How Does the Old Testament Mesh with the New 13
The Trials and Tribulations of Joseph
Joseph was Jacob’s second youngest son. At 17 years of age, he tended the flocks with
his brothers, but he would tell Jacob about any mischief his brothers were up to. They hated him for that.
Joseph was always Jacob’s favorite, even having a special robe made for him. The
brothers hated him for that as well.
Finally, to make matters worse, Joseph shares two of his dreams. In the first one, all his brothers were bowing before him. The second included his parents as well. And, yes, the brothers hated him the most for this.[1]
Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers in the pasture. They see him coming:
When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. Gn. 37:18 NLT
The brothers took away his special robe and tossed him almost naked into a pit, where they were going to leave Joseph to die. Meanwhile, they start eating, and as they are doing so, they see a caravan of Ishmaelites coming. Judah speaks up and says that they should sell Joseph to the caravan instead of having blood on their hands.
Yet what happened is that Midianite traders came first and pulled Joseph out of the pit and then sold him to the Ishmaelites.
The brothers, meanwhile, dipped Joseph’s special robe into some goat’s blood and brought it to Jacob. Just as they had hoped, Jacob assumed that Joseph had died from a wild animal attack.
Ultimately, Joseph was sold into slavery:
…they sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace guard. Gn. 37:36. NLT
But God intervenes for Joseph immediately:
The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. Gn. 39:2 – 4. NLT
He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. Gn. 39:4 – 6. NLT
Unfortunately, the wife of Potiphar gets the hots for Joseph and demands that he have sex with her. Joseph told her that Potiphar had given him complete control over everything except his wife. And he answers with:
“How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” Gn. 39:9 NLT
She was after him day after day.
One day he came into the house to work, and none of the other household staff was there. He was immediately accosted by Potiphar’s wife, who grabbed him by his cloak, which he left in her hands as he ran outside.
She called all the servants to herself and lied, blaming Joseph for making sexual
advances at her. She repeated her fabrication to Potiphar, and he had Joseph imprisoned.
Even then, God kept watching over Joseph:
But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed. Gn. 39:21 – 23. NLT
Time passes and Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker offend Pharaoh, who has them tossed into prison with Joseph. Joseph was to attend to them. They both came to him downcast, because the previous night they each had a dream, but had no one to interpret them. Joseph responds:
“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.” Gn. 40:8 NLT
Joseph interpreted the cup bearer’s dream first:
“This is what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches represent three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place. For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, but I did nothing to deserve it.” Gn. 40:12 – 15. NLT
Now the baker is all excited to get his dream interpreted. Unfortunately, his interpretation was grim:
“This is what the dream means,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets also represent three days. Three days from now Pharaoh will lift you up and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh.” Gn. 40:18, 19. NLT
Three days pass. It was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he summoned the cupbearer and the baker, and both of their futures played out exactly as Joseph predicted. However, the cupbearer forgot all about Joseph, and two years pass…
Joseph walks like an Egyptian
Pharaoh has two dreams. They trouble him. Looking for their meaning, he calls all his ‘magicians’ and ‘wise men’, but no one can interpret them. It was then that the cup bearer remembered Joseph.
Joseph was released from prison and brought to Pharaoh, who said:
“I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.”
“It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.” Gn. 41:15, 16. NLT
Pharaoh describes his two dreams, and God gives Joseph the interpretation:
Joseph responded, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do. The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity. The seven thin, scrawny cows that came up later and the seven thin heads of grain, withered by the east wind, represent seven years of famine.
“This will happen just as I have described it, for God has revealed to Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do. The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt. But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten in Egypt. Famine will destroy the land. This famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years will be erased. As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them happen.
“Therefore, Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh should appoint supervisors over the land and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years. Have them gather all the food produced in the good years that are just ahead and bring it to Pharaoh’s storehouses. Store it away, and guard it so there will be food in the cities. That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the land.” Gn. 41:25 – 36. NLT
Wisely, Joseph provided the interpretation and offered a solution (with a flimsily veiled inference that he should be put in charge of implementing it). Pharaoh is very impressed with Joseph, and he does that very thing – going so far as to placing him in charge over all of Egypt, answerable to only Pharaoh himself:
So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.” Gn. 41:38 – 40. NLT
Joseph is 30 years old. Pharaoh marries Joseph off to an Egyptian wife, who bears him two sons, Manasseh, and Ephraim.
