Title: Joseph, the son of Jacob, a type of Jesus Christ.
Text: Gen. 37-45
Key Verses: Gen. 37:1-11
Introduction:
Who? Joseph, the son of Jacob
What? The most complete type of Jesus Christ in all the Bible
Where? The Old Testament
When? The Genesis stage (1898—1806 Joseph timeline)
Why? A divinely appointed illustration of the ministry and exaltation of Jesus Christ through the life of Joseph.
Type - “A divinely appointed illustration of some scriptural truth.” Derived from Greek word “tupos” – impression, stamp, pattern, or form “A type must never be used to teach a doctrine, but only to illustrate a doctrine elsewhere explicitly taught.” – Dr. J. Edwin Hartill
How? Genesis 37:1-11
Genesis 37:1-11
King James Version
37 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
The two names of Joseph typify the Lord Jesus Christ.
Genesis 30:24 24And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
The first Adam was the great subtractor, the last Adam is the great Adder: through the one, men became lost; by the other, all who believe are saved. Christ is the One who "adds" to Heaven's inhabitants. It was to this end that He came to this earth, tabernacled among men for more than thirty years, and then died on the Cross: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" – A.W. Pink
John 1:18 18No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Joseph was given this second name by Pharaoh because of his wisdom and understanding in interpreting dreams. Jesus Christ has all wisdom and understanding.
Psalm 147:5 5Great is our LORD, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
“His understanding is infinite. To His intelligence there is no number: though He numbers the stars, His understanding is without number. It is infinite; therefore, He can know, as He can do, all things.” – Adam Clarke
Jesus
There are many titles for Jesus; Lord, King, Creator, Alpha and Omega, etc. The two names are Jesus and Christ.
Matthew 1:21 21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
“Messiah refers to the fact that Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God and is the One chosen by God to be Lord and Savior.” – David Cloud
Isaiah 11:1-5 1And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
“It is striking to notice that the Lordship of Christ is never divorced from His Saviorhood. Wherever He is presented to us in the pages of the New Testament as our precious Savior, He is also mentioned as God’s anointed one.”
“Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren;”
Matthew 15:24 “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Joseph as a shepherd, “feeding the flock”, points to the earthly ministry of Christ, who inclined to the needs of others.
Matthew 9:36 - But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
“No figure of Christ is more beautiful than this: our favorite Psalm (the twenty-third) presents Him in this character. One of our earliest conceptions of the Savior, as children, was as the Good Shepherd. The figure suggests His watchful care, His unwearied devotion, His tender solicitude, His blessed patience, His protecting grace, His matchless love in giving His life for the sheep.” – A.W. Pink
“and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.”
Joseph displays his character early on by opposing evil and speaking the truth. Joseph did not give his father an evil report, because he himself was trying to be spiteful, but because he was upright, and he loved the truth. Saying nothing about his brother’s evil ways would have only meant Joseph partook in it.
James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
Because of his uprightness and honesty, he was hated by his brethren.
John 7:7 7The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
John 8:40 “But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.”
D. His Coat
Gen 37:2,3
Genesis 37:3 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
-Designed just for him by his Father, put on by his father
God has put something on every one of His Children- His Righteousness
Illustration of Self Righteousness
*This Garment Represents the believer's Change- Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Outline: Gen. 37:1-11
A special thank you to my Friend Michael Barnette for the song "All things new" and to my friend Dave Compton for the opening remarks.
