SECOND QUARTER 2022
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #11
JUNE 11, 2022
“JOSEPH, MASTER OF DREAMS”

 

He sent a man before them; Joseph was sold for a servant; his feet were hurt with fetters; he was laid in chains of iron (Psalm 105:17, 18).

“There is an evident parallel between the experience of Joseph and that of Christ. Joseph was sold for money; so was Christ. A contributing cause of the trying to get rid of Joseph was envy; so, it was in the case of Christ. Joseph was falsely accused; so was Christ. Joseph suffered the penalty of the false accusation; so did Christ. After enduring the suffering imposed upon him Joseph was exalted to a high position in the kingdom; so was Christ. Joseph is not specifically designated in the Scriptures as a type of Christ, but there is certainly a remarkable parallelism between the experiences of these two persons.” 1932 WWP, SPBI 76.

 

After that introduction by Elder Prescott, this week we will ask Dr. Waggoner to be our Insights writer. We trust you will find his insights below both comprehensive and timely.

 

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"Joseph Sold into Egypt. Genesis 37:12-36" The Present Truth 17, 39.

E. J. Waggoner

 

Who that has ever read the Bible at all does not know the story of Joseph and his brethren? To most it is little, if anything, more than an interesting story; but it is really one of the most striking likenesses of the work of Christ to be found in the Bible. Of all the Old Testament characters, Joseph is throughout his whole life the most complete type of Christ. This is set forth most vividly in the scripture appointed for our present lesson, although we have only a partial view.

It is often said of a child who exhibits unusual strength of character, that he is "wise beyond his years." If that were ever an allowable expression it might be used of Joseph; but it is not. At twelve years of age Jesus astonished the learned scribes and doctors of the law by the depth of his understanding; and the account of it is given us, not to show us how different He was from other children, but to teach us what all children of that age ought to be and know. So Joseph, before he was seventeen, had wisdom from God, that made him envied and hated by his brethren, who were many years older than he. Like Daniel, he had understanding in visions and dreams. The secret of his wisdom is given in James 3:17: "The wisdom which is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits." "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." Joseph was pure, in heart, and therefore he had communion with the great Source of wisdom and knowledge. "First pure." That is not only the requisite for wisdom, but it is the beginning of it. In order to be wise, one needs only purity of heart. This ought to be, and often is, most found in children, and it is for this reason that the deep things of God are hid from the wise and prudent and revealed unto babes.

"The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth." Psalm 37:12. "All they that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution." 2 Timothy 3:12. So "the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt." Acts 7:9. Thus it was with Christ. His pure life was a constant reproof to the wickedness and hypocrisy of the rulers of the Jewish people. His righteousness exceeded the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, and so He would not resort to the multitudinous forms and ceremonies to which they had recourse to conceal their emptiness. They hated Him, because He was better than they; and when at last they seized Him, and delivered Him bound to the Roman governor, "Pilate knew that for envy they had delivered Him." Matthew 27:18.

"And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.”

In like manner Christ, came to declare the name of His Father unto His brethren. Joseph went to "see the peace" of his brethren, and to carry greetings from their father: and Christ came preaching peace. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." They said, "Let us kill Him," even as Joseph's brethren said when they saw him coming. Seldom has the church had a reformer whom it has not slain, or attempted to slay. "Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?”

But not everyone who is on the side of the hosts of evil is willfully bad. Many are not decidedly against the truth, but they are simply not for it. They would be in favor of it, with all the heart they have, if others were; but they are "unstable as water," and must needs go with the wind of public sentiment. Such a man was Rueben. He would gladly have rescued Joseph from his murderous brethren, for he had no desire to kill him. We see that they readily fell in with his proposal not to kill Joseph, but to put him into a dry well; and we may be sure that if he had only had enough strength of character to assert himself, he might as the oldest, have turned aside all their ill will, and sent Joseph back to his father in safety. But he temporized, and therefore his good intentions want for nothing, and he became one with those who had no thought of good. Indeed, such a temporizer is really worse than the brutally wicked, since he has impulses to good of which they know nothing, and allows them to be stifled.

In Reuben we see the type of Pilate, who could have rescued Jesus from the mob if he had had the courage of his convictions. Reuben proposed a compromise, to save the life of Joseph; Pilate said to the Jews who were clamoring for the death of Jesus, "I will scourge Him, and let Him go." But there was no reason for doing Joseph any harm, and there was no cause for scourging Jesus, since no fault was found in Him. Having made some concessions to the spirit of murder, everything had to be yielded. A compromise with error is always a victory for the devil. Truth and error, righteousness and sin, will not mingle.

