Genesis 39 this evening, and we left Joseph last time being thrown into a pit and then sold into slavery. And it was no coincidence that the Midianites passed by the pit when the brothers were contemplating killing Joseph. And God engineered the circumstances to get Joseph exactly where he wanted him to be. And over the next 13 years, Joseph's life is going to have many ups and downs until God takes him from the pit to the palace, and then he becomes the prime minister Egypt, and the last 93 years of Joseph's life will be in the land of Egypt. He never thought that day he left home. to obey his father's instruction to go and visit his brothers, that it would mean that the next 93 years of his life would be spent in a foreign country, speaking a foreign language, marrying a foreign wife, an Egyptian woman, seeing his children, his grandchildren, even great-grandchildren, born in Egypt, reared in Egypt. And Joseph's life is just gonna change radically that day at 17 years of age. And through it all, you won't see Joseph complain once. You won't see Joseph say, God, where are you? Why have you done this to me? Joseph is a young man, and then a middle-aged man, and then an old man who walks consistently with God. And he's really worth studying his life and his character. He's one of the few people in the Scripture that the Holy Spirit puts no negative marks against his name. And he's a man that we must admire greatly in the grace of God in his life. And verse one says, And Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. Now every time you read these statements, pause them, add them to your list. Another act of providence that Potiphar bought him. It wasn't a coincidence. and where God's going to place him next. And then verse two, and the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him, He made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptians' house for Joseph's sake, and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. But he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he knew not aught he had save the bread which he did eat. and Joseph was a goodly person and well-favoured. It came to pass, after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold my master whatteth not or knoweth not what is with me in the house. "'thee hath committed all that he hath into my hand. "'There is none greater in this house than I. "'Neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, "'because thou art his wife. "'How then can I do this great wickedness "'and sin against God?' "'It came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, "'that he hearkened not unto her to lie by her "'or to be with her. And 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. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand, and sled, and got him out. It came to pass when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth. And she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath 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. 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. She laid up his garment by her until her snort came home. She spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant which thou hast brought unto us came in unto me to mock me. And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me and fled out. It came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me, that his wrath was kindled. And Joseph's master took him, put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound, and he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. The keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison. Whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The 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. Amen. God will bless the reading of his word. Now, Isaac Watts, the old Hymn writer, in his great hymn Amazing Grace, speaks in one of the verses that through many dangerous toils and snares we have already come. And old little Isaac Watts acknowledged even in that hymn that the Christian life has toils and snares and traps and obstacles that you and I have to get through. And Joseph here is going to have to go through some serious trial. Maybe he thought being sold into slavery was the greatest trial. Maybe he thought that's about as far as you could go in the social ladder, from a man who has servants, slaves, to being one, and to being one in a foreign country. But God has another level for him to fall. yet beyond that, because he's going to discover that he's going to be a prisoner and a foreigner, accused of a crime against one of the most powerful men in Egypt. So life has many ups and downs, and you're going to see that in Joseph's life. And just as Joseph hits rock bottom, God's then going to bring him from the very bottom of society in 24 hours to become prime minister of Egypt. There's going to be a most remarkable fall, but also a most remarkable rise. And through it all, Joseph will remain consistent. Through it all, Joseph will never play games or advance himself one way or the other. He'll be content to let God let him fall. and let God let him rise in all of the circumstances. And few people can handle such falls and rises well, but Joseph will show us how to do it in this story. Now, the other thing to notice as you read for chapter 39 is never once does God speak to him that we read of directly. Never once does God say to Joseph, listen, Joseph, if you just hold on 13 years, you'll go from a slave to a prime minister. Never once does God explain to him why his brothers have betrayed him, why he has lost his freedom for doing the right thing and obeying his father and being an honorable son. Never once does God intervene that we read off. and explain to Joseph what's going on in his life. Joseph doesn't even have the story of Joseph to learn