THE LORD WAS WITH HIM
Opening Prayer
Holy One, I thank You for what You have done in my life in the past: I trust You for what You will do in the future.
Read Genesis 39
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
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.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Reflect on the verse: ‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10).This story is reminiscent of chapter 3 of Genesis, which we know as the story of the fall. Unlike Adam and Eve, Joseph did not fall, even though he was faced with a temptress who tried to persuade him to take the one thing that his master has prohibited (9; Genesis 3:2,3) and he ended up naked and then excluded from the house of his master.
Maybe we read the opening of Genesis through the wrong lens. Could it be not so much the story of fall and punishment, as the story of the thwarting of God’s desire to bless?
Here in chapter 39, God’s desire to bless is fulfilled. His blessing is poured out on Joseph when he served Potiphar, and through him to the whole of the household and all Potiphar’s business (5). The flow of God’s blessing is made so much easier when we honor Him, even when no one else is looking (11). And even when Joseph ends up in prison, God’s desire to bless is not thwarted (21–23). The Lord was with Joseph, and that is what really mattered.
Apply
The presence of God brings blessing. As you have recognized His presence, now receive His blessing.
Closing prayer
Amazing One, I know the devil is the master of the surprise attack, subtle in his approach, leading to my surrender. I pray I may have the fortitude of Joseph in the face of temptation.
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