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The issue of all the historical figures recorded in Genesis is the twelve sons of Jacob. Among the twelve sons of Jacob, the most outstanding was Joseph, and the remaining eleven formed a separate group. Among these eleven, Reuben, Levi, and Judah had their special characteristics; the remaining eight were not special. Reuben, Levi, and Judah, with Joseph, all were related to the birthright inherited by Jacob from the forefathers. The birthright is a continuation of the various excellent qualities and blessings of the forefathers. According to the Bible, the birthright includes the double portion of the land, the priesthood, and the kingship, that is, the right and the position to enjoy Christ in full, and the right to be priests, bringing people to God, and to be kings, bringing God to people.
As the firstborn son of Jacob, Reuben should have had the preeminence in dignity and in power (Gen. 49:3, lit.). According to the governmental arrangement in God’s economy, Reuben, the firstborn, should have inherited the birthright.
Although Reuben had the preeminence of the birthright, because his lust boiled over like water, he lay with his father’s concubine, thus defiling his father’s bed (Gen. 35:22; 49:4; 1 Chron. 5:1). That indulgence in lust caused him to lose his birthright. This is a serious matter. In God’s arrangement regarding human relationships, each man must keep his position in order to avoid confusion, that he may keep himself pure with self-restraint for his existence and propagation. Hence, in relationships among men, what God abhors most is fornication, and especially incest. Reuben not only committed fornication, but he also committed incest with his father’s concubine. Therefore, the God of holiness removed the birthright from him and did not allow him to inherit any of the blessings that his forefathers received from God.
Because his sister, Dinah, was defiled by Shechem, Levi, together with his brother Simeon, slew all the males in the city of Shechem by craftiness (Gen. 34:1-29). This incident frightened Jacob to such an extent that before his death, when he was going to bless his sons, he still could not forget it. Concerning Levi and Simeon, he said, “In their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they hocked an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel.” Therefore, Jacob could not give them any blessing. Rather, he exercised judgment over them to scatter them among the children of Israel (Gen. 49:5-7, lit.) so that they would not be able to behave according to their cruel disposition.
Although because of his cruel disposition Levi did not receive Jacob’s blessing, because of their faithfulness to Jehovah his descendants received the Urim and Thummim (Deut. 33:8) and took up the charge of the priesthood. As recorded in the book of Exodus, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the tables and saw the people worshipping the golden calf in disobedience to God’s commandments, he angrily cast down the two tables, burned the golden calf, and called all those who belonged to Jehovah to come to him. Eventually, out of all the tribes, only one tribe, the tribe of Levi, gathered together to him (Exo. 32:19-20, 26). Moses said to them, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men” (Exo. 32:27-28). Concerning this incident, Deuteronomy 33:9 says, “Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they [the Levites] have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.” Thereafter, the sons of Levi were separated from their brothers to replace the kingdom of Israel in taking up the charge of God’s priesthood (Exo. 32:29; Deut. 33:10).
The priesthood that Levi received is one of the three blessings included in the birthright, and it is the particularly sweet and intimate portion of the birthright. The Levites had the privilege of drawing near to God and of serving God. Furthermore, they could wait before God and could offer to God the fat and the blood of the sacrifices to satisfy God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. When they entered the Holy Place, they bore the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment, and they put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, by which God spoke (Exo. 28:29-30). This shows that through the priesthood the Levites were able not only to bring satisfaction to God but also to bring God’s people into His presence. Moreover, they were able to receive God’s guidance that they might teach the people God’s law and God’s judgments.
