God Blesses Joseph

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Introduction

Last week we left with a cliffhanger—Joseph had been sold and taken to Egypt. His brothers had grown jealous of his special treatment, and Joseph hadn’t helped himself by sharing his dreams with them.

• What was the basic idea of Joseph’s dreams? Both of the dreams seemed to indicate that Joseph’s brothers and even his father would bow down to him in submission.
  • Write on the board, “Why did Joseph face so many troubles if he was faithful to God?”
  The fact that the dream was repeated indicated that it was a certainty—Joseph would rule over his family. And Israel kept these things in mind (Genesis 37:11), recognizing that God had given Joseph these dreams. This whole situation continued the pattern we have seen of the younger son being honored or preferred above the older.
• Who can remember who tried to protect Joseph? Reuben, the eldest brother, tried to protect him from being killed by his other brothers (37:21).
• How did Israel (Jacob) react to hearing the news of Joseph’s supposed death? He was greatly distressed and said he would go to the grave mourning his son’s death. Israel would have been 168 years old at this point (37:33–35).

  Open up your Bibles to the end of Genesis 37 where we left off last week. We are going to move past chapter 38, which tells of the dysfunction and deception that occurred in Judah’s household. Judah winds up sleeping with his daughter-in-law Tamar, and she has twins, Zerah and Perez. This is a striking inclusion in the genealogy of Jesus given in Matthew. Perez, the son born of an immoral union, was one of the ancestors of David and then Jesus. I will leave you to read more about that on your own.

• What do you notice about the closing of chapter 37 and the opening of 39? The closing and opening of these passages repeat the same ideas—Joseph was taken to Egypt and enslaved in Potiphar’s house.
• How does this relate to the opening of chapter 38? “It happened at that time” indicates that the events in 38 happened while Joseph was in Egypt. This is a literary device that breaks the action, shifting the attention to Judah, and then brings us back to the account of Joseph.

A False Accusation

And that is where we will begin today, looking at Joseph’s time in Egypt. Our goal today is to understand how God related to Joseph while he was in this foreign land.

Chapter 37 left off with a foreshadowing of Joseph being taken to Egypt and sold into Potiphar’s possession.

Let’s read Genesis 39:1–20 together and look at what happened to Joseph while he was a slave to Potiphar. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• Who was Potiphar? He was an Egyptian who was the captain of Pharaoh’s guard, a high-ranking officer.
• How did Joseph come to be in Potiphar’s household? Potiphar bought him from the Ishmaelite traders who had bought him from his brothers.
• How is Joseph’s relationship to God described? The Lord was with Joseph.
• What name of God is used in the opening section of this passage? The small caps indicate YHWH is used in verses 2–5.
• What phrase is repeated in verses 2 and 3? ”The Lord was with Joseph (him)” is used twice.
• What was the result of God’s favor toward Joseph? Both “successful” and “succeed” are used to describe how God prospered Joseph in Potiphar’s house.
• How did Potiphar respond? He recognized God’s favor on the young man, eventually making him the overseer of all of his wealth. The phrase “all that he had” is used three times in these six verses to describe the extent of Joseph’s stewardship.
• In this context, what does the word “house” refer to in verses 4 and 5? This means the totality of Potiphar’s possessions, including his servants, money, and property.
• What was the result for Potiphar of God’s favor toward Joseph? God blessed the Egyptian’s household and fields to make them prosper under Joseph’s care.
• Why did God choose to bless Potiphar? Verse 5 says He did it for Joseph’s sake.
• To what extent did Potiphar trust Joseph? He gave him total oversight, so we can infer that he must have trusted him thoroughly.
• What do you notice about the verse notation for verses 6 and 7? It seems that verse seven should begin with “Now Joseph was” rather than where it does. This is just a reminder that the verse references are not inspired, but added later for convenience.
• What new information do we learn about Joseph at the end of verse 6? He was handsome in form and appearance. This is a rare descriptor in the Bible. Two other places a person’s appearance is noted in a similar manner: Rebekah in Genesis 29:17 and David in 1 Samuel 16:12.
• Who made an advance on Joseph? Potiphar’s wife.
• What was her request? She asked Joseph to lie with her.
• What does the phrase “lie with me” mean? It is a euphemism for sexual relations. The phrase “cast her eyes” is also referring to her lust toward Joseph.
• What is the emphasis of Joseph’s response? He refused her, so it was a strong response.
• What was the first reason Joseph gave for refusing her advance? He acknowledged that his master trusted him with everything he owned, but not his wife. Joseph was not willing to violate his master’s trust.
• What is the second reason Joseph gave? Joseph said he could not do such a great wickedness and sin against God.
• How did she respond to Joseph’s refusal? She spoke to Joseph “day after day,” a phrase meaning continually.
• Did Joseph yield to her continual temptation? No.
• What two things did Joseph avoid after this first encounter? Verse 10 notes that “he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.” It seems that he tried to avoid her presence, not just avoid lying with her.
• How did Potiphar’s wife wind up with Joseph’s garment/cloak? She went to him and tried to seduce him, but he fled.
• How did Joseph respond to this last advance? He did not even say a word (that is recorded), but simply fled the house.
• How did she turn this against Joseph? She called the others in the house and told them Joseph had tried to lie with her, leaving his garment behind.
• What was her evidence? She had his garment.
• How did she refer to Joseph? A Hebrew.
• What was her motive? While it is not stated in the text, it seems she was trying to get revenge for his repeated refusals and for not getting her way with Joseph.
• Where was Potiphar? He was apparently out of town, or at least not at home, since she stored the garment until he returned and believed she had enough time to spend with Joseph before her husband’s return.
• How did Potiphar respond to the accusation against Joseph? He was angry.
• What did Potiphar do to Joseph? He put him in prison.
• What type of prison was it? It was the prison for the king’s prisoners. Since Potiphar was Captain of the Guard, he would have had access to this prison.
• Did Joseph have a chance to defend himself? The text doesn’t give any indication, but if he had offered an explanation, it likely would have been recorded. It seems to be a summary judgment.

