"Doc Notes" Joseph continued...

JOSEPH (Genesis 41)

Our present chapter opens by presenting to us the king of Egypt dreaming two dreams, and awaking with his spirit troubled. The court magicians and wise men were summoned, and Pharaoh told them his dreams, but "there was none that could interpret them to Pharaoh." Then it was that the chief butler recalled his experience in prison. He remembers how he had a dream, and that a Hebrew slave had interpreted aright its significance. He recounts this now to the king, and Pharaoh sends at once for Joseph, who explains to him the meaning of his own dreams. There are several important truths which here receive a striking exemplification:

First, we are shown that "The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of waters. He turneth it whithersoever He will" (Prov. 21:1). It was no accident that Pharaoh dreamed as he did, and when he did. God’s time had come for Joseph to be delivered from prison and exalted to a position of high honor and responsibility, and these dreams were but the instrument employed by God to accomplish this end. Similarly, He used, long afterwards, the sleeplessness of another king to lead to the deliverance of Mordecai and his fellows. This truth has been expressed so forcefully and ably by C. H. M. in his "Notes on Genesis," we cannot refrain from quoting him:

"The most trivial and the most important, the most likely and the most unlikely circumstances are made to minister to the development of God’s purposes. In chapter 39 Satan uses Potiphar’s wife, and in chapter 40 he uses Pharaoh’s chief butler. The former he used to put Joseph into the dungeon; and the latter he used to keep him there, through his ungrateful negligence; but all in vain. God was behind the scenes. His finger was guiding all the springs of the vast machine of circumstances, and when the due time was come, he brought forth the man of His purpose, and set his feet in a large room. Now, this is ever God’s prerogative. He is above all, and can use all for the accomplishment of His grand and unsearchable designs. It is sweet to be able thus to trace our Father’s hand and counsel in everything. Sweet to know that all sorts of agents are at His sovereign disposal; angels, men and devils—all are under His omnipotent hand, and all are made to carry out His purposes" (p. 307: italics are ours). How rarely one finds such faith-strengthening sentiments such as these set forth, plainly, by writers of today!

Second, we are shown in the early part of Genesis 41 how that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. As it is well known, Egypt stands in Scripture as a figure of this world. In Joseph’s time, the land of the Pharaoh’s was the center of learning and culture, the proud leader of the ancient civilizations. But the people were idolaters. They knew not God, and only in His light can we see light. Apart from Him, all is darkness, morally and spiritually. So we see it in the chapter before us. The magicians were impotent, the wise men displayed their ignorance, and Pharaoh was made to feel the powerlessness of all human resources and the worthlessness of all human wisdom.

Third, the man of God was the only one that had true wisdom and light. How true it is that "the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him!" These dreams of Pharaoh had a prophetic significance: They respected the future of Egypt (typically, the world), and no Gentile, as such, had intelligence in the purpose of God respecting the earth. God was pleased to make known His counsels to a Gentile, as here, a Jew had to be called, each time, as interpreter. It was thus with Nebuchadnezzar. The wise men of Chaldea were as helpless as the magicians of Egypt; Daniel, alone, had understanding. So, too, with Belshazzar and all his companions the aged prophet had to be called in to decipher the message upon the wall. Well would it be if leaders of the world today turned to the inspired writings of the Hebrew prophets of the things which must shortly come to pass.

Fourth: That "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose," is writ large across our lesson. And well for us if we take this to heart. But the trouble is, we grow so impatient under the process, while God is taking the tangled threads of our lives and making them "work together for good." We become so occupied with present circumstances that hope is no longer exercised, and the brighter and better future is blotted from our view. Let us bear in mind that Scripture declares, "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof" (Eccl. 7:8). Be of good cheer, faint heart; sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. So it was with Joseph. For a season he suffered wrongfully, but at the last God vindicated and rewarded him. Remember Joseph then, troubled reader, and "let patience have her perfect work." But we must turn from these moralizings and consider the typical bearings of our chapter. We continue our previous enumeration.

43. Joseph, in due time, was delivered from prison. Joseph had been rejected by his brethren, and treated unjustly and cruelly by the Egyptians. Through no fault of his own he had been cast into prison. But God did not suffer him to end his days there. The place of shame and suffering was to be exchanged for one of high dignity and glory. The throne was to supplant the dungeon. And now that God’s time for this had arrived, nothing could hinder the accomplishment of His purpose. So it was with our blessed Lord. Israel might despise and reject Him, wicked hands might take and crucify Him, the powers of darkness might rage against Him; His lifeless body might be taken down and laid in the tomb, the sepulcher sealed and a watch set, but "it was not possible that He should be holden of death" (Acts 2:24). No; on the third day, He rose again in triumph o’er the grave, leaving the cerements of death behind Him. How beautifully this was prefigured in the case of Joseph. "Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon; and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh" (Gen. 41:14). Compare John 20:6, 7!

44. Joseph was delivered from prison by the hand of God. It is evident that, apart from Divine intervention, Joseph had been suffered to languish in the dungeon to the end of his days. It was only the coming in of God—Pharaoh’s troubled spirit, the failure of the magicians’ to interpret his dream, the butler’s sudden recollection of the Hebrew interpreter-that brought about his release. Joseph himself recognized this, as is clear from his words to his brethren, at a later date: "And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me hither, but God: and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his house, and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt" (Gen. 45:7-9). So it was with the Savior in being delivered from the prison of the tomb: "Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death" (Acts 2:24). "This Jesus hath God raised up" (Acts 2:32). "Him God raised up the third day, and showed Him openly" (Acts 10:40).[1]

45. Joseph is seen now as the Revealer of secrets. Like the butler and baker before him, Pharaoh now recounted to Joseph the dreams which had so troubled his spirit, and which the "wise men" were unable to interpret. It is beautiful to mark the modesty of Joseph on this occasion, "And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace" (Gen. 41:16). So, in a much higher sense, the Lord Jesus said, "I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me" (John 17:8). And again, "As the Father hath taught Me, I speak these things" (John 8:28). Once more, "For I have not spoken of Myself: but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" (John 12:49).

Having listened to the king’s dream, Joseph said: "God hath showed Pharaoh what He is about to do" (Gen. 41:25), and then he made known the meaning of the dreams. How close is the parallel between this and what we read of in the opening verse of the Apocalypse! Just as God made known to the Egyptians, through Joseph, what He was "about to do," so has He now made known to us, through Jesus Christ, the things He will shortly do in this world. The parallel is perfect: said Joseph, "What God is about to do He showeth unto Pharaoh" (Gen. 41:28), and the Apocalypse, we are told, is "the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass."

46. Joseph warned of a coming danger, and urged his hearers to make suitable provision to meet it. Joseph was no honied-mouthed "optimist," who spake only smooth and pleasant things. He fearlessly told the truth. He shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God. He declared that, following the season of Divine blessing and privilege, there would come a time of famine, a famine which should consume the land, and be "very grievous." And in view of this, he warned them to make ready and be prepared. So also was Christ the faithful and true Witness. He made known the fact that death does not end all, that there is a life to come. He warned those who trusted in their earthly possessions and who boasted of how they were going to enjoy them, that their souls would be "required" of them, and that at short notice. He lifted the veil which hides the unseen, and gave His hearers a view of the sufferings of the damned in Hell. He spake often of that place where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched, and where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. He counseled men to make provision against the future. He bade men to prepare for that which lies ahead of all—a face to face meeting with God.

47. Joseph appeared next as the Wonderful Counselor. Having interpreted to Pharaoh the meaning of his dreams, Joseph then undertook to advise the king as to the wisest course to follow in order to meet the approaching emergency, and provide for the future. There were to be seven years of plenty, which was to be followed by seven years of famine. Joseph, therefore, counseled the king to store up the corn during the time of plenty, against the need which would arise when the season of scarcity should come upon them. Thus did Joseph manifest the wisdom given to him by God, and display his immeasurable superiority over all the wise men of Egypt. Again the analogy is perfect. Christ, too, has been exhibited as "the Wonderful Counselor," the One sent by God with a message to tell men how to prepare for the future, and make sure their eternal interests. He is the One "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3).

48. Joseph’s counsel commended itself to Pharaoh and his officers. "And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art" (Gen. 41:37-39). Pharaoh recognized that the wisdom manifested by this Hebrew slave had its source not in occult magic, but in the Spirit of God. Joseph had spoken with a discretion and wisdom far different from that possessed by the court philosophers, and this was freely owned by the king and his servants. So, too, the words of the Lord Jesus made a profound impression upon those who heard Him. "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine. For He taught them as One having authority, and not as the scribes" (Matthew 7:28, 29). "And when He was come into His own country, He taught them in their synagogues, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom?" (Matthew 13:54). Just as Pharaoh and his servants were struck by the wisdom in Joseph. So here, those who listened to the Lord Jesus marveled at His wisdom. And just as Pharaoh confessed, "Can we find such a one as this is?.. there is none so discreet and wise," so the auditors of Christ acknowledged, "Never man spake like this Man" (John 7:46)!

49. Joseph is duly exalted, and set over all Egypt. "And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art. Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou" (Gen. 41:39, 40). What a blessed change this was: from shame to glory, from the dungeon to the place of rule, from being a slave in fetters to being elevated high above all, Pharaoh alone being excepted. This was a grand reward for his previous fidelity, and a fitting recognition of his worth. And how beautifully this speaks to us of the One whom Joseph foreshadowed! He was here in humiliation and shame, but He is here so no longer. God has highly exalted Him. He is "gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him" (1 Pet. 3:22).

50. Joseph was seated on the throne of another. How marvelously accurate is the type. Joseph was not seated upon his own throne; he was not in the place of rule over his brethren. Though he was placed over Pharaoh’s house, and according to his word was all Egypt to be ruled yet, "in the Throne" Pharaoh was greater than Joseph. So we read in Revelation 3:21, that the ascended Christ has said, "to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with He in My Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His Throne."

