Genesis

EACH scene in the record of Joseph’s life reveals some distinctive trait of character elicited by means of a crisis. We have already seen his passive submission to an awful wrong at the hands of his ruthless brothers. We naturally try to realize something of what he felt, but except for the allusion twenty years after to the anguish of his soul nothing is told us; no word of accusation falls from his lips, not a word of appeal or reproach finds its place in the story. This silence is surely remarkable, and tells its own tale of quiet strength and sublime power.

The record continues to reveal Joseph’s character. The boy who suddenly exchanged the place of a petted and favorite son for that of a slave of foreign merchants is once again raised to high position, and as suddenly falls from honour, and is cast into prison. The revelation of his character is very striking, and deserves the closest possible study and attention.

From the hands of the Midianite traders Joseph passed into the possession of Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, chief of the executioners. So from the pit into which he was cast by his brothers he passes into the pit of slavery in Egypt. It is a fine test of character for a young man when he is brought suddenly face to face with adversity, for the way in which he meets his difficulties will at once reveal and practically guarantee his future life.

The young slave filled his position to the very utmost of his powers and abilities. Instead of complaining that God was unjust to him, that his lot so far away from home was utterly hopeless, he put his whole power into the work that he had to do, and we are not surprised to read that the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. Observe this use of the Divine Name, Jehovah, the God of the Covenant, Who had not left him, and Who, still more, would never forsake him. He was a prosperous man is a phrase that reads curiously in connection with a slave. How could he be prosperous in such a position? The explanation is that prosperity is not due to circumstances but to character, and character in turn depends upon faithfulness to God.

His life soon became evident, for in some way or God’s other his master observed that God was with him and was prospering him. Not that Potiphar had any spiritual insight into the ways of Jehovah, but being in some sort a religious man, he became convinced that Joseph’s powers must come from a Divine source. It is one of the finest and most glorious results of true piety when those around us who may not be of our way of thinking are enabled to see the reality of our life in our daily work and conduct.

We are therefore not at all surprised to read that Joseph "found grace in his master’s sight," and that he was made overseer over the house and over all his master s possessions. Them that honour Me I will honour is one of the great fundamental principles of life which find clear illustrations all through the centuries.

The crowning point of all was that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. It is not the only time that God-fearing servants have brought spiritual blessing to the life and home of their masters. So thoroughly did Potiphar trust Joseph that he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. This absolute confidence in Joseph’s trustworthiness and capability is very striking, the one limitation being that of food, which was doubtless due to the great care of the Egyptians about ceremonial defilement (Gen 43:32).

Thus Joseph lived his life in Potiphar’s house hold, bearing testimony to God and bringing blessings to his master. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. Mr. Eugene Stock (Lesson Studies in Genesis, p. 119) calls attention to the rendering of He was a prosperous man in Wycliffe’s version, "He was a luckie felowe," and makes the valuable point that a "luckie felowe" is not the rich man, but the man of character, the man of whom it can be said The Lord is with him. Circumstances can never by themselves produce or guarantee prosperity. The prosperous man is the man who lives according to genuine hope, and this is only possible when our hope is based on God.

All was now going well with Joseph. He was trusted by his master, and blessed of his God. How things would have turned out in the usual way we know not, but an event occurred, which, however forbidding and surprising in itself, was nevertheless used as the link in the chain of that Divine providence which is so marked a feature of the story.

Joseph was young, manly and physically attractive. He had not a little of his mother’s beauty (cf. Gen 29:17 with Gen 39:6), and this was the occasion of fierce temptation which came from an unexpected quarter. As he was Potiphar’s property why should not his master s wife do what she liked with the living chattel? And so the temptation came upon him in all its attractiveness and awful power. In a way it was a fine testimony to Joseph’s power and influence that the wife of his master should have noticed one of her husband’s slaves. Temptation is one of the great tests of life and character. It transforms innocence into virtue. Sin lies not in being tempted, but in yielding to it.

