The history of the Chosen People continues with the focus on the life of Joseph. Joseph is one of the very best human beings who ever lived. He was a great man. God used Joseph to save the Chosen People from disaster, and also save the lives of thousands in Egypt. The circumstances of Joseph’s life will cause the Jewish people to enter Egypt. This will be part of the fulfillment of the prophecy that the Lord made to Abraham found in 15:13-14, that Abraham’s descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for 400 years, and that nation will be punished by God. The Jewish people will be rescued out of slavery, and come away with much wealth. It is the life of Joseph that is the transition from the life of the Jewish people in Canaan, to Egypt, and the background for the great experience of redemption out of Egypt.
We already know that Joseph was the second to the youngest of Israel’s sons, and the first son from Israel’s favorite wife, Rachel. Moses gives us additional preliminary information that is necessary to the story: Jacob loved Joseph more than the rest of his sons. It seems that the intention of Israel was to make Joseph the leader of his family. We know this from the special ornamental garment that Jacob gave to Joseph. It is translated as a coat of many colors, or a long colorful coat, or a full-sleeved robe, or an ornamented tunic (Kaplan). The giving of this special garment indicated Joseph’s favored position in his father’s eyes (Ryrie). Parents, even if you do love one of your children more than the others, keep it to yourself. It is not wise to show favoritism to your children, or even let them know that you may favor one more than another.
Once, when Joseph was 17 years old, and was shepherding the sheep along with some of his brothers, when he came home, he brought his father a bad report about their behavior. All of this resulted in resentment toward Joseph from his brothers. To make matters worse, Joseph had two dreams, which he told to his brothers. The meaning of the dreams was clear to them – that Joseph would be the leader of the family, even though he was younger than all of them, except Benjamin. They resented Jacob even more after he told them the dreams.
Was it necessary for Joseph to tell his brothers his two dreams? If Joseph understood the meaning of the dreams, and we know that later Joseph had an ability to interpret dreams, then he could have understood that the dreams would be likely to inflame the hatred of his brothers, which was already smouldering. We can make the same mistake. We tend to assume that because the Lord has shown us something, we need to tell it to others. Not necessarily – we might want to ask ourselves some questions first, like: “is this truth just for me, or Lord, do you want me to share it with others? If I do, will it make the situation better, or worse?”
This sets the stage for what happens next. The sons of Jacob were tending their father’s sheep. Jacob sent Joseph to check up on them, and bring him back the report. When the brothers saw Joseph approaching, they conspired to kill him. Reuben, the eldest, intervened, and suggested that they don’t kill Joseph directly. They should capture him, and throw him into a pit, where he could die without them shedding his blood. He could die starvation or dehydration – which of course, does not make much of a difference as to the level of guilt. Reuben suggested this because his intention was to keep Joseph alive, and then rescue him from the other brothers.
But Reuben’s plan went amiss. While Reuben was away, a caravan of Midianite traders approached, headed toward Egypt. The brother’s decided that it made more sense to sell their brother into a life of slavery, than to kill him. So, they sold Joseph to the Midianites for 20 pieces of silver. If the pieces were a standard shekel, weighing about a half ounce, it would have been ten ounces of silver – about 70 dollars in today’s money – not much value for a human life. This tells us that sin has resulted in us thinking incorrectly that human life is cheap. It’s all too easy to forget that human beings are made in the image of God, and although that image is marred, nevertheless we are still fraught with potential and value. But, is it an easy thing for us to undervalue those whom we dislike, and treat them as if they were virtually worthless. The Word of God that reminds us that every human life is important, and valuable, and can carry an eternal value.
Reuben returns, and finds that Joseph had been sold into slavery, and he was very upset. But, instead of him dealing with the situation properly, and confessing the truth to his father, and perhaps making efforts to find their brother, and buy him back out of slavery, Reuben and the brothers deceived Israel, and dipped Joseph’s tunic into the blood of a goat, and let their father conclude that a wild animal had killed Joseph. Jacob was extremely upset, and mourned the death of Joseph for many days.
