Seven Fat Cows and Seven Lean Cows,
Seven Full Heads of Grain and Seven Thin
41: 14-24

Seven fat cows and seven lean cows, seven full heads of grain and seven thin DIG: How did Joseph give ADONAI credit before Pharaoh and his people? How had Yosef changed since he gave his family the interpretation of his own dreams? What two ways did Joseph foreshadow the life of Christ?

REFLECT: Like Yosef,who resisted the temptation to take pride in his own abilities, when have you likewise given God the credit for something He has done in your life? After being accused of rape and imprisoned, Joseph could have selfishly taken the credit for interpreting the dream, feeling as if he was due What excuses do people give for not giving God the credit He deserves?

Pharaoh wasted no time in sending for Joseph. Under normal circumstances he probably wouldn’t have sought out the help of a Hebrew, let alone one in prison, but he had nowhere else to turn. What a picture it must have been, the mighty king and the unknown slave.⁶³⁸

So Pharaoh sent for Yosef, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon in prison. 43. So it was with our blessed Lord. The Jews might have despised Him, the powers of darkness might have raged against Him, wicked men might have plotted against Him and crucified Him, but it was impossible for death to keep hold on Him (Acts 2:24b). No, on the third day He rose again to triumph over the grave, leaving His burial clothes of death behind, changed in the twinkling of an eye, raised imperishable (John 20:6-7 and First Corinthians 15:51-57). How beautifully this was prefigured in the case of Joseph. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh (41:14). Joseph’s beard had grown in prison; when he was released, he shaved. Egyptians did not approve of beards. This was the Egyptian custom and would have been a disgrace for him to appear with a beard in the presence of the king.⁶³⁹

Pharaoh immediately told Joseph his problem. The king of Egypt said: I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. It was a common belief in Egypt that the gods communicated through dreams. Magicians and magi preserved different interpretations of past dreams in dream books, which were supposedly reliable. But even the wise men of Egypt, who were trained in this art, were unable to interpret it, like the wise men of Daniel’s time (Dani’el 2:1-12). The king continued: But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it (41:15).

At this point, Yosef might have been tempted to bargain with Pharaoh. He could tell that his services were very much in demand at that moment. At the very least he could have asked for his freedom in return for his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, but in that single moment of incredible opportunity, Joseph’s true character was revealed.⁶⁴⁰

He said: I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires. Literally it reads: God will answer the shalom of Pharaoh. The word shalom often bears the idea of completely, perfectly, or fully, and that is what it means here. God will answer Pharaoh completely.⁶⁴¹ By this answer, Yosef exhibited great growth in spiritual maturity since the time of his own dreams back in Canaan. Then, he had antagonized his family by calling attention to his own superiority. Now, however, he won the confidence and respect of a heathen king and court by his own ability and giving full credit to ADONAI. His years of slavery and imprisonment had indeed taught him humility and patience. Instead of calling attention to the failures of the wise men and stressing his own powers, he acted with the utmost courtesy and restraint, and directed all the praise to God alone.⁶⁴²

44. Both Joseph and Jesus were raised up by the hand of God. Joseph replied to the king: I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires (41:16). It is obvious that, apart from divine intervention, Yosef would have been left to languish in prison until he died. It was God who troubled Pharaoh’s spirit in a dream that brought about his release. Joseph himself recognized this, as is clear from his words to his brothers later on: And God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God (45:7-8a). So it was with our Savior because God raised Him from the dead (Acts 2:24a, 2:32, 10:40).

After thirteen long years in prison, the LORD had stripped Yosef of his carnal ego. He was not strutting around in his royal coat of many colors given to him by his father. He was not saying, “I can do it”; he was saying: It is not I, but Christ in me (Galatians 2:20). He was saying: By myself I can do nothing, for I seek not to please Myself but Him who sent Me (John 5:30). He was saying that being a servant is the basis of leadership. Yeshua said of Himself: Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). The one who foreshadowed Jesus also became a servant. Are you a servant? Whom do you serve? Service is the golden key that unlocks the door to success in the kingdom of God. You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love (see the commentary on Galatians, to see link click Bu – Brothers and Sisters, You were Called to Freedom). We are like beasts when we bite and devour each other; we are like humans when we criticize each other, but we are like God when we serve one another in love. That’s what Joseph did here.

Then Pharaoh proceeded to tell Joseph the details of both of his dreams, with a few details added which were not told earlier. His anxiety was growing. He said: In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows came up – scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such cows in all the land of Egypt. The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as lean and ugly as before. Pharaoh’s dreaming only got worse.

Then I woke up troubled. In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted – withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads (41:17-24a). Pharaoh omitted saying that he had had a second dream (41:5). He possibly suspects that the two dreams were really one, and they would have only one interpretation.

In his frustration, Pharaoh said: I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me (41:24b). The gods of Egypt, the wise men and the magicians were helpless to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, and hence were helpless to deal with the coming problems that the dreams suggested.

The Report of the Cupbearer
41: 9-13

The report of the cup-bearer DIG: How many years had it been since the cup-bearer had his dream interpreted by Joseph? How do you think Yosef dealt with the delay? What made the cup-bearer remember Yosef in prison?

REFLECT: When you are reminded of your shortcomings, how do you respond? Are you angry? Are you depressed? Do you try to minimize them? Do you exaggerate them? Do you blame others? Do you take responsibility for them? Do you dwell on them? Or are you humbled? Why?

Then the chief cup-bearer said to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt: Today I have been reminded of my failure (41:9 NLT). When the chief cup-bearer remembers Joseph he is struck to the heart, and realizes his offense. His realization is emphasized in the Hebrew word order, in which the direct object, my failure, is the first element in the sentence, literally, my failure I am remembering today. The word failure, here, is literally the Hebrew word for sins, and conveys more of the thought of offenses or omissions. He knows he should have told Pharaoh of Joseph long ago, but he became too busy and had forgotten. Confessing his sin to Pharaoh, he recalled the two year old story.

He remembers the story just as it happened. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own (41:10-11). How simple and yet how truly remarkable is the link in the chain of circumstances by which ADONAI fulfills His purposes for Yosef.⁶³⁶

Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of Potiphar, and the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. Not only that, but his interpretations were correct in every detail. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged (41:12-13). Here was a man who had greater insight into the future than all the sages and interpreters of the land of Egypt. If Pharaoh wanted to know the meaning of his dreams, he should by all means send for this young man, Joseph.⁶³⁷

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams
41: 1-8

Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams DIG: How do you account for the significant role dreams play in Chapters 37, 40 and 41? What evidence is there that through dreams, ADONAI controls human events? How are these dreams similar? How are they different?

REFLECT: When you need guidance in your life, where do you turn? Friends? Self-help books? The Bible? Your Horoscope? Prayer?

Parashah 10: miKetz (At the end) 41:1-44:17
(see my commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah)

The Key People include Pharaoh, his cupbearer, Joseph, wife Asenath, Manasseh, Ephraim, Jaocb, and the eleven sons.

The Scenes include the Nile, Egypt and Canaan

The Main Events include Pharaoh’s dream, Joseph’s interpretation, Joseph elevated to Prime Minister of Egypt, preparing for the coming famine, brothers’ visit, Simeon jailed, Joseph’s request to see Benjamin, a second visit, the trap to frame Benjamin with a stolen cup, the chase and accusation, and Benjamin sentenced to die.

The important dreams in Joseph’s life always seemed to come in twos. First, he himself had two dreams (37:5-9); then he interpreted the dreams of the cup-bearer and the baker (40:1-23); and now, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had two dreams. Still, Pharaoh’s dreams came two years after Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker. When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile (41:1).

When out of the Nile River there came up seven healthy cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. The cows must have impressed Pharaoh especially in a religious sense, because the cow was the emblem of Isis, the revered Egyptian goddess of fertility. In the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the chief scripture of ancient Egypt, Osiris, the god of vegetation and the underworld, is represented as a great bull accompanied by seven cows. Then, unexpectedly, seven other ugly and gaunt cows came up out of the Nile and chewed up the seven sleek, fat cows. Such a thing could only happen in a dream, but it was so shocking that it woke Pharaoh up (41:2-4).

He fell asleep again and had a second dream. He was out gazing at a grain field, common in the Egyptian fertile plains. As he gazed, he saw seven full heads of grain, healthy and good, growing on a single stalk. Again, Pharaoh must have been impressed with the richness of Egypt, known to all as the granary of the ancient world. But then it happened again, seven other heads of grain sprouted – thin and scorched by the east wind (41:5-6,also see Ezeki’el 17:10, Hosea 13:15-16), and the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. The dream was so real to him, that it was only when he woke up that he realized it had been a dream (41:7). Since he was considered a god, it was unusual for him to ask for an interpretation of his dreams. He knew enough to be troubled, but not enough to be his own interpreter. He tossed and turned all night on his bed because the dreams seemed so real. The Egyptians believed that when dreams were repeated or came in sets two they were special, so he was determined to get some help.

In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for two groups. First, he sent for all the magicians, or chartumin, meaning sacred scribes. They were the same men who opposed Moses in Exodus 7:11 when they threw down their staffs, becoming snakes. Secondly, he sent for the wise men, who were the experts in the priest craft and magic of Egypt. They were an order of Egyptian priests who understood the sacred hieroglyphic writings. They cultivated the knowledge of arts and sciences, interpreted dreams, practiced soothsaying and divination, and were supposed to possess secret arts. These were the magi of Dani’el 1:20, 2:1-23 and Matthew 2:1-12.⁶³² Pharaoh told both groups his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him even though they were supposed to be the experts (41:8).

Later, another group of magi in Babylon also would be unable to interpret a king’s dream, and ADONAI would use another Hebrew slave, Dani’el, to show that no matter how powerful a nation might be, it was still not beyond God’s sovereign control (Dani’el 2:1-49).⁶³³

In ancient Egypt, people believed that the true power in the universe was magic. They relied on magic like omens, sorcery, divination, fortunetelling and dream interpretation to manipulate “the gods” for their own benefit. It was a means to determine the future and to provide understanding of reality. The same is true for many today who rely on astrology and other New-Age instruments to provide meaning to life. But, as in the story of Joseph, the magicians provided no answers. Meaning and purpose belong to the Creator, and we must rest in Him in order to have significance and satisfaction in life.⁶³⁴

When all the magicians and wise men were called in and Pharaoh told them his dream, the chief cup-bearer was listening. After all, his position was to stand beside Pharaoh and attend to his every need. When none of the wise men could give Pharaoh an interpretation, the cupbearer remembered Joseph.⁶³⁵

Joseph Before Pharaoh
41: 1-57

After thirteen years of waiting, Joseph was suddenly released and brought to stand before Pharaoh himself. But as powerful as the king of Egypt was, this chapter is really about the sovereign work of the LORD in the lives of those who serve Him. It was ADONAI who disturbed Pharaoh in his dreams and jostled the memory of the cupbearer, so that he remembered the Hebrew slave who interpreted his dream, and God is in charge of history, so He can grant dreams that tell future events and inspire servants to rightly interpret those dreams. So the narrative is a story about Yosef, Pharaoh, the cup-bearer, and others, but above all, it is a story about the LORD, the great mover and shaper of history, and about ADONAI’s pleasure in using a single servant who is willing to submit his life to His control.⁶³¹

The Chief Cup-bearer did not Remember Joseph: 
He Forgot Him
40: 20-23

The chief cup-bearer did not remember Joseph: he forgot him DIG: Why might the chief cup-bearer forget Joseph? How long did Yosef continue to be imprisoned? What did he learn during that time? In what way did Joseph foreshadow the life of Christ?

REFLECT: Is there anyone that you have forgotten to repay a debt? How does your relationship with God maintain your hope despite life’s circumstances to the contrary?

Now three days later, on Pharaoh’s birthday, he gave a feast for all his officials. Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams was correct. Pharaoh waited until his birthday to announce the results of his investigation. One might speculate that whatever plot had been laid against Pharaoh might have been intended to be consummated on this occasion; if so, that would lend peculiar significance to its exposure and punishment at that time.⁶²⁶ So Pharaoh lifted up the heads of the chief cup-bearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials (40:20). The rabbis teach that just as Isra’el is nearer to ADONAI, therefore will He punish them more severely; a king punishes more harshly one who is closest to him because the servant knows more than anyone what the king wants.

42. The words of both Joseph and Jesus came true. The Eastern kings celebrated their birthdays by holding feasts and granting pardon to offenders.⁶²⁷ Here, Pharaoh availed himself of this custom to pardon the chief cup-bearer. He restored the chief cup-bearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand (40:21). But when Pharaoh turned to his former chief baker, he was angry. Here was the culprit, guilty as charged, and the penalty was death.⁶²⁸  So he hanged the chief baker as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation (40:22). And just as Yosef’s predictions came true, so will Messiah’s: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35).

There is a play on words here. When the verse says: He restored the chief cup-bearer to his position, the word position literally means cup-bearing. So it literally reads: He restored the chief cup-bearer to his cup-bearing. This is for emphasis, signifying that the cup-bearer was not given a different position in the royal court, but he was restored to exactly the same position that he held before.⁶²⁹  The chief cup-bearer, however, did not remember Yosef. He forgot him, but God did not (40:23). Humanly speaking, this was ingratitude, but spiritually speaking, it was not yet time for Joseph to be raised up. He would have to wait for two more years.

