God's redeeming Grace in the life of Joseph

Genesis 39

Big Idea: God displays the redeeming Grace of Jesus through the life of Joseph.

G’day everyone, my name is Joe Carey, I’m a church planting resident with Grace Presbyterian Church learning all about planting a church through Josh and Ronaldo, here at Grace Community Church.

It’s an honor to bring you God’s word this evening, and so before we start to unpack this great chapter, let us first turn to God in prayer.

Dear God,

We thank you for your word read to us this day, may you be at work in our hearts that we would see your wondrous beauty and the understand a little bit more about the amazing grace that you have shown us through Jesus.

Bless this time ahead,

Amen.

I wonder if any of you are like me, and you sometimes think… hmmm, what is life supposed to look like as a Christian? What am I mean to be doing?

Or maybe you’re new to this Christian stuff and you’re a little suspicious of all these church people, and you may be thinking.… What would change in my life if I really believed in this bible stuff.

Because whether you believe in God or not, we all understand the reality of the struggle of life. At some point, we’ve all felt the injustice of a horrible situation, and many of us will have asked, God how do you fit into all this? There is so much evil and hate, what on earth are you doing Lord, and what on earth am I meant to do, can I even make a difference?

And so to help us understand more about the struggle of injustice and the apparent graciousness of God. We thankfully have a chapter like Genesis 39 to teach us about the Grace that God offers us and how his presence and faithfulness functions even in a world of sin and injustice.

Today’s sermon breaks chapter 39 into three sections that teach us how to hold together this tension of God’s Grace and the reality of sin in our world.

God is present and faithful.

Life is difficult and unjust at times.

God’s Grace to us

Let’s begin with our first section:

1-6: God is present and faithful

Our story today really has three main characters. Joseph, Potiphar and God.

Joseph, has recently been sold into slavery by his brothers after his fathers favoritism got the better of the brothers and so they sold him to some traders. He had been taken down to Egypt as a slave and so this sets Joseph us as a powerless lonely boy. He’s really just a teenager at this stage.

And then we have Potiphar, who is quite the opposite of Joseph. This man is an Egyptian, an officer of Pharaoh, and the captain of the guard, he is certainly powerful.

Here, the author is really making the point of the different identities of these two men. Because everything that Potiphar is described as, Joseph is not. There is quite the contrast here.

However, Joseph does have one thing that Potiphar doesn’t. and that is God’s presence, verse 2. We see that The LORD was with Joseph.

Now, notice the impact that God’s presence makes for Joseph. He prospers, lives in the house of the master, successful in everything he does, and he eventually becomes entrusted with everything Potiphar owns. A remarkable achievement for any slave ever.

Does it occur to you that this is very unusual behavior on both a slave’s rise in status, and an Egyptian’s trust of a non-Egyptian slave? This is not a normal Egyptian slave / owner relationship.

I mean if we just think about this relationship for a moment we have to say what a score Joseph was for Potiphar! I mean the Egyptian Officer evidently has a need for a slave in his house so he goes to the market. Just like if you and I needed a new lamp and we might go off to KMart.

Potiphar just so happens to pick out the one guy who just happens to have God’s presence with him. That’s like better than getting a two for one deal! Potiphar must certainly feel pretty good about that purchase! He might have thought he was a very lucky man, but in reality this is God’s providence on display.

And for Joseph, what a score, even though he is a slave, he gets to serve in a house where he is trusted, and not afraid to hide the fact that God is the reason for his success and prosperity. In an Egyptian house, it is very strange for a master to allow for such talk that does not affirm their own religion.

This is certainly a really nice setup for both Potiphar and Joseph. And Given the circumstances they clearly grow to have a love and respect of each other.

But Potiphar is a unique Egyptian and in verse 3, Potiphar himself affirms that Joseph’s God was with him. Being an Egyptian, Potiphar certainly does not worship Joseph’s God, in fact, the Hebrew God was not well liked by the Egyptians on account of Old mate Abraham’s visit with Sarah in Chapter 12. We might remember that God infected Pharaoh back then with terrible diseases because Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife, and so Pharaoh kicked Abraham and Sarah out of Egypt.

