Tag: Joseph/Yosef

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Discussions Torah

Will we recognize our Jewish Messiah when He returns? (Genesis 44:18–47:27)

Just as Judah and his brothers did not recognize the gentile Egyptian governor as their flesh and blood Hebrew brother Joseph, many Christians may not recognize their Jewish Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth, when He returns to Earth for His bride.

In Torah reading ויגש Vayigash (“he approached,” Genesis 44:18–47:27), Joseph disguised himself as a gentile to save Egypt and the entire world from famine. Yeshua’s apostle Paul tells us that the Messiah disguised Himself from His Jewish kin for a time for the sake of the Gentiles, but He will reveal Himself as our Jewish Messiah at His second coming. The question is, are we prepared to see Him as He really is?

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Discussions Torah

Genesis 37:1–40:23: How the first became lost and the lost became first

The accounts in Torah reading וישב Vayeshev (“he settled,” Gen. 37:1–40:23) of Judah’s hooking up with his daughter-in-law and Joseph foretelling the rise and deeper fall of his jailmates seem as unrelated as they are dismaying. But the two actually contain prophecies that reveal the transforming work of the Messiah.

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Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Genesis 44:18–47:27: Want God’s mercy and love? Have mercy and love for others

Free Hugs at the March Against Barbarism in Toulouse, France on November 21, 2015. (Photo by Gyrostat via Wikimedia, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

The Torah reading ויגש Vayigash (“he approached,” Genesis 44:18–47:27) covers the response of Yehudah (Judah) and the brothers to the accusation by Yosef (Joseph). It’s important to understand why Yosef is doing this, because it helps us understand God and ourselves in a different light. This passage gives us a shadow of the great interceding mercy and sacrifice of Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ).

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Discussions Torah

Genesis 37–38: Am I my sister’s keeper? Why Tamar was ‘more righteous’

From the Torah reading  וישב Vayeshev (“he settled,” Genesis 37:1-40:23), we’ll be focusing this time on a comparison between Judah’s relationship with Tamar and Joseph’s relationship with Potiphar’s wife. As we look into this “intermission” in the story, we’ll take a detour into Hosea 3-4, which will give us insight into why the men in  those stories were guilty of a far greater evil than the sins of Tamar and Mrs. Potiphar.

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Discussions Torah

Genesis 37–40: Joseph and Judah’s school of hard knocks

Two lion cubs play fighting, learning how to fight for real when they grow up. Photo by Freeimages.com/Kimberlee Kessler Designs via Creative Commons License

God prepared two self-centered “brats” — Yosef (Joseph) and Yehudah (Judah) — and their descendants to become the saviors of their families. Yosef was a tattle-tale and a bit of a braggart, but Yehudah was willing to throw weaker, younger people to the wolves, either figuratively or literally to obtain a higher status in his society. God really cares about how you treat other people, especially those who are weaker and less fortunate. In the Torah reading וישב Vayeshev (Genesis 37–40), we learn from Yosef and Yehudah their life lessons the hard way.

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Discussions Torah

Genesis 44:18–47:27: Yosef foreshadows Yeshua’s grace

"Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers (Gen. 45:1-24)" by Gustave Doré, 1866
Gustave Doré (1832-1883), "Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers (Gen. 45:1-24)," Doré's English Bible, wood engraving, Wikimedia Commons, 1866.

Aesop’s ancient saying “familiarity breeds contempt” could easily sum up how Yosef’s brothers treated him in his early years and how many leaders of Yisra’el treated Yeshua. The prophetic parallels between Yosef and Yeshua the Mashiakh sharpen further in the Torah section Vayigash (“he approached”).

In it, the brothers’ contempt turns to fear when they realize their plots against Yosef have put them at his mercy. It’s also a picture of the Day of the LORD, when Yisra’el then the world must confess, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the LORD.”

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Discussions Torah

Genesis 41:1-44:17: Yitzkhak’s and Yosef’s extended passion play

"Joseph, Overseer of Pharaoh's Granaries" by Sir Lawrence Ima-Tadema, 1874
Sir Lawrence lma-Tadema (Dutch/British, 1836–1912). "Joseph, Overseer of Pharaoh’s Granaries," Oil on panel, Wikipedia Commons, 1874.

Torah section Miketz (“from the end,” Genesis 41:1-44:17) is a passion play of the Mashiakh. The suffering Yosef puts his brothers through was not only a recollection of Yosef’s own sufferings but also a foreshadowing of the suffering of the future Anointed One.