Here, then, was exaltation of no ordinary kind. Contrast this with the pit and the dungeon; and mark the chain of events by which it was all brought about, and you have, at once, a marked exhibition of the hand of God, and a striking type of the sufferings and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph was taken from the pit and the dungeon, into which he had been brought by the envy of his brethren, and the false judgment of the Gentile, to be ruler over the whole land of Egypt; and not only so, but to be the channel of blessing, and the sustainer of life, to Israel and the whole earth. This is all typical of Christ; indeed, a type could hardly be more perfect. We see a man laid, to all intents and purposes, in the place of death, by the hand of man, and then raised up by the hand of God, and set in dignity and glory. "Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know; him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." (Acts. ii. 22-24.)
But there are two points in Joseph's history which, together with what has been noticed, render the type remarkably perfect; I allude to his marriage with a stranger in Chapter xli, and his interview with his brethren in Chapter xlv. The following is the order of events. Joseph presents himself to his brethren as one sent by the father; they reject him, and, so far as lies in them, put him in the place of death; God takes him up from thence, and raises him to a position of highest dignity: thus exalted, he gets a bride; and when his brethren according to the flesh, are thoroughly broken and prostrate before him, he makes himself known to them, tranquillizes their hearts, and brings them into blessing; he then becomes the channel of blessing to them and to the whole world.
I shall just make a few remarks on Joseph's marriage and the restoration of his brethren. The strange wife shadows forth the Church. Christ presented himself to the Jews, and being rejected, took his seat on high, and sent down the Holy Ghost to gather out an elect Church, composed of Jew and Gentile, to be united with him in heavenly glory. The doctrine of the Church has already been dwelt upon in our remarks on Chapter xxiv., but one or two points remain to be noticed here. And first, we may observe that Joseph's Egyptian bride was intimately associated with him in his glory.[20] She, as being part of himself, shared in all that was his. Moreover, she occupied a place of nearness and intimacy known only to herself. Thus it is with the Church, the bride of the Lamb. She is gathered to Christ to be the sharer, at once, of his rejection and his glory. It is Christ's position which gives character to the position of the Church, and her position should ever give character to her walk. If we are gathered to Christ, it is as exalted in glory, and not as humbled down here. "Henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more." (2 Cor. v. 16.) The Church's gathering-point is Christ in glory. "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John xii. 32.)
There is far more of practical value in the clear apprehension of this principle than might, at first sight, appear. It is ever the aim of Satan, as it is the tendency of our hearts, to lead us to stop short of God's mark in every thing, and specially in the centre of our unity as Christians. It is a popular sentiment, that "the blood of the Lamb is the union of saints," i. e., it is the blood which forms their centre of unity. Now, that it is the infinitely precious blood of Christ which sets us individually as worshippers in the presence of God is blessedly true. The blood, therefore, forms the divine basis of our fellowship with God. But when we come to speak of the centre of our unity as a church, we must see that the Holy Ghost gathers us to the Person of a risen and glorified Christ; and this grand truth gives character--high and holy character--to our association as Christians. If we take lower ground than this we must inevitably form a sect or an _ism_. If we gather round an ordinance, however important, or round a truth, however indisputable, we make something less than Christ our centre.