Joseph – A Special Son

Feature 4 – January 2016 – Grace & Truth Magazine

JOSEPH
A Special Son

Joseph As A Type Of Christ
Normally, “types” or “prints” of the Lord Jesus – like “the Rock,” “the Good Shepherd,” “manna” and “the serpent on the pole” – are verified in the New Testament. Joseph as a “type” is an exception to this principle. However, the person and work of the Messiah is clearly foreshadowed in Joseph, as seen in the last 14 chapters of Genesis. Perhaps the only other Old Testament characters that would rival Joseph’s personal typology of Christ would be Isaac and Joshua.

A respected Bible commentator of the 19th century, C. H. Mackintosh, wrote: “There is not in Scripture a more perfect and beautiful type of Christ than Joseph. Whether we view Christ as the object of the Father’s love, the object of the envy of ‘His own,’ – in His humiliation, sufferings, death, exaltation and glory – in all, we have Him strikingly typified by Joseph.” 1 Another Bible teacher, William MacDonald, agreed as he said, “Joseph is one of the most beautiful types (symbols) of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, though the Bible never labels him as a type.” 2 Some who have carefully studied what God’s Word says about Joseph and the Lord Jesus have discovered more than 100 similarities.3

A Special Birth
Although Jacob’s wife Leah had given birth to several children, his wife Rachel, Leah’s sister, was miserably barren.4 However, God had not forgotten Rachel. He gave attention to her prayers and opened her womb. Finally, after twelve to thirteen years of marriage, Rachel had a special son of her own. His name was Joseph. The birth of Christ was also long-awaited and unique; God’s Son incarnate was born of a virgin (Mt. 1:23; Gal. 4:4).

A Special Name
Joseph’s name means “adding,” and it was prophetic because the Lord added to Rachel one more son, Benjamin, before she died as recorded in Genesis 35. Benjamin’s name means “Son of my right hand.” Joseph’s name was also prophetic in that he is one of the strongest “types” of the Lord Jesus in Scripture. The Lord Jesus is called the “second Man” or “last Adam” (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:45-47). The first Adam was one who subtracted – humanity suffered loss through him. But the last Adam, pictured in Joseph, would be “One who adds,” as He would freely restore what was lost (Ps. 69:4). The Lord’s given name “Jesus” literally describes His mission – He is “Jehovah’s salvation.” We read: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21 NKJV).

A Special Relationship
A few years after Rachel’s death, we are again introduced to Joseph, the special son of Jacob, in Genesis 37. He was, at this time, 17 years old. It would seem that Joseph did not know how bad his brothers were. Apparently they did not appreciate Joseph’s being a tattletale, their father’s favorite child, or an interpreter of dreams – through which he announced that they would bow down before him (Gen. 37:2-8).

Although Jacob was at first a bit offended when Joseph told him of his future homage to his son, Jacob pondered the matter and marveled at Joseph’s interpretations. Jacob understood that God would somehow bring about His covenant promises through the life of Joseph. To this end, Joseph’s life foreshadows many aspects of the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ during His first advent to the earth. The unique relationship between Jacob and Joseph reminds us that God the Father has just one “only begotten Son” (Jn. 3:16; Heb. 1:5-6). Joseph was the beloved son of Jacob’s old age. The Lord Jesus is the beloved Son of the “Ancient of Days” (Dan. 7:9; Lk. 3:22).

A Special Favor
Jacob showed special favor and love to his son Joseph by giving him a special coat. It was not a “coat of many colors” as commonly taught and as, unfortunately, rendered in the Vulgate (Latin Bible) and Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament). The older Hebrew text speaks of a coat or a robe with long sleeves, which was a mark of special honor. Joseph enjoyed a unique relationship with his father – a relationship for which all the other siblings longed. The Son of God also receives special honor that no one else receives from His heavenly Father (Mt. 17:5; Heb. 1:8).

A Special Mission
Jacob sent Joseph from Hebron to Shechem to check on his ten older brothers, who were taking care of Jacob’s flocks. Similarly, the Lord Jesus was sent by the Father to attend to the flock of Israel (Jn. 10:14-18). After gaining information, Joseph found his brothers at Dothan. They recognized him coming from a distance because of his special coat and began plotting to murder him before he even arrived.

A Special Death
The Lord was hated by his Jewish brethren, just as Joseph was envied and despised by his brothers. In a sense, Reuben pictures Pilate’s attempts to keep innocent Jesus from being put to death. Neither Joseph nor Jesus had committed any wrong that deserved their cruel treatment. They stripped Joseph of his special coat and tore it. The Roman soldiers also stripped the Lord Jesus of His clothes. Because the Lord wore a special coat without seam, the soldiers cast lots for it, but they tore and divided His inner linen garment as foretold in Psalm 22:18. In a spiritual sense, Joseph’s brothers were blind to what they were doing and to what would be the cost of it. Likewise, the hard-hearted and spiritually blind Jews cried out to Pilate, “His blood be on us and on our children” (Mt. 27:25).

