"Joseph Was Brought Down to Egypt."

    "And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.”

    As Joseph was brought down to Egypt to save his people, so the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ was brought down to this earth as a man to save his people. This is the picture drawn by the Holy Spirit in Genesis 39. Certainly, there are other things taught in this chapter. There are other moral and spiritual lessons to be learned from these twenty-three verses. But the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit in giving us this piece of history is to show us a picture of Christ, our Redeemer. Realizing this fact, we do, I will simply direct your attention to the obvious, showing the blessed type picture here drawn of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have seen Joseph as a type of Christ before. In this 39^th chapter of Genesis, the Holy Spirit continues with the history of Joseph, giving us several more aspects of his life in which he was a type and picture of our blessed Savior.

    Verse 1 -- "And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.”

    He who was the beloved son of his father’s house was brought down to Egypt as a lowly servant. Here Joseph portrays Jehovah’s righteous Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ (Isa. 42:1-4; Ex. 21:5-6; Isa; 50:5-7; Ps. 40:6-10; Heb. 10:5-14; Phil. 2:5-11).

    “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law” (Isa. 42:1-4).

    The Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily became his Father’s Servant to redeem and save his people (Isa. 50:5-7). He is that One to whom the law of God referred in Exodus 21:5-6). The bond slave who refused his freedom because he loved his master, his wife, and his children was typical of our Savior. In the covenant of grace, before the world began, the Son of God voluntarily made himself his Father’s Servant because he loved his Father, and his chosen family.

    It was in this capacity that he spoke in Psalms 40:5-10. Hebrews 10:5-14 explains that the words of our Lord in Psalm 40 referred to his obedience unto death as our Substitute, by which the Lord of glory obtained the everlasting salvation of his chosen. Our great Savior came into the world in the fulness of time to fulfill his covenant engagements as Jehovah’s Servant. And when he had fulfilled those covenant engagements his people were redeemed, sanctified and perfected forever by his finished work.

    “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” (Heb. 10:5-14).

    The basis of our Lord’s exaltation and glory, the means by which the God-man, our Mediator obtained the monarchy of the universe was his accomplishments as Jehovah’s Servant (Ps. 2:8; John 17:1-5; Rom. 14:9; Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 1:1-3).

    Behold, a greater than Joseph is here. Our Lord Jesus Christ is that man who is himself God almighty, Immanuel, the incarnate God, one with the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1-3, 10-11, 14, 16-17). Not only was God with him and he with God, the incarnate Christ is God with us. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth…And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

    Again, Joseph portrayed and typified our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ, as Jehovah’s Servant is that truly blessed Man, -- that Man who walked not in the counsel of the ungodly, -- that Man who stood not in the way of sinners, -- that Man who sat not in the seat of the scornful, -- that Man whose delight was in the law of the Lord. What does the Lord God tell us about that blessed Man?

    “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper…Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high…Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand” (Ps. 1:3; Isa. 52:13; 53:10).

    Verse 4 “And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.”

    Potiphar trusted Joseph with everything he had, and put everything into his hands. The Lord Jesus Christ is that Servant whom the Father has trusted with everything, into who hands he has put everything he has. The Father trusted the Son as his Servant, putting his glory, his people, the world and all things in it into his hands (Eph. 1:12; John 17:2).

    Egypt was altogether insignificant, except for the fact that Joseph was there, his people must sojourn there, and redemption must be accomplished there. Therefore, for Joseph’s sake, God blessed the Egyptians in providence. So too, this world, all its nations and all its people, are altogether insignificant except for the fact that Christ has his people here. Here redemption and grace must be performed. Therefore, God blesses the world and preserves it for Christ’s sake (Isa. 65:8-9; 2 Pet. 3:9); but his object is the salvation of his people. He does not hesitate to sacrifice men and nations for the people of his love (Isa. 43:3-4).

    When he was tempted to sin Joseph proved himself a faithful man, true to his master in all things (vv. 6-12). The Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, the Son of God was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. He who was made to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, knew no sin. He was holy, harmless, undelfiled, and separate from sinners.

    Verses 16-18 “And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.”

    Joseph was accused of crimes he did not commit. When the chief priests, elders, and all the Jewish council did their best to find some charge against our Savior, they found none. At last, they hired two false witnesses to perjure themselves by bringing false charges against him, and accused the Lamb of od of insurrection (Matt. 26:59-61).

    Verses 19-23 “And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.”

    It is obvious that Potiphar did not believe his wife’s accusations. Had he believed her, he would probably have had Joseph executed for attempting to rape his wife. Yet, to save face before men, he delivered Joseph to prison. That is exactly what happened in the case of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pilate knew that our Master was totally innocent of the charges trumped up against him. He knew that the Jews wanted him crucified simply because of their spiteful envy. Yet, to save face with men, he delivered the Son of God over to the hands of the soldiers to crucify him as a common criminal. Not only was our Lord Jesus Christ numbered with transgressors, he died in the transgressors’ place, as our Substitute (Isa. 53:7-12).

    In all these things, Joseph was a type of our Savior, the Man whom the Lord God sent to save us, whom he has made Lord of his house and Ruler of all his Substance. “He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance” (Ps. 105:17-21).