Do not be deceived. God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Jacob sowed deception, and reaped deception. Jacob deceived his father, and was in turn deceived by his father-in-law. Jacob deceived his father, and was deceived by his sons. What are you sowing? Righteousness? Honesty? Integrity? Truth? Salvation? Faithfulness? Good works? Sacrifice? Or are you sowing deception, laziness, wrong behaviors, lukewarmness toward God?
Chapter 37 ends with the Midianites arriving in Egypt, one of the great nations of that day, and selling Joseph to Potiphar, a high official of Pharaoh, the captain of his bodyguard. Interestingly, the Midianites took part in getting the Jewish people into Egypt, and they will also take part in getting us out of Egypt.
In chapter 38 we have an interlude from the life of Joseph, but the interlude is significant. It describes the children that come from Joseph’s brother Judah. Why does the focus of Holy Scripture now shift to Judah? Because, although Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob, and the one he wanted to lead the family, it is God’s will that Judah eventually lead the family of Israel. From Judah will come David, and the kings of Israel, and ultimately Messiah Yeshua, the Son of David, and the Son of Judah, who will be the Savior of Israel and the other nations of the world.
Judah marries a Canaanite woman and had three sons with her: Er, Onan and Shelah. Judah’s eldest son Er marries Tamar. Because Er was evil in the Lord’s sight, the Lord took his life, which the Lord has every right to do. Like Er, every one of have offended the Lord, and He would be righteous if He took any or all of our lives at any moment.
Yibum – levirate marriage, which later became the law of the Torah, was the custom of the time. Levirate marriage is when a man dies without having an heir, and his brother marries his widow, to produce an heir for his dead brother, so that the son that is born is considered the heir of the dead brother, so that his inheritance is passed on, and his name and memory is remembered. Onan was willing to marry Tamar, and engage in the act of marriage with her, but he was not willing to raise up an heir for his dead brother Er, and prevented insemination from taking place. He did this because he knew that if he married Tamar, and she had no children, then the inheritance of the firstborn would be his. This displeased the Lord, and so He took Onan’s life as well.
Judah then promised his daughter-in-law Tamar, that when his last son, Shelah, reached maturity, they would marry, and she should wait until then. He said this, but he didn’t intend to fulfill this promise, because he was afraid that the death’s of Er and Onan might be due to Tamar, and he didn’t want to have Shelah die as well.
When Shelah did grow up, Judah did not follow through on his promise, and didn’t allow him to marry Tamar. Judah’s wife also died, and what happens next is horrible, and yet God will bring some good out of it.
Tamar heard that her father-in-law, who had promised Shelah to her as a husband, but was reneging on his word, was approaching the city of Timnah to shear his sheep. She dressed up like a zonah – a prostitute, and covered her face with a veil. It’s interesting that in that culture in that day, it was the prostitutes who wore veils – not the women of good reputation. Judah wanted to have sex with her, and not knowing who she was, agreed on a price. Tamar asked for a pledge, so that she could have something until the transaction was completed, and Judah gave her three things that were uniquely his: his seal, a cord or wrap (possibly a cloak, belt, or shawl) and his staff, which may have been carved with a unique design.
They had sex, and she conceived twins. Then she went back home. Meanwhile, Judah sent his friend Hirah to pay her for her services, but of course, he was unable to find her. About three months later Judah found out that Tamar was pregnant. He was offended, because she was supposed to be waiting faithfully for Shelah. Judah wanted to punish her not only with death, but a particularly harsh and severe death by burning her with fire for her alleged adultery.
It’s not looking good for Tamar! While she was being brought out in order to be put to death, she sent the seal, cord or wrap and staff to Judah, and told him that she was pregnant by the man these items belonged to. Of course, they were Judah’s, who realized that he had committed incest with his daughter-in- law. He realized that he was responsible for this situation, by not fulfilling his promise to allow her to marry Shelah.
