037. Joseph--Commissions Family in Faith

Joseph--Commissions Family in Faith

Gen 50:24-26. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land, unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. The events of a short and uncertain life upon earth, derive all their importance from the relation which they bear to a future and eternal state of existence. Remove the prospects of immortality, and what is left worthy the attention and pursuit of man! What is reputation! A breath of empty air; honor, a bubble; riches, a bird eternally on the wing; youth, beauty, health, fading flowers of the spring; the splendor of kings. childish pageantry; a crown, a toy. That alone is valuable which time cannot impair, nor mortality destroy; that which, though the man die, continues to live and speak; that which, despised or neglected of men, is of high estimation in the sight of God. If in this life only there were hope, the happiest of mankind were a wretched, dark, comfortless being. But for the consolations of religion, Jacob must have sunk under the accumulated weight of calamity upon calamity: and Joseph, destitute of a principle of grace in the heart, had fallen in the hour of temptation, or despaired in the day of adversity; had risen into pride when exalted to honor, or deviated into resentment and revenge when armed with power. But, directed and supported by this celestial guide, he descends into the pit undejected, undismayed; spurns with holy indignation the solicitations of illicit desire; preserves moderation in the height of prosperity, and sinks the resentments of the injured man, in the meekness and gentleness of the affectionate brother. A character so near perfection seldom occurs; we have therefore been tempted to dwell upon it the longer, and now that we must part with it, we bid it farewell, with no little regret. The last office in which we left Joseph employed, was the burial of his venerable parent. In this he at once acquitted a solemn obligation; fulfilled the law of humanity, gratitude, and filial duty; and acted faith in the covenant and promise of God given to his forefathers. He is never so much an Egyptian, as to forget he is an Israelite; but, engaged in the duties of a son of Israel, he remembers he was a naturalized Egyptian. Having deposited the sacred pledge in the cave of the field of Machpelah, he and his brethren, and all his retinue return into the land of Egypt.

Terror ever haunts the guilty conscience; and men, whether they be good or bad, are apt to judge of others by themselves. The brothers of Joseph considered the life of their father as the only bulwark betwixt them and their brother’s anger. Knowing themselves to be criminal, they conclude he must be resentful: knowing he had the power, they suppose he must needs have the inclination to punish them. O how guilt degrades, debases the spirit of a man! In bad minds, how quick the transition from extreme to extreme! How nearly allied to each other, vices seemingly remote, contradictory, and opposite! These reflections are all strikingly exemplified and illustrated in the conduct of Jacob’s sons. We see malice and cruelty passing into suspicion and timidity: insolence but a single step removed from fawning, flattery, and submission; and bold defiance of Heaven changing in a moment into superstitious horror. They had before done obeisance to Joseph, not knowing who he was, and so fulfilled the dreams of his early youth, which had given them such mortal offence. With a meanness equal to their former haughtiness, they now voluntarily prostrate themselves in his presence, and humbly deprecate that wrath which they had so unjustly provoked. What a pitiable, what a contemptible figure a man makes, overtaken and reproved by his own wickedness! A little mind would have enjoyed this triumph of acknowledged superiority, if it did not resort to retaliation. But a great soul like Joseph’s gives only into emotions worthy of itself. Seeing his father’s children thus humbled before him, he dissolves into tears. Had he been ever so much inclined to vengeance, adjured by the awful names of his father and his God, his heart must have relented, and anger must have turned to pity. But in truth, he had never harbored one thought of revenge, and the offenders possessed an infinitely better security in the generosity and compassion of their brother, than in the protection of their father’s feeble arm, parental authority, or frail life. Being at no variance with them, entertaining no grudge, mark what pains he takes to reconcile them to themselves; “But as for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now, therefore, fear ye not: I will nourish ye and your little ones. And he comforted them and spake kindly unto them.”[*]Gen 1:20-21

