The Story of God: From the Penthouse to Prison

Have you ever done everything right and still have your circumstances turn out bad?  You showed up every day, put in a full 8 hours, did good work, but then someone purchases your company and you loose your job. Or, you grew up going to church every Sunday, lived a good moral life, married the man of your dreams, only to find yourself dealing with guilt and shame when your marriage ends in a divorce that you never saw coming. Or, you worked hard and saved up your money so you could finally buy the home of your dreams, only to see the market go bad and you loose it all.

Life can be unfair. You can do your best and things can still turn out bad. People or circumstances beyond your control can undermine the good choices you’ve made. You follow the rules, you give your best, and nothing works out.

That ever happened to you? Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to you when you’ve done nothing to deserve it? Well, if that’s you, then what we are going to look at today in God’s Story, may just give you some hope. For as we return to the story of God, and in particular, Joseph’s story, if anyone ever did everything right but got a raw deal, it was Joseph.

Now, if you were here last week, it didn’t start out that way for Joseph. If anything it was the opposite. He was born into a family God was blessing. He was his dad’s favorite. His dad honored him with a special coat, made him manager over his shepherding brothers, and even God seemed to favor him with some pretty amazing dreams. Life was great for Joseph… that is, until his brother’s jealousy of him resulted in them selling Joseph into slavery to the Ishmaelites. All of a sudden his dream life became a nightmare. Except for one thing: Even though his brothers abandoned Joseph, God never did. And that brings us to where we find Joseph today. As Genesis 39:1 tells us: Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. Genesis 39:1

So Joseph’s story is found Genesis 39, where we are going to pick up Joseph’s story in the house of Potiphar. And as we do, we’re going to see how God was with Joseph and brought him great success. But at the same time, we’re also going to see that how Joseph does everything right but still ends up getting a raw deal. So, if you’ve found Genesis 39, allow me to set the scene for Joseph’s new life in Egypt.

He starts his life in Egypt as a slave in Potiphar’s household. Now, Potiphar was an important official in Pharaoh’s regime. He was the captain of the guard.   This meant that he was the leader of a courageous group of rugged men. Jewish historian Alfred Edersheim describes that group by telling us that Potiphar was the “chief of the executioners.” So Potiphar was nobody to fool around with. He was important, powerful and could take your life in a heart-beat. Not only that, but someone in his position could have as many as 80 household slaves. So Joseph begins his life in Egypt, as just one of many slaves in the household of a powerful man. But we soon see something significant take place in Joseph’s life:

Joseph’s Prosperity: The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. Genesis 39:2 Doesn’t that sound familiar? “The Lord was with Joseph” just as He had been with Jacob.   He may have been outside the land of blessing, but God was going to continue blessing Joseph. And so He blesses him by getting him a slave job in the house of his master. Now, this is no small thing. Most slaves worked in the fields, but someone saw something in Joseph and recommended him for work in the household. Things were looking up.

But then we read, When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Genesis 39:3 Talk about a promotion! Potiphar sees that whatever Joseph puts his hand to, God blesses. That gets his attention and so he promotes Joseph to his personal assistant.

In fact, Joseph does his job so well, that we read, Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Genesis 39:4-6 Joseph is no longer just a slave. He now enjoys a relationship with Potiphar – a relationship built on trust: All he owned he entrusted to Joseph’s care. Think about this. Joseph had the keys to the chariot, all the bank account numbers, all the Internet passwords, the run of the entire household. Essentially, Potiphar put the running of his life in the hands of this Hebrew slave. Now, that’s trust.

But notice what built this trust: Potiphar learned to trust Joseph as he watched how Joseph’s trust in God was rewarded with accumulated favor.   Over time, Potiphar saw Joseph’s character unfold before him – his loyalty, his integrity, his work ethic. And he rewarded him with what he saw…. The same is true today as it was then. Employers still look at character. A good employee is hard to find, especially one who is trustworthy. When you find an employee that works hard, is honest and loyal, well, then you’ve struck gold.   Potiphar knew a good man when he saw one. And Joseph was that man. But it wasn’t just his character that he rewarded. He saw that Joseph was a man of faith. And that God was with Joseph in all that he did. And because of that: Because God was with Joseph in everything he did, Potiphar trusted Joseph with everything he had. With Joseph running the details of his household, Potiphar didn’t have to worry about a thing, except his diet. You could say, that as a slave, Joseph had reached the pinnacle of success.

But soon his integrity tested. And that’s what we see next: 2. Joseph’s Integrity  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!” Genesis 39:6-7 Now, this was no subtle come on by Potiphar’s wife. She actually utters the words, “sikba immi” literally saying to him, “come have sex with me.” It’s even cruder than that, because this term was never used in the context of the marriage bed. It’s a more commonly heard in a brothel.

But Joseph – his integrity shines through: But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.  No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Genesis 39:8-9

Joseph reveals his integrity with one brilliant refusal. First, he refuses to violate Potiphar’s trust. He shows tremendous loyalty to the trust given him by his master. He will not abuse this trust. Second, he knows his place. He is a slave, she is Potiphar’s wife. He respects the boundaries of marriage. There’s no way he would violate that boundary. And third, he simply trusts God. He lives his faith, even though he is the only one there who believes in Yahweh, He believes and he acts on his faith by saying “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

What you’ve got to love about Joseph at this point of temptation, he’s prepared. He has well thought out convictions about his relationship with God and lives what He believes. That is integrity. He is the same on the inside, when no one is looking, as he is on the outside in his day-to day-life. So he squelches her lewd advance. But then we read: And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. Genesis 39:10

She spoke to Joseph day after day… and we know that from what happens next is that Joseph served in this household for eleven years. So she must’ve figured that if she could just wear him down, or get him to compromise by just spending time with her, then maybe she could have her way with Joseph. But Joseph would not play her games.  He did the right thing over and over and over again. That’s integrity. Joseph is a model for us today of how to live out your faith in a culture that does not know God. He simply knew what he believed and lived it day after day after day.

