Now Is Not The End Part 2
Scriptures: Genesis 39: 1-23; 40:1-23; Deuteronomy 28 1-14
Introduction:
This morning I will continue with part two of my series titled “Now Is Not The End”. Last week I began the series with an introduction on how we often allow what we are going through in the present, in the now, to overshadow where we are going, the end. We sometimes lose focus on where we are going because we have to deal with so much in the present that we begin to consider if it is worth it to fight it out to the end. In my message last week I shared with you three key points that will continue throughout the message today. The first point is that our now experiences do not define what the end will be. These now experiences are moments in time as we walk with God and change so rapidly that we must focus hard on God or we will get caught up in every changing now experience. The second point is that if we are pleasing to God, He will order (direct) our steps and lead us through all of the obstacles that will come our way as we are walking with Him. This point is critical because it forces us to come to the point in our relationship with God that we actually begin to hear and listen to Him. The last point is that every decision we make in our now experience will affect our future now experiences. The decisions you make right now will have an impact on future events that you cannot see. This is not a worry when we are making a decision according to God’s will who understands our future and all of its possibilities. Please keep these three points in the forefront of your minds as we continue with the life of Joseph.
In part one last week, we talked some about Joseph and his relationship with his father and his brothers. Last week we found out that Joseph was his father’s favorite son and his brothers hated him. They hated him even more after he shared two dreams that he had with them where they would one day bow down to him. Their hate grew to the point that when the opportunity came when they could be rid of him, they acted and sold him into slavery. When we left Joseph last week, he was on his way to a strange land, not knowing if he would ever see his father or little brother again. Not knowing if God was with him or if he had been forsaken. We will pick up the story this morning with Joseph arriving in Egypt and being sold to an Egyptian officer named Potiphar. Turn with me to Genesis chapter 39.
I. Joseph In Potiphar’s House
“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. The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his mater, the Egyptian. Now the master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. 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.” 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. 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.” (Vss. 1-6)
Joseph had arrived in Egypt and was sold, probably at a slave auction, to Potiphar, the chief bodyguard of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. When Joseph was taken to Potiphar’s house as a slave, he did not start out in charge of the house but as a slave as everyone else. The thing that was different about Joseph was the God was with him and it was so noticeable that even Potiphar noticed it. When Joseph arrived in Potiphar’s house, his “now” was that where he had once been free, he was now a slave. Where in his previous life he could come and go as he please, he now had to come and go as he was told. It could be a fair assessment that he was probably depressed, angry and even afraid. But Joseph in that “now” had decisions to make. Remember what I said earlier, God will order our steps if we are pleasing to Him but we must choose to walk in the steps that He have ordered. Joseph could have mentally and spiritually shut down allowing that “now” to become his end, but he did not. Joseph made a different decision. At some point he realized that God was still with him and he decided that no matter where he was he would continue in his walk with God.
Verse two tells us that God was with Joseph and that through time Joseph became a very successful man. We are not told exactly what Joseph did and how he became successful, but it was enough that his owner witnessed it and decided that this was the man he needed in charge of everything he owned. What possibly did Potiphar witnessed? Well when you read Deuteronomy 28 1-14 you will have a good example of what it looked like. Let me read verses one through six for you: “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.”
There are a lot of blessings here and it gives us a good idea of what Potiphar saw with Joseph. Everything I have read in these verses happened to Joseph while he was in Egypt and because of the decisions he made to continue his walk with God despite what he was currently experiencing. As we read in verse five, once Joseph was placed in charge of Potiphar’s house, the whole house prospered. Potiphar put everything he owned under Joseph’s control.
In this first situation Joseph continued to walk with God and through his faithfulness, God prospered him. But keep this in mind, God knew where this would end; Joseph did not. Joseph just chose to walk with God regardless of where it ended. He did not get mad at God and turn his back on Him because of his situation; he continued in his faithfulness believing that God would surely work things out. He made a conscious decision to continue to walk with God. In that decision he had to deal with his anger over the situation as well as other temptations. Consider this, Joseph was placed in charge of Potiphar’s house and he could have easily abused his power; he could have stolen from Potiphar to make himself rich; and he could have done a multitude of things to destroy the man who now owned him. All of these decisions he could have made in his current “now” that would have directly impacted his future. Joseph did not give in to the temptation, but walked upright before God in everything that he did and his owner witnessed this and promoted Joseph because he wanted to be a part of these blessings.
