All right, that was Genesis 37,
1 through 28. Jacob dwelt in the land wherein
his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 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 wife. And Joseph brought unto his father
their evil report. Now Israel, or Jacob, loved Joseph
more than all of his children, because he was the son of his
old age, and he made him a coat of colors. When his brethren
saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, They
hated him and could not speak peaceably unto him. Joseph dreamed
a dream, and he told it his brethren, and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Here,
I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed. For behold, we
were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose, and stood
upright, and behold, your sheaves stood round about me, and made
obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said unto him,
shalt thou indeed reign over us, or shalt thou indeed have
dominion over us?' And they hated him yet the more for his dreams
and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream
and told it his brethren and said, Behold, I have dreamed
a dream more, and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven
stars made obeisance to me." That is, they bowed down to him. And he told it his father and
to his brethren. And his father rebuked him and
said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall
I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves
to thee, to the earth. And his brethren envied him,
but his father observed the same." Now let's skip down a little
bit to save time, verse 23. It came to pass when Joseph was
come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his
coat, his coat of colors that was on him, and they took him
and cast him in a pit, and the pit was empty, there was no water
in it. And they sat down to eat bread,
and lifted up their eyes, and look, and behold, a company of
Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery,
and balm, and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. Judah
said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother
and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the
Ishmaelite. Let not our hand be upon him,
for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were
content. Then there passed by Midianite
merchant men, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit,
and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver,
and they brought Joseph down into Egypt. Now, as we think
about the lives of the character that are set before us in the
Old Testament, it is great that Joseph is included among the
great patriarchs that we have under the old economy. In some cases, even above them,
he is a patriarch free of scandal. We do not read of Joseph great
scandals as were in the lives of others. For example, even
Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David Perhaps there is a reason behind
this for God's providence ordering things as they did. If we consider
the typology, the typology of Christ that is seen in the patriarch
Joseph, We recognize that he is one of the most full and the
complete types of our Lord to be found anywhere in the Old
Testament Scripture. So let us see his life, let's
reckon up some ways in which we can count that he is in that
a type of Christ. There are several, I mention
them only quickly and in passing. Number one, He are both of them,
that is Joseph and our Lord, were beloved of their father. They were their father's favorite
and most beloved son. Secondly, both were wore an unusual
or a unique garment. Joseph a coat of many colors,
Christ one woven in one piece. Number three, both were despised
and were hated by their brethren. That's in verse four. Number
four, both were plotted against by them to cause them to be put
to death. That's in verse 18. Then fifthly,
both claimed a coming exaltation where they would see people bow
down before them and do them honor. Then sixthly we see, both
were betrayed by close friends that they had. Number seven,
both were betrayed into the hands of the heathen. Joseph to the
Egyptians and Christ unto the Gentiles. Number eight, both
of them were tempted and yet without sin, in Genesis chapter
39. Ninthly, both were falsely accused
and condemned. Both were sold for pieces of
silver, Jesus and Joseph. Number 11, both were subjected
to the deep humiliation and then highly exalted to a place of
honor and of glory. Number 12, both were appointed
by God to save the people of God out of their misery. Number
13, both were sovereignly predestinated according to the purpose of God. We read that in Genesis 50 and
verse 20. And lastly, verse number 14,
both had an unusual burial. Both were put in a burial in
an unusual way. Now, all of this shows that Joseph,
