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Last week’s homework: Did anyone check for pride in their life? We won’t ask for testimonies.
Who memorized scriptures?
James 4:6 NKJV or 1 Peter 5:5 NKJV
… “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Proverbs 3:34 NKJV
Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.
Has anyone been praying and asking God to teach them humility? Notice a difference?
Last week, we studied the results of a bad attitude problem. This week we’re going to study Joseph reaping a harvest on his attitude problem and pray some Holy Spirit inspired prayers to make a prison break for freedom. If you’re not in spiritual slavery or prison, it will be premium jet fuel for your prayer life.
I’m going to read most of the words in the scriptures. If you’re following along, you’ll notice I’m going to jump over a few words for time’s sake. Please go back and read the story when you have time.
Genesis 38 - Judah and Tamar
We’re going to skip over this wild story. It doesn’t have anything to do with Joseph, other than the fact envy and self-seeking against Joseph caused confusion and evil works (James 3:16) in Judah’s life. Remember, it was his idea to sell Joseph.
Genesis 39 NKJV
1Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. 2The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
The Bible tells us the Ishmaelites brought him to Egypt, which means he wasn’t sold here and there, he went directly to Egypt. Joseph was bought by a wealthy man, which means that the conditions he was used to at home were probably about the same. This is the Lord still trying to keep His Hand of protection on Joseph.
4So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. 5… the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. 6Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.
The training that Joseph was supposed to receive back home with his father, Jacob, is continuing here with Potiphar. You can’t run a country if you don’t know how to run a house with slaves as a business. God was blessing all that he did, but at the same time, Joseph was still learning the how-to from God. Sometimes the picture of Joseph is painted as if he knew everything, ancient superhuman, but that isn’t true! Everyone then and even now has to go through a learning and training process, some are faster than others, but there is still a process. We’re never told God download extreme knowledge to him or anyone else. I’m sure the Holy Spirit was leading and guiding him, no doubts, but this is Joseph’s Boot Camp. Sometimes we see great moves of God through men in the Bible and forget they’re human just like us.
(6)Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
The Bible tells us that his mother, Rachel, was beautiful (Genesis 29:17). In addition to that, Joseph’s skin was probably a little nicer than most, no sun damage, because he was working in the tent and not so much the field with his brothers. His lighter skin in the middle east may have been very attractive as well.
7And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”
We have to remember Joseph was a broken man. If you were suddenly taken from your family and home, from wealth to slavery, and now living in a land that’s not familiar to you; how would you feel? The language is different, the writing is different. It wouldn’t matter to you that your SLAVE MASTER is being blessed and becoming wealthier, none of it belongs to you. We have to be careful when viewing Joseph out of the painting of the mainstream idea that Joseph was happy and confident, because of the blessing. The blessing made Joseph valuable to those above him, so that they would treat Joseph favorably.
8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.
This was probably an ancient cougar. Captain of the guard position probably took Potiphar a while to achieve and let’s assume his wife is about his age or slightly younger. Yeah, she was probably no teenaged beauty.
9There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
What a nice polite way to turn down a cougar. All jokes aside, let’s note the first thing that Joseph says, “There is no one greater in this house than I…” No one greater than I. Is Joseph still dealing with some superiority issues? I think so. The blessing of the Lord is what’s puffing Joseph up, and he has to learn to be humble so that the Lord can use him.
10So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.
This woman is a nag!
11But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.
She was pawing at him to get her own way. It’s possible Joseph wore an undergarment, so he may not have been totally naked. Wealthy Egyptians had under and outer garments, and yes even underwear like we wear during the time this happened. Joseph was “the greatest in the house,” so it’s not far-fetched to consider he had an undergarment. The Bible never suggests he fled totally naked either.
13And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, 14that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”
This is the dumbest lie. They were wearing robes, there was no need for Joseph to get naked and remove his robe to “lie with her.” According to the depictions of salves in Egypt, their robes were short being above the knee, and the outside male workers are depicted with skirts halfway down their thigh. Secondly, Joseph being highly intelligent, why would he leave “evidence” of an attempted rape. Even if she did scream, there was still time to grab the robe and leave, because the men were outside.
16So she kept his garment with her until his master came home.
Cougar lady continues the drama…
17Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; 18so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”
The words she spoke are very important, because she’s speaking in legal terms to her husband, that’s what the Bible is telling us, “Spoke… with words like these.” They knew back then what she was doing, but in our modern mind we don’t know. First of all, ancient Egyptian women weren’t equal to men even though they had rights in ancient Egypt. If a free woman, as opposed to a slave woman, was raped she can bring serious charges against the man. The punishment for rape was death and for foreigners it was exile. If she was able to prove 3 things:
1. She was defiled
2. She was insulted
3. Her child will have no father
The punishment would be mutilated genitals. She was trying to have his genitals mutilated and then have him exiled. Never underestimate an angry cougar with money! Look how she spoke to her husband about Joseph, “whom you brought to us.” It’s her husband’s fault and she tried to emotionally involve everyone. So the cougar lady is a narcist too.
