Read: Genesis 37:1-38:30; Matthew 12:22-45; Psalm 16:1-11; Proverbs 3:27-32
The story of Joseph is one of the clearest pictures of the story of Jesus. Joseph came with dreams foretelling his future just like Jesus came with many prophecies. Joseph was despised by his brothers just as Jesus was despised by his brothers, the Jews. Joseph’s brothers plotted his death and would have killed him had God not saved him. Instead he was thrown into an empty well and his robe bloodied so it would appear he was dead. He was raised up to be sold to foreigners. Joseph ended up in Potipher’s house. Potiphar means “my affliction was broken”. Jesus was sold by one of his disciples to the Romans to be killed on a cross. They thought he was dead but he came out of his grave also. His affliction was broken through his death and so was ours. Joseph’s brothers lied about the fact that he was still alive. The leaders of the Jews also lied about the fact that Jesus had risen from the grave.
Then, in the middle of the story we get a close-up of Judah’s life. Judah went down to Adullam and married a woman whose name means “pit”. Together they had three sons: Er, Onan and Shela. Er’s wife was Tamar. Er was so wicked, the Lord killed him so he died without an heir. Onan was given to Hamar to raise up a son in Er’s name. He refused to do this, so God killed him. (If this was a movie it would be R-rated.) Judah promised her his last son when he grew up but didn’t deliver so Tamar decided she would get her inheritance herself. She deceitfully played the harlot with Judah and got pregnant. When Judah wanted to have her stoned, she produced the proof of who the father was. There was no way Judah was going to kill his offspring. Tamar had twins: Perez and Zerah. Zerah stuck his hand out first and they put a red thread around his wrist. Then, Perez then came out first. Perez means “breaking out” and Zerah means “scarlet or brightness”. Perez was considered the firstborn. It is the second-born that is the picture of salvation. We are born first of the natural but again, secondly in the spirit.
This is such a bazaar story and yet it was the tribe of Judah that God chose to tell this same story many years later through Jesus.
In Matthew, Jesus gives the Pharisees a lesson on the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. They were trying to say that Jesus did all his good works by the power of Satan, but Jesus said that that was impossible because the subjects of a kingdom do not war against each other in the spiritual realm. But… if Jesus was indeed casting out spirits by the Spirit of God then the kingdom of God was come. Then he began talking about the strong man and his house. He was explaining that Satan was the king of the world and this man was his house. It would take someone stronger than him to penetrate his ranks and the only one who could do that was God himself. Because Jesus could cast out the spirit of deafness out of the man it proved that he was from God and that God’s kingdom had come to earth.
Jesus took the whole conversation back to the root - their hearts. Their hearts were evil so they would never bring forth good or accept good. They were condemning themselves by their own words.
Lord, may your kingdom come in us.
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