Judah’s special characteristic was his love for his brothers. In particular, he took care of Joseph, who was in tribulation, and prevented him from being murdered by his brothers (Gen. 37:26-27). When the whole earth was struck by a famine, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy food. Joseph, intending to test his brothers, told them that when they came back to buy food, they were to bring with them Benjamin, who was Jacob’s youngest son, Jacob’s beloved, and who had stayed behind in Canaan. When his father was greatly troubled about this, Judah comforted him, assuring him that he would bring Benjamin back and that, if he did not, he himself would bear the blame forever. This was a manifestation of his love for his brother (Gen. 43:8-9). Then, when Joseph again tested his brothers, using a cleverly devised scheme to keep Benjamin behind, it was Judah who, with deep feeling, told Joseph that his father’s life was bound up in his youngest brother’s life, that he could not bear to see his father’s gray hairs go down to Sheol in sorrow, and that he would be willing to remain as a servant instead of Benjamin, so that Benjamin could go back with his brothers to see their father (Gen. 44:1-34). Here, Judah’s love toward his brother and his concern for his father were manifested to the uttermost. This picture of love is representative of the love for the brothers spoken of in the Bible and shows that all God’s children should care for the heart of God the Father and be willing to suffer loss, even to die, for the brothers (1 John 3:14, 16).
Judah was not the firstborn and thus should not have participated in the birthright. However, because of his love for his brothers, he received the kingship (Gen. 49:10) as a portion of the birthright; that is, he had the authority to bring God to people. Jacob prophesied in the way of blessing concerning his sons, saying, “Judah...thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies....Judah is a young lion...he couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lioness....The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be” (Gen. 49:8-10, lit.). This is a picture depicting Judah’s fighting and gaining the victory and his resting in victory as a king. The scepter and the staff represent kingship, or dominion. The words between his feet are a poetic term denoting seed, or posterity. This indicates that Judah has the kingship and that rulers come out of his posterity. Christ, as Judah’s seed, became the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5). As such, He has overcome and has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). When Christ, as Shiloh, the One who brings peace, comes again, the whole earth will be filled with peace, and all nations will obey Him. They will come to Him to receive God’s instruction (Isa. 2:1-3; 11:10). At that time, the kingdoms of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever (Rev. 11:15).
Joseph was special among the sons of Jacob and was separate from his brothers (Gen. 49:26). He continued the way of life that chooses God, the way taken by his forefathers. He lived as a sheaf of life, was full of the riches of life, and was like a bright star shining in the darkness (Gen. 37:7, 9). Although he passed through various trials and sufferings, he was prosperous in all things because he had the presence of God (Gen. 39:2-5, 21-23). Eventually, he became the representative of all those who are mature in God’s life and who reign for God and enter into glory.
Joseph was his father’s favorite, and he brought back to his father evil reports about his brothers. Therefore, his brothers hated him and could not speak peaceably to him (Gen. 37:2-4). Joseph had two dreams in which he dreamed that his brothers, signified by sheaves and stars, were bowing down to him. Because of his dreams, his brothers were jealous of Joseph and hated him even more (Gen. 37:5-11). Later, when Joseph, in obedience to his father’s command, went to visit his brothers, they conspired against him and almost slew him. Fortunately, his oldest brother, Reuben, rescued him by proposing that they cast him into a pit that was in the wilderness (Gen. 37:21-22), and Judah suggested that they sell him to the Ishmaelites (Gen. 37:25-27). Thus he was spared from death and was brought to Egypt and sold to an officer of Pharaoh (Gen. 37:36). In this way, Joseph suffered all the ill-treatment from his brothers.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob signify the three parts of the experience and life of a complete, spiritually mature person. These three parts of such an experience and life eventually produced a mature Israel, one who could reign for God. Joseph represents the reigning aspect of the mature Israel. Thus, he symbolizes one who is mature in the spiritual life and who reigns for God.
Genesis 37:2 says, “These are the generations of Jacob.” Then it goes on to tell us of the life of Joseph. This proves that Joseph’s life was a part of Jacob’s generation. Because of this, the last fourteen chapters of Genesis combine the record of Joseph’s life with the record of Jacob’s, considering them as the biography of one person. Joseph was an aspect, a part, of Jacob. He was Jacob’s expression. When Joseph was in power, it was actually Jacob who was reigning through Joseph. Joseph’s reigning and ruling over Egypt signifies that all who are spiritually mature will reign for God and rule over the earth. At the conclusion of the age of grace, Christ will come back to take the whole earth and set up the millennial kingdom on the earth. At that time, all those throughout the ages who have been perfected unto the maturity of life will be co-kings with Christ (Rev. 20:6), ruling over the nations on earth in the millennial kingdom.
