Joseph Was Brought Down to Egypt

Q: What does the Bible say about Joseph being a type of Christ?

Joseph is a foreshadowing of Christ, representing Him as a beloved son who becomes a servant. In Genesis, Joseph's life is rich with parallels to Christ. As the beloved son of Jacob, Joseph is distinguished from his brothers, much like how Jesus is the beloved Son of God. Joseph's descent into Egypt symbolizes Christ's incarnation and servanthood, where he, like Christ, came to serve and ultimately save. As Joseph states, 'You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good' (Genesis 50:20), we see a direct parallel to Christ's crucifixion which, albeit intended for harm, became the means of salvation for many.

Q: How do we know God's presence was with Joseph?

The Scripture repeatedly emphasizes that 'the Lord was with Joseph,' allowing him to prosper even in captivity. Throughout Joseph's trials, the consistent affirmation that 'the Lord was with Joseph' serves as a testament to God's favor in his life. Despite being sold into slavery and later imprisoned, Joseph's success and favor in the eyes of his masters highlight the reality of God's presence. This covenantal relationship is significant, as it reflects how God sustains His people through adversity. Just as God was present with Joseph, believers today can trust in God's sovereign providence during trying times.

Q: Why is Joseph's servanthood important?

Joseph's servanthood exemplifies obedience and faithfulness, serving as a pattern for Christian living. Joseph’s role as a servant, even in dire circumstances, emphasizes the Christian call to servanthood and humility. He accepted his station as part of God’s plan, illustrating a heart willing to serve others despite personal grievances. This attitude mirrors Christ's own mission, who 'came not to be ministered unto, but to minister' (Mark 10:45). Joseph’s integrity while serving Potiphar and later in prison showcases a model of faithfulness and diligence that all believers are encouraged to emulate, reminding us that our work is ultimately done as service to the Lord.

Q: What does Joseph's ability to endure temptation teach us?

Joseph's resistance to temptation reveals the importance of integrity and dependence on God. Joseph’s experience with temptation, specifically the advances from Potiphar's wife, provides a powerful lesson on integrity and faithfulness. He exemplified the steadfastness required to resist sin, stating, 'How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?' (Genesis 39:9). This scene illustrates not only his personal commitment to holiness but also his reliance on God’s strength. In a world filled with temptations, believers are called to follow Joseph's example: recognizing the potential consequences of sin and fleeing from it, while relying on God’s righteousness for strength and deliverance.