Judah does not come off looking good. He engaged in prostitution, and committed incest, even if it was unknowingly. He was unwilling to fulfill his promise. He was hypocritical he was quick to condemn his daughter-in-law to a horrible death, for misusing her sexuality, while at the same time he excused himself for misusing his.
Tamar had two sons, Perez and Zerah. Perez was born first, and becomes one of the ancestors of Messiah Yeshua. No child is a mistake, even a child of incest. No child should be put to death for the sin of his parents, even if the parents are guilty of incest or rape.
Even the greatest of families, and the family that produced the Messiah could be considered the greatest family of all, have unsavory things in their history. I would venture to say that all of us have unsavory things in the history of our family. In fact, all of us unsavory things in our very own lives. This calls us to humility. And, it also calls us to thank the God who can bring good out of our evil choices, the Lord who is able, where sin abounded, to make His grace abound all the more. And, if you love Him, and are called to fulfill His purposes, you will find out that all things will work together for your good as well.
Chapter 39 picks up after the interlude with Judah, and we find Joseph serving Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s bodyguard. I love verse 2: “va-y’hee Adonai et Yosef va-y’hee eesh matz-lee-ach – and the Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man.” Isn’t the Lord with everyone? Yes, the Lord is with everyone, but there is a special way in which the Lord is with the righteous more than He is with the wicked and the God-ignorers. There are different degrees in which believers can have the Spirit of God. We can be indwelt by the Spirit, and yet not be filled with the Spirit. Joseph was a good and righteous man, and the Lord was with Joseph to a great degree. And, as a result, the Lord was able to bless him. And, that helped Joseph succeed.
It was obvious to others, like Potiphar, that Joseph made the right choices, and that he made good and wise decisions, and he avoided evil, and did good, and that God was with Joseph. And, if we are walking in the Spirit, close to God, and close to Yeshua, it should be obvious to others that God is with us. Potiphar wisely promoted him, and put him in charge of everything that he possessed. And that was good, because the Lord honors those who bless a good man like Joseph, one of the Chosen People; the Lord honors those who do as little as offer a cup of water to a disciple of Messiah, simply because they are one of His disciples. And, not only did the Lord bless and prosper Joseph, He began to bless everything that belong to Potiphar as well.
But, doing the right things, and having the Lord with you doesn’t mean that you won’t suffer tragedies in this life, as Joseph was about to experience. Joseph was well-built, and handsome, and in the prime of his life, and Potiphar’s wife desired Joseph, and repeatedly asked him to have a sexual relationship with her. But Joseph knew that would be a sin against his master Potiphar, and a crime against God as well, and so he repeatedly refused her offers of illicit pleasure. Not only would he not have sex with her, but he would not be with her, and spend time with her. He knew that a good way to avoid a temptation is to distance yourself from the source of the temptation. He knew that he should flee immorality, and so he wisely distanced himself from Potiphar’s wife.
How about you? When you know that you are weak in an area, and are tempted by it, do you try to avoid that situation? Do you keep your distance from that thing that is tempting you? Or, like the moth that is attracted to the flame, do you circle closer and closer, until you get burned? Don’t make any provision for those things that tempt you. Avoid them, put some distance between yourself and the situation. Many could tell you, with sorrow, that when they didn’t, they wound up getting too close to the object of their temptation, and cross the line, and sinned, and brought much harm and misery into their lives.
So Joseph resisted this temptation many times. And, what did he get for doing the right thing? Suffering. Being accused falsely of raping Potiphar’s wife, with the result that Joseph was sent to prison. A day came when Potiphar’s wife found Joseph alone in the house, caught him by his cloak, and demanded that he have sex with her. He ran away outside of the home without his cloak, since she held onto his cloak. That left her with a choice: she could admit that Joseph was outside without a cloak because she was willingly about to commit adultery with Joseph, or she could accuse Joseph of attempting to rape her. She decided to falsely accuse Joseph, the Hebrew slave, an inferior from a foreign people, of attempted rape. Potiphar believed the accusation of his wife, and was very angry, and threw innocent Joseph into prison.
