Joseph was brought to Egypt, and an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, Potiphar who was the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites. The LORD was with Joseph, and he became successful in Potiphar’s house. Potiphar saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused everything he did to succeed. Because of this Joseph found favor in Potiphar’s sight and he put him in charge of everything he had, making him an overseer in his house. The LORD blessed Potiphar’s house and fields for Joseph’s sake, so he left all he had in Joseph’s charge, and he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Joseph was a good looking guy, and Potiphar’s wife liked his looks and asked him to be intimate with her (39:7). Joseph refused recognizing it’d be a sin against Potiphar, and primarily God (39:9). So day after day when she would speak Joseph wouldn’t listen to her and be intimate with her. One day, he went into the house to work and no one was around, and she caught Joseph by his garment and said, “Lie with me.” But he fled the house, leaving his garment in her hand (39:14). She called to the men of the house and told them the “Hebrew” has been brought in order for them to be laughed at and that he was trying to be intimate with her, but that she cried out and he fled the house leaving his garment beside her. She held the garment by her until Potiphar came home, and she told him the same story. Only this time she said the Hebrew servant came in to laugh at her. As soon as Potiphar heard this his anger kindled, that his trusted servant would do this to him. So Potiphar, Joseph’s master, put him in the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. Then the text says, “But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” (Gen. 39:21) The keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners, and he paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. Everything Joseph did the LORD made to succeed (39:23).
The Lord is sovereign in Joseph’s life, and He is sovereign even now. He is working out His good and perfect purposes on the stage of the world. One can see that theme resound again and again in this chapter. The Lord is working here in the Ishmaelites, Potiphar, Potiphar’s wife, the prison-guard, all the folks working in and around these people, and most clearly, God is working in Joseph’s life. Joseph’s conditions are terrible, he’s a slave. Yes, his circumstances are better than those of his fellow slaves, but he is still a slave. He has been betrayed by his own family. This is not mere conjecture, Joseph was carrying certain amount of depression and despair as he looked at his life (cf. the implication of 40:14-15). And yet, Yahweh, the triune all powerful God of the universe was with him. The Lord had not abandoned Him, He was upholding him by His power, He was sustaining him by His revelation of Himself through the covenantal promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph had nothing, but by faith he could find joy, and cling to his hope in Yahweh by faith alone. Praise God that in trials we can know that through Jesus Christ, this same faithful God who shows His loving-kindness to Joseph will be with us to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20).