Genesis 39:11-23

If you and I are going to be victorious under tidal wave temptation, we are wise to rehearse in advance our reasons for standing firm. (Beth Moore, The Patriarchs, P. 180).

In yesterday’s passage we saw that Joseph gave Potiphar’s wife a strong explanation of why he was refusing her advances (vs. 8-10). Joseph had been bombarded daily with her proposals, but he had resolved to be faithful to God. He didn’t make that decision in the moment - he had long before determined what was righteous and that he would stand firm. When he finally ran from Mrs. Potiphar, she was left humiliated and angry, and she wanted vengeance. She quickly hatched a plot to frame him:

When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”


She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” (Gen 39:13-18)

Beth Moore points out that, by calling in the servants, Potiphar’s wife put pressure on Potiphar to act on the charges. She played the race card in calling him that Hebrew, and she even shifted blame to Potiphar in the same way Adam did to God in the Garden: “that Hebrew slave you brought us. . .”

When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. (vs.19-20)

Potiphar burned with anger, but my bet is that it was not at Joseph, but his wife! I’m sure he knew her character - even as he knew Joseph’s - but he was forced to respond with firmness, because the other servants were watching. By rights he could have had Joseph executed on the spot, but instead threw him into prison. Even as Pilate could find nothing against Jesus, but responded to the crowd, Potiphar chose not to do the right thing, but the expedient thing. Once again, Joseph was seemingly abandoned.

However, we read the following in verses 20b-23:

But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.


Once again, the LORD was with Joseph in everything and everywhere! “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

We will see that God was absolutely sovereign in the life of Joseph. Joseph was being trained and used by God for the salvation of His chosen people. Joseph would need to practice being continually conscious of the presence of God - even when he didn’t see Him or feel Him. He would need to learn to lean on God for everything - including wisdom. He learned that when God was all he had, God was all he needed!

Are you feeling abandoned, betrayed, falsely accused? Are you questioning God and wondering if He’s gone on a break and doesn’t see what’s happening, because He just isn’t answering your prayers on your timetable? Stay tuned! The LORD is not finished refining Joseph (or you) - even though no one else is faithful to Joseph - God IS! The next chapter is a good one!

Genesis 39:6b-11

We read yesterday about how Joseph’s presence brought an overflow of blessing from God to Potiphar’s household. Potiphar saw the hand of God on Joseph, but apparently his wife, a cougar on the prowl, saw only a hunk:

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” (Gen 39:6b-7)

According to Beth Moore, this is the only time Scripture describes a man as “well-built and handsome.” She points out that being so good-looking can be a blessing, but it can also be a curse. For a young man, like Joseph, the attention of Mrs. Potiphar, would be a curse! She worked her feminine charms on him daily:

But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.


One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. (vs. 8-11)

Paul wrote to young Timothy, “Flee youthful lusts.” (2 Tim 2:22) Joseph avoided even being around Mrs. Potiphar. When she made her advances he rebuffed her, telling her he could not “sin against God.” And Jon Courson points out that it was this attitude that enabled Joseph to bear up under the temptation. Courson writes:

This is what is known throughout Scripture as “the fear of the Lord.” Joseph was in constant awareness of the “there-ness” of God - an awareness equally convicting and comforting. Yes, he was severed from his family and his country, but Joseph knew he was never alone. (Courson’s Application Commentary: Old Testament, P. 176)

Joseph could have sat down and tried to talk things over with this woman. He could have counseled her about her marriage or attempted to convert her to his God. But he actively avoided her, and, finally, ran from her. Often Christian pastors have a struggle with “pastor worship” from a congregation, and need to daily fight this fight. Ethical pastors will avoid ever being alone in a room with a woman, because they are so aware of the potential for disaster - even in just the appearance of wrong. We, too, would be wise to avoid anything which tempts our thoughts to stray. If certain music can carry you back to the good old days with an old boyfriend, avoid the music! If you receive a Facebook friend request from an old flame, DON’T accept it! If even going to a class reunion will be a possible temptation, DON’T go!

Joseph did all the right things, and yet, we’ll see next that it did not keep him from painful trials! Practicing the presence of God, as Joseph did constantly, will be what keeps him from falling into despair. Can’t wait to see what happens next!

 

Genesis 39:1-6

We return to the story of Joseph. When we last saw him, he was headed south into Egypt with a caravan of Ishmaelites!

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.


The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. (Gen 39:1-6)

Verse 2 says it all: “The LORD was with Joseph. . . “ And just in case you missed it, the idea is repeated in verses 3 and 5! Joseph just happened to be purchased by Potiphar, a high-ranking official in Egypt, the captain of the guard. Potiphar, a pagan, saw something special about Joseph. It was obvious to him that the LORD was with Joseph and blessed everything Joseph undertook. So Potiphar put Joseph in charge of his entire household, relaxing in the blessings he received because of his association with Joseph. What a testimony to Joseph’s character that Potiphar could see that Joseph was different!

Remember that here was a young man who was betrayed by the very people who should have loved him, was forcibly uprooted from family and home, and sent into a foreign culture as a slave. He went from being the apple of his father’s eye to a man in chains, sold to the highest bidder. He had every reason to be depressed or even hateful, but, because he was still the apple of his Heavenly Father’s eye, he was able to rise above the betrayal and trust God. He had never left the LORD’s presence, and therefore reflected the light of God to others. Amazing!

And, because Joseph trusted and relied on God, even in the worst of circumstances, those around him were also blessed. Wouldn’t that be great if that could be said of us? That others might be blessed through their association with us - AND that they would recognize the source of the blessing as God alone?? That is what I’m praying for today and for this school year - for my students and the parents in my classroom - that they would be blessed by being in my class this year, and that they would recognize God as the difference!