Introduction

Good morning again! Turn in your bibles to the book of Genesis.  We are going to be in chapter 39 this morning covering the section that is titled in my bible as Joseph and Potiphar’s wife.  We have returned to the story of Joseph and we will catch back up on what has been happening to him since he was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers.  One of which was Judah who we discussed last week.  

As we begin the story this morning we will see that Joseph has now been sold to Potiphar, the captain of the guard for Pharaoh, and we pick up at the beginning of his service in Potiphar’s house.  There is a strong temptation here, as with other stories that we have discussed, to moralize this and make the theme about resisting temptation or the blessings from God that come when we run from sin.  As I have said before these are lazy interpretations of scripture and they don’t get at the heart of what is really being communicated.  Namely the faithfulness of God and the foreshadowing of Christ.  To get at those themes we need to read this as Israel would have received it when they were given this story after their exile from Egypt.  

Consider a people who has been enslaved for hundreds of years in Egypt and then freed from their bondage with the hope of a promised land.  This hope was strained nearly to the breaking point when they were thrown back into the wilderness and into suffering having yet to receive the promised blessing.  When these people hear this story of Joseph they would come away with only one conclusion.  God is with us in our blessings and he is with us in our trials.  So the theme I want us to clearly see, apart from the foreshadowing of Christ which we will also consider, is that today, whether you are on the mountain top of blessing or in the prison of a trial, God has not left your side and he is surely doing good to you wherever you are.  

So that is where we are headed this morning, please stand with me once more as we read Genesis 39, starting in verse 1. 

39 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. 

Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. 

19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. 

Joseph’s Success

Success is a good thing right? We all like to be successful and we all want to be successful in our endeavors.  With success comes increased value and responsibilities which translates to increased monetary compensation if you get paid for your success or increased appreciation, love and wisdom if you don’t.  This is what we see happening with Joseph as we begin our story.  With Joseph being a slave to Potipher, I don’t know whether or not he had a great compensation package but he did find favor in the eyes of Potipher because he was successful in everything that he did.  As a result, he was given increased responsibilities, his appreciation grew, and certainly his wisdom grew.  

To be so successful, so quickly and have everything work out so well for you, Joseph must have been really smart, really strong, really talented and really lucky.  Is that what the word says? It’s always a bit odd how things that are right in front of us are sometimes totally overlooked.  Our eyes see what they want to see right? The reality is that this passage is not about Joseph at all.  Joseph isn’t even the main character in these first six verses and if you read it correctly you will see that Joseph is actually passive in his success.  

Verse 2, “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man.” Again in verse 3, “The Lord was with him.” and again, “The Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.” Verse 5, “The Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake.” And again, “The blessing of the Lord was on all that he had.” So why was Joseph successful in Potiphar’s house? Because our Lord was with him and was actively at work blessing everything he did and actually causing everything that he did to succeed. I won’t, but I could spend the rest of the time this morning destroying the success narrative that is so prevalent in our culture today by thoroughly demonstrating that success apart from the sovereign hand and will of God is not a thing.  However you measure success, if you think you have it, it’s because God has granted it.  I know you think you are smart, good-looking, hard-working, and talented, (all of you are, keep doing that) but it is the blessing of God that flowers all the seeds you sow.  

“But what about the people who care nothing for God but still succeed?” Our text addresses that too.  The text notes that the Lord blesses Potiphar for the sake of Joseph.  So Potiphar is blessed and given success not for his sake, but for Josephs.  God is generally benevolent to all mankind, this is common grace, “He sends rain on the just and the unjust.” He also though at times blesses and prospers some for the sake of others.  Think of an unjust businessman who is super successful and we all scratch our heads thinking, “how can such a crooked person be so successful?” It’s not for their sake, they are receiving their reward, it’s for all those who will secondarily benefit from their success.   There is the gospel in there too.  The blessing of God is for Israel, the descendants of Abraham, but the promise of God is that through him ALL the families of the Earth will be blessed.  This of course is a foreshadowing of the fact that Christ came not for Jews only but for all the peoples of the world.  The overflow of God’s grace in Christ touches every nation on Earth.  While we confess and understand that not every person is ultimately saved, we aren’t universalists, we do see that even those who hate God still receive some measure of the overflow of his goodness and grace.  

