So we are studying tonight Genesis chapter 39, but as you turn there, I want you to turn to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. And tonight's study is entitled, Potentially Crushing Circumstances, God's Prevailing Grace. Potentially Crushing Circumstances, God's Prevailing Grace. And we are going to go to a very famous verse, but I want us to read it all together this evening. Romans 8, verse 28. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. So I want you to think about how often you have recited that promise to yourself or prayed that promise for someone else or declared that promise to someone else. And now I want you to imagine that you couldn't recite that promise because it hadn't been written yet. And not only had it not been written, No book of the Old Testament had been written yet. No books of Moses had been written yet. No, instead, you only have the oral history of your family, which included the passing down of this history that God, Yahweh, appeared to your great-grandfather, your grandfather, and your father. and gave them these great promises, promises of blessing, promises of land, promises that their descendants would not only be blessed, but would be a blessing to all the nations of the world. And as you hear about this rich heritage, you yourself are experiencing some measure of this blessing as well, because you have a father who is very wealthy, has many flocks, has many servants. And even beyond that, You are your father's favorite son. You are the favored son because you are the son of your father's favored wife. And to mark your favored status, your father has given you this richly ornamented garment, this garment that sets you apart from all of your brothers and your sister. Furthermore, you're given dreams that show you one day ruling over not only your family, but all of the Earth, seemingly, as you see these dreams of bales of wheat or sheaves of wheat bowing to you, and then the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to you. Think of how exalted or how elevated or how promoted you might feel experiencing all of this. But one day, you, the favorite son, the one to whom have been given these dreams of future greatness, you find yourself being attacked by your brothers. You find them stripping you of this richly ornamented garment. And then you find yourself at the bottom of a cistern, bottom of a well. crying out for your life, how quickly you have gone from this seemingly exalted state to one of great humiliation, all seemingly within the blink of an eye. And if you thought that things couldn't possibly get worse, you then find yourself being brought up from the bottom of that well, and now you're being sold to these traitors who are going by being sold by your very brothers. And imagine what is going through your mind as you are riding off with this caravan, as you see your brothers growing smaller and smaller and smaller in the distance, as you are going into an unknown place, an unknown future. But remember, You don't have the promise that God works all things together for good for those who love him. You don't know how anything is going to turn out. And so if you can put yourself in the place of this one that I've just described, you've put yourself in the place of Joseph. Joseph, the favored son, Jacob, the one who has been sold into slavery by his brothers. And as you think about all of the things that I just indicated, is it not possible that any one of these circumstances, not to mention how they all came in quick succession and in combination, how a 17 or 18-year-old boy could be crushed by those circumstances? could seemingly have nothing to seemingly live for. And yet tonight, we will see that God's grace, which we saw in Genesis 38 prevailing over man's pervasive unrighteousness, we will see God's grace prevailing over potentially crushing circumstances. Tonight's passage takes place over approximately 10 years. We will see Joseph once again alternating between being elevated and seemingly being on top of the world to being in a place of humiliation. And although Joseph's state changes throughout, we will see that God's prevailing grace remains constant throughout. And so with that as introduction, if you are able, please stand as we read Genesis 39, verses 1 through 6. Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. And the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptians' house for Joseph's sake. The blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and because of him, he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Please be seated. So in this passage, we will see God's grace prevailing over the potentially crushing circumstances of forced servitude. potentially crushing circumstance of powerful temptation and false accusation, and finally, God's grace prevailing over wrongful imprisonment. So first, forced servitude. Look at verse 1. Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of a guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there. When we last read about Joseph, we read about him in Genesis 37, verse 36. Remember, all of chapter 38 was about his brother Judah. And at that time, it was indicated that after his father went into the great state of mourning because he thought that Joseph was dead, verse 36 says, meanwhile, the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. And so as we begin the passage, we quickly see the contrast between Joseph and Judah in what we studied in Judah chapter 38. In verse 1, we're told twice that Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. Notice that. He had been brought down to Egypt. And if you remember what we studied in Genesis 38, Judah made the choice to leave his family. Judah made the choice to separate himself from the people of God. Joseph didn't make that choice. He was forcibly separated from his family. And while Judah made that choice and willingly went