The greatest lesson of all, however, both in the case of Joseph and that of Jesus, is how all things work out the will of God. It is true that Joseph's brethren sold him to the Ishmaelites to gratify their own hateful, envious dispositions; yet we read that God "sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant." Psalm 15:17. And Joseph himself, seeking afterward to comfort his brethren, said, "Be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life." Genesis 45:5. In this he represented the tender lovingkindness of Jesus, who said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." But the main thought now before us is that God causes the wrath of man to praise Him. So "the kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. For of a truth against Thy Holy Child Jesus, Whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done."

God works all things after the counsel of His own will. Whether we will or not, His will must be done. If God's will is done with our will, it is well for us; if our wills are opposed, our very obstinacy and opposition will accomplish His purpose, but we shall suffer. When His will is done through us, He counts it the same as though we had done it; but if we do not wish His will to be done, then our sin is as great as though we had defeated His purpose, even though our act accomplishes His design. Thus, since God's purpose will be carried out in any case, how much more sensible for us to yield to it gladly, than to be unwilling instruments of it.

The comfort and hope that we get from this story of how God's will is done even by men who are doing their utmost to thwart it is this: Since the wrath of men praises God; since even our hatred and opposition are used in His service, how much more must our willing mind be used by God, even though we have no power. How easy it is for us to know that our faith is counted for righteousness, when even our unbelief and rebellion work out His righteous will. September 26, 1901 EJW, PTUK 609-10.

 

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"In Prison with the Lord. Genesis 39:20; 40:15" The Present Truth 17, 40.

E. J. Waggoner

 

The life of Joseph is a practical illustration of the words of Christ: "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." At home in the vale of Hebron he had recoiled from the coarse words and actions of his brothers, and received in dreams from God intimations of future events. Sold into Egypt, and thrown at the tender age of seventeen into the society of vicious servants, and a still more vicious mistress, he retained his integrity. Most youths of that age would be carried away by their surroundings; but Joseph had character, and his life in Potiphar's household was pure as in his father's tent.

"And to what profit?" Some in his position would be inclined to ask. "They will not believe that I am innocent; I might as well have the satisfaction of doing the thing, since I shall be suspected anyhow," is language that is not infrequently heard. Oh, it is under just such circumstances that one's character, or lack of it, appears. The one who wishes to sin, but who is restrained only by fear of the consequences, will take advantage of the opportunity if he can do so without being found out, or if he is sure to be suspected of it whether he does it or not; but Joseph did not regard the committing of sin as any satisfaction. A conscience void of offence was to him the highest satisfaction. When tempted from a quarter where even to be noticed was flattery, he was firm as a rock. To the strongest assaults upon his virtue, he replied: "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" It was not with him even a question of how he could keep from sinning; but in him we find an illustration of the scripture: "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." 1 John 3:9.

"And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt but God was with him." Acts 7:9. "And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound; and he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph." Genesis 31:20, 21.

Joseph had not forsaken God, and God did not forsake him; when Joseph had to go to prison, God went there with him. Most people look on going to prison as a great disgrace; "jailbird" is with them the worst form of reproach. But the truth is, that there is no disgrace whatever in going to prison. Hardship and suffering there may be, but not disgrace. The disgrace connected with prison life is all in the sin that brings the victim there, and if the prisoner be innocent, and especially if he is imprisoned because of his uprightness, the prison is no disgrace, but on the contrary a palace of honour. There is a special blessing for those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake.

No one need ever be afraid or ashamed to go anywhere with God. Any place is pleasant where He is; for "in His presence, is fulness of joy." The man with whom God goes to prison is far more free, than the men who can go where he chooses, and who chooses a way apart from God.

God's presence with Joseph gave him favor with all with whom he came in contact. "The keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand: because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper." Here we have the same word as in Psalm 1:3, where we read of the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, that "whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Joseph's case shows that the prosperity that comes from keeping God's law and taking it for one's life is very real. No amount of "political influence" or of "standing in" with prominent men of shady reputations could have won that position of trust for Joseph. The Hebrew slave had confidence reposed in him, because God was with him. The keeper of the prison did not know this last fact; he knew nothing of God's influence in the matter; he only knew that Joseph was trustworthy; but we well know that Joseph's faithfulness soon made the name of God known, not only in the prison, but in the palace as well.

