Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies

The portion of the Bible recorded from Genesis 37-50 gives an account of the character of two men, Judah and Joseph.  This is prophecy because it provided the foundation for subsequent leadership in Israel.  When Israel final possessed the land following the Exodus, the tribes of Judah and Joseph received the territory of the central highlands from the Judean wilderness north to the Jezreel valley.  This is the area of the land that is most significant from a spiritual standpoint.  It is referred today in the international media as the “Israeli occupied West Bank”.  It is, without doubt, the most highly contested real estate in the world.   During the First Kingdom era (1447 – 586 BC/BCE), the tribes of Israel were most often divided into two groups; Judeh in the South and Ephraim (Joseph) in the North.  Ultimately, Judah was predicted to be the primary vessel of redemption (see Jacob’s prophecy – Genesis 49:8-10).

Joseph’s portrayal is one of the most positive in the Bible.  He was a man of strong revelation faith.  He was confident of his election and, therefore, refused to be discouraged.  He was falsely charged by Potipher’s wife and thrown into prison.  He did ‘t complain.  Instead he was positive and productive so that he was placed in charge of the prisoners under the oversight of the chief jailer.  Even though he spent many years in prison, his faith never faltered.  When presented with the dreams of his fellow prisoners, he readily received interpretations of those dreams and credited the interpretations to God.  The same was true when he interpreted the dreams of the Pharaoh.

After interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph was placed in charge of all Egypt with the exception of the Pharaoh himself.  Joseph was a type of Messiah.  He was man full of faith.  He was always extremely productive.  He was always subordinate to the one who granted him authority.  He fulfilled his responsibilities and, in the process, purchased the whole land of Egypt for the Pharaoh.  In this way Joseph became a powerful type of the Messiah to come, portraying Messiah’s characteristics, position and purpose.

The account of Joseph interacting with his brothers is one of the most heart-warming stories in the Bible. However, as inviting as the story is, we must not lose sight of the reason the account is included in the Bible.  The Bible is giving us an account of the emerging leadership characteristics of Judah.  Judah was the fourth-born son of Israel and therefore not in the position to assume leadership.  The events recorded in these sections of the Bible shows how he emerged as leader.  Note that in the first encounter of the brothers with Joseph, Simeon was taken as a hostage by Joseph.  Reuben, the first-born, failed to offer himself in the place of his younger brother Simeon.  When Israel decided to send his sons back to Egypt for more grain, he understood that his youngest son Benjamin, would have to be sent on the journey.  Reuben told his father that he could kill his sons, Jacob’s grandsons, if Benjamin did not return safely.  Judah told his father that he would assume full responsibility for the safe return of Benjamin.  In the second  encounter of Joseph with his brothers, Benjamin was taken as a prisoner because of the charge that he had stolen Joseph’s cup.  Judah stepped in and offered himself in the place of his younger brother.  Judah was willing to lay down his life for his brother (John 15:13).  This is the reason that Judah emerged as leader.

Late Messiah Jesus exhorted His followers to ”take up their cross and follow Him”.  Judah provides us with a picture of “taking up the cross”.  As followers of Messiah Jesus, we must lay down our private ambitions and passions and consecrate ourselves to the work of the Kingdom of God.  We must follow the example given to us by Judah.

One final thought concerning the information included in this section.  We are told that the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews.  In other words the Egyptians actively discriminated against the Hebrews.

So they served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians, who ate with him, by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is loathsome to the Egyptians. (Genesis 43:32)

In a later section we will develop the point that God brought Israel to Egypt to make them a nation there.  We believe the reason that God used Egypt for this purpose was because the Egyptian would not allow Israel to assimilate into their society.  Therefore, Egypt served as an incubator for the infant nation of Israel.  We suspect that if God had left Israel in Canaan in this crucial developmental stage, they would have assimilated into the Canaanite society.

The book of Genesis is prophetic in nature. The theme from chapter 12 through 36 is God’s interaction with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God established His election through these three witnesses. Later when God called Moses at Mt. Sinai, He declared that His eternal, memorial name was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:15). From Genesis chapter 37 through chapter 50, God’s elect vessel is the infant nation of Israel rather than individual patriarchs. The book is prophetic in nature because it outlines the leadership within the nation of Israel for the future. We have an account of events in the lives of Judah and Joseph. These would become the leading tribes of the nation of Israel. The prophetic promises and hence God’s work of redemption would be carried out primarily through these two tribes.

According to the tradition of the time, tribal authority and the double blessing would go to the firstborn son. The firstborn son of Jacob and Leah was Reuben. Reuben eliminated himself from leadership and the blessing by sleeping with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. (Genesis 35:22) Jacob’s second-born, Simeon, and his third-born, Levi, both eliminated themselves in the matter concerning their sister Dinah at Shechem. (Genesis 34:1-31). Judah was next in line. On the other hand, Joseph was the firstborn son to Jacob and Rachel. In the remaining chapters of Genesis both Judah and Joseph are shown to be worthy of tribal leadership (Judah) and the double blessing (Joseph).

Joseph was a man of faith. He received prophetic dreams and interpreted dreams of others as well. Through dreams he foresaw, in the short term, all of the tribes of Israel including his father’s household bowing down to him (Genesis 37). These dreams foretold Joseph’s rise to power in Egypt and future interactions with his family there during a famine. Joseph became a type of Messiah (he was rejected by his family, went to a distant land and received a kingdom, saved his people in a time of great stress and was ultimately reconciled to his family and ruled over them). It is amazing to me that his prophetic ministry did not extend beyond himself. His direct descendants failed to distinguish themselves in the manner that Joseph did. Those enduring faith characteristics will be seen in Judah rather than in Joseph.

