Genesis 39
Notes
Transcript
Background
Last week we observed an interesting turn of events regarding Israel’s 4th son, Judah. The events that took place are regarded by some as disgraceful, but they will eventually produce the family line of King David, and Jesus Christ.
2 weeks ago, we watched as Israel’s favorite son, Joseph, was sold to slave traders. At this point Israel thinks his beloved son is dead.
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.
2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
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.
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.
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.
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. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
Just as a reminder, Joseph was sold by his brothers to slave traders.
25 Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?
27 “Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.
28 Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.
Joseph was taken by the Ishmaelites all the way to Egypt, where he was sold as a slave to Potiphar.
MAP
MAP
Notice the listing of Midianites and Ishmaelites - it was the Midianites who sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites, and they took him to Egypt. But the Midianites are blamed in ch. 37 for him being sold. There is no contradiction.
Potiphar was an important officer in Pharaoh’s court - he was the captain of his bodyguard.
This would be an elite unit of soldiers whose task was to protect Pharaoh from harm.
Slavery was widespread in these days, and a court official in wealthy countries would have several, if not many, slaves.
Note difference between slaves and servants.
Of note, this chain of events begins the fulfillment of a prophecy that God gave to Abraham many years prior.
13 God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.
God knew all of this would happen to Joseph, and will use it for His purposes.
God is still on His throne even when life is hard.
God is still on His throne even when life is hard.
Notice that God is with Joseph even in slavery. Joseph is blessed and Potiphar takes note.
Even as an unbeliever, Potiphar is blessed by God because of Joseph. We’ve seen this before:
27 But Laban said to him, “If now it pleases you, stay with me; I have divined that the Lord has blessed me on your account.”
It is our task as believers to work hard at what God has given us to do.
23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance...
7 It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”
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.
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?”
10 As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her.
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.
12 She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.
13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside,
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.
15 “When he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.”
16 So she left his garment beside her until his master came home.
Joseph’s good looks attracted the attention of the lady of the house, his master’s wife.
1 My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you.
2 Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your intimate friend;
5 That they may keep you from an adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words.
Joseph did his best to resist the assertion of Potiphar’s wife. He used 3 wise arguments against giving into the temptation:
Abuse of authority entrusted to him by his master,
Direct offense against his master’s marriage, and
Sin against God.
2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.
4 Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Joseph would know the God of Israel.
Earlier in Joseph’s story, it was observed that he may have had some pride and acted in a spoiled way. If that’s true, then slavery has taught him humility and integrity.
Potiphar’s wife was relentless. She would not be denied, and waited for an opportune time.
She grasped at Joseph to take hold of him by force.
26 And I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her.
Joseph escaped, but left behind his garment.
This scorned woman would have her revenge, and began to spread a malicious lie against Joseph.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
It is better to suffer for righteousness than to benefit from sin and earn God’s judgment.
It is better to suffer for righteousness than to benefit from sin and earn God’s judgment.
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;
18 and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”
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.
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.
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.
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.
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.
Joseph was imprisoned unjustly, but again this was part of God’s plan. He continued to bless Joseph with favor and success.
Joseph is a great example for us.
14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;
16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
God is still on His throne even when life is hard.
It is better to suffer for righteousness than to benefit from sin and earn God’s judgment.
Next week, we will continue through the book of Genesis.
Communion: We practice open communion, which means if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you may join the church in taking the Lord’s Supper. Communion is a practice of remembering what Christ has done by eating and drinking, and we are told that we must examine ourselves in the taking of communion, so that we do not eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner. Take this time to examine yourself before we take communion together.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.