What an unexpected turn of events Joseph has just experienced! Joseph is 17 years old and his older brothers hate him. They hate him so much that they want to kill him. But rather than kill him, they sell him to some passing traders, figuring he will not survive what is in store for him. God had given Joseph dreams that showed that he would have authority over his brothers and over his family. But now he finds himself in Egypt, far from his family, and far from the promised land. We are looking at where God is in the midst of suffering. This is certainly an important question to ask as Joseph’s life has been completely turned upside down.
Rising Success (Genesis 39:1-6)
Potiphar is an officer of Pharaoh and a captain of the guards. He is the one who buys Joseph as a slave from the Ishmaelites. Now if you were Joseph at this moment, what would you think about God? Rejected by your brothers, rebuked by your father, sold into slavery, and purchased by an Egyptian officer, would you think that God has abandoned you? Would people say that you must have done something wrong to be in this predicament? It would be easy to think that God’s revealed dreams had failed and that God did not care about Joseph now. But I want you to carefully look at verse 2.
“The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.” We are plainly told that the Lord was with Joseph. Joseph was not alone. It looked like he was alone in Egypt. But he was not alone. The Lord was with Joseph. Nothing in the text tells us that God told Joseph this or that Joseph knew this. This is Moses by the Holy Spirit telling us that the Lord was with Joseph in his slavery in Egypt. But notice what else is said in verse 3. Joseph’s master also recognized that the Lord was with Joseph and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. Joseph is not living as if the Lord was not with him. Joseph is not talking as if the Lord was not with him. Joseph is in a terrible circumstance. Joseph has been ripped away from his family. Joseph has been transported to a foreign land. Joseph went from favored son to rejected slave. But the Lord is with Joseph and his master sees that the Lord is with him. So the master makes Joseph the overseer of his house, putting everything into his care. Notice in verse 5 that God is blessing Potipher’s household because of Joseph. Joseph was elevated to care for his master’s house, was found faithful in his service, and the whole house was blessed from his authority. Things appear to be turning around for Joseph. Maybe, just maybe, there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel that Joseph has been put in.
Pressing Temptations (Genesis 39:7-20)
But Joseph finds himself in a difficult situation. First, we are told that Joseph is a really good looking guy. He is a young man who is handsome appearance and body (Genesis 39:6). After some time, the master’s wife starts looking at him longingly and starts making an offer to Joseph. She starts telling Joseph to sleep with her. Now Potipher and his wife are in charge of Joseph and the other slaves in the house. She is telling him to do something. What a command and what a temptation! I want you to notice verse 10. This was not a one time offer that was retracted. She spoke to Joseph every day, telling him to lie with her. But he would not listen to her day and after day. Notice the reasoning Joseph provides her in verses 8-9. Joseph says that the master has trusted him with the care of the house and no one is higher than him in running the house. Now listen to what he says. “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”
Now this gives us a very important insight into the faith of Joseph. Even though his brothers wanted to kill him and sold him into slavery, even though his father rebuked him, and even though God has given him dreams that his brothers hated and were envious of, Joseph is still trusting God. Even though his life has been completely turned upside down and his life, with all his plans and dreams, have been ripped away from him, Joseph is still trusting God. Joseph still cares about what God thinks.
Joseph realizes that his life setback did not give him the excuse to sin. Think about how often we choose to sin because we do not like how life is going. Think about how often we excuse our sins because we do not have the life we want or are in circumstances that are hard. Joseph is in the same position and yet he shows great integrity. Faithfulness to God is to do what is right when no one is looking. We are to have such self-control that we can be trusted. This is what we are reading. Potipher is not worried about Joseph being in the house with his wife or with his possessions. Joseph can be trusted. He shows integrity and self-control and will not violate that trust because he is still trusting God.