Her drama, “the Hebrew servant” also tells us that the other slaves were Egyptian. This gives us the understanding Joseph was learning Egyptian culture and language working side by side with Egyptians. Truthfully, he’s getting a far more superior training here with Potiphar, then he would have at home with Jacob. Potiphar’s household, being a military man, was probably stricter and more regimented than Jacob’s household. Plus Joseph was running the house, and not second in command, like back home. Once again, we need to view this “slavery” as enrolled in boot camp.
19So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused
The cougar-lady knew how to make her husband mad! This is the Bible’s ancient way of saying, “When Potiphar heard the legal terms his wife used, he became angry at the charges.” Don’t forget he’s “captain of the guard,” he’s possibly overseeing the prisoners or at one point was overseeing prisoners. We’ll see that again shortly.
20Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.
This is not technically a prison as we think of it. According to archelogy and Egyptian hieroglyphics, this “prison” was a room not far from the king’s throne area. It was just a room. We’ll talk about this more next week, when we continue the story about Joseph’s prison life.
21But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. 23The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.
Sounds exactly like Potiphar, huh? According to the next chapter, it was the captain of the guard, either Potiphar or Potiphar’s colleague. Regardless, it’s highly likely that when Potiphar calmed down, he understood his wife was lying to him. I’m sure they all knew. More on that issue next week!
The question is, has Joseph paved his own path to prison?
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
We can’t judge him, but we do see his attitude gets worse, “There is no one greater in this house than I…” Really, Joseph? What about The Holy Spirit that’s also in the house causing all the favor to happen? What’s wrong with recognizing it’s God’s Hand at work. Joseph could have explained to cougar lady that God’s Hand was doing the work, and sinning against Potiphar and God would cause the blessing to leave. She understood gods and blessing. Because Joseph exalted himself by using God’s blessing, he was open to receive a bad harvest of destruction and a fall. Truthfully, we’re all tempted with thinking we’re great or something really special at one point or another based on the blessing and gifting given to us by God.
It’s important to realize from this story, that God’s Hand of blessing can be on a person while they are still holding onto an attitude problem, or some type of bad behavior. That’s why we must always keep Matthew 7:16 in mind,
You will know them by their fruits.
Not the show they put on. Not how much scripture they quote. Not the blessing. Not their answered prayer. Not by the healing they received. Not the visions they claimed they saw. The fruits! That doesn’t mean we’re supposed to treat them as ungodly people. God may still be working on them. It does mean that you should be prayerfully cautious in submitting yourself to them. If we were alive and submitted ourselves to Joseph at 17/18 years old, we’d be saying, “There is no one greater in this house than Joseph.” We’d be misguided too! Joseph, despite his arrogance, was still a God-fearing teenager. If we were alive at that time and submitted ourselves to Joseph after he came out of prison, then we would be blessed by the Hand of God working in his life. Does that make sense to everyone? We look at fruit, not the works!
If you want to avoid a spiritual prison, although sometimes people end up in physical prison too, the Holy Spirit has given us some prayers to help us avoid prison or break out. If you aren’t in prison, these prayers can still help you grow to a greater place in Christ.
Warning: I’m going to use the word enemy very loosely. An enemy can be anything, a person, food, medication, toxic fumes, or whatever that can cause harm. This is going to be very broad so it can apply to everyone’s life, Attitude City or The Promised Land.
For example, someone told me they just switched the brand of their vitamin B complex. Three weeks later, their throat started to feel a little odd for a few days and then it swelled up. It was an enemy to them that had to be revealed by the Holy Spirit. Three weeks later, it feels like a random event.
Sometimes we have people that we think are our friends and later find out they’re nothing but troublemakers. We all have stories of various enemies! So, let’s get to the prayers….
(Pass out printed prayer sheet – Printable one on the website)
Prison Break Prayers
Holy Spirit, please show me what I need to know to be free.
Sometimes we need to learn something to be free. There are Christians who walk around believing God is mad at them and is trying to punish them. They need to learn something from the Word. Even in everyday life, we sometimes need to know something to be free. Years ago, a young lady spilled a half gallon of wood stain on her new car seat. She didn’t have the money to buy a new seat. After praying, she felt like she should tell her mechanic. He told her that her car insurance company pays for these types of accidents, and she got her seat fixed. She needed to know something! She needed to know to check the lid on the stain can, if only the Holy Spirit gave her these prayers.
Unmask the enemy.
This can really be anything! A lot of times with people’s health, foods they’re eating are an enemy. I’m sure some of us have heard stories of people getting sick and later finding black mold. Medication from a doctor can be an enemy. They put out a new pill, doctors prescribe it, and a few years later it turns into a class action lawsuit. An enemy could be a co-worker that you think is a friend. We can easily be our own enemy with our attitude and not realize it. Just smile and look straight ahead.
Reveal where the enemy is standing.
This prayer is for traps that have been laid down. Our example in the Joseph story is that his brother planned a trap for him when he was off in the distance. If he had prayed like this, he could have been led by the Holy Spirit to turn around and go home unharmed. Most of us have been victims of setups, traps, or scams at least once in our lives. Praying this way will give us wisdom and knowledge if we’re about to walk into a trap or if we’re standing in a trap and how to get out right away.
