Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 39:7-10

7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.

8 But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;

9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.

Things had been going well for Joseph in Potiphar’s household, but now trouble began brewing for him once again. In the previous verses we have learned how he gained power and prestige, and also how he was “goodly” and “well favoured.” It is not too shocking, then, that Potiphar’s adulterous wife would single him out for her lust. The phrase that she “cast her eyes upon Joseph” is something that anyone who has been subjected to sexual objectification by another will immediately understand the meaning of. And Potiphar’s wife is the worst sort of predator, not being deterred even when Joseph explicitly tells her that “no,” he doesn’t want anything to do with this.

I find very interesting Joseph’s argument against Potiphar’s wife. At the beginning he mentions the trust that Potiphar has put in him, but at the end it is God’s trust that he invokes as the reason for turning Potiphar’s wife down. Lying with Potiphar’s wife would be a betrayal of Potiphar, would be a betrayal to the teachings of Joseph’s father, would be a betrayal to Joseph’s future wife, yet none of these are the trespass that are greatest in Joseph’s mind. What he asks is “how then can I sin against God?” Clearly Joseph loves his Lord, and he does not want to hurt Him by such an act.

I find very interesting Joseph’s argument against Potiphar’s wife. At the beginning he mentions the trust that Potiphar has put in him, but at the end it is God’s trust that he invokes instead. Yes, lying with Potiphar’s wife would be a betrayal of Potiphar, would be a betrayal to the teachings of Joseph’s father, would be a betrayal to Joseph’s future wife, yet none of these are the trespass that is greatest in Joseph’s mind. What he asks is “how then can I…sin against God?” Clearly Joseph loves God, and does not want to hurt Him by such an act.

Also notice in verse ten that it says Joseph not only rebuked her temptations but went to lengths not “be with her.” This use of “with” is from the Hebrew word עִם, which is used as an adverb or preposition, and means to be physically next to, or to be equal with. Thus, Joseph was avoiding being in the same space as her, or to have a relationship of equal confidence. He knew that she represented trouble for him, and he did all that he could to physically keep that temptation at bay.

Which, as anyone who regularly struggles with temptation knows, is imperative if one is to remain pure. Truly an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Making the effort to not be tempted in the first place is the best way to ensure you will never fail.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 39:5-6

5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.

6 And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.

I don’t know much about the structure of servants in an ancient Egyptian household, but I think it seems incredible that a youth of seventeen years, brought in as a slave from a foreign land, would climb to overseer in Potiphar’s house. We do not know how exactly what length of time transpired before Potiphar trusted Joseph completely, but I imagine the process was expedited by the fact that Joseph’s works prospered beyond normal human capability, due to the intervention of the Lord.

In any case, eventually Potiphar depended so fully on Joseph that he did not even know what his own belongings were. He put it all under Joseph’s hand and trusted that the young man would not cheat him. All that remained for Potiphar was to reap the blessings of it, the bread that was served to his table.

But there is a difference between being the man that the Lord blesses and being the man who profits from the blessed one. Potiphar is in the same situation as Laban, who similarly reaped the reward of having a man of God, Jacob, under his employ. But also like Laban, Potiphar will not keep his good-luck-charm forever. He will have God’s blessing upon his household only as long as Joseph is present. Joseph, on the other hand, will keep the providence of the Lord wherever he goes.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 39:1-4

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.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 38-39

I just finished reviewing the story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38. When I started going through this chapter I thought it was a strange interruption in the story of Joseph. We had heard about the youth being sold into Egypt in chapter 37, and in chapter 39 we were going to continue to with his service in Potiphar’s house, so why does the narrative divert to a seemingly random and unpleasant story about Judah?

As I came to the end of chapter 38, though, I realized that its placement in the Bible is actually very clever. This chapter is meant to be a companion piece to chapter 39, read together and then compared and contrasted to each other. In each chapter a son of Jacob is being tugged at by depravity and they respond to that temptation in very different ways.

In Judah’s story he elects to leave his father’s house to live among a more carnal people. He adopts their ways, marries one of their women, and arranges for his son to do so as well. He full-heartedly steps into the lewd and filthy world, and as a result endures an icky family drama that is one of the most uncomfortable chapters to read in the entire Bible. At the end he is further tempted by lust, gives in, and finds himself caught in a trap entirely of his own making. Fortunately, in the final verses we see the first sign of remorse from Judah, something that will develop further when he meets Joseph again in Egypt.

As for Joseph, he also leaves his father’s house to live among a more carnal people, though in his case it is entirely against his will. Unlike Judah, he will not adopt their baser customs. He might be immersed in a society that does not follow the commandments of God, but he himself still will. He will similarly be tempted by lust and he will reject it. This will result in him being cast down in society, but will be a great victory for his soul.

Chapters 38 and 39 are together an examination on different ways that we can deal with all that is base and depraved in the world. We can seek it out and become part of its dirtying cycle, or we can keep ourselves holy, even as all around us is not. We are all invited to partake of the carnal but we can also reject it, and our lives will shift according to our choice.

Fortunately, for those of us who identify more with the story of Judah than of Joseph, the narrative does still provide a ray of hope. Judah stumbles, and he slogged through the gutter for a time, but he also came to see the error of his ways and seems to have turned over a new leaf. We will see his chance for restitution in a few chapters, and there still remains a chance for us as well.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 37:36

36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.

While family drama would continue to take place at home, Joseph was sold off and separated from all of that. From now on he would have his own problems to deal with, and a whole new story was unfolding for him in Egypt.

