Today's Reading:
Luke 20:27-47
Genesis 37
Psalm 28
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Thoughts and Commentary on Today's Reading:
Today's reading of Genesis 37 is going to be my point of focus for my personal commentary. I love the story of Joseph. His story is amazing and bears so many lessons for us.Joseph grew to be about 17 years old as the privileged son of a wealthy and devoted father. He was handsome, intelligent, beloved, and God had blessed him with a high calling, as was clear from his amazing dreams.
Then one day the picture changes dramatically. It seems to be the death of the "dream". Joseph's brothers plot against him. They even talk about killing him. In the end, they decided to sell him into slavery. Talk about a dysfunctional family!
I can picture a woebegone young man, bound in ropes, tears dampening his cheeks as the camels bear him step by step away from his home, away from everything he has ever known, away from his father. What a difficult day! How hopeless everything must have looked and how despairing it must have felt!
But Joseph doesn't forget God, amidst the trial. He doesn't fall a prey to bitterness against God or his brothers. Joseph recognizes that God is his reality - not his circumstances. God is trustworthy when things are going "right" and when they are going "wrong". By trusting in God and standing faithful, Joseph was blessed amidst the trying circumstances.
And one day, when he finally stood before his brothers again, he was able to comfort them with these wise words:
Genesis 50:20 "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."Joseph understood the reality that "all things work together for good to those who love God," Romans 8:28. May we all remember to be so faithful and trusting to God, no matter what our circumstances!
Of all the Bible stories, the life of Joseph gives one of the clearest pictures of Christ to be found in the Bible. So, as we start reading the part of the Bible which portrays the beautiful story of Joseph, I'd like to start off by showing how Joseph was a type of Christ:
| Comparison List of Joseph and Jesus (Yahshua) | |
| Joseph | Jesus (Yahshua) |
| Joseph was beloved by his father - Genesis 37:3 | God said about Jesus (Yahshua) "this is My beloved Son" - Matthew 3:17 |
| Joseph's brothers (his own "people") did not believe him and hated him - Genesis 37:4-5 | The Jews (His own "people") did not believe in Christ - John 7:5 and they hated Him - John 15:24 |
| Joseph's brothers rejected God's Calling to make him a ruler - Genesis 37:8 | The Jewish leaders said "we will not have this man to rule over us" Luke 19:14 |
| Joseph's brothers conspired against him and plotted to destroy him - Genesis 37:23 | The Jewish leaders conspired against Jesus (Yahshua) and plotted to destroy Him - Matthew 27:1 |
| They stripped Joseph of his garments - Genesis 37:23 | They stripped Messiah of His garments - Matthew 27:28 |
| Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver - Genesis 37:28 | Jesus (Yahshua) was sold for 30 pieces of silver - Matthew 26:15 |
| Everything Joseph put his hand to prospered - Genesis 39:3 | "… And the pleasure of the Lord (Yahweh) prospered in His Hand" - Isaiah 53:10 |
| Because Joseph was faithful in all things, all things were entrusted into Joseph's hand - Genesis 39:4-8 | Similarly, because Christ is trustworthy, God hath given all things into His Hand - John 3:35 |
| Joseph's own brothers (his own people) did not recognize him. | The Jews (Christ's own people) did not recognize their Messiah |
| Joseph was tempted and yet remained faithful to God, walking in victory - Genesis 39:9 | Jesus (Yahshua) was tempted in all points yet was without sin - Hebrews 4:15 |
| Joseph was bound - Genesis 39:20 | Jesus (Yahshua) was bound - Matthew 27:2 |
| Joseph was imprisoned with two criminals - Genesis 40:2-3 | Jesus (Yahshua) was crucified with two criminals (the two thieves) - Luke 23:32 |
| One criminal was given life and the other was condemned to death - Genesis 40:21-22 | One thief was given the promise of Eternal Life and the other (who mocked and failed to repent) received Eternal Death - Luke 23:39-43 |
| Joseph was trustworthy and wise - Genesis 41:39 | The Father testified of Christ "this is My beloved Son in Whom I well pleased" - Mark 1:11 |
| The people of Egypt and Joseph's brothers all bowed before him - Genesis 41:43 | "At the name of Jesus (Yahshua) every knee will bow" - Philippians 2:10 |
| Joseph was 30 years old, when he began his Calling to serve in Pharaoh's Court - Genesis 41:46 | Christ was "about 30 years old" when He began His Calling to serve as the Messiah - Luke 3:23 |
| God took a situation that the devil meant for evil and brought much good out of Joseph's suffering - Genesis 50:21 | God brought much good out of Jesus' (Yahshua's) suffering - "God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall be saved" - John 3:16 |
| Joseph married a foreign bride who shared his glory - Genesis 41:45 | Believers in Christ are the Bride of Christ, made "joint heirs" with Him in His Glory - Romans 8:17 |
| Joseph was cast into a pit and then later delivered out of it - Genesis 37:24-28 | When Christ died, He descended into the "lower parts" of the earth, and later ascended into Heaven - Ephesians 4:8-10 |
| Joseph was imprisoned based on false charges - Genesis 39:19-20 | False witnesses testified against Christ as well - Mark 14:56 |
| Joseph's brothers mourned for the evil they had done to him - Genesis 50:15-18 | "And they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn" - Zechariah 12:10 |
| Joseph was a "type" patterned after the Life and Ministry of Christ. | Jesus (Yahshua) is the Pattern which every believer's life is to follow. |
Truly Joseph was a "type" of Christ. What does it mean to be a "type" of Christ? It means that we can all see Jesus (Yahshua) in Joseph. Think of that for a moment. Aren't we all called to be a "type" of Christ, in a way? May it be said of us that the world can all see Jesus (Yahshua) in you and in me.
Evangelist Glenn Coon begins his book The ABC’s of Bible Prayer with words written by Mildred Hill:
Lord, make me a nail upon the wall, fastened securely in its place. Then from this thing so common and so small hang a bright Picture of Thy Face that travelers may pause to look upon the Loveliness depicted there, and passing on their weary ways, each radiant face may bear stamped so that nothing can efface—the image of Thy Glory and Thy Grace. Lord, let not one soul think of me. Only let me be a nail upon the wall, holding Thy Picture in its place.
