Three from Riches to Rags
R.T. Kendall

All Scripture reference KJV unless otherwise indicated. 

Throughout human history there has been the repeated phenomenon of someone going “from rags to riches.” Less spectacular is that of going “from riches to rags.” Moses experienced it when he refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing to be mistreated rather than enjoy the “pleasures of sin for a season” (see Hebrews 11:24-25). It was also Joseph’s lot, but for a most extraordinary reason. 

Joseph was a type of Christ, like many others in the Old Testament. When the Scriptures call one a “type of Christ” it means that their life was a prophetic reflection of the Messiah who was to come, “a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities of themselves” (Hebrews 10:1 NIV). Many other Old Testament personalities may also be seen as types of Christ Abel was a type of Christ (see Hebrews 11:4). Isaac, the son of Abraham, was a type of Christ (see Hebrews 11:19). Moses was a type of Christ, as were Joshua, Samuel, David, and the prophets.

The way that Joseph was type of Christ can be seen in many ways, but at this point we see it particularly in the way he became a victim of his brothers’ jealousy and cruelty. It is true that Josephs’ brothers’ reaction to him was quite natural. You might even say that they couldn’t help feeling as they did. But we must nonetheless face the fact that sin was at the bottom of it all. Sin makes all of us want to justify what we do. Sin is inherited from our parents, and the most natural feeling we all have is, “I can’t help feeling like it do because I didn’t even ask to be in this world.” We all have a way of rationalizing sin and trying to explain it away; “I didn’t ask to be here. I didn’t ask to be a sinner.”

This leads us to an apt definition of a Christian: one who takes the responsibility for his own sins and quits blaming his troubles on his parents or upon people or upon society. When that begins to happen and we begin to see that we have got to deal with ourselves, we are close to becoming a Christian. We must see that we have sinned before God. That is where we must come before we can ever be saved. 

The attitude that his brothers had toward Joseph is precisely the way men looked at Jesus. There emerged in the life of Jesus a conspiracy to set him naught. This happened when Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. Judas went to the priests of Israel, who took Jesus to Herod, then to Pilate. The whole thing was a conspiracy. Similarly, his brothers saw Joseph coming and said among themselves, “Let us slay him” (Genesis 37:10). 

But another element in the conspiracy against Joseph was that he was mocked (compare Luke 23:11). When his brothers saw him coming “they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh” (Genesis 37:19). Why were they mocking? They were jealous (see Acts 7:9). Even Pontius Pilate knew that the Jews had set Jesus at nought because of jealousy and envy (see Matthew 27:18). They tried to come up with witnesses against Jesus, but they found none. 

The next similarity to Christ in the brothers’ treatment of Joseph was their coverup. They said, “This dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him” (Genesis 37:19-20). They wanted to cover up what they had decided to do. They would not come to their father and tell the truth. They would say, “Some evil beast hath devoured him.”

Once you deliberately bring yourself to commit sin you will need a second sin, a lie to cover up the first. Sin always leads to lying. This also what happened in the case of the conspiracy against Jesus. False witnesses were brought in (see Matthew 26:59). They wanted to cover up their own hostility, their jealousy and their motives; so they brought in false witnesses. But you can succeed in a cover-up process only for so long: “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). 

Another sin of Joseph’s brothers was their attempt at self justification. The desire to clear ourselves is a fault we all have. They said, “We shall see what will become of his dreams” (Genesis 37:20). These brothers regarded their conspiracy to set Joseph at nought as entirely justified. Why? Because Joseph’s dreams suggested predestination, you have proved the dream was not really from God. Joseph had obviously believed his dream: “I have dreamed a dream, it will be fulfilled, therefore, you are going to bow down to me.” So the brothers wanted to destroy Joseph to show that his dreams were false. This is the way they justified everything that they did. They said, “We shall see what will become of his dreams.”