"Today our Lord Jesus Christ shares the throne of the Father as Joseph shared the throne of Pharaoh. As Joseph ruled over Pharaoh’s house with his word, so today our Lord Jesus Christ rules over the Father’s household, the household of faith, the Church, by and through His Word. And today, while the Lord Jesus Christ is on the throne of His Father, He is not on His own throne. Read the passage just quoted in Revelation again, and it will be seen that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself makes a distinction between His own throne and the Father’s throne, and promises reward to the overcomer, not on the Father’s throne, but on His own; and we know, according to the promise of the angel made to Mary, and the covenant made to David, and the title He wears as the King of Israel, ‘the Son of David, the Son of Abraham,’ that His throne is at Jerusalem, ‘the city of the great King.’ On His Father’s throne He sits today as the Rejected Man, the Rejected Jew" (Dr. Haldeman).

51. Joseph was exalted to the throne because of his personal worth. "All this is typical of the present exaltation of Christ Jesus the Lord. He who was once the Crucified is now the Glorified. He whom men once put upon a gibbet, has been placed by God upon His throne. Joseph was given his place of exaltation in Egypt purely on the ground of his personal worth and actual service rendered by him to the country and kingdom of Egypt" (Mr. Knapp). And what a lovely parallel to this we find in Philippians 2—yet as far as our Lord excelled Joseph in personal worth and service, so far is His exaltation the higher—"Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him" (Phil. 2:6-9).

52. Joseph was invested with such insignia as became his new position. "And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck" (Gen. 40:42). And thus we read of the Antitype: "Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince, and a Savior" (Acts 5:31). And again, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor" (Heb. 2:9). Compare, too, the description of our glorified Lord as given in Revelation 1. There we behold Him, "clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle" (Gen. 5:13).

53. Joseph’s authority and glory are publicly owned. "And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee; and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt" (Gen. 41:43). On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jews who had condemned and crucified the Savior, "Therefore let all the House of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). And it is the part of wisdom, dear reader, to recognize and own this. Have you recognized the exalted dignity of Christ, and by faith seen that the One who died on Calvary’s Cross is now seated on the right hand of the Majesty on high? Have you submitted to His Lordship, so that you live now only to please Him? Have you "bowed the knee" before Him? If not, O, may Divine grace constrain you to do so without further delay, voluntarily and gladly, that you may not be among the great crowd who shall, in the coming Day, be compelled to do so; for God has sworn, "that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth" (Phil. 2:10).

54. Joseph received from Pharaoh a new name. "And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-paaneah" (Gen. 41:45), which signifies, according to its Egyptian meaning, "the Savior of the world." So, to quote once more from Philippians 2, we read, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him the Name which is above every name. . . Jesus" (Phil. 2:9, 10). This name He bore while on earth, but at that time it was held as pledge and promise, "Thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21) said the angel. But He could not "save His people from their sins" until He had borne them in His own body on the tree, until He had risen from the dead, until He returned to heaven and sent forth the Holy Spirit to apply the benefits and virtues of His finished work. But when He ascended on high He became Savior in fact. God exalted Him with His right hand "to be a Prince and a Savior" (Acts 5:31), and therefore did God Himself then give to His beloved Son the Name which is above every name, even the Name of "Jesus," which means the Savior; just as after the period of his shame was over, and Joseph had been exalted by Pharaoh, he, then, received the name which signifies "the Savior of the world!"

Gentle Reader, have you an interest, a personal one, in the value and saving efficacy of that Name which is above every name? If not, receive Him now as your own Savior. If by grace, you have, then bow before Him in adoration and praise.



ENDNOTES:

[1] There are other Scriptures which show that the Lord Jesus raised Himself (John 2:19; John 10:17. 18, etc).. But, above, we have quoted those which emphasized the fulfillment of the type.

"Doc Notes" Lesson 2 part 18 Joseph

Gentle reader, we continue to look at our last of the 7 in Genesis, Joseph a type of Christ.

Genesis 37 closes with an account of Jacob's sons selling their brother Joseph unto the Midianites, and they, in turn selling him into Egypt. This speaks, in type, of Christ being rejected by Israel, and delivered unto the Gentiles. From the time that the Jewish leaders delivered their Messiah into the hands of Pilate they have, as a nation, had no further dealings with Him; and God, too, has turned from them to the Gentiles. Hence it is that there is an important turn in our type at this stage. Joseph is now seen in the hands of the Gentiles. But before we are told what happened to Joseph in Egypt, the Holy Spirit traces for us, in typical outline, the history of the Jews, while the antitypical Joseph is absent from the land. This is found in Genesis 38.

It is remarkable that Genesis 38 records the history of Judah, for long before the Messiah was rejected by the Jews, Israel (the ten tribes) had ceased to have a separate history. Here, then, Judah foreshadows the history of the Jews since their rejection of Christ. "And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in to her"(Gen. 38:2). How striking this is! "Canaanite" signifies "the merchantman," and "Shuah" means "riches." How plainly the meaning of these names give us the leading characteristics of the Jews during the centuries from the Cross! No longer are they the settled husbandmen and quiet shepherds as of old; but, instead, travelling merchants. And "riches" has been their great pursuit. Three sons were born to Judah by Shuah, and the "Numerical Bible" suggests as the meaning of their names: "Er"Ñenmity; "Onan"Ñiniquity; "Shelah"Ñsprout. Deeply significant, too, are these names. "Enmity" against Christ is what has marked the Jews all through the centuries of this Christian era. "Iniquity" surely fits this avaricious people, the average merchant of whom is noted for dishonesty, lying and cheating. While "sprout" well describes the feeble life of this nation, so marvellously preserved by God through innumerable trials and persecutions. The chapter terminates with the sordid story of Tamar, the closing portions of which obviously foreshadowing the end-time conditions of the Jews. In the time of her travail "twins were in her womb" (Gen. 38:27). So in the tribulation period there shall be two companies in Israel. The first, appropriately named "Pharez," which means "breach," speaking of the majority of the nation who will break completely with God and receive and worship the Antichrist. The second, "Zerah," that had the "scarlet thread" upon his hand (Gen. 38:30), pointing to the godly remnant who will be saved, as was Rahab of old by the "scarlet cord." But we must turn now to Genesis 39.

Genesis 39 is more than a continuation of what has been before us in Genesis 37, being separated, as it is, from that chapter by what is recorded in 38. Genesis in 39 is really a new beginning in the type, taking us back to the Incarnation, and tracing the experiences of the Lord Jesus from another angle. Continuing our enumeration (see previous article), we may observe:

26. Joseph becomes a Servant. "And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, brought him out of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither (Gen. 39:1). What a contrast from being the beloved son in his father's house to the degradation of slavery in Egypt! But this was as nothing compared with the voluntary self-humiliation of the Lord Jesus. He who was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant (Phil. 2:6, 7). "Bond-slave" expresses the force of the original better than "servant." It is to this the prophetic language of Psalm 40 refers. There we hear the Lord Jesus saying, "Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; Mine ears hast Thou digged; burnt offering and sin offering hast Thou not required. Then said I, lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of Me. I delight to do Thy will, O My God." These words carry us back to Exodus 21:5, 6. "And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free. Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever." The Lord Jesus was the Speaker of that prophecy in Psalm 40, and the fulfiller of this type in Exodus 21. He was the One who took the Servant place, and voluntarily entered into the degradation of slavery. And it is this which Joseph here so strikingly typified.

27. Joseph was a Prosperous Servant. "And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand" (Gen. 39:2, 3). Observe, particularly, it is here said, the Lord made all that Joseph did "to prosper in his hand." How these words remind us of two prophetic scriptures which speak of the perfect Servant of Jehovah. The first is the opening Psalm, which brings before us the "Blessed Man," the Man who walked not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful; the Man whose delight was in the Law of the Lord, and in whose Law He did meditate day and night; the Man of whom God said, "And He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth His fruit in His Season; His leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever He doeth shall prosper" (Ps. 1:3). Manifestly, this spoke, specifically, of the Lord Jesus, in whom, alone, the terms of the opening verses of this Psalm were fully realized. The second scripture is found in that matchless fifty-third of Isaiah (every sentence of which referred to the Son of God incarnate, and to Him, expressly, as Jehovah's "Servant," see Genesis 52:13), we read, "The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." How marvelously accurate the type! Of Joseph it is recorded, "The Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand" (Gen. 39:3). Of Christ it is said, "The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand" (Isa. 53:10).

28. Joseph's master was well pleased with him. "And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand" (Gen. 39:4). How could it be otherwise? Joseph was entirely different from any other servant that Potiphar ever had. The fear of God was upon him; the Lord 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 God ever had. The fear of the Lord was upon Him (see Isaiah 11:2). And so faithfully did He serve God, He could say, "I do always those things that please Him" (John 8:29).

29. Joseph, the servant, was made a blessing to others. "And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house and in the field" (Gen. 34:5). So, too, the Father entrusted to the Son all the interests of the Godhead the manifestation of the Divine character, the glorifying of God's name, and the vindication of His throne. And what has been the outcome of the Beloved of the Father taking the Servant place, and assuming and discharging these onerous responsibilities? Has not the Lord "blessed" the antitypical "Egyptian's house," for the sake of that One whom Joseph foreshadowed? Clearly, the "Egyptian's house" symbolized the world, and how bountifully has the world been blessed for Christ's sake!

30. Joseph was a goodly person. "And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored" (Gen. 39:6). How carefully has the Holy Spirit here guarded the type! We must always distinguish between the person and the place which he occupies. Joseph had entered into the degradation of slavery. He was no longer at his own disposal, but subject to the will of another. He was no longer dwelling in his father's house in Canaan, but instead, was a bond slave in an Egyptian's house. Such was his position. But concerning his person we are told, "Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored." So, too, the Son of God took a lowly place, the place of humiliation and shame, the place of submission and servitude. Yet, how zealously did the Father see to it that the glory of His person was guarded! No sooner was He laid in the manger (the place He took), than God sent the angels to announce to the Bethlehem shepherds that the One born (the person) was none other than "Christ, the Lord." A little later, the wise men from the East prostrate themselves before the young child in worship. As soon as He comes forth to enter (the place of) His public ministryÑserving others, instead of being servedÑGod causes one to go before Him and testify that he was not worthy to stoop down and unloose the shoe-latchet of the (person) of the Lamb of God. So, too, on the Cross, where, supremely, God's Servant was seen in the place of shame, God caused Him to be owned as "the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54)! Truly, was He a "goodly person, and well favored."

