Genesis 39 - Self Centered Blessedness

God's blessings in your life are a small part of a much bigger picture.

SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF:  Joseph, son of Jacob, grandson of Isaac, and great-grandson of Abraham, has been sold into slavery by his older brothers.

Genesis 39:1–23 (NIV)

39 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

² The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 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. 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. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. ⁶ So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 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. 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?”

¹⁰ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

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.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. ²² So the warden put 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 care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Heidelberg Catechism

Q&A 27

Q. What do you understand by the providence of God?

A. Providence is

the almighty and ever present power of God

by which he upholds, as with his hand,

heaven and earth and all creatures,

and so rules them that

leaf and blade,

rain and drought,

fruitful and lean years,

food and drink,

health and sickness,

prosperity and poverty—

all things, in fact, come to us

not by chance

but from his fatherly hand.

Summary

This passage's key verse comes right near the beginning: The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered. Joseph's story isn't given just to inspire you to make lemonade when life gives you lemons or to encourage you to work really hard so that the brass takes notice of you when it comes time for promotion.

Those things aren't bad, and certainly Joseph did both of those things, but Joseph's optimistic attitude or hard work ethic really aren't the focus of the passage. In fact, they aren't aren't even mentioned! Notice how the text frame things: it's not about what Joseph did to score points with Potiphar, but how Potiphar saw that the LORD was with Joseph.

So Potiphar smartly gets himself out of the way. He put Joseph in charge, entrusted to his care everything he owned, and he left everything he had in Joseph's care. Consequently, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph! Potiphar quickly figures out that the less he does, the more his household prospers. It doesn't take long until the only thing he concerns himself with is the food he ate.

It certainly isn't the primary point of this story, but it's a valid point none the less: the more you align yourself with the LORD, as Potiphar did, the more of His blessings you will enjoy (although remember that His blessings often look different than we expect).

  Dig Deeper  

Ironically, the only action Joseph takes in this episode is technically an action he didn't take: he didn't cave in to the advances of Potiphar's wife. But notice that the narrative stays centered on Potiphar; Joseph's integrity forces Potiphar to a fork in the road. Will he side with his ungodly wife, or will he stand behind the one whom the LORD has blessed? Though the circumstances are certainly different, this is a test you face daily!

The text present's Potiphar's conundrum very subtly, telling us that upon hearing his wife's accusations, he burned with anger. Notice, though, that there's a period after the word anger. It doesn't specify the object of his anger. It doesn't say that he burned with anger towards Joseph. Rather, he's angry that his gravy train has derailed. He knows that when Joseph leaves his household, the LORD's blessing will leave along with him. And he knows he doesn't have the courage to do what's right and prevent this from happening.

But Potiphar's ultimate problem isn't his lying, manipulative wife. His bigger problem is one that's so easy for us to get caught up in as well. Potiphar made this story all about himself. He was smart enough to recognize the LORD's blessing and want it for himself. He was willing to make himself smaller so that the LORD's blessing would become bigger.

But Potiphar never asked himself a very necessary question: why did the LORD's blessing just randomly show up on his doorstep? He never took a step back to wonder what the LORD's larger purposes were. So when his external blessings were threatened, his short sighted vision caused him to burn with anger rather than to humble himself before the LORD.

The LORD had sent Joseph to Egypt in order to save His people - and the world along with them - from a future famine. His blessings upon Potiphar's household were a mere component in a much bigger story. You've likely been blessed tremendously by the LORD as well. Don't lose sight, though, of the bigger picture: God's providence in your life - His blessings (or lack thereof) - are mere components in a much bigger picture: bringing you to salvation in Christ.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who upholds, as with His hand, heaven and earth and all creatures;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will evaluate your blessings and challenges in light of God's big picture;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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