By Benshiller Jacob
An Expression of Messiah in Joseph's Character
20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
Genesis 50:20
While the history of Joseph has a lot of resemblance to Yeshua’s sufferings and rejections, Joseph’s final reply to his brothers who spitefully dealt with him, even make two life histories to a next level in reference to Joseph’s renewed mind to Yeshua who responded to his hostilities in a like manner.
Joseph was the youngest son of Jacob whom Jacob loved more than other his children. Because of the fact that Joseph was the youngest and the son of his old age, Jacob showed favoritism towards Joseph. To add fuel to the fire, Joseph told his father, Jacob about his brother’s wayward lifestyles which even torn apart the relation Joseph had with his brothers. When things were unsettling between Joseph and his brothers, Joseph dreamt a dream which made his brothers to hate him to the core. As a result of the hatred, brothers were looking for an opportunity to slay him to hamper the dream come to its fruition. When they found Joseph, they stripped his tunic and put him in a pit. Later they sold him to Midianites merchantmen for 20 pieces of silver and they brought him to Egypt. An officer of Pharaoh’s captain of the guard, Potiphar bought Joseph from the Midianites merchantmen. After a series of events, Joseph was brought up to the second in command after Pharaoh in Egypt because Yahweh was with Joseph all the time.
When we ponder the life history of Joseph in Genesis chapter 37-50, Joseph had all the reasons in the world to blame Yahweh yet not even in a single place, had joseph cursed or self pitied for the hostilities he endured through out his life. We shouldn’t overlook this fact. We couldn’t see anywhere in the Scripture that Joseph blamed or rejected or even murmured against Yahweh. Even when he was treated badly and spitefully, his steadfast character kept him safe. Every single person Joseph came across in his life treated him despicably. Yet Joseph chose to follow the way he was taught by his father according to the truth of Yahweh. He feared Yahweh in all his ways. Since he was a young lad, he was in a process of being trained, molded into the design of a ruler Yahweh had made him to be. Those dreams that Yahweh given when he was a teenager kept him on track. He had a vision and believed that those stories his father Jacob had told him about the mighty encounters with the angels of Yahweh inspired him and that created within him an undying desire to diligently pursue those dreams, entrusting and working together with Yahweh the One who showed those dreams though they might be difficult to grasp, the reality those dreams hold, to the ears of his parents and siblings, will make it to fruition.
His character didn’t fluctuate according to the instabilities he experienced in life. He firmly believed in Yahweh. He was firmly rooted in Yahweh’s precepts. Joseph’s life was a shadow of Yeshua’s life in the New Testament. Joseph was rejected and hated by his own brothers, falsely accused in many places stripped his garments, sold him for 20 pieces of silver. On the flip side, Yeshua had similar but different experiences as he was hated, betrayed, rejected by his brothers, followers, falsely accused in many places, stripped his garments, sold him for thirty pieces of silver, etc.
After all these bitter incidents Joseph had, when he received the power and authority of a nation which was second in command to Pharaoh, he never had difficulty in handling authority because by this point, he was well trained and molded by the sufferings he faced. He persevered in his trials that created the character essential for the authority God has kept in store for him.
3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5
We have heard this saying ‘to see the real nature or character of person, give him power and money.’ This is so true when people don’t have the character and end up in a position of authority, they abuse and create chaos within their given authority.
2When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
Proverbs 29:2
The response of Joseph to his brothers was profound as we see in Genesis 50:20. His response to his brothers was though you intended to kill me, in Yahweh’s infinite wisdom, He transformed evil works of your hands into good. Here we must pay close attention to the Joseph’s remaining statement. He wasn’t saying that Yahweh transformed evil that Joseph faced for his good but for the brothers of Joseph who did evil reaped good for themselves. If I was in Joseph’s shoes, I would have said you guys meant evil by slaying me, but God meant it for my good. I would have kept myself at the center of the story, saying Yahweh loved me much than other brothers because they were wicked. I would have added that see how high Yahweh lifted me up, look at my life see how powerful I am in the face of the earth. I would have found glory in myself. However, Joseph was taught and learned by his various trials and received the revelation that it was not because they have done evil nor I was faithful, obedient, and walked uprightly before Yahweh but because the covenant Yahweh made to great grandfather, Abraham, grand father Isaac, and to my father, Israel that He will bless abundantly and prosper us. It was His faithfulness He showed decades ago despite of how good or evil we were before Him and people around us.
Joseph perceived what Yahweh was accomplishing through his life which was the salvation and preservation of His possession, that was Israel and his children.
Joseph was expressing his humility, leaving out his successful progression from being a servant to be a ruler of a great nation, Egypt. By now, Joseph got the complete picture of what Yahweh has been doing behind the scenes. Protagonist in Joseph’s story wasn’t Joseph as we might think, but all the children of Israel that is Jacob. Joseph was saying plainly that whatever I suffered was not for my prosperity but for all of us. Yahweh loved all the children of Israel that is Jacob irrespective of their waywardness from the LORD. Here one brother suffered for all the wickedness of other ten brothers in order to restore or bring them from evil and good to life according to the promise Yahweh said to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
This story of Joseph was a shadow of what Yahweh has prepared for the restoration of humanity through Yeshua, His Son even before creations came into being.
17 The power of death was over all men because of the sin of one man, Adam. But many people will receive His loving-favor and the gift of being made right with God. They will have power in life by Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:17
Shiller’s Takeaway
The life we are given is a mixture of events that are desirable and undesirable. As sons of Yahweh, we must offer our whole life to the Father God to have total control over our life and know that He has His own ways to get things done in His infinite wisdom though we might find to grasp what could a hostile scenario produces fruitfulness in His appointed time. The sole purpose of this is to bring the real character in you to show the world that His sons reflect the same glory as their Father.
Communion with a Contrite Heart
Our heavenly Father, we thank you for the people You raised before us a cloud of witnesses to firmly ground us in Yeshua. We honor every man who closely walked with You and are inspired from their life history, the decisions they made led them to be great men of Yours. Father, we believe You give us the spirit that Joseph had not to blame the unfriendly situations or people rather entrusting in You Who is able to create new ways to bring Your counsel for us into fruition in Yeshua’s name we pray – AMEN!