As Joseph predicted, the next seven years provided abundant yields of grain that he had strategically placed in storage. And then the seven years of famine struck:
The famine also struck all the surrounding countries, but throughout Egypt there was plenty of food. Eventually, however, the famine spread throughout the land of Egypt as well. And when the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.” So with severe famine everywhere, Joseph opened up the storehouses and distributed grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. And people from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the world (the Middle East). Gn. 41:54 – 57. NLT
During this time of famine, word comes to Jacob that there is grain for sale in Egypt. He sends 10 of his sons to purchase grain, leaving his youngest, Benjamin, to stay with him.
When the brothers turn up to buy grain, Joseph immediately recognizes them, but they don’t recognize him in his Egyptian garb, hairstyle, and clean-shaven face. Plus, they haven’t seen him since he was 17, (presently 39). And he was speaking in the Egyptian tongue.
Joseph first accuses them of being spies. They protest:
“Sir,” they said, “there are actually twelve of us. We, your servants, are all brothers, sons of a man living in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is back there with our father right now, and one of our brothers is no longer with us.” Gn. 42.13 NLT
So, they did not lie to Joseph. Joseph presses them, however. He’s looking for ways to see if they are changed men, looking for repentance. Joseph says he will test their story by keeping one of them in detention, while letting the other nine return to their father, but they must come back with their youngest brother (Benjamin).
The brothers begin conversing with one another, unaware that this ‘Egyptian’ speaks Hebrew:
Speaking among themselves, they said, “Clearly we are being punished because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his anguish when he pleaded for his life, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in this trouble.”
“Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy?” Reuben asked. “But you wouldn’t listen. And now we have to answer for his blood!” Gn. 42:21, 22. NLT
What did Joseph learn? One, his brothers felt remorse for what they did, and two, Reuben tried to save his life. He left them and broke down in tears.
Joseph then had nine of the brothers’ sacks filled with grain and secretly stashed their purchase money back into the grain sacks. During their return journey to Jacob, they discover the money and worry that they’ve been framed to resemble criminals.
They relate their entire story, including brother Simeon being in detention, and the demand for Benjamin before he will be released. After much protest from Jacob, he finally acquiesces to sending his youngest son.
Judah took responsibility for Benjamin’s welfare, and the ten sons return with double the money they took the first time. When they presented Benjamin to Joseph, he had his Egyptian steward prepare a meal in his house for all the brothers.
Once there, the brothers relayed their surprise to Joseph’s household manager that they had found their money bags were returned to them on their first trip. The manager replies:
“Relax. Don’t be afraid,” the household manager told them. “Your God, the God of your father, must have put this treasure into your sacks. I know I received your payment.” Gn. 43:23 NLT
This must have given them pause, coming out of the mouth of an Egyptian.
Joseph greets them and asks them about the health of their father, and they respond that his health is good. Then he notices Benjamin and says:
Then Joseph looked at his brother Benjamin, the son of his own mother. “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” Joseph asked. “May God be gracious to you, my son.” Gn. 43:29 NLT
He left the room to cry elsewhere, overcome by seeing his only full-blooded brother.
Joseph returned, and the brothers sat to eat – in designated places that rightfully had them sitting in order from youngest to the oldest. They were beside themselves in wonder. Then he had all the brothers’ food bags filled, their money returned again, and had his silver ‘divination’ goblet secretly packed into Benjamin’s bag.
The brothers had just left the city to return home, when they were suddenly confronted by Joseph’s house steward, who accuses them of the thievery and says the culprit will be enslaved. The unknowing culprit was, of course, Benjamin.
Joseph plays the victim. Judah offers himself as a substitute for Benjamin to live a lifetime of slavery in his stead. Joseph could not take it anymore. His brothers had changed, had repented. He sent all his attendants away.
Then he burst into tears in front to his brothers, now speaking Hebrew:
“I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive? … “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. Gn. 45:3 – 5. NLT
God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.
