Genesis 39:1-23

February 5, 2014 We return to the story of Joseph here in chapter thirty-nine. He is a Hebrew who believes the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He also believes the dreams from God that he will be in authority and even his parents and brothers will bow down to him. He holds the birthright and he is Jacobs favorite son. Then his whole world crashes down: hes attacked by his brothers and sold to some slave traders. Now hes on his way to a foreign land where hell spend the rest of his days: And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. The first thing I imagine the original readers would have noticed is that Joseph goes to Egypt to be a slave. These first readers had just followed Moses out of Egypt in the Exodus. They would benefit from hearing that God had rescued their people from slavery before and that He had taken good care of them in defeating their enemies. And Joseph certainly has his share of those even being away from his brothers. It says hes been taken to Potiphars house. Potiphar is the captain of Pharaohs bodyguard so hes got some wealth and influence. More i mportantly, he has access to Pharaoh. Its impossible for Joseph to know how God will come through, but we know the story and we can see how this was all for his good.
2

And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. Heres something that seems like an oxymoron. How can God be with Joseph if Joseph is in Potiphars house? I mean, if God is with Joseph, why doesnt he free him from slavery? But the plan of God is much bigger than Joseph and it includes this brief time of suffering. But the Lord wasnt just with Joseph; He was with him in a visible way:
3

And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. Everything Joseph does works out well. Whatever is under his charge is blessed abundantly so that Potiphar notices and cant deny that Joseph is a valuable man:

And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. 5And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptians house for Josephs sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. 6And he left all that he had in Josephs hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. Joseph turns out to be such a success that Potiphar turns over all his affairs to him. The only decision Potiphar has to think about now is what to eat next and he can watch the gold pour in. Once again Joseph finds himself a favorite and in a place of authority. He is still a slave but at least hes not at the bottom anymore, right? But God has a purpose in this promotion and its not going to seem good at first. This rise in Potiphars house gives way for another problem: And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured. 7And it came to pass after these things, that his masters wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. Before we get into the rest of this I want to remind you of something very important. Joseph is a good example of purity and obedience but thats not the reason for this story. He is what he is because of grace and grace alone. If we were in the same situation we believe that God would give us the same grace to endure. The point of this encounter is not to prove Josephs great faith but to prove that God is with him no matter what. Jospeh will do whats right and God will let him suffer for it; so is God still with him?
8

But he refused, and said unto his masters wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; 9There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? Joseph realizes what a travesty it would be to break confidence with his master. Its not just something that shouldnt be done to Potiphar; its great wickedness against God. And so he refuses but she wont let it go:
10

And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. 11And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. 12And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got

him out. 13And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 14That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out. 16And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. 17And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: 18And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. 19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. 20And Josephs master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the kings prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. Josephs reward for purity is another demotion. Its not hard to imagine his shock and disappointment. How can God be with him and still let all these bad things happen to him? In fact, are we sure? Is God still with him?
21

But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22And the keeper of the prison committed to Josephs hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 23The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper. Well, we know the rest of this story, but we have to wonder what Joseph thought as he watched another promotion come along. It seems that he takes it all in stride. Maybe these little blessings in the hardships were sufficient evidences for him that God was indeed with him. Maybe he too knew that all these failures and losses would somehow equal a positive at the end. Maybe he knew it was somehow for his good. But what about the original reader and what about us? What do we learn that helps us today? Well, the bottom line is that God was with Joseph: He was with him in his slavery, He was with him in Egypt, He was with him in persecution, He was with him in prison.

All of this suffering has a definite end in mind. What others mean for evil God means for good. And He is now also with us: Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Mt. 28:20). Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Ps. 23:4). Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35-39). Even when it seems He has abandoned us He has a plan. This plan includes suffering but its assuredly part of how He fulfills His promise to Adam and Eve. Let me close with this hymn from William Cowper: God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines Of never failing skill He treasures up His bright designs And works His sovreign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy and shall break In blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace;

Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flowr. Blind unbelief is sure to err And scan His work in vain; God is His own interpreter, And He will make it plain. newgracebaptistchurch.wordpress.com