From the Pit to the Throne

Click HERE to return to main site

From the Pit to the Throne

In this weeks study of Genesis 37-40 we see a lot written about Joseph. We know that Joseph is a picture of Yeshua. As with a few others in the Tanak, we see a picture of “renewed life” in Joseph’s story, let’s see a few other examples of others. The story of Moshe is one of the people who we see a picture of “rebirth” in. His life is endangered to the point where Moshe nearly dies. He is miraculously saved and his life returned to him as a gift from YHVH. Another child whose “rebirth” is recounted in the Torah is Yishmael. While he wanders in the desert with his mother Hagar, their supply of water runs out. Hagar lays her son aside and gives in to the idea they are going to die. However, an angel reveals himself to her, opening her eyes to see a well of water and thus Yishmael’s life is saved. Yitzchak’s life was redeemed after being bound to the altar on Mt. Moriah.

At the last moment his life was also miraculously saved. We also see the story of the Shumanite woman’s son being brought back to life by Elisha. As seen in our story this week, Joseph’s life was brought back to him after being thrown in the pit to die. In each of these stories the “rebirth” signifies the beginning of the child’s existence on a different level, his turn around to a new destiny in his life. The nature and purpose of this destiny are always connected to the nature of the danger in which he found himself and the way in which he was saved. These people were at death’s door and then received a miracle. We see the entire Bible is about receiving “life from the dead.” We see this in the sign of the Messiah with the offering of the two birds for the cleansing of the metzora. If you remember one bird was killed and one bird was dipped in the blood and water from the first, then the second bird was let go. What two things poured from Yeshua’s side, blood and water. Leviticus 14:13-20 describes the actual sacrifices offered on behalf of the metzora. Note the ceremony where blood is placed on the right ear, right thumb, and right toe. Remember the blood ceremony was part of the dedication procedure for the priests. Yeshua’s ears, hands, and feet were anointed with blood by the crown on his head (which would cause blood to run down his ear) and then of course the blood on his hands and feet from the nails. There is no scripture concerning how a metzora can be healed.

There is only two recorded healings in the Tanak of anyone being healed of tzara’at, they was Miriam and Na’aman. It is stated in Luke:4:27 there were many metzoras in Israel during the days of Elisha who were NEVER HEALED. The sages of Israel taught that the Messiah would be able to heal the metzora. In fact, it was taught that He would be able to do all these things:

Heal a person born blind
Raise the dead
Heal a person born deaf
Heal a metzora

If you remember when John the Baptist had a weak time of doubt in his life as to whether Yeshua was the Messiah or not, Yeshua sent word back to him that the “blind see, the lame walk, the metzoras are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” How could they not see he was “the promised one who would do these very things?” Getting back to Joseph, there are so many pictures of Messiah in his life. Even in the story of his prison term, he was with “two other prisoners” mentioned in particular, the baker and the cup bearer. How many other prisoners were hung with Yeshua, two?

One of the prisoners with Joseph lived and one died. One of the prisoners with Yeshua lived (chose eternal life) and one died (eternal death). Isn’t it also odd that these two prisoners with Joseph were a cup bearer and a baker? I’m sure there were plenty of thieves and murders and other criminals to pick from for this story. But think about it, the cup bearer brought the wine to the King, a picture of blood. The baker baked the breads. Here you see the bread and wine that was portrayed in Yeshua’s redemption process. The commentaries say the cup bearer let a fly get in the Kings cup and the baker let a little rock fall into the bread were their crimes. Talk about a fly in the ointmentJ. As for who sold Joseph to the Yishmaelites, his brothers or the Midianites, it’s hard to tell from scripture. We’ve always heard it was his brothers who sold him to the Yishmaelites, but if you read the scripture carefully (Genesis 37: 28), it sounds like the Midianites got to him ‘before’ the brothers could sell him to the Yishmaelites. Some of the commentaries say it was his brothers, others say it wasn’t. The scripture is a bit confusing because in verse 28 you have the Yishmaelites ending up with him, then you go to verse 36 of chapter 37 and the Midianites have him again. Then you go on to chapter 39:1, and here it says the Yishmaelites are selling him, OY VEYJ. However, in Genesis 45:4, Joseph tells his brothers ‘they sold him into Egypt’. Did they sell him “directly” or was it ‘indirectly” by just putting him in the pit to start with? So I’m going to let everyone read it carefully and decide for themselves. We do know he was sold for twenty pieces of silver, the price for a male slave back then. Yeshua was sold for “thirty” pieces of silver, which was the price of a “female” slave. The difference being, Yeshua was dying on our behalf, the bride, the bride is of course female. He didn’t need to die on his own behalf, so He was sold for the female price. As we all know though, in the end Joseph ended up in the highest place of authority in Egypt, next to Pharaoh. He went from the pit to the throne!