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Audio & Outline Notes for Parashat Mikeitz

Bereshit (Genesis) 41:1-44:17 - Yeshua, Messiah Ben Yosef

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 I. Introduction
  A. Review

1. Yeshua is Messiah ben David and Messiah ben Yosef
2. Parashat Vayeishev outline

1. Jacob settles in Hebron with his twelve sons. His favorite is 17-year-old Joseph, whose brothers are jealous of the preferential treatment he receives from his father, such as a precious many-colored coat that Jacob makes for Joseph. Joseph relates to his brothers two dreams he has which foretell that he is destined to rule over them, increasing their envy and hatred towards him. Bereshit 37:1- 10
2. Shimon and Levi plot to kill him, but Reuben suggests that they throw him into a pit instead, intending to come back later and save him. While Joseph is in the pit, Judah has him sold to a band of passing Ishmaelites. The brothers dip Joseph's special coat in the blood of a goat and show it to their father, leading him to believe that his most beloved son was devoured by a wild beast. Bereshit 37: 12- 36
3. Judah marries and has three children. The eldest, Er, dies young and childless, and his wife Tamar is given in levirate marriage to the second son, Onan. Onan sins by spilling his seed and he, too, meets an early death. Judah is reluctant to have his third son marry her. Determined to have a child from Judah's family, Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute and seduces Judah himself. Judah hears that his daughter-in-law has become pregnant and orders her executed for harlotry, but when Tamar produces some personal effects he left with her as a pledge for payment, he publicly admits that he is the father. Tamar gives birth to twin sons, Peretz (an ancestor of King David) and Zerach. Bereshit 38:1ff
4. Joseph is taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, the minister in charge of Pharaoh's slaughterhouses. G-d blesses everything he does, and soon he is made overseer of all his master's property. Potiphar's wife desires the handsome and charismatic lad; when Joseph rejects her advances, she tells her husband that the Hebrew slave tried to force himself on her and has him thrown in prison. Joseph gains the trust and admiration of his jailers, who appoint him to a position of authority in the prison administration. Bereshit 39:1- 23
5. In prison, Joseph meets Pharaoh's chief butler and chief baker, both incarcerated for offending their royal master. Both have disturbing dreams, which Joseph interprets; in three days, he tells them, the butler will be released and the baker hanged. Joseph asks the butler to intercede on his behalf with Pharaoh. Joseph's predictions are fulfilled, but the butler forgets all about Joseph and does nothing for him. Bereshit 40:1- 23

B.    Parashat Mikeitz Outline

 

1. Joseph's imprisonment finally ends when Pharaoh dreams of seven fat cows that are swallowed up by seven lean cows, and of seven fat ears of grain swallowed by seven lean ears. Joseph interprets the dreams to mean that seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of hunger, and advises Pharaoh to store grain during the plentiful years. Pharaoh appoints Joseph governor of Egypt. Joseph marries Asenat, daughter of Potiphar, and they have two sons, Menasseh and Ephraim. Bereshit 41:1-52
2. Famine spreads throughout the region, and food can be obtained only in Egypt. Ten of Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to purchase grain; the youngest, Benjamin, stays home, for Jacob fears for his safety. Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him; he accuses them of being spies, insists that they bring Benjamin to prove that they are who they say they are, and imprisons Shimon as a hostage. Later, they discover that the money they paid for their provisions has been mysteriously returned to them. Bereshit 41:53- 42: 28
3. Jacob agrees to send Benjamin only after Judah assumes personal and eternal responsibility for him. This time Joseph receives them kindly, releases Shimon, and invites them to an eventful dinner at his home. But then he plants his silver goblet, purportedly imbued with magic powers, in Benjamin's sack. When the brothers set out for home the next morning they are pursued, searched, and arrested when the goblet is discovered. Joseph offers to set them free and retain only Benjamin as his slave. Bereshit 42:29- 44:1

C. Yeshua – Messiah ben Yosef – The Hidden Messiah – Bereshit 42: 8

1. “Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.” (BEREISHIT 42:8). On this verse, the Gaon Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna teaches: “This is one of Yosef’s attributes. Not just in his generation, but also in every generation, Mashiach ben Yosef recognizes his brothers and they do not recognize him. It is an act of Satan, which conceals Mashiach ben Yosef’s attributes, such that the Jews unfortunately do not recognize his footsteps, and in fact scoff at them… If not for this, our troubles would already be over. If Israel “recognized Yosef”, Mashiach ben Yosef’s footsteps comprising the ingathering of the exiles, etc., we would already be completely redeemed.” (Kol HaTor 2:39)
2. The Hidden Messiah in Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 53:1ff – Next week
3. 3. The Hidden Messiah in Zechariah and in the Brit Chadashah - Zechariah 9:9 (Matt 21:5); 12; 13 (Matt 24:30; Rev 1:7)

II. Parashat Mikeitz - Yeshua – Messiah ben Yosef – The Hidden Messiah
     A.   The general pattern

1. Yosef was a shepherd – Bereshit 37:2
2. Yosef was the beloved of his father – Bereshit 37:3
3. Yosef was rejected by his brothers - Bereshit 37:4
4. Yosef was figuratively speaking was killed and raised from the dead - Bereshit 37:18-35, 41:39-40, 45:26-28
5. Yosef first brings salvation to the nations and then saves his family – Bereshit 41:57, 46,47
6. Yosef is restored to his brothers – Bereshit 50:15 – 21

     B.  Messiah ben Yosef  - riding on a donkey – Zechariah 9:9 (Matt 21:5)
     C.  Messiah ben Yosef – the one who was pierced Zechariah 12:1- 13:6
           (Matt 24:30; Rev 1:7)

1. Contemporary politics -Zechariah 12: 1-9
2. Looking upon the one [The good Shepherd] they have pierced – Zechariah 12:10a
3. Mourning for an only son – Zechariah 12:10 b
4. Cleansed from sin and impurity – Zechariah 13:1
5. Wounded in the house of his friends – Zechariah 13:6

III. Conclusion
         A. Yeshua is Messiah ben Yosef and Messiah ben David
         B. Yeshua is the Good Shepherd
         C. Yeshua is returning soon!