Faithfulness in the Fire: Genesis 39:1-23

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.

From favored son to foreign slave in a matter of weeks. Joseph found himself property of Pharaoh's chief executioner—a dangerous household in a dangerous land.

The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

The LORD was with Joseph. The refrain would echo through his story. Pit, prison, palace—the LORD was with Joseph.

When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant.

Even a pagan Egyptian could see something different about this Hebrew slave. Potiphar promoted him, trusted him, relied on him.

Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 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.

The Abrahamic blessing spreading. All nations blessed through Abraham's seed—even an Egyptian master, unknowingly participating in covenant promises.

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.

Complete trust. Potiphar worried about nothing—nothing except what he ate (perhaps for religious reasons). Everything else was Joseph's domain.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.

The detail is not accidental. Rachel had been beautiful; so was her son. And beauty attracts attention.

And after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"

Direct. Blunt. The master's wife wanted the slave, and she was not subtle about it.

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. 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?"

Joseph's refusal was grounded in gratitude and theology. Potiphar had trusted him with everything; betrayal would be wicked. But more than that—it would be sin against God. The LORD who was with Joseph was also watching.

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

Day after day. The temptation was relentless. She did not give up.

One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside.

The setup. Empty house. Just the two of them.

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.

He ran. He did not negotiate, did not linger, did not trust himself to resist at close quarters. He fled—leaving his garment behind, the second coat torn from him.

When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 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."

The accusation was inverted. The seductress became the victim. The faithful servant became the predator.

She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."

When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger.

Potiphar believed his wife—or at least acted as though he did. His trusted steward, accused of attempted rape.

Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined.

Prison. Not execution—which might have been expected for such a crime. Perhaps Potiphar had doubts. Perhaps he valued Joseph too much to kill him. Either way, the pit had led to slavery; now slavery led to prison.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.

Again: the LORD was with Joseph. The location changed; the presence did not.

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. 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.

From running a household to running a prison. The pattern repeated: Joseph served faithfully, God blessed him, authority figures trusted him completely.

He had lost his coat again. He was deeper than ever in captivity. But the LORD was with Joseph.

And the LORD who gives dreams was about to use the prison to set up the palace.