Turn back to Genesis 39. Now, I'm not dealing with chapter
38. We were at 37 last week. In chapter 38, it's basically
the story of Judah. And he gives his son to Tamar. And he dies, he does wickedness,
and the Lord kills him for whatever reason, whatever he did. And
so Judah tells her to wait until his youngest son, Shelah, grows
up. And during that time, Judah doesn't do it. He doesn't give
Shelah to Mark. So Tamar plays the harlot. She
finds out that Judah is going to go shear the sheep. Him and
his servant, they go to shear sheep. And so she plays the harlot. Because in that day, if a man
died and he had a brother, then he would raise up seed to his
brother. He would take her to wife. But Sheila didn't want to do
it. So anyway, what happens is that she plays the harlot And
Judah goes in unto her. She becomes pregnant. There's
this incestuous relationship. She becomes pregnant. And, of
course, Judah finds out and he's going to kill her. Isn't that
the typical standard of a man? He's going to kill her. Then
she says, well, who's signet are these? And, you know, she
provides the information, because you're more righteous than I
am. And she ends up having two boys. One was Perez, there in
verse 29 and 30, and the other one is Zara. Now you say, what does all that
mean? Listen to this. I'll just read
this to you. Matthew chapter 21. The book of the generations
of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham, Abraham begat
Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren,
and Judas begat Perez and Zarah of Tamar. What am I saying? What's this saying? Christ is
the friend of sinners. He's the friend of sinners. They
didn't blot out those bad people in the family tree. It didn't
race those out, you know. No, they put those in there.
That incestuous relationship. There's Tamar and there's Perez. All right, let's go to chapter
39 now. I titled this message, Joseph
was brought down to Egypt. Now, we know that Joseph is a
type of Christ. If we do not parallel him, his
life and his person to Christ, we've missed it. We just missed
it. So as we go through this, we
will parallel his life and his person to the Lord Jesus Christ.
What we have here, first of all, is the beloved son becomes a
servant. You remember a few weeks ago,
Joseph was the favored son. Joseph was the son that had the
coat. Jacob made him a coat of many
colors. It was a coat that distinguished
him from all his other brothers. It really distinguished him as
royalty. He was the favored son. And here
the favored son is brought down to Egypt. Brought down. And he's brought down to Egypt.
And we know God's purpose in this because we have the whole
story on it. God's purpose in bringing Joseph,
even though he and his brethren at that time did not know the
purpose. But later on, Joseph tells his
brethren that this is of God. You meant it for evil. God meant
it for good to save much people alive. Our Father, God our Father, sent
His Son into this world. down to Egypt, so to speak. He sent Him into this world to
be a servant. Our Lord said, I came not to
be ministered unto, but to minister, to serve, to give my life a ransom
for many. He came down to this earth to
save His people from their sins. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
as it says in Matthew 1.21, for He shall save His people from
their sins. And that's what Joseph tells
his brethren. God sent me here to save much people alive. God
sent me here to do this. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh,
captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the
Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. And I thought
this was interesting because you know who the Ishmaelites
are. They are the descendants of Ishmael. son of the bondwoman. He becomes captive to the son
of the bondwoman. What a picture. What a picture. Our Lord, the Scripture says,
was born of a woman, made under the law that He might redeem them that
are under the curse of the law. But the Lord was with Joseph.
You notice it doesn't say here, and God was with Joseph. When
you just see the name God, it's usually just referring to Him
as the Creator. When you see the name Lord, it
is a covenant relationship to His people. So when you see this
name Lord, Jehovah, Yahweh, it has to do with a covenant relationship
to Joseph. And the Lord was with Joseph.
And he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his
master, the Egyptian. The Lord was with Joseph, even
though he was a captive. If you looked at Joseph, his
brethren put him in a pen, he sold to, and these Ishmaelites
end up with him, and he's a captive, yet the Lord's with him. You
wouldn't believe that, would you? If you and I were to live
in the day that our Lord walked on this earth, we would never
believe that God was with Him. He's born to a poor family, lives
in a poor neighborhood, grows up poor, but God's with Him. The Lord's with Him. He's with
Him. God the Father was with Christ.
God, the Scripture says, was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto Himself. Christ said, as I hear I speak,
I'm not doing this by myself. I'm not alone. And it said Joseph
was a prosperous man. Even in captivity, he is a prosperous
man because the Lord's with him. I'll tell you why. You may not
own much. You may not have much. But if
the Lord's with you, I promise you, you are a prosperous person.
You're rich beyond measure. You're as rich as the one who
owns you. You're rich. He was a prosperous man because
the Lord was with him. All that he touched seemed to
turn to gold. And even though Potiphar had
enough sense to realize this, Potiphar didn't know the Lord.
He didn't know Joseph's God. But he recognized this, the God
that Joseph worshipped was blessing. He didn't know him, but he said,
I don't know him, but the God you worship, He's sure blessing
you because everything you touch turns to gold, so to speak. He's prosperous. Our Lord was
prosperous in all that He did. It says in Isaiah 42, He shall
not fail. He shall not fail to honor and
magnify God's law. He shall not fail to please God's
justice. He shall not fail to redeem His
people. He shall not fail. He's prosperous. Prosperous. The pleasure, it says in Isaiah
53, the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hands. There was times that it did not
