Joseph's Journey to Success, Genesis 39

 

Joseph's journey took him from the Pit to the Prison to the Palace.

In Chapter 39 we see Joseph:

Sold.

Slaved.

Seduced.

Slandered.

Sentenced...

And then the curtain will close with one more, "S" word so powerful that the Lord will keep the spotlight on Joseph for the rest of the book.

No, not Superman. It’s something we all can do.

Amazing to think nearly 1/4th of Genesis, is focused on a regular Joe.  And now even after about 3,800 years, his story is still being told all around the world.

Genesis 39:1, Sold.

39 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 sold by his own brothers, forcibly taken over 300 miles south, to another country, Egypt, and sold to a high ranking official, Potiphar. 

Joseph's just a young man, 17 years old, sold like property, sold like livestock, sold like a piece of meat.

Sold like, Jesus was sold for the price of a slave; thirty pieces of silver.

Sold, like every two minutes a child is sold into sex trafficking. 

The Average age is 12 years old. 

Over 40% are first sold by a family member. 

Only 1% are ever identified. 

The US is a top destination for sex trafficking.

Increased exponentially by open border policies.

From the true story, Sound of Freedom:

"It is the fastest growing crime network the world has ever seen; already passed illegal arms trade; soon to pass the drug trade. Over 2 million children a year are being sucked into the deepest recesses of hell... If you do nothing, someday it's going to reach the likes of you."  

We are part of His Church, His Ekklésia, people called out to effect change, to interpret, implement, enforce, God's will.

We are sending an offering to fight this evil. (Praying about how much and where. Perhaps one of these, or both: soundfreedomfoundation.org, or, OurRescue.org).

But there’s much more to do than simply making a donation.

Prayer is our most powerful tool for effecting change. So, we MUST pause right now, and EVERY DAY, to pray against this vile wickedness.  

BECAUSE GOD'S CHILDREN ARE NOT FOR SALE

Let's pray.

Loving Heavenly Father, we stand in the gap for Your children, and against this vile wickedness of sex trafficking.

Please, stop this evil.

Please close our borders, if not for US, please do it for the sake of the innocent children being exploited by the perverse open border policies of our sick politicians.  

Lord, please wake up Your people from their self-absorbed apathetic stupor. Put in us a passion to be active, fight, fight, fighting, against evil, and for Your righteousness.

Please have mercy on US, forgive US for allowing this sin to saturate our nation.

Thank You, Lord. Amen.

JOSEPH COULD NOT BE BOUGHT

The wicked world might've sold Joseph, but Joseph had the moral fortitude and conviction of character to know that come what may, trials or triumph, he was not for sale.

Genesis 39:2-6a, Slaved

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.

Joseph was sold and forced into slave labor. Like 28 million today are forced into slave labor.

But the Lord was with him and gave him favor with his master.

Nevertheless, Joseph was still a slave. Enslaved to the will and whim of his master. No matter how much the Lord blessed him, it was simply making the bossman richer. Day in day out, daily grind, no way out.

But God has other plans for Joe, and you...

The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that you have Life, and have it more abundantly. John 10:10.

2 Corinthians 3:17, Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Isaiah 61:1, The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,

John 8:32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 8:36, Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, and do not be encumbered again by a yoke of slavery.

Our Father God, Author of liberty, let freedom ring, our country ‘tis of Thee, let freedom ring long and strong in the land of the free, home of the brave.

JOSEPH KEPT HIS LIBERTY, EVEN IN SLAVERY

Dear child of God, never sell yourself out, or sell yourself short. You have been bought with a price, the precious, priceless blood of Jesus Christ, YOU ARE NOT FOR SALE.

Genesis 39:6b-10, Seduced

6b Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. ⁷ And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”

⁸ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. ⁹ There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

¹⁰ So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.

Guys, what would you do in Joe's shoes?

She's pretty, obviously seductive, and openly offering herself to you.

Do you do what she says, since she's the boss and you're just the lowly servant?

He was young, He was a slave, he could've easily thought, who am I to refuse my master? (boss at work?).

If I say no, it may not go well for me.

JOSEPH GAVE NO PLACE TO THE DEVIL. Ephesians 4:27.

Joseph did not yield to her advances, the devil's temptation.

He didn't even entertain her for a moment, or flirt with her just for fun. He flatly refused.  

JOSEPH HONORED THE SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE.

