Genesis 39

Verse 1, “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of the Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.”

Notice it says he was “taken” to Egypt. He did not go of his own free will. Can you imagine what he must have felt when he was taken away from family, friends, country, culture, etc.? This must have been a lot scarier than heading off to Basic Military Training or to a distant mission field in, oh, I don’t know, how about Africa?

You might have noticed that in chapter 37:28, the Midianite merchants bought Joseph from his brothers, but here it says that Potiphar bought him from the Ishmaelites. The Midianites and Ishmaelites were two different groups. Joseph was sold to one, who then sold him to another who sold him to Potiphar. Why didn’t the Midianites hold onto him until they got to Egypt? Maybe because they got tired of hearing Joseph whining and crying all the time. Maybe not.

Who was this Potiphar, the captain of the guard? He is probably a court official or military officer. Either way, he is a man of power and influence. Nothing, however, of this office is definitely known from Egyptian sources. Some sources say that "Potiphar" is probably an abbreviation of "Potiphera" an Egyptian priest whose daughter, Asenath, marries Joseph.

So why did Potiphar purchase Joseph rather than some other slave? Let’s imagine that you are Potiphar at the slave market. You see Joseph there. How would you describe Joseph?

Do you remember the quiz show TO TELL THE TRUTH? Three people all claim to be someone, the panelist ask each of them questions and try to guess who is telling the truth. Let’s read two descriptions of Joseph. You decide which one is the real Joseph.

Contestant one: Is a muscular young man who is used to hard labor with callouses on his hands. He is an uneducated person who uses poor grammar, has a hardened look on his face, the look of someone who was uncared for growing up and who cares little for others today. He looks scary, intimidating. His clothes are cheaply made, dirty, ragged and he needs a lot of dental work.

Contestant two: Is a softer bodied young man who doesn’t look as if he had to do a hard day’s labor in his life. No callouses on his hands. He appears to have been one who was a bit spoiled, pampered, if you will, who looks scared. His clothes were not from a second-hand shop, but were expensive name brand clothes, the Calvin Kline clothes of his day. His speech was that of an educated person, not a drop out of elementary school.

Which contestant do you think is the real Joseph? As the host of the show used to say, “Will the real Joseph please stand up?” Which description do you think best describes who Joseph was. I go with the second one.

Why did Potiphar purchase Joseph? I don’t think Joseph was like most of the other slaves for sale. Potiphar may have seen something in Joseph that was different from the rest of the slaves at the slave market. Joseph was an educated person with an upper-class background. Whether Potiphar had the chance to interview Joseph first, I don’t know. But he took a chance and if Joseph didn’t work out, Joseph would probably find himself back on the auction block in a couple of weeks.

Verse 2, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered.” How many slaves can say that they “prospered”? And, he lived in the house of the boss, not out in some shack on the back forty. How was it that he prospered? The master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did. Interesting, Potiphar, a non-Israelite, recognized that God was with him and the source of his success. How many believers today don’t give God credit for their success? Verse 5, Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything he owned. Seems as if Joseph moved up very quickly and had the complete trust of Potiphar. Hopefully Joseph managed his assets better than some business managers have done for their clients such as Willie Nelson. Nelson’s assets were seized by the IRS due to a claim that he owed the government $32 million.

Verse 5, “the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lords was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.” What was the reason for this? Remember the Abrahamic Covenant and the promise given in Gen 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you?” Now go and do a good deed to a Jewish person and be blessed.

Verse 6, Potiphar’s trust in Joseph was so complete that it says, “he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.” It sounds like when he came home, he didn’t have to check up on his business interests, he just asked, “What’s for dinner?” Or that he was concerned that his food might be poisoned. But that’s not the case. It was an Egyptian custom that they did not eat with foreigners nor allow foreigners to eat their food. Eating alone and not sharing food was just the custom, not an issue of trust.

Let’s see, has it been a whole chapter since we’ve had a scandal? Here’s one, verse 7, “Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” And she was a persistent person, verse 10, “and though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused.” What might that have been like with daily coaxing and threats, “If you don’t sleep with me, I will tell Potiphar that you did.” “I could have you back on the slave market in a minute.”