Because of his purity, Joseph overcame the temptation of the lust of the flesh (Gen. 39:7-12). He conducted himself as a bright star shining in darkness. Hence, the birthright was transferred from the lust-indulging Reuben to Joseph (1 Chron. 5:1-2). He received the double portion of the land, signifying the enjoyment of Christ in full, as a portion of the birthright. In Genesis 48, when Joseph brought his two sons to Jacob, Jacob said, “And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine” (v. 5). Jacob’s intention was to replace Reuben and Simeon, his first two sons, with the two sons of Joseph, that Joseph might become his firstborn to participate in the double portion of the land as a portion of the birthright.
According to the record of the Bible, Joseph was altogether perfect, without defect. Joseph is the perfect one in the Old Testament, and Jesus is the perfect One in the New Testament. Hence, Joseph is a type of Christ in His perfection. He typifies Christ as the Father’s Beloved (Gen. 37:3-4; Matt. 3:17; 17:5); as the One who ministered to God’s people according to the will of God the Father (Gen. 37:12-17; John 6:38), but was hated, harassed, and betrayed by them (Gen. 37:4-5, 8, 18-28); as the One who was delivered into the prison of death (Gen. 39:20; Acts 2:23) and resurrected from the prison of death (Gen. 41:14; Acts 2:24); and as the One who was enthroned with authority (Gen. 41:40-44; Matt. 28:18; Acts 2:36; Rev. 3:21), who received glory (Gen. 41:42; Heb. 2:9) and gifts (Gen. 41:42; Acts 2:33), and who became the Savior of the world, the Sustainer of Life (Gen. 41:56-57; Acts 5:31; John 6:50-51). Joseph’s taking the Egyptian woman Asenath as his wife is a type of Christ’s taking the church as His wife from among the Gentiles after He was rejected by the Jews (Gen. 41:45). Joseph’s brothers’ being forced to turn to Joseph (Gen. 42:1-6) typifies the Israelites’ being forced to turn to Christ (Zech. 12:10). Eventually, Joseph acknowledged his ignorant brothers (Gen. 45:1-4, 14-15) and enabled them to participate in his reign (Gen. 45:18; 47:4-6). This is a type showing how Christ will acknowledge the ignorant nation of Israel (Rom. 11:26-27) and will enable the Jews to participate in His reign in the earthly part of the millennial kingdom (Zech. 14:16-19).
Reuben, Levi, Judah, and Joseph were all related to the birthright. The birthright, a continuation of the various excellent qualities and blessings of the forefathers, includes the double portion of the land, the priesthood, and the kingship. As the firstborn, Reuben should have inherited the birthright; but because his lust boiled over like water, he lost the preeminence of the birthright. Because of his cruel disposition, Levi did not receive Jacob’s blessing; yet because of their faithfulness to Jehovah, his descendants received the priesthood as a portion of the birthright. They had the privilege of drawing near to God and of serving God. Because of his love for the brothers, in particular his taking care of Joseph, who was in tribulation, Judah received the kingship as a portion of the birthright; that is, he brought the authority of God to the people. Joseph was special among the sons of Jacob and was separate from his brothers. He continued the way of life that chooses God, the way taken by his forefathers. Although he suffered the ill-treatment of his brothers and passed through various trials and sufferings, he was prosperous in all things because he had the presence of God. Eventually, he was able to reign for God and receive glory. Hence, he symbolizes one who is mature in the spiritual life and who reigns for God. Furthermore, he received the double portion of the land as a portion of the birthright. Thus he had the right and the position to enjoy Christ in full. His whole life was altogether perfect, without defect. Therefore, he is a type of Christ in His perfection.
