JOSEPH2. MORE LIKENESSES TO OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. Genesis 39,40

WE observe remarkable events in the life of Joseph, noting likenesses to our Lord.

Potiphar imprisoned Joseph on the false charges of his deceitful wife, ‘ Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined.’ (v20) Our Lord Jesus also faced untrue accusations, when they asked whether He were the Christ, the Messiah, to which He replied, ‘Hereafter, the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.’ ‘Are you then the Son of God? ’ they asked. ‘You rightly say that I am.’ They brazenly responded, ‘ What further testimony do we need.’ ( Luke 22:69). The Old Testament confirms the New.

Joseph enjoyed the Presence of his Lord, ‘ Who was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.’ (v21) John wrote, ‘The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Our Lord Jesus both enjoyed the grace of God and showed it in every life experience, so releasing it to believers in our dear Lord.

Joseph’s faith was firmly in his God, as he spoke in prison, ‘ Do nor interpretations ( of dreams ) belong to God?’ ( 40:8) Joseph truly showed the meaning of the two dreams to the chief butler, who was recalled by Pharoah ) and the chief baker, who was slain by the monarch. Our Lord Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple, when he said, ,’Do you not see all these things? Assuredly I say to you , not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’ ( Matt 24:2 ) The Roman emperor Titus actually fulfilled Christ’s prophecy in 70 AD, forty years after our Lord’s crucifixion.

Later Pharoah dreamed, and none of his counsellors or magicians could interpret it. The ruler was desperate. ( 41:12). The chief butler recalled Joseph’s faithful understanding of his dream, and told the King ‘ A young Hebrew man was with us, as servant of the captain of the guard.’ ‘ Pharoah sent and called Joseph.’ Prime Minister Daniel had done the same when the hand-writing on the wall predicted to a drunken, besotted King that God’s judgment was about to fall. Daniel was honoured for this.

In the same way God’s dear Son warned ‘You shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled. These things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom shall rise against kingdom. And there shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.’ ( Matt 24:6,7 )

God elevated Joseph to a place of unique honour and responsibility, when ‘Pharoah sent and called him hastily our of the gloomy dungeon, and he shaved, changed his clothing and came to Pharoah.’ ( 41:14) The irksome years of prison confinement had ended, while the often-forgotten young man, now 30 yeas old, prepared for a bright future. This is a vivid picture of Our Lord as seen in Philippians 2: 6,’Christ Jesus, Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, coming in the likeness of man, and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself , and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

The heavenly Father elevated our Lord Jesus after His 30 years’ confinement in a human body, being centred in Israel, His atoning death, His three days when He descended into Hades, and ‘led captivity captive a and gave gifts unto man,’ ( Eph 4:8) into the glorious resurrection life and liberty. Joseph prefigures God’s dear Son.

‘It is not in me,’ Joseph told Pharoah when he demanded an interpretation of his dream of 7 fine-looking, fat cows being eaten by 7 gaunt, ugly ones , and 7 full, good heads of corn eaten by 7 withered ,thin and blighted heads of corn’ ( 41:17-23 ) . Joseph

glorified his God, just as the Lord Jesus so often had done, as He stated ‘ Of Myself I can do nothing.’ As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just.’

Joseph showed how 7 years of bumper harvests would be followed by 7 years of famine and failed crops. ‘God has shown Pharoah what He is about to do.’ ( v28) He further revealed ‘that the dream was repeated twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.’ (v32 ) Notice how precise is the Lord in detailing the weather forecast for the next 14 years. ( 7 good years, 7 poor years. ) John in the Revelation shows how ‘the spirit of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.’ ( ) Our dear Lord said, ‘When you see all these things come to pass, you know that My coming ( His second coming ) is near.’ Recent earthquakes in Turkey, Greece and Taiwan filled the news, while Ecuador braces itself for a devastating volcanic eruption.

God’s perfect world, corrupted by evil, ‘ groans and travails together, awaiting the adoption, namely, the redemption of our body.’ ( Romans 8 :23)

Pharoah promoted Joseph, eulogising him, ‘ Can we find such a man as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?’ ‘Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.’ When the Lord Jesus gave His initial address in Nazareth, He said, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, and preach deliverance to the captives. ‘ ( Luke 4: 18 )The Bible spoke of the Holy Spirit fullness of our dear Lord.

Pharoah lavished recognition on Joseph, ‘ You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne, shall I be greater than you.’ I have set you over all the land of Egypt. ( 41:41 ). The emperor put his signet ring on Joseph’s hand, clothed him in fine linen ( always a mark of the righteousness of saints ), and a gold chain around his neck.’ ‘He made him ride in the second chariot, crying , ‘Bow the knee.’ ( v41 ) The prophecy concerning our Lord Jesus is , ‘Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord.’ ( Phil 2 )

A beautiful parallel from Joseph, 1500 years before.

How did Potiphar and his seditious wife respond when Joseph, the former slave boy, rode by, and they were compelled to bow the knee and acclaim him publicly? How will every atheist and rejecter of our Lord Jesus feel when they must agree that He is now their Judge and Sentencer, when He had longed to be their Saviour!

Pharoah gave Joseph a new name, Zaphnath-Paaneah, meaning ‘the treasury of glorious rest’. ( v45) . The Lord Jesus has ‘all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’, enriching our lives immeasurably. He promised to all ‘that are weary and heaven-laden, He would give rest.’ ( Matt 11:28 ).Oh, the sweet comfort our Lord Jesus has given to each trusting child, and the unsearchable riches found in Him!

Joseph’s prophecies came to pass. ‘In the seven plentiful years, the ground brought forth abundantly’. ( v47) ‘When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharoah for bread.’ His unforgettable response was, ‘Go to Joseph, Whatsoever He says to you, do it.’ ( v55). We must point to only one source of the living bread, namely the Lord Jesus Christ. Family or associates are lost for ever if we withhold the living bread.

‘The famine was over the face of all the earth.’ So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain. ( v56,57 ) , because the famine was so severe in all lands.’ At present, there is a famine in our land for the Word of God. Nations desire the truth of God’s word beyond all else. New translations of the Scriptures are exciting when tribes hear and read the precious truth in their own language for the first time.