Destroy the works of the enemy in my life.
Amen! I think this is self-explanatory. Once we know what and where the enemy is, we want it completely destroyed. The Bible says in Isaiah 10:27 KJV
… the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
Calling for the anointing to destroy the yoke so it can never be put back on you or anyone else is always a great idea. Prayers calling for the anointing are very powerful and should be taken seriously. Always expect the anointing to show up to break yokes, and it will happen!
Give me a military strategy to overcome the enemy.
When you read through the Old Testament, they called on the Lord and He gave them a military strategy to win against their enemy. For us in the New Testament,
Ephesians 6:12 NKJV
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
That just means we’re not going to get a sword or a gun to solve the problem. We’re going to be told what to say and what to do. Some people might be praying for a Heavenly diet plan. Some people might be praying for loving words for a family gathering. You may need God’s plan on how to handle that back-stabbing coworker, lawsuits, or get of debt. Your house might be one shopping bag and two boxes away from looking like a hoarder, and you need a plan! God always has a plan of freedom for you!
(Deal with any trauma, hurt, or abuse in prayer with praise and worship.
Ask God to judge the evil spirits that caused the trauma, hurt, or abuse)
We’re not going to camp out on this one, because it’s a huge topic. There is healing from this type of hurt, and you need a military strategy too! But this is better dealt with on your knees or lying down on the floor alone with music and prayer. As you sing and cry out to God, allow Him in to heal your heart. Don’t be afraid, He’s there to help and heal. Often times when you let Him in, the healing love comes in the form of tears and even laughing or both. After some praise and worship, imagine packing your trauma, hurt, pain, and abuse into a trash bag, where it belongs, and making and exchange with Jesus. Your hurt for His healing.
Isaiah 53:5 NKJV
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Chastisement is severe infliction. Take your severe infliction and make an exchange for His peace. He took stripes for your healing. Don’t ever let those painful bloody stripes He took for you be for nothing! His yoke destroying power is available for you!
Luke 4:18 NKJV
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;
There’s that yoke destroying anointing! Call out to the Lord, and call out to Jesus to bring that yoke destroying anointing upon you. Jesus came so you don’t have to live broken, captive, and oppressed. You are free!! Get alone with the Lord tonight if you need that yoke destroying anointing and call upon the Lord for it. Don’t wait.
It's not our job to judge, but you can ask God to issue judgements on your behalf. We just read in Ephesians how Paul revealed problems come from evil spirits, not the flesh. Put everything in His Hands by asking Him to judge the spirits now. If people end up being judged along with those spirits, it’s none of our business. Leave it with Him, He’ll handle it immediately. Sometimes it seems like people get away with abusing, raping, attempting to murder, and so on because we don’t realize releasing the situation into God’s Hands and asking for judgement is something we are allowed to do. We feel like the answer is forgive, forget, and “too bad for you,” and it’s really not. It’s forgive, release to God to try your case in the Heavenly Court, and forget the matter. We’re going to move on because we can spend weeks on this.
Everything stolen from me, be restored! Double for my trouble.
God is a God of restoration! We can ask for it back!
Isaiah 61:7 NKJV
Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs.
Double for my trouble. Spiritually storm the castles, break down the gates, and take back with faith what’s been stolen from you. It doesn’t matter who is to blame for what, if you left Attitude City, start calling back double in your Promise Land.
The handout doesn’t have a lot of words on it, because these prayers aren’t meant to be prayed like a robot. They’re just prayer points, so there is room to speak from your heart and make them new each time you say them.
Thank you for coming back this week. I’m really enjoying doing this study with you. I hope we’re all starting to see the Joseph story in a new light and how important humility is in our lives, especially as believers. One of the ways to be Biblically humble is to give all the glory to God. It’s not necessarily selling all your possessions to follow Him, a vow of poverty. We don’t have that example in the Bible. What we do see is the lower you’re willing to go, the higher God can raise you up. The higher a person exalts themselves the more dangerous the fall and destruction will be. Next week, we are going to study Joseph’s experience with humility.
Homework
- Read the Joseph story, chapters 37-39. It’s not that long.
- Pray the Holy Spirit prayers every night, at least until we have our next Bible study.
(Prayer Points
- Thank You Lord for revealing hidden gems in this story so that we can see Your Might Helping Hand even when we’re accidently fighting against You.
- Thank You for providing us with special prayers to launch us into the next season of our lives
- We all come together right now in agreement that enemies will be revealed, strategies will be given, healing will take place, and restoration begins immediately. We thank You for the testimonies that will come in, because You are a faithful God.
- If there is someone in our life that needs ministered to with the Word we learned today, please highlight them to us Holy Spirit.
- Thank You Lord that this series is stirring up an excitement inside of us to seek you like never before. We thank You that our best days, no matter what our age, are always in front of us and never behind us.
In Jesus name, Amen)
