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“Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³ and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.”NIV

“The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them” (4).

I heard a well known preacher say something like this: ‘The best place to serve the Lord is wherever He sets you down.’

Whether in Potiphar’s home, or in the prison house, Joseph served where he was put.

Joseph was still carrying responsibility in prison. He had different tasks, and was working in a different location, but he was still willing and able to serve. Even in prison, it would seem, his leadership qualities were recognised.

We can be so fixated on our circumstances being far from ideal that we miss the opportunities to serve. May God forgive us. They are always there, if we but have eyes to see them.

PRAYER: Lord, please give me eyes to see every opportunity you give me to serve – especially when life is not turning out as I hoped.

^“19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, ‘This is how your slave treated me,’ he burned with anger. ²⁰ Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favour in the eyes of the prison warder. ²² So the warder put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. ²³ The warder paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.”NIV

“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” (22,23).

When Potiphar’s wife says “your slave” (19) it sounds like she is blaming him for what happened. (Of course, nothing did happen – certainly not what she lyingly alleged). It so common that people who are guilty point the finger at someone else. They often kick up a furious storm at the same time, as if shouting will somehow establish their case.

But what really strikes me in this passage is how similar verses 22, 23 are to verses 6,8,9. It’s the same man (Joseph), living under the same blessing of God, and enjoying success in his work life. It’s just that his location and type of work were different. His surroundings were much less agreeable, but God did not stay behind at Potiphar’s place when Joseph went to prison. He was with him there also. He is omnipresent. We cannot get away from His presence (Psalm 139).

‘God is with us as we wait. Joseph spent two difficult years working in the prison, but he held to his faith and did what he could to serve others. The experience helped to “put iron into his soul” (Ps. 105:17-22). If the Lord controls us, it makes little difference who commands us.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.41.

PRAYER: Lord God Almighty, help us to truly believe that in all things you are working for the good of those who love you.

(There will be a break in the notes now for a couple of weeks. We will resume on Monday 17^th May, God-willing. Thank you for your interest and support. You may like to read ahead in the remaining chapters of Genesis, and get a feel for the territory in front of us).

¹¹ One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. ¹² She caught him by his cloak and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.¹³ When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.’¹⁶ She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him this story: ‘That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. ¹⁸ But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.’NIV

“She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home” (16).

First of all, this was a moment of opportunity. No other servants were in the house. He and the seductress were quite alone. Who would know? Well, Joseph knew God would. For him that was enough reason to run. ‘The test of true faithfulness and obedience comes when we resist the secret sins that no one else but God will ever know about.’ Tom Hale: ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.187. Someone noted that ‘Character is what you are in the dark’ – when you think nobody else is watching.

This is also an example of  fidelity. As someone pointed out, he lost his cloak but kept his character (12). (“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22). Joseph put significant distance between himself and the temptation. But doing the right thing is not a guarantee that you’ll have an easy life. So, for Joseph…

…this marked the beginning of a new period of adversity. Tom Hale makes the point that Potiphar’s wife: ‘…accused Joseph of the very thing she had been attempting all along. And this time she had the “proof”; his cloak. This “proof” convinced the other servants and it convinced Potiphar as well, and Joseph was sent to prison. Joseph is the first major biblical figure to become a victim of slander and false witness. Slander itself is often based on truth: “I have Joseph’s cloak.” But its purpose is to defame someone behind his back. The episode provides a warning for us: when we think we’ve seen the “proof” concerning someone’s behaviour, we need to remember Joseph and his cloak.’