Joseph: A Painter of Pictures

Listen to today’s passage – Genesis 36 – 37 

Follow along on Blue Letter Bible – Genesis 36 

(Second Milers also read – Matthew 27 – 28; Proverbs 14; Psalms 66 – 70)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Matthew 6:33

Read the “0114 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by Charles Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from today’s passage – “Jealousy: the Green-Eyed Monster“

Joseph didn’t paint with brush and canvas, but God used his life to paint one of the clearest prophetic portraits of Jesus Christ in all the Old Testament.

“1 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.” (Gen 37:1-5)

Chapter 37 will move the focus from Jacob to Joseph. Joseph is the eleventh son of Jacob and was the first of two sons born to Jacob’s wife Rachel. (Jacob had a total of 12 sons and at least one daughter through his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and his two concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah.) In chapter 37 we are told that Joseph is seventeen years old, and we don’t know how old Benjamin is; but Benjamin was likely much younger as he was just born in chapter 35, which is the last chapter dealing with the family of Jacob. Apart from one chapter, which will deal with Judah (chapter 38), the rest of the Book of Genesis will surround Joseph. Joseph is an outstanding character in the Bible as he is one of the few people who is prominent in the Scripture who does not have anything recorded against him. This is not because he was sinless, but because he is a type or a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we study the life of Joseph, we will look at the many ways that Joseph foreshadows the Lord. The story of Joseph is not only an important theological account—for Israel, as a reminder that God keeps His covenants, and for the Church, as an incredible picture of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—but it also tells a wonderful and relatable human story that most of us can identify with. 

Joseph as a Type of Christ

In the first five verses of the narrative involving Joseph, we see several examples where Joseph paints a wonderful picture of Christ.

• He was a shepherd (v. 2)

“11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. … 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. … 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.” (John 10:11, 14, 27-30)

• He Hated Evil (v. 2)

“Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Heb 1:9)

“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.” (Rev 2:6)

• He was beloved of the father (v. 3)

“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Mat 3:17) “5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” (Mat 17:5)

• He was exalted by his father (v. 3)

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:” (Phil 2:9)

• He was hated by his brothers (v. 4)

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isa 53:3)

“He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” (John 1:11)

• He was hated because of his words (v. 4)

“The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” (John 7:7)

More Pictures of Christ

Genesis 37 gives us even more prophetic pictures of Christ in Joseph’s early life:

• He is sent by the father. (vs. 13 – 14; 1 John 4:10)
• He came seeking the good of his brothers. (v. 14; Mat 15:24)
• He was wandering in the field. (v. 15; the field is the world Mat 13:38)
• He continued seeking his brothers until he found them. (v. 17; Luke 15:3 – 10)
• He was conspired against. (v. 18; Mat 12:14)
• He was cast into a pit with no water. (v. 24; Mat 12:40)
• He was delivered to the Gentiles. (v. 25)
• He was sold for silver. (v. 28)
• His blood was delivered to the father. (vs. 31 – 32)

As we study Joseph’s life, may these pictures of Christ draw us closer to the One who perfectly fulfilled every shadow. Like Joseph, Jesus was hated, sold, and cast down—yet exalted to save His people. What a Savior!

Which of these pictures of Christ encourages you most today?