Such is the exalted triumph of true goodness. Not satisfied with merely bestowing forgiveness, it strives to close the wounds which guilt has made: it aims not only at bettering the external condition of the penitent, but also at meliorating his inward frame; it not only proclaims peace to the offender, but likewise generously studies the means of restoring him to peace with his own conscience. This is the glorious triumph of God himself, who overcomes evil with good, turns enmity into love, and obliterates the foul traces of undutifulness and ingratitude, by painting over them the fairer, softer features of filial tenderness and dutiful submission. And in no one respect can human nature so nearly resemble the divine, as in pardoning transgression, in showing mercy, in bestowing on the guilty outward and inward peace; and burying and effacing painful and mortifying recollections in total and everlasting oblivion. Thus Joseph comforted his brethren, and spake kindly unto them. This spirit a greater than Joseph by precept, by example, and by the model which he prescribed for our devotions, has recommended and enforced; and thus, by habitually drinking into it, “men shall at length become perfect, as their father in heaven is perfect.” At the death of his father, Joseph was fifty-six years old. The history of the remainder, containing a period of fifty-four years more, shrinks into a few short sentences. But they exhibit a beautiful and instructive picture of a generous spirit, of great and growing domestic happiness, of a capacious prophetic soul, and of a faithful, obedient, and believing heart. He had the satisfaction of living to see his posterity of the fourth generation, by Ephraim his younger son, and of the third, by Manasseh his first-born. He had the felicity of beholding Israel greatly increased, and the promise of God hastening to its accomplishment; resigned to die in Egypt, but looking and longing for a sepulcher in Canaan. Jacob’s, a life of almost uninterrupted misery, is lengthened out to the hundred and forty-seventh year; Joseph’s, with the exception of a very few years, a scene of splendor, usefulness, and prosperity, is cut short at a hundred and ten. But the difference dwindles into mere nothing before Him, with whom “a thousand years are as one day, and one day as a thou sand years.” Grief has its cure, usefulness its period, glory its decay, and pride its destroyer in the grave. As his dying father held him engaged by a solemn oath not to bury him but in Canaan, so Joseph binds his posterity by a similar obligation to carry his remains, when opportunity offered, to the sacred spot where the sleeping dust of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob reposed. Whatever had been his power or possessions in Egypt, this is all he bequeaths to his children; his last, dying will, disposes of nothing but his bones. But it is not merely the natural desire of the man, to rest in death with his fathers; it is the zeal, piety, and wisdom of the believer, leaving to his family a solemn pledge of his dying confidence in the truth and faith fullness of God. Accordingly, the dead body of Joseph becomes no inconsiderable object in the history of Israel, from this time forward, to their final establishment in Canaan. With much pomp it was now embalmed, with much care it was preserved in their deepest distresses and affliction; in all their wanderings it accompanied them, and never, till they rested in the peaceable possession of the land of promise, did it rest in the peaceful tomb. But had the credit of Joseph declined before his death? Had Pharaoh died, and Egypt forgotten to be grateful, that no royal mandate is issued for a splendid public interment; that an affectionate nation accompanies not, with tears, the son, as they did the father, to his long home? Miserable would Joseph have been, had not his happiness rested on a surer foundation than the smile of kings, or the applause of a multitude. Who shall be vain of any thing, when such a man as Joseph must be content to obtain that by entreaty and permission, which once he could have enjoyed by authority. His pious attention to the dead is now requited by the pious attention of the living. And thus of all the debts contracted by us, none is so certain of being repaid, as the last solemn offices of humanity. Here, we only give and receive a little short credit; and the day of our burial hastens on, with rapid wings, to bring the account to a balance.

Thus lived, and thus died, Joseph the son of Jacob. A man whom all nations and every description of mankind, have united to praise and admire. Whose character and fortunes the pen of inspiration has vouchsafed to delineate with singular accuracy, and with uncommon strength of coloring. Who, in every stage of life, in youth, in manhood, and even to old age, interests, instructs, and delights every reader of taste, virtue, and sensibility. Who, in adversity, preserved inflexible constancy; and, in elevation next to royalty, adorned his high station by unaffected simplicity, incorruptible integrity, native, unassuming dignity, fervent piety, invariable moderation, and uniform modesty and humility. Who, as a son, a brother, a servant, a father, a master, a ruler, is equally amiable and praiseworthy. Who, to the sagacity of the statesman, added the penetration of the prophet, the firmness of the believer, and the purity of the saint. Who, by the blessing of Providence, was saved through dangers the most threatening, to pity, to forgive, and to preserve those who meant to have destroyed him; and who, in a word, was miraculously raised up of God from an obscure station, to be an instrument of much temporal good to nations; to mature and execute the plans of eternal Wisdom, and to typify to a dark age, Him who is fairer than the children of men, and through whom all the blessings of nature, of providence, and of redemption are communicated to mankind. We cannot therefore, as Christians, conclude his history better, than by considering it somewhat more particularly, as a typical representation of the person, the character, the offices, and the work of the Messiah.

