Joseph: A Man With A Pure Heart
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Good morning my friends,
I hope and pray you have had a good week. We have enjoyed a variety of weather, a little sunshine, a little extra snow and some rain. It has been different that is for sure.
Let me begin by asking you a question for today..... you ready??
What opportunities did God give you this week?
How did you respond to those opportunities? Were you faithful to engage in them.... Were you obedient to God’s leading of you through the Holy Spirit?
Were you Christ like at all times? In all the circumstances of the week, did you let your light shine?
Now I have asked you that simply because that is our responsibility in Christ. We are to live and act in all things in such a way to let our light shine my friends.
Now all of this relates to our topic today: Joseph is a man who lived responsibility before God and man.
Here is the key to Joseph.... His circumstances did not change who he was and the life he was called to live in front of God and others.
As we examine Josephs’ life through this and the following chapters we see that He lived this way.
And my friends, we can do so as well! I believe it!
So my friends I will share three thoughts with you this morning...
1.) God was with Him 2.) A Refusal to Sin 3.) Steadfast Commitment
So lets look our Scripture this morning and we will look at the first 23 verses today of chapter 39, but we will start by looking at only the first 6 verses.
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.
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
So recap for a minute..... Joseph, one of the 12 sons of Egypt who was his father Israel’s favorite… son who was born in his old age to the love of his life, Rachael.
He was given a royal coat by his father, a coat of many colors and His brothers hated the fact that their father loved him the most.
One day they conspired to kill him, but did not…yet they sold him as a slave… and He has ended up in the land of Egypt… and this is where we begin today, picking up where we left off before...
So lets begin with this first thought today...
1. God was with Him...
1. God was with Him...
We started looking at this thought last week, and it's necessary to revisit the thought this morning to understand that God was with His servant. And that is exactly what Joseph is, He is a servant of God and God was with Him.
My friends, God is with us....when we are His servant, living and following Him.
So as you look at the text, One sees that Joseph has been carried from the land of Canaan to the land of Egypt as a slave. And it is here that He is placed upon the slave market and sold to an Egyptian official by the name of Potiphar.
Now this phrase that describes Potiphar refers to him as a Captain of the Guard. Now there is some thought as to what his title really means but it seems to refer to the person in charge of the prisons and the executions. In either case he was an officer in Pharaoh's court.
And Potiphar is wealthy enough to have servants and so forth, And upon seeing Joseph, a good healthy looking young man, He sees potential and purchases him from the traders and puts him to work.
And verse 2 is key, The Lord was with Him. This term speaks to the idea of success, victory and even prosperity.
Now Joseph is made a house servant and in being in close proximity to his master, Potiphar is able to see first hand how the Lord is able to use Joseph and effect the change he has brought to Potiphar’s household.
Now I want to interject something here my friends, People who do not follow God can see the hand of God in the lives of others. That is what verse 3 says..
3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.
If Potiphar was able to witness God’s goodness through the work of Joseph, what does the world see through your life?
Do they see God, do they see His goodness and faithfulness? Do they see Christ in you…
Heaven help us if they see anything else...
God was with Joseph my friends.
And so as Joseph managed the affairs of his Master’s household, it was doe well. It was done completely, and it was done accurately.
We see this from the statement concerning Potiphar himself… look at verses 5-6
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.
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
God was working in Joseph's life in such a way to benefit Joseph, how awesome my friends. God wanted Joseph wanted to succeed, to have favor and to be blessed and God did this in such a way, that not only did Potiphar notice this, but we notice that Potiphar doesn’t even have to worry about anything...
The only concern for Potiphar was this: What do I want to eat for dinner today?
God was with Joseph… Joseph was faithful and managed the affairs of His master’s household. And God’s presence was revealed in such a way that even Potiphar noticed them himself.
How are you living your life, how are you managing your time, your actions and your opportunities to serve the Lord.
Now let me take you to the second thought to for this morning...
2. A Refusal to Sin....
2. A Refusal to Sin....
When we look at the text, I think it is interesting that God allows us to see some details that will explain the temptation that will come before Joseph.
Now I saw temptation because this is the work of Satan trying to derail the work of God and the importance of this young man.
Now the detail in question is at the end of verse 6...
Gen 39:6b “...Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.”
So Joseph is a young man, he is handsome, a strong young man who was easy on the eyes for all the ladies, he probably has a 6 pack… Potiphar may have just had a pack… we don’t know..
But the Scripture does reveal that Potiphar’s wife had her eye on that young man...
Look with me at verses 7-10
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.
Now we are not told her name, and that is ok… But she represents temptation, She represents the world and the sin that world chooses to live with, participate with and enjoy...
The text says in verse 7 - “And after a time.....” what this says is this, it indicates there was time for her passions to inflame. She has been looking at him for a while, lusting over this handsome new houseboy.
She looked and kept looking at him, day after day… for shame, for shame....
