Joseph is one of the greatest human beings who ever lived. He suffered much, and yet remained faithful. He had the authority to punish those who harmed him, but he forgave them. He was a very able leader and administrator. He was gifted by the Lord to interpret dreams. God used Joseph to keep the Chosen People alive, and save the lives of multiplied 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.

Even though Joseph had been rejected by his brothers, and sold into a life of slavery, and then falsely accused of rape, and thrown into prison, Moses writes nothing about Joseph giving up hope, or despairing, or threatening to kill himself, or becoming angry with God, or blaming the Almighty for his troubles, or refusing to serve Him.

While in prison, Joseph accurately interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s chief baker and wine steward. 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 him from prison, because he was an innocent man being held for a crime he did not commit. The chief cupbearer was restored to his position, just as Joseph had said. God had clearly been speaking through this son of Israel. Now, the Lord 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 forgot about Joseph, and did not mention this special man, who was close to God, and who was able to interpret dreams, to the king, so that he would be released. Joseph will remain in jail for what seems to be another two years. Again, Joseph does not despair, curse God or give up his faith in the God of Israel. Quite the opposite – he remains true to the Lord, and continues serving Him while in prison.

Joseph has now been prepared by experience, suffering, and by testing, 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 many other people, and especially his own people, through whom the Lord will bring salvation to the world.

At the end of two years the Lord gave the king of Egypt two special dreams. None of the wise men and the magicians in the kingdom were able to interpret them. Then, the head wine steward remembered that Joseph had been able to properly interpret his dream. He finally informed Pharaoh, and Joseph was summoned by Pharaoh. Since the Egyptians did not wear beards, Joseph was shaved, and changed his clothes, so he could appear in a way that was pleasing to the king.

When he appeared before Pharaoh, Joseph witnessed to the king about God’s reality. He made it clear that it would be the one true and living God who would be giving Joseph the wisdom and understanding to properly interpret his dream. Joseph understood that the Lord is the one who gives every human being the gifts, talents, abilities, skills and opportunities that they will ever have, and so he communicated to Pharaoh that the God of Israel is the one who should be given the credit our achievements.

The king then told Joseph his two dreams: seven fat cows were eaten by seven lean cows, and seven fat, full ears of grain were swallowed by seven thin ears of grain. Both dreams meant the same thing: there would be seven years of great harvests followed by seven years of terrible harvests and famine. The dreams were repeated twice, indicating that the matter was determined by God, and the fulfillment would happen quickly.

Not only did the Lord give Joseph the insight to interpret the dreams, but he also gave him the wisdom to come up with a plan: twenty percent of the grain from the years of abundance would be collected and stored, and held in reserve, to be used during the years of famine.

Pharaoh and his servants recognized that Joseph was wise and had the spirit of God in him, and should be put in charge of this great project. In one of the most remarkable promotions in history, Joseph the Hebrew slave and prisoner, is made the prime minister of one of the greatest nations of the world, with all its power and honors that accompanied it!

We all need to know that the Living God surely rewards the righteous, the innocent and the long- suffering! Most will not be rewarded in this life as Joseph was, but all who have faithfully served the Lord will receive honors similar to Joseph – even greater honors, in the World To Come! It’s truly worth serving the God of Israel!

Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh, so it seems that Joseph spent 13 years as a slave.

Joseph married Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. On was the center for worship of the sun god, Ra. They had two sons: the first he named M’na-she, which means “he causes to forget” because God was helping him to forget (nasheh) all his troubles. The second son was called Ephraim, meaning “fruitful” because the Lord enabled him to be fruitful in the land where he had suffered so much deprivation.

All of suffer will suffer in this life. It’s better to suffer for doing what is right, and suffer in the service of God and Messiah. If you do suffer for the sake of righteousness, and for God and Messiah, and if you endure with a good attitude, like Joseph did, know that eventually He will cause you to forget your troubles, and make you fruitful!

As we have seen with the sons of Judah, and now with Joseph, Jewish and Biblical heritage goes primarily through the father. There is no question that M’nashe and Ephraim were Jews, even though they had an Egyptian mother and a Jewish father. Messianic Judaism therefore recognizes both patrilineal and matrilineal descent for Jewish identity.

Chapter 41 ends with the end of the seven years of abundance, and the beginning of the seven years of famine. The famine affected not only Egypt, but included the surrounding nations as well. Because the Lord had prepared Joseph, and given the dreams to Pharaoh, and allowed Joseph to interpret them correctly, and because they were able to prepare during the seven good years, there was plenty of food in Pharaoh’s storehouses, enough to sell to the Egyptians, and to non-Egyptians who traveled to Egypt to buy the food. In chapter 42, Moses tells us that Jacob and his family were part of those affected by this famine. They heard about the abundance of food in Egypt, and ten of Israel’s sons left for Egypt, leaving Benjamin, the youngest, and the full brother of Joseph, the only other son of Jacob through Rachel, behind. They came to Joseph, who was in charge of selling the food, and they bowed down before him, fulfilling his earlier prophetic dreams. He recognized them, but they did not recognize him.

