Adam’s history taught us many precious lessons of the Son of God, the Second Adam, whose children we may become by faith, and who has won back for us all that “our first father” Adam lost.

From the story of Abraham and Isaac we learned of the wondrous love of God the Father, shown in “the unspeakable gift” of His only Son to die for us, and of the love of Jesus, who freely gave Himself a willing sacrifice to save us from death.

In the life of Joseph we have another parable; in it we see how the Son of God was to be treated by His own brethren, those whom He had come to save, and also how their unkind and wicked treatment of Him was really the working out of God’s plan for their own salvation.

Notice first why Joseph’s brethren hated him: it was because they were jealous of the favour shown to him, and because his pure life was a rebuke to their evil ways.

Now you will remember why the brethren of Jesus, the children of Israel, hated Him, and wanted to get Him out of the way. The rulers, the priests and Pharisees, and scribes, were jealous because of “the mighty works which God did by Him,” that drew the people to Him wherever He went.

At His baptism the voice of the Father was herd saying: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” In all the miracles that Jesus did, the power of God was working through Him, because He did always and only those things that pleased God.

His spotless and beautiful life was a light that shone into the dark hearts and lives of the people, and showed them their own sinfulness. Those who loved God and wanted to please Him were glad to walk in the light that shone from Jesus. But most of the people did not want to give up their sinful ways, and they tried to put out this Light that God had sent into the world to serve them.

The Jews made a mock of the claim of Jesus to be the Son of God and the Messiah, just as Joseph’s brethren did of the dreams that God gave him. They made up their minds to get rid of Him, to put Him to death, and so show that He was a pretender, and not the promised Saviour.

But, as in the life of Joseph, the very things that they did to get rid of Him for ever, God used to bring to pass all that they were trying to prevent. When the disciples spoke of this afterwards they said: “The children of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done.”

As Joseph was put into the pit, so Jesus was put into the tomb, but He did not stay there; He was brought out to be the Saviour of the very ones who slew Him.

Think again of Joseph’s history in Egypt: how he was cast into the prison, until “the king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance.”

Now notice how like this is to what we are told of Jesus when He was bound with the cords of death, and cast into the prison house of the grave: “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death; because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.” “Him hath God exalted with His own right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour.”

When Joseph’s brethren saw him exalted in the land of Egypt, and that they had but been instruments in God’s hands to bring him to this high place, you remember that they were afraid, and thought that they would surely now be punished for their wickedness. So when the disciples of Jesus showed that He was risen from the dead, and ascended to the throne of God, the people who had put Him to death “were cut to the heart,” and cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

Then they were comforted, just as Joseph comforted his brethren, by showing them that in all these things God had been working, not to condemn and punish, but to save them. As Joseph was exalted to be ruler in Egypt, so that he might, as he said himself, “save much people alive,” so Jesus was exalted to be “a Prince and a Saviour” of the very ones who had crucified Him, and of all who will come to Him, as the people came to Joseph, to be fed with the bread of life.

Through the sufferings of Joseph he was brought to a place where he could feed the people for a few years with the bread that perishes. But Jesus died so that He might feed His people for ever with the true Bread of life, His own body which was broken for us, so that we may live for ever.

Joseph got for his brethren a possession in the land of Egypt, which they could hold only for a few years; but Jesus has purchased for as an everlasting possession, where we may live with Him in peace for ever.

The last we read about Joseph’s brethren is that he took some of them in and “presented them unto Pharaoh.” Though he was in such a high position, he was not ashamed to call them his brethren. And Jesus is not ashamed to own us, and to call us His brethren. If we put our trust in Him, He will “present us faultless,” with nothing left in us for Him to be ashamed of, before the throne of His Father, “with exceeding joy.”

The Present Truth – February 8, 1899
E. J. Waggoner

Story in pdf  A Prince and a Saviour