Joseph’s faith was not destroyed by his circumstances. We cannot doubt that those years had a steadying effect on Yosef’s character as he waited for the fulfillment of the LORD’s purpose concerning him. He continued to focus on El Shaddai, God Almighty, not his circumstances (49:24). This is without exception the deepest joy in life.

These two years of waiting must also have had the effect of maturing while steadying Yosef’s character. It is not too much to say that the confidence and dignity which he showed when he stood before Pharaoh had their foundations laid during these two years. No doubt from time to time he would hear what was going on in Egypt, and perhaps even in connection with the court, and yet day after day passed without any remembrance from the chief cup-bearer. But can be sure that he never regretted putting God first and allowing Him to take care of His servant’s interests. If we will take care of our character, ADONAI will take care of our interests and reputation either in this life or the next.

Daily faithfulness in ordinary duties is the very best preparation for future service. Joseph found plenty of work to do and occupied his time by ministering to the needs of others. Those two years were in some ways the most important of his entire life. The deeper the foundation, the more durable the building; and in those two years the foundation of his future influence was laid deep and strong. Some might have thought that the forty years spent by Moses in Midian keeping the sheep were unworthy of his position. But the keeping of sheep was the making of Moses. So also those two years of quiet endurance in prison went far in making Joseph the faithful man that he became.⁶³⁰

Haftarah vaYeshev: ‘Amos (Amos) 2:6-3:8
(see my commentary on Deuteronomy, to see link click Af – Parashah)

In His grace, ADONAI seeks to overlook the three sins that lead to loss of eternal life for a nation: idolatry, adultery, and murder. A nation that provides for the poor can yet borrow time, even in the face of cardinal sins. However, the lion roars (Amos 3:8) over the fourth sin! Ha’Shem cannot tolerate that Isra’el is selling the poor for silver. In poetry, God appeals to the people of Isra’el (Amos 3:1-8). Punishment looms (Amos 3:13-15). Lions roar only after prey is taken (Amos 3:4 and 8). The poor are being preyed upon. In the courts there is no care for their guilt or innocence (Amos 2:6). Worse, clothing is taken in pledge (Amos 2:8) – a man can freeze from the cold of night when his only garment is taken. Such exploitation cannot be tolerated. God roars out His warning (Amos 3:7-8) – repent, or judgment comes swiftly (Amos 8:4). Alas, a righteous one is sold for silver, and he is Joseph.

B’rit Chadashah suggested reading for Parashah vaYeshev:
Acts 7:9-16 (specifically verses 8-10)

Following the flow of salvation history, Stephen moved into the patriarchal period. Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. So he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and so Isaac with Jacob, and Jacob with the twelve patriarchs, the heads of the twelve tribes of Isra’el. For the sake of brevity, Stephen chose to bypass the stories of Isaac and Jacob and move directly to Joseph. The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him. He rescued him out of all his troubles and granted him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him governor over Egypt and all his household (7:8-10). Joseph’s revelation also came to him outside the Promised Land.

Then the Chief Baker said to Joseph:
I Too Had a Dream
40: 16-19

Then the chief baker said to Joseph: I too had a dream DIG: What impresses you most about these two dreams? Their interpretation or their fulfillment? What does it say about Yosef, that he would relate the dream exactly as it was given to him? If Joseph held nothing back when he interpreted the dream, do you think that meant he lacked sympathy? Why or why not? In what way did Joseph foreshadow the life of Christ?

REFLECT: Do you feel that your dreams will be realized or not? How do these dreams and feelings affect your relationship with the LORD? How are you at telling the truth? Are you a person of integrity?

It is only Joseph’s happy interpretation of the cup-bearer’s dream that prods the chief baker into sharing his dream. He is less sure of himself. But when the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation to the cup-bearer, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread” (40:16). Once again, God used a symbol that Yosef was familiar with. In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head (40:17). Joseph was as quick with the second interpretation as he was with the first.⁶²²

Joseph said: This is what it means. The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head as a punishment and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh (40:18-19). 41. Yosef was the means of blessing to the cup-bearer, but a pronouncer of judgment to the baker. For it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree (see the commentary on Galatians, to see link click Bk – Cursed is Everyone Who Hangs on a Tree). Likewise, Messiah was crucified between two prisoners. One hurled insults at Him as he said: Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us (Luke 23:39). But the other criminal rebuked the one, saying: Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said, “Yeshua, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Yeshua answered him: I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:40-43). So Jesus was a means of blessing to one, but the pronouncer of judgment on the other.

In Egypt, birds were sacred and so they were protected. As a result, they were often a bother. The experience in the dream of the baker was common in Egypt. But food intended for Pharaoh would surely have required better care on the part of the chief baker. In his dream he allowed them to consume the baked goods that were meant for Pharaoh. So instead of Pharaoh taking the bread out of his hand, the birds ate it out of the basket on his head.⁶²³ Evidently, the baker knew he was guilty as was reflected in his dream.

The dream of the baker was not so favorable. Joseph’s word play wasn’t as funny for him. It literally meant that Pharaoh would lift up his head from his body and then hang him on a tree. In the ancient world hanging was not typically a form of execution but a way to dishonor the corpse of an executed person. In this case the baker would have been beheaded and then “hung” – usually by having his body impaled on a stake – in public view for the birds and insects to devour.⁶²⁴  This would have been particularly reprehensible and demeaning in ancient Egypt because they believed that the preservation of the flesh was important for a person to attain the afterlife. That is why they placed so much emphasis on embalming and other procedures for preservation.

It is clear that Yosef does not hold anything back in telling the interpretation of the dream. He is direct and tells the truth. The rabbis teach that because he told the truth he earned two more years in prison. But he did tell the truth. He didn’t give the baker what he wanted to hear, as did so many of the magicians and wise men of his day. Truth is the foundation of all knowledge, and the cement of all societies. Joseph’s telling the truth demonstrates that he is a man of integrity. Oh, that we had people like that in the Body of Messiah today.⁶²⁵

So the Chief Cup-bearer Told Joseph His Dream
40: 9-15

So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream DIG: As interpretations of dreams belong to ADONAI, and as Joseph invites others to tell him their dreams, what does that tell you about Joseph’s abilities? About his relationship to God? What two ways did Joseph foreshadow the life of Christ?

REFLECT: What is your dream of the future? How good are you at waiting on the Lord’s timing? How many times have we all plunged ahead in the dark, only to find ourselves lost? Have you learned to wait?

So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream. Probably he spoke first because he was confident of his own innocence and therefore was not hesitant to hear its significance.⁶¹⁶ He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me” (40:9). God used a symbol that was familiar to him, and he saw all the stages of making grapes in quick succession. And on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes (40:10).

Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand (40:11). The kings of ancient Egypt drank only the fresh juice of the grape. The cultivation of the vine, and the making and drinking of wine among the Egyptians are well established beyond question.⁶¹⁷ It was evidently a part of the duty of the chief cup-bearer to press the grapes into Pharaoh’s cup, but it by no means meant that because of this, no fermented wine was used.⁶¹⁸

The chief cup-bearer’s dream had a favorable interpretation. Joseph said to him, “This is what it means. The three branches are three days” (40:12). 39. Both Joseph and Jesus showed that they had knowledge of the future. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position. The idiom lift up your head means to count. Pharaoh will number you again among his servants. And you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cup-bearer (40:13). So Jesus, the One whom Joseph foreshadowed, again and again, made known what would happen in the future. He said: For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me what to say and how to say it (John 12:49). Not all the details of the dream are interpreted; only the basic point is made.

Joseph’s interpretation involves a striking wordplay that seems humorous (unless you’re the baker). He explained that the dreams meant Pharaoh would lift up the heads of both men (40:13, 40:19). In the case of the cup-bearer, this meant Pharaoh would symbolically lift up his head and restore him to his previous position of honor in the royal court.⁶¹⁹

40. Both Joseph and Yeshua desired to be remembered. Yosef said: But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison (40:14). So in connection with the last supper, the Savior said: Do this in remembrance of Me (Luke 22:19b).

However, the cup-bearer’s good fortune didn’t do Joseph any good. Evidently his good fortune so overwhelmed him, that for two years he forgot his debt to Yosef. Knowing he was innocent, he waited for the LORD’s divine moment for him to explain his predicament and ask for help. And I’m glad he did, for it indicates that there’s a time to defend ourselves against false accusations – even though ADONAI is the ultimate vindicator. There’s also a time to ask someone to put in a good word for us even though we are trusting God with all our hearts to defend us.⁶²⁰

For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon, or literally a pit (40:15). The word for a pit is the same word used for Joseph’s place of imprisonment at the hand of his brothers (37:20, 22, 28-29). The two events are parallel.

It is interesting to realize that Yosef was able to foresee the chief cup-bearer’s day of deliverance, but he could not predict his own time of release. He is called to be patient, and to rest in ADONAI and His timing. As George Muller, the famous evangelist and philanthropist who cared for over a hundred thousand orphans in Bristol, England, once said, “You need never to take a step in the dark. If you do, you are sure to make a mistake. Wait, wait, wait until you have the light. Remind the Holy Spirit that He is the Counselor of the Church and He will direct you. And if you patiently wait, expectantly wait, you will find that the waiting is not in vain, and that the Holy Spirit will prove Himself a Counselor, both wise and good.”⁶²¹

Do Not Interpretations Belong to God?
Tell Me Your Dreams
40: 1-8

Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams DIG: Why do you think Joseph ends up in prison with officials of the Egyptian government? How profound was the reality of God in the life of Yosef? How does Yosef show concern for the cup-bearer and the baker? Does Joseph’s reference to ADONAI ring true? In what way did Joseph foreshadow the life of Christ?

REFLECT: It takes a real person of conviction to hold fast to his or her conviction and integrity during a time of suffering such as Joseph experienced. How deep are your spiritual convictions? Is the name of the Lord close to your lips? Why or why not?

Therefore, some time later, after Joseph’s imprisonment, the cup-bearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard (40:1 and 3a). According to the custom in the Near East, the prison formed part of the house of the chief of the executioners.⁶¹⁰  Thus, it was an extension of Potiphar’s house. Maybe part of the reason Potiphar put Joseph there was the hope that some of his blessing would continue to rub off onto him.

Some time later . . .expresses an indefinite period of time. However, we do know that Joseph was twenty-eight at this time. He will be brought before Pharaoh two years after these events (41:1) and will be thirty years old at that time (41:46). So Yosef had been in Egypt, either as a slave in the household of Potiphar, or in prison for eleven years (37:2).⁶¹¹

The cup-bearer was a position of great honor. In a later day Nehemiah, who was the cup-bearer to Artaxerxes, was a man of influence and much ability (Nehemiah 2:1). He was probably the overseer of Pharaoh’s vineyards and wine cellar. They were generally eunuchs; they held the cup in their left hand and a fly-flap made of split palm leaves in their right hand. A long napkin, richly embroidered and fringed, was normally thrown over their left shoulder to wipe the lips of the king of Egypt. Before serving, the cup-bearer would take some of the wine intended for Pharaoh and pour a little into the palm of his left hand and drink it. So if the wine were poisoned, the cup-bearer would die and the king of Egypt would be protected.⁶¹²

Now Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cup-bearer and the chief baker and put them in the same prison where Joseph was confined (40:2 and 3b). 38. Both Yosef and Yeshua were with two other prisoners. Yosef was not alone in his place of shame and suffering. Nor was Jesus as he hung on the old rugged cross at Calvary. And just as there were two criminals imprisoned with Joseph, there were two criminals crucified with Messiah (Luke 23:32-33).

These two high government officials were put in prison until their cases had been decided. Presumably, their crimes had something to do with Pharaoh’s table; possibly even an attempt on his life. Not knowing which one was guilty, both were thrown in jail until their guilt or innocence could be proven. Potiphar, the captain of the guard assigned Yosef to wait on them (40:4a). This is the same verb used back in 39:4 to describe Joseph’s relationship to Potiphar. So although Joseph still maintains his position of authority, when the chief cup-bearer and chief baker arrive on the scene, his responsibilities are expanded to include meeting the needs of these two very important prisoners.⁶¹³ In other words, Potiphar wanted to make sure they were taken care of, and who better to put his mind at ease than Joseph! This sets the stage for Yosef’s rise to prominence.

After they had been in custody for several days, each of the two men, the cup-bearer and baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison, had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. God had three days accomplish His task because Pharaoh’s birthday was three days away. So, prompted by the Ruach ha-Kodesh, Joseph asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?” They answered: We both had dreams, but they were so difficult that there is no one to interpret them (40:4b-8a). The Egyptians did have professional dream interpreters, but none were available to them in prison.

Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams” (40:8b). Here he put himself in the position to prophesy and be God’s mouthpiece, while at the same time denying any magical or mystical power in which the Egyptians believed. Yosef did not use the word ADONAI, when speaking to the Egyptians. He used the word God, or Elohim because it is a more generic name for the deity and would be less offensive to the Egyptians. ADONAI was a name that was particularly identified with the Hebrews as a people.⁶¹⁴

Joseph gives God all the glory in this. Later on we will find another young Hebrew in a foreign court who will do the same thing. Dani’el also gave God the glory, and we should do the same. Anything we do for the Lord should be done to the praise of God. Make sure that God gets the glory for it. When we hog the glory for ourselves, we squander our own blessing. We need to give God the glory as Joseph does here. It is interesting to see that God used dreams in the TaNaKh. We don’t need dreams today because the canon of Scripture is complete, but in that day, God did speak in dreams.⁶¹⁵

Consequently, Joseph understood that their dreams had come from ADONAI. Not only that, he realized that God was beginning to work His will through two more dreams like he had when he was a teenager (37:5-11). The interpretation of those two previous dreams had led to his slavery in Egypt, but his interpretation of these two dreams would lead to his position of authority over all of Egypt.

The Cupbearer and the Baker
40: 1-23

Joseph was seventeen when he was sold into slavery and thirty when he was placed at the right hand of Pharaoh. Therefore, he seems to have spent thirteen years in Potiphar’s household and Pharaoh’s prison. I am sure this felt like a very long time to this proud and intelligent young man. He thought he was ready for leadership at seventeen when he lorded over his brothers with his coat of many colors. But ADONAI had to put him through His school of hard knocks before he was finally ready to lead at the age of thirty!

Isra’el’s greatest king, David, was also thirty when he became king (Second Samuel 5:4), even though he had been anointed when he was much younger (First Samuel 16:11-13). Those who trained from childhood to be Levitical priests had to be thirty before they could begin their ministry in the Tabernacle or the Temple (Numbers 4:46-47).

Rabbi Sha’ul had received outstanding training before his conversion, yet God sent him into the desert for three years (Galatians 1:15-18) of training before he would begin his ministry. In like manner, the twelve apostles received over three years of training before they were ready to fulfill the Great Commission.

For that matter, even Yeshua Himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry (Luke 3:23), devoting His prior experience to the all-important purpose of growing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52).

Joseph was faithful in whatever came to him during those otherwise frustrating thirteen years, and no doubt was diligent in pondering the ways of the LORD until the time finally arrived when He judged him ready for the great work he would accomplish for his people and the world.⁶⁰⁹

While Joseph was in Prison the LORD was with Him,
and Granted Him Favor with the Prison Warden
39: 19-23

While Joseph was in Prison the LORD was with him, and granted him favor with the prison warden. DIG: How is the sovereignty of God seen in the story of Joseph? Does Potiphar buy his wife’s story? If so, why doesn’t Joseph receive the death penalty? What was the basis of Joseph’s good fortune in prison? What was the turning point there? What four ways did Joseph foreshadow the life of Christ?

REFLECT: How does God’s showing His grace in bad situations motivate you to remain faithful to Him? How does God’s promise of His presence motivate you to remain faithful? Can you reflect on a time when looking back, you realized that the Lord had protected you? How does that affect your faith? Joseph could have turned the hurts in his life into bitterness, but he found healing instead. What made all the difference for him? What makes all the difference for you?

When Joseph’s master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” Potifar burned with anger, although part of him suspected that she was lying (39:19). Notice it does not say he burned with anger against Joseph. Potiphar knew Joseph and his wife too well to really believe that he had heard the whole story. Potiphar probably burned with anger at his wife because this wasn’t the first time he suspected something like this and because he realized that he was going to lose a trusted slave. But more than anything, he realized he would lose the services of one who had been extremely profitable for him. Nevertheless, for appearance’s sake, he had to do something.

34. Neither Joseph nor Jesus said a word to defend themselves. In Chapter 37 we noticed Joseph’s passive submission to wrong done to him by his heartless brothers. So here, when he is falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, not a word of appeal is made, nor is there any murmuring against the cruel injustice done to him as he was about to be cast into prison. When he was hated, like our Savior, he did not hate back. How this reminds us of what the prophet Isaiah wrote: He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth (Isaiah 53:7).

If Potiphar had believed his wife and was truly angry with him, Joseph would have been executed on the spot, no questions asked. In contrast, the king’s prison was a place for political prisoners and would hardly have been expected to accommodate foreign slaves guilty of crimes against their masters. Potiphar was in a difficult position. He could not ignore his wife’s accusation without publicly humiliating her and himself even if he were certain she was lying. The action he took against Joseph spoke volumes and was as minimal as it could have been and still retain the family’s honor.⁶⁰⁴

Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined (39:20a). 35. For the sake of appearances, both Joseph and Jesus were cast into prison. It is evident that Potiphar did not believe the accusation of his wife against Yosef. This couldn’t have been the only time her low character became obvious. Potiphar had probably suspected this many times before. Besides, if he really believed her, the chief executioner would have immediately put his Hebrew slave to death. How striking is the parallel between the acts of Potiphar and Pilate! He, too, did not believe in the guilt of our Lord. He said: I find no fault in Him (John 18:38 KJV). He knew the low character of those who accused the Savior. But, as an officer of the Roman Empire who had been accused of rebelling against Cesar (John 19:12), for political expediency and for the sake of appearances, he passed judgment on Him.

36. Both innocent, Yosef and Yeshua suffered severely at the hands of the Gentiles. Not only was Joseph envied and hated by his own brothers, and sold by them into the hands of the Gentiles, but he was also treated unfairly by the Gentiles and unjustly sent to prison. Initially, they bruised his feet with shackles and his neck was put in irons (Psalm 105:18). But God was with him and Joseph’s response to this torture softened the heart of the prison warden. Thus, God rescued him from all his troubles (Acts 7:9b-10a). And Jesus also suffered severely. Now as Yeshua was going up to Yerushalayim, He took the twelve apostles aside and said to them: We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will turn Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day He will be raised to life (Matthew 20:17-19).

Joseph’s life had hit rock bottom. One moment he was the trusted servant to the head of the prison guards, and the next moment he was an inmate in that same prison – all through the lies of his mater’s wife.  He sat in the darkness in irons, crushed, in the darkest hour of his life. He was in a living hell. After ten years in a foreign land he was in prison without a friend in the world. He lifted his eyes to a God he could not see and cries out, “Why?” He tries to adjust the shackles on his feet so they do not cut him when he moves. He feels the iron yoke around his neck. The darkness hid the tears that were running down his face, and he began to review his life. How did I ever get to this black hole? Have you ever asked yourself that question? How did I get in this mess? Years of constant heartache. Years of one failure after another. You cry out, “God, where are You?”

At some point in your life you will have a similar experience as Joseph in prison. If you haven’t been there, one day you’re going to go there. It will be the darkest moment in your life. It may be the day your divorce is finalized. It may have been the day you buried your precious child. It may be the day that your teenage daughter comes to you with the news that she is pregnant. It may have been the day your son was sent to prison, never to come home again. It may be the day you discover that your spouse is cheating on you.

On that day you need to remember that champions are never chosen from the ranks of the unscarred. Joseph died with scars around his legs and neck. Jesus died with the scars of His flogging and the cross. Paul had scars on his back from the Roman whip. And in this life, you will have scars. No one gets to heaven without scars because you will have trouble in this life. But it doesn’t mean that God does not love you; it means you are a human being. Trouble strengthens you, it teaches you, and it reminds you that you need His help. ADONAI says to you: Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3). Call to God because He is ADONAI Shamah (Ezeki’el 48:35), or the LORD who is there. He’s there in the pit, He’s there in the prison, He’s there when you pray, and He’s there when you feel all alone and forgotten. It is then that you will hear a gentle whisper saying: I will never leave you or forsake you (Heb 13:5). King Solomon said: I called on your name, God, from the depths of the pit; You heard my plea, “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.” You came near when I called You and You said, “Do not fear” (Lam 3:55-57).⁶⁰⁵ And in his darkest hour, Yosef called upon the Rock of Isra’el (49:24) and God was with him.

Joseph could have been consumed by the way he had been treated, first by his brothers, and then by Potiphar’s wife. He could have sulked. The hurts could have festered in his heart until he became bitter. Instead, Joseph found healing. He saw beyond his scars and allowed God to bless and prosper him.⁶⁰⁶  We are not told precisely at what point it dawned on Joseph that God had sent him on ahead of his family to save them; but to give him hope, it could have possibly happened here at his lowest point when he was in prison and humanly speaking, had no chance of release.

37. Both Joseph and Jesus won the respect of their jailers, but while Yosef was there in the prison, ADONAI was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden (39:20b-21). And even the Roman centurion, the one who was in charge of the crucifixion of the Savior said: Surely this was a righteous man (Luke 23:47b).

The final paragraph (39:20b-23) creates a perfect symmetry for this chapter. Each phrase matches almost perfectly with a corresponding phrase in the opening paragraph (39:1-6a). Once again the narrator states: ADONAI was with him while he was in prison, just as He had been with him in Potiphar’s house (39:2). Joseph found favor in the eyes of the prison warden, just as He had with Potiphar. The prison warden put Joseph in charge of everything that went on there, just as Potiphar had placed Yosef in charge of his entire household (39:4). God blessed Joseph’s work and made everything he did in the prison prosper, just as He had done earlier when Joseph was in Potiphar’s household (39:5). This symmetry illustrates that the LORD was in control of every aspect of Joseph’s life.⁶⁰⁷

Without argument, the story of Joseph is one of the clearest accounts of the sovereignty of God found anywhere in the Bible. It is not a systematic theology of that doctrine. Instead, it is more powerful because we see how the hand of the sovereign God was evident in a real human life. There in prison, ADONAI, the LORD of mercy, showed him kindness. Mercy or kindness in Hebrew is hesed and bears quite a complex meaning. It generally means faithfulness and steadfast love in a relationship. But it also specifically refers to the superior party in the relationship and the protection offered to the inferior party (see my commentary on Ruth, to see link click Af – The Concept of Chesed). In other words, the LORD was protecting Joseph. So, the warden put Yosef in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there (39:22). The warden would never do that if he was a rebel with a bad attitude; he totally trusted Joseph.

The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because ADONAI was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did (39:23). Again, not unlike Potiphar’s household, the prison was blessed because of Joseph and Joseph was blessed because of God. Corrie Ten Boom, author and survivor of the infamous Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, said, “There is no pit so deep enough, that God is not deeper still.”⁶⁰⁸ Yosef would certainly have agreed with that because God was the source of his success. But was it His will that Joseph be in prison? Well, it was really necessary that he be there, as we’ll see in the next file.

Joseph in Prison
39:19 to 40:23

This was no accident. But Joseph seems as though he is in a hopeless dilemma. He is not only a slave, but also a slave who has been falsely accused. Potiphar was going to bury him in prison to cover up the scandal in his own household. Joseph’s one ray of hope was that the cupbearer would remember him to Pharaoh. However the cupbearer was so elated with going back to work that he forgot all about poor Yosef. In spite of the discouragement, however, Yosef believed that El Shaddai was with him (49:24), and there were fruits of faith that were there for all to see. He was faithful in every relationship in his life. He was faithful to his father. He was faithful to Potiphar. In prison, he was faithful to the warden. Later on we will see he was faithful to Pharaoh and his own brothers who had sold him into slavery in the first place. And he was always faithful to the LORD, giving Him the glory.⁶⁰³ But while it seemed like Joseph was forgotten in prison, ADONAI had not forgotten him. Yosef waited for the exact moment that God needed him, and Yosef was ready.

There is also one thing that is very noticeable in this account. Joseph never complains! He accepts the situation he is in no matter what. Because of the dreams he had received from ADONAI (see Iz – Joseph’s Dreams), faith in the promises of God was the force that kept him going. We also have God’s promises: We know the God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called in accordance with His purpose (Romans 8:39).

The rise that Joseph would receive in the royal government of Egypt was quite impressive when we consider the hostility of the Egyptians toward the Semites. But the Egyptians were not ruling at that time. Joseph was living in Egypt during the reign of the Bedouin Semitic conquerors, the Hyskos who ruled in Egypt sometime between 1700 and 1550 BC. They had taken over the government of Egypt rather peacefully by taking advantage of weakened Middle Kingdom leadership.They were not Egyptian, but from the East. Apart from the sovereign grace of ADONAI, this explains why Joseph would rise to such great heights, becoming Prime Minister of Egypt. Only Pharaoh was greater. And being a Semite, that Hyskos pharaoh was looking for all the help he could get, swimming in the shark infested waters of the Hamitic Egyptians.

Potiphar’s Wife said: Come to Bed with Me!
But Joseph Ran Out of the House
39: 6b-18

Potiphar’s wife said: Come to be with me! But Joseph ran out of the house DIG: What tactics does Potiphar’s wife use to tempt Joseph? What did Joseph choose to do? What tactics does she use to seek revenge on Joseph? What two ways did Joseph foreshadow the life of Christ?

REFLECT: How do temptations reveal a person’s character? How can facing temptation develop a person’s character? What can we learn from Joseph about the importance of a good attitude in every situation? What does he teach us about dealing with sexual sin?

Now Joseph was well built and handsome (39:6b), evidently having much of his mother’s attractiveness (29:17b). A similar statement was also made much later that David had a fine appearance with handsome features (First Samuel 16:12b), but God wasn’t impressed with handsome features. Saul looked like a king (First Samuel 9:1) and Absalom was known for his handsome appearance (Second Samuel 14:25), but the LORD rejected both because, as He said to the prophet Samuel: Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. ADONAI does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but ADONAI looks at the heart (First Samuel 16:7).