down to Canaan, we saw that he befriended a Canaanite, he married a Canaanite, he lived like a Canaanite. And yet, we will see that while Joseph was forcefully brought down to Egypt, He turns out much different. And that is where we start to see that contrast. So just imagine that you're Joseph, brought into this foreign country, purchased as a slave, and note the description of the person who bought you. Potiphar. told he's an officer of Pharaoh, a captain of the guard. So he's not just an officer. He is someone who is very close to Pharaoh. This is a high-ranking military official. So here is Joseph, who not too long ago was living in tents. around a lot of animals and all of these things that come with being a part of a family who were shepherds to going into the house of a high-ranking Egyptian official. Think of the fact that he had to learn a new language. He had to learn new customs. remember he's 17 or 18 years old at the time and so this could have been for joseph very difficult and crushing situation but yet we see that the results were much different. And that brings us to our first question tonight, looking at verses two through six. What are the details that describe Joseph's time in Potiphar's house, and what is significant about these details? So verses two through six, what are the details that describe Joseph's time in Potiphar's house, and what is significant about these details? Yes, Kayla? God blesses everything that he does. God blesses everything that he does. Okay, Lillian? Why are you so much a kid? I was telling verse three, it says, the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. Okay, all right. Terry, did I see you? Yeah, now, we've got in favor in chapter one. Okay. He was put in charge of everything except for what? Chapter eight, plus the wife. Okay, yes. Anyone else? Was that in verses 2 through 6? Not yet. They're not there yet. But what else do we see in verses 2 through 6 about Joseph's time in Potiphar's house? Yes, Terry. Not only was his house blessed, but also his field. OK. So that would probably be his animals. Yep. OK. Liz? Potiphar had no concern about anything but the food he ate. OK. Anyone else? Yes, Priya? He was made to be an overseer over all. Okay, he was made to be an overseer over the whole house. Anyone else? Yes? I don't know, was it mentioned that it says that his master saw that the Lord was with him? Yes, that was not mentioned, but that is significant. Anyone else? All right, all good observations. Let's jump in and note a few things. Notice that the Lord appears in capital letters. This is the personal name of God, Yahweh. And it appears five times in these verses. The Lord only appears four more times in the rest of Genesis, three of which are in this chapter. And so you see what the Lord is trying to tell the first years as well as us, that the Lord Yahweh was with Joseph. Notice also, did God speak to Joseph personally? No. There's no supernatural visitation, as he had done with his great-grandfather, his grandfather, and his father. Yet, what do we see Joseph doing? Just working, just being faithful. but we know and are being told that the Lord was with him and he was the one who enabled him to be successful. As Esther said, Potiphar recognizes that Yahweh is with Joseph as well. And notice again, capital L-O-R-D. How did Potiphar, an Egyptian, know about Yahweh? Now, the scripture is silent as to that, but we see in the next chapter, in chapter 40, verse 8, that Joseph speaks openly about God. So could it be that Joseph had talked about Yahweh even to this Egyptian officer? Joseph becomes Potiphar's right-hand man, essentially. It says in verse 4 that Joseph attended Potiphar. And this is actually the same word that is used to describe Joshua's relationship with Moses in Numbers 11, 28. He was made overseer over Potiphar's house. And all that Potiphar had was blessed, both house and field, signifying the entirety of all he had. We hear the echo of God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12, 2 and 3. I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. And him who dishonors you I will curse. And you, all of the families of the earth, shall be blessed. So this Egyptian's house is being blessed by God because Joseph is in the midst of it. And so in this place of hardship, God's favor toward Joseph is seen. There's nothing extraordinary or supernatural regarding Joseph's service in Potiphar's house. We see Joseph's diligence and success as a hard worker in his master's house, but are told that this diligence and success was due to the Lord being with Joseph. And so as we consider Joseph's service in Potiphar's house, we should be reminded of the following verses. It's in 2 Ephesians 6, verses 5-8. Bond-servants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ. Not by the way of eye service as people pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a goodwill as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Or Colossians 3, verses 22 through 24, bondservants obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service. No, actually no, it's different. I thought I had copied the same verse, but it's not. But with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord, whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward, you are serving the Lord Christ. And as we consider these verses, we should ask the question of ourselves, are we a blessing to our employers? Are we a blessing to our employers if we work? Do we serve our employers as we serve the Lord? If Joseph, who did not have all the promises and commands of the Lord, could be faithful to his master in his circumstances, our employers as part of our reasonable worship to God. Joseph served Potiphar well. And remember, his service to Potiphar was within the context of his having been brought down to Egypt because of his brother's hatred and his having been sold into forced servitude. And so Joseph goes from the place of humiliation as a slave to this place, being the overseer of Potiphar's house. After approximately 10 years, Joseph is brought into another potentially crushing circumstance. We next will see powerful temptation and false accusation. Look at the end of verse six. