Turn with me again tonight to
Genesis chapter 37. Genesis 37. The book of Genesis basically
highlights seven of God's called and chosen servants. There are seven men who occupy
a prominent position in the book of beginnings. Adam, Abel, Noah,
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Joseph being the last of the
seven. More space is given in the book
and devoted to Jacob than the others, but even more is devoted
to Joseph than to Jacob. And there's a reason for that.
Each of these patriarchs from Abraham forward illustrates some
basic spiritual truths or doctrine. And amazingly, the chronological
order of these men agrees with the doctrinal order that each
one represents. The Bible is truly an amazing
book, none other like it. Now, let me try to illustrate
what I'm saying. For example, in Abraham is illustrated
the doctrine of election. Abraham was singled out and chosen
by God from all the heathen idolaters in his day. Abraham was made
to be the head of the Jewish nation, but there was nothing
in Abraham that would have caused God to choose him. Nothing Abraham
did that God would be mindful of him. God, for no other reason,
no other reason outside of himself, was simply pleased to call him
and save him, right? It's the same with all God's,
all God's people. Our Lord said these words. He said, Lord, I thank thee,
O Father, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent, and
has revealed them unto babes. Why? Why did God reveal these
glorious truths to unlearned and undeserving sinners? Even
so, Father, it seemed good in thy sight. No reason outside
of Himself. It just simply pleased Him to
do so. You see, God's elect, those that
are born of God, they're not born of blood nor of the will
of the flesh. You can't save yourself. nor
of the will of man. No preacher, no pastor, no priest
can save a man or a woman. Only God. Only God, as He's pleased
to do so. How are men born of God? But
of God, that's the answer. Not of blood, not of the will
of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God. God has mercy on whom he wills. God has compassion on who he
wants to. So then, Paul adds, it's not
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God. And there we have those words
again. And the scripture is just so plain about who does the saving. We say this all the time, but
it's true. The reason that we, election
is not salvation, but the reason we love election is because it
removes all doubt about who does the saving. God does the saving,
does the calling, does the choosing. Why does God love me? Why does
God love you if you belong to him? But God, commended his love
toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5a. Why does God enlighten
some? But God hath revealed these things
unto us by his Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2. How are sinners
saved? Well, Paul said, I've planted
and Apollos has watered, but God giveth the increase. Well, preacher, I believe in
salvation by grace, but I had to decide. I had to make a decision. I had to exercise my free will
in order to be saved. Well, if that's the case, then
you think that Christ only made salvation possible. But that's
not so. God's chosen were going about
their lives, Paul said, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and
of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as
other. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith
he loved us even when we were dead, and sins hath gathered
us together with Christ by grace, are you saved? And it's God's
grace. In Abraham, we see the divine election and choosing
of God without any outside influence. None whatsoever. It simply pleased
God to make Abraham His. It simply seemed good in His
sight. And it's the same with you and
I. What's there for us to brag about? What is there for us to
take glory in when God does the same? We did the sinning, God
does the same. Secondly, in Isaac, we have foreshadowed
the doctrine of divine sonship. Now Ishmael, Abraham's first
son, by Hagar, represents those who are born after the flesh.
Ishmael represents the old nature in men and women. But Isaac,
Isaac born by the miraculous spirit and the power of God tells
us of the new man, that spiritual nature, that new man within us
which is born of God. How that pictures Christ who
was born by the miraculous spirit and power of God. And we know
from the scriptures, even in our studies in Genesis, that
in Isaac, that the seed, that seed being Christ, shall be called
and chosen and sent into the world to save his people from
their sin. Christ is that seed that was
promised immediately following the fall in the garden. Thirdly,
in Jacob, we see typified and illustrated the conflict between
two natures. There's a conflict going on within
us. Paul talks about that very plainly
in Romans chapter seven. There's a war going on in our
members. The things that I want to do and should do, I don't
do. And the things that I shouldn't do, that I do. And he summarized
his whole mess by saying, oh, wretched man that I am. In Jacob,
we see God's gracious discipline, His love in chastening us, His
eternal longsuffering that's found only in Christ. In Jacob,
we see the believers growing in grace. Haven't we seen that
in these studies? How God dealt with him graciously
and tenderly and with great long-suffering and patience. And it seems that
he grew in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord along the way, and
the Lord just brought him along. Boy, what a picture that is.