After a while his master’s wife took notice of Yosef and she determined to have her way. She said: Come to bed with me (39:7)! The rabbis teach that Potiphar’s wife had seen in her horoscope that she was destined to have a child by Joseph. Although adultery was subject to severe legal penalties in Egypt, it apparently was often condoned and not uncommon. Though nothing is said explicitly to this effect, one gets the impression that this was not the first of his wife’s amorous adventures. There is no indication that Yosef led her on in any way. However, as he became more and more important around the household, and more and more on his own, Joseph gradually became more and more attractive to this woman.⁵⁹⁵

But he refused. There was resolve in his answer. There was no hesitation. He knew right from wrong and told his master’s wife, “With me in charge, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care” (39:8). Potiphar totally trusted Joseph. He could have gotten away with it if he had wanted. 32. Both Joseph and Jesus were tempted, but did not sin, as opposed to Judah in the previous chapter. Yosef did not give in to Potiphar’s wife and sin. Joseph was not tempted in Canaan by his brothers, but in Egypt, which is a Biblical symbol of the world. Likewise, Yeshua was not tempted by His brothers according to the flesh, which would be represented by the Jews, but by the Adversary, the prince of this world (John 12:31). Therefore, we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

In rejecting her invitation, he tried not to offend her. He said: No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife (39:9a). He knew nobody else might know, but more importantly, God would know. The eyes of ADONAI are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good (Proverbs 15:3).

Yosef had thought about this in advance and had made a commitment to God. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God (39:9b)? Although Joseph feared Potiphar, he feared displeasing God even more. To him God came first. The lessons of the old home had not been forgotten in spite of all the treatment he had received. On the contrary, the way in which ADONAI had been with him and prospered him in his slavery was even more reason for loyalty and integrity. So because of his relationship with God, he faced temptation and held his ground.⁵⁹⁶ But sin does not give up so easily.

Potiphar was an officer of Pharaoh, and would be away from home a great deal. He was probably away from home too much.⁵⁹⁷ And although she spoke to Joseph day after day thinking that she could wear him down, he refused to go to bed with he or even be with her. He then deliberately and wisely sought to avoid her daily advances by refusing to even be around her. But nothing worked. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants were inside (39:10-11). Potiphar’s wife seizes the opportunity and forces the issue with Yosef when they are alone.

She caught him by his cloak and probably tried to pull him down onto her bed. The word cloak appears about two hundred times in the TaNaKh. It appears that it could refer both to an outer garment (Second Kings 7:15) and an inner garment (Ezeki’el 26:16).⁵⁹⁸ The Hebrew consonants for cloak are b-g-d. The word is a homonym to the verb b-g-d, which means to deal treacherously in marriage relations. The human author may be employing a play on words to highlight the deceitfulness of the adultery of Potiphar’s wife.⁵⁹⁹

She begged: Come to bed with me! But unwilling to yield to her, he wiggled his way out and left his cloak in her hand as he ran out of the house half-clothed (39:12). Sometimes it is not enough to be committed and to desire to do what is right. Sometimes we simply have to avoid putting ourselves at risk. When in doubt, just walk (or run) away.⁶⁰⁰ Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (Second Timothy 2:22). At that point, her lust suddenly turned to rage. No one turned her down . . . let alone a slave! Who does he think he is, anyway? She was humiliated and she could only think of revenge. She may not have had Joseph, but she had his cloak!

When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called to her household servants. She would use his own clothing against him, claiming attempted rape. Trying to get the servants on her side, she sarcastically blamed her husband for her supposed distress when she said: Look, this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to rape me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house (39:13-15). There is no response from the servants. Over the years they had come to know that Joseph was a man of integrity, and they knew her only too well. But they were hardly in a position to challenge her.

This was the second time Joseph’s clothing was used to bring a false report about him (37:31-33). In both cases he had been serving faithfully. But also in both cases, Joseph ended up in bondage.⁶⁰¹

She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home (39:16). She would not let the evidence out of her sight because she had to lie to her husband when he arrived home. Then she proceeded to tell him the same lies that she had told the household servants. But even he does not escape her blame. How could he bring that slave into the household and give him such authority and freedom that he would try to take advantage of his own faithful, long-suffering wife!⁶⁰² Shewas a liar. Later, Yeshua would say to those like her: You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).

Then she told him the lie: That Hebrew slave you bought us,came to me to mock or make sport of me. Notice the change in wording. Earlier, she referred to Joseph merely as a Hebrew, now she calls him a Hebrew slave. Also, when talking to her household servants, she used us, now before her husband she uses me. She tried to get under his skin with her lies. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house (39:17-18). 33. Both Joseph and Jesus were falsely accused. Potiphar’s wife made up a lie to condemn Joseph, and so did those who accused Christ. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward (Matthew 26:59-60a).

Poor old Potiphar was between a rock and a hard place. The more things change, the more they stay the same; a beautiful, lonely wife with a husband that probably spends too much time at work. He probably didn’t believe her, but he knew he had to do something for appearance’s sake.

The LORD was with Joseph and He Prospered
39: 1-6a

The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered DIG: How did ADONAI show that He was with Joseph? Why does 39:1-2 and 5 mention that Potiphar was an Egyptian? How much did Potiphar trust Joseph? Why? What four ways did Joseph foreshadow the life of Christ?

REFLECT: How does a person’s approach to work serve as a means to honor God? How can a person’s approach to work dishonor God? Do you have the favor of the Lord in your life? If not, how can you get it? With all the tragedy in your life, do you believe that God is behind the scenes planning for your welfare? When you go to work, who are you working for? What are people saying about you at work? In your neighborhood? Place of worship? What is the relationship between faithfulness and God’s favor?

While Judah’s situation was deteriorating in Canaan, Joseph (Hebrew: Yosef) had been taken down to Egypt and sold to Potiphar. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there (39:1). So Joseph becomes a servant. What a contrast from being the most favored son in his father’s house to the humiliation of slavery in Egypt. 28. But this was nothing compared to the self-humiliation of the Lord Jesus. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but being in very nature God, came to serve and made Himself nothing, giving His life as a ransom for many by taking on the very nature of a Servant (Mark 10:45 and Philippians 2:6-7a).

This fine looking seventeen year old would have been a prize on the slave market. Potiphar, who was the chief executioner for Pharaoh, literally the chief of the butchers ,bought him immediately. Like Jacob’s relationship with Laban, it didn’t take Potiphar too long to figure out that ADONAI was with Yosef. Therefore, because of Joseph, the favor of the LORD came to Potiphar’s household. The way Joseph met adversity revealed not only his character, but also his faith in God. He didn’t mope; the young slave filled his position to the very best of his power and abilities. However, he wasn’t successful because of his own power or abilities; he was successful because he had the favor of the LORD.

The favor of the LORD soon became evident, for in some way or another his master observed that ADONAI was with him and was prospering him. Not that Potiphar had any spiritual insight into the ways of God, but being in some way a spiritual or religious man, he became convinced that Yosef’s powers must come from a divine source. It is not unusual that unbelieving employers recognize that earnest believers make the best employees. Honesty, integrity, faithfulness, and sobriety are genuine assets to any employer. Such are the fruits of faith and obedience in God. Rabbi Sha’ul encourages us in this regard when he says: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men (Colossians 3:23).

ADONAI was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master for seven to nine years. His master saw that ADONAI was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did (39:2-3). 29. In like manner, Jesus prospered in everything He did. God the Father said: My Servant will be raised and highly exalted, and the will of ADONAI will prosper in His hand (see the commentary on Isaiah, to see link click Iz – See, My Servant Will Act Wisely, He Will Be Lifted Up and Exalted). Potiphar was an Egyptian pagan. So he didn’t really understand that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was blessing Yosef. He didn’t know who was behind it, but he believed it was some kind of deity. He believed his eyes, and he saw that Joseph had success in everything he did.

Yosef prospered in the LORD. His prosperity, however, was not in riches or security. Circumstances can never by themselves produce or guarantee prosperity. The prosperous person is the one who lives a life of faith, while we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

As a result, Potiphar was well pleased with Joseph, and Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned (39:4). 30. Joseph was entirely different from any other servant that Potiphar had. ADONAI was with him, prospering him, and he served his master faithfully. So it was with the One whom Joseph foreshadowed. The Lord Jesus was entirely different from any other servant ADONAI ever had. God the Father would say: This is My Son, whom I love. With Him I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). And Yeshua served faithfully and said: I do exactly what My Father has commanded Me (John 14:31).

If there were one thing that we could pray for that would bring us every blessing, it would be the favor of the LORD (39:4). The favor of the LORD is better than riches; it is the golden key to the gates of heaven. There are many ways this is expressed in the Bible: they found favor in His eyes, or ADONAI was with him, or the favor of God, or the blessing of the LORD was with him, or ADONAI looked with favor upon him. The favor of the LORD is a supernatural force. The blessing of God can make mountains move and make the seas divide or be calmed. The favor of the LORD will hold the sun in its orbit. When ADONAI looks upon you with favor, the demons tremble when you walk into the room.

Look at some people in Scripture of whom it says they were favored of God. Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD (6:8). When he built the ark, he saved his family from a great Flood that was coming upon the earth. Noah obeyed ADONAI, preached one message for one hundred and twenty years and he found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

When Joseph went to Potiphar’s house, ADONAI was with him; when he went into prison, the LORD was with him. When he was interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh God was with him.

The angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary: You have found favor with God (Luke 1:30). The society in which you live says you should be stoned to death, but you have found favor with God; you are going to give birth in a cave and your Son will lie in a cow’s trough, but you have found favor with God. You will have to escape into Egypt to save His life, and He will live a sinless life only to be crucified on a cross, but you have found favor with God.

Likewise, David had great success in everything he did because ADONAI was with him (First Samuel 18:14). Saul chased him for ten years from cave to cave trying to kill him but you have found favor with God.

The Bible says that Jesus found favor with God and man (Luke 2:52). Dear reader, you have been ransomed by the blood of Christ and are highly favored by God the Father. Don’t look at your car, don’t look at your house, don’t look at your job, don’t look at your clothes, and don’t look at your bank account. You are a child of the King and highly favored of God.

When you’re in the pit, where is the favor of God? When you’re falsely accused, where is the favor of God? When you’re in prison, where is the favor of God? When your heart is broken, where is the favor of God? When your children are in trouble, where is the favor of God? When your spouse cheats on you, where is the favor of God? When you’ve lost everything you have, where is the favor of God? You must remember, it’s not what you’re going through, it’s what you’re going to that’s going to make the difference in your life. The Bible says that when the Christ the King comes back, the meek will inherit the earth (Psalm 37:11 and Matthew 5:5). That means he is going to give it to us. We’re not going to have to work for it; we’re not going to have to fight for it, the King is going to give it to us because we are highly favored of God.⁵⁹⁴

From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, ADONAI blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. Here again we see the outworking of God’s Covenant with Abraham: I will bless those who bless you (12:3). The blessing of ADONAI was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field (39:5). 31. So, too, the Father put Yeshua in charge of all the interests of the Godhead; the manifestation of the Divine character, the glorifying of God’s name, and the vindication of His throne.

It is interesting that three times, in 39:1, 2 and 5, Potiphar is specifically called an Egyptian. Since Joseph was in Egypt, this would seem unnecessary, even repetitious, except for the fact that Pharaoh and most of the rulers of Egypt were themselves not Egyptians. This would be the case since the Hyksos ruled Egypt at that time.

The Hyksos’ (chiefs of foreign lands) were Semitic invaders of Egypt, Bedouins from the Arabian Desert, who ruled from about 1720 to 1580 BC. They introduced a number of technological innovations from Asia, like the horse-drawn chariot, the battering ram and the composite bow. The period of their rule was a time of peace and prosperity in Egypt. They had their own gods but did not impose them on the Egyptians. They maintained ancient Egyptian as the official language of the government and allowed many Egyptians such as Potiphar to serve in the high levels of the government. But they were unable to stem the tide of Egyptian nationalism.

When they were finally overthrown, a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt (Exodus 1:8). He would have been one of the native Egyptian Pharaohs who, as part of the Hyksos purge, absolutely refused to allow the Jews to live in the choice region of Goshen (45:10). He said: We must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our Asian enemies, fight against us and leave the country (Exodus 1:10).

At any rate, Potiphar left in Joseph’s care everything he had; he did not even check on Joseph because he trusted him that much. He literally didn’t know anything about his own affairs. With Yosef in charge the household and the property ran so smoothly that he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate (39:6a). It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Joseph serving him his food, but the Egyptian custom was that they did not eat with foreigners, nor allow foreigners to share the personal food they were eating. We will see this come into play in 43:32.

However, Joseph was not merely destined to be a successful attendant. Apparently Potiphar’s leaving everything in Yosef’s care included his wife. This would spell trouble. But as he continued to live in obedience, the favor of the LORD would continue to be with him.

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
39: 1-18

When we return to the story of Joseph, we discover that he is much different than Judah. It seems that Yosef and Benjamin got a great deal of teaching, instruction and personal attention that the other boys did not receive. They seemed to be the only two boys in whom Isra’el was interested. But in spite of that, ADONAI would be faithful to His promises and continue to work through this family. The LORD is always behind the scenes when human evil is present, and He works in the lives of those who are faithful to prosper their service. Joseph is no exception. His faithfulness to God was the means of his advancement in and out of Potiphar’s house.⁵⁹³

Tamar Gave Birth to Twin Boys,
She Named them Perez and Zerah
38: 27-30

Tamar gave birth to twin boys, she named them Perez and Zerah DIG: Why is Tamar only in Matthew’s genealogy? Why is Perez in both genealogies of Matthew and Luke?

