The Journey of Faith Continues
Joseph #1 — God’s Grand Demonstration of Salvation
Expectations:
1. The goal of any meditation in the word is to know God more, understand who you are in
relationship to Him, and understand His plan. Pray and ask God to help you know Him
through His word.
2. Spend approximately one hour reading this lesson and meditating on its questions. Group
leaders should not “teach” through the lesson during small group but simply facilitate
group discussion about the lesson.
3. The last instruction of the lesson will be to record what has been helpful to you and how
it applies to you. Every group participant should come ready to share his/her insights.
Review:
God is working through the lineage of Abraham to reverse the curse upon the earth and instead
bring blessing. His plan entails bringing forth a promised seed (people) from which the Messiah
would come and restore the original and blessed Edenic environment—the Kingdom of God on
earth.
As God works out His plan, various threats occur that seem to jeopardize God’s redemptive
plan—famine, sin, barrenness, unfaithfulness, faithlessness, and intermarrying of the seed with
foreign idolaters. “Behind the scenes” of these threats is Satan’s work to thwart the establishment
of the Kingdom of God. But also “behind the scenes” is God’s sovereign work to bring blessing
to a cursed world.
Currently, God has multiplied the chosen family to consist of Jacob, his four wives (Rachel,
Leah, Zilpah, Bilhah) and his 12 sons. These 12 sons would later form the 12 tribes of Israel
through which God would bless the world. A flow chart is given below.
Land to rule
Land
Nation/Seed—for an ultimate chosen child
God’s Promises (To create a people for Himself)
Blessing/great name/relationship with God
Abraham and Sarah (barren)
Promises
Isaac & Rebecca (barren)
Promises
God chose/elected
Esau despised the birthright
Jacob/Israel (“trickster”/“God fights”) and Esau
Leah
“Cow”
Rachel
“Lamb”
(barren)
Zilpah
Bilhah
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Joseph, Benjamin
Dan, Naphtali
Issachar, Zebulun
[cf Gen 33:2-7—the “last”]
Gad, Asher
Ephraim, Manasseh
Judah will be given
the “right to rule”
and result in the
lineage for David
and Jesus Christ
The last section of Genesis will deal with the “generations of Jacob”—what comes out of his
loins.
“Primeval Narratives” Gen 1-11
Prologue (1:1-2:3)
The Account of the Heavens and the
Earth (2:4-4:26)
The Account of Adam’s Descendants
(5:1-6:8)
The Account of Noah and His Family
(6:9-9:29)
The Account of Shem, Ham, Japheth and
Their Descendants (10:1-11:9)
The Account of Shem’s Descendants
(11:10-26)
“Patriarchal Narratives” 12-50
The Account of Terah’s Descendants
(11:27-25:11)
The Account of Ishmael’s Descendants
(25:12-18)
The Account of Isaac’s Descendants
(25:19-35:29)
The Account of Esau’s Descendants (36:137:1)
The Account of Jacob’s Descendants
(37:2-50:26)
The trickster has produced a family with great internal tension and struggles. Furthermore,
external conditions of famine and intermarriage with Canaanites threaten the very existence of
the chosen family that is supposed to bless the world. The question becomes, will the family of
promise even survive?!
The severe threats to the family of promise internally and externally set the stage for a grand
demonstration of God’s magnificent salvation! But it won’t come in the way many think it
should. It will come through a suffering servant—Joseph.
Genesis 37
Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
2 This is the account [generations/what comes out of..] of Jacob.
Joseph [Joseph’s name means “may he increase” cf Gen 30:24-25; watch what happens to
Joseph over his life.], a young man of seventeen [Joseph will be with his father Jacob for the
first 17 years of his life. Note that Jacob will spend the last seventeen years of his life also with
his son Joseph (cf. Gen 47:28). Ponder: God will make everything right and bring everything
full circle. How does this encourage you?], was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons
of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad
report about them. [Remember Joseph was the first born son of Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel.
Apparently Jacob is putting Joseph in a position of favoritism “over” the others. Jacob should
know that showing partiality only brings hardship. Ponder: Why should Jacob know this? How
might you be showing unjust partiality at work/in family that could be causing strife?]
3 Now
Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons [This is a clear statement of
Jacob’s/Israel’s partiality.], because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a
richly ornamented robe [This rich robe is a symbol of authority/rulership/exaltation.
