Joseph as a Type of Christ: The Hidden Prophecy in Genesis 37-46

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, good to have everybody back. And once again, we're going to get into the book, chapter 36 of Genesis. And for those of you on television, we have inquiries as to where we have our nightly classes. And let me just briefly run them by them. Monday night we're up at Tahlequah, Tuesday night at Wilberton, Wednesday night up at Tulsa, and Thursday night at Macalester. If you're interested in attending any of those classes, just give us a number, pardon me, just give us a call on our 800 number, and we'll give you more details. The class interest has been growing, and we appreciate that. And again, I'm always reminded to remind our viewing audience that, after all, we do need some help from the viewing audience if we're going to continue on the air. All right, that said, let's get into Genesis chapter 36. And now, as is always the case, you can look first at the natural posterity, which in this one is Esau, and then the spiritual. It's always been the case, first Cain, and then Seth, and so on down the line, Ishmael, and then Isaac, and here it comes, Esau, and then we'll pick up again in chapter 37 the lineage of Jacob. Now, in chapter 36, of all these names, we're not going to go through them. They don't mean that much to us, except for one. And I'd like to have you drop all the way down to verse 12. And for those of you who know your Old Testament at all, you'll see in verse 12 that Timnah was a concubine to Eliphaz, Esau's son, and she bear to Eliphaz, who? Amalek. Now, who in the world is Amalek? I got you thinking, haven't I? Do you remember when Israel came out of Egypt under Moses, and they were heading down to Sinai? What was the first war they had to fight? Well, the Amalekites, see? And they all stem from these relatives, and that's what makes it so interesting. You look at me quizzically, but really, and I've made this statement on the program and in my classes before, statistically, where do most murders take place? Well, within the family, see? Within the family, because that's where all the affiliations are the closest, and that's where feelings are generated the quickest, and so consequently, it's among those environs then that our passions and our emotions seem to get the best of us. Now, same way here. All these relatives become arch enemies as you come on up through the Old Testament history, and so I just want to make note of that. The Amalekites originated from one of the offspring of Esau. Now then, let's go on over to chapter 37, where we'll pick up once again with Jacob, verse 1, and Jacob dwelled in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. Now, he's come back from Haran, remember, after 20 years herding Laban sheep. He came back with his wives and his 11 sons, and then after he comes back, of course, Rachel has Benjamin, and she passes off the scene. But now we're introduced to Joseph, and Joseph almost fills the rest of the book of Genesis. Now, again, this is one of those areas of Scripture that I very seldom treat verse by verse, because I feel that almost everyone knows the story of Joseph better than I do. You know all that he went through down there in Egypt and everything else, but there are a few things I'd like to point out. And verse 2, these are the generations of Jacob, Joseph being 17 years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren, and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, that remember was one of the maidservants of the girls up in Syria, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now here comes verse 3, now, Jake Israel, Jacob, loved Joseph more than all his children. Now I've put a few things on the board, and we're not going to take time again to look at them verse by verse, but just remind yourself that in the life of Joseph we have so many things that are an exact, what shall I say, will be repeated almost exactly in the life of Christ. And so Joseph is that Old Testament picture of Christ when he comes on the scene. Number 1, Christ was the son of the Father, the beloved Son, whom the Father loved intrinsically, and so was Joseph. Joseph was given the coat of many colors, and again it goes back to what I taught you a few weeks ago. Why was there a special cloak given to the favored or to the eldest son? Now Christ, of course, had a special cloak. What was unique? It was seamless. It was woven of one seam from top to the bottom. Then they were both hated and rejected by their brethren. Now you see, Joseph, when he goes out to his brothers, and he tells them about his various dreams, how that he sees 11 sheaves, and they all bow down to his sheave, and what did they all pick up? Hey, this guy's telling us we're going to bow down and worship him? And boy, it did burn them up. All right, now when Christ came to the nation of Israel, what did he claim? That he was their king. And what did they say? We have no king but Caesar, crucify him, away with him. So they were both hated and rejected by their brethren. Then, of course, for all practical purposes, so far as type is concerned, when they cast Joseph into the pit, they considered him what? Dead. Dead. Now we know that the Ishmaelites came along, and there again you have a type of resurrection. Even though he was dead, yet he's alive, and so, of