost. As the Son of Man He
was:
a. Rejected by His
brethren - Just as Joseph was.
b. Sold for 30
pieces of silver.
c. Cast into the
pit of death.
d. Sent into
exile, but after many fierce and cruel trials
2. Joseph was
finally exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh in Egypt
a. There he
received a new name
b. Not the name of
rejection
c. But exaltation.
Moses tells us:
Genesis 41:42-45 “And Pharaoh took off his
ring from his hand, and put it upon
Joseph’s hand…And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he
had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all
the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnathpaaneah…”
3. Zaphnath-paaneah means “revealer of secrets.”
a. It is his name
of authority,
b. Points forward
to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
1. In humiliation
2. And shamefully
treated
3. To be rejected
by His brethren
4. His name the
first time was Jesus
1. In power
2. And in glory
3. To be accepted
by His brethren
4. He will receive
a new name.
E. The Apostle
John describes this Second Coming of Christ in glory and power:
Revelation 19:11-12 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon
him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war. His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew,
but he himself.”
1. We will not
know here
2. I am sure it
will correspond to the new name of Joseph, Zaphnath-paaneah, the revealer of
secrets
a. Everything
hidden will be revealed then
b. All of the secrets
of men’s hearts will be revealed
A. Joseph was hated by his brethren because he
exposed the evil of their hearts.
B. When he was 17,
he visited his brethren who were tending their sheep in Shechem.
C. Joseph saw the
conduct and wickedness of his brothers, and reported it to their father:
Genesis 37:2 Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock
with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons
of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
D. For this
Joseph was hated all the more.
E. Our Lord
Jesus too, when He came into this world,
1. He was hated
because he revealed man’s wickedness
2. He was hated
because He testified against them. Christ said:
John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you; but me
it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”
F. Joseph was
well beloved of the father. We read:
Genesis 37:3 “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the
son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.”
G. Jesus too,
was the well-beloved of the Father.
1. He was also the
Son of His Father’s old age
2. Even from
eternity
3. One of His
names is the Ancient of Days
1. The foreteller
of the future
2. Especially his
own future
1. He had
testified to his father concerning their wicked deeds
2. He was his
father’s favorite son
a. He was honored
by wearing a coat of many colors
b. This distinguished him from the rest of them
C. But he
caused them to hate him even more when he came with his prophetic dreams.
1. The dreams
Joseph related to his brethren were a source of jealousy and anger to them.
2. First Joseph
saw his brethren as sheaves of wheat in the field, bowing down to him, a
prophetic vision which would be fulfilled in Egypt.
3. In the second dream he saw the sun and the moon and eleven stars
making obeisance to him.
D. Though these
words were prophetic, they made his brothers mad at him.
1.They hated him
not only because of who he was - His father’s beloved son
2. but also
because of what he said. 1. It was his words to which they took exception
Genesis
37:8 “they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.”
E. What a
prediction of the hatred of Jesus’ enemies. They too hated Him because of what
He claimed Himself to be:
John 5:18
“Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken
the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with
God.”
F. But they
also hated Him because of what He said. He said:
John 8:40 “But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the
truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.”
G. Typical Significance Of The Dreams - Two separate areas for the setting of two
separate dreams – Prefigures Christ’s Two Sovereign Reigns
1. The first was on earth.
a. Joseph saw sheaves of grain in the field, bowing down to him
b. The field is the world
c. The Dream deals with earthly sovereignty
2. The second dream was in the heavens
a. He saw the sun, moon and eleven stars making obeisance to him
b. The dream deals with the sovereignty in the heavens
c. Joseph looks forward to the Lord Who will reign as sovereign Lord and King, like He is today Lord in heaven
d. The sheaves bowing probably deal with His earthly kingdom, the promised Davidic kingdom.
e. The sun, moon and stars point to His heavenly
people, the church, and the redeemed of all ages.
Genesis 37:12-14 “And his brethren went to feed
their father’s flock in Shechem And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy
brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them. And
he said to him, Here am I And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it
be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again.”
1. “Shechem” means
“fellowship,”
2. His brothers
had last been heard from in Shechem
3. He did not find
them in the land of “fellowship”
1. “Dothan” means
“law.”
2. Here Joseph
found them in the land of the law.