Unwittingly Israel’s actions foreshadow what will be true of Joseph—he will be ruler.] for him.
4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him
and could not speak a kind word to him. [Ponder: “Hated him”—what does this bring to mind
from previous stories? Esau? Cain? What is the expected outcome? Murder? Thus, these are the
days of the lives of the chosen family which is meant to be a blessing to the world as it turns.
(did you catch the puns?)]
5 Joseph
had a dream, [At this point in redemptive history, God will guide the patriarchal
family through His sovereign work behind the scenes. There will no longer be “theophanies” of
God coming down and speaking with the family. Joseph will never speak to God directly but will
have dreams. Also watch for the seemingly “minor” details of the Joseph narrative that are really
God’s sovereign work at guiding the family. This will provide God’s people with an additional
assurance that God is always working “behind the scenes” to accomplish His great salvation.]
and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen
to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my
sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to
it.” [Glimpse ahead at 42:6; 43:26, 28; 50:18]
brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And
they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. [Like their
grandfather Isaac, these brothers hope to thwart God’s divinely revealed plan. What do we know
is the outcome of Isaac’s efforts to thwart God’s plan? Ponder: How are you still fighting
against God’s plan? What will be the result?]
8 His
9 Then
he had another dream, [In the Joseph account, dreams always come in pairs. This is to
indicate the certainty of God’s established will.] and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he
said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon [Patriarch—Jacob and
Matriarch] and eleven stars [brothers] were bowing down to me.”
he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is
this dream you had? Will your mother and I [Jacob is primarily concerned about the reversing
of the patriarchal order of the father being the ruler of the family.] and your brothers actually
come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his
father kept the matter in mind. [Although concerned, Jacob “keeps this in his mind.” Why??
Jacob longs for Joseph to be preeminent. And he knows how “prophecies” come true from his
own experience!]
10 When
his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 13 and Israel said
to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am
going to send you to them.” [Ponder: Why did Jacob have reason to worry about the brothers at
Shechem (cf. Gen 34)?]
12 Now
“Very well,” he replied.
14 So
he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and
bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron [God’s promise
that Abraham’s descendants would be in a foreign land, Egypt, for hundreds of years begins here
with this seemingly minor action of checking on the brothers. Cf. Gen 15:13]
When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and
asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 He
replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. [Ponder: How is this opposite of Cain? Gen 4:9]
Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?” [The brothers are supposed to be near
Shechem but they are not. They moved so that nobody could check on them. However, God
allowed an unnamed man to observe them and point in the direction where they traveled. “They
went that’a way”! Ponder: Who placed this “random” man there? Do you believe in “random”
events? Think through your life and the “random” things that have happened. How was each
“random” event necessary to get you where you are today? How does this encourage you?]
17 “They
have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to
Dothan.’”
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the
distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. [Please read Proverbs 1:10–19
now. Ponder: Those who set out to ambush the innocent will actually be “setting a trap for
themselves” when God allows them to reap what they sow. Watch for how God will show this in
chapter 38.]
19 “Here
comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and
throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then
we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” [The brothers are clearly attempting to fight God’s plan
revealed in the dream.]
Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his
life,” he said. 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but
don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to
his father. [Reuben says something to attempt to save Joseph, but he is plagued by the fear of
man and wants to secretly save Joseph. Reuben does not have boldness and courage.]
21 When
23 So
when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped [plundered Joseph, leaving him for
dead] him of his robe—the richly ornamented robe he was wearing [They are attempting to
“dethrone” the royal son.]— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the
cistern was empty; there was no water in it. [This comment explains why Joseph did not
drown.]
25 As
they sat down to eat their meal [This is a clear remark about their callousness. After a
heinous act, they can sit down and eat. At the time of the writing of this study, the video about
selling aborted fetus organs while sipping on wine and eating salad is currently making the
rounds. cf the brothers’ guilt that would plague them 42:21, 43:32-34], they looked up and saw
a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. [Ponder: Another random event?] Their
camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them
down to Egypt. [Ponder: Another random place?]
