Last week we left our new friend Joseph on a slow moving caravan towards Egypt with a bunch of Midianites.
His brothers had taken his blood soaked coat back top Jacob and old dad was convinced that he was dead, and even his brothers no doubt felt that he was gone for good from their life. They had felt good for their revenge, they jealousy appetite had been appeased!
But what they didn’t know was that Joseph was still alive, in fact, very much alive!
Let’s look now at genesis chapter 39 and work our way thru the events that occurred to Joseph in this scripture setting.
1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
Ever had a day go bad? Talk about a strange turn of events…last week we watched obedient Joseph go run an errand for his father, nothing complicated, just go check on your brothers and come back and let me know how things are going. But rather than things going as planned, he is ripped of his coat, tossed in a pit, then drug back out and sold for a slave. From there things no doubt got even worse…he goes to the auction block, but that day at the auction there sat Potiphar!
Potiphar was a military man, he was appointed the captain of the guards, and some even believe that he was the director of the execution department for the military.
Scripture doesn’t tell us why, but for some reason Potiphar likes what he sees in Joseph, makes his bid, and acquires ownership of Joseph as his new slave.
Most might think that this would be the last time anyone would ever hear about Joseph. But…not only are we going to hear how he survives we are in store for quite a ride with this guy for one reason and one reason only …look at verse’s 2-6
2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,
Did you catch the reason for his success?
“ The LORD was with Joseph” God had not forgotten Joseph, even in the bottom of the pit…even on the wagon ride back to Egypt…no Joseph was Gods son and all the while, despite the circumstance God knew where Joseph was…OH dear hurting heart this morning …God knows where you are!
But there is an interesting little twist found in verse 3 did you catch it…
When his master saw that the LORD was with him.
Joseph didn’t have to go tell old Potiphar “hey by the way I am a Christian …yea honesty I really am” No…Potiphar could see it for himself. Aren’t you glad that God can do such a work in your life that others can see it?
Additionally Joseph didn’t use his spirituality as a manipulative tool to get the promotion from his boss. Rather it all came about simply because the Lord was with Joseph and the lord caused him to prosper!
HE ends up finding himself second in command in Potiphars house, not bad for a guy who was thought to be sold as a common slave. But this was only the beginning of gods plan for Joseph’s life!
But here comes the meat of this message, catch this friend…With greater success comes a greater measure of trust, which often leads to a greater time of vulnerability.
Josephs was certainly prospering. Potiphar had left everything in his charge, his schedule, his finances, his estate….everything…All seemed to be going great for this little brother, oh church see how this is setting up…just when we think all is well…whoosh out of nowhere the enemy shows up!
Look at the last part of verse 6...something here is about to happen…
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome…
Nothing wrong with being in shape…nothing wrong wit being on the cover of GQ…but with these attributes came an opportunity for temptation…in fact scripture wastes no time in telling us what happened, and apparently neither did potiphars wife…look at that next verse…
7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"
Wham…direct hit…no mistaken words here, rather brazen and shamelessly she approaches Joseph and says lets go to bed, lets have sex together.
Now guys lets be honest…some of us would have probably blushed, or felt flattered, or stood there awe struck…but notice the reaction of Joseph…verse 8
8 But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
Did you hear his response…HE refused! If you don’t remember anything else from this message remember those two words “HE refused!”
No, he wasn’t a spiritual giant or anything like that, no there wasn’t a band of angels that came and fought her out of the room…but rather just young good looking Jewish servant boy and an Egyptian women offering herself to him and he said NO!
How could he pull this off? …Two reasons:
1. He had loyalty to his master…listen "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife.
2. He had loyalty to God how then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
Joseph had such a relationship with God that his relationship with the master was the most important thing in his life.
Listen they were alone, in the private chamber, no one would ever know…but he said no and stood his ground! One temptation, one victory…you might think that the devil would leave him alone after that right? Well think again…
10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
This lady refused to take no for an answer. She wasn’t about to be rejected, she know doubt was used to getting her way, so day after day she would throw herself at him and try to seduce him. She was driven…possessed…she must have him…forget about her marriage to potiphar…she was driven by that desire to satisfy SELF!!! Regardless of the costs!
Can I assure you this morning that if you are living with the feeling that once you resist a temptation it will vanish and never bother you again, you better think again!
