JOSEPH THE GLORIFIED Joseph graduated of the school of true love. His heart was filled with love for his brothers who hated him; he succeeded in Potiphar’s house, serving in love, and lastly in prison among the prisoners. And in due time, God lifted him up to the royal palace; as though he is Christ the Lord, who descended for us to the prison of Hades, to raise us with Him up to His heavenly palace, granting us the heavenly bread. 1- The two dreams of Pharaoh 1-8. 2- Summoning Joseph 9-16. 3- The interpretation of the two dreams 17-32. 4- Joseph’s counsel 33-36. 5- Joseph and the signet ring of Pharaoh 37-46. 6- Joseph and laying up the grain 47-49. 7- The two sons of Joseph 50-52. 8- Joseph satisfies Egypt 53-57. 1- THE TWO DREAMS OF PHARAOH Joseph asked the chief butler to make mention of him to Pharaoh, without defaming the reputation of Potiphar’s wife. But, because of his leaning upon human arm, God left him two years in prison. In due time, designated by God, God, Himself, talked to Pharaoh’s heart through two dreams that troubled his spirit. Pharaoh, standing by the river, saw seven cows, fine looking and fat, and they fed in the meadow; then seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt. The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows, and remained as they were: ugly and gaunt (Gen. 41:1-4). As Pharaoh slept, he dreamt a second time, and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good; to be devoured by seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, that sprang up after them. Joseph interpreted the two dreams, to indicate that God has confirmed to Pharaoh what was about to happen; that seven years of great plenty will come throughout the land of Egypt, to be followed by seven years of severe famine that will deplete the land. If the Nile River refers to the water of baptism, through which the Lord set forth with His Holy Church, symbolized by the fine looking and fat cows; the devil would set forth like a marine beast, together with his evil followers, ugly and gaunt, aiming to devour the Church by the end of ages. The Lord Christ says: “Unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24:22). “So as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand” (Matthew 24:25). Christ the Lord presented us with a bitter description of the coming of the Antichrist at the end of time, whose interpretation by many Fathers, we have previously dealt1. As to the heads of grain, the Church represents those thin heads, on one stalk, blighted by the east wind, of which St. Hippolytus of Rome2 says that the Antichrist will blow from the east as scorching wind that burns the holy plantation. So the Antichrist attacks, together with his followers, the Church of Christ, to corrupt it at the .٥٢٣ – 1 للمؤلف: الإنجيل بحسب متى ١٩٨٣ ، ص ٤٩١ 2 راجع مقالة عن: "عن المسيح وضد المسيح". 4 end of time. It seems that it will be bitter days, when the Antichrist will appear, of whom the apostle Paul says: “when the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). And as Origen deals with the Antichrist, in his homilies on the Book of Jeremiah, he thanks God that will not be present in those days, wondering, if there would be one believer in every Church?! By that, Origin reflects the view of the Church of the second century, concerning the Antichrist. 2- SUMMONING JOSEPH It came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, Pharaoh sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. When he told them his dreams, there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh. Then the chief butler remembered what occurred with him and the chief baker, as they were in prison, and how the Hebrew lad interpreted both their dreams; and how, just as he interpreted, so it happened. The chief butler told Pharaoh, who sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily; and he shaved and changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. When Pharaoh told him about his dreams, Joseph said: “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace” (Gen. 41:16). If letting hair grow, and putting on the prison clothing, refer to divine incarnation, as Christ the Lord adopted our nature, yet without corruption, and put on our body, what Joseph did, as he shaved and changed his clothing before entering to Pharaoh, refer to the Lord Christ, who lifts us up to His glory, to the bosom of His Father, after casting off our disgrace, and changing our first nature to one that fits our enjoyment of His life. In Jesus Christ, we take off our old man, to put on the new man, who is in the image of his Creator. 3- THE INTERPRETATION OF THE TWO DREAMS Pharaoh told Joseph about his two dreams, and how the magicians could not interpret them to him. Here, Pharaoh represents the world that God used to address through dreams and symbols, especially during the Mosaic era, up till the time when Christ the Lord - the True Joseph - came to reveal the symbols, to speak to us mouth to mouth, to grant us the good counsel, through getting the leadership of our lives, and to establish stores of spiritual grain in our depths. How much we need to set forth from the magicians and wise men to the True Joseph, not to lean anymore upon our human understanding; but by faith encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, to reveal to us the divine mysteries, to lead our life in the time of fulfillment, as well as in the time of famine, and to get our spiritual ordinance, in order to get us out of the affliction of this world, to the perfection of His eternal glory! 