Discover the Truth

Joseph found great favor and blessing in God’s eyes, but his prosperous state lasted only a short time. He began this chapter as a slave, was promoted to chief steward over a high official’s household, and was now a prisoner. In both cases, his confinement was not his fault. First, his brothers sold him as a slave, and then, he was falsely accused. So where was God in all of this? We just read that God was blessing Joseph and those around him. How could this be God’s plan?

The answers to these questions is an important concept for us to understand as we consider this account in Scripture. Many claim the name of Christian who teach that God will always bless you if you are faithful to him or that God wants you to be healthy and wealthy. These claims are often referred to as the prosperity gospel, but they tend to focus on specific verses out of context, or even phrases pulled out of a verse, to promote false teaching. When we consider the whole counsel of God, we see that hardship often comes to those who are obedient to God and that prosperity comes to those who are wicked.

From what the text reveals, we see that Joseph was honoring God in all of his ways, yet God chose to bring (or at the very least, allow) this series of events to pass in Joseph’s life.

• So was this Joseph’s fault? Was it Potiphar’s wife’s fault? Was it Potiphar’s fault for not seeking to find out the truth of the matter? Who brought this hardship to Joseph? Allow discussion. Talk about how God was involved in these events, but how also all of the people involved were responsible for their actions. Each person was accountable to God for their sin, but God was ultimately working all of these things to the end he desired.

• Slide #12
  What passage(s) of Scripture might help us explain how God was using these hardships in Joseph’s life to bring about good ends? Refer specifically to Romans 8:28–30. This passage talks about how God is able to work all things together for the good of those who love him.
• What was God’s goal in using these hardships in Joseph’s life? This passage indicates that he was conforming Joseph to the image of his Son—Joseph was becoming more like Christ.
• What attributes of God are in view as we consider his role in directing these events? He must be omniscient to know all that is happening; he must be omnipotent to bring about whatever ends he determines; he must be sovereign to bring about whatever ends he desires; also consider his wisdom, love, and mercy.

  Joseph’s time of blessing in Potiphar’s house was brought to an end through the sin of a lustful and selfish woman. God had been pleased to bless Joseph and all of Potiphar’s house through him. Now that Joseph finds himself in prison, he must be wondering why. I know I would be wondering why.

