The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper. – Genesis 39v23
There are so many things to admire about Joseph and his character. His life is full of examples for us. Here is one tremendous example. Joseph's resiliancy is a challenge to us all.
The fact that he was in prison did not change Joseph's character. God was still with him and that was reflected in the fact that he quickly rose to the point where, though a prisoner himself, he ran the prison. The keeper of the prison never even checked up on him.
Joseph just always seemed to rise to the top. In Potiphar’s house he quickly became the head of the entire household. In prison he rose to the point where he acted as the warden. This theme will continue through the rest of his life. He was a born leader and had a character that no one could question.
What brings a man to this point? What is it that makes a Joseph? We might almost get a little envious at first. We have all known people like this. They are good at whatever the do. Those of us, who shall we say, don’t have that same reputation can look at them and wonder why.
But let’s look at Joseph. He prospered in Potiphar’s house, but he was still a slave. He prospered in prison, but he was still a prisoner. His prosperity was not contingent on where he was or what job he had. Despite being knocked down he kept on going and kept on prospering.
Eventually Joseph is going to come out on top, but we miss the record of the years of drudgery as a slave and as a prisoner. All we see is the exciting bits.
The same God who was with Joseph is with His children today. The same God who prospered Joseph promises to prosper us as we follow Him. We just need to learn to see prosperity from His perspective.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Doing right doesn’t always ‘work’
So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, "Your servant did to me after this manner," that his anger was aroused. Then Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. – Genesis 39v19-20
Doing right is no guarantee that things are going to go right right away.
Joseph had done everything right. He had remained pure. He had honoured his master. Despite her best attempts to do otherwise he had not sinned with Potiphar’s wife. We might thing that the result of this would be his reward and honouring. He had done right, surely God would bless him for it.
But, that sure doesn’t appear to be the case. For all his good Joseph ends up in jail. Mrs Potiphar was furious when she got rejected, called the guards, and lied about Joseph. She said that Joseph tried to rape her. He was arrested and thrown into jail.
But wait a minute; I thought God was with Joseph. If that is the case why would He let something like this happen? How could a man who had God on his side go to jail?
We might find ourselves doing the right thing and suffering because of it. That doesn’t really seem fair, does it?
Joseph may easily have felt like that. He had let a chance to have a little fun pass in order to do right and now he was in jail. How could that happen? How can that happen to us.
God wasn’t done with Joseph. We are going to see that God had a greater plan in mind. Those who know that story know what is coming, but that is because we have the blessing on hindsight.
Do right is always right, even if we don’t see the immediate result of it. Sometimes we just do right, and trust God with the results.
Doing right is no guarantee that things are going to go right right away.
Joseph had done everything right. He had remained pure. He had honoured his master. Despite her best attempts to do otherwise he had not sinned with Potiphar’s wife. We might thing that the result of this would be his reward and honouring. He had done right, surely God would bless him for it.
But, that sure doesn’t appear to be the case. For all his good Joseph ends up in jail. Mrs Potiphar was furious when she got rejected, called the guards, and lied about Joseph. She said that Joseph tried to rape her. He was arrested and thrown into jail.
But wait a minute; I thought God was with Joseph. If that is the case why would He let something like this happen? How could a man who had God on his side go to jail?
We might find ourselves doing the right thing and suffering because of it. That doesn’t really seem fair, does it?
Joseph may easily have felt like that. He had let a chance to have a little fun pass in order to do right and now he was in jail. How could that happen? How can that happen to us.
God wasn’t done with Joseph. We are going to see that God had a greater plan in mind. Those who know that story know what is coming, but that is because we have the blessing on hindsight.
Do right is always right, even if we don’t see the immediate result of it. Sometimes we just do right, and trust God with the results.
Friday, November 06, 2009
RUN!
But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me." But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. – Genesis 39v11-12
Dealing with sin is something that we all have to do every day. There are loads of books and seminars and websites and discussion groups and studies on how to deal with sin. Joseph did not have any of that, but he did have an answer.
For some guys Joseph was in a dream situation. He was working in Potiphar’s home and no one was there but Mrs Potiphar. She had taken a liking to Joseph and wanted to take things a little further. Joseph would have had every excuse in the world. All alone with Mrs Potiphar and, after all, he was a servant to had to do what he was told to do, right?
Not in Joseph’s mind. He had more character than that. When confronted with a sin that was surely so tempting he did the one thing that always works when it comes to a chance. He fled, and in the marvellous King James wording, ‘got him out!’
That’s right. He didn’t try to reason or figure it out. He didn’t try to show how strong he was. He ran, got out, fled, hightailed it, scattered, got his rear in gear, and moved away as fast as he could. No pausing, no lingering, not trying to figure it out – he just ran.