We see that in the end, that it's in and it's by and it's
through our Lord Jesus Christ that causes our to triumph over
our flesh. And then we come to Joseph. In
Joseph, we see the beauty of the believer's inheritance, but
we're gonna see that it's through suffering. It's through suffering. Friends, it is with much tribulation,
much tribulation that we enter into the kingdom of God, Acts
14, 22. Now in the salvation of God's people, discipline is
put upon us as his children. God chastens those whom he loves. Those that he chastens, he deals
with as sons and daughters. The scripture's very plain about
that. The same as you who are parents
have and do now. You correct your children, you
discipline them because you love them. And that's the way God
deals with his people. God chastens those whom he loves. He deals with those he chastens
as sons and daughters. But we're gonna see also, and
we see that very plainly in the life of Jacob. But now with Joseph,
we're gonna see that suffering goes before us as heirs. And
that's what Paul said. He said, the spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit that we're the children of God. And
if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if it so be that we suffer, suffer with him, that we may be glorified
together. And then he went on to say, for
I reckon that the sufferings of this present time, are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed
in us. In Jacob, we see how God leads
his wayward children under his sovereign hand, directing their
path in every way, bringing them home as they grow in grace and
the knowledge of Christ. But in Joseph, we see how God
brings forth righteousness through the sufferings of Christ for
us as our one mediator between God and man. Oh, that we might
know him and the power of his resurrection, Paul said, and
the fellowship of what? His sufferings being conformed
to his death, Philippians 3.10. And Paul said in 2 Corinthians,
for our light affliction, and that's what it is. Sometimes
it don't seem light, does it? But compared to the sufferings
our Lord went through, our affliction is but light affliction. And
it's but for a moment. But it worketh for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory. And as I said a moment
ago, more space is devoted to Joseph on the pages of the book
of Genesis than all the rest of the patriarchs. The history
of Joseph is the chief link that connects the book of Genesis
with the book of Exodus. The first few chapters of Exodus
would be nearly impossible to understand without the last ten
chapters of Genesis. the history of Joseph, the story
of his life, which explains the remarkable development of the
Hebrews from just a handful of shepherds, wandering shepherds
at that, to a great number in Egypt. No doubt in my mind that
the main reason so much dedication given to Joseph in this book
is that most every detail of his life in some way pictures
and typifies Christ. Just amazing how much so. As
we know, Joseph was the eldest son of Rachel. We're told little
concerning his early life. And it's the same with Christ,
who was Mary's oldest, and we heard hardly anything concerning
our Lord the first 12 years of His life. Well, nothing actually.
So, tonight we pick up Joseph's life here in Genesis chapter
37 as a 17-year-old boy. His companions are his half-brothers,
the grown sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the two concubines of
Jacob. You know, Jacob had two wives,
and he had two concubines, 12 sons and one daughter, the 12
sons being the 12 tribes of Israel. I think we'll see that these
half-brothers proved to be unfit companions for Jacob. So let's
read a few verses here beginning in verse one, Genesis 37. And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein
his father was a stranger in the land of Canaan. And these
are the generations of Jacob. And then Joseph, that's the only
name mentioned. Now let me just pause there for
a second. As we saw last time, the whole
chapter of Genesis 36 contains the genealogy of Esau. But here,
the only one mentioned in Jacob's genealogy is Joseph. Moses seems,
who's the writer, Moses being the writer of Genesis, seems
to pause and concentrate only on Joseph. The Holy Spirit seems
to set Joseph apart or aside for our consideration. And I
believe this is because he pictures and typifies our Lord Jesus Christ
in so many ways. The Bible is a book about Christ. Haven't we seen that so plainly
in our study in Genesis? So many pictures of him and we,
We remind ourselves very often that God saved Old Testament
saints the same way He saved New Testament saints. The same
way He saves men today by showing and revealing Christ to them.