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time, his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, lie with me. that he refused, and said to his master's wife, Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And as she spoke to Joseph, day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. But one day, when he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment saying, lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. The indication that Joseph was handsome in form and appearance is unusual, since such a description is typically utilized to describe women. But this description sets the context for what transpires in this section of our passage. We read that after some time Potiphar's wife cast her eyes on Joseph. She did not simply look at him. She looked lustfully at him. And not only did she look lustfully at him, but she went to him and said, lie with me. Now this expression is a euphemism for have sexual relations with me. And here we truly see the truth of Christ's words that says that, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. It started with her lustfully looking at him, lustfully desiring him. And from that, she went to him saying, lie with me. And these words are a command. It's not a request. It is a command. coming from the woman who heads the house with her husband. So Mitchell Kim, who has a 12-week study, I think phrased this question in a better way than I was able to do it. It says in verses 8 through 12, how does Joseph deliberately respond to the temptations of Potiphar's wife? The second question is, what can we learn from Joseph's example and apply to our fights against temptation? Verses 8 through 12, how does Joseph deliberately respond to the temptations Potiphar's wife? Yes, there is an appeal to reason. She says what? Lie with me. And you see that Joseph's response is much longer. He appeals to reason and his response displays a respect for his master. See, behold, because of me, my master is no concern about anything in this house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am. What a statement. Nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. And in saying those words, Joseph is not only declaring a respect for his master, but also a respect for marriage. Joseph had a respect for marriage and recognizing that she belonged to her husband and not to him. He also declares in his response his reverence for God. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? So I actually had some alliteration. So we talked about reason. He reasoned. Verse 10, he retreated. He recognized that this temptation was too powerful for him. And so what did he do? He didn't listen to her. He basically shut his ears to her request to lie beside her and to spend time with her. And notice that her request has changed. Just lie beside me. Don't lie with me. Lie beside me. Spend time with me. adding nuance to the temptation. He avoided contact with her. And if we look at verse 10, we see that this temptation from Potiphar's wife was powerful, not only because of the person who was tempting him, but the persistence of the temptation. It says that she came to him day after day. She would not give up. And then finally, in verse 12, we see he ran. He ran. When he had no other option, he ran. But I also want to note, in verse eight, what does it say? It says, first, he refused. He refused. That was his first action. He refused. And this is the same word to describe Phil's refusal to let the Israelites go. There is a heart set against succumbing to this temptation. And you can think about all of what's going through Joseph's mind, what all would be going through anyone's mind in this situation. This woman is my master's wife. She has power over me. There, as we would say in today's parlance, there's a power dynamic going on here. She is more powerful than him. and thinking also along those lines. If he were to get into this temptation, might he actually gain more than he already has? He's not thinking of all the things that he mentions in his response. And so we see in these verses that Joseph refused, he appealed to reason in his response, he retreated from her, and he ran. And what we see in this scene is that the slave was free while the mistress of the house was bound by her lust. And so as we consider Joseph's example, what can we learn and apply to our fights against temptation? What can we learn and apply? So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. So we aren't just supposed to run into nowhere. No, we're supposed to run from sin and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Yes, Frances? And also, like, be aware of your surroundings. Because when you went to the house to do his work, and none of the men were in that house. They were in there. Yeah. So you should look at your surroundings and look at them. Yeah. Yeah, and as you study this portion of scripture, does this sound like this is the first time that Potiphar's wife has done something like this? Probably not. And actually, in Egypt, it was very common for slaves to be in relationships and to serve their masters in this way. And so the fact that Joseph says no to her, the fact that he refuses her, the fact that day after day he stands fast and says, I'm not going to do this, and then he avoids her, but then finds himself in the situation where no one else is home and gets into this position where she grabs him. by his garment and is trying to forcefully bring him to bed with her shows that she was truly bound by her lust. that as we see Joseph run away, we are also, or we should be reminded of 1 