Read Psalm 105:16-19

Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, who took his place in the original twelve tribes. But because Ephraim resisted the appeals of the Holy Spirit and clung to his idols, his name does not appear among the 144,000.   Joseph was installed in his place.

Revelation 7:8 – “Of the tribe of Joseph [were] sealed twelve thousand”.

As we contemplate further the purification of God’s people, we see that the people of God who are to be among the 144,000 are to be thoroughly purified, but not only from sin.

Dross of Earthliness

GC 621 – “Jacob’s history is also an assurance that God will not cast off those who have been deceived and tempted and betrayed into sin, but who have returned unto Him with true repentance. While Satan seeks to destroy this class, God will send His angels to comfort and protect them in the time of peril. The assaults of Satan are fierce and determined, his delusions are terrible; but the Lord’s eye is upon His people, and His ear listens to their cries. Their affliction is great, the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but the Refiner will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. God’s love for His children during the period of their severest trial is as strong and tender as in the days of their sunniest prosperity; but it is needful for them to be placed in the furnace of fire”.

Why?

“Their earthliness must be consumed, that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected. The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger – a faith that will not faint though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time”.

To prepare for what? To endure weariness, delay, and hunger, distress, and anguish.  Why? So that they would not only conquer sin, but that their earthliness may be consumed.

What is earthliness? Our study of the tribe of Joseph is a perfect way to identify what the consuming of earthliness means for the 144,000 as they go through the time of Jacob’s trouble.

 Joseph’s Backgroun

Genesis 30:22 – ‘And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.  And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach. And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son”.

Joseph means ‘adding’. Rachel had given her maid to Jacob so that she could have children to her name through Bilhah; but now the Lord had added Joseph, and it was her own child. A direct intervention of God brought Joseph into existence. It was by a miracle of God.

Many years after his birth, Joseph, who was next to Pharaoh in Egypt, said something very interesting:

Genesis 50:19 – “And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for [am] I in the place of God?  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; [but] God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as [it is] this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them and spoke kindly unto them”.

Earlier, when he made himself known to his brethren, he spoke thus to them:

Genesis 45:4 - “And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I [am] Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.  For these two years [hath] the famine [been] in the land: and yet [there are] five years, in the which [there shall] neither [be] earing nor harvest.  And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now [it was] not you that sent me hither but God: and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house,  and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt”.

Here a victorious godly man is chosen by God to save and deliver His people.

PP 239 - “The life of Joseph illustrates the life of Christ. It was envy that moved the brothers of Joseph to sell him as a slave; they hoped to prevent him from becoming greater than themselves. And when he was carried to Egypt, they flattered themselves that they were to be no more troubled with his dreams, that they had removed all possibility of their fulfillment. But their own course was overruled by God to bring about the very event that they designed to hinder. So, the Jewish priests and elders were jealous of Christ, fearing that He would attract the attention of the people from them. They put Him to death, to prevent Him from becoming king, but they were thus bringing about this very result.

“Joseph, through his bondage in Egypt, became a saviour to his father’s family; yet this fact did not lessen the guilt of his brothers. So, the crucifixion of Christ by His enemies made Him the Redeemer of mankind, the Saviour of the fallen race, and Ruler over the whole world; but the crime of His murderers was just as heinous as though God’s providential hand had not controlled events for His own glory and the good of man.

“As Joseph was sold to the heathen by his own brothers, so Christ was sold to His bitterest enemies by one of His disciples. Joseph was falsely accused and thrust into prison because of his virtue; so Christ was despised and rejected because His righteous, self-denying life was a rebuke to sin; and though guilty of no wrong, He was condemned upon the testimony of false witnesses. And Joseph’s patience and meekness under injustice and oppression, his ready forgiveness and noble benevolence toward his unnatural brothers, represent the Saviour’s uncomplaining endurance of the malice and abuse of wicked men, and His forgiveness, not only of His murderers, but of all who have come to Him confessing their sins and seeking pardon”.

What do we see here? A remarkable man who is an object lesson of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus delivered humanity by what happened to Him; and Joseph went through a similar experience to deliver his brothers.

But how did he develop a Christ-like character, such as the 144,000 will possess? Was he perfectly faultless? This is a very important point regarding the 144,000. Like Joseph, their earthliness must be consumed. Earthliness is a corrupt condition, but it is not actually sin. How did God remove and consume the earthliness in Joseph’s character so that he could shine like one of God’s stars.