“Now hurry back to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. So come down to me immediately! Gn. 45:7 – 9. NLT
All of Joseph’s brothers returned to Jacob and told him everything. The brothers brought their families. In fact, all the people who made up the Hebrews left for Egypt. They were 70 in number…
Jacob was laid to rest:
Jacob was old and ill. Joseph was called to his bedside, as were his brothers for their blessings:
Jacob gave Joseph the biggest blessing; first by adopting his sons into the Hebrew clan, thus giving the two boys a share of the inheritance, as well as receiving a double portion for himself.
Ruben did not receive an inheritance because he slept with Jacob’s concubine.
Neither did Simeon and Levi, for murderous acts they committed after their sister was raped.
Except for Judah, the rest of the blessings are not worth mentioning. Judah’s went like this:
“Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you. Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.” Gn. 49:8 – 10. NLT
(Be advised that ‘the coming of the One to Whom it belongs, the One whom all nations will honor, is a reference for the coming of Christ for Christians.)
Jacob passes, and Joseph buries him in the cave in the field of Machpelah. Everyone returns to Egypt. Joseph passes as well at 110, with a promise to someday have his bones moved to be with his father’s…
[1] Gn. 37:2 – 11.
Building Better Americans 130
How Does the Old Testament Mesh with the New 12
Jacob’s Deception to Isaac Comes Back to Bite Him
Jacob came to a well and asked the locals if they knew of his uncle Laban. They answered that they did. Simultaneously, Laban’s daughter Rachel was bringing her father’s flock to water. Jacob stepped up and watered them for her.
For Jacob, it was love at first sight. She returned home and told her father of their meeting, and Laban rushed to meet his nephew and invited him to his house.
Laban had two daughters:
The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachael. There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter as my wife.” Gn. 29:16 – 18. NLT
After the seven years elapsed, Laban threw a big wedding feast. Jacob’s wife was veiled when he entered the bedroom. In the morning, after the conjugal deed was done, the veil was removed and the once deceptive Jacob (with his father), receives his own punitive deception from Laban. His bride turned out to be Leah!
Jacob is up in arms and asks his uncle why he did this. Laban tells him that family tradition demands marrying off the older daughter first. He then makes a deal with Jacob that once the ‘bridal week’ was finished, he would give him his daughter Rachel in marriage as well. But Jacob must work another seven years for his uncle. Jacob agrees.
In this new polygamous marriage, a great rivalry began between the two brides, over who could give their husband more children. In the beginning, Rachel was barren. God saw that Leah was unloved, so He increased her fertility.
She rapidly pumped out four sons. Rachel offers her maid as a concubine, who bore him two sons. Leah, who was barren herself now, gave Jacob her maid who bore him two sons as well.
Rachel makes a deal with Leah, who was in possession of mandrakes (a plant thought to promote pregnancy). She bartered with Leah, offering her a conjugal night with Jacob for her plants. Leah bore him two more sons and a daughter.
Finally, God opens Rachel’s womb, and she gives birth to a son. At that point, Jacob approaches Laban:
“Please release me so I can go home to my own country. Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.” Gn. 30:25, 26. NLT
Laban responds by acknowledging the increase of his riches due to Jacob’s labor and wants to pay him so that he will stay. Jacob answers:
“Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages.” Gn. 30:31, 32. NLT
Laban agrees, but then he tells his sons to remove those animals that Jacob wanted. Jacob pastured the rest of Laban’s flock, and began breeding some of them to be speckled, spotted, or black. And so, Jacob amassed a fortune by his husbandry.
But Jacob soon learned that Laban’s sons were grumbling about him. “Jacob has robbed our father of everything!” they said. “He has gained all his wealth at our father’s expense.” And Jacob began to notice a change in Laban’s attitude toward him.
Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.” Gn. 31:1 – 3. NLT
Jacob gathered his wives, children, servants, and his flocks and hightails it out of town. Both wives were on board with Jacob’s desire to flee from Laban. However, just before they leave, Rachel steals some or her father’s household idols.