Few men would regard a prison, where one is held in bondage, as a place to win success; but Joseph found it so. That prison was the way to the palace, and to the governorship of Egypt. Joseph did not know that at the time, but it made no difference to him. He knew that God was with him, and he was content with that. Instead of bemoaning his fate, and brooding over his unjust treatment, he improved his time in preparing to be ruler of Egypt. He did not know that he was fitting himself for that position, but he nevertheless went the right way about it, namely, making himself useful where he was, without worrying about either the future or the past.

Be sure that Joseph did not associate so much with the Lord without becoming well acquainted with Him. So, when the two most notable prisoners in the prison had dreams that troubled them, Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me then, I pray you." "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God" (Deuteronomy 29:29), and "the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." Psalm 25:14. Now Joseph began to reap some of the visible fruits of his purity of life. The pure in heart see God; and they who see God, not occasionally merely, but continually, are seers. The wisdom that is possible to the soul that is joined to God, is beyond all calculation. Such an one sees clearly where others stumble in darkness.

The way to deliverance, not only for Joseph himself but for all his people, was through the prison. In this Joseph was still the type of Christ. Christ had to be bound, in order to break the bands from His people. Joseph's committal to prison was his release from slavery; and so we see that instead of saying that Joseph's loyalty to righteousness got him into difficulty, we may rather say that it procured for him freedom and honour. People generally take too short views. Still it was not for his own sake that all this happened to him; Joseph, as a figure of Christ, was to be the savior of his people; and no man can truly serve others except by personal sacrifices and suffering.

It is marvelous how well a man can get along, and keep not only "abreast of the times," but far ahead of them, when shut up in prison, away from the world. This shows us not merely that a man can get along without the world, but that real separation from the world is the best way to prosperity. This does not mean that one must shut himself up in a cloister or be out of touch with human needs; but the rush and gossip of the world do not tend to make one really wise or useful. Some of the best things in the world have come from prisons. The world would probably never have been blessed with "Pilgrim's Progress," if John Bunyan had not gone to prison; and some of the brightest of the epistles of Paul were written in a dungeon, in chains. It all depends on whether or not God is with the man. October 3, 1901 EJW, PTUK 625-6.

 

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"God's Servant Exalted. Genesis 12:38-49" The Present Truth 17, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

 

"Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted, and extolled; and be very high." Isaiah 3:13.

 

CHRIST THE PATTERN

These words of God were spoken directly concerning Christ; but Christ, as the servant of God; sets the pattern of service for all other servants; for all who yield themselves to God, to serve Him, are accepted as His servants. Christ declares Himself to be the pattern, in these words: "Whosoever would be great among you shall be your servant, and whosoever would be first among you shall be your bond-servant, even as the son of man came not to be ministered unto [served], but to minister [serve], and to give His life a ransom for many." Matthew 20:26-28, R. V., margin.

But Christ was made in all things like His brethren, in order that they might in all things be like Him. He has no honors that He does not share equally with His brethren; for we are "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." So as He sets the pattern for the kind of service to be rendered, we may be sure that He is also an example of the honors and promotions to be received. Every true servant of God, everyone who gives undivided service, no matter who or where he may be, or how meager his advantages have been, has the promise that he shall deal prudently, and shall be exalted.

 

NATURAL PROMOTION

It was therefore really in the natural order of events when Joseph, who was faithful as a shepherd lad, doubly faithful and loyal as a slave in the house of Potiphar, and who still served with cheerfulness and fidelity when he was most unjustly shut up in prison, should be exalted and placed very high. His governorship of Egypt began in prison, or, earlier still, when he was caring for his father's sheep.

Being pure in heart, and knowing God's Word as a life, and not as a mere creed, Joseph had insight into the secret things of God; so when the King of Egypt had dreams that he was sure meant something, but he knew not what, Joseph was the one man who was ready at a moment's notice to give the interpretation.

