Continuing a chronological Bible study, I now return to the story of Joseph in Egypt:
(Genesis 39:1) And Joseph was brought 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's brothers had sold him to some Ishmaelites and they in turn brought Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, an officer and captain of the guard of Pharaoh.
(2) And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous 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 that he did to prosper in his hand. (4) And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
Joseph was sold into what one would assume would be slavery, and yet the Lord was with him and he prospered! He remained living in the house of his master, who was probably a very wealthy man as a high ranking officer of Pharaoh. Potiphar could see that the Lord was with Joseph and that He prospered everything he did. I don't believe "prosper" necessarily meant money profit, but everything he did succeeded with the favor of the Lord, and the blessings of the Lord were evidently very obvious to Potiphar. It may be because Joseph served Potiphar so well that he found grace in his master's sight, and Potiphar put him in charge over his entire house, which surely meant over servants as well, and gave him control over all his household affairs.
(5) And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. (6) And 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. And Joseph was a handsome man, and well favored.
From the time that Joseph took charge over Potiphar's house, the Lord also blessed Potiphar for Joseph's sake, and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in his house and in his field. Therefore, he turned absolutely everything over to Joseph and didn't take part in any of his household affairs. It seems Joseph was also blessed in appearance. I never knew just how much Joseph's physical beauty was celebrated in history and in literature until I read about it in this study. Joseph was the subject of fine Persian poems and even the entire twelfth chapter of the Koran was supposedly written about Joseph where he is described "as a perfect beauty and the most accomplished of mortals". This statement was quoted from Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible; I have not personally read the Koran.
(7) And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, "Lie with me." (8) But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Behold, 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, neither 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?"
Evidently Potiphar's wife noticed how handsome Joseph was and apparently lusted after him. She boldly approached him to sleep with her, but he refused, saying that his master (and her husband) trusted him completely with absolutely everything he had, except her, his wife, and he could never betray that trust and sin so greatly against God.
(10) And it came to pass, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. (11) And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business, and there were none of the men of the house inside. (12) And she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me," and he left his garment in her hand, and fled and got out.
It appears that Potiphar's wife did not want to take "no" for an answer and continually propositioned him day after day, but he continued to refuse her. One day as Joseph went into the house to do his business, Potiphar's wife took advantage of the fact that they were alone and grabbed Joseph by his clothing and told him to lie with her. However, Joseph fled, leaving his garment in her hand. I always loved that verse; he didn't just refuse her verbally, he fled! Paul oftened used that word in his writings in the New Testament to tell the reader to flee from sin: "flee fornication" (1 Cor. 6:18), "flee from idolatry" (1 Cor. 10:14), "flee these things" (speaking of the love of money and the lusts that follow) in the sixth chapter of 1 Timothy, and "flee also youthful lusts" (2 Tim. 2:22).
(13) And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had fled, (14) That she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, "See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to mock us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice. (15) And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got out."
Potiphar's wife, a woman scorned, when she realized that she had been physically rejected and refused, not just in words this time, apparently sought revenge and called the other men of the house and lied about what had happened. Obviously she had no love for her husband, or else she would not have been seeking to sleep with Joseph, but she seems to blame him for bringing this Hebrew into their household to mock them all. She probably wanted to stir up discontent among all the men of the house to help in her case. She proceeded to totally lie about what had happened between her and Joseph, and said that it was Joseph who made the advances toward her and when she cried out, he fled, leaving his garment.
(16) And she kept his garment by her until his master came home. (17) And she spoke to him with these words, saying, "The Hebrew servant whom you have brought to us, came in to me to mock me; (18) And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out."
Potiphar's wife kept Joseph's garment with her until her husband came home and she told him the same lie she had told the men of the house.
(19) And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, "Your servant did to me after this manner," that his wrath was kindled. (20) And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound; and he was there in the prison.
Apparently believing his wife, Potiphar was, of course, greatly angered by what she told him had happened, and he threw Joseph into the king's prison.
(21) But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and 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; and whatever they did there, it was his doing. (23) The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under his hand, because the LORD was with him, and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.
The Lord was still with Joseph and made him prosper even in prison! Even in prison, he was made an overseer, and he managed all the prisoners and all that they did. Just as Potiphar had done with the affairs of his household, the keeper of the prison entirely trusted Joseph with the affairs of the prison and saw no need to look into any of it, because he saw that whatever was in Joseph's hand prospered. Scripture said that Potiphar had seen that the Lord was with Joseph. Verse 23 doesn't really say specifically that the keeper of the prison saw that the Lord was with Joseph, but he did recognize that everything Joseph did prospered and he therefore trusted Joseph with everything, and that was because of the Lord's doing. Isn't it wonderful that the Lord can bless and raise us up in any place or circumstance?!
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