The way in which Joseph met this fierce onslaught is full of meaning. "He refused." There was his power. He met the temptation by a definite act and attitude of will. There was no dallying, no hesitation, but a great refusal. This refusal was based on rational grounds. Behind the will were the intellect and the conscience. The first reason for his refusal was the consciousness of duty to the master who had trusted and honored him. Very plainly Joseph told the temptress that she, as his master’s wife, was the one and only exception to his full sway and power in the house. The perfect faith of the master called for the perfect faithfulness of the servant. Gratitude, trust, honour, devotion to such a master demanded, and should have, the uttermost integrity of which he was capable.

But above and beyond all this, duty to God reigned supreme. He could not and therefore would not, commit this great wickedness and sin against God. To him God was first. The lessons of the old home had not been forgotten in spite of all the treatment he had received. On the contrary the way in which the Lord God of his father had been with him and prospered him in his servitude was an additional reason for loyalty and integrity. And so on the highest ground of his relation to God, he faced this temptation and won the victory.

But sin was not to be daunted. The temptation was continued long, "for she spake to Joseph day by day." Temptation once only, and temptation continued daily, are very different experiences, and many who resist at first succumb at last. There was much more than the merely sensual in this conflict. We need not suppose that a man of Joseph’s nature and circumstances was immune from the grossness of the peril; but we may be perfectly certain that this was not the deepest and strongest aspect of the foe. Dr Marcus Dods, in one of those penetrating and searching delineations of character which make his studies of the patriarchs so valuable, very truly and acutely says:

At length the woman’s passion overreached itself, and in the attempt to force Joseph to yield she was signally and wholly defeated. When he was faced with this crowning attempt he did the very best indeed, the only possible thing, he fled and got him out. Flight is the only safety from certain forms of temptation. Some temptations we resist by meeting them, but we can only resist others by flight. Safety is found in putting distance between us and our foe, and there is not only nothing ignoble in such flight, but on the contrary, it is the highest and truest form of virtue.

And then the woman’s disappointed passion changed from love to hate. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Taking the garment that Joseph had left behind him in his flight, she used it as a proof of his guilt; and first to the servants and then to her husband she made out a case against the Hebrew slave. The way she spoke of her husband to the servants (Gen 39:14) shows the true character of the woman, and perhaps also the terms of her married life; while the fact that Potiphar only placed Joseph in prison instead of commanding him to be put to death is another indication of the state of affairs. For appearance sake Potiphar must take some action, but the precise action taken tells its own tale. He evidently did not credit her story.

And thus Joseph was victorious. Her rank did not flatter him; her allurement did not entice him. In the strength of the presence of his Covenant God he was more than conqueror.

There is scarcely anything finer in Scripture than this picture of youth tested and triumphant. The simplicity, dignity and reserve of the narrative; the vividness of the portrayal of the parts played by Potiphar, his wife, and Joseph and the unmistakable force of the presentation of truth and righteousness, command our interest and elicit our admiration. It is the typical story for young manhood, conveying its own clear and blessed message. Young men need not sin, can be pure, shall be victorious, if only they will face their foe in the spirit and power of Joseph. Jehovah is the same to-day, and His covenant of grace is ordered in all things and sure.