But then came the day of 3. Joseph’s Adversity One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside.  She caught him by his cloak and said, “sikba immi” “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. Genesis 39:11-12   Now, what makes this encounter different was two things. First, there were no other household servants around. Perhaps she thought, “If I can make it so that no one will know, no one will find out, well maybe then he will sleep with me.”   And the second thing, “She caught him by the cloak.” This phrase seems innocent enough, but this word “caught” literally describes an act of violence. She used FORCE to get her way. If she couldn’t persuade Joseph to sleep with her, then she was going FORCE him to sleep with her.   But obviously, his cloak was a loose-fitting outer garment that she tore away from his body. And when she had done this, Joseph did the only thing left for him to do. He hightailed it out of there. He fled. Perhaps this is what the Spirit of God put in Paul’s mind when he wrote 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee sexual immorality.” Joseph fled alright. But he wasn’t able to flee the false accusations that were about to come his way.

For we read: When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” Genesis 39:13-15   Just a couple of observations here: Potiphar’s wife was cunning. First, she tactfully identifies herself with her slaves and their plight – pulls them in to side with her by saying, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us!” Next she tells them that she screamed; as if she was the one being raped – that she was spurning his advances. Then she crafts this phrase, “he left the cloak beside me” She puts this picture in their heads that Joseph must’ve disrobed voluntarily as he was trying to seduce her. So now that she has her witness, we read: She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” Genesis 39:16-18

Joseph was absolutely innocent, but the circumstances were against him. So we read that, When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.  Oh, Potiphar was angry for sure. But at whom? He knew His wife, perhaps all too well. He knew where her passions lay and what her character was like. Could it be that Joseph wasn’t the first slave she had sought after? So yes, he was angry. But I don’t believe he was angry at Joseph. For if Potiphar believed his wife, Joseph would probably have been executed on the spot, no questions asked. Remember, Potiphar is the chief executioner. He could have done that easily. So he’s left with a dilemma. What’s he to do?   Now that the other servants have heard this story, he must act to protect his reputation. He knew Joseph and trusted him. In fact, you could say that he trusted Joseph’s moral character more than his wife’s word. But in the end, Joseph was simply a slave with no rights, and no voice. So what could he do? Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. Genesis 39:20

You see, we know Potiphar could have Joseph killed on the spot; he could have banished him to a common prison where he would have rotted away; but instead he had Joseph put in the King’s prison.

Joseph, who was blessed by God in everything he put his hand to…

Joseph, who had the complete trust of Potiphar with everything in his household..

Joseph, who was a man of great integrity…

Joseph, who had it made… all of sudden goes from the penthouse to prison

Joseph did nothing wrong, but ended up with the wrong end of the stick. Why? Well as we come to the conclusion of this chapter in Jospeh’s story, for the first time we are beginning to see God’s hand at work…

We are beginning to see 4. God’s Sovereignty That God had a plan for Joseph all along: But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 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. Genesis 39:21-23

Everywhere Joseph went, God went with him. God was with Joseph to bless him and strengthen him and give him favor in the eyes of those who seemed to have control over his life. The warden saw the same character in Joseph that Potiphar. And one wonders if Potiphar didn’t just give this warden a head’s up.

So we’re left scratching our heads about this long strange trip that Joseph’s on. Life’s not been fair to Joseph. His brother’s sold him into slavery; he’s now in a foreign country without a friend, but he does more than just survive… he thrives. And now, after doing everything right, he gets thrown in prison. If Joseph were a lesser man, these circumstances would crush him.

If this were you or me, my guess is that we’d give up on God at this point. We’d say, “I followed you, I lived the way you wanted me to live, but look where it’s got me. I thought if I followed you, tried to please you, you would take better care of me.” And we might even say, “I’m done trusting you. It’s got me no where.” And there are a lot of people who treat God precisely this way: as if God owes them a better life. As if following Jesus entitles you to a life of privilege and not suffering.

But you never hear that kind of thinking out of Joseph. He just keeps trusting in Yahweh, His covenant God. He believes that God is for him. He believed that when he was in Potiphar’s house. He believes it now while he’s in the king’s prison. And because he believes that God is for him, God blesses him even in the worst of circumstances.

Even though Joseph was in prison, somehow Joseph knew all was not lost. Joseph knew that his story was not finished.   He knew there were more chapters to be lived out. Why? Because he knew that God was with him. And he believed that God was for him. That’s the kind of faith that can sustain you even in the worst of circumstances.

So let me ask you this morning: Is this the kind of faith you have in God?

• That no matter what life throws at you, you believe God is with you?
• That no matter how unfairly you are treated, you hold onto the truth that God is for you?
• Trust is accepting what God sends into your life whether you understand it or not. – Keller

If you have this kind of faith, then, God’s plans for you are still in play. Your life will make a difference. There will be more chapters in your story to live out.

For the Christian, you see, it’s in the darkness where our light shines brightest.

It’s in the prison’s of life where our hope speaks the loudest.

And It’s in the midst of adversity where our goodness rings the truest.

That’s the good news of Joseph’s story! For when you believe that God is with you, you can face anything. All is not lost. There’s another chapter to be written.

You’ve just got to trust that God will write His story through your adversity.

He’s doing that with Joseph. He will do it with you.

So when life is unfair, don’t give up. Remember God may just be up to something good.