I have been consumed by the character study of the life of Joseph. It has served as a tremendous enouragement to me in understanding the Sovereign and Providential workings of God. i am thoroughly convinced that He works all things to the counsel of His own will. This is the only thing that explains and gives comfort and hope to the difficulties and trials we face in life. Without a proper and biblical world view, we become bitter. With the proper biblical world view, we become better. Thanks and praise be to God for the bible. I am doing some writing on the Life of Joseph. I hope it serves as a source of encouragement to all that read this. Before we examine the story of Joseph and the terrible sin of his brothers and its redemptive purpose in the glory of Jesus Christ, let’s look to Genesis 12. I believe we will not fully comprehend the life of Joseph apart from this beginning. With the exception of Jesus Christ, Abraham is probably the most significant person in the bible. Fourteen chapters are used to set forth the life of this one man. The history of Abraham and his immediate descendents fill the great middle and concluding portions of Genesis 12-50.
To properly understand the Old Testament, one must understand God’s dealings Abraham in many ways. The history of God’s redemptive plan lies greatly aligned in him. The promise of redemption somewhat begins with God’s call of him. This is not to negate the first prophesy of redemption in Genesis 3:15. I am speaking of where we see the first working of this prophesy; it begins with the call of Abraham.
In Genesis 12, God has unconditionally chosen Abram from all the peoples of the world by free grace and God’s own sovereign choice. This choice was not motivated by anything good in Abraham (Gen.15:6). In Genesis 12:1 God calls Abram to Himself. He is to leave his country, his kindred and his father’s house. He is to leave his place, his people and his parents to live a life overshadowed by Yahweh’s presence.
In Genesis 12:2-3, God makes him a promise: God’s calling of sinful men unto Himself is always connected to a promise of God to act on behalf of the one He calls. The God who calls has promised to act. And His promise to act is supported by all of who He is in His divine essence and attributes. This means the one who is called has a tremendous support system, God Himself.
“I will bless you and I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” In this promise is the sevenfold repetition of God saying I WILL! This declaration itself is reserved to the one Absolute of Reality. God alone can say, “I WILL.” The relative existence of man doesn’t allow for this claim. God promises to act on behalf of Abram and his people. This is the beginning of the people of Israel through whom Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God will come into the world to save us from our sins.
Then in chapter 15, God makes a covenant with Abram. This covenant is sealed by God Himself. It is not contingent upon Abram in any way. God trusts Himself. He uses a remarkable symbolic act and some astonishing words. He says to Abram in Genesis 15:13-16, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. . . . And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
So at the very beginning of his covenant relationship with his chosen people, God predicts a 400-year stay in Egypt and the return to the Promised Land. “They will be afflicted 400 years.” This is a part of the promise; they will possess the land God has given them after 400 years in Egypt. God says. “The people in the land, the Amorites have some more sins to commit before I judge them and give you the land.” It is interesting the actual numbers of iniquities are not mentioned. How many more sins will God allow before judgment? Uhmm…….how do you know when you’re down to your last sin? Notice the patients of God, even with sin. The book of Ecclesiastes chapter 8 and verse 11 says because the sentence of execution is not speedily brought against evil the heart of man is fully set the do evil. So since God is not going to do anything at the moment I sin, I will continue to sin and deal with that when the time comes. This is the irrational thinking of the depraved mind. Remember when the iniquities of the Amorites are full then judgment. You might say the Amorites were not God’s people so this is different. However, if you are comfortable in sin maybe you aren’t either. If spiritually understood this should motivate us toward abstaining from sin, not continuing in it. (Rom. 6:1-2)
So there is God’s plan for his chosen people. If God plans 400 years of affliction for his people (Genesis 15:13) before the Promised Land, we should not be surprised or shocked that he says to us “through many tribulations you must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). There is devastation before deliverance, darkness before light, tragedy before triumph, hurt before healing, defeat before victory and death before resurrection.
How will it come about that God’s people wind up in Egypt? The answer is that God fulfills this prophecy through their disgusting sin. And through this sin, God preserves the life not only his covenant people of Israel, but also the line from which the Lion of the Tribe Judah would come to save and rule the peoples (peoples in plural not just Israel). This is all that God has chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4)
God’s preserving them is just a small part of the story, he has a vested interest. He has invested Himself to manifest Himself for His own Glory.
Let’s bring the story up to Joseph. Abram has a son Isaac. Isaac has a son Jacob (whose other name is Israel), and Jacob has twelve sons who become the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. One of Jacob’s twelve sons, Joseph, has two dreams. In both of them, his eleven brothers and his parents bow down to him. The brothers hate him and decide to kill him; they throw him in a pit with plans of saying that a fierce animal has devoured him. Reuben tries to save Joseph but his attempt doesn’t work, the brothers sell Joseph as a slave to a caravan of Ishmaelites heading for Egypt (v. 25). They keep his coat of many colors, soak it in animal blood and his father is led to believe by the deception of the brothers he was eaten by wild animals. The brothers clearly think that is the end of that.