Joseph's life, and Joseph's work was uniquely blessed, and he
was guided of God. And in his being such a close
type of our Savior, makes us to desire to look and consider
God's dealings with this unusual man. Consider God's dealings
with him. especially because the life and
the history of Joseph is in effect, brethren, and catch this, it
is the means of establishing the theocracy. In other words,
what we are seeing is the accomplishment of the purpose of God revealed
to Abraham, with whom the covenant stood in him. the covenant stood
in Abraham and would be effected in Isaac. It was said, in Isaac
shall thy seed be called. Now we can take an overview,
or sort of a panoramic view of Genesis, and we can see here
as we look down upon it, the very purpose of God as it is
unfolding like a flower coming into bloom. Beginning with the
call of Abraham, in Abraham's call there appears a sovereign
election. In his offspring there appears
both election and reprobation. Ishmael is cast out, Isaac is
called, and is the son of Prometh. Then we see sovereign election
and sovereign reprobation appears again in the twin sons of Isaac. Then before they are born or
were born, Genesis chapter 25 verse 23, the elder shall serve
the younger, and of course Paul quotes this in Romans 9 verse
11 through verse 13. So here let us quickly trace
out the unfolding of the purpose of God from Abraham up till the
time of Joseph that we are studying. It shows us how God separates
the shaft from the wheat and brings forth His purpose. First
of all, God calls Abraham and He establishes a covenant with
Abraham concerning Isaac. And then of him Jacob is born,
but see the shaft driven away. Ishmael is cast out, for he is
only a son of the flesh. Then Esau despises his birthright
and transfers it to Jacob, and who becomes a prince with God,
and Esau is then carried away as proof of his reprobation or
rejection by God. So let's compare Genesis chapter
38 and Genesis chapter 37, rather make that Genesis 36 and Genesis
chapter 37. In Genesis 36 and verse 1, these
are the generation of Esau who is, of course, Edom, or the nation
of Edom out of him. Genesis 37 then and verse 2,
these are the generations of Jacob. And at this point in the
genitive narrative, Esau is to fade away and the focus then
fastens quickly and for a long while upon Joseph, or more correctly,
upon the house of Jacob, and these would be reckoned as the
people or the nation of God. However, God's dealing and providence
with Joseph becomes the single most important factor in the
continuation of Jacob's land and Jacob's family at this point
in history. With the possible exception of
Abraham, the history and the life of Joseph is no doubt one
are the most important and unique anywhere in the Old Testament
Scripture. For by the guidance of the sovereign
providence of God, Joseph, as it were, became a connecting
link. The instrument, or if you please,
the means of sparing the fledgling house of Jacob, that little family. And the means of it being transferred
down into the land of Egypt where they were cared for for a time.
Even Moses' position is affected by God's providence in the life
of this man, Joseph. For through it, Moses was born
and bred in the land and the house of the Egyptian. He learned
the ways of the Egyptian. and therefore became a branch
in this tree that God is causing to grow. One has suggested that
there is to be found a three-fold consideration in the life of
Joseph and God's dealings with him. Number one, the transfer
through Joseph of the flourishing people of God into the land of
Egypt. We read in Acts, 7 and verse
17, the people grew and they multiplied in Egypt. You see
that in Exodus 1 and verse 7. also in Deuteronomy 26 and verse
5, that it was in Egypt that the family of Jacob, the house
of Jacob, really began to flourish. For they were 70 in number when
they went into the land of Egypt, and they multiplied into countless
thousands. But the second thing that we
noted, there is seen in this history of Joseph some of the
most amazing providence of God to be found anywhere in the Holy
Scripture or the history of man. We'll say more about that later. But the third thing is that there
is a type in this, in that there is a fundamental principle of
God that is here. And that is that He raises His
elect out of bondage. He delivers His elect out of
bondage into that glorious liberty and freedom. Or as the author
suggests, from humiliation to exaltation, and Joseph is a very
important cog in that. We see Joseph despised. We see Joseph rejected even by
his own brothers and house. We see him sold into slavery
by his very own. We see him accused by an evil
wife of Potiphar, and we see him cast down into prison in
the land of Egypt. Now, is this the man who will
