"From Potiphar’s Place to Pharoah’s Prison" Genesis 40 Pastor Bob Leroe, Cliftondale Congregational Church, Saugus, Massachusetts
We’d all agree that God was with Joseph in
Potiphar’s house…was God still with Joseph in
Pharaoh’s prison?
The most significant feature of Joseph’s life was his steadfast loyalty to God in the midst of trying circumstances. Joseph remained faithful in spite of unanswered questions, in spite of the fact that God’s timing didn’t agree with his. Joseph’s life really had its ups & downs—yet Joseph carried his convictions with him and lived them out. He never compromised his values and was never bitter when things went wrong. He could have complained, “I resisted temptation, and this is what I get?!” Joseph accepted without a grudge his changes in status. Joseph didn’t believe in “bad luck” and he never regarded his plight as hopeless. Joseph remembered his dream from when he was a teenager, and knew he was in the middle of the story—a story whose Author was God.
A popular saying today is “Get over it.” Christians are able to recover from adversity because we trust in a sovereign God. Providence isn’t just a city in Rhode Island; it is a concept that proclaims God is in control. Those who see God’s hand in everything leave everything in God’s hand. Joseph was able to accept what happened because he trusted God’s power and promise.
In spite of all that had befallen him, Joseph was recognized as a man of God—the warden and his fellow prisoners saw this clearly. They sensed the presence of God was with Joseph. Some might automatically assume Joseph’s dilemma was due to some sin. Job’s friends were convinced (and tried to convince him) that all adversity is divine punishment. But for Joseph prison was a pathway to blessing. We know this, because we know “the rest of the story.” If you were unfairly sent to prison, innocent of any crime, would you feel that God was with you, even working through you?
An amazing thing we learn about Joseph is that wherever he went, he prospered. As a slave, he was elevated as his Egyptian master’s most trusted administrator. And in prison, the warden put Joseph in charge as an overseer. Potiphar was the captain of the guard and superintendent of the prison (39:1 cf 40:4); he likely provided a referral. When we walk with God we can prosper under any conditions, regardless of our circumstance.
Imprisonment may have also been God’s way of protecting Joseph from further temptation by Potiphar’s wife. God delivered Joseph, though not the way he’d have preferred. Yet the ultimate outcome shows how God’s ways are above ours.
I’m not glibly suggesting “Don’t worry—be happy.” Positive thinking and optimism alone—without an authoritative basis—won’t get us through trials. A self-help writer stated, “I’m such an optimist I’d go after Moby Dick in a rowboat and take Tartar sauce with me.” Unless God has instructed us to “pursue Moby Dick in a rowboat”, the mere fact of our optimism won’t guarantee us success. The confidence which Joseph had was a faith assurance based on divine revelation. -Not faith in faith itself, but in the facts of God’s word. Our confidence rests in our basis of authority. When we trust in providence--God’s sovereignty, His control over the circumstances of life--this is not fatalism. Someone said, “I’m not a fatalist. And even if I were, what could I do about it?" Fate and luck are inventions of unbelievers. Philosophers and astrologers thought that people were helpless due to blind fate. This is a far cry from understanding how a loving God has a personal interest in us, loves us, and has a plan for our lives. God even has a purpose for our trials. We accept what we cannot change because we know God has a plan for us. Do you want to be a witness for Christ? Perseverance under trials is the strongest defense of faith.
Pharaoh’s prisoners may have received better treatment than ordinary inmates. Remember—Potiphar likely suspected that Joseph was innocent but was coerced into punishing him. He could have refused, but he had no proof of Joseph’s innocence, while his wife had the condemning garment, the “smoking gun” as we say today.
I’ve been a Confinement Facility chaplain and have seen how prisoners can either become hardened by incarceration or develop character and grow spiritually in spite of their surroundings. Some people think the Army is a kind of prison—yet it is an institution where people can develop character--if they’re willing to grow. The same is true of wherever God has placed you. The goal of believers who are suffering is not escape, but endurance.
Joseph was responsible for the care of prisoners with elevated political status. He was assigned to serve the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. Although prisoners, as high officials of Pharoah’s court, they warranted special attention. The cupbearer was the official taster, to insure that Pharaoh’s cup was not poisoned. We’re not told of their specific offense; in some way they displeased their ruler and were assigned to Joseph. This tasking was no accident.
Joseph was too busy in prison to indulge in pity-parties. Rather than focus inwardly, he showed sensitivity to the concerns of others. A WWII POW observed that fellow prisoners who busied themselves by helping their comrades survived the ordeal. Those who only thought of self were the ones who most often crawled into a corner and died. Had Joseph not looked to the needs of others he would never have ended up in Pharaoh’s palace. His ministry in the dungeon opened that door.
Divine providence was causing the dreams of these 2 men. Joseph, true to God, points them to the Source of interpretation in vs 8. Joseph was merely God’s instrument. He could have replied to the baker and cupbearer, “Forget your dreams! Mine only got me into trouble!” But instead of being bitter, Joseph was compassionate. Paul explains in II Corinthians how God comforts us in our afflictions so that we can comfort others with the same divine comfort we’ve received (1:3). How can we ever experience the comforting power of God without first being uncomfortable? Hardship and mistreatment did not make Joseph bitter; success and prosperity did not make him proud.
Joseph interprets the two dreams, vss. 12-19. One brings favorable news, the other a death sentence. Ministers have to be like Joseph, preaching the Good News along with the bad. We talk about eternal life, but we also talk about sin. We preach about love and responsibility. It’s been said that the goal of preaching is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable!
Joseph asks the cup-bearer to put in a good word for him, vss 14-15; but he gets so caught up in his release that he doesn’t think to defend Joseph; why risk offending Pharaoh a second time? And so Joseph will have to wait 2 more years for release (41:1). His only assurance is his own dreams. They will come true, just as the dreams of the cupbearer and baker did. Joseph’s “know-so” faith enabled him to persevere. It wasn’t easy, but Joseph endured. He claimed God’s strength to accept and patiently endure his trial and testing. Faith is often developed through hardship, disappointment, disillusionment, conflict, frustration, failure, and loss.
If we’re always seeking an easy way out of our problems; if we expect God to remove our trials rather than help us through them, we won’t grow. It’s been said, “Don’t pray for an easy life; pray to be a strong person.” God never tells Joseph why he’s in prison. God isn’t obligated to explain life’s dilemmas. But He has a plan; God never wastes suffering.
Have you ever looked carefully at a hand-woven tapestry? We usually examine the front. Sometime turn one over and look at the back. You’ll see a mess of string with no apparent pattern. It’s only when you return to the front side that you see the finished work of art. Our lives are like a tapestry. One day we’ll see the final outcome, the big picture. When God’s finished, it will all look right. Faith is being certain about the ultimate even when uncertain about the immediate.
Joseph survived his prison experience because he trusted his future to the providence of God. Puritan writer Hugh Martin stated this about adversity and trust: “The trial of faith is having circumstances to contend with which appear to extinguish hope.” If we knew the outcome of our trials beforehand, there’d be no need for faith. We’re to wait and trust. When we regard a situation as hopeless, we’re slamming the door in the face of God. Faith means trusting God, even when His ways conflict with ours. We trust, because everything God does is love—even when we do not understand Him.
Prayer: Lord, help us to always do the right thing, regardless of the consequences, knowing that You will turn the ultimate effect to good. Let us be confident in the face of adversity, trusting Your promises and not our feelings. When life seems out of control, let us rest in Your plan, even though we may not understand it at all. And help us to remember that You are the Lord of time, even when our idea of timing doesn’t agree with Yours. For Your glory and praise, Amen.