[Note the role of Judah.] said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our
brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our
hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” [Ponder: Is this noble of
Judah? Cf Prov 1:10-19 esp. vv. 13-14. Judah is not content in letting his brother die. He wants
to make money off of his life. Judah becomes the leader in this crime.] His brothers agreed.
26 Judah
28 So
when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the
cistern and sold him (Joseph) for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites who took him
(Joseph) to Egypt. [Archeologists investigating ancient documents around this time period have
found that twenty shekels of silver was the going rate for a slave. The Bible’s accuracy is
demonstrated with this small detail of the price of a slave. Ponder: “Their brother” sold as a
slave. The brothers attempt to make Joesph the exact opposite of a ruler! They make him a slave!
Also, the translations smooth out the reading by substituting the pronoun “him” for the word
“Joseph.” The author repeats the name “Joseph” three times for emphasis. The slave has a name
and he is the brother! And it seems as if the bell tolls for Joseph OR is this an act of providence?]
29 When
Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his
clothes. 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn
now?” [Ponder: Where should the first born Reuben have turned? The first born should be the
leader, the responsible one. Judah had become the leader.]
31 Then
they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. [The
robe is now indicative of deception and the death of the dream! Furthermore, what did Jacob and
Rachel use against Isaac and Esau? What is the significance now? Jacob will be deceived by
clothing like he deceived his father and brother.]
32 They
took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Please
examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.” [Remember the words “Please examine to
see.” These words will come up again about 20 years later to Judah in Gen 38.]
33 He
recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him.
[Yes the “animals” are his sons, Joseph brothers.] Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”
34 Then
Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35 All
his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said,
“in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son.” So his father wept for him. [The prized
son that was supposed to “increase” is gone and is irreplaceable. There is no comfort for this.]
[Ponder: At this point what do the brothers believe about the dream? What does Jacob believe
about Joseph? But….God is working….]
the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials,
the captain of the guard. [Ponder: What is this verse hinting at after the seeming “conclusion”
of the previous section?]
36 Meanwhile,
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Ponder: Look over the italic term, “brother.” How many times is it repeated? Why is this
ironic?
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Ponder: How does the narrative characterize Reuben [cf. Gen 35:22] and Judah and
Joseph?
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Ponder: What has seemingly triumphed at the end of the narrative?
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Ponder: However, the narrative leaves the impression that all is not done. What should
we take away from this in terms of God’s sovereignty?
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Ponder: In the Joseph narrative, God never speaks or appears as He did to Abraham or
Isaac or Jacob. What do you think about the significance of this in light of the story about
God’s sovereign work behind the scenes?
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Ponder: This story begins to develop the concept of innocent suffering. Joseph is an
individual who experiences evil at the hands of his brothers through no fault of his own.
In contrast, Jacob went into exile because of his own practice of deception. Suffering can
occur as a result of our own sin OR living in a sin cursed world and experiencing evil
from others. The Joseph account will develop what God does through innocent suffering.
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Just like God was present with Jacob in Jacob’s discipline, God is present
with Joseph and working behind the scenes in this family.
God is present in innocent suffering.
God is so powerful that He will turn evil and sin into the accomplishment of
His grand salvation!
Also, the road to kingship is hard—the elect must be transformed and
redeemed to be fit to rule. While Joseph did not “deserve” his suffering, he
takes a path of suffering before exaltation occurs.
Humiliation comes before exaltation for the suffering servant.
God’s people must traverse the same path…suffering/humble first exaltation
later.
The account of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38 is an interlude in the Joseph story. The narrative
details what happens to Judah—the leader of the pack that sent Joseph into slavery. Remember
Proverbs 1:10-19? What kind of discipline will God bring on Judah? The Judah/Tamar story
probably occurs simultaneously with the 20 years that Joseph is in Egypt before Joseph sees his
brothers again (chronology: Gen 37:1; 41:46–50). The point is that God is working
simultaneously with Joseph and Judah. God is working in Joseph through suffering. God is
working in Judah’s life through disciplining.
Also, this account serves as the basis for Judah’s repentance that will be seen clearly as the
narrative develops (Gen 43:8–9; 44:31-34).
Furthermore, the story will give a reason why the chosen family will need to go down to Egypt.
The sons are intermarrying with the wicked Canaanites. Thus, the family is experiencing internal
strife and external corruption. How can the family survive! God will move the family
temporarily to a safer place, Egypt, until the small clan can grow into a nation. The Egyptians
normally “hate” nomads and will not intermarry with them.