from. He has no Bible. He has no church. And even as we read this chapter, we don't even discover that he has one single believing friend to pray with him or encourage him. or to strengthen his faith in these most trying of circumstances. Now just put yourself in Joseph's position, 17 years of age, the son of a very rich man, beloved of his father, and suddenly, in just 24 hours, he's gone from being all of that to a slave in a foreign land, probably unable to speak the language, certainly ignorant of the culture, ignorant of the industry that he now finds himself in, having been the son of a farmer, albeit a very wealthy farmer, Jacob. He now finds himself living in an urban environment, no longer a stranger in a pilgrim going around in tents like the Bedouin, He's now in a urban environment. He's now a slave in a place where they speak a different language. There's a different culture. And more importantly, or maybe most importantly, they have different values and faith than the one in his home. And he's just 17 years of age. And God hasn't explained why. God hasn't explained how long. Like, do you think you could cope with such a reversal of fortune? Do you think you could cope if God did something like that in your life? What would you think? You can imagine, as Joseph is making his way and cheans down to Egypt, that the devil's whispering in his ear, God has forgotten about you. You should have disobeyed your father. You shouldn't have gone on to Dothan from Shechem. You shouldn't have been such a show-off, Joseph, in trying to do the right thing, go the extra mile. Now look what's happened to you. You're a slave. Maybe the devil's whispering in his ear, you'll never see your father again. You'll never see your home again. This is what happens when you do the right thing. Look at your brothers. They did the wrong thing. Reuben, how he behaved, and Judah, how he behaved, and the others, and Levi, and Simeon, and their bloodthirsty ways, and their immoral ways, and their ungodly ways. And look at them. They're free men. But you, Joseph, you're the holy what? You're the good living one. You're the one that claims that God's on your side. and you're in the worst position of all. And God has turned his back on you. And he's just 17 years of age. Sometimes, you know, we read these stories, we don't really think about the emotions and the temptations and the trials and the trauma that these individuals are going through. And to make things worse for Joseph, the people that have betrayed him and sold him into slavery, a fate worse than death in many, many ways, were his own brothers, his own flesh and blood. The ones that he loved. They didn't love him, but he loved them. The ones that he wanted to do right by. They turned their back on him and betrayed him in this terrible way. Now, having found himself a slave in Egypt, Joseph could have done what a lot of us would have done. He could have become bitter. He could have got angry with God. He could have become frustrated with God. He could have sulked. You ever sulked and huffed when things didn't go exactly how you wanted them to go? He could have said, well, I'm finished with religion. You often meet people like that on the doors. And they said, well, I used to go to church, but this happened to my life, and this happened to my family's life, and I just had enough of God, had enough of religion then. And because of these circumstances, I just decided that it wasn't for me anymore. Couldn't have done that. Joseph, being a foreigner, not speaking the language, at least that we know of, wouldn't have been a native speaker of the Egyptian language, He could have said, well, I know what I'll do. I'll just play stupid, you know, so that I won't be asked to do too much. I'll just keep my head down and play dumb. And nobody will think too highly of me or ask me to do something too difficult. Could have done all those things. Could have taken his life. said that there's just no hope. But he didn't. Instead, it's quite remarkable if you think of the two years he spent in prison, and he was 30 when Pharaoh took him out of the prison. He was 17 when he went down to Egypt. You do the math. There's about 11 years between when he's sold as a slave and he ends up in the prison that we know about. In those 11 years, Joseph mastered the Egyptian language, the Egyptian culture. He mastered the business of his master Potiphar, so much so that by year 11, at the very latest, Joseph was appointed head over the whole business, a slave, a foreigner, a man who's not even a native speaker, a man who came from a culture where his father was a farmer, a man who grew up in the countryside. And in those 10 years or so, that decade he spent in Egypt, he clearly didn't sulk. In fact, he did what Paul says in the book of Colossians, whatsoever his hand he received, he did for the glory of God. He may not own servants anymore. He may be a servant, but he's going to be the best servant for the glory of God. Old Martin Luther put it this way. He said, Joseph must have been the last one to bed and the first one up in that house, because he must have just thrown himself into the work. He must have done everything he could to be a servant to this man, Potiphar. And we're told as he did so, God was watching. And maybe you think that God just watches you in the church, but not in the factory, not in the home, not in the workplace, not in the school, not in the college, not in the office. But I like what it says in verse two. And bear in mind, this is Joseph away from home, away from family, his father's influence, the patriarch's influence. And it just says, although his brethren had turned their backs on him, God hadn't turned his back on him. And down in Egypt, forgotten by his family, it says what? And the Lord was with Joseph. And