Wednesday: Joseph, A Slave in Egypt
We now pick up the flow of Joseph’s stories, which had been “interrupted” by the Tamar incident. Joseph is now working as a slave for the “captain of the guard,” who is in charge of the prison for royal officials (Genesis 40:3-4; Genesis 41:10-12).
Read Genesis 39:1-23. In light of the example of Joseph’s working as a manager under Potiphar, what are the factors that led to such success?
Image © Lifeway Collection at Goodsalt.com
Almost immediately, Joseph is characterized as a man of success (Genesis 39:2-3). He was so good and his master so trusted him that “all that he had he put into his hand,” and even made him “overseer over his house” (Genesis 39:4).
Joseph’s success, however, does not corrupt him. When Potiphar’s wife notices him and wants to sleep with him, Joseph unambiguously refuses and prefers to lose his job and his security rather than “do this great wickedness, and sin against God” (Genesis 39:9). The woman, humiliated by Joseph’s refusal, reports falsely to her servants and to her husband that Joseph wanted to rape her. As a result, Joseph is cast into prison.
Joseph experiences here what we all have experienced: the sense of abandonment by God even though, even in this difficult time, “the LORD was with Joseph” (Genesis 39:21).
Eventually, the Lord acts, and He has an impact on Joseph’s relationship with the officer of the prison. Here, too, as in his master’s house, the Lord blesses Joseph. He is obviously a gifted man, and despite the even worse circumstances now (after all, before, he was still a slave!), he seeks to make the best of it. Whatever his gifts, however, the text makes it clear that, in the end, it was only God who brought him success. “The 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” (Genesis 39:23, NKJV). How important that all who are gifted, all who are “successful,” remember where it all comes from!
| Read Genesis 39:7-12. How did Joseph resist the wife’s advances? Why did Joseph specifically say that to have done what she asked would have been a sin against God? What understanding does he show about the nature of sin and what it is? |
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Unfortunately in our haste to get to the end of the book of Genesis by June 30 (actually June 26) our lesson today jams in 3 very important themes that are worth more than a sentence or two. It's a bit like having an entree, main course, and dessert in one spoonful.
The themes are:
1) Doing your best even when you are hard done by.
2) Dealing with sexual temptation.
3) Handling false accusations.
From the lead up to this story one could think that Joseph was a bit of a spoiled brat and would find it hard to accept that he had essentially gone from riches to rags. He was forced to do menial tasks. His character is revealed by his acceptance of the situation by doing his very best.
Many of us, faced with similar circumstances, would spit the dummy and do a sulk. I have seen church members aspire to church leadership and when the nominating committee has thought otherwise, they have left the church. (That even happened to a person who wanted to be a General Conference President once) Joseph's humility in accepting his task as a servant and making the most of it is the mark of mature thinking.
Sexual temptation. This one deserves a whole lesson in itself. It is no secret that the workplace is where many extramarital affairs begin. When you work with the same people every day, it is so easy in casual conversation to give and receive flirtatious remarks. The problem is that most of us like it and when the temptation turns serious we find ourselves powerless to resist. Joseph had the maturity of character to remove himself from the temptation.
False accusations. To be falsely accused of immoral behavior can be highly galling. It is not recorded how Joseph responded to this. We know the outcome - he went to prison. In this action, he pre-figured the accusations, response, and suffering of Jesus. And perhaps both of them have set an example for us too. How many of us would argue vociferously that we were innocent?
It is worth remembering that while the end-story for Joseph turns out well, he did not know that is how it would turn out. His moral behavior was not driven by seeking a reward but came from a relationship with God deep in his heart.
Hebrews 2:10-18 (CSB)
10 For in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God -- for whom and through whom all things exist -- should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11 For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,
12 saying: I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will sing hymns to you in the congregation.
13 Again, I will trust in him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave me.
14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death -- that is, the devil --
15 and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.
16 For it is clear that he does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring.
17 Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.
18 For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
We can see the great faith that Joseph had, and God shows us in the letter to the Hebrews and many other scriptures, how much more the Alpha and the Omega humbled himself to perfect his character and motivation IN US.
Let us remember he said he would not leave us as orphans.
Shalom
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How did Joseph know it was a sin?
I believe the LORD had revealed His Principles of Life to Abraham - just like He did to Moses - and that Abraham passed them on to his descendants. We also know that the LORD spoke to both Isaac and Jacob at various times so I am sure that the LORD also revealed His Principles of Life to them as well as what they learned from Abraham. I am sure that Jacob as priest of the family shared his experiences with the LORD with his favourite son Joseph. We know that Joseph received dreams from the LORD about the future so he must have worshipped and communicated with the LORD.
I believe that the LORD chose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph to reveal His Character to the world because they trusted and believed the LORD would fulfill His promises and take care of them.
Gen 18:19 MKJV For I(the LORD) know him(Abraham), that he will command his sons and his house after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment, that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which He has spoken of him.
The LORD said to Isaac:
Gen 26:4 MKJV And I will make your seed to multiply as the stars of the heavens, and will give to your seed all these lands. And in your Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,
Gen 26:5 MKJV because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My Laws.
Which is exactly what Moses said.
Deut 11:1 Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge and His statutes and His judgments and His commandments always.
Abraham was 100 yrs when Isaac was born
Isaac was 60 and Abraham 160 years old when Jacob was born
Abraham died at 175 years when Jacob was 15 years old.