Traits of Earthliness

What needed to be consumed in Joseph so that God could place him in such a lofty position?

Genesis 37:1 – “And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These [are] the generations of Jacob. Joseph, [being] seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad [was] with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.  Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he [was] the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of [many] colours”.

Joseph reported the evil conduct of his brothers to his father.  Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons; and he made him a special coat of many colours.

Genesis 37:4 -  “And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him”.

And besides that,

Genesis 37:5 -” Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.  And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:  For, behold, we [were] binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.  And he told [it] to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What [is] this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?  And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.”

What do you see in Joseph? Something questionable? The following statement picks up the story after Joseph had been sold into slavery and is on his way to Egypt.

The Revealing Fire

PP 213 - “With a trembling heart he looked forward to the future. What a change in situation - from the tenderly cherished son to the despised and helpless slave! Alone and friendless, what would be his lot in the strange land to which he was going? For a time, Joseph gave himself up to uncontrolled grief and terror. But, in the providence of God, even this experience was to be a blessing to him. He had learned in a few hours that which years might not otherwise have taught him.

Here is the important element. What Joseph learned in those few hours as he was travelling on his way to Egypt would have taken him years to learn otherwise?

“His father, strong and tender as his love had been, had done him wrong by his partiality and indulgence. This unwise preference had angered his brothers and provoked them to the cruel deed that had separated him from his home. Its effects were manifest also in his own character”.

Joseph’s character was affected by his father’s esteem and love toward him. It was over and above the love that he had for his brothers. How did that affect him?

PP 213 - “Faults had been encouraged that were now to be corrected. He was becoming self-sufficient and exacting. Accustomed to the tenderness of his father’s care, he felt that he was unprepared to cope with the difficulties before himv , in the bitter, uncared-for life of a stranger and a slave”.

What were his faults? (Note, these were faults, not sins).

‘He was becoming self-sufficient and exacting’. And these faults were encouraged because he was daddy’s favourite child. This influenced his personality.

These character defects were the result of being cosseted and mollycoddled by his father. If he had been less gullible, would he have told his brothers the dreams? Joseph’s problem was earthliness, the result of being treated as a favourite. He was also quick to inform his father of his brother’s evil conduct. As a result, his brothers grew to hate him. How had he developed these faulty character traits?

PP 209 – “Jacob unwisely manifested his preference for Joseph, and this excited the jealousy of his other sons. As Joseph witnessed the evil conduct of his brothers, he was greatly troubled; he ventured gently to remonstrate with them, but only aroused still further their hatred and resentment. He could not endure to see them sinning against God, and he laid the matter before his father, hoping that his authority might lead them to reform.

“Jacob carefully avoided exciting their anger by harshness or severity. With deep emotion he expressed his solicitude for his children and implored them to have respect for his grey hairs, and not to bring reproach upon his name, and above all not to dishonour God by such disregard of His precepts.

How did his brothers react to this counsel of the father?

“Ashamed that their wickedness was known, the young men seemed to be repentant, but they only concealed their real feelings, which were rendered more bitter by this exposure”.

Is it wise to expose the wrongs of others to certain people, especially to those in authority?

“The father’s injudicious gift to Joseph of a costly coat, or tunic, such as was usually worn by persons of distinction, seemed to them another evidence of his partiality, and excited a suspicion that he intended to pass by his elder children, to bestow the birthright upon the son of Rachel. Their malice was still further increased as the boy one day told them of a dream that he had had. “Behold,” he said, “we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.”

Here you have a terrible tumult of feelings that Joseph helped to ignite. His revelations only drove his brothers to hate him the more. He was gullible. It was not that Joseph was sinning; but we do see a lack of wisdom. Although Joseph’s motives were genuine in revealing the bad behaviour of his brothers so that they could be corrected, yet we also see an earthliness in Joseph that needed to be consumed.

But although the earthliness was there, there was something else in Joseph that really shone. What was it?