It is also noted that Joseph was sold into the hands of Ishmaelites. Ishmael was the one who had sought the vast inheritance of Abraham, but Isaac, his only begotten son, was the recipient. Satan once aspired to be as God and to acquire the throne of God (Isa. 14). And for a brief period of time the Son of God was sold into the hands of Satan and the world he controlled. The Lord Jesus referred to Satan as the “prince of this world” three times in John’s gospel (Jn. 12:31, 14:30, 16:11), but the Lord foretold that He would be victorious over Satan at the time when Satan thought he was the victor (12:31-32).

A Special Grave
His brethren cast Joseph into a hole in the ground – a pit. The Lord Jesus was buried in a rich man’s tomb. The brothers all agreed to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Judas, one of the Lord’s chosen disciples, betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver. Silver is a metal that speaks of “redemption” throughout the Bible. This is why the silver trumpets were blown on the Day of Atonement in the year of Jubilee – the one year every fifty years when all property returned to the original owners (Lev. 25:9). Hence Joseph’s betrayal and near demise showcase the work of redemption that Christ would accomplish after being betrayed and crucified.

The foreshadowing of the death and burial of the Lord Jesus is strengthened by the presence of balm and myrrh (burial spices). Why would the Spirit of God record only two items of cargo that these slave traders were transporting to Egypt if they were not significant?

A Special Resurrection
Lastly, Joseph was lifted up out of the pit alive. This is a beautiful illustration of the resurrection of Christ. His brothers would then see Joseph no more until he was reigning over Egypt, and they would be his subjects. Likewise, the last time the Jewish nation saw Christ was at Calvary, and they will see Him no more until the time that He is their King and they are His subjects – a time yet future (Zech. 12:10).

A Special Remorse
Joseph’s brothers developed a devious and sinister tale to cover their abhorrent behavior. They killed a goat, tore Joseph’s coat, and dipped the coat in the animal’s blood to give the impression that Joseph had been attacked by some wild beast. Sinfully, these brothers then presented the coat to their father as a “lost and found” item, asking him if it belonged to Joseph. Joseph’s brothers’ evil plot worked. Jacob recognized the coat and surmised that some wild beast had killed his son. Jacob was heartbroken and mourned his son’s death for many years. Poor Jacob, he again drank from his own cup. He had deceived his father by killing a kid of goat (Gen. 27:1-29); now his sons had done the same to him.

Perhaps Jacob’s sons, as they beheld their father wail, wondered if their dastardly deed had inflicted too great a cost. If they could have rewound time perhaps they would have treated Joseph differently. One also wonders if the Jews, after experiencing centuries of heartache, now think crucifying their Messiah was a prudent response to His offer of salvation. Yet the Jews will continue to suffer desolation and war until their Messiah comes back to earth the second time (Dan. 9:24-27).

A Special Exaltation
Joseph arrived in Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, bought Joseph as a servant. God was with Joseph and He would protect and bless him while he was in Egypt, though he would suffer 13 years of harsh treatment in that land before being exalted by Pharaoh.

Through interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph offered the ruler a plan that would preserve not only Egypt but also surrounding nations through a terrible seven-year famine. Even this pagan king, Pharaoh, saw something special in Joseph, God’s messenger, which caused him to heed the warning. Pharaoh chose to live! Those who heed the warning against sin and choose God’s solution – Christ, will live also. Christ will be honored by every person one way or another, either as Lord and Judge or Lord and Savior.

Joseph was elevated from the prison to the second position of authority over the whole kingdom (Gen. 41:40). He received an exalted name from Pharaoh, “Zaphnath-paaneah” (v.45), meaning “the revealer of secrets.” When his chariot passed through the streets of Egypt, a herald passed before his chariot shouting, “Bow the knee” (v.43).

In seed form, Joseph’s life clearly foreshadows that of Christ. Proportionately to the low extent that the Lord was humbled as a servant unto death, He was exalted in heaven by His Father after His resurrection. In a future day, He will be recognized by all as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Indeed, Joseph reminds us of the Lord Jesus Christ!

ENDNOTES
1. C. H. Mackintosh, Genesis to Deuteronomy (Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., Neptune, NJ; 1972), p. 127
2. William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary (Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville: 1989), p. 109
3. A. W. Pink presented 101 similarities while Ada Habershon listed 121, according to William McDonald.
4. While we read of Jacob and other men in the Old Testament having more than one wife, we must point out that this was not God’s plan. At creation He said, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife [singular], and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24 NKJV).

By Warren Henderson