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Genesis
39:1-23 “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 Ishmaelites, 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. 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. 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. 11 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 within. 12
And she caught him by his garment,
saying, Lie with me: and he left his
garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. 13
And it came to pass, when she saw that
he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 14
that she called unto the men of her
house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us
to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 15
and it came to pass, when he heard that
I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and
got him out. 16 And
she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. 17
And she spake unto him according to
these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came
in unto me to mock me: 18 and
it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment
with me, and fled out. 19 And
it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake
unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was
kindled. 20 And
Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s
prisoners were bound: and he was
there in the prison. 21 But
the LORD
was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the
keeper of the prison. 22 And
the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were
in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 23
The keeper of the prison looked not to
any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD
was with him, and that which he did, the LORD
made it to prosper.” Introduction [Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED540] “We
are in Genesis 39, it says “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 Ishmaelites,” off the slave-block, “which had
brought him down thither. And the LORD
was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his
master the Egyptian. And his master saw
that the LORD
was with him, and that the LORD
made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
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.
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. 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.” (verses 1-6) He was handsome, Rachel’s good looks,
well-favoured, well-built, complete package.
We’re
All Tempted By Sin, Joseph Chose To Refuse The Temptation “And
it came to pass” always does, doesn’t it? “after
these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph;” which is
King James for “she started looking at him, “and she said, Lie with me.”
(verse 7) ‘be intimate with me,’ “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; 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? 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.” (verses 8-10) So we have this interesting picture of this
young man. It gives us a great
illustration of much of the teaching in the Scripture, in regards to
temptation. Important for us to take
note of these things, we looked last week at James, James says ‘Blessed
is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tempted,’ it
doesn’t say “if,” this is the blessed man, when he is tempted, the blessed man,
not if he is tempted. You know, some of
us have this idea if we’re struggling with temptation that we’re not
spiritually mature. Or that if we’re
tempted, we must have problems, and we don’t want anyone to know about it. Satan would love us to think that way, he’d
love to confuse us and to have us have that idea, ‘Boy I’m struggling with
temptation, therefore I must be an immature Christian, I must have no maturity
at all.’ It says ‘for when he
is tempted, the blessed man,’ Jesus was tempted, it says, yet without
sin. Temptation itself is not sin. He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness
(cf. Matthew 4:1-11), tested, tempted there.
It says that we have a High Priest, who can be touched with all of our
infirmities, he understands us, and when we come to him, because he was tempted
and yet without sin, it does say that (cf. Hebrews 4:14-16). Temptation itself is not sin, James said
‘Blessed is the man that endures temptation,’ that’s the blessed
man, who stands up under it, ‘for when he is tried he shall receive the
crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.’ ‘Let no man say, when he is tempted, I am
tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any
man. But every man is tempted when he is
drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed.
Then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it
is finished bringeth forth death. Do not
err my beloved brethren.’ So
James tells us there is this process. And
he says it’s like birth, conception, that there is in all of our lives, times
of temptation. What makes it a time of
temptation is there’s an opportunity to sin.
There’s an opportunity. There’s a
traitor within every one of us, it says in Galatians ‘The flesh lusteth
against the spirit, and the spirit lusteth against the flesh,’ we have
that nature. It says in Romans 6 that we
should not let sin reign in our mortal bodies.
So it doesn’t tell you and I anywhere to rehabilitate the old man. Some of you as Christians are on that long
rehabilitation program, it will never work.
It says put the old man to death, consider him dead, crucify him, he’s
never gonna be rehabbed. But what
happens is, with that traitor within us, when opportunity is there, and
opportunity finally encounters our will, opportunity is like the egg, our will
like the sperm, when they come together, when we finally yield to a temptation,
make a decision of our own will, and we yield to it, there’s conception, it
says, that’s when there’s conception.
Before that there’s no life.
There’s temptation, there’s our will that we’re to have under control,
there are opportunities. It’s only when
our will yields to the temptation, opportunity, then there’s conception and sin
is brought forth. Joseph is a remarkable
picture for all of us, again, because of his background with four moms, crazy
stuff going on in the house, running from everybody in the family, no settled
down place to live, older sister raped, older brothers slaughter a whole town,
mom dies on the side of the road, ten older brothers hate his guts, sell him to
the Ishmaelites, sold him as a slave.
This is a kid who has every opportunity in the natural mind, to have an
excuse. He’s 18 years old [the Bible
indicates he’s 17] when he comes down to Egypt, and across the board,
scientists agree, that’s when your hormones are screaming. ‘We don’t need to know this information,’
yes you do. Because if an 18-year-old
can stand up to it, that’s the point of it all.
