Subjection To His Father

by Peter Sweetmore, Cardiff, South Wales | Category: The Life Of Joseph | Mar 1995

'Digging deep' is often necessary if we are to discover buried treasure. Skim-'fling over the surface may be disappointing and unfruitful; the passage of time and the ravages of the weather may have hidden the wealth firmly from detection. This is particularly true in the story of Joseph. Behind the simple narrative is the treasure to be found; and this can be an enriching experience in our contemplation of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom Joseph foreshadows.

We come now to Joseph's subjection to his father. This may not be the most obvious lesson we draw from Joseph's life; but as is so often the case, this leads us to fruitful consideration of the 'One and only Son' of the devoted Father.

A Concerned Father:

It may come as a surprise to realize that from the vale of Hebron, where the family home was then situated, to Shechem was about 75 kilometres:

more than a few days journey with flocks of grazing sheep. From Shechem to Dothan was probably another 25 kilometres, which accounts in part for Jacob's concern for the welfare of his sons and their flocks. It is possible to visualize that the sons of Jacob were far away from their father's home, but not far enough to be 'out of sight, out of mind'. It was, however, possibly several months of wandering with the flocks that led the men first to Shechem, and then to Dothan. We are, perhaps, reminded of the Prodigal in Luke 15:13, who 'took his journey into a far country'. It is not dissimilar to compare the two fathers: Jacob concerned for the welfare of his sons; the Prodigal's father ever on the lookout for his wayward son. And to complete the analogy, in both cases we are reminded of our loving heavenly Father who was also greatly concerned for the welfare of His wayward children.

Joseph Sent Away:

Out of his evident concern, we read that 'Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them' (Gen. 37:13). There was no hesitation in Joseph's reply, even though it may not have been an expedition that he would naturally relish. The answer was simple and straightforward: 'Here am I'. The fact is that Joseph was hated and despised by his brothers; but now his father wanted him to go on his own to seek the welfare of the very men who hated him with such intensity. Without any murmur of dissent, and as a truly obedient son, he signified his willingness to leave behind the comfort and security of his father's home and face those who both envied and despised him.

'Go now, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron' (Gen. 37:14). Jacob could not have envisaged the heartache and the sorrow that this mission would bring to him; and Joseph could not have foreseen the loneliness and the anguish that would result from his obedience, with long years of separation from his loving father and his place of honour in the family home.

Father and Son Together:

All this touches on a most wonderful truth concerning the relationship between God the Father and His treasured Son. Some may put a great deal of emphasis on the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world at the nativity, but before time began there was an amazing unity among the Persons of the Godhead. It would be quite wrong to think that the fall of man, the bringing of sin into the world, and the alienation of man from God, in some way took God by surprise, and all that followed was something of a panic measure. As with Israel (Jacob) and Joseph, we see the Father and the Son working in perfect harmony; and in the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God the plan of redemption was established. This harmony is described in Scripture as follows:

'Herein was the love of God manifested ... that God hath sent His only begotten Son into the world... Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that

He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins' (1 John 4:9,10). But alongside the truth of God sending His Son, is the obedience and willingness of the Lord Jesus to accomplish His will no matter what the cost. Jesus knew that He would be hated and despised; He knew that it would be a difficult mission; He knew that there would be total rejection. Prophetic words indeed: 'I delight to do Thy will, 0 My God' (Ps. 40:8).

We have already seen that the specific task that Joseph had to fulfil concerned the welfare of his brothers. Likewise the Lord Jesus Christ was sent specifically into this world 'unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel' (Mat. 15:24). As John puts it: 'He came unto His own, and they that were His own received Him not' (1:11). Ultimately Joseph's extended mission led him to be the saviour of the world in providing for the needs of all those who would come during the years of famine. Likewise, the Lord Jesus became the Saviour of the world in so willingly and so gladly fulfilling the will of His Father. Joseph did not seek his brothers to chastise them for all their evil behaviour, but to seek their good. What a perfect picture of the One who came not 'to judge (condemn AV) the world; but that the world should be saved through Him' (John 3:17).

Joseph Leaves for Shechem:

And so Joseph left the vale of Hebron, which, it is suggested, stands for fellowship or communion, and made his way to Shechem. Not many

years before, Jacob had lived at Shechem, and had found it necessary to uproot from there because of the actions of his sons Simeon and Levi. It can be assumed from Jacob's words (Gen. 34:30) that Shechem was for ever afterwards a hostile place for both him and his family, and for Joseph in particular. One can only surmise that for Jacob that overwhelming concern for his sons and the flock was of greater importance than the safety of Joseph in such a potentially hostile environment. And Joseph knew that too.

Such was God's love for this world that He was willing to send His well-beloved Son into this hostile environment. And it is clear from the parable that Jesus told of the householder who planted a vineyard (Mat. 21:3341) that He knew what hostility to expect; the words 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him' (v.38), leave us in no doubt.

Having come to Shechem, Joseph had a wonderful opportunity to turn back! His brothers were not there, and had his heart not been totally in his mission, he could have returned. The fact is that he did not; and neither did the One whom he foreshadowed. The Lord Jesus had a task from which He did not shrink; and like the shepherd who went Out after the one sheep that was lost, He came in search of us.

Wandering in the Field:

With a clearly defined task before him, and a determination to fulfil his mission, Joseph started to search. We learn that 'a certain man found him,

and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding the flock' (Gen. 37:15,16). Around the city of Shechem 'the field' may have been an undefined area of considerable dimensions; and it may have been this image that caused Jesus in the parable of the tares to say 'The field is the world' (Mat. 13:38). This was where Joseph was wandering in search of his brothers. And a line from a hymn gives us a similar picture of the Lord Jesus:

Wandering as a homeless Stranger

In the world His hands had made.

But the words of the Lord Himself are even more succinct: 'The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head' (Mat. 8:20). The Greek word for nests is lodging places; and we have ample evidence of our seeking Saviour having no place to lodge. His wandering was not aimless either; He 'came to seek and to save that which was lost' (Luke 19:10).

Coming to Seek and to Save:

If we did not know otherwise, we may have exclaimed that Joseph was fortunate to make contact with a man in Shechem who could tell him where his brothers had gone. But we know otherwise; for this whole incident was just one facet of the unfolding of the purpose of God in Joseph's life. 'And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan' (Gen. 37:17). His obedience to his father's will, his readiness to go into a hostile place, his willingness to seek the welfare of those who hated and despised him, his diligence in pursuing his mission until it was accomplished, all tell us something of our wonderful, seeking Saviour. If we think about it, we might say over and over again that the Lord Jesus 'went after His brethren'. But we may wonder with great incredulity that He went after us, indeed, He went alter me. Praise God He found me!

Peter Sweetmore, Cardiff, South Wales | Mar 1995
The Life Of Joseph