4- JOSEPH’S COUNSEL Joseph did not stop at interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, but gave him a good counsel, according to the divine wisdom, saying: “Let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt... Let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. Then 5 that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine” (Gen. 41:33- 36). Joseph’s counsel was concentrated in the following points: (1) A need for a discerning and wise man to be set by Pharaoh over the land of Egypt. Pharaoh’s response to that request was: “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God? And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word” (Gen. 41:38-40). As God gives us insight, so as not to live any more under the shadow of the Law, but to have the two dreams revealed, so as to discern the truth instead of the shadow, the symbolized instead of the symbol, we discover that truth, that we are in need of Him, Who receives our land, and ordains our inner life, by divine wisdom, so as to say to our Joseph: If You made us know Truth, and enlightened us to the way to heaven, Can we find anyone as discerning and as wise as you?! Who could be over my inner house, and could fulfill my senses, my emotions, and all my energies, but You? In other words, as Christ the Lord gets us to enter His heavenly secrets, our need for Him, would increase, and our depths would flare with yearning toward Him, to say with the bride: “When I found the one I love, I held him and would not let him go, until I had brought him to the house of my mother, and into the chamber of her who conceived me” (Song 3:4). If Pharaoh’s heart got attracted to Joseph, saying: “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” How much more should we be attracted to Him, whose the Spirit of God is His Spirit?!, the One with the Holy Spirit in Godhead?! The apostle Paul says: “For Christ is the end of the Law” (Romans 10:4). As the Lord Christ reveals to us the secrets and depths of the Law, we discover that its goal is to push us toward Christ as a Savior, and a Groom to human soul. That is probably why the Psalmist cries out: “With Your light, O God, we behold the light.” As though he is saying: By Your Christ, who is Your light, we discover the mysteries of Your Law, to enter with us to Christ Himself, being “the divine Light.” Christ is the Way, as well as the end! (2) Joseph asks Pharaoh to appoint officers over the land, under the leadership of that wise man. Who are these officers, but the sanctification of senses, to have all our senses controlled and sanctified in the Lord, to work, not according to the whims of the body, but according to the counsel of Christ the Lord, the Overseer of our whole life. It is noteworthy that Christ the Lord did not appoint any supervisor over our senses, but the Holy Spirit, who, alone, can sanctify and formulate our senses, according to His divine will. St. Anthony said: [The Holy Spirit instructs man on how to keep the whole body - from the head to the feet - in harmony; to keep the eyes to be pure; to keep the ears to hear in peace, and not to find pleasure in talking about others and defaming others; to keep the tongue just to pray, giving weight to every word, so that no defiled or carnal thing would intermingle with our talk; to keep the hands, to be lifted for prayers, and to work for mercy and generosity; to keep the stomach, to have appropriate limits for food and drink, according to what is right for sustaining the body, and not letting lust and greed deviate it from its right course; and keep the feet, to walk according to the will of God, to do the good works. By that, the whole body would get under the authority of the Holy Spirit; to change gradually, until it, to a 6 certain extent, shares the features of the spiritual body, that it gains at the just resurrection1.] (3) Joseph counseled Pharaoh to gather one fifth of all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain, as reserve for the land for the seven years of famine that shall be in the land of Egypt. That was a wise counsel, which should be adopted by every believer spiritually. In times of his spiritual comfort, and when his heart flares with love for God, he should take the opportunity to gather, on account of the kingdom of God, in the innermost stores of his heart, so that, being honest and committed at those times, God, Himself, would support him at times of draught, and at times of temptations. As much as our honesty is, in times of spiritual flare, and we making use of every opportunity for continuous growth, we shall find abundance of free help from God, in times of negligence... Because He is honest, and “not unjust to forget your work and labor of love” (Hebrew 6:10). If, under the Law, we are committed to give tithes, in the era of grace, we should give in abundance. The one fifth, here, does not imply a certain sum, but a surrendering our five senses to Him. (4) As we set on earth, storehouses, “land would not perish during the famine” (Gen. 41:36), namely, if our body carried in it, stores of spiritual grain, sin would be incapable of corrupting it through famine, but would not perish during periods of affliction. 