Saviour repulsed the Enemy. But notice here one point in contrast: "And he (Joseph) left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out" (39:12). So, the Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, enjoined him to "Flee youthful lusts" (2 Tim. 2:22). How different with the Perfect One! He said, "Get thee hence, Satan" (Matt. 4:10), and we read, "Then the Devil leaveth HIM." In all things He has the preeminence.

32. Joseph was falsely accused.

'And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me. And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out" (39: 16-18). There was no ground whatever for a true charge to be brought against Joseph, so an unjust one was preferred. So it was, too, with Him who was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners." His enemies "the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put Him to death. But found none." Yet, at the last, "came two false witnesses" (Matt. 16:59, 60), who bore untruthful testimony against Him.

33. Joseph attempted no defence.

"And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me: that his wrath was kindled" (39:19), though notice, it does not add, "against Joseph." In Gen. 37, we beheld Joseph's passive submission to the wrong done him by his heartless brethren. So here, when falsely and foully accused by this Egyptian woman, he attempts no self-vindication; not a word of appeal is made; nor is there any murmuring against the cruel injustice done him, as he is cast into prison. There was no recrimination; nothing but a quiet enduring of the wrong. When Joseph was reviled, like the Saviour, he reviled not again. And how all this reminds us of what we read in Isa. 53: 7, with its recorded fulfillment in the Gospels, "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth!"

34. Joseph was cast into prison.

"And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound; and he was there in the prison" (39:20).

"Taking the garment that Joseph had left behind him in his flight, she used it as a proof of his guilt, and first to the servants, and then to her husband. She made out a case against the Hebrew slave. The way she spoke of her husband to the servants (verse 14) shows the true character of the woman, and perhaps also the terms of her married life; while the fact that Potiphar only placed Joseph in prison instead of commanding him to be put to death is another indication of the state of affairs. For appearance' sake Potiphar must take some action, but the precise action taken tells its own tale. He evidently did not credit her story" (Dr. G. Thomas).

Just as Joseph, though completely innocent, was unrighteously cast into prison, so our Lord was unjustly sentenced to death by one who owned repeatedly, “I find no fault in Him." And how striking is the parallel between the acts of Potiphar and Pilate. It is evident that Potiphar did not believe the accusation which his wife brought against Joseph-had he really done so, as has been pointed out, he would have ordered his Hebrew slave put to death. But to save appearances he had Joseph cast into prison. Now mark the close parallel in Pilate. He, too, it is evident, did not believe in the guilt of our Lord or why have been so reluctant to give his consent for Him to be crucified? He, too, knew the character of those who accused the Saviour. But, for the sake of appearances-as an officer of the Roman Empire, against the One who was charged with being a rebel against Cæsar, for political expediency-he passed

sentence.

35. Joseph thus suffered at the hands of the Gentiles.

Not only was Joseph envied and hated by his own brethren, and sold by them into the hands of the Gentiles, but he was also treated unfairly by the Gentiles too, and unjustly cast into prison. So it was with his Antitype, "The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles,

and the people of Israel were gathered together" (Acts 4: 26, 27).

36. Joseph, the innocent one, suffered severely.

In Stephen's speech we find a statement which bears this out. Said he, "And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt," and then, referring to his experiences after he had become a slave, he adds, "but God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions" (Acts 7: 9, 10). How much, we wonder, is covered by these words! What indignities, trials and pains, was he called on to suffer? In Psa. 105 there is another word more specific, "He (God) sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: whose feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in iron" (verses 17, 18). How these references remind us of that Blesed One, who was mocked and spat upon, scourged and crowned with thorns, and nailed to the cruel tree!

37. Joseph won the respect of his jailor.

"But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison (39:21). Is not the antitype of this found in the fact that the Roman centurion, the one who had charge of the Crucifixion of the Saviour, cried, "Certainly this was a Righteous Man" (Luke 23:47). Thus did God give His Son favor in the sight of this Roman who corresponded with Joseph's jailor.

38. Joseph was numbered with transgressors.

66

'And it came to pass that after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt, and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound" (40: 1-3). What a marvellous line is this in our typical picture. Joseph was not alone in the place of shame and suffering. Nor was the Lord Jesus as He hung on the heights of Calvary. And just as there were two malefactors crucified with Him, so two offenders were in the prison with Joseph! But the analogy extends ever further than this.

39. Joseph was the means of blessing to one, but the pronouncer of judgment on the other.

His fellow prisoners had each of them a dream, and in interpreting them, Joseph declared that the butler should be delivered from prison, but to the baker he said, "Within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree, and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee" (40: 19). It is not without good reason that the Holy Spirit has seen fit to record the details of these dreams. Connected with the spared one, the butler, we read of "the cup" into which the grapes were pressed (49:10-12), suggesting to us the precious Blood of the Lamb, by which all who believe are delivered. Connected with the one who was not delivered, the baker, were baskets full of bakemeats (40:16, 17), suggesting human labors, the works of man's hands, which are powerless to deliver the sinner, or justify him before God: for all such there is only the "Curse," referred to here by the baker being "hanged on a tree" (cf. Gal. 3:13). So it was at the Cross: the one thief went to Paradise; the other to Perdition.

40. Joseph evidenced his knowledge of the future.

In interpreting their dreams, Joseph foretold the future destiny of the butler and the baker. But observe that in doing this he was careful to ascribe the glory to Another, saying, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" (40:8). So the One whom Joseph foreshadowed, again and again, made known what should come to pass in the future, yet did he say, "For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" John 12:49). 41. Joseph's predictions came true.

"And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them" (40:20-22). Just as Joseph had interpreted so it came to pass. So shall it be with every word of the Son of God, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but His words shall not pass away. And O, unsaved reader, just as the solemn announcement of Joseph concerning the baker was actually fulfilled, so shall these words of the Lord Jesus be found true-"he that believeth not shall be damned!"

42. Joseph desired to be Remembered.

Said Joseph to the butler, "But think on me when it shall be well with thee" (40: 14). So, in connection with the Supper, the Saviour has said, "This do in remembrance of Me."

As we admire these lovely typical pictures, like the queen of Sheba, there is no more strength left in us, and we can only bow our heads and say, "How precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!"