Nothing's been kept from me, but you, his wife. 

The marriage bed is a sacred place, not to be defiled. Even among the godless.

Hebrews 13:4, Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Joseph called it what it was, a great wickedness, and sin, AGAINST GOD. (Proper priorities, sin against GOD).

Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. Ephesians 5:11.

Genesis 39:11-18, Slandered

¹¹ But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside,

If Joseph made a mistake, this was it. He should've made sure he was never alone with her.

1 Thessalonians 5:22, Avoid the very appearance of evil.

Code of Conduct for judges: Avoid the appearance of impropriety. 

Billy Graham in his over half-century worldwide ministry adhered to this and was never caught in the devil's snare that trips many ministries. He'd never go into a hotel room alone without first having his men, document that the room was empty.

¹² that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 

1 Cor. 6:18, hadn’t been written yet, but Joseph followed it to a T: “flee sexual immorality.”

¹³ And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, ¹⁴ that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. ¹⁵ And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”

She slandered Joseph's good name by telling the men of the house. But they couldn't do anything but gawk and gossip.

¹⁶ So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; ¹⁸ so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”

She repeated the slanderous lie to her husband.

The guilty rage loudest about the very things they themselves are guilty of.

This type of slanderous accusation should lead to a painful death sentence for Joseph.

Yet, Joseph remained silent. We read of no defense from Joseph. He doesn't accuse the wife. He allowed room for God to defend him.

JOSEPH GAVE GOD ROOM TO WORK

Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Romans 12:19.

Isaiah 53:7-8a. He (Jesus) was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. ⁸ Unjustly condemned, he was led away... NLT.

Genesis 39:19-20, Sentenced

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.

Potiphar didn't become captain of the guard by being stupid.

Did he know the truth?

Wonder if he whispered to his wicked wife, you can't hide your lyin' eyes.

Perhaps that's the reason he put him into prison, rather than putting him to a painful death; like being impaled on a pole, or buried alive, burned alive, or torn limb from limb by crocodiles.

Once again, we hear nothing from Joseph, who apparently quietly placed his hope in the Judge of all the earth.

JOSEPH TRUSTED GOD TO WORK ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR GOOD (Romans 8:28).

So far, Joseph has been sold, slaved, seduced, slandered, sentenced...

Doug, did you mistitle the message, Joseph's Journey to Success? It sounds more like his journey to death.

No, for Joseph it was a journey to Life.

Sold – but Joseph could not be bought.

Slaved – but he kept his freedom by walking in character and integrity.

Seduced – but gave no place for the devil, and he honored the sanctity of marriage.

Slandered – but didn't lash back, he silently gave place for God to defend and avenge. 

Sentenced – yet placed his fate in the True Judge of all the earth.

Joseph was a type and shadow, of the path and pattern of Jesus Christ.

What do you get when you add all that up?

Genesis 39:21-23, Success.

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.

Through it all Joseph succeeded, to such a degree that the rest of the book is focused on him. In the end, we’ll hear him say the powerful phrase, What you meant for harm, God used for good, Genesis 50:20.

We have one more “S” word. One word that describes what Joseph did. One word that made it all work. Something we all can do, starting today, no matter who we are or where we're at. We can, like Joseph, like Jesus, wax strong in Spirit and grow in favor with God and man, by doing this one thing…

JOSEPH SERVED THE LORD

Yes, God was with him. Yes, God gave him wisdom. Yes, God gave him favor.

But God blessed and prospered what Joseph did, what he set his hand to, the way he served, is what impressed Potiphar, and the Prison Warden.

Make a note, Joseph wasn't serving them, he was serving God.

There’s no greater joy and satisfaction than honoring the Lord by serving someone for His sake.

Try it sometime. You’ll see.

If they try to pay you, simply say: 

Thank you for the honor of serving you.

Those words rolling off your lips will bring more fulfillment than anything the world can offer.

Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord. Colossians 3:17.

Memorize that. Personalize it.

Whatever I do in word or deed I do all in the name of the Lord.

Then, do it... and you’ll never work again. It’ll be a joy.

Jesus says it like this:

Whoever wants to be great must be your servant of all, whoever wants to be first must be your slave, for the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:26-28.

Thank you for the honor of serving you.

Let's pray.

Holy Father, thank You for sharing with us the story of Joseph. Most of all, thank You for the honor of serving You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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