FROM BABEL TO EGYPT BLESSED UNDER JOSEPH.
AFTER the flood the sons of Noah multiplied, and the earth once more became populous. Then it was that the human race made a new and a very terrible departure from God, combining and establishing a great union for its own glory. To center the combination a city was built, and a tower was erected, "lest," said the builders, "we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth." Now while a metropolis may attract men together, it is not of itself a bond of union; the bond which most firmly unites men is religion, and this was expressed in their tower within their city. Its top was "the heavens," that is, upon its summit there were portrayed figures of the heavens. The seven-staged towers of Babylonia are generally regarded as the lineal descendants of the tower of Babel, and their stages are in honor of the sun, moon, and five planets, and they are colored accordingly.
The idea of the union of a race or kingdom and of a metropolis with its tower, or temple, has prevailed over the ages since the first erection of Babel, and the idea awaits fuller developments in the day that is yet to come. God also has His purpose in the union of mankind and in His city, to which all the nations of the earth shall come up to worship.
As we consider this first great combined action of man after the flood, we are confronted with the solemn fact that the nations of the earth, generally, have been idolatrous ever since Babel; also, that Israel, once delivered from idols, in time became idolatrous; and, further, that Christendom itself, over a wide area, has established the worship of images; and, more, that Protestant lands in our own day are being rapidly colonized by image worshippers. The position given in the Scriptures to the record of the erection of the city and tower of Babel is therefore a voice from God not to be unheeded. Neither should we fail to carefully observe the solemnity of Jehovah's own attitude in relation to this union of men. He came down to see the city and the tower"— the metropolis and the temple—" which the children of men builded"; and He said," This they begin to do "—for the work was but the commencement of a great plan—" and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do." They would go on and develop the idea of human union, with God excluded, until that idea reached its climax of apostasy. And this is precisely that which Scripture tells us man will do, so far as he is able, in the day that is coming, and this it is which is being sought for in Christendom by those who are attempting a religious union of men, with Christ and God's Word excluded. For this is in plain language the basis of the proposed "reunion." So Jehovah confounded their language, and hence they no longer understood one another's speech, and He "scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth.”
To all appearance the word addressed to the serpent respecting the victorious Seed was further off fulfillment than before the flood, and we may ask, Where in this confusion shall the golden thread be found? We find it let down from heaven in the word of promise to Abram: "In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
When at the first the enemy introduced sin into the world, God said the Seed should bruise his head; and when man had forsaken God, His promise to a man declared the blessing of the human race. These ways of God have their explanation in this word: "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."
If we glance at the revelations of God made to the patriarchs, the golden thread from heaven is seen again and again. After the promise to Abraham, there followed a long period of waiting. He had to wait for his promised son until the hopes of nature had perished, and then in a way outside mere nature, Isaac was born. In this is an indication of both the long time that was to ensue before the Seed should be born, and the fact that His birth was not as that of any other son of man. Further, when the son was given, the promises vested in him were apparently set aside, for Abraham was called to surrender him in death to God. We are familiar with the touching prophetic story of the father and the son going together up to the mount of sacrifice, and its marvelous foreshadowing of the oneness of purpose of God the Father and the Son relative to the cross. The story ends in the resurrection, in figure, of the Son, and after Abraham had received him back from the dead, in a figure, the promises were finally established, the angel calling to Abraham out of heaven, saying, "In thy Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.”
Now, these old-world shadows have been literally fulfilled in the incarnation, the sacrifice, and the resurrection of Christ.
Again, in the vision which Jacob saw of the angels of God descending and ascending from heaven to earth, we behold a glory of the Seed; and upon this foreshadowing, God once more renewed His promise: “In thee and in thy Seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." These great incidents are brought forward one by one, and as they are each shadowed forth, God Himself reiterates His promise respecting the Seed, which, interpreted by the Holy Ghost, relates to Christ—"to thy Seed, which is Christ."
Now since the types of the gift of the Son and of His death and resurrection have been literally fulfilled, we need not argue with higher criticism whether the type of heaven and earth joined in one by angelic ministry through Him, shall also be realized! Our Lord Himself declares that that great sight shall yet be witnessed: "Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
We may read the story of the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as the records of men of God, and learn our lessons from them; but we may also read them to discover in them the purpose of God respecting the Seed and the blessing of all the families of the earth.
In the lovely story of Joseph, the golden thread is seen in supreme beauty. That story forms a grand end to the book which forms the preface to the books of the Bible. It is abundant in prophetic and in moral excellence. Under the figure of the obedient son of his father coming to his brethren, and being rejected by them, it portrays Christ rejected by the Jews. Joseph's brethren committed him to the pit of destruction, and though he was relieved from death, he was sold into Egypt. Step by step, the story of Joseph finds its fulfillment in Christ. In Egypt, Joseph was despised and cast into prison, but from the dungeon the great utterer of the Word of God was elevated to the throne! In that ascension, he received for his bride a stranger from his own people, and thus formed an excellent type of our ascended Lord, cast out by Jew and Gentile, but raised to the throne of divine majesty, and in that glory obtaining for His bride, the Church.
Up to this point the story of Joseph has been fulfilled in Christ, but from this point the story is yet prophetic. Let us not forget that for hundreds of years before the time of Christ's incarnation, the whole story was of prophetic significance. We follow its still prophetic lines. When Joseph was upon the throne the whole earth suffered from famine; but where Joseph was, there was provision for human need. As the suppliants for life came before the king, he bade them go to Joseph, who, as his name implies, was verily, "The Sustainer of Life." Famine-need-in time brought the kindred of the exalted ruler to his footstool; they bowed before him, even as his dreams had described, but they knew him not, though he knew them. After allowing repentance to work in their souls, "Joseph made himself known unto his brethren." The gentlest of words, and the most tender kindness were his, as he assured their hearts by revealing to them his own heart.
So will it be in the day yet to come. The Seed shall sustain the life of all the children of men, and in His exaltation upon His Father's throne, and having for His bride His Church, He will make Himself known unto His brethren the sons of Israel. They will yet repent and come to His feet, and when repentance has had its thorough work, Christ will make Himself known unto them. He will assure their hearts by the revelation to them of His own heart. The Word to the fathers shall be realized, and in the Seed—the incarnate—the crucified—the risen—the exalted Jesus—shall all the families of the earth be blessed.