Overview of Genesis 39 -
When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed. (Genesis 39:1, 23 NLT)
Summary : Joseph is taken to Egypt, sold to Potiphar. God's favor is on Joseph, which shows in Joseph's abilities to manage. Potiphar recognizes this, and promotes Joseph to a position over all his house hold. Joseph is a well built and handsome young man. Potiphar's wife wants an extra-marital affair with Joseph, and applies pressure on Joseph, to which he refuses. This continues over a period of time, but Joseph doesn't agree. The breaking point comes when Potiphar's wife forces Joseph to sleep with her, but when he runs away, humiliated by his refusal and publicly accuses Joseph of attempted rape. An enraged Potiphar throws Joseph into prison. God's favor being with Joseph as Joseph gets busy in managing the prison, and the warden is happy to give him responsibility.
What are the striking points and takeaways from this chapter.
1. God's favor is always with Joseph.
2. Joseph is an active, intelligent, handsome young man, with exceptional management skills.
3. Circumstances change for Joseph - slave, manger of the Pharoh's chief of guard's household - a position of influence, Opportunities to have physical relationship with his boss' wife, intense pressure and his stand against it, accused of rape, and thrown into prison, rising to manage the prison and favor of the warden.
It's easy to think this happened as God's favor was with Joseph. But we got to see that Joseph's actions are equally important. One, he was upbeat even in the worst of situations. Even as a slave, he took the initiative to lead, and grabbed opportunities to demonstrate his abilities. This lead to recognition by Potiphar, and eventually being elevated to a position of power. What if Joseph didn't do any of this instead, and wait for a divine intervention for God to pull him out of the bad situation?
Next, when he was in a position of power, and when he was sought by his master's wife, he refused. Note that this wasn't a one time incident. He was still a slave, and bound to obey anything that his master or master's wife commanded him to do. Yet he refused to obey, a sure way to face death. Why did he do this? It's because of Joseph's respect for his master and a very clear understanding of his responsibilities. Potiphar's wife was not given to Joseph, and he considered as stealing what belongs to his master. His strong belief made him withstand the overtures and resist.
Joseph May have been disappointed when Potiphar got enraged and threw him into prison. But realize that Joseph was a slave, he did not have any rights. Joseph accepted his situation but refused to give up. It is a blessing to have god's favor upon you, but question is what do I do with it. Joseph continued his initiative even in prison, grabbed/created opportunities to prove his talents and in turn get recognized.
This chapter tells us it is very important what we do with God's favor, how our attitude at prevalent circumstances are, do we take the initiative , act or wait/get depressed? Or act with the trust in God, take responsibility to work what we can do?
When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed. (Genesis 39:1, 23 NLT)
Summary : Joseph is taken to Egypt, sold to Potiphar. God's favor is on Joseph, which shows in Joseph's abilities to manage. Potiphar recognizes this, and promotes Joseph to a position over all his house hold. Joseph is a well built and handsome young man. Potiphar's wife wants an extra-marital affair with Joseph, and applies pressure on Joseph, to which he refuses. This continues over a period of time, but Joseph doesn't agree. The breaking point comes when Potiphar's wife forces Joseph to sleep with her, but when he runs away, humiliated by his refusal and publicly accuses Joseph of attempted rape. An enraged Potiphar throws Joseph into prison. God's favor being with Joseph as Joseph gets busy in managing the prison, and the warden is happy to give him responsibility.
What are the striking points and takeaways from this chapter.
1. God's favor is always with Joseph.
2. Joseph is an active, intelligent, handsome young man, with exceptional management skills.
3. Circumstances change for Joseph - slave, manger of the Pharoh's chief of guard's household - a position of influence, Opportunities to have physical relationship with his boss' wife, intense pressure and his stand against it, accused of rape, and thrown into prison, rising to manage the prison and favor of the warden.
It's easy to think this happened as God's favor was with Joseph. But we got to see that Joseph's actions are equally important. One, he was upbeat even in the worst of situations. Even as a slave, he took the initiative to lead, and grabbed opportunities to demonstrate his abilities. This lead to recognition by Potiphar, and eventually being elevated to a position of power. What if Joseph didn't do any of this instead, and wait for a divine intervention for God to pull him out of the bad situation?
Next, when he was in a position of power, and when he was sought by his master's wife, he refused. Note that this wasn't a one time incident. He was still a slave, and bound to obey anything that his master or master's wife commanded him to do. Yet he refused to obey, a sure way to face death. Why did he do this? It's because of Joseph's respect for his master and a very clear understanding of his responsibilities. Potiphar's wife was not given to Joseph, and he considered as stealing what belongs to his master. His strong belief made him withstand the overtures and resist.
Joseph May have been disappointed when Potiphar got enraged and threw him into prison. But realize that Joseph was a slave, he did not have any rights. Joseph accepted his situation but refused to give up. It is a blessing to have god's favor upon you, but question is what do I do with it. Joseph continued his initiative even in prison, grabbed/created opportunities to prove his talents and in turn get recognized.
This chapter tells us it is very important what we do with God's favor, how our attitude at prevalent circumstances are, do we take the initiative , act or wait/get depressed? Or act with the trust in God, take responsibility to work what we can do?
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