What is your attitude? April 29, 2012 Genesis 39:1-23

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1 I. Introduction What is your attitude? April 29, 2012 Genesis 39:1-23 During World War II, Victor Frankl, a Viennese Jew, was imprisoned by the German Nazis for more than three years. He was moved from one concentration camp to another, even spending several months at the infamous Auschwitz. Later he wrote these words: "The experiences of camp life show that man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, an independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of mental and physical distress. We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one s own way. This is where we find Joseph. He had a choice of attitudes when he was sold as a slave to Potiphar. If he was all that his family saw him to be a pampered daddy s boy, a tattletale, and an arrogant dreamer, I suspect that his attitude would have been one of despair; a woe is me attitude I ve lost everything and I can t go on. But this isn t the attitude we see in today s Scripture. His attitude is that of Deuteronomy 10. Listen to these words from Deuteronomy 10:12 & 13: And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees? Joseph s choice of attitudes was to serve God wherever he was. Joseph had lost his family and his friends, but he didn t lose the presence of God. As verse 2 says, The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered. II. This New Place: Potiphar s house Obviously, if Joseph had had a choice, he would have gone back home, but he made the best of his circumstances in this new place Potiphar s house. Because he continued to serve God, God blessed him in all that he did. Potiphar wasn t slow to recognize that as soon as he put the young man in charge of something, it prospered. The blessing of the Lord was very evident to the people in Potiphar s household, and they knew that Joseph was the cause. Just as God blessed Laban s house 1

2 because of Jacob; just as God had promised Abraham that He would bless those that blessed Abraham s descendents (Genesis 12:1-3); Genesis 39:5 says, The Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. Over time Potiphar gradually turned more and more responsibility over to Joseph until Joseph was managing the entire estate. Because of his choice of attitudes, Joseph must have been well liked by the people in this new place. In this pagan, idol-worshipping Egypt, Joseph was a testimony to the true and living God. He was an honest and faithful worker, and the people around him got the message. Because of Joseph s choice of attitudes, God made him a blessing to all of them. What Joseph didn t know was that this was a time of training leading up to God s plan to fulfill the dreams God had sent him. Joseph was going to fulfill Proverbs 22:29 which says, Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men. Joseph s faithful service wasn t just a blessing to the household; it was also a blessing to Joseph himself. Had he stayed at home with his pampering father, Joseph might not have developed the kind of character that comes from hard work and obeying orders. Often God s method for building us is to give us a job to do and people to obey. Like the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, God tests us as servants before He promotes us to being rulers. Before He allows us to have authority, we have to be under authority and learn to obey. III. A New Temptation: to commit adultery However, Joseph s success was relatively short-lived, there was a snake in this garden and it came with a new temptation a temptation to commit adultery. Not only was Joseph godly, dependable, and efficient, we are told that he was also handsome and well-built. Joseph had faced danger when he was thrown into a well because of the hatred of his brothers, but now he would face a greater danger because of the lust of an evil woman. Potiphar s wife had taken a liking to Joseph and she said, Come to bed with me! After all, he was only a Hebrew slave. When her husband wasn t there, she was in charge and Joseph was supposed to obey orders. Joseph could have rationalized what to do. She was his mistress and she was to be obeyed. Having her on his side would help him move even farther up the ladder of responsibility maybe even to freedom. If he refused, she would become angry and he certainly didn t want her to be an enemy; there is an old saying about a woman scorned. For that matter, everyone one else did it, so what s the 2

3 big deal anyway! But Joseph kept God and His commandments first in his mind and actions and for that reason he didn t give in. Day after day Potiphar s wife was on his case and Joseph had to fight this battle day after day, but he succeeded. He explained to her why he wouldn t obey: 1) she was another man s wife and although the 10 Commandments hadn t been given yet (in particular #7), Joseph knew that adultery was wrong; 2) he was trusted by his master and didn t want to abuse that trust; 3) even if no one else found out about it, God would know and would be displeased. Although Joseph continued to refuse and tried his best not to be near her, she never gave up. One day when Potiphar was gone and the household servants just happened to be gone, she managed to trap Joseph in the house. She tried to hold him by his clothes and when he tried to get away he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house (verse 12). There are times when fleeing would be the mark of a coward, but there are times when fleeing is evidence of courage and integrity. Joseph was wise enough to follow the same advice Paul gave to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:22: Flee the evil desires of youth. This is good advice for everyone not just youths! IV. A New Judgment: imprison Joseph But Joseph s troubles were far from over. The scorned woman screamed for help, lied to the servants and lied to her husband about what happened: 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. For the second time in his life, Joseph lost a garment and it was used as a false witness against him; but as one writer said, Joseph lost his coat but he kept his character. Potiphar had to respond with a new judgment on his Hebrew slave imprison Joseph. These accusations couldn t be ignored! We are told that Potiphar burned with anger. If Potiphar believed his wife and was truly angry with Joseph, Joseph would probably have been executed on the spot, no questions asked. He was just a lowly slave easy come; easy go. Perhaps Potiphar was angry at his wife. She had slandered his motives and those of a proven, trustworthy slave. He was going to lose a very competent worker and most likely he knew what his wife s character was like he knew who really was at fault. But Potiphar was in a difficult position he couldn t ignore his wife s accusations without publicly humiliating her even if he were certain she was lying. The action he took against Joseph was as minimal as it could be and still retain his family honor. Joseph was sentenced to the king s prison 3