deliver Jacob? Could it be that this is the
one by whom God will effect the protection and the eventual deliverance
of the people in bondage down in the land of Egypt. Beyond
where he is, in the brig. He's in prison. He's down in
the dungeon. But then we see, as it was with
our Lord, we see Him delivered, we see Him exalted, we see Joseph
made sovereign over the affairs of the land of Egypt. You'll
find that in Genesis chapter 44 verse 41 and verse 37 through
verse 45. In this we see the close parallel
of our Lord in Philippians chapter 2 and verses 5 through 12. The humiliation, the exaltation
of Christ Jesus, the one who humbled himself to endure the
death of the cross and then was exalted and rewarded to sovereign
lordship. Even so, here's Joseph, once
a man in prison, once numbered among the transgressors, who
was then exalted out of that place and made the prime minister
over all of the land of Egypt. He had authority over all. And when Joseph went out among
them, the people were to bow down and show him reverence. And this was the will of God
being fulfilled and accomplished. Now the two passages are found
in Genesis 45 and verse 5. Genesis 50, verses 19 through 20, no need
to read them, but here Joseph says that it was a work of God
that put him in that place. One more point before we consider
our text. God's word and work toward Abraham
his chosen friend, was confirmed by appearances of the Lord unto
him. God appeared unto Abraham. God would speak to him directly. God gave him visions, as in Genesis
15 and verse 1. Angels came, as in Genesis 18
and verse 19. to Abraham. But in the case of
Joseph, it was a sovereign providence that guided all of the way and
the turns in his life. It was not a personal appearance
from God directly. which he orally spoke. It was
not by visions that God gave unto this man Joseph. No words
from the angels were delivered unto him, nor did any great inspired
prophets come to speak and to direct him. It was the providence
of God that guided all the affairs of the life of Joseph. With Abraham,
I repeat, it was a series of wonderful revelations, one after
the other. With Joseph, it was a series
of providential occurrences, and yet brought to pass that
which was the will of God. Now even here in the early part
of Genesis chapter 37, string of events is set in motion that
would bring Joseph to sit as prime minister of the land of
Egypt. The thing that will lead to Joseph's
exaltation has its beginning in Genesis 37. Here's the thing
that God used to elevate Joseph to where He wanted him. It was
his brother's jealousy and hatred that caused Joseph to be sent
into Egypt. God made the wrath of man to
praise Him. God made the sin of man to accomplish
His divine purpose. Made His providence to move upon
the skids. of the acts and the intuitions
of men, especially the hatred of Joseph played into this matter. Now we're told two things. that
fed their fury in the text we read. A. In the second verse
of Genesis 37, Joseph brought Jacob, his father, the evil report
of his brethren. When they were away, when they
were out in the field, they did evil things, and Joseph brought
the report unto their father. He reported their ill behavior,
when they kept the herds, when they were out of the sight of
their father. And then B, we notice in verse
3 and 4, Jacob was openly, unapologetically partial to his younger son, Joseph,
because Joseph was the son of his old age. He made no secret
his preference for the young Joseph. He gave him a coat of
many colors that was a token of his love and of his partiality. Because of Jacob's preference
for Joseph, his brothers hated him with a passion and never
could speak kindly unto him, their brother. Now to add to
their resentment, Joseph recalls for them a couple of dreams that
he had as he slept at night, which he experienced. One in
verses 5 through 11 we read, he dreamed that he was binding
sheaves in the field in the time of harvest. His sheaves stood
upright, theirs came and bowed down around his sheaves. Secondly, he dreamed again, verse
9 through 11. He dreamed the sun, the moon,
the stars, all made obeisance unto him. This time his father,
his mother, and his brothers. This time it is Jacob that questions
the dream. Shall we indeed, your mother
and I, bow down unto you? Now finally, the hatred of his
brothers reached such a high pitch that when Jacob sent Joseph
out to check on his brethren as they kept the flocks and the
herds, Acts 7 and verse 9, they were moved with envy to sell
Joseph into Egypt. You have the account in Genesis
37 and verse 18 through 28. They looked up and they saw him
coming. One of them said, perhaps the
chorus echoed through the whole bunch, here comes the dreamer,
yonder's the father's pet, here comes the father's favorite,