As a side note I want to share some wisdom with you so that you understand that you two are sharing some “now” moments similar to Joseph. Potiphar promoted Joseph because he witnessed how Joseph walked with God and thus prospered. Out of everyone who worked for Potiphar, he chose Joseph to be over his household because Joseph was the one who had proven that he could get things done and make their lives better. If we develop a Joseph spirit on our jobs, our manager and/or supervisor will notice it and they will want to keep us on the team because they want a part of the blessing that we are receiving. If we understand that God will bless those who bless us (if we are walking faithfully with Him); then you will not need to worry about what happens on the job. God will bless you despite of who you work for. If you are doing an outstanding job and your supervisor is giving you a hard time, you continue to do the outstanding job because it is your supervisor who is losing out on the blessing – not you. However, if you begin to respond to the supervisor as they respond to you, then you could lose your blessing. When God blesses you it impacts those around you and this is what Potiphar saw with Joseph and he knew that it meant something. If everything that Joseph touched was being blessed, then Potiphar wanted Joseph to touch everything that he had. When we are walking in God’s blessing and everything we touch is blessed, people will want you around them touching things in their lives. You can touch more people being a blessing than you can being a curse. Have you thought about that? Let me get back to the story.
Potiphar placed everything under Joseph’s authority except his wife. His wife, as it should have been, was placed off limits to Joseph. Joseph understood this, but apparently Potiphar’s wife did not. Verse six states that Joseph was a good looking man and what Potiphar’s wife saw she liked. Look at verse seven. It reads: “It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, ‘Lie with me.’ 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 had put all that he owns in my charge. 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?” (Vss. 7-9)
Once again Joseph is faced with a decision. Up to this point he has walked faithfully before God. We do not know why Potiphar’s wife took a liking to him but whatever the reason, she did. Now as we sit here and read this story, I do not think we fully realize what Joseph was faced with. Joseph was the man and could have easily chosen to sleep with Potiphar’s wife. She would not have told anyone and there is a chance he could possibly have gotten away with it. Think about it, Joseph was a man that people liked and the other slaves in the household probably looked up to him because he was one of them. Their lives were better because Joseph was now in charge of the household because having been a slave he knew what they were dealing with on a daily basis. Not only that, but he walked with God and made decisions that please Him. Maybe this is what drew Potiphar’s wife to him: a good looking man who walked in authority with integrity and paid no attention to her!
Let’s examine this from her point of view. Here was a good looking, strong, powerful man (as it related to having authority) that everyone liked. Here was a man in control of his intellect and emotions. Here was a man unlike any man she had met as he was not an Egyptian. Here was a man that represented something new; something different. As she watched him, he never once paid undue attention to her. He never once flirted with her or took secret glances at her when no one else was looking. Whenever he was in her presence, he treated her with dignity and with respect as his master’s wife. Considering all of this, she just had to have him. He was the untouchable that she just had to touch. He was the forbidden fruit that she just had to taste. She normally got whatever she wanted and now she wanted him. Since he was not making himself available to her, she decided to take things in her own hands and approach him. I guess she assumed that if she opened the door, he would gladly just walk right in – but that did not happen.
When we examine Joseph’s response, we find that his response was rooted in his love and worship of God. That came first. Second came his position in the house and the trust that he had of his master. He was driven by something more than the lower part of his anatomy. When we examine his response we must recognize that this took a great strength to make this decision. Many a leader has fallen from grace because they desired and had a relationship with a woman that was not his wife. Many women have fallen from grace because they entered into a relationship with a man that was not her husband. This is one of those situations when just saying no does not cut it. You have to say no and place actions behind it. Joseph explained why he could not fulfill her request and he left her presence – only to make her want him more.
I want to pose this question to each of you. I want you to consider your walk with Christ. Will your walk with Christ help you make the decision that Joseph made? If your fantasy woman or man, the one you think is the most pretty or handsome in the world stood before you with the offer that was presented to Joseph, would you be able to say no and walk away? Would you view the request as a temptation or an act of being absolutely lucky? Would you value your relationship with God more than a few moments of intense pleasure of sin? As you consider this, add in this one additional point. Could you say no if you were a very powerful person who people followed and held up as an “idol” and you could probably get away with anything that you did? Would you give in then? This is literally what Joseph was faced with not only in this first situation, but in those that followed. When Joseph said no, she did not give up. No for her meant she needed to try harder as now it became a battle of wills. Look down at verses ten through twelve.
