Genesis 39

Genesis 39:1-23

Joseph as a Slave in Potiphar’s House – Genesis 39:1-23 records the account of Joseph being sold as a slave in the house of Potiphar. According to Psalms 105:17-19, the word of the Lord was trying Joseph during this period of his life. Joseph was able, during these times of imprisonment and persecution, to begin to develop a Christ-like character in preparation for his coming years of leadership. It was in the furnace of affliction that Joseph’s character was shaped, and not in the glory of a throne. Psalms 105:17-19, “He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.” Illustration - When I left the Southern Baptist denomination, in which I was raised, some people spoke against me. Although I did not behave properly all of the time, those years of being spoken against and wronged as I stood up for the full-Gospel message of the Christian faith helped to shape my character for years to come. Genesis 39:3 — Comments - Potiphar could see what Joseph’s brothers could not see, that the Lord was with Joseph. Because of the hardness their hearts, his brothers rejected their deliverer and the world received him. Joseph serves as a type and figure of the Lord Jesus Christ. The story of Joseph serves as an example of what would come to pass. The Jews would one day reject their Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. As Joseph was drawn out of the pit, Jesus would be resurrected. The Gentiles would receive Him and God would bless the nations. In the fullness of time, God would use the Gentile Church to protect the young Jewish nation that God has restored since 1948, just as Pharaoh protected the young Jewish nation in the land of Goshen. Genesis 39:2-5 — Comments - Genesis 39:2-5 is an illustration of Pro 14:35. Proverbs 14:35, “The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.” Genesis 39:9 — Comments - Joseph well knew that sin in any form is ultimately against God himself. Genesis 39:12 — Comments - The garments of Joseph will play an important role in the life of this servant. He will remove the garments of a youth and put on a coat of many colors, which symbolizes a prince. When this garment is taken from him by his brothers, he will put on the garments of a slave. Then these garments will be taken from him by Potiphar’s wife and he will put on the garments of a prisoner. Finally, he will be clothed with the garments of the Prime Minister of Egypt. Each time his garments were taken he had to forgive and forget.

He did not long for the past, but looked to God to make a way for him in the future. Eventually, he realized that each time it was divine providence that caused his garments to be changed, and he became content wearing the garments and the ministry that God had placed him into. Genesis 39:20 — Comments - The Book of Jubilees says that Joseph was a servant for ten years and was in prison for three years. “And Joseph died being a hundred and ten years old; seventeen years he lived in the land of Canaan, and ten years he was a servant, and three years in 4 prison, and eighty years he was under the king, ruling all the land of Egypt.” (The Book of Jubilees 46.3-4)