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1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. 5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. 6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. ~ Genesis 39:1-6
Today, we transition into Genesis 39 where the story of Joseph is being unfolded. This man who once had a coat of distinction is now seen in Egypt enslaved by Potiphar the captain of Pharaoh’s army. Since the introduction of Joseph in Genesis 37, we have noted that the thread through his life is the idea of forgiveness. We pointed out that there are three parts to forgiveness: the injury, the debt incurred by the injury, and the cancellation of that debt. Today, we will see the unfolding of this major doctrine which is a must if we are to be reconciled to God.
In v.1 of today’s passage we read, “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.”
Joseph had been stripped of his robe, shoved into a pit, and sold into slavery by his brothers. And then, he was taken away from his family and his land to a people of a foreign place where there was no knowledge of the God of the Bible. Joseph would be there for 13 years before he would see his family again. And Joseph kept believing in the God of the Bible and the presence of God was pronounced in his life as a result.
At the young age of 17 Joseph was now alone in a foreign land. But God, who is always in control, even when the events around us seem to show otherwise, was preparing Joseph to do some very cool things that would impact the entire world. Joseph's amazing journey which went from slavery to the second highest position in Egypt, unfolds in today’s passage. When life seems to be going great and setbacks come along, we can rest assured that God has some big things planned in our immediate future. Only when we find ourselves clinging to God will we be positioned to see the great things the Lord has in store for us. Of course, we mustn't let ourselves think that it is only about us because when God blesses us, He always has someone else in mind. It is arrogance that always short circuits God's will both in and through our lives.
In v.2-4 of today’s passage we read, “2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.”
Here, the name YHWH is reintroduced into the continuing narrative of the events of Israel. He’s only been mentioned 6 times in the past 8 chapters and yet He will be mentioned 8 times in this one chapter. His name has been used very little, but in the case of Joseph, it will be used alot due to the relationship Joseph had with Him. Because the Lord is named here, we can know immediately that everything which has and will happen is being directed by Him for the sake of the covenant that He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was the God of the Bible who was attending to these events in order to ensure that they unfolded perfectly to fulfill the covenant. As Joseph so diligently walked with God, the Lord used him to picture for us the Lord Jesus Christ. All the while God used the yielded life of this remarkable young man to eventually lead many to faith in the Lord Jesus.
YHWH was with Joseph because Joseph exercised YHWH's presence everyday. The Lord is there everyday in our lives, the question becomes, “Do we exercise His presence every day?” To exercise God’s presence is to be aware of His involvement in our lives daily. It is listening for Him to speak to us through His Word, His Spirit, nature and people. Becoming aware of God in our daily lives requires intentionality. We must be in the practice of looking for Him and expecting Him to speak to us. The litmus test to determining whether it is God's voice or not is whether what He says jives with His Word, the Bible.
Due to the fact that God was with Joseph, he found favor in the eyes of those around him in Egypt. When we read that Potiphar saw that the Lord is with Joseph, it doesn’t mean that Potiphar knew who the Lord was for himself. It means that he saw that Joseph was blessed and that he was a blessing to him and his family. As a result, Potiphar trusted Joseph so much that he allowed him to live in his home. This didn't happen over night which suggests that Joseph was consistent in his walk with the Lord. Saying "no" to the self-life is a must if we are to walk in the Spirit. As a result, Potiphar’s home was blessed and it prospered by the presence of God in the life of Joseph.
The biggest sign that we are walking with the Lord is that we increasingly are becoming servants. As the grace of God increased in the life of Joseph, he experienced more favor from Potiphar. The increase of Potiphar’s favor was in direct proportion to Joseph choosing to be the servant of the Lord. Joseph had been faithful to the Lord his God and now the blessing of His God was upon him to the point that he was made the overseer of the house of Potiphar. The word for “overseer” comes from the Hebrew word which means "to superintend." This honorary position had been granted to Joseph for his diligence and faithfulness over a great period of time. In this capacity, Joseph was granted complete authority and free-will to exercise that authority over all matters related to Potiphar.
In v.5-6 of today’s passage we read, “5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. 6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.”
In the middle of such great blessing suddenly out of no where, an entirely new thought and direction comes into play at the very end of today's passage. This is the wrench thrown into the mechanism of it all, the pesky fly in the ointment. And, if we look at it as such, we will miss entirely God and His culture that He so desires to inculcate into us. The break is so sudden and obvious that one has to step back and wonder why the verse wasn’t divided before this sentence was even constructed. But, God who oversees His word determined it to be this way.
The words, “Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance” slap us directly in the face. These were the very same set of words given to describe Joseph's mother, Rachel, all the way back in Genesis 29:17. It reads, “Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.”
This seemingly innocuous statement set up a course of events which led to seven years for Jacob as he worked off his payment for his desired wife, Rachel. But he didn't get Rachel, he got her sister, Leah. Then, another seven years of trial and grief working off payment for a second wife. All because of the deception of his father in law. In a similar way, through the deception of another person, this same set of words will lead to some years of grief for Joseph followed by his exaltation to become the second highest in the land of Egypt. And when he is in that position, there will be seven years of abundance and then seven years of famine. Thus the connection between Rachel and Joseph is one of astonishing symmetry and beauty.
Today’s passage highlights for us the sovereignty of God even in the unwanted moments of our lives. This is why we must never allow the "victim's mentality" to take hold in our lives because it is through these unwanted moments that the real star of the narrative arrives, the Lord Jesus who was, in essence, sold by His brothers to the Gentiles. Like Joseph, when they rejected the Lord Jesus, His message was carried to the nations. The Ishmaelites, the people whom God heard, carried the truth to the world. In the same way that the Lord was with Joseph, the Spirit of the Lord rested upon the Lord Jesus. Similar also to Joseph, the Lord Jesus according to 1 Peter 2:25 is “the Overseer of our souls.”
Once after Charles Spurgeon spoke to a large crowd in England while in the vestibule a man was asked what he thought of Spurgeon. Not knowing that Spurgeon was standing nearby listening, the man asked what his friend thought of the service, and he replied, “What a preacher!” Spurgeon began to weep. Someone asked him what was wrong and Spurgeon said, “I wish he had said, ‘What a Savior!’”