Finally, this passage will provide details about the chosen “seed” of Judah. “Offspring/seed” is a
key word in this passage. This “seed” will eventually result in King David and King Christ and
the spiritual seed by faith, “the church.”
38:1 [NIV translation with some modifications]
At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named
Hirah. 2 There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her
and lay with her [Ponder: Contrast with Abraham’s desire for Isaac—Gen 24:3. What is
happening to the “people” who are supposed to be the visible representatives of the invisible
God?] ; 3 she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. 4 She conceived
again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. 5 She gave birth to still another son
and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.
6 Judah
got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar [Canaanite name]. 7 But
Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death.
8 Then
Judah said to Onan, “Lie with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a
brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother. [cf. Deut 25:5–6; Ruth 4:5; Matt 22:2330 These passages detail the righteous obligation to raise up offspring in the name of the
deceased to carry on that offspring’s lineage/inheritance.]” 9 But Onan knew that the offspring
would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the
ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother [He enjoyed the sex but didn’t fulfil
his obligation!]. 10 What he did was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so he put him to death also.
[Ponder: Why might God have allowed Judah to experience the loss of two sons? What had
happened at his hands toward his own father?]
then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house
until my son Shelah grows up.”[Judah should have cared for Tamar.] For he thought, “He
may die too, just like his brothers.” [Judah lies and has no intention of giving his younger son
to her for fear that Shelah may die too. Superstitiously, not understanding God’s judgment, he
believes Tamar to simply be a curse on whoever she marries. All her husbands die! So, while he
promises Shelah to her, he never plans to deliver. Ironically Tamar raises up the messianic
offspring through Judah himself! And God will turn that lineage from a curse of death to a
blessing of life!] So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.
11 Judah
12 After
a long time [Long enough for Tamar to realize Judah had been deceptive with her
because Shelah had grown up.] Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died [Death seems to
surround Judah. The curse on the world seems to be all around the family of promise. It seems to
be an impossible notion that this family could bring life to the world. But God…]. When Judah
had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his
sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.
13 When
Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then
sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that,
though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.
14She
15 When
Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16
Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and
said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.” [Judah’s wife is gone and sensuous Judah is wanting
some sex.]
“And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked.
17 “I’ll
send you a young goat from my flock,” he said.
“Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?” she asked.
18 He
said, “What pledge should I give you?”
“Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her
and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. 19 After she left, she took off her veil
and put on her widow’s clothes again.
20 Meanwhile
Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his
pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her.[He has the honor to keep a pledge to a
prostitute but not his daughter in law. Quite the reversal of values.] 21 He asked the men who
lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”
“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.
22 So
he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there
said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’”
23 Then
Judah said, “Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After
all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”
24 About
three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of
prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”
Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!” [Ponder: How self-righteous and
hypocritical is this? How do we demonstrate this kind of contrived outrage at others’ sin but not
our own?]
she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by
the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “Please examine these to see whether it
is whose seal and cord and staff these are.” [Ponder: Where have you seen these words
before? Who was the leader who said these words to his father? Now these words are being said
against him! (cf. Gen 37:32)? What is the significance of what God is doing with Judah?]
25 As
26 Judah
recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than not I, since I wouldn’t give
her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again. [God has worked now in
disciplining Judah, turning the tables on Judah, so that he repents. Judah confesses his
unrighteousness. Truly when given the opportunity to again put his father’s favorite son in
harm’s way, he will offer his own life in Benjamin’s place (Gen 43:8–9; 44:31-34).]
27 When
the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 28 As she
was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and
tied it on his wrist and said, “This one came out first.” [Notice the culture’s emphasis on
“first-born.”] 29 But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, “So
this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez [Meaning “breaking out”]. 30
Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the
name Zerah. [Perez had “broken out.” The second born would be first. Also, all of this is
perhaps God’s gift to Tamar—twins for the loss of two husbands and a symbol of Tamar’s
overcoming Judah’s unrighteousness.]

Ponder: What pattern do you see in Judah? What “kinds” of people were his victims:
Joseph and Tamar? What is a righteous leader supposed to do with the weak and
powerless? The ultimate seed of Judah will come “weak” and “powerless” and be the
defender of those individuals.

