- Who is Potiphar?
- Captain of the Guard
- Also, in charge of the prison (39:20; 40:2-4) for political crimes
- What is the main theme?
- The Lord is with him
- What do we observe?
- V2 God is prospering his work
- V2, 3 The Lord is with him
- V3 God is giving him success in everything
- V4 Joseph is finding favor in the eyes of his bosses
- V4 Joseph is being entrusted with greater responsibility
- Evaluate the following statements, and from the text determine if "probable, speculative, or confirmed."
- (probable) Joseph is doing his best (hard to imagine success, and doesn't say)
- (probably not) Joseph was wallowing in self-pity (hard to imagine success, and doesn't say)
- (speculative) Joseph is walking with God (doesn't say)
- It is a NT principle:
- APPLICATION: We really don't know what God is doing in our lives or what the future (no matter how old we are) holds, but we can do our best to do what is right, keep a positive attitude, and make the best of what we are given.
- How old is Joseph?
- The text does not say, except for, older than 17 and younger than 28 -- probably mid-twenties
- The temptation is for sex outside of marriage, or fornication. Who is being tempted?
- Technically, Potiphar's wife is, and has given in to the temptation
- The scripture does not say, but it would not be surprisingly for a young man to be struggling with the thought as well
- What does Joseph do?
- He refuses her advances
- He calls a spade a spade. It is a wicked thing and it is a sin against God
- 1 Cor 6:18-20 (ESV) Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
- He tries to keep distance from her (very end of 39:10 "… or to be with her")
- APPLICATION:
- Sometimes the first struggle with sin is a refusal to call it by it's name: evil,
- and in the case of sexual immorality, a sin against God.
- For those who are married, it is also a sin against the wife of your youth.
- SPECIFIC APPLICATION: We need to repent and we need to call sin, sin.
- This is always a dangerous situation. While Joseph would have known of Potiphar's absence, it is not clear he would have expected the servants to be out. He was in charge, but we don't know if the wife sent them out on an errand.
- How does Joseph respond to the temptation?
- He flees
- It is a seldom a bad choice to flee from a dangerous temptation. Many sins start because we allow ourselves to be in a bad situation. Watching the wrong shows, movies, going to the wrong places, etc.
- Why would the wife lie?
- Emotional response to the rejection
- Guilt and trying to cover her own sin
- The wife uses a phrase, twice, in her version of the events, to stir up the emotions, what is it?
- She calls Joseph, a Hebrew
- Hebrew would refer to a descendant of Eber (Great-great-great-great grandfather of Terah) and would include a number of different people groups. The term emphasizes the differences between her, an Egyptian and a foreigner
- APPLICATION: She uses race to instill hatred. Satan is still doing that today
- NOTE: Joseph has a hard time hanging on to clothes, first his robe of many colors and now his cloak
- How does Potiphar respond?
- He burns with anger
- Why?
- Scripture doesn't say exactly (2 options)
- He believes his wife and is angry that Joseph would do such a thing
- He doesn't really believe his wife; is angry that she is probably lying; has no choice but to take action against Joseph
- The fact that his anger is kindled as soon as she starts to blame Joseph suggests that he might have been mad at her
- Potiphar knows his wife
- Many commentators have argued that Potiphar could have been more severe with Joseph
- Also, Potiphar's prison was for mostly political prisoners
- Finally, Gen 40:4 seems to suggest that Potiphar still had great trust in Joseph (of course by 40:4, he could have finally realized the treachery of his wife by later events not recorded)
- Does he believe his wife? It doesn't say
- From Joseph's perspective, how does life look?
- Terrible
- He did nothing wrong -- was almost killed -- then sold into slavery
- He did everything right -- was thrown into prison
- Less we think Joseph was the stoic believer who did not struggle, we should look at what he names his two sons (41:51-52)
- From God's perspective, how does life look?
- God knows what he is doing
- What does verse 20,21 tell us?
- God is still with him
- God is still blessing him
- APPLICATION: Joseph could focus on his current state (he had no idea where things were headed) and he could have been very bitter. He could also focus on the little things (from his perspective) that showed him that God was with him and had not abandoned him. Ultimately, it is those little things which will result in his release (although 2 years after the events). Joseph needed to have faith that God was in charge and that God was going to bring about good despite the evil that had befallen him
- Rom 8:28 (ESV) And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Timeline:
|
1916
|
Birth of Joseph
|
Gen 30:23
|
|
1910
|
End of Jacob's
stay with Laban
|
Gen 31:41
|
|
1899
|
Selling of Joseph
(17 yrs old)
|
Gen 37:2
|
|
1886
|
Joseph (30 yrs
old - out of prison) -- 13 years gone
|
Gen 41:46
|
|
1879
|
Beginning of
famine (37 yrs old) -- 20 years gone
|
Gen 41:54
|
|
1878
|
Brothers’ first
visit to Egypt (38 yrs old)
|
Gen 42:1-2
|
|
1877
|
Brothers’ second
visit to Egypt (39 yrs old)
|
Gen 43:1; 45:6,
11
|
|
1876
|
Jacob's descent
to Egypt
|
Gen 46:6; cf.
47:9
|
|
1845
|
Israel is
enslaved
|
|
|
1446
|
Israel leaves
Egypt after 400 years of bondage
|
Gen 15:13,16;Acts
7:6
|
|
1395
|
Conquest of
Caanan complete (essentially)
|
Acts 13:19,20
|
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 yourself, 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.
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