In the Old Testament it was in pictures and types. And that's
exactly what we see in the life of Joseph. This book is about
Christ. The twelve sons of Jacob and
the twelve tribes which they represent. are mentioned throughout
the Bible, but here in these verses, the story of Joseph shows
us in so many ways how he pictures Christ. The story of Joseph is
meant to teach us something of Christ and his sufferings. So
again, verse two, 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, and with the sons
of Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph brought unto his father
their evil report. Now Israel, that being Jacob,
God changed Jacob's name to Israel, loved Joseph more than all his
children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made
him a coat of many colors. And when his brethren saw that
their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated
him and could not speak peaceably unto him." Now, I'm sure that
most all of you are familiar with the story of Joseph. We've
been taught it since we were young children. In this familiar
story, we have the aged patriarch, Jacob. We have his favorite son,
Joseph. We have the coat of many colors.
We have the dreams of Joseph. We have his jealous brothers.
We have their outrageous and wicked conduct against him. And
I'm telling you, this story has the makings of a great TV or
movie drama, but it's recorded for a much greater purpose than
that. as it is with all Scripture.
Paul tells us that these things were written aforetime for our
learning. These things were written to
teach us some things about Christ that we, through patience and
comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. These things ought
to give us great hope. So, tonight in these few verses,
we have a beautiful introduction into the life of Joseph, and
the pictures of Christ that he portrays for. So let's just for
a few minutes, let me just give you some of them. First, we have
the meaning of Joseph's name. Now it's very significant that
Joseph had two names. One, of course, Joseph. And the
other, I hope I'm saying this right, Zaphnath Painea. Zaphnath Painea. That's a long
name. I'm glad my mom and dad didn't
name me something like that. And I immediately think about
our Lord who had two names. Jesus was his human name. Christ
signified him as the anointed of God, as Savior. Our Lord had
two names. He was called the Son of Man.
Speaking of his humanity, and he was called the Son of God,
which spoke of his deity. Now you might find it interesting
to know, and as we've seen so many times, that the names in
scripture mean something. The name Joseph means adding,
adding, adding to. The first Adam was a great subtractor. The last Adam was the great adder.
Through the first Adam, men became lost, fell into sin, died spiritually. But by the second Adam, all who
believe are saved, made whole in Christ. Christ is the one
who adds to the kingdom of God. Certainly the name Joseph pictures
Christ. And in Genesis chapter 21, as
we, get further into this book, Pharaoh acknowledged Joseph and
changed his name to Zathnath-Paeonea. And that name means revealer
of secrets. This is very appropriate name. The revealer of secrets, Joseph
was. He wasn't just an interpreter
of dreams, but in every area of his life, he revealed secrets. He was a revealer of secrets
when he was with his brethren, as we'll see in the verses tonight.
He was a revealer of secrets when he was in Potiphar's house,
as we'll see. He was a revealer of secrets
when he was in prison. And he was a revealer of secrets
before Pharaoh. And this is what elevated him
to the highest position in the land under Pharaoh, is that he
was able to interpret the secrets of Pharaoh's dreams. And it seems
as though his words and his works always tested those with whom
he had to do. God gave Joseph a gift to manifest
men's conditions. And this certainly foreshadows
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who was the divine revealer of
the secrets of God, the divine realer of God's glorious gospel.
