The Life of Joseph (4)

In our thoughts we stand by a slave market in one of the large cities of Egypt. In those days Egypt was one of the most advanced nations upon the face of the earth. Slavery was something that was very commonly practiced. It was also like that at one time in the United States when slaves were purchased for the individual owners. We can see a well-dressed man walking over to the slaves, deciding which one he would purchase. His eyes fall upon a Hebrew slave, and he is drawn unto him. The Bible says that “Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.” There was something different about him when compared with the other slaves, and he was soon purchased. That was something, my friends. Some days earlier he was in his father's house as a favored son, but he now stood there as a slave in the slave market in Egypt.

Who was this man who had purchased Joseph? He was Potiphar, a captain of the guard, in the service of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He had a high-ranking position as an officer of the honor guard. Joseph therefore followed his new master to what must have been a large home in Egypt. In the home of Potiphar he learned much that, in a certain way, was a preparation for the years to come. He was a Hebrew boy who was destined from above to be Zaphnathpaaneah, the governor of the entire nation of Egypt.

However, Joseph was a slave in the home of his master. What an awesome difference there was in his life compared to a few short months prior. Just a short while ago he was able to sleep in his father's house, but now he had a corner in the slave quarters. Not long before, he had a father in his life. Always remember, my friends, it is a blessing if you still have a father who may speak a few words to you as you are growing up. Joseph had a father like that. He could hear his father praying at times. His father was busy with his family, with the souls of his children and grandchildren, wrestling at the footstool of God. You have a great privilege if you have a father who speaks unto you and prays to the Lord for you. Joseph had that great privilege in earlier days.

As a slave Joseph was now in a place where he never heard about the Word of God. The name of Jehovah was never mentioned in the land of Egypt. It would seem to have been a hopeless case for this young man. Would Joseph forget the Lord? You would be afraid of that because he was seventeen years old, he had no father nearby, and he was so far from home. He never heard a sermon preached anymore, and he did not hear his father pray anymore, either. Would Joseph forget the Lord? No, because we read in verse two, “And the Lord was with Joseph.” What is it when the Lord is with someone? Perhaps at night as Joseph lay in his slave quarters, the Lord would come over for his soul, saying the same as He later said to Joshua, “I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” It is true, in the morning there was the whip again and the harsh words from his master, but God was with him and strengthened him in body and soul.

Not only was the Lord with him, but it was noticed in the house when they saw that slave doing his tasks. The Bible says that Joseph was a “prosperous man.” A prosperous man! Did he make so much money being a slave? No, he was not prosperous as the world thinks of it. He was prospered by God because of the grace that God poured forth into his heart, which was evident in his walk and conversation. As Potiphar watched him working in and around his house, something about that boy spoke to him. We read that “his master saw that the Lord was with him.” Now that is something, because Potiphar worshipped the gods in Egypt and did not know the Lord. The Bible says that this high-ranking officer saw that this boy was different and that he was faithful in his labors.

Joseph prospered in Potiphar's house. He was about twenty-two years old and had been there about five years. In those five years he climbed up the ladder of success and was the overseer in his master's house. God had blessed him during those five years. In those five years God had also blessed the house of Potiphar. Do you know why? Because Joseph was his servant, and, because of Joseph, God blessed Potiphar's house. Here again he is a type of Christ. There are no blessings except they come through Christ unto our heart.

When Joseph was advanced in the house of his masters, we see that the Lord placed another trial upon his pathway. Why? Through the depth the Lord will bring him to the height. We read in the Bible that “his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.” Did it happen that it came into her heart all of a sudden? No, it had started with her wandering eyes. She had been casting her eyes upon that Hebrew slave for some time. Sin does not begin immediately with the deed, but with the eyes and heart. What a warning it should be when we give sin a place in our heart. Joseph took no notice of those covetous, lusting eyes of Potiphar's wife because he had so much of the fear of God in his heart. In our day people would laugh about that and say that he was a little backwards. But that was not the case at all. He was a young man who lived close to the Lord and took no notice of the glances of the world. His eyes were upon the Lord, and there was a bowing and seeking after Him.

“Lie with me.” She was a married woman and the mistress of the house. There was no one else in the room, no other slaves present, when she grabbed him by his coat. “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Joseph left his garment and fled away. Do you see that, young people? He fled away, even if he had to leave something behind. He fled away from temptation and the world. May that fleeing be seen in our lives. Joseph did not have that of himself, no, but he fled because he had the tender fear of the Lord in his heart. Will grace keep a person from sin? Just look at the sins of David and some of the other saints in the Bible. What keeps a person from sin? “By the fear of the LORD men depart from evil” (Proverbs 16:8).

When lust is denied, it changes to hatred. Potiphar's wife cried with a loud voice unto the men of the house, saying, “See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us.” When Potiphar came home that night, she held up the garment, saying, “The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me.”

We know from the history that Joseph went to prison. We see again that Joseph is a type of Christ. Potiphar's wife is a type of the devil, and Potiphar is a type of Pilate. Jesus Christ was not guilty, but Pilate wanted to be friends with the world. Pilate did not want a confrontation; he wanted to advance his position in the world, and so he denied the truth and delivered Christ to be crucified. I f Potiphar had believed that Joseph was guilty, he would have had him killed. He did not believe his wife, but he did not want a confrontation, so he sacrificed Joseph and put him in prison.

Perhaps you ask, Why did Joseph remain silent? Was it because Potiphar would not support him anyway? Was it because he was a slave and had no rights? He said nothing because he knew that the Lord was with him in this trial, and he placed it in the Lord's hand. Blessed, blessed people who may place their trials in the Lord's hand, saying, “Lord, Thou knowest everything, please help me.”

— to be continued —

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