you know, that's going to be the secret of Joseph's life. That's going to be the secret to your life and my life, that we can say, the Lord is with us. The Lord is with us. Not just in Canaan, but when you find yourself down in Egypt, when you find yourself rejected and alone, when you find yourself betrayed—and you will find yourself betrayed at times. You could be able to testify like Joseph, and the Lord was with me. But then notice something else. It says in verse 3, and his master saw that the Lord was with him. People start to notice when you start to serve the Lord, wherever God puts you, the right way with the right motive, people start to notice, take notice of you. And he takes notice of Joseph, not in the church, This is not a believer here, Potiphar. He takes notice of Joseph in the workplace. His testimony was excellent in the place of work. Now you can imagine being a slave was not exactly the most honorable position. You can imagine there wasn't too many pleas and thank yous. There was no wages. You lived for your master's will, and when the Egyptians had enough of you, they threw you onto the street or they ended your life because you were too old to work for them. They couldn't get any more out of you. You were thrown like an animal onto the scrap heap. That's the environment Joseph found himself in, but yet he did it in such a way that everybody noticed, and particularly his master. And he noticed that the Lord was with Joseph. And he noticed something else about Joseph, that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. Isn't it wonderful when people can see God's hand in your life, in your home life, in your work life, in your studies, in the church? People can say, I can see the hand of God's on that fella, or on that lady. Now, you ever ask yourself this question, how did Potiphar know that the secret to Joseph's success was the presence of the Lord? You ever think about that? And if you look very carefully at the English translation in verse three, the word Lord that's mentioned there, in fact, you come across this over and over again in Joseph's life. The Lord's with him. The Lord's blessing him. The Lord's prospering him. And whether it's in the Potiphar's house as a slave, whether it's in the prison, we read the same, whether it's in Pharaoh's palace, we read the same, the Lord's with him. Lords prosper in him. But you notice the word lords in capitals, L-O-R-D, which we know means Jehovah, the Hebrew word, the great I am, the special name for God that was given to the Jewish people. And it says that Potiphar, a foreigner, a pagan, a Gentile, an unbeliever, noticed that Jehovah was with this man Joseph. And not only that Jehovah was with him, that this man, everything he touched turned to gold, prospered. Now how and why was Potiphar able to discern that? Did God send him an email? Did Joseph go around with a tattooed on his brow, Jehovah's servant, everything I do prospers? I tell you how, this is very evident, it's very obvious. Potiphar must have noticed that Joseph was not just his best worker in terms of his effort, but the outcome as well. And he must have said to Joseph on a number of occasions, Joseph, why is it that you're the most honest, most hardworking, the one that has the most integrity, the one that has the greatest character in my workplace? Why is it that you're wiser than all the older servants? Wiser than all the Egyptian workers that work for me? Wiser than any of the other slaves, yet you're only 17, 18, 19 years of age? Why is it you're so much different? Why are you so different? And Joseph must have taken those opportunities, to say to Pontiff, because the Lord's with me. Let me tell you about Jehovah, Potiphar. Let me tell you about the great God, the great I Am, the covenant-keeping God, the faithful God, the God who always keeps his promises. The reason I'm different from all the rest is not because I'm better than all the rest. It's because I have a better God than all the rest, including you, Potiphar. That's how he knew. So Joseph, even as a slave, was clearly testifying to Potiphar, deflecting glory from Joseph, the Joseph's God. Now, you're going to notice this pattern all the way through Joseph's life. If you go to chapter 41, particularly the conversation between Pharaoh and Joseph. We're told that Pharaoh calls Joseph, verse 14, and he says in verse 15, I have heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. Verse 16, and Joseph answered Pharaoh and says, it is not in me. Don't be oppressed by me, Pharaoh. And what does he say? God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. Even when he's talking to the most powerful man in the world at this time, because the Egyptian empire was the wealthiest, the most powerful empire, was the first great empire of civilization. And the little Pharaoh is the head of that great empire. And Joseph's just a slave and a prisoner to boot. as soon as he gets an opportunity to speak to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh says to him, Joseph, I hear there's something special about you. Joseph says, it's not of me. I don't get the impression that I agree with Joseph. But Joseph's God, he's different. He's great. He can do great things. And the conversation continues that way. Verse 25, and Joseph said unto Pharaoh, the dream of Pharaoh is won. God has showed Pharaoh what he is about to do. Notice the pronoun. Joseph says, not only is my God different from yours, Pharaoh, but my God, he controls not just my future, but he controls your future too, Pharaoh, the future of Egypt. You don't rule Egypt. God rules Egypt. And the conversation continues. Verse 28, This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh, what God is about to do. Oh, he doesn't miss, does he? This fellow Joseph. It just flows