Chapter III.
When above it is said that Jacob sent Joseph to rebuke, this was not done out of disbelief: when he, being aware of the future Incarnation, sent the same to his brothers. Joseph, after he wandered in the field, came to Dothan. His brothers, seeing him from afar, thought to kill him: but they changed their plan and sold him to the Ishmaelites. And these things, along with the staining of the tunic and the drying up of the well, are adapted to the mystery of the Passion.
Therefore, the Patriarch did not doubt these visions, as he prophesied both the role of the righteous and the people, that the Son of God would come to earth, who would be loved by the righteous and rejected by the faithless. He foresaw the mysteries of the future Incarnation, as he sent his son to his brothers, to see if the sheep were well. These sheep were the ones that God was already seeking in the Patriarch's zeal, the ones about whom the Lord Jesus said in the Gospel: I have come only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And he sent, he said, to Shechem (Gen. XXXVII, 13), which in interpretation is said to be shoulder, or back, that is, to those who would not convert to the Lord, but would turn away from His presence, which is properly the sinner's. Cain went out from the presence of God. And the Prophet says: You will put them to flight (Ps. XX, 13). But the righteous man does not turn away from the Lord, but approaches, saying: My eyes are always on the Lord (Ps. XXIV, 15). And Isaiah said to the Lord: Whom shall I send? (Isaiah 6:8) And he offered himself willingly, saying: Here am I. And Simeon waited to see the Christ of the Lord, and after he saw, because he had seen the redeemer of sinners and of the whole world, as if relieved from sin, he desired to be freed from the use of this flesh, saying: Now, Lord, dismiss your servant in peace; for my eyes have seen your salvation (Luke 2:30-31). And Zacchaeus first found the advantage of his commendation, that he climbed into a tree to see Christ. Therefore, Joseph was sent by his father to his brothers, by that Father who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all: by that Father of whom it is written, 'God, sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.' (Rom. 8:3).
And Joseph wandered, because he could not find his brothers (Gen. XXXVII, 15). He wandered rightfully, for he sought the wandering ones; for the Lord recognizes those who are his own. And indeed Jesus, weary from the journey, sat by the well. He was weary because he did not find the people of God whom he sought; for they had departed from the face of the Lord. For whoever follows sin, departs from Christ. The sinner departs, the righteous enters. Indeed, Adam, as a sinner, hides himself; but the righteous one says: Let my prayer enter into your presence (Psal. LXXXVII, 3).
11. But Joseph found his brothers in Dothan, which signifies defection. For where else is one except in defection who forsakes God? It is not surprising if they were failing, who did not hear Him saying: Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you (Matthew XI, 28). Therefore, Joseph came to Dothan: And they saw him from afar, before he approached them, and they raged, wanting to kill him (Genesis XXXVII, 18). Indeed, those who were in defection were far from deserving, and therefore they raged because Christ did not come near to them. For if the likeness of Christ had approached them, they would certainly have loved their brother; but they could not be close, for they were contemplating murder. Behold, they say, that dreamer is coming: now therefore let us come, and let us kill him (Ibid., 19). Did not these words come from those who were contemplating a murderous sacrilege? As Solomon says of them: Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, he shall be respected (Wisdom 2, 20).
12. And they added in Genesis: And we shall see what profit his dreams shall bring him. This is written about Joseph, but completed about Christ, when the Jews said during his passion: If he is the king of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusts in God, let Him now deliver him, if He wants (Matthew 27:42). Could his brothers also be so wicked as to kill their brother? And why did the patriarchs merit so much that the Law designated one tribe with the names of all their people? How do the names of piety and the emblems of crime agree? So also these people, not by the fault of their own mind, were suffering. Hence all envy, hence the contemplation of parricide: envy by appearance, piety by feeling.
13. Finally, Ruben and Judah, keeping the dutiful rights of brotherhood, desired to free him from the hands of the others, and rightfully Judah is preferred with his paternal blessing, as it is said to him: Thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah, the lion's whelp, shall rise up as a leader of the nations (Gen. XLIX, 8 and 9). And this certainly applies to Christ alone, to whom it was entrusted to be adored by his brothers, and awaited by the nations, and who washed his garment in wine, symbolizing his own body's suffering, because his flesh was not stained by any blemish of sin. The donkey also believed that he was not necessarily compatible with himself. The donkey ate his own fattened bread, and the donkey himself ate with princes. But what about Joseph himself, to whom it was said: \"My son Joseph, my son to be made great: my zealous son, my younger son, return to me\" (Genesis, 22) ? Those who considered this plan cursed him, but the blessing prevailed over the blessings of the everlasting mountains and the desires of the everlasting hills. They understood themselves to signify the one who, surpassing the merits of all, held the infinite summit of power above the desires of all the saints, whom no one could equal in vow. Therefore, envy is compensated in the patriarchs by grace, who are both excused from fault and consecrated by the gift of revelation. For it is not as blameworthy to say what belongs to the common people as it is blessed to see what belongs to Christ. They took on the role of sinners of the people, in order to receive the grace of the Lord the Redeemer. Certainly grace abolishes guilt, but guilt does not diminish grace.