Joseph, who had suffered so much because of them, now had more power than his brothers, and could have arrested them and had them enslaved or executed. But he didn’t. He didn’t have hatred in his heart toward his brothers. But he didn’t trust them either. What he did is begin a process of testing, to see if they were still the same men who so terribly mistreated him years earlier, or if they were remorseful for having so terribly mistreated their younger brother. Joseph will create a similar situation to the one he was in, and see if they will handle it the same unjust way, or properly. So, he didn’t tell his brothers who he was. Instead, he spoke harshly to them, and accused them of being spies. They respond with a denial of the accusation, and told the prime minister of Egypt that they were the sons of a man who lived in Canaan, and that they had one dead brother, and their youngest brother remained with their father in Canaan.

Joseph demanded that they return home, and bring the youngest brother back to Egypt as proof of their truthfulness. Then, he put them into prison for three days, which gave them a taste of their own medicine (what you sow, that shall you reap), and showed them his authority. I’m sure that after their time in prison they had even more respect and fear for the prime minister of Egypt. He was not a man to fool with. Then, he kept Simeon as a captive, and bound him in front of them, so that they would know that Simeon’s life as a captive would not be a pleasant one. It would force them to come back quickly to free Simeon, and ensure that they would Benjamin with them.

The reaction of the brothers reveals they had a guilty conscience. They understood that what a man sows, that shall he reap. Years ago they had sown distress to their brother Joseph, and ignored his pleas to be released, and now they were reaping distress, and they were not being released. God was paying them back for ruining the life of their brother, by selling their brother into a horrible life of slavery.

A guilty conscience, but one that is willing to be truthful, and admit to the wrongdoing, is a good thing, and a part of the process of redemption. Do you have a guilty conscience? Does your conscience accuse you of having done something wrong, something that needs to be admitted, something that needs to be corrected? Don’t ignore your conscience.

Then Joseph did something unusual. He sold his brothers the food they needed, but he had their money returned to them, and hidden in a sack of grain. When they discovered the money in their sacks, they were dismayed. This was most unusual! God must be involved with this! This complicated this delicate situation with the prime minister! Maybe they would be thought of as thieves as well as spies!

Despite Reuben’s offer to take responsibility for Benjamin, and his offer that Jacob could kill two of his sons if he failed to bring Benjamin safely home with him, Jacob refused to allow to Benjamin, whom he obviously loved very much, to go to Egypt, even for the purpose of redeeming Simeon from prison.

He feared that Benjamin would be lost in Egypt, and that would cause Jacob to die of sorrow.

That brings us to chapter 43, which records the second visit of the sons of Israel to Egypt. The famine was severe in Canaan, and Jacob’s family were running out of food. Finally, Jacob relented and allowed Benjamin to go to Egypt with his brothers, so that they could buy more food. Jacob instructed his sons to take a gift to Egypt’s prime minister, along with the money that they paid the first time, but was returned to them, along with additional money.

When they arrived in Egypt, Joseph saw Benjamin with them, and invited them to eat with him in his house. It was unusual for strangers to be invited to the home of such a high official, and the brothers were afraid that it meant trouble for them. The man in charge of Joseph’s home reunited Simeon with his brothers. When Joseph came home, they again bowed down to Joseph, acknowledging his superiority, thus again fulfilling his first dreams, and they gave Joseph the gifts they had brought from Canaan. Joseph asked them how his father was doing, and must have been relieved and thankful that Jacob was still alive. When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, he was overcome with emotion, and left the room, and wept.

When it was time to serve the meal, Joseph ate by himself, and the other Egyptians who were eating with them, ate by themselves, and the sons of Israel ate by themselves, since the Egyptians found it distasteful to eat with them. This seems to be a very early case of racial or religious prejudice.

Also, the eleven sons of Jacob were seated at the table in the order of their birth. Of course, the reason why they were seated in order was because Joseph knew the order of their birth, but they didn’t know that he knew, and were astonished. How do the Egyptians have this knowledge? What is going on? What can this mean?

Again Joseph continued tested them. Joseph served them portions from his own table, which was an honor, but he served Benjamin five times as much as the others. Would the older brothers become resentful of their youngest brother for being favored, as they had resented Joseph for being favored years earlier? Or, would they rejoice in the blessing of their brother, as good men should?

Joseph continued testing his brothers. In chapter 44 he instructed his house steward to fill their sacks with food, and like the first time he sold food to his brothers, he returned their money by having it put it in their sacks. He also had a silver cup placed in Benjamin’s sack of food. When they left, but were still close to the city, he had his house steward go after them, and of course he found the silver cup in Benjamin’s sack. Benjamin was guilty of theft, and the penalty was the loss of his freedom. Benjamin would have to remain in Egypt as a slave to the prime minister. The brothers were upset, since they loved their brother, and knew how much his loss would devastate their father.

