Sabbath Afternoon - June 4
Memory Text:
And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. KJV — Genesis 37:19
“There was one, however, of a widely different character—the elder son of Rachel, Joseph, whose rare personal beauty seemed but to reflect an inward beauty of mind and heart. Pure, active, and joyous, the lad gave evidence also of moral earnestness and firmness. He listened to his father's instructions, and loved to obey God. The qualities that afterward distinguished him in Egypt—gentleness, fidelity, and truthfulness—were already manifest in his daily life. His mother being dead, his affections clung the more closely to the father, and Jacob's heart was bound up in this child of his old age. He ‘loved Joseph more than all his children.’” PP 209.1
Sunday - June 5
Family Troubles
Genesis 37:1-11
What hat family dynamics predisposed Joseph’s brothers to hate him so much?
“The father's injudicious gift to Joseph of a costly coat, or tunic, such as was usually worn by persons of distinction, seemed to them another evidence of his partiality, and excited a suspicion that he intended to pass by his elder children, to bestow the birthright upon the son of Rachel. Their malice was still further increased as the boy one day told them of a dream that he had had. “Behold,” he said, “we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.” PP 209.4
“‘Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?’ exclaimed his brothers in envious anger. PP 210.1
“Soon he had another dream, of similar import, which he also related: “Behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” This dream was interpreted as readily as the first. The father, who was present, spoke reprovingly—“What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?” Notwithstanding the apparent severity of his words, Jacob believed that the Lord was revealing the future to Joseph.” PP 210.2
Monday - June 6
The Attack on Joseph
Genesis 37:12-36
What does this teach us about how dangerous and evil unregenerate hearts can be and what they can lead any one of us to do?
Again, years before Israel went into Egypt, God in His providence (Gen. 45:5) influenced Jacob to make a coat of many colors for his youngest son, Joseph. This seeming partiality, along with Joseph's dream and his father's interpretation of it (Gen. 37:10), provoked the jealous brothers to sell him as a slave, to be carried away into Egypt so as to prevent his supplanting them in influence or position. But there in Egypt the Lord in His own time raised him to the second throne of the realm, then brought the years of plenty, also the years of famine, as the means to remove the whole household of Jacob into Egypt.
In their desperate endeavor to be rid of Joseph so as to avoid being ruled by him, his brethren succeeded only (by stirring up the ever-attentive potential of Providence) in exalting him to the administrative throne of Egypt, and in bringing themselves down in humiliation at his feet. Here is marked evidence that he who attempts to defeat God's purposes succeeds only in defeating his own and in promoting God's.
Tuesday - June 7
Judah and Tamar
Genesis 38
Compare Judah’s behavior with that of the Canaanite Tamar. Who of the two is more righteous, and why?
Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; KJV — Matthew 1:2
And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; KJV — Matthew 1:3
And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; KJV — Matthew 1:4
And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; KJV — Matthew 1:5
And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; KJV —Matthew 1:6
Wednesday - June 8
Joseph, a Slave in Egypt
Genesis 39
In the light of the example of Joseph’s working as a manager under Potiphar, what are the factors that led to such success?
The troubles which came to Joseph in his life were actually for his good and prepared him to become an interpreter of dreams, a king, and doubtless the greatest economist the world has ever seen. God had observed that Joseph did everything as if it were his very own, and, moreover, he was constantly sensible to the fact that God was his Master and that nothing could be hidden from Him. It was this conviction that caused Joseph to understand that regardless what men did to him or said about him, God alone had charge of his life. Therefore, in prosperity and fame Joseph maintained his loyalty and integrity; and in adversity Joseph did not waste his time ascribing to others the cause of his troubles. Instead, he set about to behave in a way that would commend himself even to royalty, for it is not likely that the Ishmaelites would have been able to sell him to Potiphar had he not been a superior person.
"And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.... And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured." Gen. 39:2-4, 6. But again it was his lot to suffer reversals over which he had no control, and he landed in prison where his excellent personality and faithfulness once again won him his freedom, and, moreover, he was promoted to the highest position of the land.
Thursday - June 9
The Dreams of Pharaoh
Genesis 40:1-41:36
How are the dreams of Pharaoh related to the dreams of the officers? What is the significance of the parallel?
The school of God does not teach only from its textbook, not merely in the school-room, it teaches the practical as well as the theoretical. The practical, of course, most men dislike, and some would not take practical training even for a gift. Let us take Joseph for example. When he finished the class-room work he was initiated into the practical. His training was perhaps most trying because his vocation was to be not only one of the greatest but unique as well. Besides, his curriculum included the learning of a strange language and love for his enemies. He was to learn by experience that if one serves God faithfully, then whatever befalls him in life he is to know that it is but a gift from God, and that he is to make the best of it.
First he was sold by his own brethren, and re-sold by slave traders. He could have made himself sick with grief and fear. Had he thus succumbed to his emotions, the traders would have dropped him somewhere along the road to Egypt, for they would have known that a sick man would only be an expense to them, that they could not sell him for anything to anybody. Joseph, though, behaved himself very well, knowing that God knew all about his circumstances. The Ishmaelites, too, saw that they had not invested in an ordinary slave. They realized that he could be sold for a high price to someone who had the money. Thus, it was that they took him to Potiphar, Egypt’s rich man. There Joseph learned how to take orders, how to take care of other people’s goods, and also how to shun lewd women.
After he graduated from Potiphar’s house he took a course behind prison bars. There among the dreamers he learned to interpret dreams. At this point of his training he was equipped to rule Egypt and to feed the world.
Friday - June 10
Further Study
Joseph stands as a perfect type of Christ. First of all, the name “Joseph” means “he shall add”. So Christ added the human family to the heavenly. Had any sin been recorded against Joseph, it would have spoiled the type, for Christ is not a sinner. Joseph was loved by his father above all his brethren. Of Christ we read in Heb. 1:9, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”
Joseph was sent down into Egypt to preserve the lives of his brethren in the seven years of famine. Just so, Christ descended to preserve the lives of His brethren in this world of sin, in A.D.
Joseph was sold to Ishmaelites who were the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s seed after the flesh. Just so, Christ was sold to priests, the descendants of Abraham, (Israel after the flesh).
Joseph was a governor, and no man could lift hand or foot, in all the land of Egypt, without the knowledge of Joseph. Just so, Christ is a governor over the world (Egypt), and no man can lift hand or foot without the knowledge of Christ.
As there was only one above Joseph, namely Pharaoh, just so, there is only one above Christ: God, the Father.
Joseph was 30 years old when he became governor; Christ was 30 years of age when anointed.
As Joseph married the daughter of an idolatrous priest, just so, Christ marries His church which is made up of idolatrous nations.
As Joseph gathered the corn in the seven years of plenty into the storehouses to feed the world in the seven years of famine, just so, Christ gathered the Word of God in the Old Testament time into the great storehouse (the Bible) to feed the world in the New Testament time. One may say, The New Testament came in A.D. True, but the New Testament is only the fulfillment of the Old.
Had not Joseph become a governor of Egypt before the beginning of the seven years of plenty, it would have spoiled the significance, and the type would not then have indicated that Christ ruled before the world’s history began. Thus we see Joseph is a perfect type of Christ.