If you and I ever see the truth of this book, it's gonna have
to be revealed to us by God, the Holy Spirit. Christ is the
great revealer of the gospel. And in the incident before us,
Joseph is seen as the revealer of secrets in a double way. First,
he revealed his father's heart. For he's here seen as the special
object on which Jacob's affections were found. And secondly, he
revealed the hearts of his brethren by making manifest their wicked
hatred of him. And in like manner, our blessed
Lord and Savior." Oh, I'm telling you, he revealed the Father's
heart. Did he not say, no man has seen
God at any time? The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. Oh, He's
the one that revealed the Father, and in like manner, our Lord
also revealed what was in the hearts of men. Everywhere our
Lord went, He made manifest the secret condition of all with
whom He came into contact with. He was truly the light of the
world. shining in a dark place, detecting and displaying and
uncovering and bringing to light the hidden sin of man's darkness. What a picture Joseph is of our
Lord. How well then was Joseph named
as the one who added and the one that revealed. Secondly,
we see that Joseph was a shepherd. In verse two, we're told that
Joseph was feeding the flock. I was thinking today, isn't it
amazing that throughout the Old Testament that Abel, Jacob, Joseph,
even Moses, David were all shepherds. No figure of Christ is more beautiful
than the one we find in Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. You won't find
a more beautiful presentation of Christ in the character of
a shepherd. Christ is the good shepherd that
lays down his life for the sheep, John chapter 10. And as a shepherd,
we see our Lord's watchful care over us, his sheep. As a shepherd,
we see his unwearied devotion to his sheep. He's not a harling.
One who's just hired to tend the sheep is only interested
in his pay. He could care less about the
sheep, but not the good shepherd. He has an unwearied devotion
for his sheep. We see his glorious patience
with the sheep. We see his protecting grace over
the sheep. And we see his matchless love
for the sheep. Truly Christ our Lord is the
good shepherd. If he's my shepherd, I shall
not want, because he provides all things for me. Now Joseph
is found here in verse two, fleeting the flock, which points to the
very earthly ministry of Christ our Lord, who was sent to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel. He gave Himself in the tending
of all the needs of all His sheep. And you remember what He told
Peter? Peter, if you love Me, feed My sheep. Feed My lambs. Thirdly, we see Joseph's opposition
to evil. Again, the end of verse two,
we read, and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now, some of the commentators
seem to blame the hatred of Joseph's brother against him because he
was a tattletale. Well, I'm telling you, Joseph
is not betrayed here as a talebearer. He's seen as a truth speaker.
Joseph would not be cowardly silenced and be the accomplice
of his brother's evil doing. The honor and glory of his father
was at stake. And again, we have a foreshadow
of Christ. And I think just one verse is
needed to establish the type. Our Lord said, the world cannot
hate you. But me it hateth, because I testify
of it, that the works thereof are evil." They hated Christ
because he told them the truth about themselves. And people
still get mad today when you tell them what God says about
them. Well, I'm no saint. I'm not perfect, but I'm sure
not that bad. No. You're worse. Unless God reveals to you what
you are, you'll never have a need for Christ. You see, the honor
and glory of God is at stake. His brothers no doubt had hated
him, but it was because he revealed their evil deeds. And then fourthly,
we see that Joseph had his father's love. Look at verse three. Now
Israel loved Joseph more than all his children. Oh, how Jacob
loved Joseph. He marked his special esteem
in making him a coat of many colors. Jacob experienced indescribable
grief when he thought that Joseph had been killed and devoured
by beast. You know this story. These are
the things that we'll be looking at in future study. And oh how
Jacob's love for Joseph pictures and speaks to us concerning the
Father's love for His only begotten Son. When the Son of God became
a man and was about to begin His public ministry, the heavens
were opened. And the voice of the father was
heard saying, this is my beloved son and whom I'm well pleased. Hear ye him, hear ye him. And Christ himself affirmed the
father's love for him when he said, therefore, does my father
love me? Because I lay down my life for
the sheep that I might take it again. And when Christ had finished
His work that was given Him to do, we're told, wherefore God
hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every
name. God loves His Son infinitely. He always has, and He always
will. And the only way that He'll ever
love you or I is in His Son. Boy, don't ever forget that.
Then fifthly, we see Joseph's relationship to his father's
age. Joseph was the son of Jacob's
old age. Jacob was older, much older when
he had Joseph. And in spiritual terms, when
age is applied to God, it signifies and refers to eternity. In other
words, Joseph being the, or Joseph being the son of Jacob's old
age, Jesus Christ was the son of God's eternity. That that's
the picture here from all eternity. He was God's son. He was not
acquired. He, he, he was eternally begotten. Christ is very God of very God. equal with God in every way.
