Genesis 39 1 Review last week Genesis 39 Chap 39 essentially begins where Chap 37 left off o Joseph has arrived in Egypt no doubt scared and still hurt by his brothers actions He is a young boy, probably in his late teens o Just as Chap 37 ended, Chap 39 tells us Joseph is in the house of the captain of the guard Gen. 39:1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. Gen. 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Gen. 39:3 Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. Gen. 39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge. Gen. 39:5 It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian s house on account of Joseph; thus the LORD S blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field. Gen. 39:6 So he left everything he owned in Joseph s charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate. Joseph is now the property of the Egyptian, Potiphar o Joseph serves as the main house servant to Potiphar He watches over every aspect of the house, probably directing other servants He determines work to be done, budgeting and making purchases for the household needs (would have had the master s checkbook) Enforce rule through discipline of other servants
Genesis 39 2 Most importantly, Potiphar leaves him alone because he trusts Joseph a very comfortable position, as far as servants go It s also worth noting that in these first verses, we re reminded three times that Potiphar is an Egyptian something that should have been understood o Except that it wasn t necessarily a given o The Egyptian empire in this day was ruled by a conquering Hamite peoples (Semites) Remember that Africa was settled by the descendents of Ham while the eastern lands were settled by the line of Shem, to include the Semitic peoples One of the semitic peoples, Hyksos, became the 16 th and 17 th Dynasties over Egypt An Egyptian was someone native to the land We ll study much more about the differences between the Hyksos and the Tutmos Dynasty that followed throughout the rest of this book and into the Book of Exodus God s grace upon Joseph is immediately apparent in verse 2 God has already said that he would send the nation of Israel into Egypt And as we studied, He did this for two reasons The sin of the Amorites was not yet complete God was waiting for his appointed time to judge those people with the arrival of Joshua and the Israelites Secondly, while He waited for that time, God was determined to preserve His people from themselves from the sin of association with the pagan culture of the Canaanites o Psalms told us that Jospeh was sent to Egypt to teach his elders wisdom
Genesis 39 3 And as we will see in Exodus in a few months, God has a third reason to bring His people into slavery, so that His power to deliver His people may be known throughout the world Now as God carries out this plan He continues to shower grace on his chosen vessel, Joseph, by placing him in the house of Potiphar Slaves in Egypt could have the most miserable of lives Slaves built the pyramids, under severe stress Thousands maybe millions died from the forced labor Conditions could be cruel and intolerable Slave owners could abuse and kill slaves without fear of retribution Nevertheless, Joseph is placed in perhaps the best of all circumstances in the house of a very senior aid to the Pharaoh Verses 2, 4 and 5 all explain clearly Joseph s enviable working conditions o He is in the house and in charge of the house o He doesn t even have to worry about other servants lording over him Verse 5 even tells us that Potiphar had fields to care for as well as the house, reminding us that Joseph could have easily ended up in the fields much harder labor Joseph finds tremendous success in everything he does for Potiphar because God blesses Joseph further evidence of God s grace and blessing o This runs consistent with all of God s Word the believer can, through obedience, see his blessing from God spill over to others around them, even unbelievers Ex: Jacob became a blessing to Laban as a result of God working to bless Jacob
Genesis 39 4 Ex: Scriptures makes clear that the world is blessed through the Israelites, ultimately by the bringing of the Messiah, but no less so in material ways as well The Egyptians are going to see immense blessing at the hands of Joseph later God allows this because His blessings are often abundant by their very nature and because they bring glory to Him We too can be a tremendous source of blessing to the world around us as God blesses us o Or nation receives blessings when godly leaders seek His will and obey His word o Companies run by godly men and women often prosper as a result of God s blessings o Godly employees bring blessings to their employers o And families can be richly blessed when godly parents obey God But don t forget that blessings come in all shapes and sizes, according to God s will o We have a terrible habit, especially in our culture, or reducing blessing to simply getting what I want When I am getting what I want, I am being blessed When things aren t going my way, I m angry at God, I accuse Him of not blessing me even though I was good We should consider what might have been my circumstances o Joseph certainly could have taken that attitude He was simply doing the right thing by his father, yet he was hated by his brothers God permitted him to be sold into slavery, hardly what he wanted Certainly he should have cursed his circumstances, had a little pity party
Genesis 39 5 Does it challenge you to consider that God was blessing Joseph even as he found himself in slavery? o We might be tempted to challenge God by demanding that real grace and blessing would be for God to rescue Joseph out of slavery altogether Ultimately, God does rescue Joseph but in His timing But even if He had never rescued Joseph, does God not find ways to bless Joseph even in those circumstances? Remember, the brothers first choice was to kill Joseph, not leave him alive. o Even if Reuben had saved Joseph that time, it would have likely happened again So God mercifully ensured that Joseph was spared death slavery was a blessing compared to the alternative Not only that, but Joseph is a slave to one of the most powerful and wealthiest men in Egypt He is trusted and left alone to be in charge He is safe, well fed, well- treated, and everything he touches prospers God is showing grace and blessing toward Joseph even as God works a plan He must o And Joseph seems to work without complaint, knowing that what happens is according to God s will Gen. 39:6 Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. Gen. 39:7 It came about after these events that his master s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, Lie with me. Gen. 39:8 But he refused and said to his master s wife, Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge.
