August 1998
Genesis Chapter 39
Joseph found himself in trouble because his brothers became jealous of him. They destroyed his coat of many colors which his father Jacob had made for him, stained the coat with blood to appear that Joseph had been killed. The brothers sold Joseph into slavery to some traveling Ishmaelites.
In Genesis 39 we learn that Joseph is sold by the Ishmaelites in Egypt to Potiphar, who was an officer of the Egyptian Pharaoh., serving the Pharaoh as captain of the guard.
Potiphar liked Joseph and quickly saw that Joseph was a good man who had favor in the Lord’s eyes. We are told that "the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man." Gen. 39:2.
Joseph became the head of Potiphar’s house. The Lord prospered Joseph in all that Joseph did; Joseph found much grace in the Lord’s sight. Joseph became a powerful man for Potiphar and ruled over his master’s house and business.
We find that the Lord’s blessed the Egyptian Potiphar’s house for Joseph’s sake, and blessed all that Joseph did in the fields as well. Joseph became so well favored that Potiphar trusted him with all his possessions completely.
Joseph’s prosperity and fortune did not escape the eye of Potiphar’s wife. She became obsessed with Joseph and several times attempted to get Joseph to begin an affair with her. Joseph resisted. Joseph instructed her that he was faithful to his master who had entrusted Joseph to head his home and his business. Gen. 39:8. Joseph explained that to have an affair with her would be unfaithful to his master Potiphar and a "great wickedness, and sin against God."
She was not discouraged. She persisted on Joseph every day. He refused to be alone with her.
One day Joseph went into the house to work and found that Potiphar’s wife was alone with no other men in the house. She pushed herself on him again. She grabbed him by the coat to get him to stay with her and he shed his coat to escape and ran out of the house. This infuriated her. She decided to use Joseph’s coat to ambush him.
She called to the other men and lied to them saying Joseph had been in the home attempting to entice her. She said she had to scream to get Joseph to leave. She then saved the coat until Potiphar got home. She told the same lie to Potiphar and got him mad at Joseph. This was the second time that Joseph’s coat had been used to deceive people that trusted and loved him.
Potiphar, having been lied to and deceived by his wife with Joseph’s coat falsely used as evidence, Potiphar grew angry with Joseph and had him thrown in prison. Gen. 39:19.
But Joseph continued to find favor with the Lord. God gave Joseph favor in the sight of the prison keepers and Joseph was made head of all the prisoners.
The prison warden was impressed that Joseph was so blessed and that the Lord made to prosper everything that Joseph attempted to do in the prison.