We know the generation of Joseph the son of Rachel, and the well beloved of Jacob but “who shall declare the generation” of the well beloved Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth?” Early, unambiguous prognostics foretold the future greatness of Joseph. Thus the tongues of a thousand prophets; signs in heaven, and signs in earth; the disposition of angels singly, and of a multitude of the heavenly host together, before and at his birth, conduct the babe of Bethlehem from the manger to the throne. Some allegorists, who inquire rather curiously then wisely, have carried the analogy so far as to represent Joseph’s coat of many colors, the distinguishing badge of his father’s partial affection, as typical of the body prepared for Christ, “curiously wrought in the lower parts of the earth.” When imagination, unrestrained by reason, and unconducted by Scripture, is set to work, any thing may be made to resemble any thing. But if the interests of true piety be promoted, we must give, as we need and expect, much allowance; and so long as a metaphor presumes not to pass for a text or an argument, let metaphorical language be examined with candor, and the bold flights of an honest heart be treated with tenderness and respect. While we thus plead indulgence for others, we are perhaps making an apology that is necessary to ourselves; and far, very tar from this place be the vanity of thinking that “surely we are the people, and that wisdom shall die with us.”

We remarked of Joseph, that in making his observations upon, and in giving the report of his brothers’ conduct, a mixture of self-sufficiency, malevolence, and presumption might possibly insinuate itself; but in the censure and reproof administered by the Brother and Friend of mankind, we always discover unmixed benevolence and gentleness; severity against the offence, without acrimony towards the offender; slowness to condemn, readiness to forgive; a disposition to palliate and excuse the worst of crimes, instead of eagerness and zeal to detect, magnify, and expose the least. Jacob’s affectionate embassy to his sons in the wilderness, by the mouth of his beloved Joseph, in all its circumstances, has already been noticed as exactly typical of the message borne from the compassionate Father of men, to his wandering exile children, by the Son of his love. Who can think of Joseph following his brethren from place to place with thoughts of peace, and meeting in return with hatred and violence, without reflecting the next moment on the words of the evangelist, “he came to his own, and his own received him not.” “Not this man, but Barabbas.” “Away with him, crucify him, crucify him.” “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.”[*]Mat 23:37