5- JOSEPH AND THE SIGNET RING OF PHARAOH Pharaoh felt that Joseph is a man in whom is the Spirit of God (Gen. 41:38), a man discerning and wise, so he said to him: “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand, and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck. And had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out, ‘Bow the knee’” (Gen. 41:41-43). How amazing! The one considered by his brothers as worthy of death, is honored by the pagan king, and set by him over all the land of Egypt. His brothers took off his colored tunic, and the stranger presented him with a garment of white linen. His brothers sold him as a slave, and the pagan gives him his signet ring, put a gold chain around his neck, and had him ride on his second chariot. His brothers humiliated him, and the stranger cried out, ‘Bow the knee to him.’ Who is that Joseph, but Christ the Lord, rejected by His nation, as a King to reign over their hearts, to ordain their lives, and transfigure in their depths?! Who is that Joseph, but every true believer who abides in Christ the Lord, to become rejected by his brothers, and for his righteousness testified for by the strangers?! Pharaoh, on the other hand, represented the pagan peoples who received the Lord Christ - the slave rejected by His brothers - to reign spiritually over them, and to take over leadership of their lives; We can say, as well, that he also represents the Father. Just as Joseph came out of prison, to encounter with Pharaoh, and be given his signet ring from his hand, the white linen garment, the gold chain, and the chariot, the Lord Christ, who, for our sake became a slave; descended to Hades as to a prison; and on our account, set forth to receive, in our name from the Father, the signet ring of sonship, so we became in Him children of God, enjoyed His righteousness as a white linen garment with no blemish or defilement; got the fellowship of His glories, .٥٩ ¡ 1 للمؤلف: الفيلوكاليا ١٩٦٦ ، ج ١، ص ٥٨ 7 proclaimed in the gold chain; enjoyed the heavenly chariot; set forth toward heaven, from glory to glory, and from power to power; and became in Him dignified kings. Joseph was called by the name of ‘Zaphnath-Paaneah,’ that means in Hieroglyph ‘food of life,’ a title truly fit for Christ the Lord, who did not set earthly storehouses to gather the grain of the good years, but offered Himself as Heavenly Bread, whoever eats of It would not hunger, forever. Some believe that name to mean in Hebrew ‘Savior of the world’ or ‘Proclaimer of secrets.’ Pharaoh gave him a wife, Asenath, the daughter of ‘Poti-Pherah Priest of On, symbolizing in this, the union of Christ the Lord to His bride, coming from the Gentiles, where her father worshipped, and was a priest of the idols; The name Asenath is that of the goddess of wisdom. That of her father, Poti-Pherah, means ‘the one related to Ra, God of the sun;’ and ‘On’ was ‘Heliopolis, city of the sun. It is claimed that Asenath, has been a beautiful and decent girl, who loving Joseph dearly, she forsook the idol worship, and clang to the Living God. Anyhow, I wish that we be counted as Asenath to become wise enough to forsake the worship of the sun of this world, and attach ourselves to the sun of righteousness, as an eternal Groom. 6- JOSEPH AND LAYING UP THE GRAINS Joseph gathered up in every city, all the food of the seven plentiful years, “He gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was without number” (Gen. 41:48-49) When we deliver our life in the hand of the Lord Christ, our life would be flooded, and fulfilled beyond human counting. Void would never infiltrate into our mind, heart, or feelings! God would stretch His hands to give in abundance, bringing forth in us living and persistent fountains. 7- JOSEPH’S TWO SONS During the years of abundance, Asenath, Joseph’s wife, bore him two sons, Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for ‘God has made him forget all his toil and all his father’s house.’ And the name of the second Ephraim, for ‘God has caused him to be fruitful in the land of his affliction’ (Gen. 41:51-52). The soul that gets attached to Christ the Lord will bear, like Asenath, two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim. The first representing the passive side, namely, forgetting all toils of life, together with the house of his old father. The second represents the positive side, as Ephraim means ‘increasing fruit.’ It is not enough to forget the past, but it is fit to produce fruit in the Lord. If Asenath represents the virtuous life, as it is the union with the true Joseph, this virtuous life, an expressed by St. John Chrysostom1, does not stop at forsaking evil or forgetting it, but should, likewise, do good. virtue, in the Lord Christ, has two integrated aspects: forgetting evil, and acting with goodness. Namely, guarding oneself from sin, with readiness to the real righteousness. 8- JOSEPH SATISFIES EGYPT We end our talk here, by contemplating in the amazing plan of God. He allowed Joseph to be cast in prison, in order to deliver the Egyptians from famine, and to give life to his family. He is a type of Christ the Lord, Who became as slave, and accepted the verdict of the cross, in order to offer Himself as Heavenly Bread, to fulfill the Gentiles, and, in the end of days, to receive His own, accept faith after such .٣٧٥ ¡ 1 للمؤلف: القديس يوحنا الذهبي الفم ، ١٩٨٠ ، ص ٣٧٤ 8 a long denial.
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