Joseph and Benjamin - Part I

Jacob's son Joseph is a type or figure of our Lord Jesus Christ. Where this observation really becomes useful is when we go beyond the well documented foreshadowing of Jesus in his first advent to consider how Joseph's life prophesies about our Lord's coming again. That's going to become the focus of this presentation as we go through a truly remarkable passage that is an extended prophetic allegory. What I learned in this account from the book of Genesis has been the valuable basis for many further insights!

Please take this opportunity to read Genesis chapters 37 through 42 before you continue. Really. Don't short-change yourself because this effort is likely to have a huge benefit!

Ready? This first part is a rather lengthy excursion but there's much to be gleaned as we begin building toward that awesome revelation of this two part study!

Uh - what? A son was born to Israel in his old age but it was Benjamin, not Joseph! Why does the narrative say he loved Joseph most because he had been born to him in his old age? Either Jacob was perhaps becoming senile or there's an underlying truth being brought to our attention.

Here's a chart to illustrate the relative ages of Jacob's children.

If we substitute Y'shua for Joseph in our interpretation of the verse, since he is the antitypical Joseph, we can see that he was born of the lineage of Israel in a time far removed that can well be described as occurring in Israel's "old age." It's from this perspective that the narrative makes better sense. From this same perspective, Joseph's famous richly ornamented robe makes sense as a royal one one fit for a prince (of peace) or a king (of kings). In this prophetic snapshot, Israel, as Joseph's father, represents the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Y'shua haMashiach!

So, Joseph was loved more by Jacob because he was born in his old age. Yes, that's an intriguing statement. It may have come to your mind, as it did to mine, that his being loved more might have had something to do with his being the first born (and only, at that time) son of his favorite wife. It is very probable that Rachel was pregnant with Benjamin at that time of verse 3's narrative, suggesting an implicit reference to him. Benjamin was about to be brought forth, who was truly the last born son. According to some biblical chronographers he was born fully seventeen or eighteen years after Joseph, who was either the next-to-youngest or very close to it.

The proper names used in the Bible are filled with meaning. When understood relative to the contexts in which they appear, names suggest the esoteric and prophetic role being played. When Rachel bore Joseph she named him in a peculiar manner, in an expression of anticipation for another son.

Joseph means "let him add," or, "add thou Jehovah." Because of the way Rachel named Joseph, whenever we come upon his name we should have the sense that he is not alone. By reason of his name, Joseph cannot be separated from Benjamin, the son that the Lord did subsequently add to Rachel.

Now, observe how Benjamin's own birth and naming receives particular emphasis.

In this one short verse we see a naming and a renaming. Naming is important and this should flag our attention. Additional emphasis is given as Rachel died giving birth to him, giving him a name in her last dying breath. Are we paying attention yet?

Benjamin is, on one level, a type of the church. Rachel's name means "ewe, a female sheep." This lamb died bringing forth the son. In this prophetic snapshot Rachel represents the Lamb of God, who was sacrificed to bring forth a son! Her son represents those for whom the Lamb's death would bring life. This son was first named Ben-Oni, which means "son of my sorrow." The Lamb of God was a man acquainted with grief and sorrow.

This son, Ben-Oni, is the son of His sorrow and acquainted with grief. Just as Y'shua took up his cross, those who follow after him as the "Ben-Oni" take up their crosses. Now, Ben-Oni was renamed Benjamin, which means "son of my right hand." The position at the right hand is an exalted position of honor and blessing. Because Y'shua took up his cross and was sacrificed, he was exalted to the right hand of the throne of God. And who is it that follows this example? Yes - the Ben-Oni-to-Benjamin son!

This pattern of sharing first in His sufferings and then in His glory is the Ben-Oni / Benjamin pattern! Isn't it awesome how the Lord has provided types in the Bible to picture such wonderful truths in concrete ways, where we see them acted them out on the stage of history? Oh, the things we see when the Lord opens our eyes!

I want to note here that Pesah (Passover) is associated with Ben-Oni / Benjamin because he was brought forth at the sacrifice of the lamb.

One way that the special blessedness of the Benjamin company is foreshadowed can be seen in how the city of Jerusalem was given to Benjamin and his descendants. This was done under the reign of Joshua, a type of Christ in His millennial reign. (Joshua 18:11-28) Jerusalem was Benjamin's inheritance and so was Galilee. All twelve of the Lord's apostle-disciples were from Galilee (Matthew 4), an indication that there is something about the inheritance of Benjamin that is special indeed. Beyond even that, the apostle Paul was a Benjamite!

The Benjamin company is special. Not every person for whom the Lamb has died actually takes up the cross to become Ben-Oni - a person of sorrow and acquainted with His grief - and thereby bound to Joseph - as in his naming. Those who do become - Benjamin - and are exalted to the right hand! Ben-Oni-to-Benjamin will be seen as a Bride type!

Let's continue with the prophetic lesson of Joseph's life.