here comes the 17-year-old sovereign. And they mocked at Joseph as
he made an approach unto them. They decided they would throw
him into a pit. They decided that they would
skin an animal, put its blood upon Joseph's coat, take it to
the father and say, here's the coat of your son. Perhaps he's
devoured by a wild animal. We do not know. They deceived
Jacob by smearing blood upon the coat. And years passed before
he saw Joseph, his beloved son, again. Jacob to his delight and
the brothers unto their terror. The story of Joseph is interrupted
in chapter 38 of the book of Genesis to interpose here in
this account the sin and debauchery of Judah. In this in this trice
that he had here with his very own daughter-in-law, whom he
took to be a harlot, her giving birth. Now perhaps the purpose
of inserting this in this place is to give us a parallel development
of the house of Judah from which the tribe Our Lord sprang, Hebrews
7 and verse 14. But it serves another purpose,
an honest report of some of the corruption of the patriarchs. When we think about the corruption
that was in some of the patriarchs by whom God built up the house
of Israel, that the lineage of our Lord contained much sin,
and yet He was without sin and saved His people from their sin. But in chapter 39, He returns
again to the account of how Joseph went from his humiliation to
his exaltation, that he might become a savior of the people,
raised out of the dungeon and raised to a position of authority,
sovereignty, and power. Now when brought to Egypt, he
was bought by one Potiphar, and high official in the government
of Pharaoh. Genesis 39 and verse 1. He found favor immediately with
Potiphar. The Lord made the works of his
hand to prosper exceedingly. It became apparent again and
again that God was with Joseph, that his providential hand was
upon the life of this particular man. Note how God elevated him
in chapter 39, verse 2, the Lord was with Joseph, he was a prosperous
man. Verse 3, the last part, and the
Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hands. When we
read Genesis 39 and verse 5, And it came to pass from that
time that he made him overseer over his house, over all that
he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptians' house for Joseph's
sake, and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had
in his house and in his field. Then in the sixth verse, he was
the steward of all that Potiphar had, his house, his field, and
all under him. So much so that only Joseph knew
the things that actually belong to the house of Potiphar. Now
Potiphar put all things under the management of this young
man Joseph. Though it was in Potiphar's house
that great honor came unto Joseph, it was also there in Potiphar's
house that the great temptations of this godly young man occurred. And they came from Potiphar's
very own wife. You have it in verse 7 through
verse 20. As one said, the false love of
Potiphar's wife was far more dangerous than the hatred of
his very own brothers. Let's consider this incident,
since it was a direct cause of Joseph being cast down in the
prison. Miss Potiphar had nothing to
do but scheme all day long, and one day, When the soap operas
had all gone off and Joseph came in to do his usual business in
the house, she tempted, acted a temptress, tried to seduce
Joseph. Come lie with me, come lie with
me. She did this time after time
after time. Joseph resisted, resisted upon
proper grounds as well. Number one, that it would be
a grievous violation of the trust placed in him by Potiphar. Number two, that it would be
a grievous violation against the very God of heaven. When they were alone in the house,
Mrs. Potiphar went beyond seduction. She caught Joseph by the garment
and would lead him into sin. He fled away, leaving his garment
in her hand, which she used to accuse Joseph of trying to force
himself upon her. And as a result of her lie and
of her deception, Joseph is cast down into the dungeon, perhaps
even under the sentence of death. But in the purpose of God, it
was not possible for Joseph to be killed, for the hand of God
was upon him. Even was it not possible for
him to remain in prison. It was not possible that he beholden
there of that. How will God affect the release
of Joseph then out of the prison? In chapter 39, verses 21 through
23, Joseph found favor in the sight of the head jailer,
even in the dungeon. Soon Joseph was a trustee and
was a steward even over the other prisoners, and he supervised
them. This prepared Joseph for his
exaltation over the land of Egypt. For it was while in prison that
his gift of the interpretation of dreams was manifest. One day, Pharaoh threw his chief
butler and his chief baker into the Husgal with Joseph. He was wroth. Maybe they spoiled
one of his banquets. Maybe they embarrassed the king.