The elder son of Rachel, Joseph, whose rare personal beauty seemed but to reflect an inward beauty of mind and heart. Pure, active, and joyous, the lad gave evidence also of moral earnestness and firmness. He listened to his father’s instructions and loved to obey God. The qualities that afterward distinguished him in Egypt–gentleness, fidelity, and truthfulness–were already manifest in his daily life. His mother being dead, his affections clung the more closely to the father, and Jacob’s heart was bound up in this child of his old age. He “loved Joseph more than all his children.” {PP 209.1}

Why did he love him more than all his other children? Because Joseph had such a beautiful personality. No sin is recorded against him, but he had earthliness in him. He was gullible.

An Excruciating Trial

What was it that was needed to consume earthliness?

Genesis 37:13  - And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed [the flock] in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here [am I]. 14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

Let the story play out in front of your mind as to what was needed for Joseph to have that earthliness of gullibility removed, that earthliness of being exonerated in his own mind, and therefore becoming exacting and self-sufficient. It’s so easy to fall into this.

Genesis 37:23 – “It came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, [his] coat of [many] colours that [was] on him; 24 And they took him and cast him into a pit: and the pit [was] empty, [there was] no water in it. 25    And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry [it] down to Egypt. 26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit [is it] if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he [is] our brother [and] our flesh. And his brethren were content. 28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty [pieces] of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

How was Joseph reacting now? Why was all this happening to him? How would you feel if you believed you were righteously motivated in doing what you thought was God’s will, and now you are mistreated because of it?

Genesis 39:1 -  And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. 2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the LORD [was] with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. 4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all [that] he had he put into his hand. 5 And it came to pass from the time [that] he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. 6 And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was [a] goodly [person], and well favoured.

We see in this report what God had done to bless him; but why was he so blessed? Why was Joseph so greatly trusted by Potiphar? After he had been sold to the Ishmaelites, Joseph gave himself up to bitter weeping, but within a few hours he had learned a precious lesson.

His thoughts turned to his father’s God. In his childhood he had been taught to love and fear Him. Often in his father’s tent he had listened to the story of the vision that Jacob saw as he fled from his home an exile and a fugitive. {PP 213.3}

What was the vision that Jacob saw? The ladder.

He had been told of the Lord’s promises to Jacob, and how they had been fulfilled–how, in the hour of need, the angels of God had come to instruct, comfort, and protect him. And he had learned of the love of God in providing for men a Redeemer. Now all these precious lessons came vividly before him. {Ibid.}

He has just been sold, mistreated by his brothers, and he might have given up at this point. Is that what he did? No! Like Jesus, when He was hanging on the cross feeling totally forsaken by His Father, Joseph broke through the darkness. All the stories of God’s love, the ladder vision that came to Jacob, everything that Jacob had told him came back to his memory; and what did he do? As all these precious lessons came vividly before him, Joseph believed that the God of his fathers would be his God. He then and there gave himself fully to the Lord, and he prayed that the Keeper of Israel would be with him in the land of his exile.

His soul thrilled with the high resolve to prove himself true to God–under all circumstances to act as became a subject of the King of heaven. He would serve the Lord with undivided heart; he would meet the trials of his lot with fortitude and perform every duty with fidelity. One day’s experience had been the turning point in Joseph’s life. Its terrible calamity had transformed him from a petted child to a man, thoughtful, courageous, and self-possessed. {PP 214.1}

Are you picking up the lesson? It’s not what happens to you that matters; it is what you do with what happens to you. And what you do is dependent on what you embrace as a child.

Joseph listened to all the stories told to him by his father, so that when he was going through this terrible calamity, he found strength to overcome. To be sold into slavery was worse than death for him. He couldn’t see the future; he didn’t know what was coming, but he thought, never mind; whatever happens I am going to be loyal to God.  I am going to do things right. This is why God could bless him so much in Potiphar’s house– because he was doing everything with fidelity.

In Potiphar’s House

When things go wrong, be like Joseph, do everything right. It doesn’t matter what the consequences are; do what is right anyway.

Joseph’s fidelity in all things was sharply tested when Potiphar’s wife tempted him to commit adultery with her, and when he wouldn’t, she accused him of the very crime he had tried to escape. Read Genesis 39:6-12.

Joseph was being purged and purified from every grain of earthliness; everything earthly was being removed and consumed. We cannot take our earthliness, our character faults, to heaven.