This is the extraordinary goodness of our God that for the sake of his people and in the infinite nature of his goodness he blesses even those who are against him.  So in the blessing of the gentile Potipher we see the continued fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham and the foreshadowing of Christ who will bless the gentile not only temporally, here on Earth, but eternally for those who believe.  

Joseph’s Temptation 

Now we continue with Joseph’s temptation.   According to the Bible, Joseph was a very good looking man, handsome in form and appearance.  It was his good looks, perhaps coupled with the blessing and resulting success he received, that were the instrumental causes of his temptation.  Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife to forget his gratitude to God in his blessings and success and to forget his gratitude to Potipher for the opportunities he has been given and to instead use those blessings for his own personal fulfillment.  

As we read Joseph did not give into this temptation.  He viewed his faithfulness to God as of first importance even, or maybe especially, when that means denying himself, his personal gratification, and the temptations of others.  We don’t know what would have happened had Joseph not resisted here and perhaps the consequences would have been even worse for him but we can say that because he chose to honor God, his heavenly master, and Potipher, his earthly master, he suffered greatly.  His loyalty to God caused anger, bitterness, and lies about him which ultimately spiraled him into another trial.  

I can’t help but consider the words of Jesus here when he says in Matthew 5,

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

or the words of Peter when he says, 

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. 1 Peter 4: 19

Or the words of James when he says, 

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  James 1: 2-4

Those are of course all New Testament passages but they apply the same immutable truth of God’s word, his will, and his character that was just as present in the old as in the new.  That is that faithfulness to a righteous God in a fallen world will make things difficult at times, do not be surprised by this.  Honoring God and truth will bring trials of various kinds, this is a promise of scripture but like gold refined in the furnace there is a greater purpose for the heat.  

As we finish the rest of the story and gain the benefits of hindsight this becomes abundantly clear.  If Joseph didn’t go through his prison trial would he have met the men who had dreams to interpret, would he have had the opportunity to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, would he have been given the authority to ultimately save so many from the famine including his brothers? We of course don’t know because that’s not how it happened but we can say that we are here and Christ came into the world because Joseph was refined and used through this trial.  We can trace the thread from Joseph all the way to us.  

I am not saying that God is not the instrumental cause because he certainly is.  It is God’s will and God’s power that ordain and cause all things but in his decree he also uses secondary causes and ordinary means.  This is why Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians,

 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9: 22

That he might save some? I thought God does the saving? He does, yes and amen and praise be to God that it is him and not me else all would be lost.  But we also can’t deny when we read of Joseph, or all the New Testament writers that God has ordained and uses these secondary causes, namely people, you and me which includes even our sins and mistakes.  So the question is can we rejoice in trials if those trials not only refine us but are by God’s grace the secondary cause of the calling and salvation of his people? 

Again hear the words of the Apostle Paul, 

8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 2 Timothy 2: 8-10

Joy can be found in all things when all things have a purpose.  In Christ, through the power and will of God, all things do have a purpose.  When we reflect back in eternity we will see all the threads of all our lives weaving through the ups and downs, the trials and triumphs, and together they will form a tapestry that will eternally declare God’s amazing story of redemption.  Joseph’s thread is in there and by the grace of God yours is too. 

