GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD – CHAPTER 3
FROM RICHES TO RAGS
Joseph, as a type of Christ, like many
other types in the OT was “a shadow of good things that are coming – not the
realities themselves” Hebrews 10 verse 1. Other examples:
1. Isaac, the son of Abraham – Hebrews 11
verse 19
2. Moses
3. Joshua
4. Samuel
5. David
6. Prophets
Joseph was a type of Christ in many ways
but at this point we see it particularly in the way he became a victim of his
brothers’ jealousy and cruelty. It is
true that Joseph’s brothers’ reaction to him was quite natural. You might even say that they could not help
feeling as they did. But we must
nonetheless face the fact that sin was at the bottom of it all. Sin makes all of us want to justify what we
do. Sin is inherited from our parents
and from our parents’ parents, and the most natural feeling we all have is “I
can’t help feeling like I do because I didn’t even ask to be in this
world.” We all have a way of
rationalizing sin and trying to explain it away - “I didn’t ask to be
here. I didn’t ask to be a sinner.”
This leads us to an apt definition of a
Christian: one who takes responsibility for his own sins and quits blaming his
troubles on his parents, people or society.
When that begins to happen and we begin to see that we have to deal with
ourselves, we are close to becoming a Christian. We must see that we have sinned before God,
which we must understand before we can ever be saved.
The attitude that his brothers had toward
Joseph was precisely the way men looked at Jesus. A conspiracy emerged against the life of
Jesus to set him at nought. This happened
when Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus.
Judas went to the priests of Israel, who took Jesus to Herod, then to
Pilate. The whole thing was a conspiracy. Similarly, his brothers saw Joseph coming and
said among themselves, “let us slay him” Genesis 37 verse 20.
But another element in the conspiracy
against Joseph was that he was mocked (compare to Luke 23 verse 11). When his brothers saw him coming, “they said
one to another, ‘Behold this dreamer cometh’” Genesis 37 verse 19. Why were they mocking? They were jealous – Acts 7 verse 9. Even Pontius Pilate knew the Jews had set
Jesus at nought because of jealousy and envy (see Matthew 27 verse 18). They tried to come up with witnesses against
Jesus, but they found none.
The next similarity to Christ in the
brothers’ treatment of Joseph was their cover-up. “And they said one to another, Behold this
dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and
let us slay him and cast him into some pit and we will say, Some evil beast
hath devoured him.” Genesis 37 verses 19 and 20
They wanted to cover up what they had decided to do. They would not come to their father and tell
the truth. They would say, “Some evil
beast hath devoured him.”
Once you deliberately bring yourself to
commit sin, you will need a second sin – a lie – to cover up the first. Sin always leads to lying. This is also what happened in the case of the
conspiracy against Jesus. False
witnesses were brought in (see Matthew 26 verse 59). They wanted to cover up their own hostility,
their jealousy and their motives, so they brought in false witnesses. But you can succeed in a coverup process only
for so long – “be sure your sin will find you out.” Numbers 32 verse 23
Another sin of Joseph’s brothers was their
attempt at self-justification. The
desire to clear ourselves is a fault we all have. They said “we shall see what will become of
his dreams” Genesis 37 verse 20. These
brothers regarded their conspiracy to set Joseph at nought as entirely
justified. Why? Because Joseph’s dreams
suggested predestination. If you can
abort predestination, you have proven the dream was not really from God. Joseph obviously believed his dream: “I have
dreamed a dream, it will be fulfilled; therefore, you are going to bow down to
me.” So the brothers wanted to destroy
Joseph to show that his dreams were false.
This is the way they justified everything they did, “we shall see what
will become of his dreams.”
And that is the way the Jews looked at
Jesus when he was hanging on the cross.
They said “if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross” (see
Matthew 27 verse 40). They were
justifying themselves. They did not feel
guilty about nailing Jesus to the cross.
They said, “if Jesus is who he says he is, we don’t have anything to
worry about: He will just come down from the cross. We will then clap our hands and say, ‘we’re
with you, we think you’re great; now we believe.’” But when Jesus did not do that, they were
cleared then in their own eyes. This is
why men today are so anxious to destroy the bible, they want to disprove it for
the same reasons. “You don’t have to
worry. There’s no need for you to get
right with God. The God of the bible has
written a book full of errors, so there’s no need for you to worry about a
heaven or a hell.”
But there was yet another similarly in the
behaviour of the brothers – “respectable neutrality”. Reuben the eldest brother heard what the
others were planning to do. They were going
to kill Joseph and say that some evil beast had devoured him, but Reuben saved
Joseph by pulling rank. He was not
strong enough physically to stand against the others, so he used his authority
as Jacob’s firstborn son. Some did not
agree with Christ’s death, but they remained “respectably neutral” saying
nothing and doing nothing to stop it.
It appears that Reuben had a good
motive. He wanted to return Joseph to
his father, but all he said was “Let us not kill him … shed no blood, but cast
him into this pit” Genesis 37 verses 21 and 22.
His intention was to go back to the pit later, pull Joseph out, and
deliver him to his father, but Reuben did not say what he was going to do. He was ashamed to use his authority to return
Joseph then and there. He might have
said “I am the firstborn. I’m stepping
in. You’re not going to do that. We’re going to return Joseph to our father
right now.” But he could not bring
himself to do that. Here was a case of
“respectable neutrality”. He was
convinced that what they were doing was wrong, but he would not come out and
stand alone.
Do I know what is right and what I ought to
do? Reuben did not agree with what his
brothers were going to do, but neither did he have the integrity and courage to
deliver Joseph to his father.
Now look at these brothers. They cast Joseph into a pit. Humanly speaking Joseph could only live a day
or two. But that was not all. These brothers now sat down to eat. How could they do that? They were going to have a meal. They had just left Joseph in a pit without
any water. He was going to die in a day
or two and here they were about to eat!
I wonder what was on their minds.
How could they do it? A hardened
conscience lets one do strange things.
While they were eating, they saw some Ishmaelites coming. Judah, on seeing them, had second thoughts
“Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him;
for he is our brother and our flesh” Genesis 37 verse 27. The brothers thought that was a good idea for
“his brethren were content” Genesis 37 verse 27.
They were actually able to be at peace
about selling their brother into slavery!
Why? The idea of selling him to
the Ishmaelites was mild compared to what they had been prepared to do, so we
are told they were content! That is
another example of the deceitfulness of sin.
Do we know what it is to sin so grievously that a lesser sin seems
right? That is Satan’s deception.
Joseph who the day before had been in
luxury and security with his coat of many colours, had gone from riches to
rags. And that is exactly what happened
with Jesus. Jesus turned his back on the
glory of heaven and earth. Though he was
God, he thought it not a thing to be grasped, but became man, making “himself
of no reputation” (Philippians 2 verse 7).
“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man
hath not where to lay his head” Luke 9 verse 58. He turned his back on a royal diadem for a
crown of thorns. Why did Jesus do
that? Why did Jesus go from riches to
rags? “For ye know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that
ye through his poverty might be rich.” 2 Corinthians 8 verse 9 This Jesus became nothing, and it was for
us. He died that your conscience and
mine could be purged.
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