3. But when they
saw him coming, they were filled with hatred and said:
Genesis 37:19 “…Behold, the dreamer cometh.”
E. The
brothers came up with an evil
plot against Jacob
1. They wanted to
get rid of him.
2. They cast him
into a pit - with no water
3. They weren’t
sure what to do with him.
4. Then they had a
break (or so they thought),
a. for a band of
Ishmaelites came passing by.
b. Joseph’s
brothers sold him as a slave to the Ishmaelites
1. for twenty
pieces of silver
2. and he was
exiled in Egypt
F. The simile
between the treatment of Joseph, by his brethren and the abuse Jesus suffered
by His brethren
Genesis
37:23-24“And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they
stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And
they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no
water in it.”
1.The coat of
many colors mentioned so often in the text
a. It was a very
expensive, valuable coat.
b. It was given to
him by his father to mark him as a specific figure.
2. This coat
was evidently a seamless robe
a. woven in one piece with openings only at the
top and the bottom
b. It had to be
put on over the head or stepped into
1. having no
openings on the sides, front or back.
2. This is
certainly indicated by the language in our Scripture. Notice:
Genesis 37:23 “…they stript Joseph out of his coat…”
3. Notice it
does not say they took the coat off
a. They stript it from Joseph,
b. They stript him
out of his coat.
4. It is not an
accident that in Jesus’ trial we read the same story
a. After the
scribes and Pharisees and His brethren
tried to kill Him
b. They found the
pit dry – they could find no fault except in their tradition
c. They turned Him
over to the Gentiles
d. Before
stripping Him and keeping the seamless coat - We read of the soldiers and
Jesus:
John 19:23-24
“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made
four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was
without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among
themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that
the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment
among them, and for my vesture they did
cast lots.”
G. Joseph, the
type and Jesus the anti-type
1. Both wore the
distinguishing garment of a father’s special love
2. Both wore a
seamless garment.
H. After they
stripped Joseph and cast him into the pit - Look at this:
1. While their
brother was in the pit - the place of potential death
2. The Brethren
were unconcerned and went right on eating their lunch
I. It was the
same with the ones who crucified the Lord – When they nailed Him to the tree we
read from Matthew almost the same thing:
Matthew 27:35-36 “And they crucified him, and parted his
garments, casting lots: And sitting down they watched him there.”
1. A sickening
revulsion at the treatment of Joseph by his brothers
2. A greater
sickening at the wholly illegal and unjustified murder of Christ
B. But, do you
realize that it was our sins that nailed Him to the cross.
1. We are, as
sinners, represented by the brethren of Joseph and the mob that led the Son of
God to the hill of Calvary.
2. He is the very
One that stands ready to forgive and save.
What Marvelous Grace
First Points of Joseph, A Type of Christ |
|
|
Joseph |
Jesus |
|
Was well beloved
of the father. Genesis 37:3 |
The Father’s Beloved Son In Whom He is well pleased - Matthew 17:5 |
|
Sent by his father, he left his father’s house to see his brethren Genesis 37:12-14 |
Sent by His Father, He left his father’s house to see his brethren – Galatians 4:4 |
|
Rejected by his brethren – Didn’t want him to rule over them - Genesis 37:7-8 |
Rejected by His brethren – John 19:15, John 1:10-11 |
|
His brethren hated him for who he was, a revealer of
secrets, and for his words Genesis 37:8 |
His brethren hated
Him for Who He Is, revealer of secrets, as well as His Words John 5:18; John
8:40 |
|
Cast into an empty
pit with no water – a pit of death – but raised out again - Genesis 37:20;24 |
Suffer many things
of the elders … and be killed, and be raised again the third day. – Matthew
16:31 |
|
Sold for 20 pieces of silver – Genesis 37:28 |
Sold for 30 pieces of silver – Matthew 27:3 |
|
Sent into exile, but after many cruel trials was finally exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh in Egypt – Genesis 41:39-43 |
Endured the cross, despised the shame, and exalted to the right hand of The Father – Hebrews 12:2 |
|
Was given a new name as he became ruler Zaphnath-paaneah “revealer of secrets” Genesis 41:45 |
He will have a new name known only to himself when He sets up His kingdom – Revelation 2:17 |
|
And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat - Genesis 37:23 |
They took his garments…and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout - John 19:23-24 |