And now, a few generations later, we have an Egyptian recognizing the Hebrew God in Joseph. And I’m laboring the point here because of the name choice that is written down, for in Hebrew literature, names are very important hence all the genealogies we come across.

Now In the Old Testament when you read the capitol letters The LORD, you are actually reading the Hebrew word YHWH, spelled YHWH, which is specifically a name for God that only the Hebrew’s use. It’s the divine name for God and you do not use it lightly.

This word YHWH, the LORD, is such a special word, that in all the words from chapter 39 - chapter 50, which is the whole story line of Joseph in Egypt. The word YHWH will only get used 9 times (NIV Translation).

And guess what, 8 of those 9 times will be found in this chapter alone. So That is something for us to notice.

So for the people of Israel in the Old Testament times, reading or listening to this passage, they are at awe at the shear volume of references to the divine name. This chapter is really drilling down the point that God’s presence is with Joseph. There’s no mistaking that this chapter is setting the tone for the rest of the narrative, that God is with Joseph.

So this first section of verses 1-6 is an overview of the start of Joseph’s life in Egypt, its giving us the big picture, that’s how it’s written. And from the way it’s been told, it’s really a wonderfully beautiful picture of the relationship between a master and a servant.

Basically this is an idealized life of the follower of God. That is God’s people enjoying his presence, while also being a blessing to others through their efforts. It’s like seeing a snapshot of what we were made for.

However, Unfortunately for Joseph, the seemingly beautiful relationship between master and servant would not last.

Because It turns out that Joseph is a very handsome man, which is the narrators way of shifting our focus. He’s changing the gears here, as we now zoom into this difficult situation that Joseph faces. Where we see our second point, that

7-18: life is difficult and injust at times

Now it just so happens that Potiphar has a wife, who seemingly isn’t all about keeping loyal to her husband.

“Come to bed with me” - shes says to handsome Joseph, and we have to pause, and think what a transition for our Joseph story. In one sentence we’ve gone from Joseph’s life is on the up and up thanks to living in God’s presence, to bam! Let’s deal with the reality of sin.

And what a tempting offer given to Joseph? I mean the guy is very handsome, he’s young, he’s single, no real accountability structures in place, he’s got no family with him, doubtful he has any friends, there’s just other slaves he works with, who speak different languages. It’s like he’s been prompted by his social media account to enjoy some sexual gratification and there’s no one around who would care if he did or didn’t.

But What a guy Joseph is! Verse 8 He refuses her advances! What a moment!

Joseph even rebukes her, he makes a really great case for why his master deserves his respect. Which we will unpack shortly but first notice that he lands his argument at the end of verse 9 by pointing out to the wife that not only would it be a wicked thing, but it would be a sin against God.

Here Joseph is showing a right and good understanding of his relationship with both his earthly master, Potiphar and his true master, God. This is what good theology looks like in action

But let’s pause a moment to remember this chapter started off with the picture of a perfect master / servant relationship. Now in this section of the passage there is a disruption to the harmony first described in verses 1-6.

And I want to encourage us to see that the narrator is using the whole of Chapter 39 to echo another story that happened right at the beginning of the book of Genesis. A story where a different man was with his master, and their relationship was a perfect picture.

Now looking to Josephs rebuke in verses 8 and 9, Notice the similarities here, “With me in charge” Joseph says,

Here we have Joseph, but at the start of Genesis the man in charge was Adam,

Joseph goes on to say: “My master does not concern himself with anything in the house”,

Now that’s not that the master doesn’t care, its saying that Joseph has full autonomy to work.

Now at the start of Genesis, Adams master gave him full autonomy over what he did in the garden.

Everything Adams master made, he entrusted to Adams care,

And there was no one greater in the garden than Adam.

In fact, Adams master also withheld nothing from Adam except, one thing. In Joseph’s case, it is fully reasonable for Potiphar to withhold his wife from Joseph, and likewise with Adam, it is fully reasonable that God would withhold something from Adam.

Now I hope you can see what’s happening here?

The narrator of Genesis, is bringing a parallel story as a way of concluding the Genesis account. This is an example of how Hebrew literature functions.

See, from a book perspective, Joseph is very much an Adam of the garden. Which is very fitting for closing off the Genesis Book. Because as Adam was tempted to sin against his master. Joseph also is tempted to sin against his.