Suffering as Blessing

An almost incalculable amount can be said on the realities, difficulties, and blessedness of suffering for the kingdom of God. As we go through this curriculum, especially when looking at Job and Jesus, we will talk about how to have hope during your suffering on earth. For now, let’s just look at two New Testament passages that speak volumes on how we should view suffering. If we see suffering as something that is always bad, intrusive, and unproductive (similar to how the Buddhists think that a main goal in life is to eliminate desires, so as to alleviate suffering), then we will often react poorly to it. However, if we view suffering as not present in God’s original creation, but something that was brought about by sin, and yet something that serves a purpose and that God can use for good, then this will dramatically shape and inform how we suffer.

2 Timothy 3:12 says, “ Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Clearly, this is a sweeping statement. And although the original context had in mind persecution from other people who are hostile toward the gospel, it also encompasses the fact that we live in a sinful, decaying world. We suffer from natural disasters and bad circumstances, and our fallen minds afflict us with crippling emotions and thoughts. This passage should also bring hope, though, because if suffering is necessary for living a godly life, then suffering can also serve the end of making us more like Christ, assuming we learn how to suffer with hope in God.

Philippians 1:29 says, “ For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.”

Isn’t that incredible?! It has been granted, first that you should believe in Christ, and second that you should suffer for his sake. This passage gets even more impressive when you look at the original language behind it. The word “granted” is the Greek word, echaristh . The amazing thing is that couched inside this word is the word charis , which is the word used in the New Testament for “grace,” “mercy,” or “favor.”

So, in a similar way in which the English word “acknowledge” has the word “know” inside of it, indicating that to be able to acknowledge something you must also know it, echaristh has charis in it, giving it a flavored meaning of “gracefully granted.”

Let that sink in. It has not just been granted to you to suffer for the sake of Christ, but it has been gracefully given. Your suffering is an act of grace through which you can grow into maturity, and Christ can receive the glory. No wonder James says that we should, “Count it all joy . . . when you meet trials of various kinds.” God gives us two gifts of grace: salvation and suffering. Let us learn to appreciate them both.

Left to Languish

Let’s look at how Joseph responded to the situation and how God continued to relate to him.

Genesis 39:19–40:23
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Let’s back up and read Genesis 39:19 through the end of chapter 40. Have someone read the passage aloud. Consider dividing the passage at 40:9.

• How did God relate to Joseph while he was in prison? The Lord was with Joseph, showing him steadfast love.
• What four elements mirrored Joseph’s time in Potiphar’s house? God was with Joseph, God’s favor was with Joseph, Joseph was put in charge, and the Lord made his efforts succeed.
• How did the actions of the keeper of the prison compare to Potiphar’s treatment of Joseph? Noticing that Joseph was trustworthy, both men put him in charge of everything. The keeper of the prison “paid no attention to anything” that Joseph was running.
• Why did Joseph find such favor? Rather than emphasizing Joseph’s work, the text emphasizes God’s blessing on his work. God is the one who gave him favor and caused his work to succeed. God is the hero here, though Joseph is serving faithfully.
• Who are we introduced to in chapter 40? The king’s cupbearer and baker were brought to the prison.
• Why were they there? They had committed an offense against the king, but it is not described.
• Why would it be important for the king to trust his cupbearer and baker? These men brought him his food and drink, so he had to trust them to not poison him or allow anyone else to do so.
• Where was this prison? It was in the “house of the captain of the guard,” so it is part of Potiphar’s house.
• Who appointed Joseph to attend to the cupbearer and baker? The “captain of the guard” seems to be distinct from the “keeper of the prison” and is the same name used for Potiphar in 37:36 and 39:1. It seems this was Potiphar who had delivered the prisoners from the king’s court to Joseph’s care in the prison. Also, 40:7 calls the prison “his master’s house” just like we saw in chapter 39.
• How long were they imprisoned? We are only given “some time,” so we can’t be certain.
• How did Joseph come to know about the dreams? He found the two men troubled one morning and asked why they were downcast.
• Did the men regard the dreams as significant? Yes, and they were concerned that there was no one to interpret them. Egyptians saw dreams as omens of the future. Dream interpretation was part of the cult of Egypt as well as many other ancient cultures.
• How did Joseph respond to hearing about the dreams? He asked to hear them.
• Who did Joseph point to as the interpreter of dreams? God.
• What was the interpretation of the cupbearer’s dream? He would be restored to his position in three days (vines).
• What request did Joseph have for the cupbearer? He asked him to tell Pharaoh of his unjust imprisonment.
• What event was Joseph reflecting on as he referred to the pit in verse 15? He was reflecting on his brothers throwing him into a pit undeservedly, much as he found himself in this “pit” of a prison undeservedly.
• What excited the baker? He saw that Joseph was able to interpret the cupbearer’s dream and hoped he could do the same for him. He was hoping for the same favorable interpretation from his similar dream.
• What was the interpretation of the baker’s dream? In three days (baskets), he would be hanged and the birds would eat his flesh.
• Were Joseph’s interpretations accurate? Yes, both men met the fate of their dreams.
• How was Joseph able to interpret these dreams so accurately? He knew the God who gave the dreams and who could provide the true interpretations.
• Did the cupbearer fulfill Joseph’s request? No.
• Where do we find Joseph at the end of this chapter? He remained in the prison.