Ponder: Why might God have chosen to let Judah experience the loss of 2 sons?

Ponder: What is the significance of the identical phrases found in Gen 37:32 and Gen
38:25? [compare Proverbs 1:10-19; Gen 37:26-27]
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Gen 37:32 They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, “We
found this. Examine (or lit. ‘Examine please”--‫ֶּר־נא‬
ָ֗ ‫ )הַ כ‬it to see whether it is your
son’s robe.”
Gen 38:25 And she added, “See if you recognize (or lit. ‘Examine please”--‫הַ כֶּר־‬
‫ ָ֗)נא‬whose seal and cord and staff these are.”
Ponder: What is the common tool that Jacob and Judah used for deception and Tamar
used for unmasking? [Gen 27:16, 37:31, 38:17] It would seem that God brings our
actions “full-circle.”
Ponder: Who is more righteous? Tamar/Judah? Why? What was Tamar unwilling to do?
Ponder: What might the trip to Egypt for the patriarch family preserve them from?
Famine alone?
Ponder: Judah and Tamar’s seed is that which will bless the world eventually. Why is
this so amazing?
Ponder: What have you learned about God, man, and God’s plan in this narrative?
Chapter 39 resumes the emphasis on what God is doing with his suffering servant…
Part of the meaning of this narrative is constructed through the author’s use of repetition.
The repeated emphases have been highlighted.
39 Now Joseph [What’s the meaning of his name? --“May he increase”, cf. Gen 30:24; Ps
105:16–24. Will he increase?] had been taken down [He seems to be going down…down in a
pit…down to Egypt.] to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials,
[Ponder: Is this random?] the captain of the guard, bought him from the [lit. “hand of”]
Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
2 The
LORD was with Joseph [Remember God was with Jacob in discipline (Gen 28:13–15).
Now he is with Joseph in suffering.] and he prospered, and he lived in the house [Ponder: Is
this random? Where could he have been serving?] of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master
saw that the LORD was with him [Ponder: Consider Prov 22:29. Joseph could have withered
away in despair but he did not. How is he handling his suffering? How did this impact others’
view of him?] and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did [literally “in his
hand”], 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 [lit. “in his
hand”]. 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 [Remember God had also
multiplied the possessions of Laban when Jacob was serving as a slave under Laban. Now God is
blessing the foreigner, Potipher, in connection with Joseph. Ponder: How is God’s presence with
His children supposed to be a blessing to the world?]. 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 [lit.
“in his hand”] 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, [He was a hotty! This is a necessary detail for the
rest of the story .]7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said,
“Come to bed with me!”
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 [lit. “in my
hand”]. 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?” [Notice whom Joseph believes the sin is against—his master and God.
Furthermore, contrast Joseph’s words in avoiding sexual sin vs. Judah’s words in negotiating for
sexual sin in Gen 38:16–18.]10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to
go to bed with her or even be with her. [Joseph has a clear fear of God about him that was the
source of his wisdom and fleeing temptation (Prov 1:7; 2; 6:23–26; 7:10–20; 31:3–4).]
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.
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. [Ponder: Is placing Joseph in the KING’S
prison random? What could Potiphar have done to Joseph?]
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him
***kindness***[Key word in the OT—God’s “hesed”—covenant loyalty to His promises] and
granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put [lit. “into the hand
of”] 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 [lit. “in his
hand”] care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
[Notice this is the second time Joseph was “low” but then will be “exalted.” This double
repetition foreshadows the certainty of his exaltation in Egypt.]
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The LORD’S presence “with you” is the reason for blessing and any prospering
(Num 6:24-26; Matt 1:23; 28:20).
The Lord delivers into our hands what He wants us to steward and delivers us into
others’ hands to accomplish His salvation purposes.
The Lord causes others to see His work in His people.
The Lord is over all.
The Lord is a faithful God.
The Lord is sovereign over all of the seeming random events.
Ponder: What do you see in Joseph’s responses to his circumstances and his many adversaries—
his brothers, Potiphar’s wife? (cf. Ps 37). How does he begin to foreshadow the role of a
suffering innocent servant who will ultimately prosper? What is the application to us?
Ponder: What has been the most helpful aspect of Gen 37–39? How will you apply it?