4 a place for political prisoners. This certainly not the worst prison available. The new place was the king s prison. V. The New Place: the king s prison. Once again Joseph had a choice in attitudes. He could become useless to God and himself as he became deeply depressed as he thought about the loss of freedom and responsibilities that he had had in Potiphar s house and as he thought about the cruel and unjust events that led to his being sent to the king s prison. But just as he had done before, Joseph continued to fear and serve the Lord God. With this attitude, whether Joseph was a servant in Potiphar s house or an accused criminal in prison, the Lord was with Joseph and even gave him success here. Things didn t start out very nice here in prison. Although these experiences aren t mentioned in Genesis, Psalm 105:18 says, They bruised his (Joseph s) feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons. Joseph was bound for a short time, but it wasn t long before the prison warden released him and put him in charge of the other prisoners. Like Potiphar before him, the warden turned everything over to Joseph and watched the work prosper in his hands. V. Conclusion This part of Joseph s story begins and ends with attitude. What about your attitude? In his book Strengthening Your Grip Chuck Swindoll writes: Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitude toward life. The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it. I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position. Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress... It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitude is right, there s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me. So what about your attitude? In Philippians 2:5 Paul writes, Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 12:2: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its 4

5 shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. This was Jesus attitude, He endured the cross God s will for His life with joy because He knew what the end result would be. Although Joseph didn t know how his life would develop, he trusted God as God allowed him to be treated unjustly and allowed him to be put into prison to help build his character and prepare him for the job that lay ahead. Like Potiphar s house, the prison would be a school where Joseph would learn to wait on the Lord until it was God s time to vindicate him and fulfill his God-given dreams. Joseph had time to think and pray and to ponder the meaning of the two dreams God had sent him. He would learn that God s delays are not God s denials. Turn to Ephesians 4: As you consider Jesus attitude and Joseph s attitude, each child of God needs to choose an attitude of joyful service to God as you become more Christ-like. For most of us, life here on earth may not be a bed of roses, but, unlike Joseph, you know the end of your story. You know that you will stand before your loving Savior and Lord who willingly gave His life for you and that then you will spend eternity in heaven with Him. Turn to Daniel 3: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn t know what was going to happen to them in the near future, but they put their trust in God and His love. Their attitude was one of service to Him regardless of the immediate consequences. As David wrote in Psalm 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Later in Psalm 100:2 we read, Serve the LORD with gladness. So what is your attitude? Joseph s story also deals with temptation. There is a familiar verse about temptation in 1 Corinthians. Turn to 1 Corinthians 10:13. We all experience temptation, but God promises to supply a way out. Sometimes we can respond to temptation as Jesus did in the wilderness, turn to Matthew 4:1-11. With the strength of the Holy Spirit and God s Word in our hearts, we can stand firm. But sometimes, like in Joseph s situation, the way out is to flee the presence of temptation. In 1 Corinthians 6:18 we read, Flee from sexual immorality. In 1 Corinthians 10:14 we are told to flee from idolatry. In 1 Timothy 6:11 Paul says to flee from the evils associated with loving money. Turn to 2 Timothy 2:22. In all these verses about fleeing, we are told to pursue things like righteousness, godliness, faith and love. Basically, we are to flee to a place of safety. We have tornado drills and fire drills so that when the real thing comes, we know how to respond. So how are you going to respond when temptation comes? Do you know when to stand and when and where to flee? 5

6 In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. If you are having troubles with your attitude, if temptation seems like it is about to overwhelm you, go to Jesus and He will give you the strength and protection you need. Let me close with these words from Isaiah 41:10: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. If God is for you, who can be against you? What is your attitude? 6