out of him. He's always giving glory to God. He's always promoting God. Verse 32, the same chapter, And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice. It is because the thing is established by God, and God will surely bring it to pass. You almost fail to say, Joseph, you're pushing this a bit here. Why does he keep bringing God all the time? He said it the first time. Well, why do you keep bringing it all time after time after time? Because Joseph wants the message to get through. that it's all about God and nothing in Joseph. And Pharaoh gets the message. Because he says in verse 39, And Jeparruh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou. Pharaoh hath to bow the knee to, and acknowledge there's someone higher than Pharaoh. So that's why when you read chapter 39 and you see that statement, the Lord's with him, and Potiphar notices that the Lord's with him, and Potiphar knows, recognizes not just the presence of God, but the help of God. It's because Joseph must have been telling him, God's with me. And he trusts Joseph, so I believe the testimony of Joseph plus the example of Joseph brought Potiphar to a conclusion that here is a man I can trust with my life. Because it says in verse four, he gave Joseph control over his complete estate. Now you can imagine a guy like Potiphar who holds a very powerful position within the most powerful empire in the world at that time, that this is a pretty lucrative estate that he owns. This is not just a few wee acres, and don't insult anybody if you've got a few wee acres. Don't come to me afterwards and say, I've got a few acres. And you can imagine, this is no small individual. This is a man that's greatly trusted. He's the head of Potiphar's, or Pharaoh's, guard. And if you're an emperor of a great empire like that, you have many enemies. And you need a man that you can trust. You need to be paying him good wages. You need to make sure he's beyond corruption. We could imagine this guy Potiphar has a vast wealth, vast estate, and within 10 years, we don't know how long within that 10 year period, but somewhere between year one and year 10, Joseph not only mastered the language and the culture and the business, but he had impressed his master Potiphar so much that he gave Joseph not just a managerial position, remember he's a slave, he's a foreigner, but he put Joseph in charge of everything. And it says here that he didn't even know what he owned. He so trusted Joseph so much. Now that's impressive, isn't it? Now, Joseph had arrived in Egypt, a slave, And within 10 years, he'd risen right up the ranks, maybe even above all the paid labor, to become head of Potiphar's estate. Joseph may have thought, when he's about 27, 28 years of age, this is going pretty well now. You know, I think what could have happened to me God has been good to me here. He's taken me from a nobody, a slave, to head of Potiphar's estate. And Potiphar trusts me so much that he doesn't even know what he owns. Just lets me run it. And it'd be a temptation for Joseph to think, no doubt, well, I'm still a slave. I still miss my father and my brothers, but all things considered, it's worked out all right. And if I just keep my head down, who knows? I might win my freedom. Might even make a few bob. Get back down to Canaan. But just when things were going so well, having had such a tremendous downfall from being the pampered son of his beloved father, with many servants in a very wealthy house, one of the wealthiest men in the East, no doubt Jacob was, from having that pampered, gilded lifestyle, to be plunged into slavery in a foreign country, and then to rise up from that slavery. Joseph may have thought, well, The trajectory of my life is now going to be up, up, up. But God has another plan. Because God not only didn't simply want Joseph to become the head of Potiphar's house. Oh God, he had a different plan. He wanted Joseph to become prime minister. But the path to the prime minister's office is going to take Joseph a different direction than Joseph would have anticipated. It's going to take him down, down, and then even further down. And it's going to happen not because Joseph makes a mistake, tells a lie, or commits a sin. In fact, it's going to happen for the very opposite. He won't lie. He won't sin. He won't cheat. And we're told, verse seven, well, the end of verse six, it says, and Joseph was a goodly person and well-favored. So Levi was just telling, he was a good-looking fella. Remember, his mother was known for her beauty. I don't know if Jacob was that good-looking, but the mother was certainly a beautiful woman. So Joseph was a handsome man, about 27, 28 years of age here, in the prime of life. And we're told, verse 7, and he came to pass after these things. Now every time you read that, after these things, the Bible's telling you, after what things? Go back and look. What preceded this incident? After entering Egypt as a slave, and then rise from the bottom of slavery, to master the business, master the language, master the culture, impress this man Potiphar and serve him so faithfully with so much integrity that he's promoted to be the head of Potiphar's estate. So after all these things, what's about to happen comes from that context. So from a time of prosperity, and blessing, and promotion, and advancement, and integrity, suddenly what comes next? God's going to permit, but it's going to be a surprise to Joseph, and a surprise to us as we read this story, because it says somebody else is watching Joseph. And the person who's watching Joseph this time is not watching to see God bless him. It's not watching him because that person is impressed by his integrity. Because just as God is watching Joseph and blessing Joseph and promoting Joseph, so the devil's watching. And just as God has a person