31. Joseph was sorely tempted, yet sinned not. "And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand. There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife; how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? And it came to pass as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out" (Gen. 39:7-12).

It is surely not without design that the Holy Spirit has placed in juxtaposition the account of the unchastity of Judah in Genesis 38 with the chastity of Joseph here in Genesis 39. And how significant that the unfaithfulness of the one is placed before the faithfulness of the other! Joseph's temptation foreshadowed the temptation of the Lord Jesus, the last Adam, and His faithfulness in refusing the evil solicitations of Satan, which was in marked contrast from the failure of the first Adam, before Him. The marvelous accuracy of our type may be further seen by observing that Joseph's temptation is here divided into three distinct parts (as was that of our Lord), see Genesis 39:7, 10, 12. So, again, it should be remarked, that Joseph was tempted not in Canaan, by his brethren, but in Egypt (symbol of the world), by the wife of a captain of Pharaoh's guard. And the temptation suffered by the Lord Jesus emanated, not from His brethren according to the flesh, but from Satan, "the prince of this world."

Beautiful is it to mark how Joseph resisted the repeated temptationÑ"How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" This is the more striking if we link up this utterance of Joseph's with Psalm 105:19, "The Word of the Lord tried him." So it was by the same Word that the Savior repulsed the Enemy. But notice here one point in contrast: "And he (Joseph) left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out" (Gen. 39:12). So, the Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, enjoined him to "Flee youthful lusts" (2 Tim. 2:22). How different with the Perfect One! He said, "Get thee hence, Satan" (Matthew 4:10), and we read, "Then the Devil leaveth Him." In all things He has the pre-eminence.

32. Joseph was falsely accused. "And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me. And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out" (Gen. 39:16-18). There was no ground whatever for a true charge to be brought against Joseph, so an unjust one was preferred. So it was, too, with Him who was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." His enemies "the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put Him to death. But found none." Yet, at the last, "came two false witnesses" (Matthew 16:59, 60), who bore untruthful testimony against Him.

33. Joseph attempted no defense. "And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me: that his wrath was kindled" (Gen. 39:19), though notice, it does not add, "against Joseph." In Genesis 37, we beheld Joseph's passive submission to the wrong done him by his heartless brethren. So here, when falsely and foully accused by this Egyptian woman, he attempts no self-vindication; not a word of appeal is made; nor is there any murmuring against the cruel injustice done him, as he is cast into prison. There was no recrimination; nothing but a quiet enduring of the wrong. When Joseph was reviled, like the Savior, he reviled not again. And how all this reminds us of what we read in Isaiah 53:7, with its recorded fulfillment in the Gospels, "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth!"

34. Joseph was cast into prison. "And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound; and he was there in the prison" (Gen. 39:20). "Taking the garment that Joseph had left behind him in his flight, she used it as a proof of his guilt, and first to the servants, and then to her husband. She made out a case against the Hebrew slave. The way she spoke of her husband to the servants (verse 14) shows the true character of the woman, and perhaps also the terms of her married life; while the fact that Potiphar only placed Joseph in prison instead of commanding him to be put to death is another indication of the state of affairs. For appearance' sake Potiphar must take some action, but the precise action taken tells its own tale. He evidently did not credit her story" (Dr. G. Thomas).

Just as Joseph, though completely innocent, was unrighteously cast into prison, so our Lord was unjustly sentenced to death by one who owned repeatedly, "I find no fault in Him." And how striking is the parallel between the acts of Potiphar and Pilate. It is evident that Potiphar did not believe the accusation which his wife brought against JosephÑhad he really done so, as has been pointed out, he would have ordered his Hebrew slave put to death. But to save appearances he had Joseph cast into prison. Now mark the close parallel in Pilate. He, too, it is evident, did not believe in the guilt of our Lord or why have been so reluctant to give his consent for Him to be crucified? He, too, knew the character of those who accused the Savior. But, for the sake of appearancesÑas an officer of the Roman Empire, against the One who was charged with being a rebel against Caesar, for political expediencyÑhe passed sentence.

35. Joseph thus suffered at the hands of the Gentiles. Not only was Joseph envied and hated by his own brethren, and sold by them into the hands of the Gentiles, but he was also treated unfairly by the Gentiles too, and unjustly cast into prison. So it was with his Antitype, "The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate. with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were gathered together" (Acts 4:26, 27).

36. Joseph, the innocent one, suffered severely. In Stephen's speech we find a statement which bears this out. Said he, "And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt," and then, referring to his experiences after he had become a slave, he adds, "but God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions" (Acts 7:9, 10). How much, we wonder, is covered by these words! What indignities, trials and pains, was he called on to suffer? In Psalm 105 there is another word more specific," He (God) sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: whose feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in iron" (verses 17, 18). How these references remind us of that Blessed One, who was mocked and spat upon, scourged and crowned with thorns, and nailed to the cruel tree!

37. Joseph won the respect of his jailor. "But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison" (Gen. 39:21). Is not the antitype of this found in the fact that the Roman centurion, the one who had charge of the Crucifixion of the Savior, cried," Certainly this was a Righteous Man" (Luke 23:47). Thus did God give His Son favor in the sight of this Roman who corresponded with Joseph's jailor.

38. Joseph was numbered with transgressors. "And it came to pass that after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt, and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound" (Gen. 40:1-3). What a marvelous line is this in our typical picture. Joseph was not alone in the place of shame and suffering. Nor was the Lord Jesus as He hung on the heights of Calvary. And just as there were two malefactors crucified with Him, so two offenders were in the prison with Joseph! But the analogy extends ever further than this.

39. Joseph was the means of blessing to one, but the pronouncer of judgment on the other. His fellow prisoners had each of them a dream, and in interpreting them, Joseph declared that the butler should be delivered from prison, but to the baker he said, "Within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree, and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee" (Gen. 40:19). It is not without good reason that the Holy Spirit has seen fit to record the details of these dreams. Connected with the spared one, the butler, we read of "the cup" into which the grapes were pressed (Gen. 49:10-12), suggesting to us the precious Blood of the Lamb, by which all who believe are delivered. Connected with the one who was not delivered, the baker, were baskets full of bakemeats (Gen. 40:16, 17), suggesting human labors, the works of man's hands, which are powerless to deliver the sinner, or justify him before God: for all such there is only the "Curse," referred to here by the baker being "hanged on a tree" (cf. Galatians 3:13). So it was at the Cross: the one thief went to Paradise; the other to Perdition.

40. Joseph evidenced his knowledge of the future. In interpreting their dreams, Joseph foretold the future destiny of the butler and the baker. But observe that in doing this he was careful to ascribe the glory to Another, saying, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" (Gen. 40:8). So the One whom Joseph foreshadowed, again and again, made known what should come to pass in the future, yet did he say, "For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" (John 12:49).

41. Joseph's predictions came true. "And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them" (Gen. 40:20-22). Just as Joseph had interpreted so it came to pass. So shall it be with every word of the Son of God, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but His words shall not pass away. And O, unsaved reader, just as the solemn announcement of Joseph concerning the baker was actually fulfilled, so shall these words of the Lord Jesus be found trueÑ"he that believeth not shall be damned!"

42. Joseph desired to be Remembered. Said Joseph to the butler, "But think on me when it shall be well with thee" (Gen. 40:14). So, in connection with the Supper, the Savior has said, "This do in remembrance of Me."

As we admire these lovely typical pictures, like the queen of Sheba, there is no more strength left in us, and we can only bow our heads and say, "How precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!"

"Doc Notes" Lesson 2 Part 17 Joseph

Gentle Readers,

We are rapidly coming to the end of our study in Genesis and will continue to look at Exodus next, but first Joseph:

First in Genesis Chapter 37
In the first of our chapters upon Jacob we called attention to the fact that each of the great Israelitish patriarchs illustrated some basic spiritual truth and that the chronological order of their lives agrees with the doctrinal order of truth. In Abraham we have illustrated the doctrine of election, for he was singled out by God from all the heathen and chosen to be the head of the Jewish nation. In Isaac we have foreshadowed the doctrine of Divine sonship: Abram's firstborn, Ishmael, represents the man born after the flesh, the old nature; but Isaac, born by the miraculous power of God, tells of the new man, the spiritual nature. In Jacob we see exemplified the conflict between the two natures in the believer, and also God's gracious discipline which issued, slowly but surely, in the triumph of the spirit over the flesh. Joseph, typically, speaks to us of heirship preceded by "suffering," and points forward to the time when the sons and heirs shall reign together with Christ. There is thus a beautiful moral order in the several leading truths illustrated and personified by these men. And it should be observed that here, as in everything which pertains to God's Word, its orderliness evidences its Divine Authorship; everything is in its proper place.

Joseph, then, speaks of heirship and, as another has beautifully expressed it, "And consistently with this, in Joseph, we get suffering before glories . . . For while discipline attaches to us as children, sufferings go before us as heirs; and this gives us the distinction between Jacob and Joseph. It is discipline we see in Jacob, discipline leading him as a child, under the hand of the Father of his spirit, to a participation of God's holiness. It is sufferings, martyr-sufferings, sufferings for righteousness, we see in Joseph, marking his path to glories. And this is the crowning thing! and thus it comes as the closing thing, in this wondrous book of Genesis- after this manner perfect in its structure, as it is truthful in its records. One moral after another is studied, one secret after another is revealed, in the artless family scenes which constitute its materials, and in them we learn our calling, the sources and the issues of our history, from our election to our inheritance" (Mr. J. G. Bellett).

Joseph is the last of the saints which occupies a prominent position in Genesis. In all there are seven- Adam, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. More space is devoted to the last of these seven than to any of the others. There are several reasons for this which appear on the surface. In the first place, the history of Joseph is the chief link which connects Exodus with Genesis; the earlier chapters of Exodus being unintelligible without the last ten chapters of Genesis. It is Joseph's life which explains the remarkable development of the Hebrews from a mere handful of wandering shepherds to a numerous and settled colony in Egypt. But no doubt the chief reason why the life of Joseph is described with such fullness of detail is because almost everything in it typified something in connection with Christ. But more of this later.

