I am writing concerning the man, Joseph, son of Israel; how he pertains to Christ Jesus: firstly, Joseph was beloved of his father “because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.” (Genesis 37:3) So Joseph was beloved by the father, and his brethren hated him, as Cain hated his brother Abel. “And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.” (1 John 3:12) And was Joseph beloved of his earthly father only? No, but of His heavenly Father too. For God prophesied many things concerning him, which made his brothers hate him even more. For on two occasions God gave Joseph dreams concerning them.
Similarly concerning Jesus, “a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."” (Mark 1:11) For Jesus is the Beloved of the Father. And God proves to us in Him is salvation through the writings; through many prophecies and testimonies, He predicts the things to come concerning Him, so that there would be no surprise when the things came, so that we may know it was brought about by the foreknowledge and predetermined plan of God. Yet Jesus was hated by his brethren, the Jews; and they sought to kill Him “because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” (John 5:18) So they hated Him because He was the Son of God. So Joseph is like Jesus in this way: he was hated because he was the beloved son of the father.
If there be hate, then let it be for a good cause. But “without cause they hid their net for me; Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.” (Psalms 35:7) “They repay me evil for good, To the bereavement of my soul.” (Psalms 35:12) And “Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously.” (Psalms 35:19)“And those who repay evil for good, They oppose me, because I follow what is good.” (Psalms 38:20) “They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without cause.” (Psalms 109:3) “Thus they have repaid me evil for good And hatred for my love.” (Psalms 109:5) For Jesus was perfect and He was hated for being good “to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, 'THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.'” (John 15:25) "The world hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.” (John 7:7) "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:20)
They hated Joseph and said, "Come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, 'A wild beast devoured him.' Then let us see what will become of his dreams!"” (Genesis 37:20) And they said of Christ, "Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!" (Mark 15:29-30) Or in other words, “Let us see what will become of Your prophecies.” But just as Joseph remembered the dreams when they were fulfilled, when he seen his brothers bowing down to him; so the disciples were constantly remembering the Scriptures concerning Christ when they were fulfilled (Luke 24:8, John 2:17, John 2:22, John 12:16). And Jesus often was fulfilling Scripture and henceforth declaring it (Matthew 13:14, Matthew 26:54, Luke 4:21, Luke 22,37, John 13:18, John 17:12). And after He was raised, He said, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." (Luke 24:44) For “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.” (Luke 16:17)
Secondly, Joseph’s brothers did not want to kill Joseph, but they decided, "Let us not take his life.” (Genesis 37:21) And they said, "What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?” (Genesis 37:26) And in the same way, Christ’s betrayer said, "Why this waste?” (Matthew 26:8) When the ointment was poured out upon Him. And seeking profit, he asked His enemies, "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" (Matthew 26:15) As it is written in Zechariah, “So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.” (Zechariah 11:12) “Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them." So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.” (Zechariah 11:13)
So then, Joseph’s beautiful robe was taken from him; they put him into the pit; his father’s splendor was dipped in blood; and he was sold into the land of Egypt. And likewise, concerning Jesus, “You have spurned the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his crown in the dust.” (Psalms 89:39) “You have made his splendor to cease And cast his throne to the ground.” (Psalms 89:44) “And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots.” (Matthew 27:35) However “The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.” (Genesis 39:2) But when Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, he was thrown into the dungeon; however “The LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.” (Genesis 39:21) And when he was proven wise before Pharaoh, he was exalted as second in command over all Egypt, and only Pharaoh was higher than he. Likewise, concerning Christ, “GOD HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:27-28) For Christ received a name higher than David’s name, “so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11) So Joseph was exalted from the pit, and Jesus was raised from the dead because there was no fault found in Him.
Now concerning the remainder of this writing, I will take a more subjective approach: in times past God has revealed Himself in numerous ways to the people of Israel. To Moses He appeared in a burning bush, to Israel He appeared on the mountain top of Sinai in a burning flame and pillar of smoke, and to Israel in the wilderness, He appeared to them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. As it is written, “The LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” (Deuteronomy 4:24) And “God is a righteous judge,” (Psalm 7:11) and ”Holy is He” (Psalm 99:5). Without question a man fears fire because of its power; how much more should we revere a holy and righteous God and live? For the LORD God is a consuming fire. If we fear to be out in the sun too long, even when it is millions of miles away; how much more should we revere a holy and living God as we draw near unto Him?