REFLECT: What can we learn about God’s grace from Judah’s story? When has the LORD brought something good out of a bad situation for you? Where would you like to see some good come out of a bad situation today?

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so assuming that the baby would be born first, the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said: This one came out first. This would secure his right as the firstborn. But then, unexpectedly, he drew back his hand, and his twin brother came out, and she said: So this is how you have broken out! And he was named Perez because it means breaking through. His name is a word play in Hebrew, paratzta peretz, meaning you have breached a breach. Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the name Zerah, which can mean scarlet or shining (38:27-30).

There is an interesting parallel between the birth of Rebekah’s twin boys and those of Tamar. In Rebekah’s case, the firstborn came out with reddish hair (along with the red stew for which he sold his birthright), which caused his nickname to be Edom. His twin brother, Jacob, held on to his heel as he emerged, and even though he was not born first, he was chosen to be the seed son and receive the promises of God. In the case of Tamar’s twins, the one that apparently was to be firstborn was likewise marked with a red or scarlet color, but was replaced by his brother who was destined to inherit the promises of ADONAI. Both brothers, as well as Judah’s other living son, Shelah, eventually became ancestors of large families in the tribe of Judah but it was Perez who was the ancestor of King David (see the commentary on Ruth, to see link click Bd – Coda: The Genealogy of David) and eventually of Jesus Christ.⁵⁹⁰

Perez is listed in the genealogies of both Matthew and Luke, whereas Tamar is named only in Matthew’s genealogy. There are two genealogies in the New Covenant because there were two requirements in the TaNaKh for kingship. One related to the Southern Kingdom of Judah with its capital of Jerusalem, which said that the Messiah had to be in the line of King David, so no one who was not of Davidic descent could sit on the throne in Jerusalem, and anyone who conspired to do away with the house of David was doomed to failure. The other related to the northern Kingdom of Isra’el with its capital of Samaria, which said no one could sit upon Samaria’s throne unless he had divine appointment, and anyone who tried to become king without it was assassinated.

The purpose of Matthew’s genealogy is to show that if Jesus really were Joseph’s son, He could not be King. Mattityahu focuses on the story from Joseph’s viewpoint. He starts his gospel with the genealogy and presents us with a problem. The problem is that Matthew breaks Jewish tradition by adding the names of women and skipping names, both of which are forbidden in formal Jewish genealogies.But the biggest problem in Matthew’s genealogy is that we are told that Joseph was a direct descendant of Solomon and then Jeconiah. In Jeremiah 22:24-30 we are told that a curse has been put on Jeconiah and no descendant of his could sit upon the throne of David. So if Jesus really were Joseph’s son, He could not be King. So even though Joseph was a descendant of King David, he was also a descendant of Jeconiah. Matthew solves this problem with the virgin birth.

Because Mattityahu breaks with Jewish tradition and lists women, Tamar is listed in his genealogy. He also mentions Rahab, Ruth and the woman who had been Uriah’s wife, or Bath-Sheba. It is remarkable that all four of these women were Gentiles who came to a believing faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by other Jews. Tamar, who posed as a prostitute, was a Canaanite, Rahab, was a prostitute and a native of Jericho and presumably also a Canaanite, Ruth, who persuaded Boaz to marry her after spending the night at his feet, was from Mo’ab, Bath-Sheba, who committed adultery with King David, was probably a Hittite (by marriage to Uriah, if not by birth), and the Hittites were the second of eleven Canaanite nations. Yet in spite of the apparent unsavory past of these women, each one became faithful believers and ADONAI honored them by placing them in Matthew’s genealogy. The one who was, in her early days, probably the most carnal of them all was Rahab, and she has actually been included by the Holy Spirit in the great catalog of the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11:31. What a marvelous testimony to the LORD’s grace and the truth that He forgives past sins and brings new life to those who ask for forgiveness.⁵⁹¹

The purpose of Luke’s genealogy is to show that Jesus is King of the Jews by divine appointment. Luke focuses on the story from Mary’s viewpoint. Luke’s genealogy follows strict Jewish custom and he mentions no women, not even Mary whose line he is tracing, and he skips no names. He shows why Jesus could be King, because Christ was a descendant of David, but apart from Jeconiah. Both genealogies trace descendants down to King David, and then they split with two of his sons, Solomon and Nathan. Joseph’s genealogy was traced through Solomon and Jeconiah, whereas Mary’s genealogy was traced through Nathan. So there was no blood of Jeconiah in Yeshua and therefore, He could be King. But that did not solve the entire problem because there were many other descendants apart from Jeconiah after Nathan. Why would Jesus be chosen above all the others? Because of the virgin birth, Luke proves that Jesus is King of the Jews as a result of divine appointment.

Judah did not act in ignorance. He brought shame on himself by the sinful decisions he made. However, the LORD did not write him off. He showed grace to Judah and worked out his sovereign plan even through Judah’s wrong choices because his son Perez became a Seed son, and an ancestor of Yeshua Messiah (Luke 3:33). Therefore, it should be no surprise that the grace and mercy of ADONAI extends to us as well. No matter who you are or what you have done, God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).⁵⁹²

When Joseph was sold into slavery, all seemed lost. But by the grace of God, He would not only save Joseph, but He would save the entire nation of Isra’el. ADONAI had called Jacob back to Bethel (28:20-22; 31:13), but he took his family to Shechem instead and his family was seduced by the worldly Canaanites. His oldest son then slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah (35:21-22a). Then the prince of Shechem raped his daughter and his sons deceived and slaughtered the men of the city for revenge, then took their wives and children captive (34:25-29). The morality of his sons had sunk so low that they sold their brother Joseph off into slavery (37:25-36). And just when Jacob thought it couldn’t get any worse, Judah moved away and married a Canaanite woman just as his brother Esau had done (38:2). But when Judah fathered a child with his daughter-in-law Tamar because he mistook her for a prostitute, the family had hit rock bottom (38:12-30). The terrible influence of the Canaanites was so damaging to Jacob’s family, it reached the point where the LORD had to act. No further damage could be done. If He did not intervene and literally drive them out of Palestine and isolate them in the land of Egypt, they would be lost. By God’s grace, Joseph would save them.

Judah Recognized His Seal and Staff and said:
She is More Righteous Than I
38: 12-26

Judah recognized his seal and staff and said: She is more righteous that I DIG: In Chapter 35, Jacob seemed to be taking spiritual leadership in his family. Judging by Chapters 37 and 38, what effect did this have on his sons? How did Tamar reflect God’s image? How was Judah’s situation similar to King David’s? How did her bold actions change Judah’s life?

REFLECT: What often happens when we, like Judah, choose to spend our time with ungodly people? How do you respond when you are caught in a sin? Have you ever been “set straight” or rescued by someone you thought was “less righteous” than you?

After Tamar left, the family faced more adversity. After a long time Judah’s wife Bath-Shua died. She still must have been a relatively young woman, because Judah could hardly have been more than forty. As a result it seems possible that her death may also have been in judgment from God, reflecting her own responsibility in the training of Er and Onan and their resulting attitudes of bitter rebellion against God.⁵⁸⁴ After a suitable time of mourning, Judah went up to the foothills of Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep. Sheep-shearing was a festive time once-a-year (1 Samuel 25:4, 11, 36), when sexual temptation would be heightened by the Canaanite worship, which encouraged ritual sex as a form of fertility magic (Hosea 4:13-14).⁵⁸⁵ Nevertheless, Judah decided to go to Timnah and his Canaanite friend Hirah went with him (38:12).

Tamar saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife after he had grown into manhood. The deaths of Er and Onan were not her fault, yet she was being treated as if she had something to do with it. Furthermore, it was obvious that Judah had no intention of honoring his commitment to her regarding Shelah. So she concluded that if she were ever going to become a mother in Judah’s family she would have to take matters into her own hands. Whether Judah told Tamar that the Messiah would come through her we do not know. But such an opportunity presented itself when she learned that Judah was coming to visit his sheep shearers in Timnah (38:13-14).

Tamar had waited patiently. A long time had passed. Even though Shelah had grown into manhood, Judah showed no sign of keeping his promise. But Tamar had not forgotten. She knew her duty, but Judah blocked her path. The disgrace of her childlessness would be significantly worse if her husband’s name was cut off. She had no legal recourse. No one spoke in her defense. Tamar was in an impossible predicament and she had run out of options.

Once convinced of Judah’s intention to do nothing to remedy her plight, a marked change came over her. Up to that point she had accepted a passive role. She was always the object of the action: Judah got her for Er, gave her to Onan, and sent her home to wait for Shelah. But when she was told that her father-in-law, just recovering from being widowed himself, was on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep, she saw a window of opportunity that she could not pass by.

With a renewed sense of purpose, she took off her widow’s clothes along with her passivity, covered herself with a veil (as a woman on her wedding night) to disguise herself. This was the mark of a temple prostitute. They were used in the Near East during planting or other important seasons such as sheep-shearing. Women who were devoted to the mother goddess Ishtar or Anat would reside at or near temples and would dress in a veil, as the symbolic bride of the god Baal or El. In this way, it was supposed that they gave honor to the gods and reenacted the divine marriage in an attempt to ensure fertility and prosperity for their fields and herds.⁵⁸⁶ Ironically, half way between Adullam and Timnah was the town of Enaim, and the home of Tamar. She knew that Judah would be more sexually vulnerable now that he was a widower.⁵⁸⁷ If she was going to act, the time had come.

Then Tamar placed herself in Judah’s path. She sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. It was no accident that the town of Enaim means eyes, and when Judah saw her, he thought she was a temple prostitute, for she had covered her face (38:15). Now Judah, who had deceived Jacob when Joseph was sold, was himself deceived by his Canaanite daughter-in-law.

In her book Lost Women of the Bible, Carolyn James comments that, “it’s worth noting, at this point, that investigators of ancient history have uncovered ancient Hittite and Assyrian laws that regulated the levirate duty. These documents not only placed responsibility on the brother of the deceased but, interestingly enough, they also supported marriage of the father-in-law to his son’s widow if no brother fulfilled this duty. Although biblical regulations later prohibit this, it seems plausible, especially in light of Tamar’s conduct, that in Judah’s day the father-in-law was responsible if his son failed to fulfill his duty. According to such laws, and also the biblical view of Tamar, conception by a father-in-law was a legitimate means of saving a family member from being cut off. Also, now that Judah was a widow, no wrong would be done against his wife.”

Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, Judah went over to her by the roadside (38:16a). The whole episode gives terrible insight into his character. What in heaven’s name made Tamar think such a scheme would work? Evidently Tamar knew Judah well enough to know that it would succeed. She wasn’t bringing Judah down. He was down already. He saw what he thought was a prostitute, approached her, and the bargaining began.

Skipping the small talk he got straight to the point: Come now, let me sleep with you. She asked: And what will you give me to sleep with you? Judah said: I promise I will send you a young goat from my flock (38:16b-17a). Judah was clearly acting on impulse because he didn’t even have the goat he promised in payment for her services. He would send it later. But Tamar negotiated like a hardheaded businesswoman, and replied: Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it (38:17b)?

He asked: What pledge should I give you? Then she shrewdly set the terms herself. Give me your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand, she answered. The seal was attached to a cord that hung around his neck. He used it to emboss his insignia on legal documents. She wanted both the seal and the cord. The staff symbolized his authority and was distinctively carved to indicate it belonged to Judah. By surrendering these items, Judah demonstrated how intent, and reckless, he was in getting what he wanted. In modern terms, she had the equivalent of his credit card and driver’s license. So even without DNA testing, Tamar could prove the identity of the father of her unborn child.

So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him (38:18). What are we to make of this? This was how the Canaanites lived! It must be recognized that the biblical record does not condemn or criticize Tamar. Indeed her decision and her actions at this point did accomplish exactly what she intended, for she became the mother of the ancestor of King David and, eventually, the Messiah Himself. ADONAI is not bound by human strategies and one could conclude that He placed His approval on Tamar’s actions in this case, at least if we are to judge by the result that God allowed to be achieved by it.⁵⁸⁸ After he left, she certainly did not want to continue to dress like a prostitute, so she took off her veil, put on her widow’s clothes again and went home to her father’s house (38:19).

Meanwhile Judah went back home and picked out a young goat from his flock. He asked his Canaanite friend Hirah to take it to the prostitute in order to get his pledge back from the woman. Judah was probably somewhat ashamed of what he had done and didn’t want to see her again or have anyone see him talking to her. So he sent Hirah who didn’t care. But no matter how hard Hirah searched, he did not find her (38:20). He asked the men who lived there: Where is the temple prostitute (Deuteronomy 23:17; Hosea 4:14) who was beside the road at Enaim? They said: There hasn’t been any temple prostitute here (38:21), which was the truth because she only pretended to be one. Puzzled, Hirah returned to Judah with the young goat, but without his pledge.

