Joseph In Potiphor’s Prison Series

Joseph in Potiphor’s prison

Genesis 40:1-23 .

The life of Joseph is one of the most remarkable stories found in the Bible. His life is a mixture of sadness and glory, or pain and of success. As a result, Joseph’s life contains many lessons from which we modern believers can learn from.

In these verses, we find Joseph at one of the lowest moments of his young life. We find him as a young man, having been sold into slavery into Egypt. There, he is purchased by a man named Potipher, and in Potipher’s house, Joseph quickly rises to a place of authority and prominence. The scriptures tell us … “ The LORD was with Joseph. He was successful and lived in the household of his Egyptian master.” Gen 39:2

However, Potipher’s wife has eyes for Joseph and attempts to get him to commit adultery with her. He refuses and actually has to run away from her, leaving his garment in her hand, Gen. 39:7-13. His coat had gotten him into trouble again - Gen. 39:14-18; Gen. 37:3-4. After she has been spurned by Joseph, Potipher’s wife accuses Joseph of attempting to rape her. Her husband, who is a high ranking Egyptian official, has Joseph thrown into the King’s prison.

It is in this Egyptian prison that Joseph learned some very valuable lessons. He learned some facts about the Lord that would serve him well in the years ahead.

Now, Joseph wasn’t alone in having to go through a prison experience. In fact, many of the great men of the Bible found themselves in one prison or another. For instance, there is Samson, Daniel, Jeremiah, Hosea, John the Baptist, John, Peter, Paul, and Silas. Many of the Lord’s greatest servants had to go through the prison from time to time. In each of these prisons, the Lord revealed His power and providence on behalf of His servants.

What does all this mean for us?

Well, we all find ourselves in some sort of prison from time to time. Often, the trials and troubles of life can be compared to a prison experience. These times can cause us great problems, but they can also be the means to great success from the Lord.

I just want you to know that the prisons of life do not have to defeat you! In fact, it is my conviction that God leads us into the prison experiences of life so that we might thrive in His work and to His glory.

God used the prison as Joseph’s proving ground. He learned all the lessons he needed to be able to flourish on the throne of Egypt!

As we pass through the prisons of life, God is merely training us. When we are found faithful in these valleys, we are allowed to experience greater levels of blessing. God uses the difficulties of life to help us mature so that He might use our lives in a more wonderful way than would otherwise be possible- Matt. 25:41; Luke 16:10. As we endure the prison experiences of life, we are trained for expanded usefulness b the Lord!

Therefore, we need to learn not to rebel against the prisons we find ourselves in. We must learn to yield to the Lord’s work in our lives and trust Him to have His way in us and through us. He knows where He wants us and He knows what He would have us do. Let us learn to trust Him and experience the best He has to offer us!

The problem in the text in this study I of chapter 40 is that it doesn’t appear as though God is present. In fact, we have seen Joseph treated very unfairly in two different settings now. First, by his brothers who stripped him, abused him, and tossed him into an empty cistern before selling him as a slave. Then by Potiphar ‘ s wife as she falsely accused him of assaulting her and Potiphar believed her and had him thrown in prison. But at least in chapter 39 we had a comforting refrain—God was with Joseph.

Chapter 40 doesn’t offer us that assurance—at least not on the surface. If you were to look at chapter 40 and say “show me” the evidence that God’s providence is working all things for good in Joseph’s life—that would be tough during a first read through. You could read this chapter and ask, ‘where is God’s faithfulness?’

There’s a theme in this story we have touched on at least a little bit every study so far and that is that God, not Joseph, is the main character of the story. And if we believe that, it makes God’s apparent absence in this chapter even more unsettling. The external circumstances of Joseph’s life change little from Genesis 40:1 to 40:23. At the beginning of the chapter, Joseph is alone and in prison. At the end of the chapter, Joseph is alone—now forgotten by someone who was supposed to help him—and in prison.