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What appeared to be a time of hatred and of trial, was in fact the beginning of a plan
for the salvation of the whole family.
Joseph was a type of Christ and the brethren represented the nation, or children, of
Israel. Joseph was rejected by his brothers who said "Shall thou indeed reign over us?"
(Gen. 37: 8). They hated him without a just cause. He was cast into a pit. He was
sold for twenty pieces of silver. For two whole years the children of Israel were
separated from Joseph, but then his brothers repented and Joseph manifested himself to
them.
Christ was hated without a cause. He was betrayed and sold for thirty pieces of silver.
The children of Israel rejected Christ and would not repent, and so Israel were set aside
for a period which may be represented by the two years, which could be the picture of
2,000 years. But Christ, we know, will one day appear and be made manifest. "They
shall look on Me Whom they have pierced" (Zech. 12: 10).
Note: There is an interesting article in The Berean Expositor, Vol. XII, pp. 36-39,
which includes the following features:
(1)
The Repentance of Israel
(2)
The Revelation of Israel
(3)
The Restoration of Israel
(4)
The Resurrection of Israel
No.3.
Samson and the Philistines.
pp. 105 - 110
"The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looketh on the heart" (I Sam. 16: 7).
In our second article, we have seen that Joseph had been accused of a wrong that he
had not committed, and so was sent to prison. At the end of the story, we saw that God
was in charge, and it was God Who ordered the events so that Joseph could be the means
of saving life.
As we consider people who had prison experiences, it is remarkable that many
suffered for their faith, or for the truth. We would expect a large proportion would have
been sent to prison as a punishment for wrongdoing, but the references in the Scriptures
concern chiefly those who were given a task to do, or a message to deliver, which needed
courage and for which the prophet had to suffer.