“As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her or lie beside her or be with her. 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. She caught him by his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me!’ And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.” She pestered him daily to sleep with her and daily he ignored her and refused to do it. This just made her want him all the more. Finally when she could stand it no more, she attempted to rape him (in my opinion this is what she was trying to do in grabbing his clothes and not letting go so that he ran from her leaving his clothes with her.) She just had to have him so she forced herself upon him. Joseph realizing the situation he was in chose to run from the inside of the house. As you read further, we find that she called the men of the house together and told them that Joseph had tried to rape her and she screamed and that is why he fled. (Someone once said there is nothing like a woman scorned.) When her husband came home, she repeated this same story to him which made him extremely angry. Look down at verses nineteen and twenty.
“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. 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 jail.” (Vss. 19-20)
I want to ask you a question. Why did Potiphar put Joseph in the prison where the king’s prisoners were held? This prison was not the worse prison available. I mean think about it, your slave tried to rape your wife and you just place him in the “minimal security” prison? Really? Potiphar could have had Joseph put to death publicly yet he did not. He could have had Joseph beaten to within an inch of his life, but he did not. There were many things he could have done, but placing him in one of the better prisons was not very high on the list. Can you see God working here? Maybe Potiphar was backed into a corner and had to respond. Maybe he knew that Joseph was innocent, but he could not save face and let it be known that a Hebrew slave tried to rape his wife and he did nothing about it. What would his friends think? You know his wife would have told the other wives during ladies’ night out just to solidify the lie and cover her tracks. What would the king say about his captain of the guards allowing his slave to walk free after trying to rape his wife? No he had to side with his wife in order for him to be able to keep his position among his peers and his king. However, in his punishment of Joseph, he did not make it any where near as bad as it could have been. Potiphar knew that Joseph walked with God and that God prospered him so I believe that Potiphar made a deliberate choice, one that he hoped would not anger God against him since he had prospered so under Joseph’s leadership within his household.
Before we leave Potiphar, I want you to consider one additional point that we sometimes overlook. What did Potiphar give up in order to save his reputation and appease his wife? Remember all of those blessings that he was receiving because Joseph was in charge of his house? Remember the prosperity that he was enjoying because Joseph was running things? Well he gave all of that up. The blessings followed Joseph. When he removed Joseph from his house, the blessings left also. Think about what Potiphar faced years later when Joseph became his master – but that is not a part of this series. But let’s get back to Joseph. Joseph once again honored God in his decision and once again he found himself in a bad situation. I am sure he told his master what really happened and maybe that is why he was placed in the prison he was placed in, but once again he had to make a decision. He knew that God was with him and he did not change his mind because he was now in another prison. No, he continued to walk with God despite of what was happening to him.
II. Something To Consider
This morning we have walked through Joseph arriving in Egypt; his being purchase as a slave by Potiphar; his every work being blessed by God; his being promoted to head position of Potiphar’s house; his being attacked by Potiphar’s wife; to finally being placed in prison. In each of these situations we find that Joseph faith in God never wavered. When he was at the bottom, he walked with God. When he was on top, he walked with God. And now that he has fallen back to the bottom, we will find next week, that he continued to walk with God. In every situation, he continued his walk with God.
What about you? Are you living in a “now” experience that is overshadowing where God is trying to take you? Are you making decisions in this “now” experience that is hindering your progress? Remember, you own the decision right. God has given us the power to choose to follow or to walk contrary to His direction. We can make the choice. What choice are you making today? What is it worth to you to walk away from it all to be in a one relationship with Jesus Christ? What is it worth to you to see yourself as God sees you so that you recognize that your life has a meaning and it is leading to something? Your now is not your end – that is yet to come.
Next week we will pick up from here with Joseph.
Before I close, I want to take this time to acknowledge that tomorrow we will celebrate as a nation Rev. Dr. Martin L. King’s Day. He was a man who sacrificed his life for a dream that one day every man would be looked at based on quality of his character and not the color of their skin. Although we have made great steps to the fulfillment of his dream, we have not fully arrived yet. As Christians, regardless of our race, I would ask that we take the time to think about his dream and its impact on us today. I say this because if I look at another man of a different race from me and I judge them first based only on their race, then how can I say I love God and worship Him. Consider the meaning of what John 4:20 says: “If someone says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” As you celebrate Dr. King’s holiday tomorrow, think on these words. May God bless and keep you is my prayer.