Laban assembled some relatives to hunt Jacob down, and they pursued Jacob for seven days, catching up with them. However, God came to Laban in a dream, saying:
“I’m warning you—leave Jacob alone!” Gn. 31:24 NLT
Laban blusters at Jacob, telling him that he stole his daughters and grandchildren, saying that if he had just been forthcoming, Laban would have thrown a big party. That was a big lie.
Then he said that he had the power to do Jacob harm but is staying his hand because of Jehovah’s threat to Laban. Finally, he accused Jacob of taking his household idols. Jacob, unaware of Rachel’s thievery, tells Laban to search his entire camp.
Rachel was in her tent, sitting on them. When Laban searched her tent, she said she could not rise because she was menstruating. Thus, the idols were not found…
Finally, Jacob and Laban make a truce, and Laban goes home. Jacob starts his journey to Canaan, where he will have to deal with his brother Esau, whom as far as Jacob knows, is still angry with him even after 20 years have elapsed.
Peace between brothers:
As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God came to meet him. Gn. 32:1 NLT
Thus, Jacob is reminded of his covenantal protection. Emboldened, but still frightened, he sent messengers to Esau, to butter him up, if you will. They return saying that Esau is coming with 400 men!
Jacob panics a bit and appeals to Jehovah:
“O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’” Gn. 32:11, 12. NLT
So, Jacob is praying for deliverance from Esau’s wrath and reminding God of His covenantal promise regarding his descendants. He sends his servants to Esau, gifting his brother with 550 livestock.
That night, he sent his retinue across a river while he remained at camp:
So Jacob was left alone, and a Man [came and] wrestled with him until daybreak. When the Man saw that He had not prevailed against Jacob, He touched his hip joint; and Jacob’s hip was dislocated as he wrestled with Him. Then He said, “Let Me go, for day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You declare a blessing on me.” So He asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” And He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.” But He said, “Why is it that you ask My name?” And He declared a blessing [of the covenant promises] on Jacob there. So Jacob named the place Peniel (the face of God), saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life has not been snatched away.” Now the sun rose on him as he passed Penuel (Peniel), and he was limping because of his hip. Gn. 32:24 – 31. AMP
‘Israel’ is Hebrew for ‘struggle with God’.
How did Jacob see God’s face and still live?[1] From Christianity’s point of view, He didn’t see God’s face. He saw the only visible form of God in the in the universe at that time, the preincarnate Christ…
Jacob saw Esau coming with his 400 men, and he bowed before his brother seven times.
What happened next was totally unexpected by Jacob:
Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept. Gn. 33:4 NLT
Esau asks Jacob to travel together back to his home, but Jacob tells him to go on ahead. Because of all that Jacob has in his traveling party, he must proceed slower for the cattle and the children.
Jacob decides that it would be better if he and Esau went their separate ways, and he travels to a different town to lay down roots in Canaan once more.
Jacob personalizes his God:
Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”
So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing.We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”
So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and earrings, and he buried them under the great tree near Shechem. As they set out, a terror from God spread over the people in all the towns of that area, so no one attacked Jacob’s family. Gn. 35:1 – 5. NLT
Jacob is cleaning house – getting his household members to align with his one-God theology. He also made a promise to God when he had the vision of the angels going back and forth from earth to heaven on a heavenly ladder.[2]
There, he promised God that if He brought him back safely to His father’s house, after running from Esau, he would make Jehovah his personal God.[3]
God makes a safe passage for Jacob and his household to Bethel (also called Luz), and there Jacob builds an altar for Him, He appears to Jacob:
God blessed him, saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel.
Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” Gn. 35:9 – 12. NLT
Jacob travels with his retinue towards Ephrath (Bethlehem), and Rachel goes into a very hard labor and dies during childbirth – giving Jacob his final 12th son, Benjamin.
Ruben, Jacob and Leah’s oldest son, had sex with Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, who was also a concubine for Jacob. He did this to taint her so that his father would not try to produce any further offspring. He was trying to make sure that no one would supplant his mother.
Jacob finds out, but he keeps it to himself for now…
Jacob travels to see his father. Isaac is 180 years old. Soon thereafter, he passed and was buried by Jacob and Esau.
Esau moves to Edom. His descendants would be called Edomites…
[1] Ex. 33:20
[2] Gn. 28:12, 13.
[3] Gn. 28:20, 21.