Discover the Truth

If Joseph went into the prison wondering why God was placing him there, he was probably still wondering. While his situation was not a terrible one, he was still a servant in a prison.

• What do we learn about God and his care for Joseph? In 39:21, we learn that God was with Joseph, showing him steadfast love.
• Does anyone know what Hebrew word is used here for “steadfast love”? The Hebrew word is hesed . It is a word used often to refer to God’s covenant faithfulness. It is used earlier in Genesis to refer to God’s love for Abraham and his faithfulness to continue the promises he had made. You will find it variously translated as “lovingkindness,” “mercy,” and “goodness” in various contexts.

  Much as Joseph was the recipient of injustice from the false accusations of Potiphar’s wife, the cupbearer’s failure to bring his plight to the attention of Pharaoh perpetuated that injustice. The actions of vengeful and forgetful people were bringing Joseph much suffering. He probably felt abandoned—even by God.

  Despite Joseph’s feelings about his situation, his God was faithful and was demonstrating his steadfast love toward him. God was faithful even as Joseph experienced these injustices. God provided Joseph with the accurate interpretations of the dreams. He experienced God’s favor in the trust bestowed upon him. He needed to bring to mind the lessons he had learned, trusting that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was watching over him, working all of these things together for good.

Fleeing Temptation Activity

You may wish to do this activity after the first study section above rather than at the end of the lesson.

We are going to take some time to consider the example Joseph provided for us in fleeing the temptation of Potiphar’s wife. In your Student Guide, you will find the Fleeing Temptation activity. Work through those questions, and we will discuss them in a few minutes. Have the students work in groups to complete the activity in their Student Guides. If you are not using the Student Guides, print the activity and pass it out.

Connect to the Truth

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Thinking through Joseph’s response to this temptation should help us in our battle against the sin in our own lives.

Proverbs 5:1–6 This is a warning to avoid the temptations of the sexually immoral, a path that leads to death.

Hebrews 13:4 Within the context of marriage, sexuality is part of God’s plan; outside of that context, it is sinful, and God will judge those who are sexually immoral.

2 Timothy 2:22 Here is a call to flee passions (lusts) and pursue righteousness—the very thing Joseph did.

To lie with Potiphar’s wife would have been both a sin against Potiphar—a horizontal sin—as well as a sin against God—a vertical sin. Joseph obviously had set his heart and mind to honor God before this temptation came to him. As David later wrote in Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Let’s think about how Potiphar’s wife allowed sin to corrupt her heart. It began with noticing Joseph was good looking, a thought that she obviously had entertained in her mind. It moved to a request to lie with him, and continued with constant pursuit of her lust. Here we see a worldly response, a seeking to satisfy the passions of the flesh with no notion of honoring God. We need to recognize these tendencies in our own hearts so that we can stop the progression of sin before we give in. Joseph sets a good example for us, but ultimately we look to Jesus as not only the perfect example, but the one who obeyed perfectly in our place. Even if we fail, Jesus has made us righteous through his sacrifice.