course, with Christ. Then, after they are taken for dead and they've been restored to life, both Joseph and Christ, they take what kind of a bride? A Gentile. Now, Joseph ends up down in Egypt, and he takes an Egyptian bride. Christ is exiled, you might say, from his rightful throne in Jerusalem as the king of Israel, and he went back to heaven. You remember what God the Father said in Psalms 110, verse 1? Come, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool, and then he's going to return. All right, now the same thing happened with Joseph. He was sent down into a far country. He was rejected by his brethren. He takes an Egyptian bride. But while he's there, you remember the brothers came down the first time to get their grain? Did they ever find out it was Joseph? No. They didn't recognize him, and yet Joseph gave them some little hints, and it just blew their mind. You know what one of them was? When he set up a banquet for them, he put them all at the table according to their age. From the eldest to the youngest, and it just blew their mind. They said, now how does he know the eldest from the youngest? And they had no idea who Joseph was. Now the same way when Jesus came on the scene, should they have known who he was? Sure they should have, but they didn't. They had no idea that he was the promised Messiah. Oh, the few did, but the nation as a whole never understood. In fact, you look at me kind of quizzically, and then I've got to find a verse for you. Keep your hand here in Genesis. Go back with me to 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians, chapter 2, and again drop all the way down to verse 7, excuse me, 1 Corinthians, chapter 2, verse 7. Now Paul, of course, is writing to the Gentile congregation at Corinth, and look what he says. We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, or in a secret, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world under our glory. In other words, again, there is the foreknowledge of God that Paul would be where he is. But now look at verse 8, which none of the princes of this world knew. Now that meant Romans as well as Jewish. None of the rulers or the princes of this world knew, for had they known it, known what? Who Jesus was, they would not have what? Crucified the Lord of glory. That stands to reason, doesn't it? Had the Romans really known who Christ was, do you think they'd have put him on that cross? No way. Had the high priests of Israel known that he was the very Creator, God of the universe, would they have allowed it? No. So why did it happen? They did not know. All right, now if you come back to Genesis, this is so beautifully put and then in type, in picture form, illustrated, that these brothers of Joseph were totally dependent now on the grain that he had gathered in the seven good years to carry through the seven lean. And yet they had no idea who he was. And even some of the things that transpired sent things reeling through their mind, but they couldn't put the thing together. Now then, as you come all the way over to all—listen, I said there was one thing I had to show you, didn't I? Come into chapter 37. You have to forgive me. Sometimes I get ahead of myself, and then I forget there was something I really wanted to point out. Here in chapter 37, as they have rejected Joseph and they are conspiring to put him to death—start with verse 20—And so the brothers say, Come now, therefore, and let us slay him, that is, Joseph, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams. Now when they are concocting what they are going to say, what are they setting up? A deception, a deception. And who are they going to deceive? Oh, the master of deception, Jacob, see? All right, come over to verse 21, And Reuben heard it, the eldest, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, Let us not kill him. But Reuben said, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, that is, out there in the desert, and lay no hand upon him, that he might rid him out of their hand. In other words, Reuben was conspiring by himself to have the brethren throw him into the pit, and then when they didn't know it, he'd go back and draw him out and send him back home. So Reuben was really trying to be a benefactor here, and he doesn't get away with it. Verse 23, And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, that coat of many colors, and they took him, and cast him into a pit, and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And then verse 25, underline, They sat down. They threw him into the pit. For all practical purpose, they were killing him, and then they did what? They sat down. Now, what does that remind you of? When Christ was put on the cross, what does it say they did? And they sat down, and they watched him there. Isn't that beautiful? Oh, it's such a perfect picture of what would transpire thousands of years later. And they sat down to eat their bread. And then verse 26, well, I'll continue on, verse 25, can't skip that. They said, Behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels, bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judas said unto his brethren, What profit is it, if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother in our flesh. And his brethren were content. So then, verse 28, they're passed by the Midianites, and they drew and lifted Joseph out of the pit and