"Joseph was the elder son of Rachel (Gen. 30:24). Of his early life nothing is recorded. He could not have been more than five or six years old when his father left Mesopotamia. He was therefore the child of Jacob's later life, and escaped all the sad experiences associated with the earlier years at Haran. He comes before us in this chapter (Gen. 37) at the age of seventeen. His companions were his half-brothers, the grown-up sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. From all that we have hitherto seen of them they must have been utterly unfit companions for such a youth. Jacob's elder sons had, naturally, been affected by the life in Haran, by the jealousy at home, and by the scheming between Laban and Jacob. They had been brought up under the influence of the old Jacob, while Joseph had been the companion of the changed Jacob or ÔIsrael.' There are few people more unfitted for influence over younger brothers than elder brothers of bad character" (Dr. G. Thomas).

"These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph being seven. teen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him" (Gen. 37:2-4).

There are perhaps few portions of Holy Writ with which we are more familiar than the one now before us. From earliest childhood many of us have listened to this beautiful but pathetic narrative. The aged patriarch, his favorite son, the coat of many colors, Joseph's dreams, the envious brothers, their wicked conduct- all so true to life have been indelibly impressed upon our memories since we first learned them on our mother's knee, or from the lips of our Sunday School teacher. Many are the lessons which may be drawn, and pointed are the warnings which are found here. But we shall pass from these to something deeper and even more precious.

As we read thoughtfully the books of the Old Testament our study of them is but superficial if they fail to show us that in divers ways and by various means God was preparing the way for the coming of His Son. The central purpose in the Divine Incarnation, the great outstanding object in the life and death of the Lord Jesus, were prefigured beforehand, and ought to have been rendered familiar to the minds of men. Among the means thus used of God was the history of different persons through whom the life and character of Christ were to a remarkable degree made manifest beforehand. Thus Adam represented His Headship, Abel His Death, Noah His Work in providing a refuge for His people, Melchizedek pointed to Him as priest, Moses as prophet, David as King. But the fullest and most striking of all these typical personage was Joseph, for between his history and that of Christ we may trace fully a hundred points of analogy! Others before us have written upon this captivating theme, and from their writings we shall draw freely in the course of these papers on the typical significance of Joseph's history.

In the verses quoted above from Genesis 37 there are seven points in which Joseph prefigured Christ, each of which is worthy of our attention, namely, the meaning of his name, the nature of his occupation, his opposition to evil, his father's love, his relation to his father's age, his coat of many colors, and the hatred of his brethren. Let us consider each of these in turn:

1. The Meaning of his Name. It is most significant that our patriarch had two names- Joseph, and Zaphnath-paaneah (Gen. 41:45) which the rabbins translate "Revealer of secrets." This latter name was given to him by Pharaoh in acknowledgment of the Divine wisdom which was in him. Thus, Joseph may be said to be his human name and Zaphnath-paaneah his Divine name. So, also, the one whom Joseph foreshadowed has a double name- "Jesus" being His human name, "Christ" signifying "the Anointed" of God, or, again, we have his double name in "Son of Man" which speaks of His humanity, and "Son of God" which tells of His Deity. Let us note how the meaning of Joseph's names were typical in their significance.

"Joseph" means adding (see Genesis 30:24). The first Adam was the great subtractor, the last Adam is the great Adder: through the one, men became lost; by the other, all who believe are saved. Christ is the One who "adds" to Heaven's inhabitants. It was to this end that He came to this earth, tabernacled among men for more than thirty years, and then died on the Cross: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24).

The ultimate result of His Death will be "much fruit," and at His return this will be gathered into the Heavenly garner (John 14:3). But Joseph's second name means "Revealer of secrets." This was a most appropriate name. Revealer of secrets Joseph ever was, not merely as an interpreter of dreams, but in every scene of his life, in every relation he sustained- when with his brethren in Potiphar's household, in prison, or before Pharaoh- his words and his works ever tested those with whom he had to do, making manifest their secret condition. How strikingly this foreshadowed Christ, of whom it was said in the days of His infancy, "Behold this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against . . . that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34, 35).

In the incident now before us Joseph is seen as the Revealer of secrets in a double way. First, he revealed his father's heart, for he is here seen as the special object on which Jacob's affections were centered. Second, he revealed the hearts of his brethren by making manifest their wicked "hatred." In like manner, our blessed Savior revealed the Father's heart, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:18). And in like manner, the Lord Jesus also revealed what was in the hearts of men. One of the most striking and prominent features presented in the four Gospels is the fact that everywhere He went the Lord Jesus exposed all. He made manifest the secret condition of all with whom He came into contact. He was truly "the Light of the world," shining in "a dark place"- detecting, displaying, uncovering, bringing to light the hidden things of darkness. Well, then, was Joseph named the one who added, and the one that revealed.

2. By Occupation Joseph was a Shepherd, "feeding the flock." This is one of the prominent lines which is found running through several of the Old Testament typical personages. Abel, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, were each of them "shepherds," and a close study of what is recorded of each one in this particular relation will reveal that each pointed forward to some separate and distinctive aspect of our Lord's Shepherdhood. No figure of Christ is more beautiful than this: our favorite Psalm (the twenty-third) presents Him in this character. One of our earliest conceptions of the Savior, as children, was as the Good Shepherd. The figure suggests His watchful care, His unwearied devotion, His tender solicitude, His blessed patience, His protecting grace, His matchless love in giving His life for the sheep. Above, Joseph is seen "feeding the flock," pointing to the earthly ministry of Christ who, sent unto "the lost sheep of the House of Israel," spent Himself in tending the needs of others.

3. His Opposition to Evil. "And Joseph brought unto his father their evil report." It is truly pathetic to find how this action of Joseph has been made an occasion for debate, some arguing that in doing what he did Joseph acted wrongly; others defending him. But it is not as a tale bearer that Joseph is here viewed, rather is he seen as the truth-speaker. Not by cowardly silence would he be the accomplice of their evil-doing. And here too we may discern a clear foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will quote but one verse, but it is sufficient to establish the type: "The world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil" (John 7:7).

4. His Father's Love. "Israel loved Joseph more than all his brethren." This is one of the lines which stands out most distinctly in this lovely Old Testament picture. How Jacob loved Joseph! His mark of special esteem in making for him the coat of many colors: his unconsolsble grief when he believed that Joseph had been devoured by beasts; his taking of that long journey into Egypt that he might again look upon his favorite son ere death overtook him- all tell out the deep love of Jacob for Joseph. And how all this speaks to us of the Father's love for His only begotten Son! Through Solomon the Spirit of prophecy, speaking of the relation which existed between the Father and the Son in a past eternity, said, "The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way before His works of old;" and again, "Then I was by Him, as One brought up with Him, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him" (Prov. 8:22, 30). How sweetly was this illustrated by Jacob's love for Joseph! Again, when the Son of God became incarnate, and was about to begin His public ministry, the heavens were opened and the Voice of the Father was heard saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). So, also, when His public ministry neared its close, once more the Father's Voice was heard, upon the Mount of Transfiguration, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him" (Matthew 17:5). The Son, too, affirmed the Father's love for Himself - "Therefore doth My Father love me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again" (John 10:17). And when the Son had finished the Work given Him to do, when He had laid down His life and had risen again from the dead, the Father displayed His love by removing Him from the scenes of His sufferings and shame, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name" (Phil. 2:9). And not only did God highly exalt His blessed Son, but He also seated Him upon His own throne (Rev. 3:21), that during these centuries when the Church is being built Christ might be near to the Father!

5. His Relation to his father's Age. "He was the son of his old age." No line in this picture is without its own meaning- how could it be, when none other than the Spirit of God drew it! Every word here is profoundly significant. We quote from the words of another: "Old age, translated into spiritual language and applied to God, signifies Ôeternity.' Jesus Christ was the Son of God's eternity. From all eternity He was God's Son. He was not derived, He was eternally begotten; He is God of God, very God of very God, equal with, and of the same substance as, the Father." As the opening verse of John's Gospel declares, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." And again, in His high-priestly prayer the Lord Jesus said, "And now, O Father, glorify thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was" (John 17:5). The Lord Jesus Christ is no creature, He is Creator (John 1:3); He is no mere emanation of Deity, He is the One in whom dwelleth "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9). He is far more than a manifestation of God, He is Himself "God manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16). He is not a person who had His beginning in time, but is Eternal in His being; as the true rendering of Micah 5:2 declares, the One who was born in Bethlehem of Judea was none other than He "whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of Eternity." Christ then was, in the language of our type "the Son of (His Father's) old age"- the eternal Son of God.

6. His Coat of Many Colors. Thus far the interpreting of the type has been simple, but here, we encounter that which is not quite so easy. How gracious of God for providing us with help on this point! We are not left to our own imaginations to guess at the meaning of the many colored coat. No; guesswork is not only vain, but altogether needless in regard to God's blessed Word. Scripture is its own interpreter. In Judges 5:30, we read, "Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colors, a prey of divers colors of needlework, of divers colors on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?" Here we learn that such garments were to be worn as a mark of distinction. Again in 2 Samuel 13:18 we read, "And she had a garment of divers colors upon her: for with such robes were the King's daughters that were virgins appareled." Here again we get the same thought: This was the attire of unmarried princesses; it was a mark of honor, singling out the wearer as one of noble birth. This, no doubt, was Jacob's object to distinguish Joseph (born of Rachel) from his half brothers (born of the slave-wives).