So Abraham had plenty of time to pass on the LORD's Principles of Life to Isaac and Jacob.
How did Joseph know it was a sin?
God gave our first parents a moral conscience, before the 10 commandments. It set them (Adam and Eve) apart from the animals.
Our conscience was made to conform to an image of God's !
It makes us children of God, IF maintained.
Shalom sister in Christ !
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Yes, so true, right at the beginning the LORD said to Cain "you know". However as time and generations went by they needed clearer revelation of the Principles of Life.
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OK, then, did Abraham not "lie" twice to be exact about telling his wife to say that she was his sister? And did he not fail when he obeyed his wife to use Hagar sexually for having the son they felt God needed help this way to have that son? And did not Jacob become more of a polygamist than Abraham etc. and etc. so to me where it says that Abraham obeyed God's voice and kept His charge definitely does not mean that God felt that Abraham had reached sinlessnes and flawlessness either but just that like EGW says about us "We can only be willing to be made willing." Joseph knew that to have sex with Potiphars wife was sin because she was his masters wife and he also knew that sex was to be only for husbands and wives.
The Word of the LORD tells me that if I confess my sins He is faithful and just to forgive my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.
My sins are blotted out of the books in heaven by the blood of Jesus.
My point was that Abraham knew the LORD's Principles of Life.
The question was how did Joseph know?
My answer to "How did Joseph know that it was sin?" is that I already said what I believe that Joseph knew why it was sin. But another point is also that Joseph knew that it was sin just like we all know when sin is knocking at our doors too with God's Holy Spirit telling us to not go that way into temptation but to do what Jesus said to do in Matthew 6:12,13 to ask God Himself to help us to flee from that temptation because He has "All the Power and all the Kingdom and all the Glory to do so fever, in the name of His Son Jesus." Amen and Amen!
Further thoughts:
And as the moral conscience grew weaker over time from Adam and Eve and Cain, it was neccessary that God would have to stipulate laws and commandments and godly principles as you mentioned !
We are gifted now with the indwelling Spirit through Christ's righteousness, his death and resurrection for us, to surpass the growth of godliness of Adam and Eve in their infant state of an innocent mind that they lost their walk with God (Spirit Led)
Shalom sister
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How often did God have the Levite Priests kill a lamb at the Temple for the sins of His people? Once in the morning and again in the evening. So what does EGW say that we will also have to do with sin in our lives? EGW say that "We will often have to bow down and weep at the feet of Jesus for our failures and mistakes and that we will also often fail in our efforts to copy the Divine Pattern." So it will not be this side of Jesus' Second Coming that we will surpass Adam and Eve in our equaling Jesus sinlessness and flawlessness. But it will definitely be here and now that we can have Jesus flawless Righteousness to cover us till He Returns in Power and Great Glory in the clouds of His Gory and Grace.
Even the people who didn't worship Yahweh knew it was a sin. Pharoah and Abimelech knew that it was wrong to touch Sarah or Rebecca if they were married.
Joseph knew it was a sin to lie with Potiphar's wife (Zuleika), because it was a sin in the Egyptian religion of Potiphar and Zuleika, in the religion of the Sumerians where Abraham came from, and a sin in the religion of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in which Joseph had been raised. Only the Canaanites with their Phoenician religions of the Baal's and Ashtoreth would have tolerated adultery, as it was part of their religion with temple prostitutes. The Egyptians were far more moral than Jacob's sons, who slept with prostitutes, slaughtered an entire town over the probably consentual sex of their sister with a prince, an plotted to kill, then sell their brother into slavery. God built upon and filtered down the religions of the Sumerians and Egyptians, (both nations were descendants of Noah) through progressive revelation until codifying it through Moses when the earliest alphabetical writing was developed.
Think back to Abram's or Issac's lies about their wives being sisters. The monarchs knew it was wrong to take another man's wife.
It appears that Potiphar was a man of great insight and good judgement:
“And the master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand.”
“The LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; ..”.
“But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”
Because he was not corrupt, Joseph had success in all he did. Because his heart was right, the mind conceived the righteous response regarding anything his master assigned to him. I do not think for one minute that Joseph felt ‘abandoned’ by his heavenly Father – God – when Potiphar believed his wife’s lie. It appears that Joseph’s relationship with his God was so personal and intimate that there was no separation or schism between them; he was able to talk with him under and about all circumstances.
Again, I see our heavenly Father working in mysterious ways to bring about His Plan to save mankind; placement, timing, persons of certain dispositions – all are used to facilitate the ultimate outcome: to lead and to bring back to Him the children of His design and to cause them to enjoy their spiritual Father’s fellowship.
*IN SUMMARY*
The commander of the guards trusted Joseph with everything that was in the prison. This happened because the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord helped Joseph be successful [have success] in everything he did. We must always remember, as Joseph did, that our success comes from God. Back to the descent of Joseph into Egypt, God’s mercy is seen amid the twists & turns in his story. He was esteemed even in prison. From his boyhood to adulthood, he was marked with success. His godly life took earned him his master’s trust. When Potiphar’s wife couldn’t have him, she accused him of rape. In prison, God blessed Joseph, richly.
Joseph had been very well educated. He was taught in the fear of God, respecting righteousness! His character was stronger than the world's around him. He knew the true God, and probably had his every day connection with Him. That's why Joseph was who he was. And God had favoured him. He could have been angry with God for all the bad things he was going through, but the Bible does not tell that. He was resigned with God's will to his life.