But unlike Adam, Joseph will chose to be obedient and not sin. Showing all who read God’s word that it is certainly possible to do what Adam could not. Because as we will see throughout the narrative of Joseph, he understands that God is worth far more than anything anyone could ever offer.

And as it is for Joseph, and us, we live in a world where sin currently active and abounding, so verse 10, day after day Potiphars wife would try again and again,

but Joseph does not given in.

And neither does Sin give up. Potiphars wife schemes and broods.

Until the sin consumers her.

Verse 11 one day he goes in the house and its quiet, a little too quiet.

And She catches him by the cloak, in reality she must have assaulted him, it’s not like he’s wearing a scarf that gently falls off, no the garment started off surrounding his arms and body. That is not just falling off ever so softly. Then she says “come to bed with me”. And this time, surely it’s a lot more difficult to refuse, adrenaline must be racing through the body, heart beating fast.

This could be the perfect situation for our single handsome young man. There’s no one around, basically, no search history to delete, or credit card payment to secure, get your sexual desires met right here right now, and no one will know!!

And yet the guy still refuses! In fact he flees, verse 12 he runs out of the house! Joseph who loves God and lives with his presence is a role model for all of us, both men and women, when it comes to sin, especially sexual sin.

I mean, Imagine when your laptop or phone gives you a little urge to take a moment, just dump it and run! Joseph’s display of righteousness is awesome, this is what good solid theology looks like in practice. Flee from sin.

But Oh no!!

The garment, she got his cloak!

And of course its a cloak.The narrator is so cleaver in pointing out little elements that draw us back to previous stories. I mean Joseph is probably never going to wear a cloak or coat ever again, they just keep getting him into trouble.

And the wife’s sin then deepens as she lies to her husband and throws verbal abuse at Joseph’s expense.

That Hebrew slave she says to her husband verse 17, not even willing to use Joseph’s name

And this is a serious crisis point for Potihpar because Joseph has become so much more to Potiphar than just a slave. Potiphar has had a trusted servant rule over his household and fields. This is a major blow to Potiphar’s relationship with Joseph. Which is potentially why sexual sin is the sin that God uses for telling this story. Because sexual sin is the deepest cut you can do to an intimate relationship, it takes volumes of grace and forgiveness to come back from adultery.

So remember that picture of a beautiful master / slave relationship from verses 1-6, well, lets just throw that in the bin, such is the power of sin to ruin beautiful things.

And the wife, who doesn’t get a name by the way. is in reality a minor character, While her part to play has a significant impact on Joseph’s life. We see in this situation that Joseph’s struggle is really about his relationship with Potiphar.

We are to focus on Potiphar and not his wife, because we are to see that sin has once again, broken the perfect picture of a trusting relationship between a master and the one entrusted with everything.

So Potiphar, burning with anger, throws Joseph in prison.

And what we are reading here is that a righteous man is suffering for the sake of somebody else’s sin. Let me say that again.

Joseph a righteous man, innocent of this crime, is suffering for the sake of another person’s sin.

such is the way of the man of God.

And so while this passage throws us back to Adam in the garden, it also points us to the Cross, to the life of Jesus

Because Jesus’ life story would reach a moment such as this, where he would suffer for the sake of another person’s sin. Jesus would be innocent of the crime he was accused of. Yet he would suffer and face death on a cross. And he would do it because of how much he loves you and me,

However, Jesus’ act of suffering would ultimately un-break what was broken by sin.

So here we are in Genesis 39, an innocent man, Joseph now in prison suffering for the sake of the sin of another.

But that’s not the end of the story because our third section shows us that even though sin ruins perfect pictures...

19-23: God Grace to us

Verse 20 Here Joseph is again, back to the bottom of the pile, lower than the lowly slave, Joseph is now in prison.

But he’s not alone.

He never was.

For the LORD is with him, YHWY

Our narrator has zoomed out again in the text, we are back to looking at an overview of Joseph’s situation now. And what we see in the text is that Joseph is really the model of faithful living in-spite of difficulties and injustice.

Even though he is in prison, he cant help but be useful, Joseph isn’t described as bitter and resentful. No, he’s described as seeing his situation and getting on with living faithfully with God.

