joseph

JOSEPH ~ For Such A Time As This

There are two ways of looking at the life of Joseph, one typical and the other biographical.

From a typical perspective we are able to see Joseph in his historical setting, as a type of the Messiah who was to come later, Jesus Christ. As Matthew Henry¹ notes, "His story is so remarkably divided between his humiliation and his exaltation that we cannot avoid seeing something of Christ in it, who was first humbled then exalted."

Some of the events that occurred in Joseph's life which remind us of those in the life of Christ are these ...

Joseph was mistreated by his brothers, just as Christ was rejected by many of his own people. John writes of him, "But although the world was made through him, the world didn't recognize him when he came. Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted."²
Just as Joseph's brothers sold him to Ishmaelite traders for a handful of coin, so did Judas betray Jesus to the religious leaders of his day for 'thirty pieces of silver.'³
Joseph was falsely accused of wrongdoing by an immoral woman, Jesus by the priests and other Jewish leaders.⁴
Joseph eventually became the ruler over all Egypt. Jesus will return to rule over all people, for he is God.⁵

As you read the story of Joseph's life looking for typical references to Christ, you may notice other events that remind you of his life, death, and resurrection.

The three lessons that follow however, look at the life of Joseph from the perspective of biography, particularly the way in which Joseph was prepared for the ministry which the Lord had planned for him. Not in the prestigious university of Egypt as was the first part of Moses' preparation for his life's work, but in the rough and tumble of everyday life, the 'university of adversity.'

¹Matthew Henry. COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing. One Volume Edition. 1960. p. 57.
²Genesis 37:18-20. John 1:10-11.
³Genesis 37:26-28. Matthew 26:14-16.
⁴Genesis 39:1-18. Mark 14:53-65,15:3.
⁵Genesis 41:37-46. Isaiah 45:22-23, Philippians 2:5-11.