For this reason, Joseph “disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly.” (Genesis 42:7) For his brothers came to him as he was ruler in Egypt, and he disguised himself and spoke to them as a fierce king; but behind closed doors “He turned away from them and wept.” (Genesis 42:24) For outwardly he appeared one way, and disguised his true identity to his brothers for a time. For Joseph perceived it was from God that his brothers would bow down to him; and without question people only prostrate themselves to those they revere, who they reckoned powerful, who they reckoned as mighty. It was necessary that these things occurred before Joseph revealed himself to his brothers.
So you see, Joseph's brothers were blind to the goodness they received; for many good things happened to them from Joseph's hand. For Joseph returned the money into their sacks, but it says, "Their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?"” (Genesis 42:28) For they considered this good thing to be a judgement from God because of their sin. And another time they were brought into Joseph’s house and feasted; but it says, “The men were afraid,” (Genesis 43:18) despite the good things that were occurring to them, even in a time of famine.
Now, these things were necessary just as it was necessary for God to first give the covenant at Horeb in the fearful manner that it was; but then later to reveal Himself in His Son as He truly is. For when the same God appeared to Elijah at the same mountain, mount Horeb, there was “a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.” (1 Kings 19:11-12) For we now know God and His likeness; as it says, "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jeremiah 31:34) For “God is love,” (1 John 4:8) And “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5) “God is spirit,” (John 4:24) “God is true,” (John 3:33) and “God is a compassionate God,” (Deuteronomy 4:31) “God is gracious and compassionate.” (2 Chronicles 30:9)
Yet for a time, He appeared unto Israel in a dark cloud; as it says, “The mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom.” (Deuteronomy 4:11) And then it says, “He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.” (Psalms 18:11) For although God is light, He encompasses Himself in a dark cloud so that He may be revealed in Christ at the proper time; for it is God’s pleasure to reveal Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ, the Righteous, at the set time. And that time is now, that day is today.
Just as the skilled writer writes about such things; as he was saying:
“You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. For they could not bear the command, "IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED." And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, "I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling." But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:18-24)
And if the gospel be veiled, “it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) And this god of the world is the devil, who “disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14) For Joseph’s brethren did not know Joseph until the veil was removed; and while they did not see their brother, they were still in their sins; as they were saying, “God has found out the iniquity of your servants,” (Genesis 44:16) And, "Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us." (Genesis 42:21) And they also said, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy'; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for his blood."” (Genesis 42:22) So they had guilt as long as they thought Joseph was dead.
But when Joseph was revealed as “alive from the dead”, they had no blood-guiltiness on his account, for he was alive. And these comforting words from Joseph were given to them, “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” (Genesis 45:5) And, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:7-8)
So you see, we may lament and cry and be angry with ourselves because of our sins and the penalty Christ bore on our behalf, saying, “Oh, Jesus died for me! How miserable am I! Even for my sins that He died!” And this good thing may appear unto us as an evil thing, a judgement from God; but it was according to God’s good plan that it occurred, to save life rather than destroy it. For “The LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief;” (Isaiah 53:10) And you see! Your Savior, Your Redeemer, Your Master, Your Lord, He is not dead, He is living; for He died for three days, but He is alive forevermore! So do not be unbelieving, but believing. As Joseph said, “Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you.” (Genesis 45:12) Likewise Christ said, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." (John 20:27)
The first report given to Jacob from his sons was an ill report, but the second a good report. Likewise, the first covenant was given to shut everyone up so that they may be accountable to God, but the latter covenant is the good news. For “God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.” (Romans 11:32) For without the first covenant there would be no transgression to forgive. “But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (Galatians 3:22)
So therefore, unveil your eyes and see that your brother is very much alive, Second in command, Mediator between you and God; and “He always lives to make intercession for” you (Hebrews 7:25). So draw near to God in reverence and awe, knowing His great love for you. And do not neglect fear, for the men who were irreverent previously, they did not live to tell the story of it; but they testify from the dead the truth of the words: “By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.” (Leviticus 10:3) I remind you when God spoke to Israel from the mountain and they trembled with fear, Moses said, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin." (Exodus 20:20)
So let us draw near unto God in reverence, without neglecting fear, but not with fear which renders a men ineffective of any sort of movement, but coming to God through Jesus Christ knowing that He loves you and cares for your soul, that He was given over for your trespasses and was raised for your justification, to the result that you would return to Him and be healed. “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." (Luke 9:56) And “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20)
Joseph was not slain, but a young goat was slaughtered instead; Isaac was not sacrificed, but a ram was given; Judah was to give his life for his brother Benjamin, but Joseph was revealed unto them; and Christ is the young goat, Jesus, the ram, Jesus Christ is like the man Joseph.