look like it, but it's prospering. You know right now. The pleasure
of the Lord right now is prospering in His hand, just as He would
have it. Now, you and I cannot see it with our eyes, these eyes,
but if God were to give us an insight, a spiritual insight,
we would see prosperity. We would see the prosperity of
our Lord going on right now. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in His hand. And then his master saw that
the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did
to prosper in his hands. Like I said, old Potphour had
enough sense to recognize that. You know, the Jews and all who
witnessed those miracles and heard the Lord's word, they had
to acknowledge, they had to acknowledge that God was with this man. Listen
to Nicodemus. The same came to Jesus by night,
and he said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher
come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest,
except God be with him. They had to acknowledge that
God was with him. They knew it. No man could do what he did and
speak as he spoke, and God not be with him. They said, no man
speaks like this man. He doesn't speak like the scribes
and the Pharisees, like the reading of an outline. He speaks with
authority. God was with him. And it says,
Joseph found grace in his sight, in the sight of Potiphar, that
Egyptian who hated those Hebrews. Because you know who the Egyptians
were. They were the descendants of Ham. And Ham, you remember, God cursed
Ham. Well, the Egyptians are the descendants
of Ham. And here, Joseph, the blessed
son, is in captivity to Ham, the one God cursed. But God gave
him grace in his sight. And he served him. This is marvelous
here. You're talking about an obedient
servant. Joseph served him. And he made him overseer over
his house, and all that he had, he put into his hand. God rules
over the hearts of men. He rules over the hearts of men.
He can make even your worst enemies be at peace with you. He did
here. He did with our Lord. As He walked
through, many of them said, hell, King of the Jews, you know, when
He came through on that donkey. Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. It's hard to remember these things. Sometimes
you don't write them down. Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. He gave him favor for a while.
For a while. I tell you what, the king's heart
is in the hand of the Lord and so is everyone else's. Everyone
else's too. And Joseph was an obedient servant
here. It says here he served him. And this has stood out to
me. Joseph accepted this as the Lord's
will. He never tried to escape. You know somewhere along the
way, he could have tried to escape back home. He submitted. He submitted to that Egyptian
and he served him. Well, there's a testimony for
us, isn't it? in our employments, places we work. He served Him. He didn't cop an attitude. He
served Him. He accepted it as the Lord's will. Even as the
Lord Jesus Christ came into this world as a willing servant, He
willingly... Now listen, He willingly served. Not to be ministered to, but
to minister. To willingly serve. He willingly, as we saw last
Sunday, He willingly washed their feet, didn't He? He willingly
got up from the supper, took off His garments, put on that
towel, girded Himself with the towel, filled the basin with
water, and served. And served. Not above being a
servant. He came to serve. And it came
to pass from the time that He had made Him overseer in His
house and over all that he had, that the Lord bless the Egyptians'
house for Joseph's sake. Bless for Joseph's sake. And I'll tell you why. That's
why we're blessed. For Christ's sake. If God is
pleased to save me and you, it's for Christ's sake. He's pleased
to do it for Christ's sake. He did it for Joseph's sake,
and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the
house and in the field. It touched everything. Everything.
Blessed for Joseph's sake. The one blessed did not deserve
any of the blessings. Potiphar did not deserve any
of these blessings. It was for Joseph's sake. He
was the wicked man. He was an Egyptian. He was of
that cursed tribe of Ham. But he was blessed. He was blessed
because there was one in that house that was worthy. Joseph. Joseph. As I told you last Wednesday
night, as we go through the rest of Genesis, it deals with Joseph.
Not one time is there a sin mentioned against Joseph. Because he represents
Christ who knew no sin. And here, there's one worthy
in the house. There's one in that house worthy
of God's blessings. Joseph. Joseph. This is a beautiful picture of
Christ who is over the house of God. He is over the whole
house of God. And we are blessed for Christ's
sake. We do not deserve any blessing. Now, you know, I've said that
over the years, I've heard it over the years, but I'm telling
you, we don't deserve anything. When we see Him, when we see
Him, we'll really know that one day. When we see Him in glory,
we'll know and understand that we didn't deserve any of this. None of it. We are blessed in Christ. He's
the one worthy. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. And this world, this world is
blessed for Christ's sake. I thought about this. I thought
about this as I was writing, going over this the last two
or three days. This town has been blessed because Christ has
a people in it. And if Christ has a people in
it, Christ is here. The Lord is where His people are. In this little old town, you've
had Marathon and AK Steel, and they tried to close that thing
down. They still can't get it closed down. God has a people here. He has a people here. Blessed
for Christ's sake! O Potiphar, he left all that
he had in Joseph's hand, and he knew not aught he had save
the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person,
well favored. Joseph was of such a character
that his master, now listen to this, this is a young man, I
said he was 17 when they sold him, and I don't know what kind
of time here, but he's young. I'm guessing between 17, 18,
20, 21, somewhere in there. But he's a young man. But he's
such a character that his master left everything in his hand,
and now listen to this, and didn't even check on him. Not one time. He just said, Joseph, you take
care of it. And Potiphar went and did whatever
he was going to do, his business, whatever, and not one time did
