Genesis From 30,000 Feet
“Joseph–the Pit of Betrayal”
We are continuing our journey through Genesis at 30,000 feet. This means we’re not going verse by verse, but rather theme by theme, story by story.
So far we’ve covered the four hugely defining epochal events of the first 11 chapters, which are the Creation, the Fall, the Flood, and the Tower.
Then last time we looked at the three OT patriarchs–Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
These three are the line of men God used to establish the nation of Israel.
It all begins with the call of Abram in chapter 12:1-3 where we see the beginning of the outworking of God’s plan of salvation as promised in Gen 3:15 where the “bruiser of Satan’s head” is promised.
Out of the descendants of Abraham (which turned out to be the tribe of Judah) would one day come the Messiah, the Christ of God.
Now this time we’re going to pick up the narrative with the story of one of Jacob’s twelve sons–Joseph.
We’re going to divide his story into 3 parts:
The Pit of Betrayal
The Pain of Preparation, to
The Pinnacle of Promotion
Joseph’s story literally occupies the remainder of the book of Genesis from chapter 37 all the way through to chapter 50!
So let’s begin by reading:
Gen 37:1-4 “Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.”
As soon as the story of Joseph opens it shines a troubling light on the family dynamics of Jacob’s household–that being favoritism.
It is Jacob’s favoritism toward Joseph that ignites his brother’s hatred of him. Joseph was the classic teacher’s pet.
Jacob loved him above the others because he was one of two sons of his beloved wife, Rachel, a woman he had also shown painful favoritism toward in clear view of his other wife, Leah.
So favoritism was a pattern in the household of Jacob, and it brought a world of hurt and resentment.
To make matters worse between him and his brothers, Joseph had snitched on some of them to Jacob.
And then Jacob unwisely made things even worse by personally making a beautiful, multicolored coat for Joseph–which was like a neon sign daily reminding the eleven brothers of their father’s special love for Joseph.
The brother’s resentment soon turned to hatred.
The Bible records, “They hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.”–vs.4
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Now, one thing we will see throughout our study of Joseph is how much he is a type of Christ, how his life is filled with OT foreshadowings of what Christ Jesus would also experience.
For instance, we’re told that when Jesus was handed over to Pilate by the religious leaders, he was well aware “that they had handed Him over because of envy.”–Matt 27:18
Likewise, verse 11 adds, “Joseph’s brothers envied him.”
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And like Joseph was hated by his brothers, Jesus was also HATED by his brothers–the Jewish people.
John 15:24 “If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.”
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The family divide reached its zenith when Joseph had two dreams and didn’t have the wisdom to keep them to himself. He told his brothers about them who as a result “hated him even more.”–vs 5
In the first dream he said, “There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”–37:7
The last thing you want to tell people that already hate you is that one day they will bow down to you!
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But Joseph didn’t stop there. He had yet another dream which he broadcast this time to the entire family–father, mother, and brothers:
He said, “This time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”–vs. 9
The sun and the moon are Isaac and Leah (Rachel had already died). And of course the eleven stars represent his brothers.
This time Isaac himself reacted, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”–vs 10
For the record, the Bible reveals that Joseph’s dream was completely fulfilled:
Genesis 42:6 “Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.”
And not only that, all of Egypt was commanded to do the same thing:
Genesis 41:43 “He (Pharaoh) had him (Joseph) ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt.”
–Once again we see a foreshadowing of Christ in Joseph’s life.
The Bible says of Jesus, “…that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
What Jesus experiences on that great day will be on a far grander scale than Joseph, yet still the type and shadow are there.
So in the patriarchal family of Jacob–resentment, envy, and hatred were percolating below the surface like a volcano waiting to erupt, which it soon did!
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The Bible says that one day Isaac sent Joseph to check on his brothers who were out tending the flock in Shechem, a few miles away.
His brothers saw him coming and said, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we will say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.'”–37:19-20
Now, God used two of the brothers to save him–Reuben and Judah. Reuben suggested that they instead cast him alive into a pit, thinking that later he would come and rescue him.
And then it was Judah that suggested, rather than killing him, they should sell him to traveling Ishmaelite slave traders; Which they did, and sold him for 20 pieces of of silver, which was the average price for a slave under 20 yoa. And the slave traders took Joseph down to Egypt.
Amazingly, once again we see a foreshadowing here of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, which was the price for an adult slave. So both Joseph and Jesus were sold for the demeaning, market price of a slave.
And also, his experience mirrors that of Jesus who also was betrayed by his own kinsmen brothers, the Jews.
“He came to his own people (the Jews), and his own people did not receive him.”–John 1:11
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Now, we would not know for certain how Joseph was carried away by the Midianite traders if the psalms didn’t tell us–but they do!
Ps 105:18 NLT “His feet they hurt with shackles; He was put in chains of iron,”
“They put cruel chains on his ankles, an iron collar around his neck,” The Message
So Joseph was placed in shackles that brought great pain to his feet, and harnessed with an iron collar attached to a rope or chain by which they led him around like a dog on a leash.
Think about it! His cold-hearted brothers stood by callously watching as they shackled his feet, put an iron collar around his neck, and carried him away.
We can imagine that as the sight of his brothers grew smaller and smaller with the increasing distance between them, young 17 year old Joseph was beside himself.
Fear, confusion, crushing heartbreak, and despair swept over his soul in a tsunami of emotions.
What would happen to him?
Where were they taking him?
How could his brothers do this?
What about his father, Jacob?
Would he ever be rescued?
Did he cry out to his brothers as the slave traders carried him off?
Did he beg for mercy?
We don’t know, only that as a young teenager who had only known the safety and security of his comfortable home-life,
the tight-knit family structure common to his day,
and the love of his father, Jacob,
every atom of his being was in shock.
–Joseph was experiencing the pit of betrayal!
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Now, the story of Joseph highlights like few others in Scripture the SOVEREIGNTY of God in the lives of His children. Because this isn’t the story of what men bring to pass, it’s the story of God working out His plan!
We’re told by the psalmist:
Ps 105:17 “He (God) called for a famine on the land of Canaan, cutting off its food supply. 17 Then he sent Joseph as a slave to Egypt to save his people from starvation.”
HE (God) sent Joseph!
To the natural eye it looked like his brothers sent Joseph to Egypt in a terrible act of betrayal.
But actually the sovereign God of the universe who “works all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph.1:11), simply used the evil hearts of his brothers to get Joseph where he wanted him!
Even Joseph himself would many years later say to his brothers,
Gen. 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”
A famine was coming to Canaan and God Himself sent Joseph to Egypt to become the rescuer and preserver of the chosen family whose descendants would produce the Messiah!
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Here again we see powerful types and shadows of that Messiah to come, the Lord Jesus!
ONE, Joseph’s brothers turned on and betrayed the very man that would later save their lives from perishing in a famine.
Likewise, Jesus’s betrayers did not realize He was God’s chosen vessel sent to save them from perishing in their sin.
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TWO, as Joseph was sent by God ahead of his family to make a home for them to dwell in, Jesus was sent ahead of us to prepare a place for us in heaven.
THREE, as Joseph forgave them all for their sin against him, Jesus forgives all that call on His name!
So Joseph’s betrayal at the hands of his brothers was turned for good by the Sovereign God who also “Makes all things work together for good for those that love Him and are the called according to His purpose!
NEXT TIME: The Pain of Preparation