In a previous issue of The Christian (“The Life of Jacob,” November 2009), we commented that God often uses natural things to distinguish and highlight certain events in the lives of the various people depicted in Scripture. It was commented that this was true in the lives of some of the patriarchs, for Abraham had four altars, Isaac had four wells, Jacob had four pillars, and Joseph had four garments. I would like to look at Joseph’s four garments, for they not only exemplify Joseph as a type of Christ, but also show us practical lessons for our own lives.
The Coat of Many Colors
The first garment mentioned is Joseph’s coat of many colors (Gen. 37:3), which was given him by his father Jacob. This special mark of his father’s favor brought out envy and hatred in his brothers, who “could not speak peaceably unto him.” As time went on (and we know the story well), their hatred led them to strip Joseph of his coat of many colors (Gen. 37:23) and sell him into Egypt. Then, to cover up their sin, they “killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father” (Gen. 37:31-32). Jacob’s natural reaction was to deduce that Joseph had been killed by some wild animal, and “he mourned for his son many days” (Gen. 37:34).
Surely this coat, with its many colors, brings before us the many glories of our blessed Saviour, who came into this world to display His Father’s heart, just as Joseph was sent to his brethren by his father. When the Lord Jesus came into this world as a man, He veiled His official glory, for man could not bear it. But His moral glory shone out everywhere, as well as His power in doing mighty acts, all of which showed clearly who He was. John could write, “We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Yet man did not appreciate this glory, as Joseph’s brothers did not appreciate him; rather, their hatred and envy was directed toward Him. Eventually man, as it were, publicly stripped the Lord Jesus of His glory and sent it back to God His Father, stained with His blood.
Later, when he was in a position of power and authority, Joseph showed mercy and love to those same brothers who had treated him so shamefully. How beautiful too, in the case of the Lord Jesus, that the same blood which was shed by the hand of man now avails to wash away the sins of those who rebelled against Him! “The very spear that pierced Thy side drew forth the blood to save” (Little Flock Hymnbook, #230)!
The Second Garment
The second garment of Joseph is mentioned in Genesis 39:7-20. Here was a real test of Joseph’s faithfulness to the Lord, for, humanly speaking, he was “between a rock and a hard place.” Faced with seduction by his master’s wife, he was in a difficult place as a slave. To give in to her wishes was a sin, not only against his master, but also against the Lord. To refuse was to invite the anger of one who was in authority over him and one who could use her influence against him. He leaves his garment and flees. Faithfulness to the Lord controlled him, although the consequences were, at the time, very serious, as he was thrown into prison.
So it was with our blessed Master. Every issue, even the contemplation of His sufferings on the cross, was settled by the words, “Father, glorify Thy name” (John 12:28). So it should be with us; we should honor the Lord in our pathway, whatever the consequences might be. The Lord may sometimes deliver us, but we may also be called to be among the “and others” in Hebrews 11:36-40, who suffered rather than dishonor the Lord. Their reward was not in this life; rather, they will receive it in resurrection.
Like our blessed Lord, Joseph had to suffer grievously for a time, but then he was eventually delivered and made governor over all the land of Egypt. All were compelled to bow down before him — the one who had but lately been a prisoner. So it will be in a coming day, when the Lord Jesus will be displayed as “King of kings, and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16). He too will receive His rightful place only in resurrection, like those in the latter verses of Hebrews 11. In that day all will own Him, for God has declared that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Phil. 2:10).
The Prison Garment
The third garment of Joseph’s is mentioned in Genesis 41:14 — his prison garments. They are not specifically described, but we may well surmise that they were characteristic of one who was a prisoner and identified him as such. They were evidently not considered suitable for Joseph to wear when he appeared before Pharaoh. No doubt Joseph wore these garments the entire time he was in prison, which we know stretched out into a number of years.
The wearing of such a garment must have been a real trial to Joseph, having known first of all his father’s favor in giving him his coat of many colors and then having been the overseer of Potiphar’s house. Such degradation must have been even more difficult to bear, because it was all the result of his moral uprightness and faithfulness to the Lord. Yet in all this, Joseph is more like his Master than at any other time, for the Lord Jesus too was “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). He too was one from whom men hid their faces, not wanting to be identified with Him. But the Lord Jesus took the low place; Joseph was placed there. Our blessed Saviour was content, as it were, to wear prison garments and to be despised among men.
In one sense, the Lord Jesus continues to be identified with prison garments, as far as this world is concerned. We know that “God also hath highly exalted Him” (Phil. 2:9), but this world has never repented of the way it treated the Son of God. He remains despised and rejected, and this will not change until He is given the word to execute judgment on this world and take His rightful place. Only then will He be able to “change His garments” before the world. For the moment, His own in this world, like the chief butler in Joseph’s history, have the opportunity of “making mention” of Him to the Father and, in this way, to bring Him “out of this house” (Gen. 40:14). It is a special privilege to do this during His rejection — a privilege of which the chief butler was evidently unwilling to avail himself. Do we, as believers, value the privilege of speaking well of our blessed Saviour in the day of His rejection in this world?
The Vestures of Fine Linen
The final garments mentioned in connection with Joseph are found in Genesis 41:42-43, where we read that “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; 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.” Here we have garments suitable to one who was now “ruler over all the land of Egypt” and without whom no man might “lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt” (Gen. 41:44). Joseph’s time in prison was over, and time for his public exaltation had come. Instead of prison garments, he now wore fine linen, and with adornments suitable to his high office. Very suddenly he was elevated from a prisoner to being the administrator of the whole land of Egypt — greater than all except Pharaoh.
So it will be with the Lord Jesus in a coming day. When He appears in judgment, we read that “a short work will the Lord make upon the earth” (Rom. 9:28). In a relatively short time He will carry out the most awful judgments this world has ever seen and then take His place as Head over all things. “He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet” (1 Cor. 15:25). At that time “every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him” (Rev. 1:7).
But this will be a glorious day for us as believers too, for the Lord Jesus will not take this place of power and glory until He has His bride associated with Him. Before the real work of judgment begins, the “marriage of the Lamb” will have taken place, so that when Christ is displayed in His glory, His church is with Him.
More than this, the millennial day, like the day of Joseph’s glory, will be characterized by blessing for the whole earth. In his role of administrator, Joseph collected grain during the years of plenty and then distributed grain to sustain Egypt and the whole area around it during the years of famine. So the Lord Jesus will bring unprecedented blessing upon the whole earth during His 1000-year millennial reign. But His church will share His heavenly glory, just as Joseph was given a wife (Asenath) before his reconciliation with his brethren, who typify Israel’s being brought back into earthly blessing.
“And when the day of glory
Shall burst upon this scene,
Dispelling all the darkness
Which deepening still had been;
Oh, then He’ll come in brightness,
Whom every eye shall see,
Arrayed in power and glory,
And we shall with Him be.”
Little Flock Hymnbook, #141
W. J. Prost