he ever come back and check on Joseph. Because he trusted Him
that much. Our Heavenly Father has entrusted
everything to the Lord Jesus Christ. And He's not checking
up on Him to see if this is right. He's entrusted Him completely.
Now, what's that say we ought to do? What's that say we ought to do?
We ought to trust Him completely without a doubt. You know, if
Potiphar went back to check on Joseph, it would be because there's
some doubt. Here's a lesson of faith. Trust
Him completely without a doubt. And Joseph was a goodly person
and well favored. You know what this means? This has this meaning. He was
a goodly person and well favored. He was stunningly beautiful. In other words, if he walked
in this door, you would not be able to keep from looking at
him. You'd be eyeballing him. He was a stunningly beautiful
person and of great character. Well put together. That describes
Joseph. And does this not describe our
Lord? Now I know in Isaiah 53 it says there is no beauty that
we should desire in. Well, that just depends on who
you are. If God has saved you, if He has
given you faith, He's beautiful. He's beautiful. The world wouldn't
count Him beautiful no matter how He looked physically. They
wouldn't count Him that way. Look over in the Song of Solomon.
Listen to how the church describes him here. Over here in the Song of Solomon,
let me see where I'm at. In chapter 5, now listen. In verse 9. What is thy beloved
more than another beloved? Why are you talking? What makes
him better than anybody else's beloved? O thou fairest among
women, what is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou
dost charge us so? What's so important about him?
What's so great about him? My beloved is white and ruddy.
the cheapest among 10,000. His head is as the most fine
gold, his locks are bushy and black as a raven. His eyes are
as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk and
fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices,
as sweet flowers, his lips like lilies dropping dropping sweet-smelling
myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set
with the barrel. His belly is as bright ivory
overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble
set upon sockets of fine gold. His countenance is as Lebanon,
excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, yea,
he's altogether lovely. There's not a blemish in him."
I bet you Vicky's never described me like that. And I bet none
of you wives have described your husbands like that either. He's
altogether lovely. Joseph, he's well favored. Stunningly beautiful. And I tell
you what, the Lord Jesus Christ is stunningly beautiful to everyone
who believes. Stunningly beautiful. Alright,
let me see where I'm at here. And it says here, All things
were put into His hands. All things were put into the
hands of Joseph to take care of. This is such a beautiful
picture and illustration here. The Father has put all things
into the hands of His Son to take care of. I believe it was
Sunday's message. It says, Christ knowing that
all things were now what? put into His hands. That's over
in John chapter 13 where we come out of the Sunday. Knowing that
all things were put into His hands. Everything is in the hands
of the Son of God. Now we come to the temptation.
He came as a servant. He served. He was risen to popularity. Even
as our Lord, remember when He came into the town riding on
that donkey? They was all praising Him. All of them were. But now
we come to the temptation. And it came to pass, I might
be going too long with this one. And it came to pass after these
things that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph. And she said, lie with me. Joseph
is tempted now by his master's wife. Christ was tempted in all
points as we are, yet without sin. Joseph was tempted by this
woman, listen, as we go through here, day by day. Day by day. He couldn't pass that woman.
Couldn't pass her. Christ was tempted in all points
as we are, yet without sin. That's what it says in Hebrews
4.15. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities. but was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin. But he refused. Joseph refused. I mean, this is Potiphar's life. This woman has some clout. You
know, she could tell Joseph now. She had the clout to say, Joseph,
I want you to clean over here today. I want you to do something
today. You know, she had the clout to have him doing things. But he wouldn't submit to sinning
against God. He refused and said unto his
master's wife, Behold, my master wanteth not what is with me in
the house. And he's committed all that he
hath to my hand. He's entrusted me with everything.
He refused to yield to the temptation, even as our Lord refused to yield
to Satan. Remember when he took him on
the pinnacle and he was in the wilderness there and tempted?
And he said, Get thee behind me, Satan. Not once did he give
in. Not once. Joseph says, there
is none greater in the house than I. Oh boy, there is none
greater in the house of God than the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither
hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art
his wife. How then can I do this? Now listen, how then can I do
this great wickedness and sin against God? Joseph was a man of integrity.
He would not break the trust of his master. But more importantly,
he said, how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Our Lord was entrusted with all
that the Father has. And he would not, he would not
sin against his Father. All the way to the cross, to
the grave, to glory. It is written, he knew no sin. He knew no sin. Oh, Adam looked
at his wife Eve. He looked at that fruit. He looked
at Eve. He looked at God. And he chose Eve. He chose Eve. Oh, Joseph looked
at that Potiphar's wife, and she's after him day after day
after day. And not one time did he yield. Not one time. Refused. Oh, what a picture of Christ,
who was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. And
then it came to pass as he spake to Joseph day by day, that he
hearkened not unto her to lie with her or to be with her. He was about his business, even
as our Lord was about His Father's business. But Joseph was tempted
day by day, even as our Lord was tempted. He was tempted,
tried, tempted day by day. Day by day. And like Joseph,
he never yielded. Then it came to pass about this
