THE LORD IS WITH JOSEPH
“[1] Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. [2] The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. [3] His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. [4] So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. [5] From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field. [6] So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.”
When you read the Bible and see words or phrases repeated, you should take note of that repetition. The Bible doesn’t repeat things without reason. Repetition draws our attention to what matters most.
In this paragraph, there is a repeated theme: the LORD is with Joseph, and the LORD is blessing Joseph— “The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man.” His master saw “that the LORD was with him.” “The LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.” “The LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake.”
Over and over, this paragraph is drawing our attention to the fact that Joseph was not alone.
So, the first point of application I want us to draw from this is the fact that God never leaves his people when life becomes hard. God is with his people, sustaining them and showing them his faithfulness, even in their lowest moments.
Think about Joseph’s circumstances. He has been betrayed by his own brothers. He has been stripped of his freedom, separated from his family, and carried away to a foreign land. He is no longer living in the comfort of his father’s home. He is a slave in the house of an Egyptian official.
And yet, right there in the middle of his suffering, we see that the LORD was with Joseph. When Joseph lost everything, he didn’t lose God. God never abandons his people when life becomes difficult.
This is a real-life display of Psalm 23, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
God’s presence is not measured by the ease of our circumstances. Joseph is in Egypt, but the LORD is with him. Joseph is a slave, but the LORD is with him. And as we will soon see, even when Joseph is thrown into prison, the LORD is still with him.
You may be walking through a valley right now, facing circumstances you never would have chosen. But Genesis 39 reminds us that difficult circumstances do not mean God has abandoned us. God never leaves his people when life gets hard.
The second thing I want us to see is that any success in life is a result of God’s grace.
The text wants us to understand that we cannot separate Joseph’s success from God’s presence. Joseph wasn’t successful because he got his Ph.D. in Slavery Studies from Egypt University. It was clear to everyone around Joseph that the LORD was with Joseph and that the LORD was causing Joseph to be successful. Joseph was successful because the LORD was with Joseph.
Church, listen. The older I get, the more I’m convinced that walking with God should impact the way we work.
There should be no better workers on this planet than Christian workers. There should be no harder workers than those who are working for the glory of the LORD! There should be no more honest workers than those who are working for the glory of the LORD! The longer you walk with Jesus, the wiser you should become!
And one of the byproducts of working for Jesus and walking with Jesus should be some success.
Like, think about it!
Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”
So the Christian shouldn’t need someone standing over him to make sure he works hard. He should not need the threat of getting caught to keep him honest. His integrity should not depend on whether his boss is watching.
Employers should want to hire Christians because we are honest and hard workers who work for the glory of the LORD.
Now, I’m not saying that Christians will always get promoted, make more money, or become more successful by the world’s standards. As we will see in a moment, sometimes doing the right thing might lead to loss. But I am saying that walking with God should lead to us becoming honest, caring, and hard workers. And people will want to do business with honest, caring, and hard workers.
Now, I also want us to notice how God’s blessing of Joseph led to God blessing those around Joseph— “the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had.”
Are you finding success? That success is to be stewarded in such a way that blesses others.
If the Lord has given you success, use it to bless others. If he has given you a position of leadership, use it to serve others. If he has given you a business, run it in a way that honors him and benefits the people around you. God’s grace toward us should never stop with us; it should overflow into the lives of those around us.
SEXUAL FAITHFULNESS IN A FAMILY FILLED WITH SEXUAL IMMORALITY
Let’s continue reading.
“Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. [7] And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, ‘Lie with me.’ [8] But he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. [9] He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?’ [10] And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.”
It’s really dope how Joseph’s actions here stand in stark contrast to his brother’s actions.
In the previous chapter, we read about Judah, who slept with Tamar, believing her to be a prostitute. Earlier, we read about Reuben, who slept with his father’s concubine.
So, there’s an obvious pattern of sexual perversion running through this family. But now we come to Joseph, and we see a different response.
Potiphar’s wife pursues him, but Joseph refuses to give in. She continues to pursue him day after day, but he continues to resist.
In a family marked by sexual sin, Joseph demonstrates what it looks like to pursue sexual purity.
And I want to make sure we see the reason he gives for his refusal!
Joseph recognizes that sleeping with Potiphar’s wife would be a betrayal of his master, who has trusted him with everything! But Joseph doesn’t stop there! He asks, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”
I think Joseph’s response teaches us a few important things pertaining to sexual sin.
First, I think it teaches us that consent is not the ultimate standard for sexuality. Two people can agree to do something that God has forbidden.
And Joseph understood this!
Second, I think Joseph’s response teaches us that all sin is first and foremost an offense against the God who made us. Sin is not merely a violation of God’s standards; it is an offense against the God who made us.
David reflects this train of thought in Psalm 51 as he laments his sin, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”
David never denied the fact that his sin impacted those around him. Instead, he is acknowledging the fact that beneath every sin is an offense against the holy God who created everyone in his image.
All sin is ultimately rebellion against the God who made us and loves us.
Now, church, for the sake of oversimplification, when it comes to sexual sins, I think there are two types of people in this world: those who seek it and those who flee it. Those who cultivate it and those who run from it.
There’s no middle ground here.
It’s okay to acknowledge someone’s beauty, as we see in verse 6, “Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.” But it’s important what we do with that acknowledgment. Potiphar’s wife allowed that beauty to capture her heart, leading her to seek out sexual sin.
