1A.Make a list of events that happened to Joseph in his life. How would you describe his reactions to these things as they were happening to him? What does this tell us about Joseph?
1B.Can you think of something that happened in your life that was difficult or painful and you could find no reason for it – maybe even caused you to be angry with G-d? Then looking back on your life you could see G-d was using this situation to bring you to a place where He could use you in a deeper way?
His brother’s hated him.
His father loved him more.
At 17 his own brothers sold him into slavery.
He became a slave in Potiphar’s house.
Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him and he refused
He was wrongly accused of assaulting Potiphar’s wife
He was then thrown in jail to spend the rest of his life.
Genesis 39:2-3 says the L-rd was with Joseph and his master saw that the L-rd was with Joseph.
So Joseph was not bitter or consumed with anger over what was happening to him. If scripture says the L-rd was with him evidently Joseph continued to trust G-d.
Again when Joseph was thrown in prison Genesis 40:21 says the L-rd was with Joseph and showed him favor.
Genesis 40:1-7 He was given a responsibility in prison.
He could have caused problems in prison. He didn’t deserve to be there.
The injustice done to him in his past did not hold him captive.
Genesis 40:6-7 he noticed the pain in others.
What does this tell us? He never stopped reaching outside himself.
He saw their distress (the butler and baker) and decoded their dreams
This brought him to the attention of Pharaoh
His G-d given wisdom filled Egypt’s storehouses and eventually fed his family.
This story gives us important insight for our own journey through life.
Sometimes painful, unfair things happen to us.
That does not mean G-d is not with us.
Our challenge is what do we do with it?
Nothing is random with G-d.
Do we withdraw and stop growing spiritually?
Do we make life miserable for us and others around us?
Or do we trust that even though we don’t understand we choose to trust G-d knowing He loves us.
Many times G-d gives us the opportunity to look back on things that happened in our lives and we then understand what we couldn’t understand when it was happening.
Failures or seemingly missed opportunities sometime turned out to be our deepest learning experiences. “We live life facing forward toward the future but we understand life only when it has become our past.”
Genesis 39:2 says, “But the L-rd was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”
So even in our difficult times G-d continues to show us mercy.
2.The brothers wanted to kill Joseph but Reuben suggested instead of killing him they spare his life and put him in a pit. They agreed to this plan. Then, they decided to sell him to an approaching caravan that was headed to Egypt.
It says in Genesis 37:21, “But Reuben heard it and he delivered him out of their hands.” What seems odd about this verse? It sounds as if Joseph was saved but instead he was sold into slavery. As we know Reuben came back later with the intent to return the lad to his father. However, he was too late. Joseph had been sold and was on his way to Egypt. In Genesis 37:29 we read of Reuben’s reaction when he returned and found Joseph gone. So why does the scripture say Reuven saved him?
Genesis 37:29-30, “When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”
Reuben was devastated to see Joseph gone from the pit.
He could not see the end result of his actions.
He thought he had failed.
He could not see the end of the story.
He only knew his brother was gone.
Reuben’s intent to save his brother was treated by G-d as a righteous act.
Our intent is important.
Our responsibility is to do the right thing, what G-d is showing us to do.
We must leave the results to G-d.
Years later Reuben saw the end of the story when the whole family went down to Egypt. Joseph was already there to give them what they needed.
Reuben acted in a righteous way saving his brother’s life in that moment,
If he had done nothing Joseph would have been killed,
Joseph would not have been sold into slavery.
He would not have been sold to Potiphar
He would not have been thrown into prison falsely,
He would not have met the butler of Pharaoh and come to the attention of the king and become the viceroy of Egypt and saved the family of Jacob.
G-d told Avraham that his descendants would be slaves for 400 years. So the people of Israel would have become slaves regardless. But this was G-d’s plan.
Genesis 15:13, “Then the L-rd said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.
Reuben did not have the advantage of reading the book to the end.
That is really not the important part.
The lesson for us is to do the right thing
To act when G-d calls.
Then we allow the Father to deal with the results.
We usually do not know how our acts will affect a person.
We do what we can and allow G-d to work through what we have done.
That is looked at as righteousness by G-d.
Only G-d knows the end of the story.
In Hebrew the word for acts of loving kindness is Chessed. May our lives be filled with them. Each of us can make a difference in someone’s world.
3.Read Genesis 39:6-12. These verses tell the story of Joseph’s encounter with Potiphar’s wife. What does this story teach us? Are there other examples in scripture where someone faced daily nagging to get them to sin? Have you ever faced a sinful situation at work or other places that required a response from you? How did you handle it?
Genesis 39:6-12, “And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not what he had, save for the bread which he ate. And Joseph was handsome and good looking. And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, lie with me. But he refused, and said to his master’s wife, behold, my master knows not what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife; how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against G-d? And it came to pass, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he listened not to her, to lie by her, or be with her. And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there inside. And she caught him by his garment, saying, lie with me; and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got out.”
This incident in Joseph’s life can help us know what to do when confronted with sin.
What did Joseph’s daily routine look like?
Genesis 39:10, “And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.”
Potiphar’s wife confronted Joseph every day
He did not listen.
He tried to never be alone with her.
When he refused her advances he used the name Elohim so she would understand who he was talking about. Prior verses used the tetragram HaShem for G-d’s name.
What other examples do we see in scripture where this tactic of daily nagging someone to sin was used?
Samson Judges 16:16-17, “With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to G-d from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
Mordechai in Esther 3:2-4, “All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor. Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”4 Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.
Why do you think Samson failed and the other two succeeded in this test?
Samson sought out Delilah.
He did not remove himself from temptation when he could have.
Mordechai and Joseph were different.
Evil sought them out but they remained strong in their faith. They had boundaries in their life.
Peter gives us a warning about situations such as this in I Peter 5:8-9
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
When we are rightly submitted to G-d, walking in faith and obedience, we can resist the devil and he will flee. Satan has no foothold or resting place in a life that is obediently submitted to G-d. Like Joseph we can refuse to listen to Satan’s words. We cannot get into a debate with Satan.
I Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of G-d? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of G-d”
The people mentioned in these verses are those who have been tempted by Potiphar’s wife, who have given in, maybe for just a little while, to silence her. Like Samson, they have confided the secrets of their lives to the enemy; they have bowed the knee to Haman.
Whether we have struggled to resist or succumbed in some measure, Paul reminds us that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37)