The story of Joseph is told in Genesis chapters 37-50. Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob but the first born to Jacob’s favored wife, Rachel. Jacob favored his son Joseph more than his other sons. This was not only because he was the first born through Rachel, but also because he was born to him in his old age. Jacob was about 90 years old when Joseph was born. Rachel bore a second son, Benjamin, but she died giving birth to him. Jacob gave Joseph a position of honor over his brothers as signified by the ornate coat, aka the coat of many colors. The special coat apparently designated him to become the leader of the clan when Jacob could no longer fulfill that responsibility. In the end, Jacob gave Joseph a double blessing by adopting Joseph’s two sons and allotting them portions of the promised land. This was, in essence, a double portion to the tribe of Joseph (Joshua 14:1-5).
Joseph’s brothers were aware of their father’s high esteem of Joseph and that caused them to despise him from early on. After Joseph revealed his dreams in which his family would bow down to him, his brothers despised him all the more. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, his brothers conspired to murder Joseph but in the end they relented and decided to sell him into slavery instead. They deceived their father into believing that Joseph was killed by a wild animal. They never expected to see him again. As it turned out, Joseph survived the time in slavery and thrived. He rose from a lowly slave to the leader of all Egypt and was in charge of that vast empire. He graciously forgave his brothers and made arrangements for the entire clan to reside temporarily in Goshen, a remote, safe region within the borders of Egypt where they could graze their flocks and survive the famine. With God’s help, Joseph saved the family that would become the 12 tribes which formed the nation of Israel. He preserved the line from which the seed promised to Eve would come and crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15). This is a thread that is found throughout the Old Testament and the Gospels. Not only did God provide his Son as the sacrifice for the sin of mankind, he carefully planned and protected the genealogical line that led to Christ. We see this in several instances, but it is emphasized in the story of Joseph who was used by God to save the patriarchs.
Stephen’s Summary
Stephen was one of the first deacons appointed in the early church. He was “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5).” Stephen was falsely accused and eventually died for his faith. Prior to his death, he accused the leaders of Judaism of being disobedient to God and having hard hearts. Acts 7 records his speech to the Sanhedrin. The speech began with a history of Israel and includes the story of Joseph. It is interesting to see how concisely he summarized the important facts.
[An excerpt from Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin] “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.
“Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.
“As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased.”
Acts 7:9-17
Preserving the Patriarchs
Earlier in the Book of Genesis, God had made a covenant promise to Abraham saying that a nation would be formed from his offspring. It is obvious that God had a specific plan for this nation to come from a specific line. Abraham fathered Issac and Issac fathered Jacob. Jacob was a twin to Esau and even before they were born, God revealed that Jacob would continue the divinely established line for the nation to be formed. Jacob had several sons and they became the patriarchs.
The nation God had planned would be in the form of 12 tribes and Jacob’s sons would be the tribe leaders. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel and the nation would bear that name. The story of Joseph is really a story of God forming his promised nation through his divine sovereignty and by his great power. The length of the story spans 14 chapters which makes it one of the longest stories of an individual recorded by Moses. What makes it important is not how great Joseph was as a man, but rather how great God was in carefully forming his chosen nation. God’s power and divine providence is the focus and the fact that he used Joseph to preserve the family he chose is secondary.
Joseph, A Hero of Faith
Joseph was a moral and righteous man as demonstrated by his actions throughout the narrative. After being sold into slavery, he refused the sexual advances of his master’s wife and indicated that it would not only be wrong morally and ethically, but it would be a sin against God. When he was placed in prison, God gave him divine revelations regarding the dreams of his inmates. The cupbearer let him down by forgetting about him for two years after his release. Up to that point in the story, Joseph was despised by his family, falsely accused in his master’s household, imprisoned unjustly and abandoned by someone he helped. Joseph was not bent on revenge for any of these things. He simply put the past behind him and kept his focus on God’s plans for his life. The day came when Pharaoh recognized the fact that Joseph was blessed by God and put him in charge of the entire country. At that point in history, Egypt was the dominating nation in the world. Joseph had complete command over all things in that vast empire. From this great position of power, he chose to offer forgiveness to his family instead of revenge. In humility, he welcomed them and established an area for them to settle during the years of the famine. Through his leadership, Joseph was enabled to preserve God’s chosen family from whom the nation Israel would be formed. Additionally, he saved the known world from a devastating famine. No sin of Joseph is recorded. There is no doubt he had committed sins along the way, but overall he was known as a righteous and honorable man.