Corinthians 10, 13, which says, no, temptation has overtaken you. That is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. God provided a way of escape for Joseph. And he took that way of escape. And as he took that way of escape, he left behind his garment. And his garment being left behind is the next section of our passage. Look at verse 13. And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the Lord. See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house. And she laid up his garment by her until his master came home. And she told him the same story, saying, the Hebrew servant whom you have brought among us came into me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house. As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, this is the way your servant treated me, his anger was kindled. Verse 13, the beginning of that verse says, and as soon as, which indicates that her response to Joseph's action of running away, her analysis of the situation that here she stood with his garment in her hand and her execution of her plan were immediate. It's a devious woman. As soon as she had the garment in her hand, and notice what she does next. She rallies support for her story by first calling the men of the household. Notice her attack. She blames her husband for bringing Joseph into the house. He has brought among us I didn't bring this man here. Potiphar brought him among us to laugh at us. She seeks to divide by ethnicity. Notice that she calls Joseph not by his name, but calls him a Hebrew, stoking the fact that he is not of us. And finally, she lies. claims to have lifted up her voice and cried out, which was required if an attempted rape was about to be committed. She claims that Joseph left his garment beside her and fled. And here we see that once again, a garment is used as a tool of deception in Joseph's life. Verse 16 says that Potiphar's wife laid next to the garment until Potiphar returned home. And when Potiphar returned home, his wife repeated the lie. And with the repeat of this lie, we see clearly that in the heart of every unregenerate man, woman, boy, or girl is a heart that will lie to get what it wants, or in this case, will lie to destroy what it cannot have. unregenerate heart will easily lie to get advantage. And as Potiphar hears his wife's story, we're told that his anger was kindled. But his anger was kindled against whom? Think of Potiphar's predicament. Attempted rape, many of the commentators said that attempted rape in Egypt was a capital crime. You would take the life of the one who attempted to rape someone. And think of it even further, she is accusing a slave of this. Slaves were easily expendable. Get rid of one slave, you go and just get another. And so imagine Potiphar's predicament as he hears what his wife accuses his right-hand man of. As he hears his wife accuse the one who he recognizes, as we were told earlier, that Yahweh is with, he recognizes that he is being blessed because of Joseph, he is being accused of attempted rape his wife. Imagine his predicament. Either he gets rid of the one who's brought him blessing, but if he does nothing, he's openly calling his wife a liar. How would you feel facing that predicament? told in verse 20, that Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he, meaning Joseph, was there in the prison. So the fact that Joseph was put into prison and not executed probably an indication that Potiphar did not fully believe his wife. But in order to save face, he put Joseph into prison. So we see Joseph's dissent from being overseer of Potiphar's house, from being Potiphar, this high-ranking military official's right hand, to now the humiliation of a prison cell for a crime he did not commit. And know that Joseph landed in prison because he did the right thing. If he had acquiesced to Potiphar's wife's demand, he would not be in prison. But because he stood for what was right, because he said no to her temptation, landed in prison, but he counted the cost. He counted the cost of acquiescing to that temptation and committing that great wickedness and sin against God, and counted that as more important than giving in to the temptation. And we see Joseph entering the king's prison, and we see truth of 2 Timothy 3, verses 12 through 13, clearly displayed, which says, Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. And so as we are faced with temptations and are sometimes faced with the prospect of suffering for doing what will honor God, we should look at the example of Joseph, who had far less revelation than we have. And as we consider the fact that he was persecuted for doing the right thing. We should look even more to Christ who was persecuted. who was taken to death on a part of the cross. As we read in Philippians 2, verse 8, where it says, And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. And we know that Christ's obedience gained for us an eternal salvation, and that from this state, from Christ's state of humiliation, he has now been exalted above all. and he has purchased an eternal salvation for those who repent of their sins and place their faith and trust in him. But as we end this section of the passage and we see that now Joseph is in prison, we come to the final section of our passage where we see that God's grace prevails over the potentially crushing circumstance of wrongful imprisonment. Look at verse 21. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. The keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. So despite the humiliation of this imprisonment, we see once again, Joseph coming into this elevated state of being a leader, even in the midst of this prison. And once again, Joseph is entrusted with responsibilities, showing that God's gifts of leadership and administration were evident, as we see in verses 22 and 23. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything. That was in Joseph's charge. So we come to our last questions for tonight. What are the similar phrases that describe both Joseph's time in Potiphar's house and in the prison? And how should these phrases have affected the first years of this narrative? And how should these phrases affect us? So what are the similar phrases that we see both in Potiphar's house and in the prison? And then how should these phrases and have affected the first heroes of this narrative, and affect us. So I see Titus' hand. Yes. It says, in verse 3 and verse 23, it says, everything Joseph did succeeded. Correct. Yes, and we actually see that in verse 2 as well, where it says that Joseph became a successful man. Whatever Joseph did, it succeeded. The Lord made it succeed. whether he was in the high-ranking official's home or he was in the prison. The Lord made it succeed. Frances. Yeah, and we see that truth. whether in essentially a palace or a prison cell, that is helping Joseph to succeed. There's one other phrase that we see. Yes, Lillian. In verse 6, it says, so he left all that he had at Joseph's charge, and because of him, had no concern about anything but the food he ate. And then in 22, it says, and the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge. In 23, it says, the keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge. That's an extra one that I didn't actually even have in my notes. Good for you. Easy. Yes. Yes. The Lord was with Joseph. Yes, Terry. Yes. Yes. Yes. And so think about that. Lord was with Joseph. The people that he worked for put him in charge. The Lord made everything that he did succeed, whether he was in a place of abundance or in a place of want. While the temptation of Potiphar's wife was a powerful one, and Joseph's response to that temptation is a model for us. so appreciated Pastor Brian Bergman's sermon on this text. And he brought out that the even greater temptation for Joseph in all of this, and in all of what was to come, even in the next chapter, are the temptations to not believe that God is with him, to not trust God, and to not believe that God is good. Imagine how you would feel. Put yourself in Joseph's place. I did the right thing. I did what honor God. And where does he find himself? The prison cell. Don't we have a whole essential quote-unquote gospel that says if you do the right thing, God will bless you abundantly. It's not what we see here. Doing the right thing landed Joseph in prison. But we see that the Lord was with him, that the Lord made everything that he put his hand to succeed, and others recognized it. Others recognized it. So to the second question, how should these phrases have affected the first hearers of this narrative? Think of who the first hearers of this narrative were. And then also, how should these phrases affect us? Yes, Kayla. The first hearers would have been Israel before they're entering into the Promised Land. And so this would have been a great encouragement that if they follow the Lord like Joseph did, then the Lord will make them succeed. Anyone else? Anyone else? First heroes. It would have been his family, Joseph's family, after he brings them into Egypt. And that would have been a testimony to the rest of his brothers. meant something for evil, and the Lord turned it around for something else. So we see that this narrative, in terms of those who Moses would have recited this for, was to instill trust in them that God was with them, and that he would keep his promises to them. And this was not something that they believed in their earliest interactions. I want us to turn, actually, to Exodus, chapter 6. Exodus, chapter 6. I want us to see something. Exodus, chapter 6, starting at verse 2. It says, God spoke to Moses and said to him, I am the Lord. I appear to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty. But by my name, the Lord, I did not make myself known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel, whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you will know that I am the Lord your God. who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for possession. I am the Lord." Look at verse 9. Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. Their slavery had crushed them. They were not able to hear those words and to believe that the Lord was indeed with them. And so as Moses is penning this narrative, this was a reminder to them that God is faithful, that he is with them, that he has made promises to them that he will keep. And what did we see? So many times they would forsake Him, they would sin against Him, yet when they repented, He once again delivered them. We see that all throughout the Old Testament. And so for the first years, they should have had a trust infused into them as a result of the life of Joseph. And how should this narrative affect us today? How should it affect us? Yes. Yes. Anyone else? Yes. Flee temptation. And how do we flee temptation? And actually to that I'm gonna I'm gonna add to that and help a little here We should look to God's strength in our fight against temptation Ephesians 6 10-13 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers, over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. having done all to stand firm. What else? How else should this narrative affect us? Yeah, and yet we have the promise God will never leave us or forsake us We have the promise of Philippians 1 6 that the good work that God has begun as he will be faithful to complete it All which should be reinforced by the fact that someone with much less revelation than we had, was able to stand in the face of temptation. Yes, Priya. They were writing in the Bible. They said, and our head, we are groomed. We should cry unto the Lord in our freedom. Also in Romans they quoted, Yes, the Lord will hear us and He will hear us because of Christ. He will hear us because of Christ. Because we are in Christ, God hears us. We are his children, and he's with us