Joseph did the right thing, he fled, going so fast that he left his cloak in her hand. He behaved better than Samson, who gave in under similar pressure in Judges 14-16. Notice in verse 14, it says that Potiphar’s wife said to her servants, “Look, this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us.” Notice that she brought her servants in on what happened and turned the servants against Joseph, also. Isn’t this the way it oftentimes is when someone is in conflict? They go to a third party, tell them their side of the story (which isn’t always accurate) to turn others against their opponent. Imagine the stories that marriage counselors, pastors, divorce lawyers and other hear from their clients and their friends.

When Potiphar heard the false accusation of his wife against Joseph, verse 19, “he burned with anger” and put him in prison. According to one commentary, Potiphar was the Captain of the Executioners, so he could have had Joseph executed, which would have been common in such cases and so the story implies that Potiphar had doubts about his wife's account. He probably knew that such an act was out of character for Joseph, but not for his wife to have made the advances.

So, Joseph loses his great job and is in prison. What is he to think of his predicament? In a sermon I’ve told the story of an impoverished old man who had a beautiful white stallion and a young boy. Many people wanted to buy this beautiful horse, but he always refused their offers. One day the horse was gone. It just seemed to have disappeared. The towns people came out and said, “What a terrible curse for you, to have lost your greatest asset.” The old man said, “You can’t say that. We don’t know if an event is a blessing or a curse. We only see one page of the story, not the whole book.” A few weeks later the stallion returned and with it, a number of wild horses. The people came out and said, “What a blessing for you. A week ago, you had lost your beautiful, valuable horse, now he is back and with more horses.” The old man said, “You can’t say whether this is a blessing or a curse. You only see one page of the story, not the whole book.” One day his little boy got up on one of the wild horses and tried to break it. The wild horse threw the boy to the ground and he broke his leg. He suffered a compound fracture that would never properly heal. He would have to live with a limp for the rest of his life. The people came out and said, “Oh my, what a curse. Your only son is not able to walk properly.” The old man said, “You can’t say that my boy’s injury is a curse. You have only read one paragraph of this story, not the whole book.” Then one day a large army came through the countryside and attacked the villages. All the young men were conscripted into the Army to fight a winless war against the larger, better trained military. Most all the young men would die. But the son of the old man was exempt from military service and survived.

Was what Joseph experiencing blessings or curses? Joseph was sold into slavery. Was that a blessing or a curse? He was then purchased by Potiphar. Was that a blessing or a curse? He was then falsely accused by his wife and sent off to prison. Were these blessings or curses? If some of these events were blessings in disguise, they certainly were very well disguised.

Joseph has been on an emotional roller coaster these past months. We know how this story ends, but Joseph didn’t. It’s not as if God winked at him and whispered to him what follows in chapter 50. We also have our ups and downs. We don’t know what might be next, but ultimately, we do know how all this ends. It doesn’t end at the grave. Dying isn’t like walking down a hallway only to hit a wall. We know that the wall is really a door, a door to something so much better. I try to keep this in mind when I’m on the downward plunge on an emotional roller coaster ride.

The false accusation by Potiphar's wife plays an important role in Joseph's narrative. As difficult it was to be accused this way, along with being in prison, he would not have met the fellow prisoner who introduced him to Pharaoh.

While he was in prison, verse 21 says, “the Lord was with him, he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” What kind of prison do you think Potiphar had him confined to? A crowded, dirty, run down maximum-security prison where the most hardened criminals are kept? Or a minimum-security prison with cable television, wi-fi, tennis courts and a hot tub much the prisons we send our corrupt politicians, crooked CEOs of investment houses and other white-collar criminals? I think he was in the latter type.

In verse 22 it says, “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.” Notice also that just as Potiphar came to see Joseph’s skills and character, the prison warden saw the same positive traits in Joseph and made him responsible for all that was done in the prison. Again, it says, “because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” Yeah, fine, but did Joseph know all of this?  Did he recognize the hand of God in control of events?

In chapter 40:2-4 it says that the chief cupbearer and chief baker were put in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. His name is not given here, but this captain of the guard was none other than Potiphar. Not only had Joseph gain the trust of the prison warden, he also regained the trust from Potiphar.

Are you on a roller coaster ride, having dealt with COVID-19, family and work issues, etc.? The Lord is with you and we do know how the story ends.