LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF JACOB#65 : JOSEPH #4
written by: Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3566
LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF JACOB#65
JACOB'S FAVOURITE SON: JOSEPH #4
WHY WAS JOSEPH NOT LISTED AS A PATRIARCH?
The patriarchs of the Bible are narrowly defined.
They are Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, also named Israel, the ancestor of the Israelites.
These three figures are referred to collectively as the patriarchs, and the period in which they lived is known as the patriarchal age.
They played significant roles in Hebrew scripture during and following their lifetimes. They are used as a significant marker by God in revelations and promises and continue to play important roles in both Jewish and Christian faith.
The patriarchs, along with their primary wives, known as the matriarchs –
Sarah (wife of Abraham), Rebekah (wife of Isaac), and Leah (one of the wives of Jacob) – are entombed at the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron.
Bible commentators have come up with many reasons why Joseph is not included in this titular list as a patriarch.
1. He is not buried with the family in Hebron. His body was finally laid to rest in a tomb in Ephraim's allotment in the Promised Land after being transported in the Exodus from Egypt.
2. God had direct, two-way communication with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
On the other hand, Joseph never sees or hears God or His messengers.
Rather God seems to be working behind the scenes secretly guiding the course of human events, even bringing good out of human evil.
3. The nation took the name, Israel, from the man who fathered the nation.
Each of Jacob’s sons became the founding head of a tribe of Israel.
As Jacob lay dying, he blessed each son (Genesis 49), mirroring his own inheritance by placing Joseph’s younger son, Ephraim, over the older Manasseh (Genesis 48:14).
The sons of Jacob and the heads of the tribes of Israel were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulon, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Benjamin, and Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh.
Each of the heads of the twelve tribes was considered a "patriarch" in their own right including Joseph. As such however prominent in scripture, Joseph was not a first among equals.
4. Joseph was a type of Christ. All three patriarchs had their faults, failings, and struggles with God.
But Joseph except for his youthful pride in being gifted as an interpreter of dreams and his father's heir as the firstborn of Rachel showed many Christ-like qualities in his character.
This singled him out as the first of a new era of grace - when he forgave his brothers for selling him off as a slave.
Thus passed the Age of the Patriarchs ushering in a new era of nationhood from the notion of 12 separate tribes with God now as the head of the fledgling nation of Israel.
