40. JOSEPH AS A YOUTH

GENESIS 37

In the first of our articles upon Jacob we called attention to the fact that each of the great Israelitish patriarchs illustrated some basic spiritual truth and that the chronological order of their lives agrees with the doctrinal order of truth. In Abraham we have illustrated the doctrine of election, for he was singled out by God from all the heathen and chosen to be the head of the Jewish nation. In Isaac we have foreshadowed the doctrine of Divine sonship: Abram's firstborn, Ishmael, represents the man born after the flesh, the old nature; but Isaac, born by the miraculous power of God, tells of the new man, the spiritual nature. In Jacob we see exemplified the conflict between the two natures in the believer, and also God's gracious discipline which issued, slowly but surely, in the triumph of the spirit over the flesh. Joseph, typically, speaks to us of heirship preceded by suffering," and points forward to the time when the sons and heirs shall reign together with Christ. There is thus a beautiful moral order in the several leading truths illustrated and personified by these men. And it should be observed that here, as in everything which pertains to God's Word, its orderliness evidences its Divine Authorship; everything is in its proper place.

Joseph, then, speaks of heirship and, as another has beautifully expressed it, "And consistently with this, in Joseph, we get suffering before glories. *** For while discipline attaches to us as children, sufferings go before us as heirs; and this gives us the distinction between Jacob and Joseph. It is discipline we see in Jacob, discipline leading him as a child, under the hand of the Father of his spirit, to a participation of God's holiness. It is sufferings, martyrsufferings, sufferings for righteousness, we see in Joseph, marking his path to glories. And this is the crowning thing! and thus it comes as the closing thing, in this wondrous book of Genesis-after this manner perfect in its structure, as it is truthful in its records. One moral after another is studied, one secret after another is revealed, in the artless family scenes which constitute its materials, and in them we learn our calling, the sources and the issues of

our history, from our election to our inheritance" (Mr. J. G. Bellett).

Joseph is the last of the saints which occupies a prominent position in Genesis. In all there are seven-Adam, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. More space is devoted to the last of these seven than to any of the others. There are several reasons for this which appear on the surface. In the first place, the history of Joseph is the chief link which connects Exodus with Genesis; the earlier chapters of Exodus being unintelligible without the last ten chapters of Genesis. It is Joseph's life which explains the remarkable development of the Hebrews from a mere handful of wandering shepherds to a numerous and settled colony in Egypt. But no doubt the chief reason why the life of Joseph is described with such fulness of detail is because almost everything in it typified something in connection with Christ. But more of this later.

"Joseph was the elder son of Rachel (30:24). Of his early life nothing is recorded. He could not have been more than five or six years old when his father left Mesopotamia. He was therefore the child of Jacob's later life, and escaped all the sad experiences associated with the earlier years at Haran. He comes before us in this chapter (Gen. 37) at the age of seventeen. His companions were his halfbrothers, the grown-up sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. From all that we have hitherto seen of them they must have been utterly unfit companions for such a youth. Jacob's elder sons had, naturally, been affected by the life in Haran, by the jealousy at home, and by the scheming between Laban and Jacob. They had been brought up under the influence of the old Jacob, while Joseph had been the companion of the changed Jacob or 'Israel.' There are few people more unfitted for influence over younger brothers than elder brothers of bad character." (Dr. G. Thomas.)

"These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph being seventeen 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 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" (37:2-4).

There are perhaps few portions of Holy Writ with which we are more familiar than the one now before us. From earliest childhood many of us have listened to this beautiful but pathetic narrative. The aged patriarch, his favorite son, the coat of many colors, Joseph's dreams, the envious brothers, their wicked conduct-all so true to life-have been indelibly impressed upon our memories since we first learned them on our mother's knee, or from the lips of our Sunday School teacher. Many are the lessons which may be drawn, and pointed are the warnings which are found here. But we shall pass from these to something deeper and even more precious.

As we read thoughtfully the books of the Old Testament our study of them is but superficial if they fail to show us that in divers ways and by various means God was preparing the way for the coming of His Son. The central purpose in the Divine Incarnation, the great outstanding object in the life and death of the Lord Jesus, were prefigured beforehand, and ought to have been rendered familiar to the minds of men. Among the means thus used of God was the history of different persons through whom the life and character of Christ were to a remarkable degree made manifest beforehand. Thus Adam represented His Headship, Abel His Death, Noah His Work in providing a refuge for His people. Melchizedek pointed to Him as priest, Moses as prophet, David as King. But the fullest and most striking of all these typical personage was Joseph, for between his history and that of Christ we may trace fully a hundred points of analogy! Others before us have written upon this captivating theme, and from their writings we shall draw freely in the course of these papers on the typical significance of Joseph's history."