Joseph was sold at the suggestion of Judah to the Ishmaelites for a few pieces of silver. The counterpart of this forces itself upon our imagination. “The Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men;” “mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.”[*]Psa 41:9 “Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?” Joseph faithful and just to Potiphar and to Pharaoh; Joseph in the form of a servant, and the business and affairs of his master prospering in his hand, lead us directly to him of whom it is spoken in prophetic vision, “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.”[*]Isa 52:13 Joseph assaulted with temptation, resisting and overcoming, conducts us with our tempted Savior to the top of the exceeding high mountain, to the pinnacle of the temple, and shows us all the fiery darts of the wicked one falling. harmless on the ground, because striking on the shield of faith; and “the sword of the Spirit, the word of God,” like lightning, penetrating and piercing the armor of the adversary. Joseph unjustly accused, condemned, and punished, without straining for an allusion, points to Jesus, “numbered with transgressors,” charged with crimes which he never committed, and upon a trial, a mockery of all legal proceeding, condemned with the vilest of mankind to the death of a slave. But we see Joseph even in prison and disgraced, preserving dignity, exercising usefulness, disclosing futurity to his fellow-prisoners, restoring the one to the presence and favor of Pharaoh, leaving the other to perish under the weight of the royal displeasure. Thus we see Jesus, from the exalted infamy of the cross, dispensing more than life and death, opening and shutting the gates of heaven, assuming to himself the right of disposing of seats in the paradise of God; carrying the penitent with him to the presence of his father and his God; leaving the impenitent to die in his sins. But there is here this remarkable difference, Joseph besought the chief butler to remember him, hoping to owe his enlargement to the powerful, compassionate, and grateful intercession of that officer; but Jesus, as Lord of the worlds visible and invisible, as the sovereign disposer of all things, by his own power exalts his fellow-sufferer from the cross to a throne above the skies. Behold Joseph translated from the dungeon to the palace, from the condition of a prisoner and a slave, to that of a mighty prince; and in that, behold Jesus emerging from the tomb, ascending above all height, exalted to the sovereign administration of all things in heaven and in earth. “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and, to enter into his glory?”[*]Luk 24:26 “It became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”[*]Heb 2:16 Joseph revealed to Pharaoh and to all Egypt what was the will of heaven concerning them for many years to come: thus Jesus revealed to a guilty, perishing world the will of God for their salvation, and made timely provision, not for the transient and ineffectual support of a few fleeting years, but for the eternal entertainment and felicity of men, who were devoted to death, and threatened with everlasting misery. Joseph employed the pressure of famine to enslave Egypt, and to subject a whole people to the will of the sovereign: but Jesus, armed with all power for our destruction, employed it only for our deliverance; and instead of sinking and degrading the subjects of his government, such is his love, he raises them all to the dignities, privileges, and possessions of the sons of God. He is the true prophet, “the true light which enlighteneth everyman that cometh into the world,” “in whom the Spirit of God is; none so discreet and wise as he,” Zaphnathpaaneah, the true revealer of secrets, who “is worthy to take the sealed book,” which contains the secrets of the eternal mind, and to open its seven seals. The clemency of Joseph to his unkind, unnatural brothers, is a lively and affecting representation of the patience, gentleness, and mercy of Christ to his brethren after the flesh, in the first instance, and to guilty, un grateful men in general. “Father, forgive them,” said he, as he was expiring on the cross, “they know not what they do.” And not many days after that with wicked hands men had crucified and slain him, many thousands of these very men were made to taste of his grace, were admitted into his family, and exalted to a place with him on his throne. But we must not pursue the similitude through every particular; it would protract our discourse to an immoderate length. Finally then, Joseph piously referred every thing that befell him to the provident, wise, and gracious destination of the Almighty: and what saith Jesus? “I seed not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” And thus have we finished the history of the patriarch Joseph: the various stages of whose life may be thus calculated. He was born in Haran, in the year of the world two thousand two hundred and fifty-nine, where he lived till six years old. He was then removed with the rest of his father’s family into Canaan, where he lived eleven years; at which period he was by his brethren sold to the Ishmaelites, and carried into Egypt, where he served Potiphar ten years, and remained in prison three: so that he was thirty, when he first stood before Pharaoh, and was raised immediately to the dignity of viceroy. Supposing the seven plenteous years to commence immediately, he was thirty-seven when they ended: and the second year of famine being ended, he being them thirty-nine, Jacob and his family descended into Egypt; and the aged patriarch lived there, cherished by his son, seventeen years, which brings himself forward to his fifty-sixth year. After his father’s death he lived fifty-four years more, in all one hundred and ten. So that Joseph lived in Egypt full ninety-three years: a slave and a prisoner thirteen; a prince and ruler eighty; under several successive monarchs: being justly esteemed a necessary minister of state in all reigns. He died before the birth of Moses sixty-four years, and before the departing of the children of Israel out of Egypt, one hundred and forty-four. And with the account of his death and embalming, ends the book of Genesis, containing the most ancient, authentic, interesting, and instructive history extant; during the space of two thousand three hundred and sixty-nine years: from the deluge, seven hundred and thirteen; and before Christ, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five.

These things seem as a tale that is told. But time is hurrying on a period and an establishment of things, under which Adam and his youngest son shall be contemporaries; in which intervening ages shall be swallowed up and lost; and that only remain, which time, and death, and the grave cannot affect when the cave of Machpelah shall surrender up its precious deposit; when Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and all the faithful shall live again, and reign for ever and ever. “Blessed are they who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.” “Blessed are they who shall come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels; to the general assembly and church of the first-born which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”[*]Heb 12:22-24