JOSEPH IN POTIPHAR’S HOUSE
Text: Genesis 39:1-23 W. Max Alderman
Providentially, the Lord continues to work in the life of Joseph. He is “brought down” to Egypt. The previous lesson offered commentary concerning the significance of going down. When one goes down geographically, in the Scriptures, that often is a signal of one going down spiritually. In this study Joseph is “brought down” physically but stays up spiritually. We are given a great example of how to deal with prosperity and adversity as we study the life of Joseph. We may find personal application when we recognize that we will have periods of great prosperity mixed with times of great adversity in our own lives. To help us cope with the extremes in our lives, the Word of God teaches us to let our “moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” (Philippians 4:5)
I. THE PROSPERITY OF JOSEPH (Vv. 1-3)
Joseph prospered because the Lord was with him. A lesson that can be learned from the life of Joseph is that God’s blessings are not dependent upon the circumstances but upon one’s relationship. Joseph was brought to the place that was within the location of God’s purpose. God was there with him all of the time. The words prosper, prosperous, blessed, and blessing of the Lord describes the way that the Lord was with him.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: A person can have the blessings and the prosperity that comes from God by being faithful wherever that person is. I am constantly encouraging people to “bloom where they are planted”. Sometimes people forfeit God’s best because of discontent. They think that they can never have the blessings of God right where they are. The proportion of blessings that you receive is proportionate to one’s faithfulness to the Lord. God wants to prosper you wherever you are. This may not mean in your personal finances. Prosperity and blessings from the Lord can come in so many different packages. There are so many who are disillusioned in thinking that prosperity is only measured with a dollar sign. Not so! Joseph was blessed of the Lord because of his relationship to the Lord. He also was under the covenant blessings of the Lord. We can be under the blessings that comes from His grace to us.
A. Joseph had the Lord PRESENT with him. (Vv. 1-3a)
Three times in this chapter it is stated that the Lord was with Joseph (v. 2, 21, and 23). No greater reason can be given for Joseph’s prosperity than that the Lord was with him. Joseph could have felt so isolated from his familiars and family during the 13 years that he was separated from his family. He spent 11 years in Potiphar’s house and 2 years in prison before he was promoted at age 30. Yet, the Scriptures clearly show that He had the watch care of the Lord all during that time.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: There is no greater encouragement for the believer than just knowing that the Lord will never leave not forsake us… The presence of the Lord should sustain us and keep us from really being lonely. The three Hebrew children had the Lord with them in the fiery furnace. David faced Goliath and said, “for the battle is the Lords” (1 Samuel 17:47) which signified that the Lord was with him. The Lord was with the children of Israel at the parting of the red sea. The Lord was with Daniel in the den of lions. There was so much of God there that it did not matter if the lions were there or not. You may think that the devil is a bother and he is, but if there is so much of the Lord there with you, it won’t even matter if the Devil is there are not. The Lord’s presence means everything. “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4).
B. Joseph had the Lord PROTECTING him. (Vv. 3b)
Joseph’s prosperity included protection. The protective force of God’s presence stayed with Joseph as God was providentially working in his life. Joseph was a person who applied himself to the fullest. He worked hard and gained the favor or Potiphar even though he was in a land and place that was foreign to him. Remember, while God is using a man for His purpose, and until He is through with him, that man is safe, just as Joseph was safe.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: There are many dear saints who have spent their lives in dangerous places, who, when questioned about where they are serving the Lord, would quickly tell you that they felt more safe being where they are than if they were tucked away in a fancy hotel somewhere. It matters not what you do just as long as you do it within the purpose and the will of God. With that being so, we should all sense and feel the presence of God.
II. THE POSITION OF JOSEPH (Vv. 4-6)
There is a definite reason for Joseph’s exalted position in this strange land. In addition to Joseph having God’s blessing, he is described as being “a goodly person, and well favoured.” This description speaks of him exercising good character. The blessings came to him because of that, but he also made personal choices to do well. You will find that for you, just like Joseph, to advance in your spiritual maturing there must be ongoing personal choices being made which allows for you to lineup with God’s Word and then for you to strive for personal improvement.
