THE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
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Joseph spoke roughly to them and punished them (Gen. 42:7 -17 ). The secret of all Ju d a h ’s suffering is to be found in th e ir rejection of th e Messiah (Hos. 9:17; Jer. 31:10; 32:37; M t,2 3 : 38-39). Joseph at h ea rt was full of; love for his b reth ren (Gen. 42 :24 ). Read Lk. 19:41; Mt. 23:37. On th e th ird day Joseph’s breth ren found him presented to them as one who was willing to be a savior through th e way of substitution (vs. 18-24). On th e resurrection side of th e grave, P eter presented Jesus as th e Risen One whom God had exalted to b e|,a Savior unto Israel if they would repent and accept His death as-sub stitu tion for th e judg m ent due them. Joseph gave orders to provide for them by the way (v. 25). In spite of all the judgm ent He allows to fall upon him, Jesus has continued to he a re f uge unto th e Jew in every land whither he has come (Ezek. 11:16; Jer. 30 :11 ). Still they did not know Joseph (Gen. 42 :8 ). The Jews are still blinded as a people (Rom. 11 :25 ). ( Jud ah and his b reth ren were brought to know Joseph before the rest of the house of Jacob, The prophecy is th a t Judah shall be saved first.. (Zech. 12 :7 ). Joseph sends for Jacob afte r he has revealed him self to Judah and his brethren, Jacob in prophetic language stands for th e ten tribes. A fter the Lord comes to rep en tan t Judah and is received by them at Jerusalem , He will bring fo rth th e lost tribes to come into th e land and greet Him (Isa., 66:20; Ezek. 20:34-38; Isa. 35). A fter th e revelation th e b reth ren go forth to-proclaim th a t he is alive and is ru ler (Gen. 45:25, 26). A fter our Lord retu rn s and gathers Israel, He will send them forth to be th e m issionaries of th e world (Isa. 61:6; Zech. 8:22, 23). Joseph makes ready his chariots and goes forth to meet Jacob (Israe l). This is the epiphany,of Joseph. He' reveals himself in kingly splendor to his peo ple. It is th e coming of Christ to meet Jud ah first, and then all Israel. Joseph settles' his b reth ren in the land of Goshen (Gen. 46:28; 45:10; 47 :27 ). Goshen is th e favored land. It points to Palestine. See Ezek. 37: 21-28; Jer. 31:31, 40; 32:40-41; 33:7- 26. All Egypt, a t the last, owns Joseph as savior and lord (Gen. 47 :25 ). So HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE
Joseph’s b reth ren cast him into a p it (v. 24). The p it is a name for hades, th e abode of «the disembodied. It was here our Lord abode between death and resurrection (Mt. 1 2 :4 0 ), Joseph was tak en out of th e p it alive (v. 28). The lifting out of th e p it is one of those divine anticipations of the resurrection. Reuben came to the pit and found him gone (vs. 29-30). Reuben prac tically represents th e Jew of today, ig no ran t of; th e fact th a t Christ is alive. Joseph’s coat was taken and dipped in th e blood of a victim and then presented to the fath e r (vs. 31-32). The blood of Jesus as the blood o f a scapegoat, a sin offering, was presented to th e F ather. A fter Joseph had been rejected, he was taken down into Egypt, a far coun try, in order th a t he m ight become a savior to th e Gentile world as such. Christ, rejected by th e Jews,, raised, taken up in th e far country, presented to th e Gentiles as th e risen Son of God. Joseph was exalted to the th ro n e of Pharaoh. In Joseph we have the re jected man on the throne of power (Gen. 41:39-40). Read Rev. 3:21. To day our Lord shares th e throne of His F ath e r as Joseph shared the th ron e of Pharaoh. While on ’the throne, Joseph, th e re jected Jew, gets a Gentile wife (Gen. 4 1 :45 ). Read Acts 15:14. Christ is getting a Gentilp Bride. Joseph, while seated on the throne, became th e giver of the bread of life to a starving world (Gen. 41 :55 ). Christ is the only Savior for the-starving world (Rom. 11 :11 ). Joseph became th e savior of all peo ples (Gen. 41 :57 ). See Rev. 5:9. Joseph had resources w ithout lim it to meet th e hunger of th e Egyptian world (Gen. 41 :49 ). Read Eph. 1 :7 ; 2 :7 ; 3 :8 ; Rom. 10:12. Joseph’s b reth ren are forced to go out of th eir land into Egypt, and be came in fact, wanderers. As soon as Christ was rejected by the Jews they began to suffer. For two thousand years they have be6n th e people of the trem bling h ea rt and restless foot. Read Deut. 28:58-67. A lthough Joseph’s b reth ren do not know him when they come into Egypt, he knows them and has his eye upon them (Gen. 4 2 :8 ). The Jews do not know th e ir Messiah, b u t He h as fol lowed them along every path of pain (Jer. 16:17; Hos. 5 :3 ).
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