How appropriate was this as an adumbration of Christ! He, too, was marked off from all His brethren according to the flesh, marked off as one of noble birth, marked off by outward signs of peculiar distinction and honor. It is blessed to behold what care and pains God took to manifest this coat of many colors, in connection with His blessed Son. The "virgin's" Babe was distinguished from all others born by the Angelic Song o'er Bethlehem's plains- none other was ever welcomed thus by the Heavenly hosts! So, too, the "star" that appeared to the wise men gave evidence of the Heavenly Origin of the new-born King. At His baptism we see again the many-colored coat: multitudes presented themselves to John at the river Jordan and were baptized of him; but when the Christ of God came up out of the waters, the Heavens were opened and the Spirit of God descended upon Him in the form of a dove, thus distinguishing Christ from all others! Behold again the coat of many colors in John 12. In John 13 the feet of the disciples (pointing to their walk) are defiled, and need to be washed with water (type of Word); but in the previous chapter (for in all things Christ must have the pre-eminence) we see the feet of our blessed Lord, not washed with water (for there was no defilement in Him), but anointed with precious ointment, the fragrance of which filled the house, telling that the walk of Him (as well as His blessed person) was a sweet smelling savor to the Father. Thus again was Christ distinguished from and elevated above all others. So, too, at the Cross, the distinguishing coat of many colors may be seen. In death, as everywhere, His uniqueness was manifested. He died as none other ever died or could: He "laid down His life." And the uniqueness of His death was divinely attested in the supernatural phenomena that accompanied it: the three hours darkness, the quaking of the earth, and the rending of the veil. The "many colors" of the coat also speak to us of Christ's varied glories and infinite perfections.

7. The Hatred of his Brethren. "They hated him and could not speak peaceably to him." It was Jacob's love which brought out the heart's enmity of these men. Joseph then, made manifest both his father's love and his brethren's hatred. So when Christ came to the earth He did these two things. He revealed the Father's heart and He exposed man's enmity. And one of two things always followed: either men hated Him for exposing them, or they accepted such exposure and took refuge in the Grace which He revealed. When Christ exposed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees they hated Him; but when He exposed to the woman at the well her sinful life and condition, she welcomed it, and availed herself of God's grace. So it is now: those who hear the truth of God faithfully preached, the lost and guilty condition of the natural man fearlessly proclaimed, either they hate it, and seek to hide behind the filthy rags of their own self-righteousness, or they come out into the light, bow to God's verdict, and casting themselves in the dust before Him as Hell-deserving sinners, believe in the Savior which the Gospel makes known. In which class are you found, dear reader? Are you, like the brethren of Joseph who hated the son of the father's love, "despising and rejecting" Christ? Friend, make no mistake here. You either love or you hate the Lord Jesus Christ! and it is written, "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be accursed" (1 Cor. 16:22). O heed now this solemn admonition of God, "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him" (Ps. 2:12).

Before we turn to consider the special subject of this study we must first notice three or four points in the first eleven verses of Genesis 37.

"And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood around about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed! Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying" (vv. 5-11). Continuing our numeration we may note:

8. Joseph is hated because of his Words. There are two lines which are, perhaps, made more prominent than others in this first typical picture: the love of Jacob for his son, and the hatred of the brethren. Three times over within the compass of these few verses reference is made to the "hatred" of Joseph's brethren. In verse 4 we read, "they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him." Again, in verse 5 we are told, "and they hated him yet the more." And again in verse 8: "And they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words." It will be seen from these references there was a twofold occasion for their wicked enmity. First, they hated Joseph's person, because of Jacob's special love for him; second, they hated him because of "his words." They hated him because of what he was, and also because of what he said. Thus it was, too, with the One whom Joseph typified.

As we turn to the four Gospels it will be found that those who were our Lord's brethren according to the flesh hated Him in this same twofold way. They hated Him because He was the beloved Son of the Father, and they also hated Him because of His teaching. As illustrations of the former we may note the following passages: "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God" (John 5:18). "The Jews then murmured at Him, because He said, I am the Bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:41). "I and My Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him" (John 10:30, 31). Such was their wicked hostility against His person. And it was just the same, too, in regard to His teaching: "And all they in the synagogue when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might east Him down headlong" (Luke 4:28, 29). "The world cannot hate you: but Me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil" (John 7:7). "But now ye seek to kill Me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God" (John 8:40).

9. Joseph was to enjoy a remarkable future. These dreams of Joseph intimated that this favored son of Jacob was the subject of high destinies: they were Divine announcements of his future exaltation. There can be little doubt that Jacob and his sons perceived that these dreams were prophetic, otherwise the brethren would have regarded them as "idle tales," instead of being angered by them. Note, too, that "his father observed the saying" (v. 11).

So, too, of the Antitype. A remarkable future was promised to the One who first appeared in lowliness and shame. Concerning the Child that was to be born unto Israel, the Son given, it was pre-announced: "The government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end" (Isa. 9:6, 7). To his mother the angel declared, "Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David; and He shall reign over the House of Jacob for ever: and of His kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:31-33). That Joseph's Antitype was to enjoy a remarkable future was thus intimated beforehand.

10. Joseph foretold his future Sovereignty. It is worthy of notice that the two recorded dreams of Joseph contemplated a double sovereignty: the first dream concerned "the field," which pointed to the earthly dominion of our Lord; but the second dream was occupied with the sun, the moon and the stars, and tells, in type, of the Heavenly dominion of Christ, for all power (or authority) has been given to Him in heaven and on earth.

Joseph's announcement of his future exaltation only served to fan the fires of enmity, and gave intensity to his brethren's hatred. And so it was with the Savior. The more our Lord unfolded the glory of His person, the more He spoke of His future exaltation, the more did the Jews- His brethren according to the flesh- hate Him. The climax of this is to be seen in Matthew 26:64: "Nevertheless, I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Here was the announcement of His future sovereignty, and mark the immediate effects of His words on those that heard Him: "Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy."

11. Joseph was envied by his brethren. "When his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him" (verse 4). In these words are found the key to what followed. That which was the prime cause of the brethren's hatred was envy: as verse 11 tells us, "And his brethren envied him." They were jealous of the partiality shown by Jacob to their half-brother. This is a sin which has characterized human nature all down the ages: the difference between envy and covetousness is this- we envy persons, we covet things.

Here, too the type holds good. Christ was "envied" by those who were His brethren, according to the flesh. This comes out in His parable of the Wicked Husbandman, "Having yet therefore one son, His well-beloved, He sent Him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence My Son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the Heir; come, let us kill Him, and the inheritance shall be ours" (Mark 12:6, 7). Again, "For this cause the people also met Him, for that they heard that He had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after Him" (John 12:18, 19). How that utterance manifested the jealousy of their hearts! But even plainer is the testimony of Matthew 27:17, 18, for there the very word "envy" is found, "Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered Him." In our next study we shall consider, Joseph betrayed by his brethren.

"Doc Notes" Lesson 2 Part 16

Dear Gentle reader,
It been some time since we have visited together we are concluding what has been a interesting time in Genesis, and while I would be the first to point out we have just skimmed the surface there is much more that could be written and commented upon. We must at some point move on.

We have been looking at 7 outstanding men (I did not purposely leave out the women perhaps someone will address that issue at another time and place)
I wish to address now the post-Flood patriachs, and to save space we will group them together, though there is much we could say and would like to have said about them separately. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, these four following the typifying of regeneration, in Noah, exhibit, in a typical manner the qualities and characteristics of the regerate life. They show us those forms of life which are known after regeneration.

In Abraham we see the life of faith. He stands out as the supreme exemplar of the faith life. For we find it written 4 times in scripture “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Rom 1:17) In him we see the man of faith going forward, trusting in Divine guidance (lapses in trusting not withstanding -See Gen. 17:17, 20:2, ff. ), believing the Divine blessing, undergoing sharp testings and- despite occasional failures -being “accounted righteous” through faith, and being called “the friend of God.” Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? (2Ch 20:7)

In Isaac we see the life of sonship. The Genesis account clearly puts the emphasis upon Isaac’s unique sonship. He is the son of special promise, of special birth, of special preciousness, the only son of his mother and the only heir of his father, the son at whose weaning a great feast is made, and through whom the promises are to be realized, and for whom a special bride must be chosen. In Isaac then, dwelling in the land of inheritance, biding by the wells of water, with many joys and few conflicts we see the typified privileges of son ship [Now think of the Lord Christ Jesus, His life and what He left to bring us all to Himself, (not as a Bride as some would teach, for that privilege belongs to only the Nation of Israel) but as members, part and parcel of His Body].

In Jacob we see the life of service. Jacob is that life which (as at his birth) And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. (Gen 25:26) Jacob a worker throughout, busy with his hands, untiring service- busy yes, mistakes yes, the methods and manner wrong yes, yet there is a blessing at heart the motive will be found. When at last the struggle is over and God touches his servants thigh and teaches him and when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. (Gen 32:25-30) Jacob struggles with (perhaps himself) to be more than he was - to be prince in prayer. Jacob will become spiritual at heart, within him was the godliness, struggling to come out as all his words show. Esau will give up the birthright for meat. Jacob will give up his meat for the birthright, if by any means he might obtain the inheritance. Here then in Jacob, is eager activity, work service.

Our last study in Genesis will be devoted to Joseph, as I pointed out previously these studies are not by any means complete but are provided for your edification and a jumping off place for your own studies.

To be continued...