Ultimately, redemption would be worked out through Judah. In the current section of study we have an unusual account of Judah interacting with his sons and daughter-in-law. At first, this appears to be a glimpse of cultural life during the patriarchal era. The real purpose of this account, however, is to demonstrate something crucial in the character of Judah that will distinguish him as a leader of God’s people. Judah promised Tamar, his daughter-in-law, that she would be given to Judah’s youngest son in order to raise up descendants for her deceased husband. Judah failed to fulfill his promise. Tamar disguised herself as a temple prostitute and became pregnant by Judah. When Judah became aware that Tamar was pregnant, he ordered her executed. At this point Tamar revealed that Judah himself was the father of her child. Now this is the point of revelation concerning Judah. He could have attempted to hide his involvement with her and she would have been executed. Yet, Judah, when confronted with his sin, confessed what he had done, i.e., he took responsibility for his sin instead of blaming others. This is one aspect of character that is crucial for leadership. Later King David would be confronted with his sin concerning Uriah. Like Judah before him, David confessed his sin. In contrast to this, King Saul blamed others when he was confronted with his sin concerning Amalek. Saul was rejected from leadership.

Joseph was sold by his brothers into bondage. When in Egypt, he was again sold to Potiphar. Later he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and was thrown into prison. There he faithfully served the chief jailer. In this capacity, Joseph interpreted the dreams of two of Pharaoh’s servant who had been imprisoned. The dreams of Pharaoh’s servants were fulfilled and the cup-bearer was restored to his previous position. He forgot about Joseph who was left in prison. In each of these situations, Joseph had every reason to feel sorry for himself, yet, he did not. Due to the prophetic visions that God had given him, Joseph saw himself in faith as an instrument of the Lord. He continually confessed that God was using him to accomplish His purpose.

This is the hard part for us as believers. Firstly, our vision and mission must be established by a clear “faith word” (Romans 1:17). Secondly, we must walk out that faith word without doubting. Even when we face all manner of injustices, we should follow the example set for us by Joseph and give praise and glory to the Lord. Messiah Jesus declared repeatedly that the one who endures to the end will receive the promise.

The contrast between Esau and Jacob is illustrated in this section of the Bible. Both are 77 years old. Esau took wives from the Canaanites. Jacob remained unmarried. Isaac instructed Jacob to flee to Haran until his brother’s anger subsided. Also Jacob was instructed not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan but instead go to the homeland and take a wife from there. Jacob complied with his parents wishes. Esau took another wife, this time from the line of Ishmael, to further irritate his parents. This helps explain why we read,

“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Romans 9:13b).

Jacob fled Beersheba and the wrath of his brother Esau to go to Haran. He traveled along the ridge connecting Hevron, Jerusalem to the site we know as Bethel. At Bethel he rested for the night and experienced a visitation from God. God restated the covenant which He had made with Abraham and with Isaac. The covenant provisions included the promise of blessing, land and ministry as God had promised Jacob’s father and grandfather. Jacob had become the instrument of God’s election at this point. It would take 20 years of labor for his uncle Laban before Jacob simply received God’s call on his life by faith.

Just as important as Jacob’s call as God’s instrument of redemption is the site where this occurred. The original name of the site was Luz. Jacob would rename the site according to his experience here. Jacob experienced a dream in which he saw a ladder set on the earth whose top reached into heaven. Angels were ascending and descending on the ladder.

And he had a dream and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (Genesis 28:12)

God spoke to Jacob establishing His covenant with Him. When Jacob awoke he was amazed.

Then Jacob awoke from the sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it”. And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:16-17)

Jacob called the name of the place “Bethel” (the house of God) and “Shaar Hashamayim” (the gate of heaven). This latter name, the gate of heaven, indicates that this site or more generally, this area, is the crossover point between heaven and earth. In my most recent book, “Israel – God’s Interdimensional Portal”, I cite many Biblical references of God, angels and men going from heaven to earth and from earth to heaven from the small area around this site. From a purely Christian perspective, Messiah Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mt. of Olives just south of Bethel and, of course, the angels declared that He would return to this same place.

The greatest controversy in the world today is the question of who will control this area. This question became most intense when the Jewish people returned to the land and established an independent Jewish state there. Initially (1948) the state did not include this strategically important area but this was reversed in 1967 in the “Six-Day War. I maintain that Satan is desperate to regain control over this area because Israeli control is prophetically necessary for the completion of God’s redemption process. This is most likely the catalyst that will precipitate the final struggle between God and the nations at Har Megiddo (the battle of Armageddon).

After Jacob left Bethel, he fled to the home region of his ancestors, i.e., Haran. Here, he would encounter his uncle Laban. God would use Laban to mold Jacob over the next 20 years. God saw the future man Israel and molded Jacob to become that man. Eventually the man of faith, Israel, would emerge.

This account could be considered the first dispersion. Jacob, God’s covenant partner, was driven from the land of Israel due to his sin (a) failure to trust the Lord to establish his calling, (2) manipulating his brother to give up his birthright and (3) deceiving his father in order to receive the blessing of the firstborn. As with subsequent dispersions, God promised to bring his partner back to the Promised Land.

“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Genesis 28:15)

Twenty years later, God fulfilled His promised and brought Jacob back. This is the pattern set for all subsequent dispersions. God will accomplish His purpose through His people. He will not fail.