In Joseph's life we see one experience of injustice after another. His jealous brothers sold him to some people in a passing caravan, and they carried him to Egypt. There he was sold as a slave to a man named Potiphar.
Joseph was young, handsome, and well built. Day after day Potiphar's wife made advances to Joseph, but Joseph refused to accept them. Charles Swindoll wrote, "If you are living in the imaginary bubble that somehow temptation, once resisted, will vanish, burst it at this very moment." The continual attention of Potiphar's wife must have been a great temptation to a healthy young man. He was a stranger and a slave in a foreign land, with no family or friends to know what he was doing or show him disapproval. Yet Joseph resisted these advances, realizing that to yield would be a sin against Potiphar, who had entrusted everything he had into Joseph's care, and ultimately a sin against God.
Joseph tried to avoid Mrs. Potiphar as much as possible. But one day, when the two happened to be in the house alone together, Mrs. Potiphar grabbed Joseph's robe to pull him close to her. Joseph did exactly what the Bible tells us to do when we are tempted. He fled, leaving his robe behind. When Potipher came home that night, Mrs. Potipher lied about Joseph, and Potipher had Joseph thrown into prison.
While Joseph was in prison, he interpreted dreams for Pharoah's chief cupbearer and chief baker, who were cast into the dungeon with him. Joseph asked the cupbearer to petition Pharoah for his release when he was freed. The cupbearer returned to his position in the palace three days later, but he forgot all about Joseph. Proverbs 13:12a says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick...." Can't you imagine Joseph's excitement and anticipation that he would soon be released from prison through the cupbearer's intervention on his behalf? Day after day he would have waited hopefully, while the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months. The months turned into two years, and Joseph would have eventually realized that he had been forgotten.
Have you ever done everything right, and seen it turn out all wrong? How do people generally react when they are treated unfairly? With anger, self-pity, bitterness, disillusionment, and a desire for revenge. But Joseph maintained his integrity, a forgiving heart, and his steadfast faith in God. He made the best of his circumstances. And he never cried out that God was absent or had turned His back. And where was God while all this was happening? We read four times in this story that the Lord was with Joseph. God had an amazing plan for Joseph's life, and he was preparing Joseph to fulfill that plan. God gave Joseph experience in the area of administration when he supervised Potiphar's household and then was put in charge of the prison. He was learning and honing the skills he would need later as Prime Minister of Egypt. It was because of Joseph's attitudes and his unwavering faith in God that God would entrust Joseph with such great power.
Father, may we maintain our faith in You and attitudes that will make us useable to You through all the circumstances and experiences of our lives. Amen.
Joseph was young, handsome, and well built. Day after day Potiphar's wife made advances to Joseph, but Joseph refused to accept them. Charles Swindoll wrote, "If you are living in the imaginary bubble that somehow temptation, once resisted, will vanish, burst it at this very moment." The continual attention of Potiphar's wife must have been a great temptation to a healthy young man. He was a stranger and a slave in a foreign land, with no family or friends to know what he was doing or show him disapproval. Yet Joseph resisted these advances, realizing that to yield would be a sin against Potiphar, who had entrusted everything he had into Joseph's care, and ultimately a sin against God.
Joseph tried to avoid Mrs. Potiphar as much as possible. But one day, when the two happened to be in the house alone together, Mrs. Potiphar grabbed Joseph's robe to pull him close to her. Joseph did exactly what the Bible tells us to do when we are tempted. He fled, leaving his robe behind. When Potipher came home that night, Mrs. Potipher lied about Joseph, and Potipher had Joseph thrown into prison.
While Joseph was in prison, he interpreted dreams for Pharoah's chief cupbearer and chief baker, who were cast into the dungeon with him. Joseph asked the cupbearer to petition Pharoah for his release when he was freed. The cupbearer returned to his position in the palace three days later, but he forgot all about Joseph. Proverbs 13:12a says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick...." Can't you imagine Joseph's excitement and anticipation that he would soon be released from prison through the cupbearer's intervention on his behalf? Day after day he would have waited hopefully, while the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months. The months turned into two years, and Joseph would have eventually realized that he had been forgotten.
Have you ever done everything right, and seen it turn out all wrong? How do people generally react when they are treated unfairly? With anger, self-pity, bitterness, disillusionment, and a desire for revenge. But Joseph maintained his integrity, a forgiving heart, and his steadfast faith in God. He made the best of his circumstances. And he never cried out that God was absent or had turned His back. And where was God while all this was happening? We read four times in this story that the Lord was with Joseph. God had an amazing plan for Joseph's life, and he was preparing Joseph to fulfill that plan. God gave Joseph experience in the area of administration when he supervised Potiphar's household and then was put in charge of the prison. He was learning and honing the skills he would need later as Prime Minister of Egypt. It was because of Joseph's attitudes and his unwavering faith in God that God would entrust Joseph with such great power.
Father, may we maintain our faith in You and attitudes that will make us useable to You through all the circumstances and experiences of our lives. Amen.
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