1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.

2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

We come to know very little of Potiphar. We will read multiple quotes from his unnamed wife, but never a word from him. His account in this story has only to do with how he relates to Joseph. And that is the focus of today’s verses. We come to see that whatever Joseph did in the house of Potiphar, that work was made to prosper. Potiphar recognized this, and put more and more under Joseph’s control, until the entire household was his to run. Here we see the beginning of Joseph’s dreams being fulfilled, the one which showed his sheaf rising above all others. He had blessed hands, and whatever work he did started bearing great fruit.

And frankly, at this point life seems like it was pretty good for Joseph. In fact, one in Joseph’s position might be tempted to think that this elevated position was already the fulfillment of what God had promised, and not look for anything greater. But as we will see, this is but a shadow of the true adventure God had in store for Joseph.

Many times we also reach moments in life where things are pretty good, and we become satisfied. We run the risk of forever staying there, rather than living the truly grand adventure God intended. And that is why life sometimes has to disrupt our station, just as it will soon disrupt Joseph’s. It may seem a cruel turn of fate at the time, but it is actually meant to lead to better things.