I want to make this important point right here. We are expected to practice integrity and self-control regardless of the circumstances. It does not matter what he or she says to you. It does not matter what he or she is wearing. It does not matter how he or she is tempting you. You can say no. You can still practice self-control. You should be a man or a woman that can be faithful and trusted in any situation. Even if Potipher’s wife was laying there naked in bed telling Joseph to come over to her, he still had the choice and power to say no and leave. The other person’s behavior is no excuse for our failure. This is the very integrity we see Joseph possessing. In verses 11-12 she tries to catch Joseph by grabbing his clothes. He leaves his robe behind and runs out of the house. This is the second time that Joseph’s robe of elevation has been stripped away from him. She claims that Joseph attempted to sexually assault her (Genesis 39:13-15). She tells Potipher and his anger was ignited against Joseph and put him into the prison. Yet again Joseph has been thrown into a pit for reasons and circumstances outside of himself.
Still Trusting (Genesis 39:20-23)
Have you ever in your life felt like just when things were starting to look up, life came crashing down again? Joseph just started to see a little light in the darkness. He has been sold into Egyptian slavery, but Joseph has made the best of the circumstance. Joseph continued to trust the Lord and the Lord continued to be with Joseph. So the household is blessed and Joseph lives in the master’s house, in charge of all the household. But just as things seemed to be looking up, the darkness of life crashes down even harder than before. Now Joseph has been falsely accused of a crime and a sin that he did not commit. Now Joseph finds himself in an even worse circumstance. He is in a prison where the king puts his prisoners. Please continue to see that Joseph has done no wrong. Joseph did not do anything to deserve this outcome. Joseph is innocent and yet he is in the pit again.
Now at this point in your life would you think that God had abandoned you? At this point with another unfair downturn in your life would you say that God does not care about you? Look at verse 21. “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love.” Notice further that it is all the wording that we saw when Joseph was sold to Potipher. The Lord was with Joseph and Joseph was put in charge of the prison. The keeper of the prison was not concerned while Joseph was in charge because the Lord was with him. Whatever Joseph did, the Lord made it prosper. It is the same thing all over again but this time it is in the prison rather than in Potipher’s house.
So how can we continue to trust God when life does not go according to plan? First, we must acknowledge that trusting God does not mean there will be an immediate reward. I think this is a truth that we struggle with. We feel like we should be rewarded for doing what is right. We should have a present reward for doing the right thing. But I want us to see that Joseph’s life goes into the pits because he did the right thing. Because of Joseph’s faithfulness to God, Joseph’s life goes from bad to worse. These leads us to a very important truth to absorb into our hearts.
Unpleasant outcomes for our faith does not mean God is not with us. We have the temptation to quit on God when we feel like we have been forsaken. My life is not going right (according to my definition). God does not seem to care. Therefore I am giving up on God. I want to really underscore this from the life of Joseph. Joseph has had terrible things happen to him. But God was still with him. We need to see that God is with us in the pit. Since God is with us in the pit, we can still keep trusting that he is accomplishing his purposes in the world and in my life.
Second, God can bless us in the pits. One of the hard things to deal with while in the pit is how God could still be with us. But God was showing Joseph that he was still with him by helping him get through the hardship. God was blessing him. God will get us through the pits of life. Can you look back and see how God was with you and helped your through the pits you were thrown in?
Jesus Understands
We cannot conclude this lesson until we consider how Jesus understands this life experience. In the life of Joseph we again see a foreshadowing of the life of Jesus. Jesus was tempted in every respect like us but was without sin (cf. Hebrews 4:14-15). Jesus also suffered for doing right. Jesus was innocent and yet experienced wickedness at the hands of others. But he still trusted God while he suffered. The apostle Peter makes this point explicit to us to encourage our continued faith.
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:21-23 NIV)
Jesus experienced false accusations and those false accusations seal his fate. In our study of Matthew we recently read about the false witnesses and false testimony used in his trial to convict him. Further, Jesus did not use his power for personal purposes. Joseph could have taken advantage of being charge over Potipher’s house or over the prison. But he refuses to do so because he was trusting God. Jesus could have taken advantage of his power and his nature, but refused, just as the apostle Paul highlights in his letter to the Philippians.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; (Philippians 2:5-6 NIV)
Trusting his Father did not give Jesus an immediate reward. Jesus experienced a life of difficulty and suffering but still trusted the Father. God was with him. God was blessing him. God was helping him through so that the Father’s will was accomplished. God is with you. God will bless you. God will help you through. God is with you in the pits and will lift you out of the pit in his time. But we are asked to keep trusting.