These brothers have no clue what is happening. They actually think they are in control of this situation. People think they are in control when they know who’s in control. They are completely oblivious to God’s sovereign hand in their action. They do not know that in the very effort to destroy this dreamer, they are fulfilling Joseph’s dreams. They would have never thought that their deception would be a means to their deliverance. God takes the very sins of the destroyers and makes them the means of the destroyers’ deliverance. What is intended for evil, God intends for a means to preserve His plan and purpose and His people. What an Awesome God!!! The difficulties that were placed on the life of Joseph would be the means of their deliverance. The cross that was intended to get rid of Jesus is the means God uses to bring deliverance for His people. They knew what they were up to but they had no clue what God was up to. This reminds me of those remarkable words of Jesus from the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Spiritual blindness is man’s problem and Spiritual sight is his need.
So you can see the life of Joseph is an interesting and meaningful study. We can see some of the most glorious and beautiful pictures of Christ in the life of Joseph. Joseph’s life wonderfully displays a type of Jesus Christ in circumstances but not completely in character.
Joseph’s life clearly shows and teaches us that God providentially ordains and permits unusual means to accomplish His desired goals. This entire history from chapter 37 is perhaps the Bible's greatest illustration of the fact and nature of divine providence. The statement that summarizes this whole history in 50:20, "you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good", this is the Bible's locus classicus, or chief text on the subject of divine providence, His governing all the affairs of men to bring about His intended purposes It shows us that life’s difficulties are not simply coincidental or accidental but are preordained ingredients that God permits to accomplish His purpose in our lives.
Joseph teaches us that our situations should not be an excuse for our lack of total dedication to God. He shows us that a gracious humble and trusting heart never makes the goodness of God an excuse for sin, even in difficult times.
In the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “we must trust God’s heart even when we can’t see His hand.” I hope and pray that the Life of Joseph is as helpful to you as it has been to me, in areas of learning to view life from the perspective of the providence and sovereignty of God rather than from the perspective of human actions. I am learning through Joseph that God is the primary cause of everything and everything operates at His divine permission. Please don’t read into this that God is the cause of sin. I am simply saying that God has absolute authority and all other authorities are delegated authorities given to display His glory. So the life of Joseph provides us with three major points of emphasis.
1. It a Provided Channel that shows us the route or the bridge that gets the people of God to the place he said they must go, which was Egypt.
2. It gives us a look at the Personal Character of Joseph in light of the difficulties he had to face.
3. Also there is a Picture Conveyed of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in Joseph that shows and gives us hope of deliverance and the character of that Deliverer.
To properly understand the Old Testament, one must understand God’s dealings Abraham in many ways. The history of God’s redemptive plan lies greatly aligned in him. The promise of redemption somewhat begins with God’s call of him. This is not to negate the first prophesy of redemption in Genesis 3:15. I am speaking of where we see the first working of this prophesy; it begins with the call of Abraham.
In Genesis 12, God has unconditionally chosen Abram from all the peoples of the world by free grace and God’s own sovereign choice. This choice was not motivated by anything good in Abraham (Gen.15:6). In Genesis 12:1 God calls Abram to Himself. He is to leave his country, his kindred and his father’s house. He is to leave his place, his people and his parents to live a life overshadowed by Yahweh’s presence.
In Genesis 12:2-3, God makes him a promise: God’s calling of sinful men unto Himself is always connected to a promise of God to act on behalf of the one He calls. The God who calls has promised to act. And His promise to act is supported by all of who He is in His divine essence and attributes. This means the one who is called has a tremendous support system, God Himself.
“I will bless you and I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” In this promise is the sevenfold repetition of God saying I WILL! This declaration itself is reserved to the one Absolute of Reality. God alone can say, “I WILL.” The relative existence of man doesn’t allow for this claim. God promises to act on behalf of Abram and his people. This is the beginning of the people of Israel through whom Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God will come into the world to save us from our sins.