Joseph in Prison

Still more to the story, we’re not done yet. As we read, Joseph was lied about and was portrayed as something and someone who he was not and was sent to prison on account of that false witness.  We can see the foreshadowing of Christ in that as well.  Again, the key takeaway here is not necessarily that Joseph faced persecution because of his honorable behavior though that is certainly true but that the Lord was always with him.  Verse 21, 

21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

The Lord was with Joseph when he was in the throws of success and he was with Joseph when he was stuck in prison.  Through it all it was the Lord who was with him, showing him love and granting him success.  Being thrown in prison for doing the right thing doesn’t sound like success but when God is with you and showing you his steadfast love, success is measured differently, right? 

This is what Paul is really getting at when he gives us the most often misused verse in Scripture.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In context he says, 

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 

We’ve said this many times recently and I take no credit for coming up with this thought but success and joy transcend our circumstance.  When Christ is with you, when he is strengthening you, whether you are high or low, win or lose, in hunger or plenty, abundance or need, you will persevere, you will have joy, you will be successful (in the true sense of word). 

How? Not because our situation will necessarily change, although it might, but because we will change to see God working in us to transform, refine, grow, strengthen, and serve.  What can be more joyful and successful than that? Nothing, I don’t think, because Paul says such a truth is essentially the secret to life so I pray that you see that this morning. 

Conclusion

It’s been a more practical sermon than usual perhaps but let’s consider a few points of application as we close. First, the text this morning should teach us that God’s presence and help is never strictly localized.  What do I mean by that? We often joke when we are playing pickleball and someone hits a really good shot by saying, “went to church this morning.” As though God is somehow more on our side and grants us success because he is nearer to us because we went to church.  Or someone is super successful and we say of them, “God must really be with them.” But then when someone is going through a Job kind of moment, or a Joseph in prison kind of moment, what do we often say, “God be with you.” 

So did God’s presence manifest the mountain or the prison? The answer is yes. 

7  Where shall I go from your Spirit? 

Or where shall I flee from your presence? 

 8  If I ascend to heaven, you are there! 

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 

 9  If I take the wings of the morning 

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 

 10  even there your hand shall lead me, 

and your right hand shall hold me. 

 11  If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, 

and the light about me be night,” 

 12  even the darkness is not dark to you; 

the night is bright as the day, 

for darkness is as light with you.  Psalm 139: 7-12

God is with you locally wherever you go, whatever you do.  

Secondly and related to the first, the text shows us that the Lord is with us through all things.  

1  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

2  He makes me lie down in green pastures. 

  He leads me beside still waters. 

 3  He restores my soul. 

  He leads me in paths of righteousness 

for his name’s sake. 

 4  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil, 

  for you are with me; 

your rod and your staff, 

they comfort me.  Psalm 23: 1-4

We are speaking now not locally but metaphorically or poetically, if you are in green pastures it is the Lord who has made you to lie down there and restore your soul.  If you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, or living the dark night of the soul, he is with you, he will not let you utterly despair or be taken by evil.  

He does not send us out nor does he put us through the highs and lows without his constant help and presence.  The words of Christ, before he ascends into heaven. 

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28: 20

Wherever you go, whenever you get there, in whatever condition you find yourself in on the way and when you arrive, our Lord promises that he is with you. 

Finally, the text makes it clear that the Lord is using our trials for our transformation and for our good and the good of others.  Even when our struggles seem pointless or in vain, when they feel like too much, or insurmountable, when they seem unjust or unfair, or when it seems that nothing good could ever come from this, Christ is there one chisel stroke at a time, shaping you for his purpose.  

Again, we don’t have the benefit of hindsight at the moment because if we did it wouldn’t be hindsight and we would be God.  True faith and true wisdom is the knowledge and assurance that God is at work even when it doesn’t feel like it and we can’t see it.  You don’t need to see it, you can’t see it, you won’t see it, at least not always.  But trust him.  He has documented his will and his character and his promises enough times that we aren’t leaping in the dark, we are standing on a rock.  He will mold you and he will strengthen you because he is with you, Trust Him.  Amen.  

Bibliography

Greidanus, Sidney. 2007. Preaching Christ from Genesis: Foundations for Expository Sermons. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.