Egypt is of recurring importance throughout the Old Testament, and it takes on many roles, entwining itself in the fate of the Israelites, sometimes for good and sometimes for evil. At this point Egypt appears to be for evil, the land of Joseph’s unjust oppression, but in a few years that will change, and Egypt will become a place of refuge.

I can’t help but wonder if Joseph felt he was already at the lowest point of his life, a slave in a strange land, but soon he will descend even further, cast out of his lowly station to become a prisoner. Before we get to that, though, we have to take a detour with Judah for chapter 38.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 37:32-35

32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.

33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

Joseph’s brothers wrenched his coat off his body, tore it to pieces, dipped it in blood, and then had the audacity to ask Jacob whether it was Joseph’s, as if they didn’t already know! It is interesting that the question they phrase their question as “whether it be thy son’s coat.” Could they not even bring themselves to say, “our brother’s coat?” The strange verbiage makes them sound as if they were strangers to Jacob, but then, I suppose in this moment they truly are. They are lying and pretending, presenting a face to him that is far removed from reality.

But this is not all. They then continued to lie through their teeth when they rose up to comfort their father. The very men that deprived this man of his son would then pretend to be sympathetic for his loss! Jacob thankfully rejected their overtures, even if he did not fathom what sort of vipers he had all about him.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 37:29-31

29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

31 And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

Reuben’s language to his brothers is very interesting here. It is as if he thinks he is giving them new news. “The child is not!” Does this mean they did not tell him what they had done with Joseph? Was he left to assume that some unknown mischief had taken his brother? Did he never know that his brother had been sent away to Egypt until they met him years later?

I also find interesting his other statement “and I, whither shall I go?” Joseph was the one who had been sold, but Reuben feels lost in this moment as well. As the eldest of all the brethren he might have felt a special responsibility for all of the others, even Joseph. Now that he had failed in that responsibility he had a sense of having misplaced his own self.

And yet, Reuben wasn’t ready to come clean to his father. Rather than tell the man what they had done, Reuben went along with concocting a falsehood about some wild beast killing Joseph. All the brothers had some humbling to go through before they would be ready to own their wrongs.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 37:25-28

25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

Now it is Judah who changes the plan for Joseph, suggesting that they sell him into slavery rather than leave him to die. The thought occurs to me that, like Reuben, he might have been doing this as a way to save Joseph from his brothers. Unlike with Reuben, we don’t have a verse specifically telling us what his intent is, but it does seem a possibility.

If Judah really was trying to help Joseph, then it is interesting that Joseph’s loss was a combined coincidence of two brothers trying to save him without realizing that that’s what the other one was trying to do as well. If that is the case, it only goes to show that Joseph being sold into Egypt was inevitable, an event that God had dictated to happen, for reasons He only understood at this time.

But if, on the other hand, Judah’s motivation really was “what profit is it if we slay our brother,” then this is a horrible thing. This would mean he was deciding which way we wanted to ruin his younger brother’s life on the basis of what was most beneficial to him personally. And even if this wasn’t Judah’s actual motivation, all of his brothers still agreed to its logic!

Though, then again, who knows? Maybe they agreed to it because they were coming to realize that they didn’t really want to kill their brother and here was an opportunity to somewhat spare him. Wouldn’t it be a fascinating thing if none of the brothers were okay with what was happening, but none of them spoke plainly because they thought they were the only one that felt this way?

Either way, the outcome was the same. Joseph was sold to Egypt because that was where God needed Joseph to go. And he was sold for twenty pieces of silver, which is another parallel to the story of Jesus, who was sold for thirty.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 37:22-24

22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. 

23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; 

24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

Reuben sought to save Joseph, but he had to account for the other brothers’ wrath. Perhaps if he stood entirely on the side of Joseph they would have killed him as well, so instead he suggested that they throw him into a pit in the middle of the wilderness. The idea was that Joseph would still die, there wasn’t even any water for him to drink, but it would spare them from directly staining their hands with his blood.

But as verse 22 reveals, this was all a ruse. Rueben’s actual intention was to come back to the pit after the others had left and get Joseph out of it. Perhaps then he would have urged Joseph to venture out on his own, or maybe he was hoping the others would have calmed down enough to bring the boy back home. In either case, though, this plan of Reuben’s was not to be.

Todays verses again parallel the story of the Savior. Both Joseph and Jesus were betrayed by their brethren and consigned to death. Both of them had a sympathetic ear in Pilate and Reuben, who each tried to save the condemned man but failed. Also, the tearing of Joseph’s cloak seems symbolic to me of when Jesus’s body was torn by the whip before being raised on the cross.

Thus, in many ways Joseph was alone in this suffering, but at the same time he also had a Savior who would endure the same manner of afflictions, and who would therefore know how to speak comfort to his soul. And though that Savior wouldn’t pass through those afflictions until many years later, I believe that in the celestial perspective all of time is laid out as one, and an experience of the future can be called upon to empathize with what has happened in the past.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 37:18-21

18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.

20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.

Even if it seems unfair that Jacob showed a clear favoritism towards Joseph, or if it seems imprudent of Joseph to have related his dreams to his brothers, there is no earthly justification for what these brothers conspired to do. They were contemplating murder, and their derision that they will then “see what will become of his dreams” is shockingly callous.

I do wonder which of the brothers were the primary instigators of this plot. Simeon and Levi had already shown their willingness to kill, though that was as a retaliation for the rape of their sister. Here they are discussing the death of an innocent. Fortunately, not every brother was as bloodthirsty as the others. Reuben interceded in Joseph’s behalf, which we will get more into with tomorrow’s verses.