So oshe approached Joseph one day and she spoke to Joseph… Oh boy, come lie with me. Some have relations with me....
She is blunt, she is open, she perhaps figures being Potiphar’s wife, probably an attractive woman, she figures she could call and He would come to her...
But Joseph refused.... No thinking about it, no dilly dallying around the bush, no flirtation… He refused to do this thing… He laid out all the reasoning as to why He could not do this act..
And look at what He says...
A. He refused because of His Master’s trust.... Joseph reminded her that he was a faithful servant, and as such, his master Potiphar has complete trust in Him. He could not abuse the level of trust that Potiphar had for him.
B. Potiphar held nothing from Joseph’s hands except His wife. Joseph knew his responsibility, those things that were available to him and what was off limits. Another man’s wife was off limits, that was the natural order of things, especially for a household servant. Joseph had been given much and much was required of Him. He was determined to be faithful with what God had paced before him. He would not offend His Master.
And i want you to think about this my friends, I want you to think about being faithful with what God has placed in front of you. Joseph, I sincerely believe understood and trusted the Lord his God with his life and what He allowed him to endure.
Whether it be little or small, God had called him and us to be faithful.
and then finally… Joseph declared the most important reason
C. It was wrong before God… Joseph lists several reasons as to why her request was improper and why he could not give in to her request...
The end of verse 9; He sums up His argument..
Gen 39:9b “...How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”
Lets examine that, he says it was a great wickedness… This would be a breach of His moral conduct. The wickedness of her suggestion reminds us of the lostness of the world, the departure from what is good and right.
The term wickedness, speaks to the time of the prediluvian society, which means the time before the flood. Listen to what God said about the world during this time in Genesis 6:5
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
The world was wicked, their actions and thinking were that way as well. As such, Potiphar’s wife is one who is seeking pleasure only, no matter the consequences.
There are people who live like that today, they live apart from God, what every appeals to their heart, whatever makes them feel good… that is a fair representation of who she is...
And finally, Joseph’s last appeal is that he would not do sin before God. Joseph was determined not to sin against God, he would not do that which would offend God.
You see my friends, all sin is first and foremost against God. It has an effect on others but the first effect is God.
David understood this in Ps 51:4
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
Joseph did not want to sin against God, nor against Potiphar nor His wife for being a partner with her in his dreadful act.
Joseph refused to sin....
My friends, we must refuse, absolutely refuse to fall prey to the deceiver and sin he holds up in front of God’s people.
Now, just on remaining thought this morning… we must be resolute, steadfast in our commitment to abstain from sin.
3. Steadfast Commitment....
3. Steadfast Commitment....
Joseph made up his mind ( He was resolute) and would not change from that plan to abstain from this sin.
Now Potiphar’s wife, she wouldn’t stop asking… I am not sure if she is not used to being told no, or just is just a unrighteous woman.... but she kept in asking for him to come lie with her as we see in verse 10
Her advances keep coming until one day she tries to force him to her bedroom…Look at the account in God’s word.
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.”
She tried her best, but Joseph did not give in to her. One day the house is empty except for Joseph and her, and as soon as the opportunity arose, he grabbed him by His garment and tried to force his hand..
But he slipped out of his other garment and ran from the house… Can you imagaine with me, it might have been like that day when little jenny hollers, “…Run, Forrest, Run!..”
Joseph lets his arms slip out of that robe and suddenly he is out of the house and she is left holding that robe.
And I can just bet that she is mad, feels a little humiliated, a little sad and finally she fit to be tied and has to do a little damage control...
She called for the other men of the house to hear her version of the story, He tried to lie with me…
Her proof, I have his cloak...
And as soon as I called out in help, he fled out of the house… and verse 19 tells us that as soon as Potiphar heard these words, he was upset.. He was angry, he would not stand for this slave, no matter how good he is to try and take advantage of his wife...
But sadly Joseph was innocent..
Look at verses 20-21
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. 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.
He took Joseph and placed him in prison, the kings prison, and placed him under the control of the chief jailer to deal with this slave who had supposedly violated so much trust..
But verse 21 tells us that the Lord was with Joseph and showed him love and gave him favor..
You see the Lord was with him from the days of his youth in Canaan to being a slave in Potiphar, and now in the jailhouse. God is still with him and showing HIs love to Joseph as others deal with him..
He is continually being shown mercy, continually being shown love and grace… God was with him because He was a person of a pure heart
My freinds, a person with a pure heart, a person who is resolute in following the Lord is a person who will not fall away, but they will endure God will ensure it.
Joseph might have been killed, but God was on His on His side, He has a plan for him in the days to come and he would ensure it happened according to that plan.
How is your heart today, in the midst of a week that has pulled, pushed, and hurt… did you stand right before God or did you give up little areas here and there...
God is calling us to have a pure heart in a broken world, He is calling you to night give up regardless of what others are saying or asking of you..
God has better and bigger kingdom plans for you to be involved in my friends.
pray