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19 So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused. 20 Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. 23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper. ~ Genesis 39:19-23
Today, we conclude our study of Genesis 39 where we find Joseph in the fight of his life over temptation and accusation. The key to Joseph's success was that the Lord was with him. In addition, Joseph had to be careful to access the presence of the Lord in and through his life by practicing God's presence. As a result, he was defined by the Lord which is what enabled him to recognize the sin that called out to him for what it was and to say "no" to its invitation to give safe haven in his life to death and destruction.
In v.19 of today's passage we read,"So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, 'Your servant did to me after this manner,' that his anger was aroused."
Potiphar’s anger was aroused when his wife told him that Joseph tried to rape her. As a result Potiphar placed Joseph into jail. Similar to Potiphar's anger, God’s anger was aroused at the sin that had occurred, but it was aroused in a unique way in Christ who became the Substitute for our sin. What all of sinful man had done was, in fact, judged in the Lord Jesus. This is why the Lord Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, said, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
The cup of God’s wrath was handed to the Lord Jesus, and He drank it down in our place despite being innocent of any wrongdoing. Potiphar’s anger was aroused as well and he took it out on an innocent man. We can see this more clearly in the very next verse.
In v.20-21 of today’s passage we read, “20 Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”
Joseph was Potiphar’s property, and Potiphar was the captain of the executioners. If he believed that Joseph was truly guilty, it was certain he would have had him executed. But because of the accusations of his wife, which couldn’t be substantiated, he took a course of action that pictures for us the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus. He sent Joseph to the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. In the Hebrew, Moses employed a very unusual term which is only used eight times in the Bible and all eight are in this particular story and nowhere else. This place was made under ground, and at the top of it was a hole which let in light, and at which they went into it. It pictures for us the tomb of the Lord Jesus Christ; a round area cut out of stone with an entrance which could be covered.
We are not told of the conditions Joseph faced in that prison, but we do find a description of how he was treated in Psalm 105. His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron. Once again, Joseph did the right thing. He should have been honored for his virtue, and Potiphar’s wife shamed for her immoral pursuits. Instead, it was innocent Joseph who was the one who got hammered with a false sentence.
For the second time in Joseph’s life, he had followed the Lord’s will and got a raw deal for it. His chains no doubt were made heavier by the utter injustice of it all. In such times, the mind screams at the unfairness involved. But there is yet one more incident in Joseph’s life that will pound the abuse in deeper. Joseph was never abandoned by the Lord, even though he suffered for a crime he didn’t commit. Joseph will be in prison, but he won’t be abandoned. Instead, he will be brought out and made ruler over all of Pharaoh’s kingdom.
In v.22-23 of today’s passage we read, “22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. 23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.”
This was the beginning of God exalting Joseph. As in Joseph’s life, everything in our lives and service for the Lord depends upon His blessing. But, the meeting of the need is not dependent on the supply in hand, but on the blessing of the Lord resting on the supply. As John Piper once said, “God wants us to find that He is sufficient in the midst of trouble rather than just demanding that he deliver us from it.”
God’s blessing is the working of God and it is not based on anything we do. True success is when we have discovered to trust the Lord especially when life gets worse to only realize that during those gravest of moments God is preparing us for something much better. We just simply have to trust in Him.