sold him. Now, I haven't even got that one on the board. And they sold Joseph for 20 pieces of silver, although that number is a little different. They sold Christ for how much? 30 pieces of silver, but nevertheless, the analogy is so close that you can't avoid it. And so they sold him for the 20 pieces of silver, and they took Joseph into Egypt. Now remember, he's 17. And then Reuben returned unto the pit, and behold, Joseph was not there. And so he ran his clothes, and he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not, and I, whither shall I go? He was responsible. He's the eldest. How could he dare go back to his father and tell him of what had happened? Then verse 31, they all eleven conspire, ten of them, I'm sorry, they all conspire, and they took Joseph's coat, and killed a what? Now, is the bell ringing? Is the bell ringing? What did Rebekah use to deceive Isaac, the kid? Now, I said, What goes around comes around. What do the brethren use to deceive old Jacob, the kid? I think little tidbits like this just make this old book so interesting that you can't escape some of these things. It's always going to come back, even in these old patriarchs. What goes around comes around. And so they took the kid, and they dipped the coat of many colors in its blood. Verse 32, And they sent the coat of many colors, that they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found. Know now, whether it be thy son's coat or not. And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat. An evil beast hath devoured him. Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. And Jacob rent his clothes, put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And, of course, we know how that Jacob went through tremendous mourning for the loss of his son Joseph. Well, now I'm going to skip again a few chapters. I'm going to skip chapter 38. It's not a pretty chapter. And then I'm going to skip chapter 39 of all that happened to Joseph. Because, like I said, most of you probably know the story as well or better than I do of all that he went through, first in the house of Potiphar, and then because of his chastity, he ends up down in prison. And I guess in our day and time, people would think the guy was nuts. But, you know, it all again, what goes around comes around. When you get to the blessings that Jacob puts on his 12 sons, the one son that was the most unchaste, the one who was the most promiscuous, did the most awful deed, was Reuben, the eldest. And I don't know if most of you are aware of what he did, but actually he committed adultery with one of Jacob's wives. And evidently nothing was ever said of it until you get to old Jacob's deathbed. And then as he begins to put the blessings on these 12 sons, he comes back to Reuben, or he starts with Reuben, and you know what he brings to mind? He said, Reuben is not going to have the birthright or the blessing. He's not going to be esteemed as the eldest because he committed adultery with one of his wives. And seemingly no one else ever knew it. So how Jacob found out, the Scripture doesn't tell. But it came back, and Reuben suffered the consequences of it. And then Joseph, the one who maintained his chastity back here under all the pressures, he ends up with the blessings. See? It was passed on to his two sons, but nevertheless Joseph is finally elevated to the place of seniority over all the others. God keeps record. He keeps track. All right, then in, oh my land, time is going. So let's go all the way over to chapter 45. I certainly would like to finish Genesis in this program, so we'll be ready for Exodus when we come back for the next one. And now in chapter 45, the brethren have come down to Egypt to get grain, but they're here for the second time. And I want you to keep that in your mind, because when we get into Exodus, I'm going to refer back to this, that Israel always has to have a second time, it seems. But now in chapter 45, as the brethren have come up again for grain, verse 1, Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him, and he cried. And he said, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. He wept. A weeping of what? Reunion. Now, always got to use another Scripture verse. Come back with me to Zechariah. Last book in your Old Testament. Next to last, I'm sorry. Malachi is the last. Just ahead of Malachi, you come to Zechariah, and you're going to have much the same thing happening when Christ returns, and the nation of Israel suddenly, as a nation, will realize who He is. And then you have this great event. Zechariah chapter 12, verse 10, where the prophet writes, and speaking of Christ, of course, I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplications, and they shall look upon me whom they pierced. Who are the they? Oh, the Israelites, the Jews, see, whom they have pierced, and they shall what? Mourn for Him. There's going to be a time of weeping, a reunion, that the one they rejected, the one they crucified, the one they killed, is finally their God. And that new covenant will become a reality, and every Jew, every believing Jew, will suddenly know that He is their God, and that they are His people. All right, come back then again quickly to Genesis chapter 45. And so there was a session of weeping as they begin this great reunion. Verse 4, And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near, and