Genesis 66
JOSEPH WHO WAS IMPRISONED
(Genesis 40:1-15)
Introduction:
Joseph was hated by his brothers, so he was sold to a Midian merchant for 20 pieces of silver and taken as a slave to the house of Potiphar, the head of
the bodyguard of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Even while he was a slave, Joseph enjoyed being with God and acted faithfully and honestly.
As the house was blessed and his wealth increased because of Joseph, Potiphar trusted Joseph and made him the household manager of his house,
entrusting him with the management of the property.
Joseph rose from a slave to the highest position. He rose to a position that people envied and became a successful young man, but it was then that
temptation came to Joseph. It was none other than Potiphar's wife who seduced the young man Joseph and dragged him into her bed to commit adultery. Joseph, who was captured and dragged away, took off his clothes and fled the scene. However, Potiphar's wife framed Joseph and had him thrown into prison.
It was truly unfair, frustrating, and discouraging to Joseph. Now that Joseph is in prison, there is no way forward for him. However, because Joseph enjoyed being with God, he was not afraid or scared at all, and even in prison, he enjoyed being with God.
“Why do believers have hardships? How is that they face such terrible sufferings?” Such are the questions everyone asks.
1. The hardships Joseph faced
1) Death of his mother (Gen. 35:16-26)
2) His brothers’ jealousy (Gen. 37:11)
3) Narrowly escaped death (Gen. 37:23-24)
4) Slavery (Gen. 39:1-6)
5) Imprisonment (Gen. 40:1-15)
2. But God was with Joseph.
Keep in mind a few important things.
1) Death of his mother (Gen. 35:16-26)
2) His brothers’ jealousy (Gen. 37:11)
3) Slavery (Gen. 39:1-6)
4) The temptation of his master's wife (Gen. 39:7)
v. 7. and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"
5) Vengefulness of wife of Potiphar (Gen. 39:14)
v. 14. she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep
with me, but I screamed.
6) His master’s misunderstand (Gen. 39:19)
v. 19. When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger.
7) Imprisonment (Gen. 40:3) and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.
8) Enabled him to meet officials (Gen. 40:4) The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody
for some time,
9) The officials each had dreams (Gen. 40:5-6)
v. 5. each of the two men--the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison--had a dream the same night,
and each dream had a meaning of its own.
10) Happened as Joseph said in his interpretation (Gen. 40:22) but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.
11) The official forgets Joseph (Gen. 40:23) The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.
12) When the time came, the Pharaoh had a dream (Gen. 41:1-13)
3. Lessons and promises to learn
1) God manages all things that happen perfectly. (God’s sovereignty)
2) God knows all men’s steps and guides them. (Working of the Holy Spirit)
3) God accurately fulfills His covenants. (The authority of the Bible)
4) God performs his work of salvation within the world.
5) Wherever one who has the covenant is, the covenant is fulfilled in him.
Conclusion:
Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”
Dear believers! Please believe that the true owner of history is God. Let us live a life humbly serving our neighbors like Joseph before Him. Let us recognize
our neighbor’s pain as our own and have a compassionate heart. And I pray in the name of the Lord that you and I will be blessed by fearing God,
the absolute sovereign of this world, and obeying His words.