Genesis 39 6 Gen. 39:9 There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God? Gen. 39:10 As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. Joseph we are told is a good looking young man, probably in his early 20s by now o He is described in almost exactly the same terms as Rachel o And as he has worked around the house, Potiphar s wife has taken a very strong interest in him We mentioned earlier that Potiphar is an officer, and the Hebrew word for officer is actually eunuch o It would makes sense for Potiphar to be a eunuch, since it would be customary for the Pharaoh to insist that the men nearest him be castrated o It was believed it would make them less ambitious and less likely to be tempted to violate the harem The very fact that a man was a eunuch would disqualify him in the minds of most citizens from every assuming kingly authority o Consequently its likely that Potiphar was not the most affectionate husband in the world either This could explain his wife s eagerness for a man like Joseph (although it could just be old fashioned lust) o In fact, you may wonder why she married a eunuch in the first place She probably had little choice in an arranged marriage Or they married before he took this position o Nevertheless, her behavior may have been explained if not excused at least in part by her husband s condition
Genesis 39 7 Of greater significance is Joseph s reaction o If ever there was a situation when sin could be done without risk, it was probably here o Giving in to her requests would have been easy for Joseph He was likely alone with her for long periods of time He was in charge of the house no one would stop them He only had to fear his master and the Lord Even if the man suspected something was going on, he,might be willing to overlook it for the sake of his own prosperity and his wife s contentment o But Joseph says that were he to agree to her request, it would be against his master s wishes and against God He reminds himself that his master has given him everything He would be an unfaithful servant if he violated that trust Then he says it would be sin against God o His reasoning has nothing to do with the chances of being caught o He doesn t use false excuses like he doesn t have time or interest o He doesn t talk about the other person s guilt or innocence In that moment Joseph demonstrates the two commandments Christ gave to those who would ask Him for a list Matt. 22:36 Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? Matt. 22:37 And He said to him, YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND. Matt. 22:38 This is the great and foremost commandment. Matt. 22:39 The second is like it, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Matt. 22:40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.