"Doc Notes" Lesson 2 part 15 "Noah"

Dear Gentle Readers,
Thank you for being patient with me as I took a wee sabbatical, Marti’s mother is doing as well as someone with Cancer can be expected to do, She is holding her own, and we thank you for all of your prayers.
In the mean time we were looking Last time we mentioned seven great men of Genesis, and now comes Noah. As a type figure among the seven outstanding men of Genesis, the special significance attaching to Noah is unmistakable. From the New Testament we learn that Noah’s experience of being “saved through water” is a typical anticipation of what we theologians call regeneration of what the Christian “baptism is a symbol “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ”: (1Pe 3:21)
Note:The water saved Noah and his family from perishing in the flood; to wit, by bearing up the ark. Baptism, in the proper sense of the term, as above explained, where the water used is a symbol, in like manner now saves us; that is, the water is an emblem of that purifying by which we are saved. It may be said to save us, not as the meritorious cause, but as the indispensable condition of salvation. No man can be saved without that regenerated and purified heart of which baptism is the appropriate symbol, and when it would be proper to administer that ordinance. The apostle cannot have meant that water saves us in the same way in which it saved Noah, because that cannot be true. It is neither the same in quantity, nor is it applied in the same way, nor is it efficacious in the same manner. It is indeed connected with our salvation in its own proper way, as an emblem of that purifying of the heart by which we are saved. Thus, it corresponds with the salvation of Noah by water, and is the (ἀ?τί?υπον antitupon) “antitype” of that. Nor does it mean that the salvation of Noah by water was designed to be a type of Christian baptism. There is not the least evidence of that; and it should not be affirmed without proof. The apostle saw a resemblance in some respects between the one and the other; such a resemblance that the one naturally suggested the other to his mind, and the resemblance was so important as to make it the proper ground of remark.
(But if Noah’s preservation in the ark, be the type of that salvation of which baptism is the emblem, who shall say it was not so designed of God? Must we indeed regard the resemblance between Noah’s deliverance and ours, as a happy coincidence merely?
Of Noah, as well as of Enoch it is written that “he walked with God”, but the type-emphasis is shifted a further stage forward in the account of Noah, so that now, consequent upon the spiritual choice indicated in the words “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. (Gen 6:9) we see spiritual renewal, typified in Noah’s passing through the waters of the Flood. First in Chapter 6, we see Noah , the man of spiritual choice still on the ground of the old world. Then in Chapter 7, we see him separated from the old world, in the ark (a type of Christ- sealed inside, as we a sealed by the Spirit of promise), and by the water (regeneration). Then in Chapters 8 & 9 we see him going forth into a new life in a new world-which speaks of newness of life through regeneration. Thus we see in Noah, typically, spiritual renewal.
To be continued....

Lesson 2 part 14 "Doc Notes" Enoch

Dear Gentle Reader,
I do hope that you haven’t been waiting too long for this next study of Genesis.

We are considering the seven most preemement men (to me) in this the first book of the English Bible.

Enoch: What is the distinguishing characteristic here? Enoch is forever immortalized as the man who “walked with God” could we ever aspire to such a lofty reputation? But what is the inner meaning of his walk with God? There was no compulsion about it. There was no need for him to walk with God, whether he wished to do so or not. The inner truth is that behind the walk was the will. There was a blending of Enoch’s will with the will of God. It was this that made the walk possible. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). Enoch put from himself all controversy with the will of God, nd accepted it in preference to his own.

But if behind the walk was the will, behind the will was the activity of that strange and vital faculty in human nature which we call choice. While it is true that God and Enoch walked together in a wonderful fellowship, yet the basic truth is not that ‘Enoch walked with God’. It was not God going Enoch’s way, but Enoch going God’s way. Behind this walk with God was the full and final choice of God’s will and way.

Enoch is the man who choses God’s way the man of spiritual desire. Enoch "initiated, dedicated, disciplined") is a Hebrew name.
Hanoch is related to the Hebrew word "chinuch", meaning: enlightenment, wisdom, spirituality.

Enoch appears briefly in the Old and New Testament. He is also represented in the Book of Enoch, which formed part of the Dead Sea Scrolls collection and presents itself as being written by Enoch himself.

Notably, as the great grandfather of Noah, Enoch is said through the Book of Enoch to have known of the coming of the great flood and hence Noah's knowledge of its coming. Enoch is noted as one of two humans (the other being Elijah) who, according to Christian tradition, did not die.

The Book of Enoch

Genesis 5:18-24 [18] Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. [19] After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. [20] So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. [21] Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. [22] After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. [23] So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. [24] And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Jude 1:14-15 [14] Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, [15] to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
We first learn of Enoch in Genesis 5 but it leaves us with questions. Hebrews 11 has the answers and Jude quotes Enoch! How did Jude come to know the words of Enoch? They are not in the Bible. The answer of course, is The Book of Enoch. A book which is actually quoted by Jude in the New Testament. What is the Book of Enoch and where did it come from?

Enoch was the great-grandfather of Noah. The Book of Enoch chapter 68:1 "And after that my great-grandfather Enoch gave me all the secrets in the book and in the parables which had been given to him, and he put them together for me in the words of the book of the parables."

The Book of Enoch was extant centuries before the birth of Christ and yet is considered by many to be more Christian in its theology than Jewish. It was considered scripture by many early Christians. The earliest literature of the so-called "Church Fathers" is filled with references to this mysterious book. The early second century "Epistle of Barnabus" makes much use of the Book of Enoch. Second and Third Century "Church Fathers" like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origin and Clement of Alexandria all make use of the Book of Enoch. Tertullian (160-230 C.E) even called the Book of Enoch "Holy Scripture". The Ethiopic Church even added the Book of Enoch to its official canon. It was widely known and read the first three centuries after Christ. This and many other books became discredited after the Council of Laodicea. And being under ban of the authorities, afterwards it gradually passed out of circulation.

At about the time of the Protestant Reformation, there came to be a renewed interest in the Book of Enoch which had long since been lost to the modern world. By the late 1400's rumors began to spread that somewhere a copy of the long lost Book of Enoch might still exist. During this time many books arose claiming to be the long lost book and were later found to be forgeries.

The return of the long lost Book of Enoch to the modern western world is credited to the famous explorer James Bruce, who in 1773 returned from six years in Abyssinia with three Ethiopic copies of the lost book. In 1821 Richard Laurence published the first English translation. The famous R.H. Charles edition was published in 1912. In the following years several portions of the Greek text surfaced. Then with the discovery of cave 4 of the Dead Sea Scrolls, seven fragmentary copies of the Aramaic text were discovered.

There are scholars who believe the Book of Enoch was published before the Christian era by some great unknown of Semetic race, who believing himself to be inspired in a post-prophetic age, borrowed the name of an antediluvian patriarch to authenticate his own enthusiastic forcast of the coming Messiah. The Book of Enoch is divided into five basic parts, but it is the The Book of Parables (37-71) which gives scholars the most trouble for it is primarily concerned with a figure called "the messiah"; "the righteous one"; "the chosen one" and "the son of man."

The Book of Enoch Chapter 46:1-2 [1] There I beheld the Ancient of days whose head was like white wool, and with him another, whose countenance resembled that of a man. His countenance was full of grace, like that of one of the holy angels. Then I inquired of one of the angels, who went with me, and who showed me every secret thing, concerning this Son of man; who he was; whence he was; and why he accompanied the Ancient of days. [2] He answered and said to me, This is the Son of man, to whom righteousness belongs; with whom righteousness has dwealt; and who will reveal all the treasures of that which is concealed: for the Lord of spirits has chosen him; and his portion has surpassed all before the Lord of spirits in everlasting uprightness."

1 Enoch
Discovery of the "Lost Text"

"The Greek word pseudepigrapha is a Greek word meaning 'falsely superscribed,' or what we moderns might call writing under a pen name. The classification, 'OT Pseudepigrapha,' is a label that scholars have given to these writings."
- Craig A. Evans, Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation, (1992) p. 22
"The Book of Enoch is a pseudepigraphical work (a work that claims to be by a biblical character). The Book of Enoch was not included in either the Hebrew or most Christian biblical canons, but could have been considered a sacred text by the sectarians."
- Milik, Jazef. T., ed. The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4
The Book of Enoch is "an ancient composition known from two sets of versions, an Ethiopic one that scholars identify as '1 Enoch', and a Slavonic version that is identified as '2 Enoch', and which is also known as The Book of the Secrets of Enoch. Both versions, of which copied manuscripts have been found mostly in Greek and Latin translations, are based on early sources that enlarged on the short biblical mention that Enoch, the seventh Patriarch after Adam, did not die because, at age 365, 'he walked with God' - taken heavenward to join the deity."
- Zecharia Sitchin, When Time Began
"I Enoch, also known as the Ethiopic Apocalypse of Enoch, is the oldest of the three pseudepigraphal books attributed to Enoch, the man who apparently did not die, but was taken up to heaven (Gen 5:24). The book was originally written in either Hebrew or Aramaic, perhaps both, but it survives in complete form only in Ethiopic (Ge'ez), and in fragmentary form in Aramaic, Greek (1:1-32:6; 6:1-10:14; 15:8-16:1; 89:42-49; 97:6-104), and Latin (106:1-18)."
"The materials in I Enoch range in date from 200 B.C.E. to 50 C.E. I Enoch contributes much to intertestamental views of angels, heaven, judgment, resurrection, and the Messiah. This book has left its stamp upon many of the NT writers, especially the author of Revelation."
- Craig A. Evans, Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation, (1992) p. 23
"Prior to the eighteenth century, scholars had believed the Book of Enoch to be irretrievably lost: composed long before the birth of Christ, and considered to be one of the most important pieces of Jewish mystical literature, it was only known from fragments and from references to it in other texts. James Bruce changed all this by procuring several copies of the missing work during his stay in Ethiopia. These were the first complete editions of the Book of Enoch ever to be seen in Europe."
- Graham Hancock, The Sign and the Seal
"The Book of Enoch remained in darkness until 1821, when the long years of dedicated work by a professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford were finally rewarded with the publication of the first ever English translation of the Book of Enoch. The Reverend Richard Laurence, Archbishop of Cashel, had labored for many hundreds of hours over the faded manuscript in the hands of the Bodleian Library, carefully substituting English words and expressions for the original Geez, while comparing the results with known extracts, such as the few brief chapters preserved in Greek by Syncellus during the ninth century."
- Andrew Collins, From the Ashes of Angels - The Forbidden Legacy of a Fallen Race (1996) p. 21
"The original Aramaic version was lost until the Dead Sea fragments were discovered."
"The original language of most of this work was, in all likelihood, Aramaic (an early Semitic language). Although the original version was lost in antiquity, portions of a Greek translation were discovered in Egypt and quotations were known from the Church Fathers. The discovery of the texts from Qumran Cave 4 has finally provided parts of the Aramaic original. ...Humankind is called on to observe how unchanging nature follows God's will."
- Milik, Jazef. T., ed. The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4
Composition
"1 Enoch, preserved in a full, 108-chapter form in Ethiopic, consists of five parts and one appended chapter. It originated in Aramaic (perhaps Hebrew for chaps. 37-71), was translated into Greek, and from Greek into Ethiopic."
- James C. Vanderkam (Professor of Hebrew Scriptures at the University of Notre Dame)
"The Aramaic Book of Enoch...very considerably influenced the idiom of the New Testament and patristic literature, more so in fact than any other writing of the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha."
- Norman Golb, Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?, (1995) p. 366
"As it now stands, I Enoch appears to consist of the following five major divisions:
(1) The Book of the Watchers (chaps. 1-36);
(2) The Book of the Similitudes (chaps. 37-7l)-,
(3) The Book of Astronomical Writings (chaps. 72-82);
(4) The Book of Dream Visions (chaps. 83-90); and
(5) The Book of the Epistle of Enoch (chaps. 91-107)."
- Craig A. Evans, Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation, (1992) p. 23
"Chaps. 1-36 The Book of the Watchers may date from the third century BCE. Parts of its text have been identified on several copies from Qumran cave 4; the earliest fragmentary manuscript (4QEnocha) dates, according to the editor J.T. Milk, to between 200 and 150 BCE. All Qumran copies are in the Aramaic language."
- James C. Vanderkam
"James Vanderkam divides the first part of 1 Enoch into five sections:
1-5 a theophany followed by an eschatological admonition
6-11 the angel story (stories)
12-16 Enoch and the failed petition of the angels who descended,
17-19 Enoch's first journey,
20-36 Enoch's second journey (chap. 20 is a list of angels who are connected with the journeys)."
- Tom Simms (CrossTalk)
"Chaps. 37-71 The Book of Parables (or the Similitudes of Enoch) may have been composed in the late first century BCE; a number of scholars prefer to place it in the first or even the second century CE. Milik assigns it to the late third century CE. No fragments of these chapters have been found at Qumran, and some think their original language was Hebrew, not Aramaic."
- James C. Vanderkam
"Chaps. 72-82 The Astronomical Book, like the Book of Watchers, may date from the third century BCE; the oldest copy of it seems to have been made not long after 200 BCE. Sizable portions of the text are preserved on four copies, written in Aramaic, from Qumran cave 4. The Aramaic original appears to have been much different and much longer than the Ethiopic text, adding far more astronomical details."
- James C. Vanderkam
Authorship
"A world view so encyclopaediac that it embraced the geography of heaven and earth, astronomy, meteorology, medicine was no part of Jewish tradition - but was familiar to educated Greeks, but attempting to emulate and surpass Greek wisdom, by having an integrating divine plan for destiny, elaborated through an angelic host with which Enoch is in communication through his mystical travels."
- Chris King, "The Apocalyptic Tradition"
Although the Book of Enoch is considered as apocryphal, it was clearly known to early Christian writers as the following quote from 1 Enoch 1:9 indicates:
"In the seventh (generation) from Adam Enoch also prophesied these things, saying: 'Behold, the Lord came with his holy myriads, to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners spoke against him'."
- Jude 14-15
2 Enoch
"2 Enoch, or the Slavonic Apocalypse of Enoch, was written late first century C.E. in Egypt by a Jew. It survives only in late Old Slavonic manuscripts. It may have been composed originally in Aramaic or Hebrew, later being translated into Greek, and later still being translated into Old Slavonic. It is an amplification of Gen 5:21-32 (from Enoch to the Flood). Major theological themes include:
(1) God created the world out of nothing (24:2);
(2) seven heavens (30:2-3) and angelic hosts;
(3) God created the souls of men before the foundation of the earth (23:5);
(4) abodes of heaven and hell are already prepared for righteous and sinners; and
(5) ethical teachings, which at times parallel those of the NT and Proverbs."
- Craig A. Evans, Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation, (1992) p. 23



























