SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME (GEN 39)
A biographer of Michelangelo told about the famous artist’s nagging problem with his work on a statue and his unconventional way of arriving at a solution to the problem. As he was working on a sculptor, the brilliant artist found that his own shadow on the statue was in the way of his usually reliable better judgment. The candles in the room caught the reflection of his body, cast a shade on the statue, and interfered with the objectivity of the sculptor, the lighting of the room, and the integrity of the statue. So he thought long and hard of a way to keep his shadow off the statue.
After repositioning himself numerous times, switching to different candles, and adjusting his approach, surroundings, and angle in vain, a thought hit him like a ton of bricks, an idea flashed into his head, and a smile came to his lips. Why not try putting the candlelight over the head? But how was he to balance a candle on his head? Ding! He remembered the miners who balanced their lamps on their head at work in the caves. So he devised a candleholder, placed a candle on it, tied it to his head, and completed his work to his satisfaction (Telling the Old, Old Story 227, David Larsen, Wheaton, Crossway Books, 1995).
Joseph’s father and brothers were not the only stumbling blocks to the youngster’s maturity, greatness, and destiny. When he was young, Joseph’s ego, personality and outburst cast the biggest shadow on his future. He talked much of his dreams but nothing of God. He had sweet dreams, but he had yet to understand God’s purpose, experience His power, or practice His presence. The dreamer turned slave experienced God in the most unlikely place - Egypt, and His presence meant success in all the work of his hand (Gen 39:2, 3, 23) and favor in the eyes of others (Gen 39:4, 21).
What kind of triumph awaits those who trust in God’s power, presence and providence? How is God actively helping those who are going through suffering, struggles and setbacks?
THE ABILITY TO TRIUMPH OVER MISERY
39:1Now 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. 2The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4Joseph 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. 5From 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. (Gen 39:1-5)
Once, Lucy, the wannabe psychiatrist from the Peanuts gang, set up a table to offer consultation services to neighborhood kids. Lo and behold, her first patient was Charlie Brown, the eternal pessimist, who came with a heavy heart over a fire that destroyed the house of Snoopy his dog.
Charlie Brown took a seat, barely said anything, but stared at the ground. Seeing his silence, Lucy raised her right hand, gestured passionately, and offered advice to a dejected Charlie Brown: "There was a real lesson to be learned from seeing Snoopy’s house burned down. Adversity builds character. Without adversity, a person could never mature and face up to all of the things in life!"
Immediately Charlie Brown perked up with hope at the wisdom of the statement. He lifted his gaze from the ground, turned to Lucy and asked, "What things?" Lucy put her turned away from Charlie Brown, thumbed her nose in the air and smugly said, "More adversity!"
Someone once said, “A Christian is one who is completely fearless, continually cheerful, and constantly in trouble.”
Joseph did not just survive exile, slavery, and anonymity - he thrived under it. The road to Egypt was heartrending, torturous, and lonely, and he was unprepared, outnumbered, and immobilized. The Ishmaelite merchants, buyers, and travelers put his feet in shackles, jammed his neck with irons (Ps 105:18) and tied his hands with expertise as they dragged him on a long, wretched, and dangerous journey across the Sinai wilderness to Egypt. In Egypt Joseph heard an unknown language (Ps 81:5), saw strange customs, and faced an alien civilization.
But yet, in Genesis 39:2, 3, 23, the recurring word “prosper,” translated as "success" in the NIV, accompanied Joseph. Tragedy daunted him, but it did not doom him because the Lord was with him. Joseph had every reason to be miserable, depressed, and resentful; after all, his own brothers had tricked, betrayed, and sold him. Instead of wanting to die, he wanted to live, to persevere and to hope. He did not just survive; he thrived under oppression, stress, and anguish. Someone once said, "Pain and suffering are inevitable, but misery is optional."
The Lord’s blessing was on Joseph no matter where he was, what he did, and whom he served. Joseph showed a good attitude at work, made a strong impact on his master, and rose to the top in style. The Hebrew word “all” or “everything” occurs an astonishing nine times in the chapter – all that Joseph did (v 3), all that was entrusted to him in the house and in the field (vv 4, 5, 5, 6, 8), all who were in prison (v 22), all that was done there (v 22) and all under his care (v 23). God’s presence brought him sanity, gave him strength, and provided him stability.
Joseph was a matchless worker, a model slave, a transformed man, and a transparent individual. Potiphar could see the Lord behind the person and the work (v 3). He was not a disgruntled employee, a hapless victim, or a homesick sufferer. After all, it was better to shed tears and face sweat in Egypt than shed blood and face murder in Canaan. Instead of crying foul, thinking pessimistically and moping around, he became a hardworking, productive and trustworthy steward. Potiphar had no problem leaving all he had to Joseph’s care - his servants, fields, and properties, and he did not have to watch Joseph supervise others, worry about his wealth, or withhold anything from Joseph.
Are you humble, hardworking, or helpful to people you work with, work for, and work under? Everyone goes through suffering, but do you know what causes your misery, where to turn to, and how to get help? Do people see the presence, the peace, and the priority of Jesus in your life?