While in Egypt Joseph was given the Egyptian name of Zaphenath-Paneah (Genesis 41:45). He married Asenath, the daughter of a pagan priest of On. She bore him two sons named Manasseh and Ephraim. When his father Jacob was preparing to die, he hastily adopted Joseph’s two sons and blessed them along with the rest of his sons who would go on to form the 12 tribes of Israel.
When Joseph was old and making preparations for his own death, he made arrangements for his bones to be transported out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. He was definitely a man of great faith (Hebrews 11:22). The clan of Jacob entered Egypt as a family of about 75 and over the course of several hundred years, they grew into a nation of over 2 million (my estimate based on Exodus 12:37). God used Joseph to preserve the family during the time of famine. Later, God used Moses to redeem them from the slavery Egypt had forced on them. What a blessing this lesson of the story has been to believers throughout history.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Genesis 50:20
Satan and his minions influence the people of the world to harm God’s people and derail God’s plans but God prevails and works everything out for good. Because of the story of Joseph, we can find comfort in our rejection and the unfairness of situations in which we find ourselves. We place our hope in the goodness of God and his sovereign means to bring about his preordained ends.
No Biblical Typology Here
The story of Joseph isn’t used in the Apostle’s teachings. Though there are some similarities between Joseph and Christ, it would probably be improper to consider Joseph as a type of Christ. True Biblical types make their own connection between the New Testament antitype and the Old Testament type. But it is interesting to compare the similarities between Joseph and Christ. They both were born under miraculous conditions – Rachel had been barren most of her life and Mary was a virgin. They both were rejected by their families. They both were sold for the price of a slave. They both extended forgiveness to those who despised them. They both were exalted high above others and given great honor and power.
There are some interesting similarities between Joseph and the nation Israel. Just as the nation of Israel was despised and rejected in the world, so also was Joseph despised and rejected. And just as Israel will be blessed by God and exalted among the nations, so also was Joseph blessed by God and exalted among his family, his peers and everyone else in the world of his time.
But just because there are similarities to certain elements of their respective stories, that does not grant us license to make connections that the Apostles didn’t make. It would suffice to say that God preserved his divinely chosen line through the actions of Joseph. Ultimately, Christ, a descendant of the tribe of Judah and known as a son of David was born to become Savior of the world. While the story of Joseph is useful for illustrative purposes, the similarities fall short of Biblical typology.
Joseph’s Awareness of God’s Providence
Joseph believed God was in control of every circumstance and situation in his life. That was true for him and it is true for every one of us. If we were able to adopt that frame of mind when life presents us with setbacks and challenges, we would overcome these hurdles in stride just like Joseph. We can get a glimpse into his mentality by reviewing what he told his brothers.
“And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’
“‘You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.’
“Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.
“When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’
“You are also directed to tell them, ‘Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.’”
Genesis 45:5-20
God had revealed to Abraham that his descendants would be in slavery for hundreds of years (Genesis 15:13-14). Joseph was used to protect and save the family that entered Egypt. Over the course of 400 years or so, the nation was formed and they were redeemed by the Lord through Moses. Moses miraculously led them out of Egypt and across the desert towards the promised land. Joshua took over from there and they settled in the land God provided for them. In time, Jesus was born to the virgin Mary and grew up to be the Savior of the World. Nothing about God’s plan is random or left to chance. God has a way to cause all things, good and evil, to work together to bring about his preordained end. What a magnificent story the Bible tells. It is a great comfort to believers to know that no matter what events occur in our lives, God will accomplish his purposes through each one of us. If we ever are in doubt and need encouragement, we need look no further than the life and times of Joseph, the favored son of Jacob who suffered rejection, slavery and abandonment but ultimately fulfilled his divine mission. Because of his faithfulness, the genealogy to Christ continued just as God planned.
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
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