So Hirah went back to Judah and said: I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said there hasn’t been any temple prostitute there (38:22). Then Judah said: Let her keep what she has, or I will become a laughing stock because a temple prostitute has outwitted me. I want to wash my hands of the whole thing. After all, I did try and keep my word and send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her (38:23). What else could he do? He had tried and that was enough. Judah thought that would be the end of the whole sleazy affair. As far as the tokens were concerned, she could keep them if she wished, though it was difficult to see how they could be of any use to her. Little did he know.

About three months later Judah got some shocking news. Someone came to him and said: Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant. He was furious in his righteous anger. In his mind, not only were his two sons dead because of her, but now she had disgraced his family. How ungrateful she was! He was so kind to her, and now this! He would be happy for any excuse to get rid of her and end this unfortunate episode of his life. Even though she was living back in her father’s house, she was still under Judah’s authority. The penalty for adultery, even in an ungodly society like that of Canaan, was death, as may be seen in the Code of Hammurabi.⁵⁸⁹ Judah, as judge and jury, assumed her to be guilty without even hearing a word from her.

Judah demanded: Bring her out and have her burned to death (38:24). Being the patriarch of the clan, Judah was within his rights to order her to be burned to death because technically, she committed adultery as a result of her supposed engagement to Shelah. Later, in the Torah, the penalty for adultery was stoning, not burning (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:21). Tamar did not immediately defend herself. But as she was being brought out of her father’s house and back to Adullam to face Judah, she made her defense. She sent a message, the seal, its cord, and the staff, to her father-in-law. Her message said: I am pregnant by the man who owns these. And then she added: See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these belong to (38:25). One can only imagine the thoughts that crossed Judah’s mind at that time. But Tamar probably knew enough about Judah to know that once he knew the truth, he would treat her fairly.

Judah instantly recognized them and the heart of the problem. He had committed adultery with his son’s engaged wife! But to his credit, he immediately repented and confessed: She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah (38:26a). This was a watershed moment for Judah, the moment of clarity when the fog lifts and the prodigal son sees the light. The Bible doesn’t carelessly throw around a word like righteous. Job 1:8 tells us that he was blameless and upright (Hebrew: tam); Noah was a righteous (tam) man (6:9); Jacob was a righteous (tam) man (25:27), the TaNaKh tells us that God is righteous in all His ways (Ps 145:17). God sets the standard for what is righteous, and no person at that time, especially someone from Judah’s background, would ever thoughtlessly apply righteous to a Canaanite woman like Tamar. It was as if Judah was saying, “Tamar has done the right thing. She has done what pleases God, and I have not.”

Many years later Judah’s descendant, King David, would face a similar situation. He would commit adultery with Bath-Sheba, whose husband would be from one of the Canaanite tribes. When Nathan the prophet confronted him, David said immediately: I have sinned against the LORD (Second Samuel 12:13). Once David recognized his sin, he tried to make things right, and so did Judah. He did not sleep with her again, nor could she be given to Shelah, but he would at least acknowledge her son as his heir (38:26b). Through the omnipotence, or the authority and influence of God, the levirate marriage had been fulfilled. In this way, the line of the Messiah through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and Perez was kept in tact (see my commentary on Ruth, to see link click Bd – Coda: The Genealogy of David).

In the final analysis, Tamar carried out a stunning rescue of Judah’s two dead sons with her twins, Perez and Zerah. She saved both Er and Onan from extinction, despite their wickedness. But Tamar also rescued Judah. His collision with her stopped his steep spiritual decline. Driven by rejection and jealous anger over his father’s preference for Rachael over his mother Leah, and for favoring Rachel’s sons, Joseph and Benjamin, over Judah and his brothers, Judah led the conspiracy against Joseph and instigated selling him as a slave. With Joseph seemingly out of the picture, their elderly father Jacob doted protectively on Joseph’s younger brother Benjamin. Hurt and fed up, Judah left and migrated to Canaanite territory. He lived among the Canaanites, had Canaanite friends, made alliances with Canaanites, married a Canaanite, and ultimately started acting like one. Instead of walking with God, he walked away. He seemed indifferent to his wicked sons and even blocked Tamar’s path to obedience. In short, Judah was lost. But he met his match in Tamar.

The LORD is in the business of changing lives and Judah is a prime example. His turning point came when he collided with Tamar. The evidence of Judah’s change came later when Benjamin’s life was threatened, then the man once ruled by jealousy and resentment volunteered to become a slave in the place of his younger brother (44:1-34). This was not merely one man offering to become a slave for his beloved brother. This was the rejected son offering himself in place of his father’s pet. Clearly, Judah had become a righteous man.

But Tamar would not live to see the fulfillment of her efforts. As the descendants of Abraham flooded into the Promised Land, the blood line of her eldest son Perez became the golden cord that connected ADONAI’s promise of a Redeemer in the garden of Eden with the birth of the Anointed One in Beit-Lechem (Micah 5:2) thousands of years later. Tamar didn’t corrupt the line of the Messiah. She rescued it!

Judah said to Tamar:
Live as a Widow Until My Son Shelah Grows Up
38: 1-11

Judah said to Tamar: Live as a widow until my son Shelah grows up DIG: What were the implications of Judah marrying a Canaanite woman? What is the duty of Judah’s sons, and even Judah himself to Tamar (Deuteronomy 25:5-10)? Contrast Tamar’s motives with the motives of Onan and Judah in avoiding this duty.

REFLECT: Why is it important for you to be equally yoked (Second Corinthians 6:14-18)? What is different about Judah’s rebellion and yours? Judah was the Seed son, through which the Messiah would come. How do you feel about his actions, knowing that Christ would be his descendent? What does that say about human nature? About you?

At the time that Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt, Judah left his brothers. It seems that Judah was so disturbed by the actions of his brothers and his father that he wanted to separate himself from them. But he only went as far as Adullam, eight miles to the northwest, and stayed with a man named Hirah (38:1). In due time he went looking for a wife as he started to make new friends there. Making friends with the Canaanites, however, would come at a high price.

There Judah met the attractive young daughter of a Canaanite man name Shua, which in Hebrew is Bath-Shua (First Chronicles 2:3 KJV). He married her and lay with her (38:2). There is no suggestion that he consulted with his father or the father of the bride. He merely jumped in with both feet and married her. However, being the ancestor of the Messiah, he should have been much more cautious in selecting his future wife. Shua’s daughter, although physically attractive, was a true Canaanite, not only in her race but also in her culture and outlook. As a result, she was evidently unwilling to be converted to the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The evidence of this is that ADONAI rejected all three of her sons from being the seed of the Messiah. At least two of them were disgracefully wicked in the sight of the LORD and it is likely that they reflected their mother’s character and teaching.⁵⁸⁰

Judah was unequally yoked with this Canaanite woman. What seemed like a good idea at the time would end up causing havoc in his life and the life of his family. Would that hinder God in carrying out His plan to bless the world through Abraham and his seed? No, but believers today think that they can marry someone who is not a believer and the person will change once they tie the knot. As a matter of fact, I can guarantee that they will change. Once you say, “I do,” they will get much worse!

Evidently they had three sons in fairly rapid succession. Soon she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. Judah named his first son this because Er in Hebrew means watcher. She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. This time the son is named by Bath-Shua. She named him Onan, which means strength. She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. She named her third son Shelah, which may mean one who is drawn out of the womb. By the time Shelah was born, the family had moved to Kezib, which was evidently a small town near Adullam (38:3-5). Kezib is a word derived from the word Kazab that means to lie or to be deceived. The rabbis teach that in that regard it may foreshadow what soon happens: Judah promised Shelah, who was born in Kezib, to Tamar, but he does not give him to her. He simply deceives her. With the naming of her last two children, her dominance of the family seems to be increasing at this point.

As was the custom of the day, once Er grew into manhood Judah selected a wife for his firstborn. The bridegroom did not choose his own bride. So by this time Judah had probably realized that his choice of a wife was not the best and he resolved not to let Er err in the choosing of his mate. Judah knew the LORD’s covenant would flow through Jacob’s family so it was important that his son have the right kind of wife. Sadly, because of the worldly spiritual influence of Er’s mother, he realized that it was all the more important that his wife be a good influence on his son and grandchildren.

Judah felt free to choose his own wife, but didn’t give Er the same courtesy. He finally found a suitable wife for his son and her name was Tamar meaning palm tree (38:6). It is used in the Bible as a symbol of a graceful person (Song of Songs 7:7-8). She was also a Canaanite, but she would become the mother of the messianic line from Judah (Matthew 1:3), so we must assume that in the sovereign will of God, He participated in this choice. As a result, Tamar must have been the most suitable woman for this purpose in her generation, regardless of the fact that she was not Jewish. Judah made the arrangements and his son Er was married to the Canaanite maiden Tamar.

The story of Tamar starts here, with her marriage to Judah’s eldest son. If they followed the normal marriage customs, Tamar’s father and father-in-law made the arrangements, most likely based on the political and financial advantages it would bring to them. But however well the marriage may have worked out for the two families, it was a complete disaster for Tamar.

Many couples can reflect on their struggles during their first year of marriage. But Tamar’s marriage was a nightmare by anyone’s standard. Her new husband quickly shattered any girlhood hopes she may have had for her future life. Scripture tells us that Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in ADONAI’s sight. It seems that the rebellion of his Canaanite mother against the things of the LORD had infected the son. Tamar was not the kind of wife he wanted at all. No doubt Judah had explained the importance of a godly wife, but Er wanted nothing to do with the God of Abraham. He fully intended to follow the Canaanite religion of his mother. Therefore, ADONAI put him to death (38:7). Like many of the other firstborn in the Bible (Cain, Ishmael, Esau and Reuben), Er is set aside by God. Not since the days of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah had Elohim taken the life of one who displeased Him, and there it was groups who were annihilated. Er is the first individual person in Scripture that the LORD puts to death.⁵⁸¹

The ancient world had an emergency plan to save a childless dead man from extinction. Then Judah said to Onan, “Lie with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother” (38:8). This was in accordance with the Code of Hammurabi. Tamar had the right to have a child by the nearest of kin to her dead husband. If a man died childless, the nearest of kin had the obligation to produce a son to carry on his family line. This was a levirate marriage, which comes from the Latin word levir that means the husband’s nearest of kin. Later, this was incorporated into the Torah to preserve the dead man’s name and family (see the commentary on Ruth, to see link click Ba – Bo’az Obtains the Right of Redemption). Finally, it was for the protection of the widow so that she should not have to sell herself for debts or have to marry outside the clan.⁵⁸²

The son born from this union inherited the name and estate of the deceased. Any living brother who refused this duty fell under deep disgrace. The solution was complicated, for it obligated both the widow and the living brother to make costly sacrifices for the man who had died. His widow couldn’t just move on and start a new life. She was honor bound to preserve her husband’s name. But Onan faced a moral dilemma as simple math can reveal.

Tamar’s case concerned three brothers, Judah’s three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. According to the Code of Hammurabi, Judah would divide his estate into four equal parts. Tamar’s husband Er, as the eldest son, would inherit a double portion. Two of the four slices of the family pie, or in this case, half of Judah’s estate would go to him. His two younger brothers would each receive a single slice, or one-fourth.

When Er died childless, the math changed for his two surviving brothers. Now the same piece of pie was divided three ways, with Onan (then in the place of Judah’s first born), getting two-thirds instead of his original one-fourth portion – more than even Er would have inherited even had he lived. And Onan was no dummy, he could add.

Family duty to produce an heir for his dead brother threatened to ruin everything for Onan, who was then positioned to enjoy the financial benefits of being the first born. Talk about a conflict of interest! If Tamar became pregnant with a son, Onan would forfeit his place as the eldest son. Tamar’s son would become Judah’s new number-one son in place of Er, and Onan would slide back to his former second-son position, while watching his inheritance shrink back to the measly one-fourth he had before.

The stakes were high. There was the possibility that Onan might never father a second son to perpetuate his own name. The situation required extraordinary sacrifice that we can hardly appreciate today. ADONAI, however, commonly calls His people to make sacrifices for one another. That’s what being a believer of Jesus means.

This family duty to produce an heir to preserve Er’s name is essential to understanding Tamar’s motive. If we don’t understand this, her motive sinks to desperation for a child or, even worse, determining to get even with her father-in-law for deceiving her. It makes her actions sound a bit cold-blooded and vindictive, not to mention immoral. Her next actions will fall far outside the scope of respectability.

Tamar was willing to fulfill this obligation on her part, but could not because of the unwillingness of Onan. It seems that he was just as wicked as his brother. He, like Er, was also in rebellion against God. He knew that the offspring would not be his, but would be the legal child of his dead brother. Outwardly, he obeyed his father. But secretly whenever he lay with his brother’s wife, he regularly spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. This was the birthright issue. He was trying to get rid of the competition. What he did was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so God put him to death also (38:9-10). Ironically, Onan lost his life by trying to save it.

Suddenly, Judah was down to one living son, with a growing suspicion that Tamar was the problem – a black widow of sorts. He had another son who was much younger named Shelah. The appropriate thing to do was to have him marry Tamar and produce children for his dead brother. But Judah stalled by sending Tamar back to her father’s house until his younger son was fully grown. So Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” By making this statement Judah promised his son Shelah to her in marriage, and technically they were engaged. Tamar understood this and Judah certainly understood this, as we shall see.