In the verses quoted above from Genesis 37 there are seven points in which Joseph prefigured Christ, each of which is worthy of our attention, namely, the meaning of his name, the nature of his occupation, his opposition to evil, his father's love, his relation to his father's age, his coat of many colors, and the hatred of his brethren. Let us consider each of these in turn:

We take this occasion to acknowledge our indebtedness to Dr. Haldeman and Mr. C. Knapp.

1. The Meaning of his Name. It is most significant that our patriarch had two names-Joseph, and Zaphnathpaaneah (41:45) which the rabbins translate "Revealer of secrets." This latter name was given to him by Pharaoh in acknowledgment of the Divine wisdom which was in him. Thus, Joseph may be said to be his human name and Zaphnath-paaneah his Divine name. So, also, the one whom Joseph foreshadowed has a double name-"Jesus" being His human name, "Christ" signifying "the Anointed" of God, or, again, we have his double name in "Son of Man" which speaks of His humanity, and "Son of God" which tells of His Deity. Let us note how the meaning of Joseph's names were typical in their significance.

"Joseph" means adding (see 30:24). The first Adam was the great subtractor, the last Adam is the great Adder: through the one, men became lost; by the other, all who believe are saved. Christ is the One who "adds" to Heaven's inhabitants. It was to this end that He came to this earth, tabernacled among men for more than thirty years, and then died on the Cross: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (Jno. 12:24). The ultimate result of His Death will be "much fruit," and at His return this will be gathered into the Heavenly garner (Jno. 14:3).

But Joseph's second name means "Revealer of secrets." This was a most appropriate name. Revealer of secrets Joseph ever was, not merely as an interpreter of dreams, but in every scene of his life, in every relation he sustained -when with his brethren in Potiphar's household, in prison, or before Pharaoh-his words and his works ever tested those with whom he had to do, making manifest their secret condition. How strikingly this foreshadowed Christ, of whom it was said in the days of His infancy, "Behold this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against *** that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Lu. 2: 34, 35).

In the incident now before us Joseph is seen as the Revealer of secrets in a double way. First, he revealed his father's heart, for he is here seen as the special object on which Jacob's affections were centered. Second, he revealed the hearts of his brethren by making manifest their wicked

"hatred." In like manner, our blessed Saviour revealed the Father's heart, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (Jno. 1:18). And in like manner, the Lord Jesus also revealed what was in the hearts of men. One of the most striking and prominent features presented in the four Gospels is the fact that everywhere He went the Lord Jesus exposed all. He made manifest the secret condition of all with whom He came into contact. He was truly "the Light of the world," shining in "a dark place" --detecting, displaying, uncovering, bringing to light the hidden things of darkness. Well, then, was Joseph named the one who added, and the one that revealed.

2. By Occupation Joseph was a Shepherd, "feeding the flock." This is one of the prominent lines which is found running through several of the Old Testament typical personages. Abel, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, were each of them "shepherds," and a close study of what is recorded of each one in this particular relation will reveal that each pointed forward to some separate and distinctive aspect of our Lord's Shepherdhood. No figure of Christ is more beautiful than this: our favorite Psalm (the twenty-third) presents Him in this character. One of our earliest conceptions of the Saviour, as children, was as the Good Shepherd. The figure suggests His watchful care, His unwearied devotion, His tender solicitude, His blessed patience, His protecting grace, His matchless love in giving His life for the sheep. Above, Joseph is seen "feeding the flock," pointing to the earthly ministry of Christ who, sent unto "the lost sheep of the House of Israel," spent Himself in tending the needs of others.

3. His Opposition to Evil. "And Joseph brought unto his father their evil report." It is truly pathetic to find how this action of Joseph has been made an occasion for debate, some arguing that in doing what he did Joseph acted wrongly; others defending him. But it is not as a tale bearer that Joseph is here viewed, rather is he seen as the truth-speaker. Not by cowardly silence would he be the accomplice of their evil-doing. And here too we may discern a clear foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will quote but one verse, but it is sufficient to establish the type: "The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, be