Doing the right thing does not always result in a good reward right away. In fact, in this case, resisting temptation, resulted in Joseph suffering even more. Speaking the truth about God and Messiah, not being willing to be silent about the truth about salvation, not being willing to do something wrong when your boss pressures you to do so, can result in suffering.
One of the mistakes that modern evangelism has made is to promise people a better life in this world if they will only follow God and Messiah. We promise people a better marriage, even a more prosperous life. We promise them peace and joy and happiness.
I don’t think that is what we should be telling people. We should tell them that they must serve God because it is right. They must follow Messiah because they have deeply offending a Holy King, and God is rightfully angry with us, and demands that we turn from our wicked ways, and obey His good commands. We follow Messiah because that is the only way to receive atonement for our sins, and salvation from Hell. A better life in this world is secondary. In fact, we owe it to people to tell them that their life in this world may be made even more difficult by their acceptance of God and Messiah; that they can expect to be persecuted and rejected by the world, by their own people, and even by those they love most of all. All who would follow God will suffer persecution. It is though many trials and difficult situations that we will finally arrive at the gates of the eternal Kingdom of God.
Human beings may have betrayed Joseph, but not the God of the spirits of all flesh. While he was in prison, the Lord was still with Joseph. The Lord was kind to Joseph, and compensated for the unkindness of man. The chief jailor recognized that Joseph was special, and made him the manager of the jail. And, the Lord enabled Joseph to succeed with everything.
Now, even though Joseph has been rejected by his brothers, and sold into a life of slavery, and then falsely accused of rape, and thrown into prison, we do not read that he ever gave up hope, or despaired, or threatened to kill himself, or got angry with God, and blamed the Almighty for his troubles, and refused to serve Him. Instead we read the opposite – that while in prison, he still loved the Lord. God was with him, and he was with God. He maintained his faith in the Almighty.
We can see that in verse 8 of chapter 40. Joseph told two of Pharaoh’s officials who were in prison with him that God is the One who gives human beings the ability to interpret dreams. Joseph is giving glory to God. He is serving the Lord. He is witnessing to these Egyptians about the Creator. What a great example from a slave who is in prison, who has suffered so many disappointments in life from those who were close to him. Few of us have suffered as much as Joseph, and if he could suffer as much as he did, and still be faithful to the Creator, with the Lord’s grace, we can too.
While in prison, Joseph interpreted the dreams of two of Pharaoh’s officials, the king’s chief cupbearer who oversaw all those who served the king his wine, and the chief baker, who oversaw the making of the king’s baked goods. They had angered Pharaoh, and had been thrown into the same prison with Joseph. They both were given a dream the same night, and were upset the following morning. Joseph could see by their faces that they were upset, and asked them why it was so. They told Joseph they each had a dream, but knew of no one who could interpret it. Joseph knew that God can give special dreams, and He can give human beings the ability to understand those dreams. So, each official told Joseph his dream, and he was able to correctly interpret it.
The head steward of the wine would be restored to his position in three days, while the head baker would be executed in three days. Joseph asked the chief wine steward, when he was restored to his office, to keep Joseph in mind, and use his influence with Pharaoh to release Joseph from prison, in which he, an innocent man, was unjustly being held for a crime he did not commit. After three days, the chief baker was executed, and the chief cupbearer restored to his position, just as Joseph had said. God had clearly been speaking through this son of Israel. God generally does not speak in special prophetic ways through the wicked, but through the righteous. Joseph must have been excited, and hopeful that the cupbearer would understand this, and intervene on his behalf, and that he would soon be released from prison.
But, again Joseph was let down by man, and the head wine steward forget about Joseph, and did not mention this special man, who was close to God, and who was able to interpret dreams, to the king. Joseph will remain in jail for what seems to be another two years.
Does Joseph despair? Curse God? Give up his faith in the God of Israel? No. He remains true to God, and continues serving the Lord in prison, and then is prepared for his next great challenge, interpreting the dreams of the king of one of the most powerful nations on Earth, and saving that nation, and his own special people.