The Bible says that we should “flee sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:18).” There’s no allowance to let it linger. There’s no call to fight it. There’s only a call to run from it! The best way to crucify sexual sin is to run from sexual sin.
And notice how fleeing sexual sin may not always be a one-day, one-moment thing— “as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her.”
Sometimes temptation doesn’t let up. Sometimes it may feel like we’re being bombarded by temptation. But our fight for purity isn’t a one-day thing. It’s something we’re called to do daily!
As Jesus says, “If anyone were to come after me, let him take up his cross daily and follow me.”
There are no days off when it comes to following Jesus. We don’t get to stop guarding our hearts because we’ve been faithful for a while. We don’t get to assume that past victories make us immune to future temptations. We are to deny our flesh every second of every day. We keep pursuing righteousness. We keep fleeing what is evil. We keep turning our eyes toward Christ.
FALSE ACCUSATIONS
Let’s see what happens next.
“[11] But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, [12] she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. [13] And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, [14] she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. [15] And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” [16] Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, [17] and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. [18] But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”
Is any of this true? No, none of it.
Potiphar’s wife is the one who has pursued him, but now she twists the story to make Joseph look like the aggressor. She uses the very garment he left behind as supposed evidence against him.
Joseph fled from sexual sin, but now his flight is used against him.
Joseph did the right thing. He honored his master. He resisted temptation. He refused to betray his responsibilities before God.
And what does he get for it?
“[19] As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, ‘This is the way your servant treated me,’ his anger was kindled. [20] And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.”
Joseph is thrown into prison because of a crime he did not commit.
He has been faithful to God, and his circumstances have gotten worse, not better. He did the right thing, and he was punished for it. He resisted temptation, and he lost his freedom. He honored his master, and his master sent him to prison.
This is an important reminder for us because we can sometimes develop a transactional view of our relationship with God. We assume that if we obey him, things will generally go well for us. If we make wise decisions, treat people fairly, and walk in righteousness, then surely life should reward us.
Faithfulness to God does not guarantee favorable circumstances. Sometimes obedience might lead us into suffering rather than away from it.
Joseph’s story reminds us that we cannot measure God’s faithfulness by the immediate outcomes of our obedience. Sometimes doing what is right leads to recognition; sometimes it leads to rejection. Sometimes it leads to success; sometimes it leads to suffering.
Our calling is not to obey God only when obedience benefits us. Our calling is to obey him because he is worthy of our obedience.
Notice the contrast in the punishments meted out to Tamar in last week’s passage and Joseph here. Both faced similar offenses, but they received very different punishments. Tamar was going to be burned, while Joseph is thrown in prison.
Now, notice where he is. He’s in the king’s prison. As we will read over the next few weeks, it is a part of God’s providential goodness that he is located here rather than in a common prison.
SILENT BEFORE HIS ACCUSERS
And notice how Joseph responds. He doesn’t.
There’s not a single record of a single word being spoken by Joseph. The blameless one remained silent before his accusers.
Does that sound familiar?
Isaiah 53 says, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he opened not his mouth… And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”
Joseph’s life here was a faint shadow of Jesus.
Joseph was a righteous man who was falsely accused and unjustly punished, just as Jesus would be! He was betrayed, humiliated, and imprisoned despite his innocence, just as Jesus would be!
Jesus is the greater Joseph. He is the perfectly righteous Son of God who suffered without ever committing sin.
Just as Joseph was stripped of his freedom and sent to prison, Jesus willingly went to the cross, bearing the judgment our sins deserved. And just as with Joseph, the unjust suffering of the cross was God’s predetermined plan to save his people!
Then, as we close, notice how, even in prison, God’s favor was still on Joseph,
“[21] But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. [22] And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. [23] The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.”
At the beginning of the chapter, Joseph is in Potiphar’s house, and the LORD is with him. Now, Joseph is in prison, and the LORD is still with him.
Although his circumstances have changed for the worse, God is still there.
And notice the language in verse 21. The LORD showed Joseph steadfast love.
The Hebrew word here is hesed, a word often used to describe God’s faithful, steadfast love toward his people. So, even in prison, Joseph is not beyond the reach of God’s covenant faithfulness. Even in suffering, God’s steadfast love was lavished on Joseph.
Church, God’s faithfulness is not proven by the absence of suffering, and ease is not a measure of God’s love. God’s faithful love is displayed in his steadfast presence with his people, even in the midst of suffering. Therefore, our hope is not that we will always escape the valley. Our hope is that, in Christ, we never walk through it alone.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Joseph lost his freedom, his family, and his familiar surroundings, yet the LORD was with him. Why is it sometimes difficult to recognize God’s presence when life is hard? How does Joseph’s story challenge the way we view our own suffering?
Joseph’s relationship with God shaped the way he served Potiphar and handled his responsibilities. According to Colossians 3:23, what should distinguish the way Christians approach their work? What might this look like in your current season of life?
Joseph refused to compromise, even when temptation came repeatedly. Why is it important to recognize that sexual sin is ultimately an offense against God? What practical steps can we take to flee temptation rather than entertain it?
Joseph did the right thing, yet he was falsely accused and sent to prison. Have you ever experienced a situation where doing the right thing came at a cost? How can we remain faithful when obedience does not lead to the outcomes we hoped for?
Joseph was falsely accused, unjustly punished, and remained silent before his accusers, pointing us toward Jesus. How does Jesus’ suffering on our behalf give us hope when we experience injustice or suffering? How does the gospel remind us that God is still faithful, even when our circumstances do not improve?