Yosef (Joseph) rose quickly from forgotten prisoner to second in command of Mitsraim (Egypt), all over two strange visions Pharaoh had of fat and famished cows then plump and withered heads of grain. Behind all this we see the Creator’s hand at work, teaching Pharaoh, Mitsraim and us about where we should put our trust.
The Lord was clearly with Yosef (Joseph) in Potiphar’s house, yet Yosef was framed for jilting an adulterous wife. And the Lord was with Yosef in the prison he was thrown into, interpreting two dreams about the future of the pharaoh’s jailed wine server and baker. The symbols of wine and bread there point to the future life of Yeshua the Messiah.
This account of Yosef’s dreams and being sold by his brothers into slavery in Mitsraim (Egypt) is the foundation for the teaching through the rest of Genesis and even the Torah. The life of Yeshua the Messiah on Earth paralleled that of Yosef (Joseph).
The seemingly strange account of Abram and Sarai faking out Pharaoh is a microcosm of the later Exodus account. Abram and the descendants of Israel initially were welcomed and exalted, but then they were seen as a curse and told to leave, sent away with many gifts and riches.
Up to this point, most of Leviticus has described how the Levites were to serve God. Starting at this point, we now start to learn how God wants the people to serve him.
When Yeshua told the elders that the scriptures speak of Him, many of us had no idea how much Messianic foreshadowing is found in this book. The exit from Egypt after Passover and the journey to Canaan was orderly, not chaotic. The journeys to and from Egypt, for Abraham, Joseph, Jacob and the Messiah are a lesson for us.
We need to look back on what we have learned in Exodus. Exodus is the most powerful book in the Bible because it reveals many aspects of God’s character. One of the lessons of the Book of Exodus is that often, the good deeds of great men are “seldom remembered” while the memory of “men who do great harm” live on.
This was true of both Joseph and Moses. As far as Egyptian history is concerned, both of these great men were rejected because of the arrogance of the Pharaoh. We are blessed by God that we have the Torah from God Himself, who made sure their deeds is recorded for us. God has not kept His will a secret. It’s all in the Bible.