Listen church the more you do for God, the more respected you are at your job, the higher you climb the ladder….the greater catch you are for the devil…
That’s why Mrs. Potiphar went after Joseph time and time again with a relentless persistence. He was the prize …get him and she had won it all!
The point to catch here is that despite being tempted literally every day…Joseph refused to budge…NO NO NO…for you see just the slightest interest in her would have spelled doom for him…I honestly believe the remainder of his life’s story would have never been written the way it was had Joseph yielded.
Watch what happens next…
11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
Joseph had come into the house to do his work one day. No doubt he noticed the house was strangely quiet, no servants around, and without a warning she makes her move…this time she refuses to take no for an answer, she grabs Joseph, hanging onto him so hard that he yanks himself away from her and when he does his outer robe is left in the strong grip of her hands.
Oh dear friends get the message this morning…when the temptation comers especially the sensual RUN FROM IT…
Don’t sit at the computer and reason with it…RUN
Don’t schedule the evening meeting with just you and the secretary and think about it…RUN
Run for your life, get out of the situation, do what Joseph did, he ran out into the street, and Mrs. Potiphar is left standing there, now enraged her lust has turned to fury, her fury into a false accusation…
13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger. 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
She calls the men together and lies about Joseph. Her scream was not a scream of rape but rather a scream of rage. Her screams were that of a scorned woman who was enraged that this handsome young man had refused her advances and that he wanted nothing to do with her.
When you read this account maybe you feel like I do…wow God it is time to really pour out your blessing on Joseph. But friend God doesn’t always react or respond the way we think that he should.
Here is Joseph absolutely innocent of this charge, he knows it, Mrs. Potiphar knows it and most of all God knows it, but the circumstances and the evidence is against him. Admittedly the plot looks fairly convincing, but did you really hear what happened?
20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined
Is it possible that Potiphar could see through the plot his wife had set for Joseph?
Remember his position, he is the chief executor and one would think that if a slave had tried to rape his wife he would have simply killed the guy on the spot…but instead he puts him in prison, perhaps more angry that he had lost his right hand man than anything else, but once again we find Joseph in a bad situation.
How do you think Joseph was feeling now? He had been faithful, he had resisted, listen church he had done what was right…and he was suffering the penalty of someone who had done wrong!
Days turn into weeks and then months go by, and our young fellow is mistreated, rejected and forgotten…its de javue for Joseph…
But watch this…
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
The Lord was still with him! Despite the mistreatment, God was still God and Joseph was determined more than ever to keep his trust in him!
There are some of you here this morning and the events of recent times may seem so unfair, you prayed, you obeyed…you just were sure as to exactly the way God was going to work things out…you were right…but things went south…
Oh I know it is hard, I know it doesn’t make sense, but can I challenge you this morning, be like Joseph …stay true to God above everything else…HE never makes mistakes!
THE result, Old Joseph prospers right their in the prison cell…made top trustee…
In closing let me share some words of hope to you today.
If you are here this morning and you have been suffering from some temptation can I give you some suggestions on how to overcome;
1. You must not be weakened by your situation
Oh Joseph had it made, economically he was secure, vocationally he was respected, and personally he was handsome and charming. HE could have allowed all of this to weaken him, but he didn’t
2. You must not be deceived by the persuasion
Oh you tempter will have just the right words, and the y may be very persuasive;
My spouse doesn’t meet my needs like you could
Who will ever find out its just us here alone
Just this once, never never again
Why wait, we are going get married anyway…
If you really loved me…
Oh listen my friend... the enemy has the bait out there for all of us to bite. It may not be an individual but rather a lonely motel room Mr. traveling businessman; it may be a magazine, a late night cable movie, or just peer pressure at school, or your business colleges...
3. You must not be gentle with your emotions!
Look at how Joseph handled Mrs. Potiphar
V8…HE refused
V9… How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
V10…he refused to even be around her
V12...he ran from her
Oh friend if you need to press it to the extreme, be rude if you have too! Just don’t try to pacify your emotions
4. Finally don’t be confused with the immediate results
Joseph after doing what was right gets dumped in prison. If you win over temptations, it may cost you your job, you may lose your lover, you maybe jeered at, lose friendship, you may even be the only one who is not doing it…if so then go ahead and be the only one!
Maybe there is someone here today and no one knows what you have been struggling with, not even your spouse, your mom or dad….but you know and maybe you have almost given in…can I challenge you this morning to be like Joseph!
