January 11, 2025
As we approach the end of Genesis, there is one conclusion we can come to – People struggle. More often than not, when faced with a moral or ethical choice our list of characters failed. And they did so in spectacular fashion.
Joseph came from a long line of spectacular failures. Lies. Deceit. Theft. Favoritism. Greed. Lust. Murder. You name the sin and we will probably find it somewhere in Joseph’s Family Tree.
As we know, Joseph was Jacob’s Favorite son and Joseph benefitted from that favoritism = colorful coat.
Joseph was also a tattle-tale and enjoyed sharing his dreams of future glory with his brothers – all things that would make Dale Carnegie very sad (author of “how to win friends and influence people”).
I would say that, while Joseph was not bad yet, he had every potential of ending up there.
Joseph’s brothers hated him and when finally given the opportunity, they decided to kill him. Only Reuben’s intervention prevented that eventuality.
Genesis 37:23-24 - So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe -- the richly ornamented robe he was wearing -- and they took him and threw him into the empty cistern.
So, we left Jospeh down a well ---- future unknown.
After throwing Joseph down the well, his brother’s enjoyed a little lunch. While they were eating, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming down the road – it was headed for Egypt. The lightbulb went on in Judah’s head:
“Hey guys, great idea ---- it isn’t going to benefit us any to kill Joseph and then try to cover it up, sooooo, why not sell him instead. That way we’d be rid of him and have a little coin in our pockets. After all, he is our brother.”
And so, Joseph was sold for 20 shekels of silver.
• Ellen White {PP 213-214}: With a trembling heart he looked forward to the future. What a change in situation -- from the tenderly cherished son to the despised and helpless slave! Alone and friendless, what would be his lot in the strange land to which he was going? For a time Joseph gave himself up to uncontrolled grief and terror. But, in the providence of God, even this experience was to be a blessing to him. He had learned in a few hours that which years might not otherwise have taught him. His father, strong and tender as his love had been, had done him wrong by his partiality and indulgence. This unwise preference had angered his brothers and provoked them to the cruel deed that had separated him from his home. Its effects were manifest also in his own character. Faults had been encouraged that were now to be corrected. He was becoming self-sufficient and exacting. Accustomed to the tenderness of his father's care, he felt that he was unprepared to cope with the difficulties before him, in the bitter, uncared-for life of a stranger and a slave.
Then his thoughts turned to his father's God. In his childhood he had been taught to love and fear Him. Often in his father's tent he had listened to the story of the vision that Jacob saw as he fled from his home an exile and a fugitive. He had been told of the Lord's promises to Jacob, and how they had been fulfilled -- how, in the hour of need, the angels of God had come to instruct, comfort, and protect him. And he had learned of the love of God in providing for men a Redeemer. Now all these precious lessons came vividly before him. Joseph believed that the God of his fathers would be his God. He then and there gave himself fully to the Lord, and he prayed that the Keeper of Israel would be with him in the land of his exile.
His soul thrilled with the high resolve to prove himself true to God -- under all circumstances to act as became a subject of the King of heaven. He would serve the Lord with undivided heart; he would meet the trials of his lot with fortitude and perform every duty with fidelity. One day's experience had been the turning point in Joseph's life. It's terrible calamity had transformed him from a petted child to a man, thoughtful, courageous, and self-possessed.
Joseph could have ended up like the rest of his family, but he didn’t because he made a choice. He chose God and by doing so, he broke the cycle.
It’s a good lesson to be learned. Every family is dysfunctional in some way. We inherit from our ancestors all sorts of ingrained behaviors and tendencies, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE MUST ACT ON THOSE BEHAVIORS AND TENDENCIES. We can make different choices. We can choose to create a different legacy.
On the road to Egypt Joseph chose to create a different legacy.
Meanwhile, his brother’s killed a goat, dipped Joseph coat in the blood and returned home. They presented the coat to Jacob. “We found this robe – do you recognize it?”
“It is Joseph’s robe!! Some wild animal must have killed him and torn him to pieces!!”
Notice that Jacob jumped to his own conclusions about the fate of Joseph, however, the brother’s silence was just as much an act of deceit as if they had told Jacob that Joseph had been killed.
Jacob tore his clothes and refused to be comforted.
Hundreds of miles away, Joseph was sold to Potipher, Captain of Pharaoh’s guard.
Joseph in Potipher’s house – Chapter 39
Genesis 39:2-6 - The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,
Sometime went by and Mrs. Potipher took notice that Joseph was a stud-muffin.
“Come to bed with me,” she purred.
Temptation requires some sort of response – Yes or No. Joseph declined the invitation.
Genesis 39:8-9 – “My master does not concern himself with anything in the house, everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
Besides destroying his master’s trust, Joseph’s main argument against jumping in the hay with Mrs. Potipher was that to do so was to sin - specifically to sin against God. Sin not only affects human relationships but it distorts the human-divine relationship. Joseph refused to damage his relationship with God.
Temptation rarely slinks into the night. It comes back – over and over again.
“Did you REALLY mean ‘NO’ – let’s find out.”
Resisting temptation once may not be difficult, but to resist when temptation persists requires perseverance.
Genesis 39:10 - And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
Mrs. Potipher was not easily denied.
So far, her forwardness had not gotten her what she wanted, so she turned up the wick….
Genesis 39:11-12 - One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
Now she was mad. “How dare he run away from me!!”
Lust turned to revenge in the blink of an eye. Joseph would pay for his fidelity to his God!
Genesis 39:14-18 - she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house." She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
Now Master Potipher was mad. Not mad enough to kill Joseph, but mad enough to throw him in prison.
So, into prison Joseph went, but he did not go alone:
Genesis 39:20b-23 - …. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Joseph in Prison – Chapter 40
Some months went by. One day, two members of staff from Pharaoh’s court were brought to Joseph’s prison. Both, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, had offended the king. The captain of the prison guard assigned them to Joseph and he took care of them.
After they had been in prison for a while, both had dreams. The next morning, Joseph noticed that they were troubled. So, he asked, “why are you both so sad this morning?”
“We’ve both had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them.”
“Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
Chief Cupbearer: I saw a vine with 3 branches. It budded and blossomed and produced ripe grapes. I held Pharaoh’s cup in my hand, so I squeezed the grapes and handed him the cup.
Joseph: In 3 days, Pharaoh will release you and you will be his chief cupbearer once again. Do me a favor, when all goes well for you, remember me and show me kindness. Mention me to Pharaoh so that I might also be released. I have done nothing to deserve being put in prison.
Encouraged by Joseph’s interpretation, the baker spoke-up.
Chief Baker: On my head were 3 baskets full of all kinds of baked goods, but the birds kept coming to eat from the baskets on my head.
Joseph: In 3 days, Pharaoh will remove your head and hang you on a tree. The birds will eat all your flesh.
The 3rd day just happened to be Pharaoh’s birthday, so, he gave a feast for all his employees. He restored the chief cupbearer to his previous position and hanged the chief baker. It happened just as Joseph had said it would.
But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph – He forgot completely about him.
Until Next Time………………..