time that Joseph went into the house to do his business, and
there was none of the men of the house there within. And she
caught him by the garment. She's saying, lie with me. And
he left his garment. The man was smart. He got out
of there. The Scripture says, shun every
appearance of evil. Flee it. Flee youthful lust.
Get out of there. Run out of there. Look over in
Proverbs chapter 5. My son, attend unto my wisdom,
and bow thine ear to my understanding, that thou mayest regard discretion,
and that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman
drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil, but
her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her
feet go down to death. Her steps take hold on hell,
lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life. Her ways are movable,
that thou canst not know them." Old Joseph recognized her. He
recognized this woman for who and what she was. And he fled
out of there. Then here comes this false accusation. Here comes the imputation of
sin. And it came to pass in verse 13, And it came to pass when
she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and was fled
forth, that she called to the men of her house, and she spake
to them, saying, See, he hath brought in a Hebrew unto us to
mock us. And he came in unto me to lie
with me, and I cried with a loud voice. And it came to pass when
he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left
his garment with me and fled and got him out. It's a bold-faced lie. Just like over Matthew 26, verses
60 and 61, they finally found two people, a couple of men,
that would falsely accuse our Lord and lie on Him. But Joseph,
he was charged with a sin he did not commit. Our Lord was
charged, had imputed unto him Sin and sins He did not personally
commit. They were ours. Mine. Mine. He knew no sin. He never committed
a sin of thought, word, or deed. Not at all. But it was charged
to Him. It was imputed to Him. And then she laid up His garment
by her until His Lord came home. And she spake to Him according
to these words. She said the same things. And she accused
Him accused him to his Lord, just as Joseph was accused to
those whom he was over. She made them believe that he
did this. Our Lord was falsely accused
for standing there in that judgment hall. He was falsely accused
of doing things that he did not do. And I'm sure, I thought about
this today, I'm sure Satan accused him. When he was made to be sin,
I assure you, Satan didn't let that go. I assure you, he did not let
that go. When he was made to be sin. Because he's the accuser
of the brethren. And then 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." You know, the Lord's presence
does not keep us out of trouble or keep us from trouble, but
it does preserve us in trouble. Joseph was preserved. He was
kept. And as Joseph was cast into prison,
even so was the greater Joseph cast into prison. It says he
was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare
his generation? And you notice something here.
Nothing is said about Joseph trying to defend himself. You don't hear anything, do you? It doesn't say in Isaiah 53,
he opened not his mouth. Our Lord did not stand in that
judgment hall and try to defend himself. He says, I didn't do
that. It doesn't say anything. He opened not his mouth. And
then he was numbered. Joseph was numbered with the
transgressors. He was put in the king's prison. He was in
the king's prison, which was one of the worst prisons to be
in. And Christ was put in the king's prison, the worst prison
with the worst prisoners. And that's where you and I were,
in the king's prison. But here's the greatest blessing.
Here's the secret to enduring whatever comes our way. But the
Lord was with him and showed him mercy. If I have that, I'm alright.
I'm alright. I can get through anything. You
can get through anything if His presence is with us and He'll
show mercy. We can endure anything. But the
Lord, it says, was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave
him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. He was
successful even in his sufferings. He was our Lord. In all his sufferings, he was
successful. Let me wind this down. And the
keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners. Is that not what our father did?
Did our father not commit all the king's prisoners into the
hand of his son? Yes, he did. And whatsoever they did there
in the prison, Joseph was the doer of it. Joseph got the glory
of it. All the prisoners that were in
the king's prison were put into the hands of Joseph. And this
is a beautiful picture of salvation. All of God's elect were put into
the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, and whatsoever they did, he was
the doer. His righteousness is our righteousness. His doing is my doing. It's our
doing. All who believe. He is our righteousness. All glory belongs to Him. Anything
good that comes out of this bunch of prisoners here, Christ is the doer of it. And the keeper of the prison
looked not to anything that was under his hand. He did the same
thing Potiphar did. He never checked up on him. You
believe that? I mean, this is in the prison.
He never checked up on him. He just left him alone, let him
take care of it. The keeper of the prison looked
not to anything that was under his hand, because the Lord was
with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. If a man can gain that much trust
from another man, how much more ought we to trust Christ? How much more ought we to trust
him? He is the greater Joseph. He
is the greater Joseph. He's our Joseph. He's the one
whom God sent to save much people alive.

Joseph Was Brought Down to Egypt

What does the Bible say about Joseph being a type of Christ?

How do we know God's presence was with Joseph?

Why is Joseph's servanthood important?

What does Joseph's ability to endure temptation teach us?

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Joseph Was Brought Down to Egypt

What does the Bible say about Joseph being a type of Christ?

How do we know God's presence was with Joseph?

Why is Joseph's servanthood important?

What does Joseph's ability to endure temptation teach us?

Sermon Transcript

About John Chapman

Comments

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