Thus he is put in charge of the other prisoners, and is made responsible for all that happens there. In fact,

So much trust is given to Joseph that the warden no longer pays attention to anything under his care.

All because the LORD was with Joseph.

But even though I read this, I still wonder why would Joseph be a good prisoner? He was innocent and its unjust that he’s even there in the first place.

And here lies the point of the chapter as a whole.

Joseph suffered a great injustice, his living rightly with God cost him everything he had. Yet God was always with him.

And that’s it.

The chapter doesn’t end with everyone living happily ever after. No, Joseph is in prison, and it doesn’t sound like any repercussions came upon Potiphars wife.

However, the book hasn’t ended yet and there are more details to come about God using this for the good of his people and the world at large. But for now, we rest knowing that God’s presence is with his servant Joseph, who suffered a great injustice from his living rightly with God.

Often in a narrative like this we want to think who am I in this story? And if I was to commit to identifying myself in this passage today there’s really only one standout choice, one option that truly makes sense, it’s unfortunately its the one who isn’t even a main character, I am Potiphars wife. And that hurts to say. In fact I want to protest and say no I’m not! But the truth is, the adultery that I’ve committed is my ongoing sin against God. See when I love something more than I love God, I’m cheating on God with the thing that I’m loving, whether that's social status, money or power. See I’m potiphars wife in this story yet I desperately want to be like Joseph! I want to resist sin, resist sexual temptation, I want to be a faithful servant and a blessing to others. And the good news for us today is that God through his grace, has made that possible. For it is by the grace of God that Jesus has done for us what Joseph has done for Potiphars wife. See Jesus has suffered the punishment that should be given to us for our sin! We should be punished, not Jesus, just as Potiphars wife should be punished not Joseph!

So how do I be Joseph? I really don’t want to be Potiphars wife! And here is the point of the whole Bible, We can be like Joseph, we can live faithful to God, resist temptation and bring blessings others, we can do that,

only when we believe that Jesus has suffered for our sins, There’s no other way, it is through seeing our need to repent of the sins that came from our own actions, our own desires, that Jesus suffered and was crucified for, is the how we can then be the Joseph in this Chapter. So yes, I am Potiphars wife, but I’m not going to live like her, because I believe that Jesus has taken the punishment of my sin. That I can live as Joseph has lived, because I live with through the grace of God, Jesus has given us his power to say no to sin. Many years before Jesus was born, the Prophet Isaiah gave Jesus the name Immanuel. This name means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23) They will call him “Immanuel” Therefore we too, like Joseph can say God is with us, Immanuel. So the first application for our lives from this passage is, believe that Jesus has suffered for your sin! First believe in Jesus Then, live faithfully for God, resist sin, and bless others.

We live in a world of sin. We are not standing in a prison today, but we live in a world that is trapped by sin. Yet God’s presence is still with us!

Therefore, live faithfully for God. May we give him praise for all the successes we have experienced. May we make known to those around us that our status in life, our postal address, the cars we drive are all given to us by the God who suffered the penalty for the sins we have committed.

Yes, sin affects the good things we have, but that is no reason to not praise God, even when we are at our wits end and the world seems to be totally against us. The praises of God’s name should resound from our lips, for he is good and his love for us has been displayed on the cross. That no matter what battles of sin we struggle with, we know that God has taken the punishment that with God’s presence and help we can say no to sin.

Which is why we are also to learn from this passage of our need to resist sin! Let us be blameless, knowing that when we suffer for righteousness sake, we are in good company. Remembering at all times that the one who suffered for our sin, lives in us. Therefore may we resist sin, knowing that God is worth far more than any gratification that can be achieved through sin.

And Bless others. We can clearly see the direct correlation between God’s presence in Joseph and the blessings that others receive. This is such an important part of God’s promise to Abraham, that the world would be blessed through him. So bless others as Joseph is showing, be so trustworthy that you lighten the load of those around you. Be diligent to do your tasks well that others would benefit from your efforts. Make life better for those around you.

remember that God in his grace has given us all that we need to live as Christians.

Let us pray

Dear God, Thank you for graciously taking the punishment for our sins. May you be at work in us that we would live faithfully for you, resisting sin and blessing others as Joseph has shown us this day. We praise your name,

Amen