 

CALAMITIES STEPPING STONES TO SUCCESS

Here we see an illustration of how "all things work together for good to them that love God." It was cruelly thoughtless in the chief butler, to whom Joseph had brought such a cheering message, to pay no more heed to him after he was out of prison. Two long years Joseph was compelled to wait after freedom had seemed almost in sight. It might well seem that his bondage would never end, when suddenly a messenger came with the command for him to appear at once before Pharaoh, and within a few hours at most Joseph was the second man in the kingdom in name, and the first in real power. But what if the butler had thought of Joseph, and had secured his release from prison as soon as he himself gained his liberty? Doubtless Joseph would never have been heard of again. But God had a great work to be done, a work affecting the whole world, even to the end of time, and His servant had to be kept where he could be found for service when he was needed. Joseph was serving God as faithfully in prison, as he ever did anywhere, and it was because he was a real servant of God under every condition, that he was so marvelously exalted.

 

THE WISDOM OF OBEDIENCE

"And Pharaoh said unto His servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art; thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled."

Here we have a practical fulfilment of a truth stated long afterwards through Moses: "Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." Deuteronomy 4:5, 6.

Joseph's wisdom was nothing more than that which naturally comes with perfect obedience to the law of God, not mere forced compliance with its precepts, but a life which springs from the inborn Word. God gave Joseph success, and caused all that he did to prosper, in harmony with this truth: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth He meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Psalm 1:1-3.

"The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." Job 28:28. "A good understanding have all they that do His commandments." Psalm 111:10. Wisdom and understanding are as natural to the one whose life is the law of God, as beauty and odor are to the flower. Such lives as that of Joseph are recorded in the Bible, not as something strange and unique, but to show what is really the natural state of everyone whose life is wholly the Lord's.

 

HOW TO GET EMPLOYMENT

One of the commonest complaints that men (and boys) make is that they "cannot get any employment." Joseph had no difficulty. He could get all his own work, and that of others, as well. Everybody was willing to let him work. The keeper of the prison turned all his work over to Joseph, and even the king entrusted all his duties to him. And Joseph welcomed all the work that came. That was the reason why he had so much to do. And right here we discover the reason why so many people are out of work. They are afraid of overwork, of doing too much.

They carefully calculate how much, or how little, they ought to do for their wages, or how much they feel like doing, and when work is slack their employers have no difficulty in determining that they can easily dispense with their services. But real worth makes a place for itself. The man who knows, and who can do, and who, above all, is hungry for work, and not merely for wages, will never be long out of employment. There is lots of work waiting to be done in the world, but it yields only to the one who will do it, and not to the one who merely toys with it.

When Joseph was in prison, receiving no wages, he put all his heart and strength into the work, as much as though it had been his own private business. Whoever will do that, will find that he is wanted. Most men out of employment would laugh to scorn the suggestion that they should take hold and do something, working for nothing rather than be idle. "I can't afford to work for nothing," would be the reply. But a man can afford to work for nothing a great deal better than he can afford to be idle for nothing. Real, lasting success comes to the men who love work for its own sake. "And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a chain of gold about his neck; and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee; and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt."

 

EXALTED THROUGH HUMILITY

Here again, without the slightest straining of the matter, we see in Joseph the likeness of Christ. It was not merely after his humiliation, but because of it, that Joseph received honour from the king, and homage from the people. The mind was in him that was also in Christ Jesus, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant; ... wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow." Philippians 2:5-10. "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

 

THE PRINCE OF LIFE

Lastly, the name given to Joseph was most significant. Zaphnath-Paaneah, according to Egyptian etymologists, means, "Prince of the life of the world," or, "Saviour of the world." Bread is the staff of life; and as Joseph had supreme control of all the corn in the land, he was literally prince of the life of the world; and he was, under God, of course, or, by God working through him, the savior of the world; because it was through his wisdom and energy that corn was laid up in abundance, "and the famine was over all the face of the earth. And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands." Genesis 41:56, 57. It was no fancy title that was given to Joseph.

In this Joseph was a type of Christ, the Saviour of the world, the Prince of life, the Bread of life that came down from heaven to give life to the world. But we should see more in this than Joseph as a type of Christ. We should see in it the truth that we, like Him, are to be saviors of the world: For as Christ is the Bread of life, so "we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread." 1 Corinthians 10:17. Bread is made solely to be eaten, that men may get life from it; so as Christ gave Himself for the life of the world, we likewise "ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." This we do in holding them always ready for any kind of service, no matter how humble, hard, or exacting. October 10, 1901 EJW, PTUK 641-2.

 

~Todd Guthrie