As you know (from having recently read Chapter 42, right?) they would indeed come to bow before Joseph. As we know from the prophetic scriptures, the children of Israel (and all who ever lived and will live - Isaiah 45:23) will eventually bow before Jesus. Although the record of Benjamin's birth is found in Genesis chapter 35, his birth took place at around the time of Joseph's dream. Notice here that Joseph's mother is mentioned as though she were alive (and therefore had not yet died in childbirth), and his dream mentioned 11 stars. Jacob understood the 11 stars to represent Joseph's siblings ("brothers" - a Hebrew masculine noun). It doesn't seem likely that Dinah was included in that number, which suggests that Jacob knew Rachel was pregnant with another son. Joseph is declared in verse 2 as being seventeen, the probable difference in age between he and Benjamin.

The account continues.

In the antitype, the sons of Jacob went to pasture their father's flock, Yahweh's people Israel.

From that time, through Moses, Joshua, the judges, the kings and priestly leaders, these appointed shepherds pastured the flock. God commissioned his son to go check on the welfare of his brothers the shepherds, and of the flock, and to bring word back to him. Y'shua accepted. Yahweh sent him from the valley of Hebron (meaning "communion"), a type of where Y'shua had a particular kind of communion, a sharing with His Father in divine nature. He went to Shechem ("early rising") where he found neither the sheep nor the shepherds according to the father's expectation.

The appointed shepherds did not do well with the sheep in their care and were not found in the land of "early rising." (Shechem) The rising of Israel would be postponed. Another interpretation of Shechem's significance might be that the shepherd's problem is that they did not rise early to seek the Lord's direction but were lazy and self directed. And so it is that we see the prophetic foreview of Y'shua, sent to the lost sheep of Israel.

He found them near Dothan. An unnamed man found him wandering around in the fields and directed him. The fact that this man is unnamed is important like how the meaning of names is important. An unnamed servant or man is usually a type of the holy spirit. At His baptism, Y'shua received the holy spirit and its help, immediately receiving direction to go into the desert.

Continuing with the account of Joseph's betrayal.

The parallels are pretty obvious. They threw him into a desert cistern with no water (symbolic of life) in it; a type of the grave. Cistern, is the Hebrew word, bowr, a word translated, pit, in the following verses.

Y'shua was stripped before he was crucified and went down to the pit, certainly reckoned among those who go down to the pit like Joseph before Him.

Joseph was thrown into the cistern near Dothan. Dothan, means, "double decree" or "double sickness." It speaks of a two-fold fulfillment and of why Joseph was thrown into the cistern. The sickness is jealousy. Out of the sickness of jealousy, envy, the sons of Israel delivered up their brother Joseph and then likewise their brother Y'shua.

Let me make a point about Benjamin. Was he involved with this conspiracy against Joseph? Obviously not, because he was yet in his mother's womb or perhaps just born! The church was not involved because it had not yet been brought forth - Y'shua was not yet raised out of the pit or ascended, and that birthday of the Shavuot (Acts 2) had not yet come.

Now, Joseph, the type, did not actually die, like how his grandfather Isaac did not actually die when Abraham was ready to offer him as the burnt offering. In contrast, like the ram that was substituted for Isaac, Y'shua was truly slain as a sacrificial lamb. The son of God was then raised from the dead after the pattern of Joseph being rescued from out of the cistern.

Upon their arrival in Egypt, Joseph was bought by Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard. Potiphar means "my affliction was broken." After rising from the grave Y'shua ascended into heaven. It will be seen in this prophetic context that Egypt is now a symbol of heaven. Pharaoh, the Sovereign of Egypt now represents the Sovereign God of heaven. And so is that we see that Y'shua's affliction was broken upon being received into heaven.

As Genesis chapter 37 draws to a close, the prophetic foreview is the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of our Lord. Following those events what we call the church age began. Chapter 38 is a parenthetical insertion that appears to picture this church age as one that is bracketed by seasons of special apostolic anointing - and so it has proven to be.

Beginning in chapter 39, the story of Joseph reveals that, through several turns of events, he became second in command to Pharaoh himself. Joseph is the one through whom God reveals the interpretation of dreams that are impenetrable mysteries to all other men. This, too, points to Y'shua. God had blessed Joseph greatly during that time and he rose to prominence through Pharaoh's recognition and appreciation of Joseph's evident relationship with the God of Heaven. A great opportunity came before Joseph when God gave Pharaoh dreams that troubled him as to their meaning. By revelation, Joseph interpreted these dreams to him. The meaning is very important because it sets up the context of the end time activity revealed in the key prophetic drama.

The dreams given to Pharaoh prophesied of how God's plan would soon unfold. God told Joseph how to store up food for the famine, thus providing a salvation for his family and for others who would be effected. The way I understand it, the end time scenario begins here but there is still plenty of Y'shua's first advent being woven in. This extensive prophetic exhibit features scenes from both advents, and the details must be tracked with precision in order to discern what's what.

