GENESIS

Notes on Genesis 39

Genesis 39:1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither.
2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

Sometimes it may be hard to understand why God allows some of us to suffer as in the case of Joseph. We may think that if God was with him, why did he have to be sold to Egypt in the first place. God has a purpose for everything that He allows His believers to go through. This will work out for the good of Joseph's family in the long run. Yet I wonder if things would have been different if Abraham had never went to Egypt during the first famine in the land of Canaan.

He would have never gotten Hagar as a maid for Sarah. Hagar was an Egyptian. Ishmael would have never been born and then there would have been no Ishmaelites to bring Joseph into Egypt. Then of course the brothers may have killed Joseph instead of selling him if that was the case.

Perhaps the fact that Abraham went to Egypt for help instead of trusting in God opened the door for his descendants to inherit the thinking of trusting in Egypt for help. In Isaiah we see the Lord warn against trusting in Egypt for help.

Isaiah 31:1 Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!

That verse does indicate the warning of trusting in mighty armies and foreign alliances instead of seeking and trusting in the Lord. Sometimes when we trust the Lord He may use some of the above but the main emphasis is to seek the Lord for guidance especially for those who know the Lord.

To a Christian, Egypt and Babylon represent bondage to sin or the love of the world that we are to avoid. As the Israelites were slaves in Egypt and Babylon, before we come to Christ we are slaves to sin. Sin holds us in bondage from which which Christ makes us free.

God showed Abraham that his descendants would have to suffer bondage to Egypt for years before they would receive their inheritance in the land promised to Abraham. I wonder why. Was it because Abraham once ran to Egypt during the famine or was it because after the death of Jacob and his sons, the children of Israel began to learn the ways of the heathens in Egypt and lost their protection from God. When a new king arose that didn't know Joseph, perhaps they were too weak spiritually to realize what was happening and they became slaves.

Another Joseph went down to Egypt to save Jesus Christ from being killed by the hand of Herod. When Joseph brought Jesus and Mary back to the land of promise, the scripture was fulfilled,

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

This prophecy has a double meaning as many prophecies do have. It meant the children of Israel as a whole when they came out of bondage and later Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God when Herod the king had died and it was safe to return.

Genesis 39:3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

No matter what reason Joseph was here, God was with him and prospered him in all he did. Joseph could have pouted and refused to do anything constructive but he did well in all he was given to do. Today most of us would hire a lawyer and demand our rights or complaint to God how unfair it all was. I probably would.

Genesis 39:4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.

This man was not a believer in God himself but because Joseph was with him, God blessed him also. Joseph decides to make the best of a bad situation. Perhaps he was thankful that his brothers didn't kill him.

Genesis 39:6 And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not aught he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored.
7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.

Lest we get exalted and forget who is blessing us, Joseph was soon to have his thorn in the flesh as the apostle Paul speaks about.

This may be where we got the saying about "a woman scorned." Lots of innocent men have been accused because of women who feel they have been scorned. This doesn't excuse the men though for there are plenty of men who are the aggressors in this kind of thing.

Genesis 39:8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master knoweth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

Oh that more people would awake to the fact that adultery truly is a serious sin against God. So serious that God made it one of the ten commandments.

Genesis 39:10 And it came to pass, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spoke unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in a Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:
15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.
16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.
17 And she spoke unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:
18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.
19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.

Why didn't this man have Joseph killed? I'm sure this would have been just cause for the death penalty if a slave would have done this thing. Perhaps the master had a little doubt in his mind that Joseph was really guilty. There was not enough doubt to keep Joseph out of prison but just enough to keep him alive. My speculation here.

Genesis 39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.
23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.

It looks bad for Joseph but all this came about because God was going to allow Joseph to become a ruler in Egypt and make the way for those dreams of Joseph to come to pass.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

The story of Joseph is one story that brings out the meaning of Romans 8:28. It looked so bad at first until we see the whole picture. DC

Genesis 40