20 July Genesis 39

The Lord was with Joseph

Genesis 39:1-2 (NIV) “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. 2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master”. Joseph was sold as a slave twice. First, his brothers sold him to the Midianites. Then, the Midianites sold him to Potiphar. However, God did not abandon Joseph. Even when Joseph was sold into slavery, wrongly imprisoned, and forgotten, God stayed with him. God kept blessing Joseph so that others could see his life and praise God. Charles Spurgeon says “Although, externally it did not always appear that God was with him, for he did not always seem to be a prosperous man; but when you come to look into the innermost soul of this servant of God, you see his true likeness, he lived in communion with the Most High, and God blessed him.”

Joseph went from privilege in his father’s house to the pit his brothers threw him into. To being property in the slave market. To the privilege of managing Potiphar’s house. To the principled stand against temptation. To the perjury of false accusation. To the prison of Pharaoh, BUT THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH. The dominating theme is that Joseph succeeded because of the blessing of God:

1) Genesis 39:2 (AMP) The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful and prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. 2) Genesis 39:3 (AMP)Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper (succeed) in his hand. 3) Genesis 39:5 (AMP) It happened that from the time that he made Joseph overseer in his house and over all that he owned, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph; so the Lord’s blessing was on everything that Potiphar owned, in the house and in the field. 4) Genesis 39:21 (AMP) But the Lord was with Joseph and extended lovingkindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the warden. 5) Genesis 39:23 (AMP) The warden paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s care because the Lord was with him; whatever Joseph did, the Lord made to prosper.

Jesus says this in Matthew 20:26 (NKJV) “but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant”. It resounds through history that Joseph rises like cream to the top of milk! The righteous always do! The favour of God upon one man results in blessing for others. Psalm 30:5 (AMP) “For His anger is but for a moment, His favour is for a lifetime. Weeping may endure for a night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning”.

The psalmist identifies with this too in Psalm 106:4 (NLT) “Remember me, Lord, when you show favour to your people; come near and rescue me”, and in Psalm 90:17 (NLT) “And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!”.

Wherever he was, Joseph served with uncompromising excellence. The favour of God is always and only for the benefit of others.

Based on Psalm 84:11 (NLT) “For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right”, we understand that at the end of Joseph's life, he concluded, Genesis 50:20 (NKJV) “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive”.

What was the key to Joshep’s blessings? He obeyed God, stayed in a relationship with God, said no to temptation, and did everything excellently. God was always first in everything he did. Make God the centre of your life today. Put God first in everything you do, and you will be well established.