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"Doc Notes" Lesson 2 Part 13

The Magnificent Seven

Gentle Reader,
My “vacation” is being spent in study Not a vacation for some but for me with nothing on my hands but time (see my study on time) it is “relaxing and rewarding”. As you should already know I like titles so this next few studies that we are considering of the seven most preeminent men to be found in the book of Genesis (there be more but these are my choices) Now to begin with lets consider why I would choose only seven.
SEVEN: Spiritual perfection and fullness or completion. It is the number of Covenant and of the Holy Spirit. 7 is the second perfect number.
In Hebrew 7 is shevah (shebah) from the root shava (shaba or sheba), to be full.
God rested on the seventh day (Saturday) after creation [Genesis 2:2]
To swear an oath in Hebrew is "to seven oneself"
There are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (CCC#1831; Isaiah 11:1)
The sacred Menorah has 7 branches, six on each side of a central shaft, and 7 cup shaped lamps for the olive oil
There were 7 classes of furniture in the Tabernacle: Bronze Altar, Bronze Laver, Golden Menorah, Golden Table of the Bread of the Presence, Golden Altar of Incense, Ark of the Covenant, and the Seat of Atonement
The Tabernacle was built in 6 days and dedicated on the 7th [Exodus 40:17]
It took Solomon 7 years to build the Temple in Jerusalem. [ 1 Kings 6:37-38]
There are 7 holy annual feast days in the Sinai Covenant [Leviticus 23:1-44]
The Feast of Passover is the 1st month of the liturgical year but the 7th month of the civil year. [Exodus 12:1-2]
The Feast of Tabernacles completes the cycle of Holy Days on the 7th month of the liturgical year.[Leviticus 23:33-43]
There are multiple sevens in the Book of Revelation including
seven Spirits of God [ Revelation 4:5]
seven Seals [ Revelation 5:1]
seven Angels with Seven Chalices [ Revelation 15:5-7]
mammals and birds have a gestation of multiples of 7:
mouse: 21 days (3 x 7) cat 56 (8 x 7) Sheep 147 (21 x 7)
hare and rat, 28 ( 4x7 ) dog 63 (9 x 7) hen 21 (3 x 7)
humans 280 days ( 40 x 7) lion 98 (14 x 7) duck 42 (6 x 7)

With insects the ova are hatched in seven half-days (the wasp, bee, etc). But with other insects it is seven whole days. The majority of insects require from 14 (2x7) to 42 (6x7) days and the same applies to the larva state.
Man's pulse beats on the seven-day principle. For six days out of seven it beats faster in the morning than in the evening while on the seventh day it beats slower. The seventh day is the day of rest!
7 days in a week
7 colors in the spectrum'the seven colored rainbow was the sign of the covenant with Noah
There are 168 hours in a week = 7 x 24

So Gentle reader, I have determined to use the number seven hence the title of The Magnificent Seven, for the seven prominent men in Genesis.
1. Abel

And she again bare his brother Abel (Gen 4:2) - Literally, She added to bear (ותסף ללדת vattoseph laledeth) his brother. From the very face of this account it appears evident that Cain and Abel were twins. In most cases where a subject of this kind is introduced in the Holy Scriptures, and the successive births of children of the same parents are noted, the acts of conceiving and bringing forth are mentioned in reference to each child; here it is not said that she conceived and brought forth Abel, but simply she added to bring forth Abel his brother; that is, as I understand it, Cain was the first-born, Abel, his twin brother (?), came next.
Abel was a keeper of sheep - Adam was originally a gardener, Abel a shepherd, and Cain an agriculturist or farmer. These were the three primitive employments, and, I may add, the most rational, and consequently the best calculated to prevent strife and an immoderate love of the world.
What was the marked characteristic of Abel? His Name, his choice of occupation, his sacrifice, and the reflective comments of the New Testament concerning him, together mark him out as being distincitively and representatively the man of spiritual desire.

Cain the man of earthly desire is the first-born. Abel, the man of spiritual desire comes afterwards. The order is ever thus. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. (1Co 15:46) The name “Cain” means possession, pointing, as did Cains life, to hopes fixed on earthly things. Cain Literally possession; a spear.
The first-born son of Adam and Eve (Gen. 4). He became a tiller of the ground, as his brother Abel followed the pursuits of pastoral life. He was “a sullen, selfwilled, haughty, vindictive man; wanting the religious element in his character, and defiant even in his attitude towards God.” It came to pass “in process of time” (marg. “at the end of days”), i.e., probably on the Sabbath, that the two brothers presented their offerings to the Lord. Abel's offering was of the “firstlings of his flock and of the fat,” while Cain's was “of the fruit of the ground.” Abel's sacrifice was “more excellent” (Heb.11:4) than Cain's, and was accepted by God. On this account Cain was “very wroth,” and cherished feelings of murderous hatred against his brother, and was at length guilty of the desperate outrage of putting him to death (1John 3:12). For this crime he was expelled from Eden, and henceforth led the life of an exile, bearing upon him some mark which God had set upon him in answer to his own cry for mercy, so that thereby he might be protected from the wrath of his fellow-men; or it may be that God only gave him some sign to assure him that he would not be slain (Gen. 4:15). Doomed to be a wanderer and a fugitive in the earth, he went forth into the “land of Nod”, i.e., the land of “exile”, which is said to have been in the “east of Eden,” and there he builded a city, the first we read of, and called it after his son's name, Enoch. His descendants are enumerated to the sixth generation. They gradually degenerated in their moral and spiritual condition till they became wholly corrupt before God. This corruption prevailed, and at length the Deluge was sent by God to prevent the final triumph of evil.

The name “Abel” means exhalation (or vapour), speaking of ascent to higher regions. Cain a tiller of the ground, Abel a keeper of the sheep (perhaps a type of Christ) -the tent dwelling pilgrin, desiring something beyond. Cain goes “out from the presence of the Lord,” and busies himself with “cites” and with works “in brass and iron.” Abel reaches for better things But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Heb 11:6), seeking rest in God; suffering and dying in hope of the “better resurrection.” Cain ignoring what had transpired with his parents is all for a religion of self-culture, offering the fruit of that which is under the curse And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; (Gen 3:17)

Abel, the man of spiritual aspiration, offers a sacrifice which is at once an acknowledgment of his inability to hit the mark of the “holiness” of the Lord, and the expression of that strong desire for fellowship with God on the ground of forgiveness through sacrifice and faith. Abel, is the man of spiritual desire.

Next time we will consider Enoch...
To be continued......