We are now to notice an instance of the victory of slander. It is often a great mystery that evil forces are allowed such freedom in a world that is controlled by a righteous and almighty God. Joseph was a victim of false accusation. There have been many such since his day. When Potiphar’s wife told her story, first to the servants and then to her husband, it is possible that they may have had certain doubts of the truth of what she said, and yet were not prepared to deny altogether the likelihood of what she charged against Joseph. Perhaps those servants said among themselves, "Well, there must be something in it." How often people have said this on hearing a charge which they were not able to prove. Those well-known sayings, There is no smoke without some fire, and There must be some truth in it, are here absolutely disproved; and if these things were untrue of Joseph, may they not be untrue of many to-day? Yet insinuations continue to be made, suggestions rankle in the mind, inquiries are not made, and perhaps the trouble is never removed. How easy it is to do mischief with the tongue! And if the accused, like Joseph, keeps silence, we may easily blast a character by reason of our suspicion that there must be something in it. Joseph’s silence is once again remarkable. As Silence amid on the former occasion when his brothers cruelly mistreated him, so now he says nothing in self-defense. He will not rob his master of his wife in order to save himself. A word from him might easily have settled the matter, especially because, as we have observed, it seems pretty evident that Potiphar did not altogether believe in his wife s story. Yet to save her honour, Joseph was absolutely silent. There was no recrimination, nothing but a quiet endurance of the wrong. How he could do this is only explicable by that which is found no less than four times in this chapter Jehovah was with him.

In the prison his experiences soon repeated themselves, for the prisoner continued to do what the slave had been doing in the time of prosperity. He filled this post also to the utmost of his ability, and it was not long before he was exactly in the same relation to the keeper of the prison as he had been to Potiphar, for the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. What magnificent rectitude and persistent faithfulness! By sheer force of character he won his way into the confidence of his keeper, and we may say that already other sheaves were making obeisance to his sheaf. The spiritual vitality of the man is simply astonishing, and again illustrates with magnificent force the truth that God blesses and honors those who are true to Him.

Out of the wealth of material found in this chapter it may be worth while dwelling upon the element of difficulty as part of the training and discipline of human life.

1. The Value of difficulties.

"It is good for a young man to bear the yoke in his youth." It is easy to read this text, and not difficult to agree with it as a matter of theory; but it is quite another matter to accept it while the yoke is upon our own shoulders. And yet if only we could believe it at that time it would do incalculable service to the cause of Christian character. There were three yokes that Joseph bore: the yoke of slavery, the yoke of temptation, the yoke of suspicion and slander. Each of these by itself would have been heavy, but all three must have pressed deeply upon his soul. It is the worst possible thing for a young life to be made easy, to have everything done for it, to have a good time. Yokes borne in youth have at least three results; they prove personal integrity, they promote spiritual maturity, and they prepare for fuller opportunity. In Nature and in human life the best things are not the easiest but the hardest to obtain. "Blessed be drudgery" is universally true.

How nobly Joseph comported himself amidst all these trials and hardships! He might have sulked and become embittered; but instead of this his spirit was unconquerable by reason of its trust in God. He steadfastly refused to be unfaithful to his God, whatever might be the consequences. In duty he was loyal, in temptation he was strong, and in prison he was faithful. When this spirit actuates our life, difficulties become means of grace and stepping-stones to higher things. On the other hand, if difficulties are met in a fretful, murmuring, complaining, disheartened spirit, not only do we lose the blessings that would otherwise come through them, but our spiritual life suffers untold injury, and we are weakened for the next encounter of temptation whenever it comes. There is scarcely anything in the Christian life which reveals more thoroughly what our Christianity is worth than the way we meet difficulties by the use of the grace of God.

The secret of Joseph’s power was the consciousness of the presence of God. God had not forgotten him, though it might seem to have been the case. The very incident that was apparently the most injurious was the link used by God to bring about his exaltation. One of Horace Bushnell’s great sermons has for its title, "Every Man’s Life a Plan of God," and to the man who is sure that he is in the pathway of God’s will there will come the consciousness of the Divine presence and blessing which will be an unspeakable comfort as he rests in the Lord and waits patiently for Him. God will bring forth his righteousness as the light and his just dealing as the noonday. The very troubles that seem to overwhelm will prove blessings in disguise and before long the Divine justification of His servant’s faithfulness will be seen and manifested to all men. Evil may have its temporary victories, but they are only temporary. Good and right and truth must prevail, and it is for the servants of God to wait quietly, to go forward humbly, to live faithfully, and to trust boldly until God shall justify them by His

Divine interposition, and glorify His grace in their lives.