A. He gained his position through SERVITUDE. (V. 4a)
In the spiritual realm the highest honor for a person to obtain is to be a willing servant. Joseph certainly was this. Joseph could have resisted being taken from his homeland and then being deposited against his will in a foreign land to serve as a slave, but he did not. He served with a good spirit as a good person and found much favor in the household of Potiphar.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: There is no greater honor than being a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Moses died and afterwards Joshua was being commissioned to serve the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead” (Joshua 1:2). Of all the titles that could have been bestowed upon him none would have been any greater than this as it referred back to Moses’ service to the Lord. We should not at all mind being a servant to the One who humbled Himself and went to the cross, serving us as He did. I cannot imagine what it would be like trying to pastor this church without having the faithful servants doing the work that you do around here. God bless you all!
B. He gained the position of OVERSEER. (Vv. 4b-6)
As overseer, “the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake”; the field was also blessed. Joseph shows how one can be blessed by honoring God and being honored by God. He gained the promotions from being faithful.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The Scriptures remind us that God will honor us to do the greater after we have been faithful with the few things. The work of the Lord requires a person to be faithful at which ever level he is currently working before he is to be promoted to a higher level. There are many who enter into the Lord’s work expecting to find immediate promotion without going to the “University of Adversity”. The Christian servant will go through many trials that will serve as his proving grounds. If one fails with few things, he need not expect to rule over many things.
III. THE PROPOSITIONING OF JOSEPH (Vv. 7-13)
Even though a person does well in every way does not mean that person is immune from temptations and from traps. Satan wants to bring down and destroy anyone that is doing well in the Lord. This section records the courageous refusal of Joseph to succumb to Potiphar’s wife’s wicked requests. You do not have to succumb to temptations; you can stand faithfully and you will be rewarded as you do.
A. Joseph was TEMPTED. (Vv. 7-11)
Joseph was a handsome man, and honorable as well. He was asked by Potiphar’s wife to lie with her. Verse 10 says that Joseph “harkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.” He wisely knew better than becoming even an acquaintance with her. This is a warning against unnatural friendship. Joseph would not give in and this could have gone on for an extended period of time. According to verse number 10 we are told, “And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.”
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: One of the better ways to deal with temptations is to remove yourself from the possibility of being tempted. Sometimes, as in the case of Joseph, he was simply doing his job when Satan arranged, within the boundaries of his job, for him to be strongly tempted. It either was not convenient or possible for Joseph to remove himself from this temptation; he had to, instead, stay on guard and make sure that he would not compromise himself even if it meant not staying on the job. When she grabbed him, he fled from her. This later cost him two years in prison because he was falsely accused, but the Lord knew the truth and did not forget him. Satan knows where you are and he knows how to get to you. For this reason, we should constantly stay on guard. If you make provisions for the flesh, you make yourself vulnerable to attack. If you guard against temptations and do right, the Lord will reward you greatly for it.
B. Joseph was TRAPPED. (Vv. 12-13)
When Joseph fled from her she held to his garment and was to use it in a lie against him. It is interesting to note that this is the second time a garment belonging to Joseph was used to perpetrate a lie about him (cf. 37:33).
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: When doing right you may not immediately be rewarded for doing right. Joseph did right and was lied against and then cast into prison. It takes courage to stand when you know that it would be easier, humanly speaking, to take the path of least resistance. Everything that we do should not be calculated on the basis of how difficult or easy is it to do right, but instead on “Thus saith the Lord” or simply put, “What does the Lord think about it?”
IV. THE PREDICAMENT OF JOSEPH (Vv. 14-23)
A. He was SLANDERED in Public. (Vv. 14-19)
Even though Joseph had a flawless character in the presence of Potiphar, this one lie told about him caused him to be shamefully accused and then placed in prison.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Many who have done their best to please God do not find either the applause or the acceptance of the public. I have heard of people losing their jobs for simply doing right. Just remember that God is keeping record.
B. He was STUCK in Prison. (Vv. 20-23)
Even though Joseph was falsely accused and placed in prison, he still found God’s blessings. He prospered even while in prison.
Closing Comments: Certainly this could very well be considered to be one of the truly great chapters in the Word of God. Joseph excels in all his circumstances and proves to be a man of Godly character.