there to help Joseph rise through the ranks of Potiphar's estate and his employment, so the devil has a person there to destroy him. But remember this, just as the devil has a person there to destroy him, so God is watching. And God is so wise and so great in his sovereignty that he can use the devil's motives and people to accomplish what God wants to accomplish in your life and my life. And years later, Joseph will acknowledge that. Because remember, when we started this study, we said Genesis 50. And Joseph gave that great statement, ye thought evil against me. Your motive was wrong. Your actions was wrong. But God meant it unto good. Joseph says, I have learned this with hindsight, looking back on life. And likewise, Potiphar's wife, she's going to mean great harm to Joseph. And Satan's going to try to use her to destroy him. but God's going to permit her to do what she did, not to destroy Joseph, but to shape Joseph, to change Joseph, to make Joseph the man that God wanted him to be. If you turn to Psalm 105, and I know we're jumping around a little bit, but there's a very interesting statement of Psalm 105. lest you think sometimes I make some of these things up. Psalm 105, verse 17. Now notice the person, the pronoun is used. He, who's the he? It's God. It says, God sent a man before them. That's the children of Israel. That's the other 11 brothers, and Jacob, and the whole family. God sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant. So the Bible doesn't cover it up. He was sold into slavery, but God sent him there. You say, but the brothers sold him. Yes, but God allowed it because God wanted him there. But then why did God allow him to be tempted by Potiphar's wife and then put into the prison? Well, here's the reason. We get a little insight here to why God permits trials for his children in the next verse. Verse 18, whose feet they hurt with fetters, he was laid in iron. Picture of slavery and the humiliation that Joseph went down in Egypt, not just as a slave, but as a prisoner. Now, why did God do that? Why was God working through the devil's actions and the devil's motives and the devil's people? What was the purpose? Look at the next verse, verse 19. Until the time, God had a time, God had a plan, God had the reason, that his word came, the word of the Lord, right him, to test him. God was using all these trials, the temptation, and the hurt, and the betrayal, not just of his brothers, but of Potiphar's wife, and Potiphar too, because I'm sure it must have felt a great betrayal to Joseph of what Potiphar did to him. And then the chief baker and the chief butler, one of them betrayed him and ignored him and forgot about him as he lay in the prison. But God was there working through these wrong actions and wrong motives to try Joseph, to test him, to put iron in his soul, to prepare him to become prime minister. Now we'd be looking at the life of David, haven't we, in the Sunday morning services. And maybe it has surprised many of you. How many years David was a fugitive on the run from Saul? And we keep pointing out that this wasn't a coincidence, that God took that young boy, that very successful young boy that he elevated to defeat Goliath and become the head of Pharaoh's army, and he put him as a fugitive on the run for years, maybe 13, 12, 13 years, until the age of 30, Joseph was, where he then became king of Judah. And I keep saying, why did God do that? Because God was building character in David. God was shaping and molding David and preparing David. And likewise, in Joseph's life, God is doing the same. But let's make it very personal. Likewise, in your life and my life, God is bringing us through all these trials and difficulties and temptations in order to put iron in your soul Just like a child doesn't become mature five minutes after they're born. It takes a lifetime, doesn't it? So the child of God, the one who's birthed in the new birth, it takes years to mold and shape the saint that God's going to use. Some grow faster than others, that's true. Sometimes we get frustrated, don't we? with our children. Some of them grow physically at different rates. Some of them grow mentally at different rates. Some of them grow faster in terms of their maturity than the others. Sometimes we as parents, we compare and say, well, why can't you behave like this one? But everyone's different. And same in the kingdom of God, we all grow at different paces. It'd be wonderful if everybody became Abraham, the father of the faithful on day one, so they got saved, but they don't. It takes years. And here, Joseph, God's going to take years on him, working on him, preparing him, shaping him to become the man that God wants him to be. Now, my time is gone. I haven't even got any further than verse four and five tonight. But that's a good introduction to this chapter. That just sets the parameters of what's going to happen next. And the rise and the fall of Joseph over the next few chapters is going to be amazing. It's going to be a roller coaster, emotionally, spiritually, materially. But through it all, God's going to be at work. And there's a little sign that hangs over Joseph's life, and it hangs over your life. And it's this sign, quiet. God's at work. God's at work. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for the story of Joseph. What we have learned already just in looking at this man and the ups and downs and the trials and the tribulation and the temptations that this man faces, how he responds to it, what an example to us, what an encouragement to us, that it's possible to walk like him in such trials and such circumstances, to respond like him. Lord, help us to be like Joseph, because when we act and think like Joseph, we act and think like Jesus. For these things we ask in Jesus' precious name, amen.