The Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. Genesis 39:3b

Joseph becomes a slave in Potiphar’s house Genesis 39:1-20

Could life look any bleaker than being left to die in a cold, dark hole in the earth? Can you imagine the despair you would have felt as a teenager in such a situation and the agony of knowing that your own family members had treated you this way? The sense of betrayal would be overwhelming. Taking the story further we see in Genesis 37:26-27 that Judah and all of Joseph’s brothers except for the eldest, Reuben, agreed to pull Joseph up out of that pit, not to rescue him but to sell him. Yet the scripture assures us that the Lord was with Joseph… in the pit and in slavery.

Even when we don’t feel God near, when we can’t see what He is doing in our lives, when we don’t understand why things are happening to us, we can rest in the knowledge that God is with us. The story of the Lord being with Joseph is an assurance of the Lord being with us too. Not because we are favored like Joseph but because the Lord is faithful and unchanging. He is an ever present God. We know this because He tells us this in Psalm 139:1-12

Psalm 139:1-10
O LORD You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in—behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty to attain. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.

If God is everywhere as He claims to be - where else could He be if not with us?

Joseph knew that the Lord was with him. His life reflects the knowledge that regardless of the trials he was facing and even in the triumphs he experienced; the LORD was with him always. Do you know this truth? How different would our lives be if we lived, walked, and breathed in the reality that the Lord is with us?


Being sold into slavery was devastating and yet, God was in control - God’s will for Joseph was not to be mistreated but He knew the free will of his brothers’ and made provision for Joseph in the tsunamis of his life. It’s like a spiritual chess match - and God is always ready to move and counter move on our behalf.  God is the ultimate chess master - there are no stalemates or draws - we will ultimately hear our heavenly master say “Checkmate”. God orchestrated everything for Joseph - the timing, the trader and ordained his purchaser. Joseph was sold to a high ranking official in Egypt. He became the property of a man named Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. The best estimate of Joseph’s age at this time would probably have been between the ages of eighteen and twenty years old. 


Joseph trusted God and while he waited on God’s promises to be fulfilled, he got busy. Joseph used the talents he had been blessed with right where he was. He was different from those around him and prospered in Potiphar’s household. Gen. 39:2 says he became a successful man. His master, Potiphar, was blessed through him Gen. 39:3. Because of Joseph’s blooming where he was planted, he became highly favored and was put in charge of everything Potiphar owned.

How can Joseph’s life show us how to live differently? Why does God tell us these stories? Why does God reveal details of people who lived thousands of years ago in distant lands? What are we to glean from these stories and apply to our own lives?

Joseph was faithful - to the LORD and to those in authority over him. Joseph was completely trustworthy. His master soon learned that Joseph was a man of impeccable integrity. Joseph was diligent and excellent in all his endeavors. His gained favor in his master’s eyes because of his work ethic.

Maybe the LORD uses these stories, the lives of people like Joseph to encourage us, to remind us that regardless of the messes we find ourselves in, He is with us and His ultimate plan for us will not be thwarted. How different would we deal with our trials if we kept our focus on the LORD and what we knew to be true? How much more humble would we be in our triumphs if we recognized and acknowledged that those mountaintops could not have been summited but for the Lord working out the intricacies of the most infinitesimal details of our lives?

LORD, thank You for the truths You reveal in Your precious words to us. I pray that we would be found faithful like Joseph, regardless of any stumbling blocks You allow to cross our paths. I pray that we would be found completely trustworthy by all who come into contact with us. I pray that we would be a people of impeccable integrity. Lord, prompt us to be diligent and excellent in every endeavor. LORD may we find favor in all those we have dealings with, whether they be high above us in position or rank, or the lowest of the low in society but most importantly, may we find favor in Your eyes. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

The Lord was with Joseph ~ Genesis 39:2, 39:21

Really? 