• How did Joseph’s refusal of Potiphar’s wife acknowledge God’s plan for marriage (39:7–10)? Joseph told her that she belonged to her husband, and he would not break that trust. Joseph knew of God’s plan for a man and a woman and would not violate that plan.
• Against whom did Joseph recognize he would be sinning? It would be a wicked sin against God to lie with her.
• How did Joseph’s response to a temptation to sin differ from Potiphar’s wife’s response? Joseph fled the temptation and sought to avoid it. She pursued the temptation and sought opportunities to sin, seeking to persuade Joseph day by day.
• What had to be true about Joseph’s thinking in order for him to respond in this manner? He knew what God’s standard for marriage was, he knew that God was a righteous judge of sin, and he had that in his mind at the time of the temptation (he didn’t take time to consider how to respond).
• If Joseph had lain with her and had never been caught by Potiphar, would it still have been wrong? Yes, sin is sin whether we get caught or not. When we sin against another person, we are also sinning against God whether the other person knows or not. And God certainly sees our sin.
• What do the following passages teach about sexual immorality?
• How does the gospel connect to the truth in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10? The hope of the gospel is that even for those who have violated God’s law, whether through sexual sin or the other sins listed in this passage, there is forgiveness in Christ. We can all find ourselves in this list (or in other lists in Scripture) and recognize our need to be washed from our sins by Christ’s blood.
• Where can you find the strength to flee temptation? We must rely on God’s strength, especially the Holy Spirit living in us, to fight temptation. We must constantly remember that the gospel is not just about forgiveness in the past, but power in the present to fight sin and say no to it (Romans 6:16–20).

Application

We might be tempted to look at the account we have read so far and think about how unjust the situation was or how hard it was for Joseph. But that isn’t what the text seems to emphasize. God was with Joseph! He showed his steadfast love to Joseph! Men were unfaithful to Joseph, but God was faithful. Despite his hardships, Joseph experienced an abundance of God’s grace in his life. God never left or forsook Joseph.

God is intimately involved in our lives, but we often get focused on the moment and the trials we are in. But these light and momentary afflictions are working in us to prepare us for an eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:17), and we are being conformed more and more into the image of Christ as we face these trials (Romans 8:28–30). Joseph knew this truth, but he probably had moments of doubt as he was thrown in a pit, sold as a slave, and accused of attempted rape. On top of that, the cupbearer forgot about him. But God didn’t.

Just as Joseph experienced God’s faithfulness and love, we can experience the same grace in our lives. It might not always be apparent at the moment, but if we truly believe God is faithful, we can endure hardships as we rest in Christ. We need to be constantly renewing our minds with the truth of God’s Word, enjoying fellowship with other believers, and encouraging one another to pursue righteousness. We might at times give in to the temptations we face, but there is forgiveness when we confess our sin (1 John 1:9). God is faithful and will give us the grace we need to persevere. And, ultimately, we look forward to that day when temptations will be no more and we can enjoy pure fellowship with God for eternity.

Let us make sure that we think of how we can apply these ideas as we leave and go out into the world we live in. We want to make sure that we are not merely hearing the Word, but seeking to be doers of what we read in it.

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  As you consider Joseph’s life so far, what do you learn about God’s care for his people? Discuss various answers, acknowledging God’s continued care for us even (and especially) when we face trials.
• Have you ever been treated unjustly? How was God’s grace evident to you during that trial? Discuss various answers. If time allows, ask for current trials and pray for individuals. Encourage students to come alongside one another in these trials (Galatians 6:1–2).
• While Joseph was treated unjustly many times, he is not our ultimate example. How does the injustice Jesus faced compare? While Joseph was imprisoned, God caused him to have favor with those he served, and his conditions were relatively good. Jesus faced injustice at practically every turn of his ministry, being threatened with death. Ultimately, he was the only completely just man who ever lived, and he received injustice. He is our ultimate example (1 Peter 2:21–25).
• In light of Hebrews 4:14–16, is temptation the same as sin? What hope for avoiding sin do you find in this passage? What hope of forgiveness? Since this passage says Jesus was tempted yet did not sin, these are distinct ideas. When Joseph was approached by Potiphar’s wife and asked to lie with her, he fled the temptation and avoided sin. Jesus faced these same temptations, offering us hope that by his grace we can act as Joseph did. We can go to Jesus in prayer and seek his grace and his forgiveness if we fail.

Group Prayer

Be sure to pray with your class before you dismiss them.

• Praise God for his steadfast love and faithfulness.
• Ask God for grace to flee temptation.
• Thank God for the forgiveness available in Christ.

Group Prayer

Be sure to pray with your class before you dismiss them.

• Praise God for his steadfast love and faithfulness.
• Ask God for grace to flee temptation.
• Thank God for the forgiveness available in Christ.