“Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.” (Genesis 37:5-8)

Isn’t it interesting that scripture doesn’t really tell us much in the way of negative things about Joseph? You could infer that he may have been a bit prideful, what with him being the favorite of Jacob and all, and with his dreams, but that is speculation. With the vast majority of characters we read about in the Bible, there are glaring negative flaws in their character. For example, Abraham trying to pass Sarah off as his sister (twice) and getting Hagar pregnant instead of waiting on God. You can also see Peter’s glaring flaws, such as sinking in the water, getting in Jesus’ way, and denying him before the rooster crowed. These are people who become good because God chose them and worked in them, but they are clearly human and sinful.

Joseph is just like that. We know for sure that he is sinful because he isn’t Jesus. He was, however, a foreshadowing of the rescuer. The plot of Joseph’s story in Genesis is clear – he was exiled and mistreated, only to end up in Egypt as the head administrator for Pharaoh. His actions, honesty and trustworthiness lead to everyone in that part of the world being saved from the severe famine. Joseph was the rescuer.

What makes this more than just a rescue story is that other references and hints show this connects more than just as a similar story. First of all is the example of Joseph’s righteous life. Like Melchidezek before him, Joseph’s example in scripture is one of a righteous life. Regardless of the trails he is put through, he shined as the example. Him becoming the rescuer fits right in line as not just an example of a savior-type story, but also as the righteous example that is similar to Jesus. He was a good fit for his role because of his righteous life, not just because that was the role he was given by God.

Second, we bring in the verse from above. Joseph was not in the line of kings from Abraham to Jesus. So we know that his dream is limited to him and not prophetic generationally. That said, this is again an example of foreshadowing. They will bow down to Joseph as the rescuer – and we all bow down to Jesus, our rescuer. While I admit there is some speculation in my connections, it is common to see Joseph as the foreshadowing example of Jesus; thus, seeing how these connections are made don’t seem to be far off that road.

The point is this – God is clearly trying to get the point across that His plan for Jesus to be our savior is fully fleshed out in numerous and and examples, each covering different aspects of the plan. Enjoy reading and discovering some on your own. If you find any references or foreshadow examples, comment or let me know!