When he told her to remain a widow until his youngest son grew up, it was nothing more than an excuse to put her off for the time being. He had no intention of having Shelah marry Tamar. Women whose husbands continued to die were many times suspected of witchcraft.⁵⁸³ For a fleeting moment we are given an insight into what Judah thought. He said to himself: Tamar is really bad luck; maybe my youngest son will die too, just like his brothers. So Judah sent Tamar away to live in her father’s house. She complied and went quietly, but expected Judah to fulfill his promise to her (38:11). But she remained under Judah’s authority and legally engaged to Shelah.

Judah and Tamar
38: 1-30

Why is this story here? The conclusion of Chapter 37 would lead beautifully into Chapter 39 without the seeming intervening story of Judah and Tamar. The human author Moses takes us to the edge of our seats with Joseph’s abduction and sale into slavery. But just as Yosef is chained and dragged off to Egypt, Moshe diverts our attention with the far less interesting subplot about Judah’s family. But the Judah storyline is crucial, and the Ruach ha-Kodesh skillfully weaves it into Joseph’s story with powerful effect.

First, the narrative at the end of Chapter 37 leaves us in suspense. No sooner are we informed that Joseph has been sold to Potiphar in Egypt than suddenly we are left to wonder what happened to him. The Judah-Tamar narrative is a detour that takes us, like Joseph’s family, far from him and back to Canaan. Yosef is left alone, where he grows up without his family as Judah marries, raises his sons and they marry as well.

Second, it creates a sharp and unmistakable contrast between Judah’s behavior and Joseph’s character in the next chapter. There, Judah marries a Canaanite woman whom he should not have married, then has sex with his ex-daughter-in-law who he thinks is a prostitute, but to draw a distinction, Yosef refuses to fall victim to sexual sin. In contrast to the exemplary moral character that Joseph exhibits in faraway Egypt even though no one was watching him, Judah is in a spiritual free fall.

Third, this chapter gives us perspective in the development of Judah’s character. The impact of Tamar’s actions on Judah adds an unexpected twist to her story. For a man whose life was spinning out of control, his collision with Tamar was more like hitting a cement wall. Twenty-two years later, at the end of Genesis when Judah meets Joseph again, he is a changed man as he pleads for the life of his youngest brother Benjamin and sacrificially takes his place as a slave.

Fourth, this chapter gives us some insight into why the children of Israel needed to spend four hundred years as slaves in Egypt. The sins of Judah in this chapter are merely representative of all the brothers. But because Jesus Christ would come through him, he is the most prominent, and thus used as the example. In this chapter we find that the chosen family begins to intermarry with the Canaanites and to participate in their sins as well. This is exactly what Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were careful not to do. So the four hundred years of slavery in Egypt were necessary for the preservation of the Jewish nation and of the Jewish faith. Because the Egyptians would have little to do with them, they were kept separate, they multiplied, and in their persecution they were forced to rely on God.

Finally, the story points us forward with the birth of Perez, who will become the forefather of both King David and the Messiah Himself. The point is that the Lord will carry out His purposes of 3:15 and the seed of the woman no matter how people act. Even though they may be unfaithful, the sovereign will of the Lord will accomplish His purpose for His people.⁵⁷⁹ Once again the name of God is absent from this chapter.

When Midianite Merchants Came by,
His Brothers Sold Joseph for Twenty Shekels of Silver
37: 25-36

When Midianite Merchants came by, his brothers sold Joseph for twenty shekels of sliver DIG: How did God care for Joseph in the midst of his brothers’ hatred? What was Reuben selfishly worried about? What was the convenient lie the brothers agreed to tell their father Isra’el? What five ways did Joseph foreshadow the life of Christ?

REFLECT: How does knowing God is in control give a person endurance to face opposition and jealousy from others? Do you have the assurance that you will see your loved ones again and never be separated? On earth? In heaven? Can you look back on some events in your life and see how ADONAI guided your steps as He guided Yosef’s? How? When?

The brother’s mistreatment of Joseph did not diminish their appetite.⁵⁷⁰ They sat down to eat their meal (37:25a), while Yosef pleaded for his life from the pit (42:21). But they would not listen. It was to this fearful hardness and cruelty that the prophet Amos referred, when he said: You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of your brother Joseph (Amos 6:6). The brothers who had slaughtered all the men of Shechem were not likely to trouble themselves with the cries of one they hated. 23. This reminds us of when Jesus was being crucified on the cross. After the Romans soldiers had stripped him of His clothes, they sat down and kept watch over Him there (Matthew 27:36).

At that point, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, where Laban and Jacob had their confrontations some years before. They were descendants of Ishmael (25:13-16). Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt for trade (37:25b). It is ironic that these same three items are the very gifts Joseph’s brothers bring him while he is in Egypt (43:11).

Judah now assumes a leadership role concerning Yosef’s fate, and said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood” (37:26)? From this point on Judah takes on an increasingly prominent role in the family.⁵⁷¹  He said: Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him. His brothers welcomed his suggestion. They could avoid the sin of murder and make a profit at the same time. 24. Joseph’s brother’s, who hypocritically didn’t want to defile themselves with his blood, sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites, and the Jews, who hypocritically didn’t want to defile themselves with Messiah’s blood, brought Yeshua to Pilate (John 18:28). After all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood. His brothers agreed (37:27). The rabbis teach that the brothers sought to punish him measure for measure. Because Joseph wanted to rule over them, he would become a slave.

So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the pit alive and sold him to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt (37:28). Ishmaelites were descendants of Abraham by Hagar (16:15) and the Midianites descended from Abraham by his concubine Keturah (25:2). The term Ishmaelites became a general designation for a desert tribe, so the Midianite merchants were also known as Ishmaelites. Slavery in most places was like a living death, so they felt that they would never see him again. 25. Likewise, when the religious leaders of Jerusalem murdered our Lord on the cross, they thought then would never see Him again. But, Yeshua was brought up out of the pit of sh’ol and on the third day He was raised to life (Matthew 17:23; Luke 24:7; Acts 10:40).

After bargaining a bit, Joseph was sold for twenty shekels of silver (37:28). Later, Moses would fix the value of a boy between five and twenty shekels of silver (Leviticus 27:5); the average price of a slave he fixed at thirty shekels (Exodus 21:32).⁵⁷²  His brothers didn’t realize it, but when they sold Joseph they made certain that his dreams would be fulfilled. It is hard to imagine the sense of horror that must have gripped Yosef as he gradually realized the enormity of his brothers’ hatred of him. As the caravan carried him step by step away from his father, and step by step closer to slavery, anguish must have overwhelmed the teenage boy.⁵⁷³ In both biblical and cuneiform law, what his brothers did to Joseph was considered a crime and a capital offense. 26. Jesus and Joseph were both betrayed in exchange for silver. Yosef was sold for the price of a slave by his brother Judah and Yeshua was sold for the price of a slave by his talmid Judas. When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood” (Matthew 27:3-4a).

Reuben was not present at the time of the sale, but when he returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he assumed the worst and believed Yosef was dead, so he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said: The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now from my father’s grief (37:29-30)? Reuben had failed in his responsibilities of the firstborn and Ya’akov would hold him personally accountable. Reuben would have never permitted Yosef to be sold into slavery. If Reuben had come back a half hour sooner, Joseph would never have ended up in Egypt.

After ascending to the second most powerful man in the world, Joseph would look back and see that from the moment he was cast into the pit, until then, ADONAI used every circumstance in his life. Let me say to you that you are as precious to God as Yosef was. You may feel like your life is being dragged around like you are a puppet, or like a dog on the end of a rope. But as a child of the LORD you are not manipulated by anyone; the divine hands of God control you. Your life, your business, your health, your family is being structured by Him. It may look like you are in the pit now, it may look like things are not going well now and you may ask, “Where is ADONAI?” I’ll tell you where He is. The unseen hand of the LORD is dragging you toward the palace. He is dragging you through the pit to the palace. It’s not what you are going through, it’s what you are going to, that makes all the difference in the world. The pit is not your destiny. When your dreams are shattered, lift your voice in faith and say, “This is not my destiny.” When your business is failing, that is not your destiny. When your marriage begins to disintegrate, that is not your destiny. When your health fails, that is not your destiny. When your grown children break your heart, that is not your destiny. Your destiny is in the palace with the King.

Once they told Reuben that Joseph had been sold, they all settled on a convenient lie. The brothers got his coat of many colors, slaughtered a goat (Leviticus 16:10), and dipped the robe in the blood (37:31). 27. Joseph’s blood-sprinkled robe was presented to his father Jacob, and the blood of Christ is presented to God the Father as a once and for all offering for sin because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness(Hebrews 9:22b).

They took the coat of many colors back to their father and said: We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s coat. The brothers knew full well that it was Joseph’s coat, but they didn’t say it was his blood. They let Isra’el jump to that conclusion. Isra’el never dreamed that his sons were to blame for Yosef’s apparent death. He recognized it and said: It is my son’s coat! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Yosef has surely been torn to pieces and must be dead (37:32-33). In his grief he didn’t stop to notice that his son’s robe was not torn to pieces. It is ironic that years earlier Jacob tricked his father by shedding the blood of a goat (27:9-10 and 16), now he is the father, being tricked by his sons, by the blood of a goat.

Then Isra’el, overwhelmed with sorrow, tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days (37:34). He had lost Rachel only a few years before. Now he had seemingly lost her firstborn son, the one to whom he had intended to convey the birthright and who would be the best equipped to carry on the responsibilities of spiritual leadership in the family and the nation that they would establish.⁵⁷⁴ All his sons and daughters (46:7 and 15) came to comfort him, but the one’s who were in on the little secret were skillful in putting on a facade.Nevertheless, he refused to be comforted. No, he said: In mourning will I go down to the grave with my son. Isra’el purposed in his own mind to mourn for Joseph for the rest of his life, until he himself went down to sh’ol.⁵⁷⁵  So his father wept for him (37:35). There was no expression of submission to the will of God, no testimony of faith and no allusion to his new name Isra’el because he had not yet learned to walk by faith.⁵⁷⁶ Compare his grief here to the grief of a man like David (Second Samuel 12:15-23). David grieved and wept over the baby boy of his who died. He loved that little one just as much as Isra’el loved Joseph, but David was a man of faith. He knew the baby couldn’t come back to him, but he also knew that he would be with him one day. Dear friend, perhaps you have lost a loved one. Cling to the Lord, grieve, and then walk by faith as you live your life. If saved, you will see that loved one again and never be separated. The world has no faith. It grieves as those without hope. But you can walk by faith.⁵⁷⁷

Meanwhile, the caravan of Midianites had arrived in Egypt. They sold Joseph, who was obviously a healthy and intelligent young man, to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, who was the captain of the guard, in other words, the chief executioner (37:36). Here then is the beginning of the suffering of Joseph, the obedient servant. ADONAI would test his character through his suffering, so that he could be exalted.⁵⁷⁸

Joseph in the Pit
37: 12-24

Joseph in the pit DIG: In what ways did Yosef combine the best attributes of his family? Why did Joseph go to Shechem to find his brothers when he knew they hated him? Why didn’t they kill him on the spot? Which brother wanted to rescue Yosef? Why? What eleven ways did Joseph foreshadow the life of Christ? How could Joseph hold up under the persecution from his brothers?

REFLECT: What makes the potential success of others so difficult to accept? Are you in a deep, dark pit today? Where is your destiny? What can you do when you are in the pit? Who is in the pit with you? What are the seven principles to remember when you’re in the pit?

Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem (37:12). This was the city that they slaughtered and looted, but there wasn’t any opposition to their being there because ADONAI had protected them. As semi-nomads, Jacob and his family would continually move their flocks from one area to another. They did this in order to provide grazing land and water for the animals.⁵⁶²

The narrator uses Isra’el here instead of Jacob (Hebrew: Ya’akov). Isra’el means he who prevails victoriously with God. And literally, Isra’el and his descendants would only survive with divine intervention from God. Isra’el said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing their flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” One must conclude that Isra’el was unaware of the seething hatred of his sons toward Yosef. And Joseph said to his father, “Here I am, I’m ready to go” (37:13 KJV). Jacob would not see his son for many years. 12. Joseph was sent by his earthly father, just as His Heavenly Father sent Yeshua. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning Sacrifice for our sins (First John 4:10). And He came on His mission of love freely, willingly and gladly. Like Joseph, then Christ said, “Here I am, it is written about me in the scroll, I have come to do your will, O God (Hebrews 10:7).

Because he was concerned about the welfare of his sons, Isra’el said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me. Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron,” about twenty miles south of Yerushalayim (37:14a). 13. Joseph was sent from Hebron, and Jesus was sent from Heaven. Hebron means fellowship or communion, which points to the relationship that the Son had with the Father in Heaven before His incarnation and coming to this place of sin, sweat and sorrow. He would go to those who hated Him without cause and wanted to kill Him. Likewise, Joseph lived in peaceful fellowship with his father; there he was at home, known, loved and understood. But he went to a far away place, to those who hated him without cause and wanted to kill him.

