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Joseph
Genesis 47
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Jesus
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Comparison
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47:1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen."
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Revelation 19:9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: `Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God."
Hebrews 2:11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12 He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises."
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Christ's brothers, the Christians, will be invited to Heaven to "draw near" to Him forever.
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2 He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What is your occupation?" "Your servants are shepherds ," they replied to Pharaoh, "just as our fathers were."
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Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
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Pharaoh allowed them to settle in Goshen despite their detestable nature as shepherds. God will allow us detestable Christians to settle in Heaven only because of Christ's acceptance, similar to Joseph's relationship with Pharaoh.
(similar to verse Genesis 46:34)
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4 They also said to him, "We have come to live here awhile, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants' flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen."
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John 12:26 Whoever serves me must follow me ; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me .
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This is interesting. This would be the perspective of the first Christians at the time of Jesus or just afterward, at a minimum. The family had been in the promised land but the Pharisees had caused a great spiritual famine. Therefore, they sought refuge with Christ to be recipients of Heaven, although they (like we) are certainly not in the true promised land (Heaven)..
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5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you,
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Revelation 19:9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: `Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb !'" And he added, "These are the true words of God."
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Once again, we look forward to our final homecoming.
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6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock."
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John 12:26 Whoever serves me must follow me ; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me .
Luke 1:77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
1 Corinthians 12:1 Now about spiritual gifts , brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant... 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
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Now we see a shift to the church age. We now live under salvation (Goshen) but we are still in a pagan land (Egypt). Christ guarantees that He will help us with our burdens. We are equipped with the spiritual gifts to serve the king as well! We, too, are shepherds of God's flock!
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7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, 8 Pharaoh asked him, "How old are you?" 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers."10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.
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Ephesians 5:27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless .
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Christ will present His bride, the church (like Jacob), to His Father, Almighty God (like Pharaoh). Could we really "bless" God? Maybe so, since we will be credited the righteousness of Christ.
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11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. 12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children.
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Matthew 13:39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
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Christ equips us to do His work. He sent us to work the harvest and despite our difficulties, He will give us the best opportunities to harvest His chosen ones.
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13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.
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no parallel seen
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no parallel seen
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14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh's palace.
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no parallel seen
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no parallel seen
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15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, "Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is used up."
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Mark 10:17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
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The story of the 'rich young ruler' represented the spiritual desert the people in Jesus's time were in. He came to Jesus just like the Egyptians (Gentiles) and the Jews (Canaanites) came to Joseph for nourishment.
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16 "Then bring your livestock," said Joseph. "I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone." 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.
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Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
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Joseph gave instructions they would follow and the people ultimately became slaves to the Pharaoh in return for food. We are to be bond-servants of Christ and give up everything for a relationship with Him.
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18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, "We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.19 Why should we perish before your eyes--we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate." 20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh's, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other.
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Mark 5:26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.
Luke 15:14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
Romans 12:12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
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Generally, if not always, we must find ourselves in spiritual bankruptcy, having spent all we had on false gods, only then turning to the Lord. Then we give all that we have left, our bodies as we willingly become His slaves.
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22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
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1 Corinthians 9:13 Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
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Those who minister should be supported by the rest, should be free from this worry.
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23 Joseph said to the people, "Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground.
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Hebrews 13:20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1Corinthians 6:20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
2Corinthians 9:10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
Isaiah 55:10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
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Once we have been bought and paid for and become bond-servants of Christ, God will equip us to do His will, like Joseph gave seed for the ground in order to reap a harvest in the future.
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24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children."
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Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
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Joseph asked for twice the amount of the tithe from those who were his slaves. (As an aside, we don't call ourselves slaves but our tax rate is >20%! (see Moses))
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25 "You have saved our lives," they said. "May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh."
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Galations 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
1 Corinthians 7:23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
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We are now bond-servants (willingly choose to be slaves) of Christ. Christ's salvation and love for us has given us a deep desire to please Him, following His commandments. Nothing comes ahead of pleasing our Master.
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26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt--still in force today--that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh's.
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see v.24 above
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see v.24 above
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27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number. 28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.
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Matthew 2:15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: " Out of Egypt I called my son."
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We are currently in a spiritual no mans' land between Egypt and we are saved but not into heaven yet (Goshen="draw near"). Christ spiritually helps us through our current 'Egypt' and rescued us from slavery to the law. He is with us to allow our journey to be successful.
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29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,
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no parallel seen
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no parallel seen
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30 but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried." "I will do as you say," he said.31 "Swear to me," he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
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Luke 22:42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
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The Father's will is above Joseph and Jesus's will. The Father then honors the Son.
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