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and his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. (Genesis 39:3 RSV) Complete text for today can be found below.
The saga of Joseph continues; the sins of the brothers brought Joseph great blessings and challenges.
You will remember that Joseph was sold into slavery by his older brothers. Tired of his dreams and the favoritism that Dad was showing him, they sold him as property to a caravan of people traveling to Egypt. It just so happened that he was sold to the household of Potiphar, an Egyptian official. Joseph quickly rose through the ranks from common slave to being the overseer of all of Potiphar's affairs. The key verse for today's lesson is that the Lord was with Joseph, though a slave and far from home, a foreigner in a foreign land, "and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands." This prosperity even poured over into Potiphar's house. The day came that Potiphar left everything in charge of Joseph. The only decisions Potiphar had to make was what to eat each day.
The wife of his owner, one day noticed that Joseph was handsome and good-looking and she was determined to have him. She did not hide her advances openly saying, "Lie with me." Joseph, a righteous man, refused each invitation until the day came she knew they were alone in the house and she grabbed his garment, and he chose to flee without clothing rather than violate the trust that his master had in him. She took that as a chance to say Joseph tried to violate her and her husband had Joseph locked up. You might have noticed that she made it a racial thing no less. "This Hebrew servant, whom you brought among us, came in to me to insult me."
Thankfully, he was placed in a special prison where the king's prisoners were kept, and again, the scripture says "but the Lord was with Jospeh and showed him steadfast love, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison." And, as happened earlier in Potiphar's house, happened in the prison, because the Lord was with him, "and whatever he did, the Lord made prosper."
Great blessings come to those with whom the Lord finds favor. I suspect Joseph was with the Lord as much as the Lord was with him. His desire was to please the Lord and in so doing, great prosperity came to his life. In the good and the not so good, Joseph was blessed. Even, in the depths of a prison, God's favor found Joseph and blessed him.
The story does not end here. Your story has not ended yet, either. Seek the Lord and seek favor in God's eyes, and the next chapters may reflect great change and blessings in your life.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as we close out the chapters of this year, I seek Your favor like never before. I seek to be a righteous person, seeking to grow closer to You. May the pages of this coming New Year reflect Your handwriting all over my life so that I may be a blessing to You and many. This is my prayer in Christ Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be all about God in the closing days of 2018 and on the opening pages of 2019!
Eradio Valverde
Genesis 39: Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Pot'i-phar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ish'maelites who had brought him down there. The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian, and his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge; and having him he had no concern for anything but the food which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and said, "Lie with me." But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Lo, having me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand; he is not greater in this house than I am; nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife; how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie with her or to be with her. But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me." But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and got out of the house. And when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, "See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice; and when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment with me, and fled and got out of the house." Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, and she told him the same story, saying, "The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me; but as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment with me, and fled out of the house." When his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, "This is the way your servant treated me," his anger was kindled. And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's care all the prisoners who were in the prison; and whatever was done there, he was the doer of it; the keeper of the prison paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph's care, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.