Joseph was obedient and arrived at Shechem without delay (37:14b). This promptness and thoroughness characterizes his life. It seems that Yosef combined all the best attributes of his family, the capacity of Abraham, the quietness of Yitz’chak, the ability of Ya’akov and the physical attractiveness of his mother (see 29:17 and 39:6).⁵⁶³ And for this his brothers hated him, but he was obedient to his father and went anyway. The love of his father was more of a motivation for him than the hate of his brothers. It would have taken him at least two days to make the fifty mile trip north. Shechem was a place of disaster. There the brothers sinned, there Dinah was raped, and there the kingdom was divided (First Kings 12:1). 14. Joseph came to Shechem, a place of sin, and Jesus came to the earth, a place of sin. The word Shechem means shoulder, and the shoulder speaks of bearing a burden and implies service or subjection. At the end of Genesis when Jacob prophesies to Issachar, he says that his son will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor (49:15). How striking it is to read that on leaving the fellowship of his earthly father, Yosef came to Shechem. This foreshadowed the Lord’s journey of leaving the fellowship of his heavenly Father and coming to earth, a place of sin and suffering. He became a servant, a person of service and subjection: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant (Philippians 2:6-7).

But after arriving, to his dismay, his brothers were nowhere to be found. He roamed the area, trying to find some clue as to what might have happened to them, but Shechem was apparently still in ruins and no one seemed to be around.⁵⁶⁴ At long last, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked the young boy: What are you looking for (37:15)? The rabbis teach that the man was the angel Gabriel because by directing Joseph to his brothers, he took the necessary step to the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan. 15. Joseph became a wanderer in the field, just as Jesus became a wanderer in the world. In His interpretation of the Parable of the Weeds, Yeshua said: The field is the world (Mattityahu 12:38). Like Joseph, Jesus became a wanderer, a homeless stranger, in the world. Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head (Luke 9:58). What a touching word in John’s Gospel: Then each went to his own home. But Yeshua went to the Mount of Olives (John 7:53-8:1). Every other man had his own house to go home to, but Jesus was a homeless wanderer on this earth.

Isra’el had sent Yosef to see if all was well with his brothers. So he replied: I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks (37:16)? 16. Joseph sought the welfare of his brothers, just as Jesus sought the welfare of the Jews. However, Joseph’s brothers rejected him, just as the Jews rejected their Messiah. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him (John 1:11). Yosef was not sent to condemn his brothers, but to see if all was well with them, so, again, it is with Christ: For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him (John 3:17).

They have moved on from here, the man answered, I heard them say, “Let’s go to Dothan” (37:17a). This was his chance to return to Hebron if his heart was not fully committed to doing the will of his earthy father. Dothan was another fifteen miles north. It was on the normal caravan route from Gilead to Egypt, crossing at Bethshean, passing through the Harod Valley to Jezreel, then crossing through the Valley of Dothan to the coastal plains and south to Egypt.⁵⁶⁵ So he had a good excuse to turn back and give up the work that his father had entrusted to him. 17. Joseph sought his brothers until he found them, just like Jesus came to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10). He entered the synagogue and read from Isaiah with what purpose? It was so that His brothers might be reached. He walked by the Sea of Galilee, seeking out those who would become His disciples. He went through Samaria instead of going around it, and why? It was because there were some of his brothers and sisters in that place. How many years did the heavenly Joseph seek you out? From start to finish, the Chief Shepherd had a single-minded devotion to His Father and an unwavering love of His lost sheep, continuing the painful search until He found them (Luke 15:4). No seeming failure in His mission, no lack of appreciation in those to whom He ministered managed to overcome Him. He set His face like a flint to the cross to suffer because He knew He would not be put to shame (Isaiah 50:7). He pressed on until it was finished (Yochanan 19:30).

So Joseph went north after his brothers and found them near Dothan on the trunk route(37:17b). Dothan connected with a trade route between Gilead and the coastal plain that went down into Egypt. This would set the stage for the selling of Joseph. Dothan means the law or custom. 18. This was how Yeshua found His brothers, living under the bondage of the Oral Law (see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ei – The Oral Law), which had degenerated into the traditions of men (Mark 7:8).

Alone, away from their father’s watchful eye, the brothers saw him in the distance and sensed a golden opportunity to vent their bitterness towards him. Before Joseph reached them, they plotted to kill him (37:18). Far away from the safety of home, he was fair game for their hostility. It was ironic that earlier they slaughtered the men of Shechem in revenge for their sister, but now they plotted to kill their own brother! Joseph had no idea how far their hatred would carry them. Although it would be a horrible and bitter experience for him, God intended it for good (50:20). 19. Joseph and Jesus were both plotted against. The hatred of Joseph’s brothers found its opportunity in the love that sought them out. When someone hates you when they see you in the distance, they really hate you. It is striking to notice how the plot was formed against Yosef before he reached them. How this reminds us of what happened during the days of our Lord’s infancy. No sooner was He born into this world than Herod hatched a horrible plot in an attempt to kill Him. But it didn’t stop there. Thirty years later when Yeshua presented Himself to the Jews as Messiah: The Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Him (Mattityahu 12:13).

Here comes that dreamer wearing the pride of his position!That seamless robe, the tallit that Joseph was wearing was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.⁵⁶⁶  They said to each other: Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the pits and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams (37:19-20). 20. Joseph’s words and his supremacy over his brothers was really the heart of the issue. They refused to believe what he had said. So it was with Christ. After He had been nailed to the cross those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the Temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God” (Matthew 27:39-40)! The Jews didn’t believe Him and His teaching was nothing more than empty dreams to them. Soon after His death and burial the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate and said, “We remember that while He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again,’ so give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day” (Mt 27:62-64). When the stone was sealed and the watch was set, the disbelieving Pharisees said in effect: Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.

Reuben was absent when they agreed to the plan. Who knows, Yosef might have been in the pit for three days! But when he heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. He said: Let’s not take his life. Reuben had a plan. He said: Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this pit (KJ) here in the desert, but don’t lay a hand on him. Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father (37:21-22). The eldest son knew he would be held responsible and takes advantage of his status to intervene and save Joseph’s life. Even though Reuben knew that Ya’akov was going to replace him as the first born son with Joseph, he did not want to see him murdered. You would think he would be the most envious of all the brothers, but he plotted to keep his brother alive and come back later to rescue him out of the pit without the others knowing it. They all knew ADONAI’s command against the shedding of blood (9:6), and although they might have felt justified in the slaughtering of the men of Shechem, with Reuben’s prodding, they ultimately realized there was no justification in shedding Joseph’s blood. So they decided to put him in a pit and let him die of thirst. But first, they would mock and humiliate him.

21. Yosef and Yeshua were both stripped and mocked. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his seamless tallit (37:23). How this brings out their hatred of him. Like beasts of prey, they immediately sprang upon him. It was not enough to kill him; they had to insult him, too. They shamed him by stripping him of his royal robe. Jesus was also insulted and stripped. Then the governor’s soldiers stripped Him and took His seamless garment (Mt 27:27-28). Like Joseph, it was not enough to kill Yeshua, they also mocked Him, insulted Him, spat on Him and flogged Him before they killed Him (Luke 18:33).

22. Both Joseph and Yeshua were cast into a pit. And they took Yosef and threw him into the pit. When used with a person as its object, the pit almost always refers to the placing of a dead body in a grave (Second Samuel 18:17; Second Kings 13:21; Jeremiah 41:9), or to the placing of a living body into what is assumed will be its grave (Jeremiah 38:6).⁵⁶⁷ Now the pit was empty; there was no water in it (37:24). A cistern, or a pit, was either hollowed out of limestone bedrock or dug in the ground and lined with plaster. Since most of Israel’s rainfall is confined to three or four months of the year, these cisterns collected the rainwater and made it available during the dry season. It was not unusual that there was no water in them during part of the year.⁵⁶⁸ Yeshua also went down into the pit known as sh’ol, which had no water on one side (Zechariah 9:11). Sh’ol was the underworld abode of the dead before the resurrection. In the story of Lazarus in sh’ol, the rich man called out to Abraham, “Have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire” (Luke 16:24). During the three days and three nights that His body was in the grave, Jesus’ Spirit was in sh’ol, in the heart of the earth (Mt 12:40). He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also He went and preached to the ungodly spirits in prison (1 Peter 3:18b-19). Then He led the righteous of the TaNaKh up to heaven (Eph 4:8-10).

The reason that Yosef could hold up under this persecution from his brothers, is that he didn’t focus on his circumstances, but on the Shepherd (Genesis 49:24; Yochanan 10:14).

There are seven principles to remember when you are in the pit. First, the intolerance of your present condition creates your future. If you become comfortable in the pit, you will never get out. Don’t get accustomed to your sin, to your addictions, or the things in your life that Satan has used to destroy your potential. Who the Son sets free is free indeed and you can be set free from your addictions if you trust in Him. Don’t get accustomed to living in fear. Do not fear your past; it is forgotten. Do not fear your future; it is in the hands of God. Don’t fear failure. I do not know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow. Don’t get accustomed to the pit because it is not your destiny; the palace is your destiny.

Second, when you’re in the pit, remember that Satan always attacks those who are next in line for a promotion. Satan attacked Joseph because he knew Joseph’s potential. If he could crush him in the pit, or cause him to give up hope in prison with despair and depression, he would never get to the palace where he would change the destiny of the world. The devil knew when Jesus was in the wilderness that if he could get the Lord to bow down to him, He would not go to the cross. And if He didn’t go to the cross, no one would ever be saved. When we look in the Bible, we see how quickly ADONAI can promote. Joseph went from the pit to the palace in a day; Dani’el went from the lion’s den to the palace in a day; David went from the caves of Saul to the palace in a day. You are next in line for the promotion and Satan is attacking you because he knows your potential. He is trying to crush your dream in the pit. He is trying to destroy your hopes in the prison. God is going to give back to you seven times over what the Adversary has taken from you because your destiny is in the palace with Him.

Third, when you’re in the pit, those who fail to get out focus on what they are going through and rather than focus on what they are going to. There is no prize without a cost. There is no crown without a cross. There is no dawn without a night, and there is no victory without a fight. Don’t look at the pit; look at the palace. Don’t look at the crisis; look to the Messiah. You are a child of the King; live like it, act like it, think like it in Jesus name!

Fourth, how do you react to other people when they get in the pit? Your reaction to someone else in trouble determines how ADONAI is going to react to you the next time you get in trouble. That’s the translation of the verse: Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. So in everything, do to others as you would have them do to you (Matthew 7:1-2 and 12a). There will come a day that you will reap exactly what you sow. Joseph’s brothers threw him in the pit and, absolutely unconcerned, they sat down and had lunch together. How do you respond to a drug addict? How do you react to a homeless person? How do you react to a pregnant teenager? How do you react to widows and orphans? The Bible says religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:25a). The point is that if you want ADONAI to help you in your day of trouble, you help someone else in their day of trouble. When you see a brother or a sister who has fallen in sin into the pit, you need to lift them up with the strength the LORD has given you. Sha’ul says: Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently (Galatians 6:1).

Fifth, those who created the pain of the present do not control the pleasure of the future. Your bitter divorce is painful, but it does not control your future. The Bible says: Whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things (Philippians 4:8). Your bankrupt business is painful, but it does not control tomorrow’s opportunity. Being betrayed by your family, like Joseph was betrayed, is painful, but that does not mean that God will not orchestrate a day when your brothers come back, your aged father is reunited with you and your home is a thing of joy again. Just because someone ripped your shirt off does not mean you will not wear a royal robe tomorrow. Just because people who hate you have thrown you into a pit, it does not mean that tomorrow those people are not going to bow before you. Isaiah tells us that the sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you andall who despise you will bow down at your feet (Isaiah 60:14a). Your destiny is not in the pain of the pit; it is in the pleasure of the palace.

Sixth, remember that when you are in the pit, the tempter’s favorite weapons of attack are those closest to you. Joseph’s brothers threw him into the pit and his brother Judah sold him for the price of a slave. Judas also betrayed Jesus for the price of a slave. In his personal remarks to Timothy, Sha’ul tells us that Demas, his fellow partner in ministry, deserted him because he loved this world (Second Timothy 4:10). Absalom wanted to kill his own father David (Second Samuel 15:1 to 18:33). Believe you me, when the Adversary gets ready to throw the knockout punch and put you down for the count, he is not going to use a stranger. He will use someone that you love, preferably someone in your own house.

Lastly, you will never win the spiritual battle logically. When Joseph was thrown into the pit, he had to be stripped of himself to be able to trust in ADONAI. God does not ask for you to defend Him, because He is almighty and He does not need it. The LORD does not ask for you to understand Him, because your intellect is far too inferior to understand Him. Therefore, ADONAI does not need you to explain Him because if you cannot understand Him you cannot explain Him. God has only said: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). In the pit God strips you of your ego. He crushes the god of self that sits on the throne of your soul so that He can mold you into His image. As long as you strut into worship like a peacock, He can’t use you. He is going to put you in the pit, and there, in His Gethsemane press, He will crush you and make you like Himself. Why? Crushed grapes make the finest wine. Crushed olives make the finest oil. Crushed petals of a rose make the rarest perfume. It is the crushed grain that produces the life- giving bread. It is a crushed person who can become a servant of God. If anyone wants to be first, he or she must be the very last, and the servant of all (Mark 9:35). ADONAI is looking for someone He has crushed, and when He sees that person, He sees Himself. God only uses people who have been broken and when you are broken and crushed and you look like Him, then you are ready to reach your destiny.⁵⁶⁹