And that is the way the Jews looked at Jesus when he was hanging on the cross. They said, “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40). They were justifying themselves. They didn’t feel guilty about nailing Jesus to the cross. They said, “If Jesus is who he says he is, we don’t have anything to worry about: he will just come down from the cross. We will then clap our hands and say ‘We’re with you, we think you’re great; now we believe.’” But when Jesus didn’t do that, they were cleared then in their own eyes. This is why men today are so anxious to destroy the Bible; they want to disprove it for the same reasons. “You don’t have to worry. There’s no need for you to get right with God. The God of the Bible has written a book full of errors so there’s no need for you to worry about a heaven or a hell.” This is why men love to read an article by a minister who says that the Bible is full of errors.

But there was a similarity in the behavior of the brothers – respectable neutrality. Reuben, the eldest brother, heard what the others were planning to do. They were going to kill Joseph and say that some evil beast had devoured him. And Reuben saved Joseph by pulling rank. He was not strong enough physically to stand against the others, so he used his authority as Jacob’s firstborn son. Some didn’t agree with Christ’s death, but they remained “respectably neutral,” saying nothing and doing nothing to stop it. 

It appears that Reuben had a good motive. He wanted to return Joseph to his father, but all he said was, “Let us not kill him…Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit” (Genesis 37:21-22). His intention was to go back to the pit later, pull Joseph out, and deliver him to his father. But Reuben did not say what he was going to do. He was ashamed to use his authority to return Joseph then and there. He might have said, “I’m the firstborn. I’m stepping in. You’re not going to do that. We’re going to return Joseph to our father right now.” But he couldn’t bring himself to do that. Here was a case of “respectable neutrality.” He was convinced that what they were doing was wrong, but he wouldn’t come out and stand alone.

Are you like that? In your heart of hearts do you know what is right and what you ought to do? Agrippa said to Paul, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28). But the cost was too great for Agrippa to follow Jesus Christ. He was close. Almost there. Reuben didn’t agree with what his brothers were going to do, but neither did he have the integrity and courage to deliver Joseph to his father. 

Now look at these brothers. They cast Joseph into a pit. Humanly speaking, Joseph could only live a day or two. But that was not all. Theses brothers now sat down to eat. How could they do that? They were going to have a meal. They had just left Joseph in a pit without any water. He was going to die in a day or two, and here they were about to eat! I wonder what was in their minds. How could they do it? A hardened conscience lets one do strange things. Now while they were sitting there eating they saw some Ishmaelites coming. Judah, on seeing them, had second thoughts: “Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh” (Genesis 37:27).

The brothers thought that was a good idea: “His brethren were content” (Genesis 37:27). Imagine that! They were actually able to be at peace about selling their brother into slavery! Why? The idea of selling him to the Ishmaelites was mild compared to what they had been prepared to do so that we are told they were content! That is an example of the deceitfulness of sin. DO we know what it is to sin so grievously that a lesser sin seems right? That is Satan’s deception.

Joseph, who the day before had been in luxury and in security with his coat of many colors, had gone from riches to rags. And that is exactly what happened with Jesus. That is what made Joseph a type of Christ. Joseph went from being wealthy to being emptied, for the ultimate salvation of his brothers – the very ones who persecuted him. Jesus turned his back on the glory of heaven and earth. Though he was God, he thought it not a thing to be grasped, but became a man, making himself “of no reputation” (Philippians 2:7). “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). He turned his back on a royal diadem for a crown of thorns. Why did Jesus do that? Why did Jesus go from riches to rags? As Paul put it, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (II Corinthians 8:9). This Jesus did nothing, and it was for us. He died that your conscience and mine could be purged. 

So we must not think it strange when we too are called to go through times when we must be emptied, and it seems that all is lost. If we remain faithful to God, it will always work out for our own ultimate exaltation, just as it did for Joseph and Jesus. It will also always work out for the salvation of others. 

The above article, “Three From Riches to Rags,” is written by R.T. Kendall. The article was excerpted from The Morning Star journal, Vol. 6, No. 4.

The material is most likely copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.