The latter part of chapter 41 sets forth what is some of the most obvious foreshadowing of Y'shua in the life of Joseph. In this next passage, consider Joseph's relationship with this Pharaoh as a picture of Y'shua's relationship with his Father.

Could it be more plain? In comparing Genesis 41:46 with Luke 3:23 we note that both Joseph and Y'shua entered into "Pharaoh's" service when they were about thirty years old.

The name Pharaoh gave Joseph means, "revealer of secrets." Some claim that the meaning is, "treasury of the glorious rest." Out of Y'shua will come rivers of living water for all who enter into his glorious rest!

It's exciting to note here that Pharaoh also gave Joseph a wife. Her name, Asenath, means, "I shall be hated." This speaks of a coming people who would be given to Y'shua as a bride and who would be hated - just like her Bridegroom!

The name given, the people given and their separation from the others in the world, the glory bestowed upon Y'shua that he had before; these are binding threads of revelation between the type and the anti-type.

Continuing on, the balance of the story about Joseph shows his function as God's agent in the plan of salvation and the redemption of His people. Joseph provides physical sustenance so that Jacob and his family would not die an untimely physical death. Y'shua provides spiritual sustenance so that those who believe on him may live eternally. The Egyptian grain symbolizes spiritual sustenance that is stored up for the salvation of God's people during the appointed season of abundance. This grain is the grain of heaven that compares to the manna from heaven!

In Genesis chapter 42, Jacob learns that there's grain in Egypt and sends his sons there to buy some and bring it back. Only Benjamin remained behind with Jacob, which is another noteworthy distinction between Benjamin and the other brothers. Though it's probably the first year of the famine, the condition in Jacob's homeland of Canaan is already so desparate that he fears starvation. When the ten brothers arrived in Egypt seeking provision for Jacob they went before Joseph to request the purchase of grain. Did you happen to notice that the brothers had purchased the grain but had their silver secretly returned to their sacks? Here's a profound prophetic signification. The kind of grain pictured cannot be bought but only given to those who seek it from The One who has it!

Here's another point of prophetic significance. Upon their meeting, Joseph recognized them but they didn't recognize him, signifying that, when Y'shua was presented before his brothers, they were unable to recognize him for who he really was!

Joseph pretended to be a stranger. He addressed them in the Egyptian tongue through an interpreter, thus speaking in the language of Egypt. With the metaphor of Egypt as heaven, he spoke in the language of heaven, which on one level, is parables.

Now, Joseph didn't give his brothers according to their expectation but rather disciplined them. Consider their response to this unexpected treatment.

This is awesome! Since these men didn't recognize who the ruler of Egypt really was, why would they be convicted that the punishment received at his hand was due to their sin against their brother Joseph? That's a question that begs a satisfactory answer! Yahweh is revealing a picture of the discipline and judgement that came upon Israel since the time they didn't recognize him. There are those who wear the guilt. Nationally, they have been held accountable for his blood, just as Reuben's remark suggests! Consider the words of the participants as they were delivering Jesus up to Pilate for crucifixion.

And so it is, for yet a brief season!

At this point, upon hearing their confession, Joseph had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes. Simeon means, "hearing," which represents their ability to hear and understand. With Simeon bound the remaining brothers were left without "hearing." This consequence of failing to recognize their brother Joseph is a remarkable prophecy that reveals the reason why Israel does not have the ability to hear and understand The Word, which is ultimately to recognize and accept Y'shua. Their condition of being spiritually deaf to this very day is, in a figure, the binding of Simeon. It's a consequence of not recognizing the Messiah and a sign of their accountability for his blood.

This is what is referred to in the book of Romans, chapters 9-11, where Paul expresses the mind of the Lord on the condition of Simeon's binding and the release thereof. This is a most excellent corollary study for those of you with a mind to go deeper. I will just point out here that the faith required for salvation rests upon hearing.

Since 73 AD (Masada), with the dispersion of the Jew from the land, the condition of its cities, houses and fields being utterly forsaken eventually did come to pass. But the Lord has moved according to His promise to bring His people back into the land promised to them, action that will, at the appointed time, bring the restoration of "Simeon," as you'll soon see in glorious type!

This restoration comes in stages. The restoration of Simeon to the sons of Israel was linked to their dutifully bringing Benjamin before Joseph in Egypt. And this, my friend, is to me a very, very exciting prophecy!

Back to the narrative.

The sons of Jacob were commissioned to bring Ben-Oni-Benjamin to Joseph in Egypt. This commission that Joseph gave to his brothers was fulfilled but the antitypical fulfillment has not yet fully come to pass. It began to be fulfilled as Joseph's antitype Y'shua repeated the commission to His brothers, the Galilean disciples. At Y'shua's ascension, when he gave his departing message and commission for the age, the following question and answer was recorded for our benefit.

This important journey takes some time, as Judah's insightful comment brings the past two millennia to mind.

We've been building toward the scene where Joseph reveals his big secret to his brothers. He's going to reveal that he's their brother - and the prophetic import is spectacular!

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