Everyone loves the story of Joseph the finishes the book of Genesis in the Old Testament. Joseph teaches us many lessons. From Joseph’s life we can learn how to: Overcome envy, remain loyal to rightful authority, reject peer pressure, face adversity, handle prosperity, resist temptation, see the good even in the bad, plan for the future, forgive those who wrong us, trust God in every situation, care and provide for his family, handle power, live a holy life in a pagan environment, see God’s hand through all circumstances, overcome grief, handle rejection, and the list could go on. The most interesting thing about Joseph is that he saw God at work in his life even in his dreams. To Joseph, nothing was a coincidence. God’s hand, His presence, dominated every area of Joseph’s life. He knows that God is in control over everything. We need to remember that also. Max Lucado says: We need to hear that God is still in control. We need to hear that it’s not over until he says so. We need to hear that life’s mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply a reason to sit tight. Corrie ten Boom used to say, “When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through.” …Next time you’re disappointed, don’t panic. Don’t jump out. Don’t give up. Just be patient and let God remind you he’s still in control. It isn’t over till it’s over.” Joseph will help us remember that God is in control.

As encouraging as all this is, I don’t think that’s why the story of Joseph is in the Bible. Joseph, in so many ways, is the picture of the one Messiah that will be born in Bethlehem thousands of year later. Arthur Pink, in his “Gleanings in Genesis” makes the last five chapters about Joseph and how he’s the savior of his people and makes over 100 comparisons of Joseph’s life with Christ’s life. After my son, Chuck3, read these comparisons he wanted to do a series of message on them. I can’t mention them all here but the first 10 are:

  1. The Meaning of his Name.
  2. By Occupation Joseph was a Shepherd, “feeding the flock.”
  3. His Opposition to Evil.
  4. His Father’s Love.
  5. His Relation to his father’s Age.
  6. His Coat of Many Colors.
  7. The Hatred of his brethren.
  8. Joseph is hated because of his Words.
  9. Joseph was to enjoy a remarkable future.
  10. Joseph foretold his future Sovereignty.
  11. Joseph was envied by his brethren.1

All of the details of Joseph’s life make it clear that he is a “type” of Christ who will save his people also. A blogger on the internet (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/wonderful-similarities-joseph-jesus/) writes, “When we collect the details of Joseph’s life we see a glorious reflection that closely mirrors another life we are so intimately familiar with. In fact, when you look at a list of the details, sometimes it’s hard to discern whether we are talking about Joseph or Jesus. This is not because Joseph was Jesus’s favorite Bible hero he wanted to emulate. It is because God is sovereign, and he has been laying the tracks for the glory of Christ throughout redemptive history.”

1 Arthur Walkington Pink, Gleanings in Genesis (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2005), 341.