When they appeared before the prime minister, they stood together as brothers should, and they all took responsibility for what had taken place and offered to be his servants. This spoke well of them. They also acknowledged their guilt before God, and understood that their present difficulties were just – they were experiencing God’s righteous punishment for what they did to Joseph.

They believed that God’s scales of judgment tend to balance themselves. Although we may not always be immediately punished for the sins which we have committed, when we are punished, and the punishment we are receiving doesn’t seem fair, it really is fair in light of our many others sins which we were not punished for.

The prime minister didn’t want all of the brothers to become slaves – just Benjamin. Then Judah did something noble. He offered to take the place of Benjamin, and give up his freedom, and become a slave, instead of his brother. He did so for the sake of his father, because his father loved Benjamin, the beloved son of his beloved Rachel, and because he had promised to guarantee the life of his brother Benjamin.

Wow. What a difference from the way the brothers had treated Joseph years earlier! Judah and his brothers had passed the test! They were different men from the ones who sold Joseph into a live of slavery.

Joseph needed to test his brothers to make sure they were worthy of the title brother. In a similar way, God will test us to make sure that we are worthy of the title, “child of God.” Each one of us enters into this world dead in trespasses and sins. We are enemies of God. We are unworthy of His trust. Our character must be transformed.

So, God will test us. He will bring circumstances into our lives that are designed to lead us to faith in God, and faith in Messiah Yeshua. The Lord will keep an eye on us, seeing if acknowledge that we have done things wrong, and if we are remorseful over our sins, and if we truly change our ways.

Now Joseph is sure that his brothers are worthy of the title “brothers,” and so in chapter 45, he finally reveals himself to them. He ordered everyone out of his presence except his brothers, and he wept, and announced, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” His brothers were startled, so much so that they couldn’t respond. How could it be possible? Joseph, whom they had sold into slavery, has become the powerful prime minister of the mighty nation of Egypt? They were stunned. I’m sure they must have been thinking, “oy – are we are in trouble! What a man sows, that he will reap. We ruined Joseph’s life, and he didn’t deserve it. Now he has the power to ruin our lives, and we do deserve it.

But Joseph was merciful, and gracious, and anticipated their concerns, and assured them that he was not angry with them, and did not intend to harm them. In fact, this entire situation came under the providence of God. The Almighty had been using them to further His plans. The Creator had been working behind the scenes, making sure that Joseph would be in Egypt at the right time, and prepared for his great task, so that he could save many people during this great famine, particularly the lives of the Chosen People.

And, things turned out exceedingly well for Joseph. He was very close to Pharaoh, who respected him. He was like a father to the King of Egypt! He was virtually the ruler of Egypt! Joseph expressed the truth that Rabbi Paul later described – that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called to fulfill His purpose. How comforting it is to know that the Lord is able to bring good from the difficult situations that may come into my life, and your life!

Joseph kissed all his brothers, and wept because of the joy he felt for his brothers who were restored to him, and for the goodness of God to him. Joseph gave gifts to his brothers, and particularly to Benjamin, the son of both his mother and father, who never harmed him.

Joseph told them to quickly go back to Canaan, and return with the entire family to Egypt. It was necessary because there were still five more years of famine. When they returned, they would be settled in the region of Goshen, which was an area that was suited for shepherding.

When Pharaoh found out the news about Joseph’s family being restored to him, he was very warm to his family, and welcomed them to Egypt as his honored guests, and offered them the best that Egypt had to offer.

When the brothers told Jacob about Joseph, he was stunned, and at first did not believe that Joseph was alive, and the ruler of Egypt. But when they told him what Joseph had said, and the wagons that the Egyptians had provided to help them travel to Egypt, Jacob’s spirit revived, and he wanted to go to Egypt to see his long lost son.

One of the exciting things in reading the Bible is finding how the Holy Scriptures point us to Messiah. Joseph is one of the greatest men who ever lived, but his life points us to Someone Even Greater. There are many parallels between Joseph and Yeshua:

• Both were the favored son of their father.
• Both were righteous.
• Both were meant to be the heads of their family. Both were meant to lead their Jewish brothers as well as others nations as well.
• Both were rejected by the majority of their brothers.
• Bother suffered unjustly.
• Both were suffering servants.
• Both remained faithful to God in the midst of their suffering.
• Both were thought to be dead but in actuality were alive.
• Both were vindicated by God.
• Both revealed himself to his brothers after a long time.
• Both were merciful and gracious and forgiving.
• Both were elevated to power and glory and wealth and honor.
• Both were the prime minister of the king of a powerful nation.
• Both gave salvation to Israel and other nations.

Thank God for Joseph, and the One greater than Joseph – Yeshua, the King of Israel and the Savior of the world!