Now we come to Joseph. Joseph! So revered by many! An outstanding man in the story of God’s people, yet his early years are the tale of a pampered, arrogant teenager who lorded it over his older brothers and paid dearly for his pompous attitude.

Joseph seen as a type of Jesus Christ in the sense that what happened to him and how he reacted was mirrored in many ways in Jesus’ life. For example, he was deeply loved by his father, he went into Egypt, he was hated by his brothers, he was unjustly treated, he served his people, he was exalted to a high position, to name a few similarities.

Let’s begin with Joseph, the teenager. Favourite of his father, Jacob, he took advantage of his privileges firstly by being a telltale to his dad about his brothers’ misdemeanours.

‭Genesis‬ ‭37:2‬ ‭NLT‬
[2] “This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.”

Not only did Joseph tell tales on his half brothers but he also paraded the fancy coat his father had given him.

‭Genesis‬ ‭37:3‭-‬4‬ ‭NLT‬
[3]” Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. [4] But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.”

I’m sure that Joseph ofter swaggered in front of them in his “beautiful robe” just to tantalise them and anger them even more. It’s no wonder they looked for an opportunity to get even with him.

Joseph’s dreams, which were probably meant for him alone, but which he told them and his father, incensed them even more. It galled them to think that he might one day rule over them. The best way to put his dreams to sleep forever was to kill him.

The opportunity came inadvertantly through his own father, Jacob, when he was sent to check on his brothers who were away tending the sheep. The brothers’ plan was sparked into action when they recognised his figure in the distance, dressed of course in his grand cloak.

‭Genesis‬ ‭37:18‭-‬20‬ ‭NLT‬
[18] When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. [19] “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. [20] “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”

Reuben, firstborn in the family, and responsible for all his siblings, scotched that plan by suggesting they throw him into an empty cistern to die. Then they would not be guilty of murder. He planned to rescue him when he had a chance.

‭Genesis‬ ‭37:21‭-‬22‬ ‭NLT‬
[21] “But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. [22] “Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.”

Unfortunately for Reuben, his plan went awry when his brothers sold Joseph, in his absence, to passing Midianite traders on their way to Egypt.

So, Joseph descends, from beloved son of a wealthy nomad in Canaan to lonely Hebrew slave in Egypt. With his humiliation, to Joseph’s credit, came a new and sobering attitude to life. At seventeen, dad’s instructions had yet to become cemented into his life’s value system, but Joseph had time, as he stumbled behind the Midianite caravan of camels, to contemplate his situation and decide on a plan of action.

To be continued…