THE ABILITY TO TRIUMPH OVER MISCHIEF
6So 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, 7and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!" 8But 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. 9No 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?" 10And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. 11One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12She 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. (Gen 39:6-12)
At the end of the American Civil War, General Lee, the general of the defeated Southern army, was broke, as were many of his countrymen. Money was scare, the economy suffered, and transgressions were remembered. It was a bleak time for the general, branded a traitor by many who wished to see him imprisoned and hanged. But many others had a high regard for Lee, defended his honor, and responded with generous offers of financial help and various jobs.
Many were intrigued by the greater than life story of the general and his version of the war, but Lee never relived the war nor wrote about his wartime experiences, even when he was old. He had many offers for his memoirs, which an adoring public wished to read, but he turned the offers flat down. When a state lottery offered him ten thousand dollars a year for the use of his name, Lee replied infamously, "Gentlemen, my name is all I have left, and that is not for sale."
http://www.heartlight.org/timely_truths/name.html
It’s been said, “Character is who you are when no one is looking.”
Joseph’s character was tested, undermined, and scorned by Potiphar’s wife everyday, but he did not waver, compromise, or succumb - not even when nobody knew, noticed or minded. He had the courage of convictions, the respect for loyalty, and the fear of God in him. The young overseer had a good understanding of good and evil, a strong stand on what’s right and wrong, and an unmistakable theology of sin and consequences. He said to Potiphar’s wife: "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?" (v 9). Joseph fled instantly, instinctively, and impolitely from Potiphar’s presence. The same verb describes Moses’ actions as he ran for his life from a snake (Ex 4:3) and David’s flight from Saul (1 Sam 19:10).
I heard a speaker who warned this way of the allure evil: "When you look at someone, the first look is accidental, the second look is analytical, and the third look is acceptable."
Joseph had first-hand insight into the complexity of human relations, the deceitfulness of human nature, and the frailty of the human condition. When push came to shove, he repeatedly rebuffed the efforts of Potiphar’s wife, reasserted his stand, removed himself from her presence before trouble began (v 10), ran from her when trouble happened, and remained outside when trouble persisted until the master came home! He was not a toy, a pawn, or a slave in any sense of the word.
Young Joseph feared nothing but sin and feared no one but God. No position, promotion, or praise was worth the penalty, payback and pain of sin. God was in his heart, on his lips, and by his side. He could lose the shirt but not the shorts and shoes! The shirt not worth the sweat! Joseph was out of the way, reach, and league of Potiphar’s wife. Not only did Joseph acknowledge sin was an affront against God, he was the only person in the Bible to characterize sin as “great wickedness” or “such a wicked thing” in NIV.
Do you have God-honoring values? God-fearing ethics and morals?
THE ABILITY TO TRIUMPH OVER MISTREATMENT
20Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. Gen 39:20-23
One of the two songs the congregation we chose for our wedding was “Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace,” also known as The Prayer of St. Francis. The lyrics are:
Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me bring your love;
Where there is injury your pardon, Lord;
And where there’s doubt true faith in you.
Refrain:
Oh, Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love with all my soul.
Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope;
Where there is darkness, only light;
And where there’s sadness, ever joy.
Make me a channel of your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
In giving to all men that we receive;
And in dying that we’re born to eternal life.
Paul said, "To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly" (1 Cor 4:11-13).
Joseph was misrepresented, misunderstood, and mistreated, but he did not lose heart, lose sleep, or lose much. His mind, body, and heart were safe, healthy and sound.
For the second time he was betrayed – the first time by his brothers, but when he committed his situation to God, once more God worked in his favor. Potiphar was fuming, his wife was gloating, but Joseph was unyielding. His master decided Joseph’s sentence, but only God could decide his fate. Potiphar’s wife determined Joseph’s blameworthiness but not his behavior. Imprisonment confronted Joseph once again but he was unbowed, unblemished, and unbroken. Prison could not cripple, choke or crush his beliefs. He was down but not out, humiliated but not haunted, and dejected but not despairing.
Joseph did not explain himself to Potiphar, expect a confession from his wife, or evade responsibility, blame, or imprisonment. It was better to be faithful in low and obscure places than to be frisky in high and mighty places. Joseph endangered himself before Potiphar, enraged him and his wife, but entrusted himself before God.
The presence of God does not mean the absence of enemies, but the triumph over man-made tricks, traps, and troubles. Jeremiah 20:11 says, "But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten."
In Joseph’s case, no matter what people did to him, said about him, and think of him, Joseph triumphed with courage, wisdom, and dignity. The Lord’s presence is the most precious and reliable company in life. Just when all was lost, hope was gone, and life was bleak, Joseph again experienced God’s nearness and faithfulness. Instead of facing destitution, despair, and death, Joseph found an explanation for his deliverance, a reason for his existence, and a hope for his release.
Conclusion: What if sin knocks at your door, gives you a nudge, and throws itself at your feet not once, not twice, but continually? Would you resist and rebuke it? What if sin approaches you behind closed doors and drawn curtains? Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Won’t you seek God and let Him guide and guard you?
Victor Yap
http://epreaching.blogspot.com/
riversidecma.org
preachchrist.com (Chinese sermons only)