because of Christ. Romans 8, verses 31 through 32 says, what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? It's God's first giving of Christ. and his bringing us into relationship through Christ that enables us to stand in the face of temptation, to be able to know that he is with us in whatever circumstance we are in, and it is because of Christ that we can lay hold of the promises of God. We should also remember that God is in providential control of all things. He is in control of all things. Those who sold Joseph to Potiphar thought they were in control. Potiphar thought he was in control when he bought Joseph. Potiphar's wife thought she was in control when she accused him of wrongdoing and put him into the prison. The warden of the prison thought he was in control when he put Joseph in charge of all things. I should also say Potiphar thought he was in control when he put him into the king's prison. Because if he was in some other prison, he wouldn't talk to the cupbearer, to the baker, in the next chapter. God is in providential control. Yeah, and I and yeah scripture is silent, but what as we read these narratives Put yourself in that place Yeah, and Joseph was a human being just like us he was not Some other he was he was a man just like us just as we read of the Apostle Paul and all of his his struggles yes, he was an apostle, but he was a man and So imagine all of the universe of emotions that that one would would encounter As you're sitting in that prison After being wrongfully accused of something think of what we do when we're wrongfully accused of something. I Didn't do it. We defend ourselves That's our first Inclination is to defend ourselves While we don't see that in Scripture and we we certainly but think of all of those things Think of the fact that here's Joseph sitting in a prison after having having been forsaken by his brothers sold by his brothers Seemingly getting into a place of making a life for himself in Egypt and now being accused of this and landing in prison Think of all of those things And yet, as we read here, God is with him. And God keeps him from allowing these things to crush him, from allowing these things to make him say, God, you are not good, to accuse God of wrongdoing. Because as we read it, we know what's coming. We know what Genesis 50 says when he says, you intended this for evil, but God intended it for good and the salvation of many. Yes, Esther. As you mentioned here, I mean, the warden also notices that God is with him. So there must be some way, again, that he is expressing that trust in the Lord, that he's shining out in even there. That's how we would know it. We don't have to wait until Genesis 50. It's been shown here that he is still Yeah, yeah, and we will hear it in the next chapter as well When they start talking about their dreams and he says isn't God the one who gives interpretation of dreams Michelle Did I see your hand? No, okay. I'm sorry Any other comments or questions, yes I Possibly we don't we don't know exactly what happened to that household We're not told anything about that, but we see that the prison became blessed because Joseph was there But What was the key thing? What was key to all of this God was with? Joseph yes Yeah. No, no, it's it's appeared before it's appeared before but remember Moses is is writing this So God has identified himself as as Yahweh. He's given him his personal name and so he's as he's writing this history and The Holy Spirit is making sure that it's specifically known that this was Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God, who was with Joseph. Pastor Steve. Something that stands out to me in this text, thinking about how God had foretold to Abraham that through Abraham's descendants, God would bring blessing to all the families of the earth. And we know where this narrative is going to a position where he's going to be an instrument of God's blessing to all the nations of the known world. But even here, you see the Lord bring blessing to Egyptians through Joseph. It is the beginning of fulfillment of this promise that God would bring blessing to other nations through Abraham's descendants. Anyone else? Yeah, Flora. Do you think that maybe Joseph would have tried to tell Potiphar that he didn't do what his wife told him? Scripture is silent to that, so I'm not even kidding. That would be a big word called conjecture, which means that it's not there. But what we do know is that he ended up in prison. And so even if he had tried, he ended up in prison. All right, well, let us pray. Our God and Father, we do thank you for your word. And Lord, as we have studied your word tonight, we thank you that because of Christ, you are with us. Lord, whether we are in the midst of great difficulty, whether we are in the midst of a severe fight against temptation and all the evil that is around us and seeking to do your will in our lives, or whether we are in a place of blessing, Lord, you are indeed with us. And so, Lord, we pray that as we have studied the life of Joseph tonight, that you would cause our faith to be renewed. Faith that lays hold of your promise that you will indeed never leave us or forsake us. Faith that you are for us and not against us. Faith to believe and to know that you are in control of all things and so Lord I pray that as You work through your word by your spirit In our hearts and in our lives that we would grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ that we would grow in maturity knowing that indeed you do work all things together for good and For those who are called according to your purpose and as we pray tonight, may you help us to do so Laying all of our petitions at your feet trusting that you hear us and trusting that you will answer According to your good and perfect will What we do thank you once again for this time may it bear fruit in our lives to your glory. We pray in Jesus name Amen