Have you ever considered the life of Joseph? His story is told in Genesis; from chapters 30 through 50 and he is referenced throughout the pages of scripture. His story is one of the most significant in all of the Bible. Few lives have been chronicled as Joseph’s and have been given such focus so there must be much for us to learn from his life. 

What do we know of Joseph? 

In Genesis 30:24 we are told that Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob, who was called Israel, and the eldest son of two sons by Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel. He was Jacob’s favorite son. Joseph’s story begins in Gen. 37:2 at the tender age of seventeen. We learn that he is a shepherd, a good son who is unwilling to participate in the misconduct he observes in his ten older brothers, is compelled to reveal that misconduct to their father and that he is highly favored in his father’s eyes. He is so highly favored that Jacob made him a varicolored garment commonly referred to as a coat of many colors. 

This all sounds good doesn’t it? To be so favored in a father’s eyes and the recipient of such an outpouring of love must have been wonderful. However, all was not wonderful with his older brothers. To complicate their relationship, Joseph was a dreamer (Gen. 37:5 and 9) and oblivious to the impact of sharing his dreams with his brothers. His brothers already disliked him (Gen. 37:4) because he was their father’s favorite but dislike turned to hatred when they understood that Joseph believed he would rule over them because of what he believed his dreams meant for the future (Gen. 37:9) Joseph even provoked the wrath of his father when he told him about his dreams of ruling over not just his brothers but his parents as well (Gen. 37:10). 

His brothers hated him; Hated him passionately! They plotted to kill him and would have if his older brother Rueben had not experienced a moment of conscience in Gen. 37:21. Rueben didn’t want to kill him outright but was fine with dumping him alive in a pit and allowing him to die a slow death in Gen. 37:24. With their little brother in the pit with no food or water, the ten older brothers could enjoy a meal and as they were doing so, a caravan of the sons of Ishmael were passing by which birthed an alternate plan. Brother Judah devised a way to make a little money for the trouble their brother had caused them. Gen. 37: 26 reveals Judah’s plan to sell Joseph rather than let him die in the pit. The ten older brothers all agreed to sell him as a slave to a band of Midianite traders and then lie to their father - saying they had found his special coat bloodied and tattered Gen. 37:32.

It sounds pretty dismal doesn’t it? Do you see in scripture any details that would lead you to believe that Joseph deserved to be treated so badly? At the whim and sin of his brothers, Joseph went from being a beloved son of his father to a slave of strangers in a foreign land. 

Theologians teach that the Bible uses character’s stories as symbols or metaphors which point us to Jesus. These stories are intended to resemble Jesus and provide food for thought on God’s plan for salvation. Joseph is often referred to as a “Type of Christ”. 

We know that Joseph was loved by his father - Jesus, the Son of God, was and is loved by God the Father.

Joseph was hated by his brothers - rejected and betrayed by them as well. Jesus was hated by the very people He came to dwell among. Jesus was rejected by those whom He came to save and they betrayed Him and plotted to kill Him. 

Money was exchanged as part of the betrayals of both Joseph and Jesus.

Joseph found acceptance in the the land of strangers; Egypt. The message, the blessings,  the salvation of Jesus as Messiah would be and has been embraced and accepted by gentiles in every foreign land since His coming up to this very day. 

As referenced, the Bible clearly states that the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph as a favored 17 year old shepherd. The Lord was with Joseph when he was hated by those who should have loved him. The Lord was with Joseph in the bottom of that pit too. 

Have you ever been hated? Have you ever been treated unfairly? Betrayed? Pushed out of the life, the relationships that were rightfully yours and forced to start a new life among strangers in a foreign land? 

This is life! It isn’t a fabrication or just a story pulled from the pages of scripture - This is as real to us as it was for Joseph… and yet the Lord was with Joseph - just as He is with each of us. 

Joseph’s life can almost be divided into 5 seasons - please come back and read the next season of a remarkable man whose entire life speaks of complete faith and trust in His God regardless of his circumstances.