I have to wonder how much better off we would all be if we dealt with sin the same way that Joseph did?
Dealing with sin is something that we all have to do every day. There are loads of books and seminars and websites and discussion groups and studies on how to deal with sin. Joseph did not have any of that, but he did have an answer.
For some guys Joseph was in a dream situation. He was working in Potiphar’s home and no one was there but Mrs Potiphar. She had taken a liking to Joseph and wanted to take things a little further. Joseph would have had every excuse in the world. All alone with Mrs Potiphar and, after all, he was a servant to had to do what he was told to do, right?
Not in Joseph’s mind. He had more character than that. When confronted with a sin that was surely so tempting he did the one thing that always works when it comes to a chance. He fled, and in the marvellous King James wording, ‘got him out!’
That’s right. He didn’t try to reason or figure it out. He didn’t try to show how strong he was. He ran, got out, fled, hightailed it, scattered, got his rear in gear, and moved away as fast as he could. No pausing, no lingering, not trying to figure it out – he just ran.
I have to wonder how much better off we would all be if we dealt with sin the same way that Joseph did?
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Joseph found favour
And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. – Genesis 39v3-4
Going hand in hand with the Lord being with Joseph was his own unexpected prosperity in the land. He was successful. The Lord allowed everything he did to prosper. He was well thought of by his master. He was faithfully serving. Eventually he became the most important man in Potiphar’s household.
How did Joseph, a mere slave, find favour with Potiphar? What was it about him? It is actually pretty obvious. The Lord was with Him. Because the Lord was with him anything wad possible. Because the Lord was with him he could do anything.
Here is yet another example of the impact of God's people on the world around them. Joseph was far from home. No one knew him. Joseph had character that stood out even as he went through the mundane tasks of a household slave.
How does the fact that the Lord is with us affect the world around us? Does the fact that He is with us change us so that we find favour amongst people in our lives?
The Lord was with Joseph. He found favour with Potiphar. With that combination he was sure to have an impact in Egypt. With that combination we too can impact the world around us.
Going hand in hand with the Lord being with Joseph was his own unexpected prosperity in the land. He was successful. The Lord allowed everything he did to prosper. He was well thought of by his master. He was faithfully serving. Eventually he became the most important man in Potiphar’s household.
How did Joseph, a mere slave, find favour with Potiphar? What was it about him? It is actually pretty obvious. The Lord was with Him. Because the Lord was with him anything wad possible. Because the Lord was with him he could do anything.
Here is yet another example of the impact of God's people on the world around them. Joseph was far from home. No one knew him. Joseph had character that stood out even as he went through the mundane tasks of a household slave.
How does the fact that the Lord is with us affect the world around us? Does the fact that He is with us change us so that we find favour amongst people in our lives?
The Lord was with Joseph. He found favour with Potiphar. With that combination he was sure to have an impact in Egypt. With that combination we too can impact the world around us.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
The Lord was with Joseph
The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. – Genesis 39v2
Joseph got off to something of an inauspicious beginning. As the baby of twelve boys he was definitely a daddy’s boy. We all know the story of his ‘Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat,’ or, at least, some version of it.
The rest of the lads were jealous. Their dad had a beautiful special coat made for his little guy. Then there were the dreams. Joseph had two dreams. As he told his brothers and interpreted to them he let them know that the dreams were about them bowing down to him!
Finally they had enough. They had to get rid of the little brat. To make a long story short they ended up selling him to a passing caravan on its way to Egypt.
There – done deal. The little twerp is gone and dad thinks he is dead. A perfect solution.
But that wasn’t it. The next time we hear about Joseph he had been purchased as slave by Potiphar, a government official.
So it would appear that the story was still going badly. Daddy’s little boy was no longer in a place of comfort, but was a slave in a distant land. All alone, no family, in a strange land and alien culture. What a mess.
And yet, there is one thing that the brothers did not count on. There is one thing that should give comfort to anyone in Joseph’s situation.
‘The Lord was with Joseph…’
That makes all the difference in the world. Watch this space.
Joseph got off to something of an inauspicious beginning. As the baby of twelve boys he was definitely a daddy’s boy. We all know the story of his ‘Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat,’ or, at least, some version of it.
The rest of the lads were jealous. Their dad had a beautiful special coat made for his little guy. Then there were the dreams. Joseph had two dreams. As he told his brothers and interpreted to them he let them know that the dreams were about them bowing down to him!
Finally they had enough. They had to get rid of the little brat. To make a long story short they ended up selling him to a passing caravan on its way to Egypt.
There – done deal. The little twerp is gone and dad thinks he is dead. A perfect solution.