Then in chapter 15, God makes a covenant with Abram. This covenant is sealed by God Himself. It is not contingent upon Abram in any way. God trusts Himself. He uses a remarkable symbolic act and some astonishing words. He says to Abram in Genesis 15:13-16, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. . . . And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
So at the very beginning of his covenant relationship with his chosen people, God predicts a 400-year stay in Egypt and the return to the Promised Land. “They will be afflicted 400 years.” This is a part of the promise; they will possess the land God has given them after 400 years in Egypt. God says. “The people in the land, the Amorites have some more sins to commit before I judge them and give you the land.” It is interesting the actual numbers of iniquities are not mentioned. How many more sins will God allow before judgment? Uhmm…….how do you know when you’re down to your last sin? Notice the patients of God, even with sin. The book of Ecclesiastes chapter 8 and verse 11 says because the sentence of execution is not speedily brought against evil the heart of man is fully set the do evil. So since God is not going to do anything at the moment I sin, I will continue to sin and deal with that when the time comes. This is the irrational thinking of the depraved mind. Remember when the iniquities of the Amorites are full then judgment. You might say the Amorites were not God’s people so this is different. However, if you are comfortable in sin maybe you aren’t either. If spiritually understood this should motivate us toward abstaining from sin, not continuing in it. (Rom. 6:1-2)
So there is God’s plan for his chosen people. If God plans 400 years of affliction for his people (Genesis 15:13) before the Promised Land, we should not be surprised or shocked that he says to us “through many tribulations you must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). There is devastation before deliverance, darkness before light, tragedy before triumph, hurt before healing, defeat before victory and death before resurrection.
How will it come about that God’s people wind up in Egypt? The answer is that God fulfills this prophecy through their disgusting sin. And through this sin, God preserves the life not only his covenant people of Israel, but also the line from which the Lion of the Tribe Judah would come to save and rule the peoples (peoples in plural not just Israel). This is all that God has chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4)
God’s preserving them is just a small part of the story, he has a vested interest. He has invested Himself to manifest Himself for His own Glory.
Let’s bring the story up to Joseph. Abram has a son Isaac. Isaac has a son Jacob (whose other name is Israel), and Jacob has twelve sons who become the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. One of Jacob’s twelve sons, Joseph, has two dreams. In both of them, his eleven brothers and his parents bow down to him. The brothers hate him and decide to kill him; they throw him in a pit with plans of saying that a fierce animal has devoured him. Reuben tries to save Joseph but his attempt doesn’t work, the brothers sell Joseph as a slave to a caravan of Ishmaelites heading for Egypt (v. 25). They keep his coat of many colors, soak it in animal blood and his father is led to believe by the deception of the brothers he was eaten by wild animals. The brothers clearly think that is the end of that.
These brothers have no clue what is happening. They actually think they are in control of this situation. People think they are in control when they know who’s in control. They are completely oblivious to God’s sovereign hand in their action. They do not know that in the very effort to destroy this dreamer, they are fulfilling Joseph’s dreams. They would have never thought that their deception would be a means to their deliverance. God takes the very sins of the destroyers and makes them the means of the destroyers’ deliverance. What is intended for evil, God intends for a means to preserve His plan and purpose and His people. What an Awesome God!!! The difficulties that were placed on the life of Joseph would be the means of their deliverance. The cross that was intended to get rid of Jesus is the means God uses to bring deliverance for His people. They knew what they were up to but they had no clue what God was up to. This reminds me of those remarkable words of Jesus from the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Spiritual blindness is man’s problem and Spiritual sight is his need.
So you can see the life of Joseph is an interesting and meaningful study. We can see some of the most glorious and beautiful pictures of Christ in the life of Joseph. Joseph’s life wonderfully displays a type of Jesus Christ in circumstances but not completely in character.
Joseph’s life clearly shows and teaches us that God providentially ordains and permits unusual means to accomplish His desired goals. This entire history from chapter 37 is perhaps the Bible's greatest illustration of the fact and nature of divine providence. The statement that summarizes this whole history in 50:20, "you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good", this is the Bible's locus classicus, or chief text on the subject of divine providence, His governing all the affairs of men to bring about His intended purposes It shows us that life’s difficulties are not simply coincidental or accidental but are preordained ingredients that God permits to accomplish His purpose in our lives.
Joseph teaches us that our situations should not be an excuse for our lack of total dedication to God. He shows us that a gracious humble and trusting heart never makes the goodness of God an excuse for sin, even in difficult times.
In the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “we must trust God’s heart even when we can’t see His hand.” I hope and pray that the Life of Joseph is as helpful to you as it has been to me, in areas of learning to view life from the perspective of the providence and sovereignty of God rather than from the perspective of human actions. I am learning through Joseph that God is the primary cause of everything and everything operates at His divine permission. Please don’t read into this that God is the cause of sin. I am simply saying that God has absolute authority and all other authorities are delegated authorities given to display His glory. So the life of Joseph provides us with three major points of emphasis.
1. It a Provided Channel that shows us the route or the bridge that gets the people of God to the place he said they must go, which was Egypt.
2. It gives us a look at the Personal Character of Joseph in light of the difficulties he had to face.
3. Also there is a Picture Conveyed of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in Joseph that shows and gives us hope of deliverance and the character of that Deliverer.
Soli Deo Gloria! For the Glory of God Alone
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