Genesis 39 8 Christ said that if someone is really determined to receive a list of commandments from God rather than rely on a living law written on his heart, then here they are: o Your every thought, your every action, your every desire would be directed out of a love for God Out of a desire to honor Him and His name A desire to reflect glory on Him A desire to see His work done A desire to be like Him o A secondly, whatever you might think to do to or for someone else, you would act as if doing it for yourself When cutting the dessert, you give your neighbor the piece you would have preferred for yourself When you leave a room, you pick it up thinking as if you were the one who must come back later and clean it up When driving in heavy traffic, you act toward other drivers the way you are hoping they might act toward you When considering a request for help, you act in the way you would hope they might respond to your request for help, etc. Do we think that way? o Do we really see our mistakes as hurting God and other people? As a man who has been so hurt by his own family, Joseph must have known what it was like to be on the other side of deception and betrayal Begin to see the impact of your mistakes before you make choices and see if the Holy Spirit doesn t drive you to make the right choice o And do we tell people the real reasons why we won t accept their offers to sin? Our requirement to be lights in a dark world extend to giving good reason for why doing the wrong thing is wrong
Genesis 39 9 Explaining how doing the wrong thing hurts others and hurts God So he refuses to sin and avoids the woman o Joseph knows better than to even entertain such sin He flees her and remains apart as much as he can 2Tim. 2:22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 1Cor. 6:18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. o But she won t give up and that s the nature of the world, to continue working to bring down the righteous Gen. 39:11 Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. Gen. 39:12 She caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me! And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. Gen. 39:13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, Gen. 39:14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed. Gen. 39:15 When he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside. Gen. 39:16 So she left his garment beside her until his master came home. Gen. 39:17 Then she spoke to him with these words, The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me; Gen. 39:18 and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside. Finally, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned o The wife continues to insist that Joseph gratify her, and even grabs at his clothing She was probably doing even more than that, and his only choice was to run away leaving behind his tunic His clothing probably consisted of a top tunic and baggy knee length shorts
Genesis 39 10 Leaving his tunic gave her opportunity to attack back at him for his refusals When scripture tells us to expect trials and persecution because we are faithful and righteous, this is what it means o So often Christians today are told to expect wonderful things in life because they have come to know Christ The only way you should expect a wonderful life is if you are living life as the world lives it Matt. 5:10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 5:11 Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Matt. 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. John 15:20 Remember the word that I said to you, A slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. John 15:21 But all these things they will do to you for My name s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. The wife s story demands a response by the husband o Ironically, while Potiphar might have been willing to ignore the affair had it happened, he can t ignore the wife s false accusation I suspect he had his doubts about his wife, but he couldn t let her accusations go without a response The fact that she had the tunic gave too great an appearance of validity to her claims Do you notice a pattern yet?
Genesis 39 11 God has blessed Joseph with the means and opportunity to take great responsibility despite his unlikely position Joseph has been obedient to his responsibilities, done nothing wrong Those jealous of his righteousness have twice now conspired to use his tunic to deal falsely with him Each time, resulted in Joseph finding himself in a worse situation undeservedly o He s about to find himself in a much worse situation than merely being a slave Gen. 39:19 Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, This is what your slave did to me, his anger burned. Gen. 39:20 So Joseph s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. Gen. 39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. Gen. 39:22 The chief jailer committed to Joseph s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. Gen. 39:23 The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph s charge because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper. The master responds the only way he could he sends his slave to prison o This was a very generous response o A slave s life was worth nothing, and the master would have every right to kill him o But the master must have questioned the accusation just enough to preserve Joseph s life perhaps hoping he could return at some point And now that Joseph must feel even lower than before, God blesses him again o God continues to elevate Joseph no matter what his circumstances
Genesis 39 12 o The jailer takes note of Joseph s leadership skills and begins to take advantage for himself o Even in the context of a prison, Joseph sees the best possible situation The lesson to here is simple, & it s our lesson to watch as we study Joseph s life in Egypt do you trust God no matter our circumstances? o The story of Jacob was a story of God s sovereignty and power over men s lives I trust we have understood that message, came to appreciate it And I know we will say things like I recognize that God is in control. Or I know that God will take care of me. o But is that what you will say when you are seeing everything fall apart? Joseph did everything right, and yet he keeps moving the wrong direction He could have given up hope He could have overlooked the blessings God poured out on him But Joseph is in captivity and now prison because God desired him to be there o Can we remain trusting of God s plans when His plans don t make sense to us? o Do we give lip service to the view that God is sovereign or do we really believe it? o While the story of Jacob established the power of God to control men s circumstances, the story of Joseph is a lesson in how a righteous man responds to that kind of sovereignty Because sovereignty means the seemingly bad things that happen are as much under God s control as the good God is not evil nor does He produce evil
Genesis 39 13 But He may choose to work through it when it fits His purposes And it is God s purpose that Joseph be as low as possible before he rises, so that his rise would be seen as God s power for God s glory