CHAPTER 39

(1727 B.C.)

JOSEPH

¹And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, and Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. (An Eastern race then governed Egypt, hence the reason that Potiphar is three times declared to be an Egyptian. In the story of Joseph, we will perceive a remarkable chain of events, all tending to one grand point, namely, the exaltation of the man who had been in the pit once again, a Type of Christ.)

²And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. (Some eight times in this Chapter, in one way or the other, it is said that the Lord was with Joseph. Eight speaks of Resurrection, so it tells us that whatever happened to Joseph, no matter how adverse it seemed at the moment, a Resurrection was coming.)

BLESSINGS

³And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. (Potiphar had more sense than most modern Christians. He saw that the Hand of the Lord was on Joseph, and took advantage of that, even as he should have done. Many times the Church will regrettably respond with jealousy; consequently, the Work of God is greatly hindered by such action and attitudes.)

⁴And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. (This does not imply that Potiphar was acquainted with Jehovah, but simply that he concluded Joseph to be under the Divine protection. So he made him the business manager of all his holdings, which, no doubt, were considerable.)

⁵And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptians house for Josephs sake (we are blessed for Jesus sake); and the Blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. (How do we correlate all of this, with the Lord being with Joseph, and yet he is a slave? Even though not for a moment is the wrongdoing of his brothers condoned by the Lord, still, the Lord was in all of this; even though Joseph did not know what the future held, he maintained his Faith in the Lord, thereby walking by Faith instead of by sight. Had he done otherwise, the Lord could not have blessed him. Many Christians forfeit blessing, simply because they refuse to humble themselves before the Lord. Joseph could easily have grown bitter, until the bitterness overtook him. But he put it all in the Hands of his Lord, even as we must do.)

⁶And he left all that he had in Josephs hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored (he was impeccably honest and, as well, very handsome).

⁷And it came to pass after these things, that his masters wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and she said, Lie with me. (Tradition says that Zuleikah was her name; she was at first the most virtuous of women, but when she saw Joseph, she was so affected, that she lost all self-control, and became a slave to her passions. It is said that she made a dinner inviting 40 of the most beautiful women in Egypt, who, when they saw Joseph, were so moved with admiration that they exclaimed with one accord that he must be an Angel.)

⁸But he refused, and said unto his masters wife, Behold, my master trusts me with all that is in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand (the action of Joseph in resisting this temptation pressed upon him showed him to be the true firstborn);

⁹There is none greater in this house than I; neither has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? (Williams says that Joseph urged three reasons against this wrongdoing: 1. Gratitude to his master, who had put everything into his hand; 2. Respect for the woman, seeing that she was Potiphars wife; and, 3. Fear of God.)

¹⁰And it came to pass, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her (it was a continuing temptation, pressed upon day-by-day, with him continuing to resist).

¹¹And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. (Evaluating Joseph, some would claim that after advances had been made, he should not have gone back into the house; however, of this he had no choice. His business demanded that he frequent the place. It is certain that he would have done anything to have avoided contact with this woman, but the situation actually presented itself as a trap. And so the trap is ultimately sprung.)

¹²And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. (This is the second occasion that the Sacred History speaks of Josephs garment. His brothers took the one; Potiphars wife the other. They tried to hide their sin with that garment; she tried to hide hers in the same manner.)

¹³And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,

WRONGLY ACCUSED

¹⁴That she called unto the men of her house, and spoke unto them, saying, See, he (Potiphar) has brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:

¹⁵And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out. (Matthew Henry says: Chaste and holy love will continue, though slighted; but sinful love is easily changed into sinful hatred. Those who have broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of Truth.)

¹⁶And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord (Potiphar) came home. (The Devil would surmise that if he cannot get Joseph to do that which is wrong, he will have him locked up in prison for years. Of course, the Lord could have stopped all of this; however, the remainder of the Chapter tells us why not!)

¹⁷And she spoke unto him (Potiphar) according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which you have brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:

¹⁸And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.

PRISON

¹⁹And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke unto him, saying, After this manner did your servant to me; that his anger was kindled (Satans trap is now sprung).

²⁰And Josephs master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the kings prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. (In one moment, Joseph exchanged a palace for a prison. Psalms 105:17-20 states that he was laid in iron and his feet hurt with fetters.)

²¹But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. (The Lord was with Joseph as much in the prison as he had been in the palace. We should take a lesson from this.)

²²And the keeper of the prison committed to Josephs hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. (This was Josephs training ground. Would he pass the test? In fact, he passed it with flying colors.)

²³The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper. (However, this would not have been the case had Joseph grown bitter. He accepted this position, without saying a word or attempting to justify or defend himself. In other words, he left everything up to the Lord.)