The Last Shall Be First: Joseph

Following the life of Joseph is an extraordinary journey of seeing a life that exemplifies our Christ’s command. The command is found at the conclusion of the vineyard illustration given by Jesus in Matthew 20:16:

Matthew 20:16“So the last will be first, and the first last.”

Now aside from church members using this in frequency at a potluck meal, the idea is pretty simple. Pursue a path of humility and service while entrusting God to reward you in glory. We should all live out this kingdom principle. In other places, Jesus recommends taking the seat of lower position and being exalted later rather than taking a seat at the right hand of a party host and being moved down the row based on others that come.

Interestingly enough, Joseph’s entire life is a progression of declining socially while later being exalted.

At 17 years of age, Joseph is the favorite of Jacob.

Genesis 37:3“Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.”

Out of the family of Israel, Joseph holds the position of most loved by his father, both because he was the firstborn of Rachel and because he is the beloved son of Jacob’s old age. “Old age” means born in old age but could also allude to the fact that Joseph has elder/sage wisdom. He is king of the ladder and his brother’s hate him for his preeminence.

Joseph’s first decline socially surfaces in a field when he is coming to check on his brothers:

Genesis 37:23–24“So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.”

They rip off his robe and toss him into a pit. Gone is the reminder of Jacob’s supreme love of Joseph and now they have the beloved son in a pit. He is a prisoner.

But he will go even lower in a short amount of time:

Genesis 37:26–27“Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers listened to him.”

Joseph has moved from prisoner to slave. Not just slave but slave of the Ishmaelites on the way to Egypt. Moving Joseph into the care of the rejected Ishmael and then sold to Egypt (Gentile) and to the house of Potipher.

Joseph has the Lord with him; he is exalted in the home of Potipher. Joseph becomes ruler over the house, but Potipher’s wife lies, claiming that he desired to lay with her. Joseph is, again, set on a path of decline.

Genesis 39:20“And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.”

Joseph, again, is a prisoner of the king. Egyptian laws dictated severe consequences for those who committed crimes against women. Bodily torture was assumed and likely death as a final punishment. The psalmist addresses it in part:

Psalm 105:16–18“When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;”

Joseph would remain in prison for a few years, forgotten by the cupbearer whom he helped. Forgotten by everyone, his family back home, and now all of Egypt.

But the Lord remained with Joseph, and he would again be lifted from the pit:

Genesis 41:14“Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.”

Pharaoh has a dream rightly interpreted by Joseph, and God again places him first. Not just first in a city, but first in the entire ruled world over the house of the greatest power at that time:

Genesis 41:39–40“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.’”

God sent Joseph ahead to Egypt, not just in function, but lowered him in position to exalt him at the right time to save the world from starvation and certain death.

Not only does Joseph take the path of the last shall be first, but he lives out the shadowy image of Jesus to be humbled and then exalted.

More than the back of the line at a potluck, the path of Jesus and Joseph is one where striving for godly living results in social decline until the right time.

-Pastor John Richardson