he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now be not grieved nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me hither. Now remember again everything that has happened to Joseph. Now a lot of it was pretty miserable. Why? Because it was all in God's sovereign plan. Now there are a lot of things God does that we can't understand. But you see, He does things in His own way, according to His own will. And see, Joseph knew that, that in spite of all those horrible times he'd gone through, and yet the years of blessing, yet he said, Don't feel bad, because God did send me here ahead of time to preserve you. And had it not been for Joseph in Egypt, the twelve sons would have probably faded off the scene in the famine. They would have died. But God in His providence had prepared everything. Now another thing I want you to see is that when the brethren hated and rejected Joseph and put him to death so far as they were concerned, and he ends up in Egypt, remember that all of this shows us that so also the Lord Jesus Himself had to go through all of these rejections in order to bring about the whole plan of salvation, that He could die for us and extend salvation by grace. And yet all of this is so beautifully laid out in the life of this man Joseph. All right, so He said, God did send me to preserve you. And God is sovereign in everything He does. And He said, verse 7, God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth and to save your lives by great deliverance. And then I'd like to have you come all the way down to, oh, let's go into chapter 46. Like I say, I'm hurrying. I'd certainly like to finish it. Chapter 46, now the sons, of course, have gone back home up to Canaan, and naturally they've told old Jacob that Joseph is alive. He's the head man in Egypt, and that Joseph has permission from Pharaoh to bring all of the family down into the best part of Egypt, right there on the Nile River into Goshen. Now you remember, God has been telling Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob not to leave the land of promise. Remember He told Isaac back there in chapter 26, sojourn in this land, and I will bless you. And these guys knew that. And so now, with all of this invitation to come back to Egypt, Jacob is probably stammering a little bit. Well, shall I or shouldn't I? But God comes to his rescue. Verse 1 of chapter 46, And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and he came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel. Now you see, we're talking in the terms of his spiritual side, Jacob the spiritual man. And he says, Jacob, Jacob. Now he uses both names in one sentence. And Jacob said, Here am I. Now God returns, and He said, I am God, the God of thy father. Fear not to go down into Egypt. And if you don't mind, underline in your Bible, underline that last statement. For I will there in Egypt make of thee a great nation. Now if you ever wonder, where did the nation of Israel come from? There's your answer. It was when the twelve sons and all their wives and their children end up in Egypt because Joseph has the food. But also again, another thought we'd like to bring in, that when these brethren rejected all this, for all practical purposes, Israel now ends up in a place out of God's control or in a place of death nationally. They're out of the land of promise. They're now down in Egypt. And so for all practical purposes, God has lost His covenant people. Now the reason I'm trying to make that point just before we get to Exodus, I'm going to point out that Exodus is a book of redemption. And redemption always means only one thing. And what is it? You buy back that which you had lost control of. In other words, if you hawk something in a hawk shop, only one way you can get control of it, and that is what? Go in and redeem it and buy it back. And it is in every aspect of business. If you have lost control of something, you have to redeem it. When Adam sinned, God lost the human race. And what does He immediately have to set up? A plan of redemption. When the brethren sold Joseph down into Egypt, and all 12 sons end up down in there as a result of their sin, God loses control of His covenant people, and He's going to have to buy them back. Now this is all in His sovereign plan, of course, but now Israel is going to end up in Egypt, and while they're in Egypt, they're going to become a nation of people. And I think the best thing we can remember now is that at this point in time, when Jacob finally goes down into Egypt, as I said in one of the earlier programs, we are now in the middle of that 430-year time span that God had foretold. 215 years have elapsed from the call of Abraham until Jacob goes down into Egypt. There's 215 years left. And as I mentioned earlier, as long as Joseph is alive, everything goes well for the Israelites. They have it pretty good in Goshen. It's the best productive area. It's right in that area, the Nile River, and they prospered. And as they prospered, they multiplied. Oh, we can't imagine how much they multiplied. But again, keep the time element in mind. We're talking 215 years. And I always have to remind people, that's as long as America has been a nation, and we've gone from a few thousand people to what? 250, 60, 70 million people. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported, and your gift is appreciated.