The Lord is with You

A Sermon Series on the Life of Joseph

Gen 39:1-6

Just before my brother left home to go to college in Damascus, my mother called him and gave him the following advice. “Son, many heroes in the Bible fell into temptations. David. Solomon, Jacob and Samson were some of them. But not Joseph. Be like Joseph, resist temptation.”

I do not want to praise Joseph. The story shows us that God is the hero and Joseph is a role model of a person with whom God is working. Three times in this chapter we read the statement: “The LORD was with Joseph (2). “His master saw that the LORD was with him” (3). “The LORD was with him” (21).

At the seminary where I studied, we used to say the following: “The Lord be with you” and the person would reply “and also with you.” We know that the Lord is with us all the time but reminding each other of His presence is a meaningful thing to do.

Yet, here are the challenging questions:

-What happens when we pray to God for safety and an accident happens?

-What happens when we pray for our work and we find the lay off note on the desk?

-What happens when we pray for a good marriage a divorce destroys everything?

Joseph’s story should help us answer some of these questions.

Before we go further, let me give you an outline by Carl Temme:

A- God blesses Joseph in Potiphar’s house (1-6)

B- Potiphar’s wife seduces Joseph (7-10)

C- Potiphar’s wife grabs Joseph’s coat (11-12)

B- Photiphar’s wife accuses Joseph (13-20)

A- God blesses Joseph in prison (21-23)

As you see in the outline, God has the first and the last word, and that is comforting. Meanwhile in the middle, there are challenges Joseph will face. So let us dig in.

A. God blesses Joseph in Potiphar’s house (1-6)

Joseph was sold by his own brothers to the Ishmaelites who in turn sold him to an Egyptian officer. He was treated like a commodity. The officer’s name was Potiphar, who was the chief of the bodyguard of Pharaoh. Joseph was the slave of an important person. This was not an accident; this indicates God’s hand on Joseph’s life.

But it was not easy. He was sold as a slave, he served in a house very foreign to him, he won his master’s heart, and he became his master’s personal servant. He managed the whole house of the one of the most important people in Egypt. How long this took, we are not sure. Joseph was running with God. God gave him the power and energy to go on despite difficulties. We need to learn from Joseph. He kept going.

The next thing I would stress is that Potiphar witnessed God’s presence through Joseph. I hope my lifestyle will witness God’s presence in my life. I hope your life will indicate that God is with you. The best witness is when people can see God in your life.

One of my favorite words is Emmanuel. It means God is with us. Every Christmas are reminded that God is with us Emmanuel. He was with us and he is with us today.

Eventually Joseph became the most trusted person in all Egypt.

Now the narrator adds an important sentence: Joseph was “handsome in form and appearance” (NKJV) or “well-built and handsome” (NIV) Gen. 39:6b.

The same word was used to describe Rachel. I just want to remind you that the beauty of Sarah, Rebecca or Rachel brought problems. Here we are facing a similar situation.

To be continued in English.