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*Note: something to think about

"Doc Notes" Lesson 2 Part 12

The Genesis Project Last studies
Gentle reader,
Last time we mentioned seven great men of Genesis. If we want to know the awful capabilities of the potential for evil which can be seen in the Adamic human nature, we need only to look at and trace the Cain line through its culture, earthly-mindedness vanity, violence and rebellion against God. Cain whose name means
kayn (ין, ḳayin, “spear” or “smith,” resembling in sound the root kanah, “get,” “acquire,” Gen_4:1 the Revised Version, margin, but not necessarily derived from that root; Septuagint Kain):
A possession; a spear.
The first-born son of Adam and Eve (Gen. 4). He became a tiller of the ground, as his brother Abel followed the pursuits of pastoral life. He was “a sullen, selfwilled, haughty, vindictive man; wanting the religious element in his character, and defiant even in his attitude towards God.” It came to pass “in process of time” (marg. “at the end of days”), i.e., probably on the Sabbath, that the two brothers presented their offerings to the Lord. Abel's offering was of the “firstlings of his flock and of the fat,” while Cain's was “of the fruit of the ground.” Abel's sacrifice was “more excellent” (Heb_11:4) than Cain's, and was accepted by God. On this account Cain was “very wroth,” and cherished feelings of murderous hatred against his brother, and was at length guilty of the desperate outrage of putting him to death (1Jo_3:12). For this crime he was expelled from Eden, and henceforth led the life of an exile, bearing upon him some mark which God had set upon him in answer to his own cry for mercy, so that thereby he might be protected from the wrath of his fellow-men; or it may be that God only gave him some sign to assure him that he would not be slain (Gen_4:15). Doomed to be a wanderer and a fugitive in the earth, he went forth into the “land of Nod”, i.e., the land of “exile”, which is said to have been in the “east of Eden,” and there he builded a city, the first we read of, and called it after his son's name, Enoch. His descendants are enumerated to the sixth generation. They gradually degenerated in their moral and spiritual condition till they became wholly corrupt before God. This corruption prevailed, and at length the Deluge was sent by God to prevent the final triumph of evil.
If we would know what can come from the same human natureand material when under the renewing and transforming power of Divine Grace, we need to follow the line of the men of faith.

There are seven such men in Genesis standing out in unmistakable prominence. They are able, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. That these seven do indeed have a peculiar prominence and significance is indicated by the fact that, under the guidance of the inspiring of the the breath of God, the writer of this epistle to the Hebrews picks them out, as distinct from all others, for inclusion in that classic New testament catalogue of Old Testament worthies.

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: (Heb 11:4-9). By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. (Heb 11:21-22)

Next time we will note the outstanding characteristics of these men.

To be continued...

Doc Notes Lesson 2 Part 11

Last studies in Genesis
Gentle Readers,
Well as you might imagine we have been busy changing over to our “new” scriptural studies site! I told Marti that I wasn’t going to move any more but after more moves that Bobby Fischer (the World’s Chess Champion) I had enough! (But if the right offer came along....

At any rate we are going to look at Genesis one more time. Some have ask me why I don’t go into any depth that what I have especially with my background. The answer is to be quite frank, simple, most can’t understand what we are saying anyway, and the purpose is to educate those wanting to grow in their understanding, not those looking for quick answers to fit into their particular doctrinarian position.
After this study we (Marti and I will take a sabbatical our last for me anyway was in 1996 a very good year).

Thus far we have not given separate consideration to the four pivotal persons-Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, around whom the whole of the narrative revolves in the second part of the Book of Genesis Chapters 12-50. But in this present study they come under review, though as part of a larger theme. I will give here some final examples of the type-teaching in Genesis, and them make certain closing suggestions about the further study of the Book, along with your first set of questions for your personal study.

The principal personalities which are brought successively before us in the Book of Genesis all have a typical significance. That is so clearly shown by New Testament references such as that in which Paul speaks of Ishmael and Isaac as representing the two covenants “For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband”. (Gal 4:22-27), and at the same time representing two natures “that which is after the flesh” and that which is after the spirit” (Gal 4:29). The priestking Melchizedek is another example (Heb. 7); and the first man of all, Adam, is declared to be a “figure (type) of Him that was to come. (Rom. 5:14).

Turning then, to the main figures in Genesis, we observe, that not only are some of them types of persons ( as for example Isaac and Juoseph are a types of Christ), but when viewed collectively they typify progressive stages of spiritual experience.
The first man, Adam, besides being (in his relationships) a type of Christ, is (in his fallen state) a type of natural man, or might we we say of unregenerate human nature. He is referred to again and again in the New Testament (Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Rom 6:6) That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; (Eph 4:22) Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; (Col 3:9). Now one of the leading purports of Genesis seems to be that all which springs from the first Adam-all that which can spring from him, both good and ill, both by nature and through the influence of Divine grace. So we come to the matter of what has been called by Augustine “original sin”! Which to Augustine was the deliberate fall of man. But in reality was the deception of Satan. Adam and eve were actually duped to believe that Satan was helping them when in fact it was a test of God. Would God rescue His own creation. The Word was given. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Gen 2:16-17)

Here too the man was to commence his own spiritual development. To this end God had planted two trees in the midst of the garden of Eden; the one to train his spirit through the exercise of obedience to the word of God, the other to transform his earthly nature into the spiritual essence of eternal life. These trees received their names from their relation to man, that is to say, from the effect which the eating of their fruit was destined to produce upon human life and its development. The fruit of the tree of life conferred the power of eternal, immortal life; and the tree of knowledge was planted, to lead men to the knowledge of good and evil. The knowledge of good and evil was no mere experience of good and ill, but a moral element in that spiritual development, through which the man created in the image of God was to attain to the filling out of that nature, which had already been planned in the likeness of God. For not to know what good and evil are, is a sign of either the immaturity of infancy (Deu: 1:39), or the imbecility of age (2Sam: 19:35); whereas the power to distinguish good and evil is commended as the gift of a king (1Kings 3:9) and the wisdom of angels (2Sam: 14:17), and in the highest sense is ascribed to God Himself

Why then did God prohibit man from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, with the threat that, as soon as he ate thereof, he would surely die? (The inf. abs. before the finite verb intensifies the latter: ). Are we to regard the tree as poisonous, and suppose that some fatal property resided in the fruit? A supposition which so completely ignores the ethical nature of sin is neither warranted by the antithesis, nor by what is said in Gen: 3:22 of the tree of life, nor by the fact that the eating of the forbidden fruit was actually the cause of death. Even in the case of the tree of life, the power is not to be sought in the physical character of the fruit. No earthly fruit possesses the power to give immortality to the life which it helps to sustain. Life is not rooted in man's corporeal nature; it was in his spiritual nature that it had its origin, and from this it derives its stability and permanence also. It may, indeed, be brought to an end through the destruction of the body; but it cannot be exalted to perpetual duration, i.e., to immortality, through its preservation and sustenance. And this applies quite as much to the original nature of man, as to man after the fall. A body formed from earthly materials could not be essentially immortal: it would of necessity either be turned to earth, and fall into dust again, or be transformed by the spirit into the immortality of the soul. The power which transforms corporeality into immortality is spiritual in its nature, and could only be imparted to the earthly tree or its fruit through the word of God, through a special operation of the Spirit of God, an operation which we can only picture to ourselves as sacramental in its character, rendering earthly elements the receptacles and vehicles of celestial powers. God had given such a sacramental nature and significance to the two trees in the midst of the garden, that their fruit could and would produce supersensual, mental, and spiritual effects upon the nature of the first human pair. The tree of life was to impart the power of transformation into eternal life. The tree of knowledge was to lead man to the knowledge of good and evil; and, according to the divine intention, this was to be attained through his not eating of its fruit. This end was to be accomplished, not only by his discerning in the limit imposed by the prohibition the difference between that which accorded with the will of God and that which opposed it, but also by his coming eventually, through obedience to the prohibition, to recognise the fact that all that is opposed to the will of God is an evil to be avoided, and, through voluntary resistance to such evil, to the full development of the freedom of choice originally imparted to him into the actual freedom of a deliberate and self-conscious choice of good. By obedience to the divine will he would have attained to a godlike knowledge of good and evil, i.e., to one in accordance with his own likeness to God. He would have detected the evil in the approaching tempter; but instead of yielding to it, he would have resisted it, and thus have made good his own property acquired with consciousness and of his own free-will, and in this way by proper self-determination would gradually have advanced to the possession of the truest liberty. But as he failed to keep this divinely appointed way, and ate the forbidden fruit in opposition to the command of God, the power imparted by God to the fruit was manifested in a different way. He learned the difference between good and evil from his own guilty experience, and by receiving the evil into his own soul, fell a victim to the threatened death. Thus through his own fault the tree, which should have helped him to attain true freedom, brought nothing but the sham liberty of sin, and with it death, and that without any demoniacal power of destruction being conjured into the tree itself, or any fatal poison being hidden in its fruit.

To Be continued....

Note: Judaism holds no concept of original sin. According to Christian belief, all human beings are born into the world with a sinful nature because of the transgression of Adam (Romans 5:12-21). Judaism's emphasis is not on original sin but original virtue and righteousness. Although Judaism acknowledges that man does commit acts of sin, there is not a sense of man being totally depraved or unworthy as is found in Christian theology.

Sabbatical

A message to all members of Scripture Studies

Gentle Readers,

We are on extended sabbatical . Sorry that we can not respond to your urgent emails, you may contact one of the other at scripture Institute. Or you may leave messages with Rabbi Del and Rifkah, Plumber, Dr. Ley or Minister Donna Dixon at http://scripturestudies.spruz.com ("Where scholarship and study meet". A study and social network an outreach of Scripture Institute). Sabbatical or a sabbatical (from Latin sabbaticus, from Greek sabbatikos, from Hebrew shabbat, i.e., Sabbath, literally a "ceasing") is a rest from work, or a hiatus, often lasting from two months to a year. The concept of sabbatical has a source in shmita, described several places in the Bible (Leviticus 25, for example, where there is a commandment to desist from working the fields in the seventh year). In the strict sense, therefore, sabbatical lasts a year.

Cheers,
Dr's Denis and Marti O'Callaghan