God in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, God the
Holy Spirit. We've seen in our study in John
that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God
and the Word was God. Again, in his high priestly prayer,
the Lord Jesus said, and now, O Father, glorify thou me with
thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was. You see, the Lord Jesus is not
a creature. He's the creator. He's no product
of deity. He is the one in whom dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He's the one, the only
one who can save us from our sin, our pain that sin did for
us. Christ is much more than just
a manifestation of God. Christ is God manifest in the
flesh, 1 Timothy 3, 16. That's a big difference between
the two. He's not a person who had his
beginning in time like we did. I was born January 14th, 1956. I came into this world, but Christ
is without beginning and without end. He's eternal. He's not bound
by this thing of time like we are. He is eternal in his being
without beginning and without end. That's why the scripture
says he's first and last, the beginning and the end, alpha
and omega. Christ is the son of his father's
old age, the eternal son of God. And then we have the sixth thing,
which is Joseph's coat of many colors. In the scriptures, and
I never knew this, but in the scriptures, a garment of different
colors was a mark of distinction. In 2 Samuel 13, 18, I won't turn
you there, but talking about the daughter of a king, it says,
and she had a garment of divers colors upon her, for which such
robes were the king's daughters that, were virgins, apparel,
this was how they dressed. This was the attire of an unmarried
princess. It was a mark of honor, signaling
out the wearer is one of noble, or the wearer is one of noble
birth. And no doubt, this was Jacob's
object to distinguish Joseph among his brethren, his half-brothers. Our Lord was marked also by peculiar
distinction from his brethren according to the flesh, was he
not? Christ was one of noble birth. On the human side, he
was of the house of David. He was born of a woman, but his
father was God. A virgin marked with a coat of
many colors. A star marked his birth. Heavenly distinction, welcomed
by heavenly host, Christ was. Glory given to the newborn king.
Wise men sought him out. Though he was God, he became
a man. There's been none like him. He
was very distinct. There would never be another
one like him. He was the God man. He was God who became a
man and made himself of no reputation. He became obedient unto death. The scripture says even unto
the death of the cross. And his coat of many colors was
more brilliant than ever before or ever since. You know, later
Joseph's coat of many colors was stained with animal blood.
Christ's coat of many colors was made more brilliant more
brilliant in color, for it was stained with His own blood, the
very blood of God. This distinguishing coat, pictures,
this coat of many colors, pictures, and can be seen clearly in His
death as His people's substitute. His coat of many colors speaks
to us of His many glories and His infinite perfections. What
a picture this is of Christ. He's the King of kings and the
Lord of lords. None like him. And in him we
wear that same coat of righteousness. And then the seventh thing we
have in the verses tonight, and the last thing, is the hatred
of Joseph's brothers. Joseph's brothers hated him.
Hated him. I immediately think of our Lord
and Savior. Christ came into his own, and
his own received him not. The scripture said that they
hated him without a cause. They would not have this man
to rule over them. It was Jacob's, the father's
love for Joseph that brought out the enmity of his brothers
against him. They hated him because his father
loved him. And Joseph was made, he also,
he made manifest both the father's love and his brethren's hatred. What a picture that is of Christ.
When our Lord came to this earth, He did these two things. He revealed
the Father's heart, and He exposed man's enmity and hostility against
Him. And then two things always happen. Either men hate Him for exposing
them, or they take refuge in Christ and the grace that he
soon revealed. And that's exactly what happened
with Joseph and his brethren. You remember the end of that
story, don't you? I can't wait to get to it. In the end, they
submitted to Joseph as the ruler of their destiny. He had their
lives in his hands. And in the end, friends, all
whom the Father gave to Christ before the foundation of the
world are going to gladly submit to His rule and His reign as
our King and our potentate as the one who holds our eternal
destiny in His hand. What a picture Joseph is of our
Lord. We'll see many pictures of our
Lord in our study of Joseph, and I'm excited about that. I
pray that God may enable us, truly enable us to give thanks
unto him for he's good, as the psalmist said, and to know that
truly his mercy endures forever towards his people.