But that wasn’t it. The next time we hear about Joseph he had been purchased as slave by Potiphar, a government official.
So it would appear that the story was still going badly. Daddy’s little boy was no longer in a place of comfort, but was a slave in a distant land. All alone, no family, in a strange land and alien culture. What a mess.
And yet, there is one thing that the brothers did not count on. There is one thing that should give comfort to anyone in Joseph’s situation.
‘The Lord was with Joseph…’
That makes all the difference in the world. Watch this space.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Strives With God
Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name." So He called his name Israel. Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. – Genesis 35v9-11
Here we have Jacob’s second encounter with God at Bethel. He returned with his people and there appears to be a personalisation of the place. He renames Luz again this time with the name El Bethel – ‘The God of the House of God.’ This is interesting in itself because the focus seems to be more on God Himself than the place itself.
Not only does Luz get a new name – so does Jacob. He had carried that horrible name a long time. Can you imagine being called Usurper your whole life? But no more, now his name would be Israel – ‘Strives With God.’ He had been promised that name when he wrestled with God and now it was his.
That may not seem like much of a name at first, but when we think about it for a second I think we capture in our minds why it is powerful. Usurper didn’t care that anyone thought. He wanted things His way and did whatever he could to achieve that. Usurper did not care about God and His plans. Usurper watched out for Number One.
But Strives With God is different. Instead of just manipulating things to have them his way he deals with God along way. I am sure we lose something in translation here, but even with the word ‘striving’ we know that there is an involvement and a contending.
Somehow this reminds me of Romans 7. Paul wrote about his struggles with obeying the Spirit or the flesh. Living for God is a battle. For Usurper there was no fight, he just satisfied himself, but Strives With God was in the fight.
If there is no battle going on between our flesh and following God we have to wonder about our relationship with Him.
Here we have Jacob’s second encounter with God at Bethel. He returned with his people and there appears to be a personalisation of the place. He renames Luz again this time with the name El Bethel – ‘The God of the House of God.’ This is interesting in itself because the focus seems to be more on God Himself than the place itself.
Not only does Luz get a new name – so does Jacob. He had carried that horrible name a long time. Can you imagine being called Usurper your whole life? But no more, now his name would be Israel – ‘Strives With God.’ He had been promised that name when he wrestled with God and now it was his.
That may not seem like much of a name at first, but when we think about it for a second I think we capture in our minds why it is powerful. Usurper didn’t care that anyone thought. He wanted things His way and did whatever he could to achieve that. Usurper did not care about God and His plans. Usurper watched out for Number One.
But Strives With God is different. Instead of just manipulating things to have them his way he deals with God along way. I am sure we lose something in translation here, but even with the word ‘striving’ we know that there is an involvement and a contending.
Somehow this reminds me of Romans 7. Paul wrote about his struggles with obeying the Spirit or the flesh. Living for God is a battle. For Usurper there was no fight, he just satisfied himself, but Strives With God was in the fight.
If there is no battle going on between our flesh and following God we have to wonder about our relationship with Him.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Back to Bethel
And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone." – Genesis 35v2-3
The time had come when Jacob needed another encounter with God. God told him to go back to Bethel for another meeting. This time he was to take his people with him. His relationship with God had grown and he knew that he had to prepare his people. Some stuff had slipped into their lives that would not please God. His instructions were clear.
Put away your foreign gods
Purify yourselves
Change your garments
Apparently, despite the fact that, ‘God answered in the time of distress and was with them along their way,’ they had let worldliness slip into their lives. They were still God’s people, but their lives were not pleasing to Him.
Going ‘back to Bethel’ is more than just a matter of prayer and meeting with God. A true return to Bethel means a willingness to deal with the sins that have crept in and repent from them.
Bethel is the place of sweet fellowship and communion with God. We can’t expect to have that fellowship with forsaking the rubbish that comes with worldly living.
The time had come when Jacob needed another encounter with God. God told him to go back to Bethel for another meeting. This time he was to take his people with him. His relationship with God had grown and he knew that he had to prepare his people. Some stuff had slipped into their lives that would not please God. His instructions were clear.
Put away your foreign gods
Purify yourselves
Change your garments
Apparently, despite the fact that, ‘God answered in the time of distress and was with them along their way,’ they had let worldliness slip into their lives. They were still God’s people, but their lives were not pleasing to Him.
Going ‘back to Bethel’ is more than just a matter of prayer and meeting with God. A true return to Bethel means a willingness to deal with the sins that have crept in and repent from them.
Bethel is the place of sweet fellowship and communion with God. We can’t expect to have that fellowship with forsaking the rubbish that comes with worldly living.
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