14. And so that we may understand that all this concerning the people and the mystery of the Lord Jesus: Come, he says, let us sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites (Gen. XXXVII, 27). What is the interpretation of the name Joseph, except that it signifies divine grace and the expression of the highest God? Who, therefore, is sold, except he who, while being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God: but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant (Philip. II, 6 and 7)? For we would not have sent him, if they had not sold him. Those who sold him did a bad job, those who bought him did even worse. They sold a good odor to merchants, they bought a traitor. Judas sold him, the Ishmaelites bought him, who are called in Latin interpretation, hating their God. Therefore, in one place we find him bought for twenty, in another place for twenty-five gold coins, in another place for thirty; because Christ is not valued by everyone at the same price. To some less, to others more. Faith is the increase of goods: to the religious, God is more precious, to the sinner, the redeemer is more precious. He is also more worth to whom more grace has been given; but even to whom many things have been given, he is more worth; because to whom more has been forgiven, he loves more, as the Lord himself pronounced in the Gospel concerning that woman who poured ointment on his feet, and washed them with her tears, and wiped them with her hair, and dried them with kisses, of whom he said to Simon: For which reason I say to you: Her many sins are forgiven her, because she loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, less He loves (Luke 7:47). Sometimes differences in value have not only a quantitative, but also a numerical expression; as you have about the ointment that the Lord mentioned was poured out for His burial, as it is written by Judas saying: This could have been sold for three hundred denarii (Mark 14:5). In this number, the sign of the cross seems to be expressed, not of quantity, but of significance. In the same way, here the difference of twenty or thirty aurei or silver coins has the indication of doubled or tripled perfection. Twenty-five gold coins, the number of Jubilee which is the remission, signify a most precious portion. Also, to signify the figure of the Lord's Passion, Judah the patriarch says: Let us sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites: but let not our hands be upon him (Gen. XXXVII, 27). And earlier he had said well: But let not our hands be upon him (Ibid., 22). What the Jews said in the Lord's Passion: It is not lawful for us to put any man to death (John XVIII, 32). This is to fulfill Jesus' words, signifying by what death He would die.
15. Now then, the sign of the future cross was prefigured; at the same time, what he put off was the tunic (Gen. XXXVII, 23), that is, the flesh which he assumed, he put off, adorned with a diversity of virtues. Therefore, his tunic, that is, his flesh, was not stained with divinity: and the garment of his flesh could not take away the immortality of life. This tunic was stained by the Jewish beasts, those of which it is said: 'Behold, I send you as lambs among wolves' (Luc. X, 3).
16. But what is remarkable if the Jews have no water in the lake, since it was dry (Gen. XXXVII, 24), when they abandoned the fountain of living water and made for themselves broken cisterns? And to know that this is a true mystery, the Lord himself says of himself: They put me in the lower lake, in darkness, and in the shadow of death (Psal. LXXXVII, 7).
Therefore, those who offer good odors purchase Christ, for they offer incense as a pious offering to the altars of the mind. Hence, David also says in Greek: 'Let my prayer be directed as incense before you' (Ps. 140:2). The resin through which broken marbles are joined is also a spiritual resin that strengthens the fractures of your soul and connects what is divided, binds what is dissolved. For this spiritual resin strengthens and repairs certain broken parts of the soul so that they may be united without offense. Finally, Jeremiah seeks this resin, in order to heal Babylon, if possible, saying: 'Take the resin for her corruption, if by any means she may be healed.' We healed Babylon, but she was not healed (Jer. 51:8-9). The Synagogue was not healed, for this resin has migrated to the Church. Therefore, merchants came from Gilead, that is, from the possession or habitation of the testimony, transferring their merchandise to the Church, so that this resin might heal the sins of the Gentiles. Of which it is said: 'Strengthen, drooping hands, and weak knees' (Isaiah 35:3). True faith is a healing resin. Peter used it when he said to the lame man: 'In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk' (Acts 3:6); and rightfully he rose up and walked. He used it when he said to the paralyzed man: 'Aeneas, the Lord Jesus Christ heals you: rise up and make your bed.' And he rose up and made his bed (Acts 9:34). He also used it when he said to the dead woman: 'Arise in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.' And the dead rise (Ibid., 4). By the power of this resin, the stones from which the Lord is able to raise the sons of Abraham are joined together. By the remedy of this resin, the lame are healed, the paralyzed are reformed, the dead are resurrected.
18. Also, the fact that they sprinkled his tunic with the blood of a goat (Gen. XXXVII, 32) seems to signify that by seeking false testimonies, they brought him into disrepute, who forgives the sins of all. The lamb is for us, the goat is for them. The lamb of God was slain for us, by whom he took away the sin of the world: the goat is for them, whose errors he piled up, whose sins he accumulated. Therefore he says: Fill up the measure of your fathers (Matth. XXIII, 32). And Jacob, bemoaning the losses of his posterity, wept as a father mourns a lost son, as a prophet mourns the destruction of the Jews. Finally, he tore his own garments, which we read was done during the Passion of the Lord (Matthew 26:65) by the high priest, representing not a private individual, but the official duty of the public office. And the veil of the temple was torn (Matthew 27:51); thus, with the sacred mysteries profaned, the people were stripped of their saving vestments, and the kingdom was divided, represented by such signs of destruction, for every divided kingdom is easily destroyed. And truly it was divided, when what was Christ’s began also to belong to the devil. For they could not remain undivided, who separated the Son from the Father.