Joseph suffered for his integrity, for his tempter revenged herself by accusing him of a foul crime and causing him to be thrust into prison. Had Potiphar believed his wife’s charge against Joseph, the young Hebrew would have lost his life; but the modesty and uprightness that had uniformly characterized his conduct were proof of his innocence; and yet, to save the reputation of his master’s house, he was abandoned to disgrace and bondage. {PP 218.1}

At first Joseph was treated with great severity by his jailers. {PP 218.2}

Now notice what Joseph does and how he goes through another test and comes out with glowing colours yet again:

The psalmist says, “His feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in chains of iron: until the time that his word came to pass; the word of the Lord tried him.” Psalm 105:18, 19, R.V. But Joseph’s real character shines out, even in the darkness of the dungeon. He held fast his faith and patience; his years of faithful service had been most cruelly repaid, yet this did not render him morose or distrustful. {Ibid.}

Think about it for a moment. When you are mistreated, even though your motives are pure and your conscience clear, what is your natural response? To feel morose and miserable? Not for Joseph. The beauty of his character shines forth. He is being purged to bring forth the pure gold.

He had the peace that comes from conscious innocence, and he trusted his case with God. He did not brood upon his wrongs.

He recognised the wrongs done to him, but he did not brood upon them. Are you appreciating the lesson?

He did not brood upon his own wrongs but forgot his sorrow in trying to lighten the sorrows of others. He found a work to do, even in the prison. God was preparing him in the school of affliction for greater usefulness, and he did not refuse the needful discipline.

In the prison, witnessing the results of oppression and tyranny and the effects of crime, he learned lessons of justice, sympathy, and mercy, that prepared him to exercise power with wisdom and compassion. {Ibid.}

We are being prepared to dwell eternally with holy beings, and we need to learn the lessons Joseph learned in the school of affliction.

Exonerated and Raised

Genesis 41:41 -  And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.

Why was Joseph now exonerated after years in the prison? Remember, in the prison the baker and the butler had dreams which Joseph was able to interpret. As a result, he was brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams.

Genesis 41:42 - Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; 43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him [ruler] over all the land of Egypt. 44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I [am] Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

Now he was raised to the pinnacle of success because he faithfully endured all these tests.

Soaring Above the Clouds of Trial

As we open our hearts to receive the lessons from Joseph, we see a precious, beautiful child, not guilty of sin, just suffering earthliness because of his father’s indulgence. When you are treated badly though innocent; when everything goes wrong around you, are you going to be miserable? Are you going to say, this is beyond me; I can’t handle this anymore, get me out of here! No! Joseph didn’t do that. He kept on doing what was right, irrespective of how he was treated, and the Lord blessed him. So, it is to be with us. This is the lesson we want to take away from Joseph’s victorious life.

God has bidden you to go forward to perfection. Christianity is a religion of progress. Light from God is full and ample, waiting our demand upon it. Whatever blessings the Lord may give, He has an infinite supply beyond, an inexhaustible store from which we may draw. Scepticism may treat the sacred claims of the gospel with jests, scoffing, and denial. The spirit of worldliness may contaminate the many and control the few; the cause of God may hold its ground only by great exertion and continual sacrifice, yet it will triumph finally. {5T 71.1}

What are we going to do? Are we going to hold the line like Joseph, did?

The word is: Go forward; discharge your individual duty and leave all consequences in the hands of God. If we move forward where Jesus leads the way we shall see His triumph, we shall share His joy. We must share the conflicts if we wear the crown of victory. Like Jesus, we must be made perfect through suffering. Had Christ’s life been one of ease, then might we safely yield to sloth. Since His life was marked with continual self-denial, suffering, and self-sacrifice, we shall make no complaint if we are partakers with Him. We can walk safely in the darkest path if we have the Light of the world for our guide. {5T 71.2}

Here we have comfort that we can meet the same experiences and have the same victories as did Joseph. This is the lesson: Go forward, no matter what happens to you. Terrible things are going to happen to us in the future. Haven’t lots of things happened to us already? Don’t despair. If the heavens fall, remember Joseph, remember Jesus. The story of Jesus is made resplendent in the story of Joseph.

God grant us that we may indeed be among the 144,000 because we have decided, as Joseph did, to “serve the Lord with undivided heart”; to meet the trials of this life “with fortitude and perform every duty with fidelity”.