Maybe they burned the biscuits. Whatever they did, they were
cast down into prison there with Joseph. And this came to tie
him to the king. This is how Joseph found favor
in the eyes of the king. While Joseph remained in prison,
Pharaoh dreamed dreams. In chapter 41, 1 through 7, he
dreamed of fat and skinny cows and he saw them as they came
up out of the river. Then he saw in his dream a full
head of grain, then a puny little old sickly-looking stalk of grain. One then swallowed up the other. He was perplexed, the king was. He sought to have his magicians
and his soothsayers open to him the dream, and they could not. Now the providence of God comes
to the forefront and works again. The butler, who was restored
to his place, remembered how Joseph had accurately predicted
his dream. Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams
for him. Chapter 41, you'll find it in
verse 14 through verse 36. There would be seven prosperous
years which would come on the land. Then there would be seven
lean years, years of famine which would follow. And Joseph's advice
is, store up the food during the prosperous seven years that
there might be grain during the famine when it comes. And because
of that, Pharaoh then sets Joseph to manage the matter, to manage
the matter of the storehouses and the gathering in of the food. And you have it in Genesis 41
and verses 41 through 44. God's providence works again. The famine causes Jacob to send
his sons down to the land of Egypt that they might purchase
food. And when they do, they come and
unbeknownst to them stand before Joseph, their very own brother,
in Genesis 42. They come a second time in Genesis
chapter 43. And Joseph then makes himself
known unto them. And it's one of the most touching
accounts you'll find in the history of this man, chapter 45, verse
1 through 24. But we want to consider some
of the statements which Joseph made concerning the ordeal. or Joseph attributed it to the
sovereignty of God. And let's look at Genesis 45,
if it's convenient for you to turn there. Joseph is very clear
on this matter. Genesis 45 and verse 5, Now therefore,
be not grieved nor angry with yourself, that ye sow me hither,
for God did send me before you to preserve life. He says it again over in chapter
50, this time verses 19 through verse 21. Joseph said unto them, Fear not,
for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you thought evil
against me. But God meant it unto good to
bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore, fear ye not. I will nourish you and your little
ones and comfort them. And he spake kindly unto them."
God's purpose was accomplished. in large part by the providence
of God as he guides Joseph through these specific ordeals that come
in his life. Remember Joseph's dream back
in chapter 37, verse 6 through 11? There are sheaves bowing
down to Joseph. Well, in Genesis chapter 42 and
verse 9, And Joseph remembered the dream which he dreamed of
them. Genesis 50 and verse 18, And
his brethren went and fell down before his face. His very own
brethren fall before his face. Now this is a great, great picture
of providence, but let's look at some closing applications
that are here for us. Number one, can you imagine Joseph's
graciousness, the forgiveness of his brethren? After the great
wrong that they have done him when he was deprived of the company
of his mother and of his father, when he was a slave at time down
in the land of Egypt, Joseph might have killed these men when
they came before him. He had the power of life and
of death. Or he might have cast them down
into the lowest prison, but he forgives them. He forgives their
transgression against Him, and He promises to nourish them. What an example of forgiveness! Based upon the fact that God
was the guide of all things, these were the will of God. Secondly, this teaches us that
some may grievously and hurtfully wrong us. It teaches us that
a familiar friend, a dear one, may wrongfully hurt us, but God
is able to enrich us, to advance us, and even to bless us, to
make us more mature, to increase our graces by such treatment. They sell him as a slave. uprooted
him from his country and from his family, and yet made it a
blessing, made it a blessing unto Joseph. And thirdly, what
sins were in the patriarchs we've already mentioned, yet God brought
through them the one who would put away sin. How sinful were
some of the patriarchs and yet out of them came a sinless one
to bear our iniquity. Now let me close with a question.
Does God bless the world for the sake of His people in the
world to some extent? To some extent He holds back
because of the presence of His people. These things are not
for the sake of the wicked. God bless many for Joseph's sake
and even more for Christ's sake. We are blessed for the sake of
Christ. What a blessed thing is the providence
of God. And if we might this moment,
in our mind's eye, run back across our past and see how the providence
of God has ordered our steps, has directed our way, has prevented
one thing and has sent us in another direction. What a wonderful
thing is the providence of God and always We ought to think
upon the providence of God, how sovereign and wonderful it is
in the life of His children.