He’s in a foreign land, nobody knows who he is, imagine that. What goes on in his mind? Here is this beautiful woman, day after day,
and it’s easy for him to think ‘Nobody knows who I am, nobody even knows I’m
alive, here I am in a foreign land, I can’t get caught, there’s nobody to catch
me, nobody knows who I am, I’m still learning the Egyptian language, I haven’t
figured all of this out yet, different culture, far from home.’ And the natural mind, the carnal mind
would say ‘Hey, this could work to your advantage, a happy wife is a happy
wife, Potiphar’s wife,’ and in the culture Egyptian women were famous for
their immorality, known for this. And
again, first ones with eye-makeup, first ones with hairdos, first ones with
perfume, she was hunting, and he was 18, and she had it all going on, and she
was after him day after day. It wasn’t a
one-time encounter and he got out of there, going ‘Wew! that was
close!’ It was day after day after
day. And you know she gets more
seductive and more desperate. Last week
we said, we know that she’s beautiful, ugly’s no temptation, she’s a beautiful
woman. Powerful men marry beautiful
women, this is the captain of the guard.
Joseph doesn’t have a New Testament, he’s not indwelt with the Holy
Spirit like you and I [Comment: now I totally disagree with that, as I’ve stated before, Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, and now Joseph have exhibited the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their
lives, as have Moses, Joshua and Caleb, and the 70 elders in Numbers 11, and
all the holy prophets. This is one of
those weird Calvary Chapel interpretations that the Old Testament saints didn’t
have the Holy Spirit indwelling in them, which runs counter to what the Word of
God observes as fruit coming out of their lives, which is Spirit-filled
fruit.], he can’t look to heaven and say Abba, Father, doesn’t come to Bible
study on Wednesday nights. What does he
do? How does he do this? I think it’s important for us to see here, it
says this, she said “Lie with me,” she cast her eyes upon him. Verse 8 says this, “But he
refused,” now there’s an interesting idea in our culture. Dah, he refused, imagine that. He said “no,” she said “Come on,” he said
“no.” Can you imagine that? We don’t want to awaken the “Just Say No”
campaign, because obviously there’s no drug problem in our country since we’ve
had the Just Say No campaign [laughter].
But he refused, he refused, he said “no.” Why
did he refuse? First it says, “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; 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?” (verses 8-9) ‘You’re his wife, how can I do this
against him, the pain that will be caused by my sin with you is unimaginable.’ And there’s too many people today that do not
take time to think about the repercussions ahead of time. Because there is somebody on the other end
who is deeply wounded, and sometimes that goes on for a lifetime. First thing he says is ‘I can’t do this
to him, he’s been good to me, he’s your husband, he’s trusted me. This will crush him, how can I be a betrayer,
how can I do this to him?’ Secondly
he says, “how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
(verse 9b) Hard for you and I,
because we’ve lost all sense of that.
It’s hard for me to believe they can report the news, day in and day
out, and not use that phrase, “Great wickedness.” They’re constantly talking about how
somebody got in a situation, cheating on somebody, where there’s murder
attached to it, or some kind of, and you never hear the news reporter say ‘Today,
there was great wickedness.’ Desperate
Housewives is on TV, Sex in the City, nobody’s saying “Great
wickedness” anymore, there’s something wrong with this whole thing. This is an 18 year old, without a New
Testament, without an Old Testament, without Wednesday night church, he’s
standing up in the face of it and saying ‘There’s something wrong with
this, I refuse, this is great wickedness.’
And it is today, look, I just jotted some of these things down,
I had these things laying around on my desk at home, I actually have big
volumes, but not enough time, you should be glad. 30 percent of evangelicals, those who call
themselves evangelicals, I don’t think it’s that high in our church, but those
who call themselves evangelicals, 30 percent divorce today, 30 percent of
evangelicals, 50 to 60 percent in our culture, across the board, divorce
rate. 43 percent of 18-year-olds that
grew up in church in America today have had intercourse, 43 percent. 65 percent of kids in high school, high
school age, 65 percent have had some sexual activity. 23 percent of kids that grew up in church
that are 12 and 13 years old, listen 12 and 13 year olds, 23 percent of them
think that it’s acceptable for unmarried people to be sexually active with each
other, kids from church. If the
teenagers ahead of them, if 65 percent of them are involved in something, what
example does it set for the 12 year old, for the 13 year old, for the 11 year
old? That’s what’s going on. One marriage ends every 27 seconds in this
country. Those are human feelings, human
emotions, rage, tears, pain, 120 per hour, 180 while we sit here tonight. In the next hour, just during this study, in
the next hour, 46 girls under 19 will get an abortion. In the next hour while we’re doing this study
in Joseph 600 children will be the victims of broken homes in America, 600
children. In America tonight 40 percent
of the children in this country will go to bed in a home where there’s no
father present, 40 percent of the children in this nation. Every 24 hours, 1,407 babies are born to teen
mothers in America, every 24 hours.
Every 24 hours 3,398 born to unwed mothers across the board. Every 24 hours, 3,700 abortions, that’s one
every 24 seconds. [These statistics are
from 2006, it’s worse now, if you can imagine that.] Joseph a long time ago, understood the
repercussions and said ‘This is great wickedness,’ the toll, the
repercussions, the implications. What is
born out of this kind of behavior is something that’s unacceptable. And in a fleeting moment, because temptation
is played with, temptation is accepted, because of something that goes on in
our culture, and we play with it and play with it and play with it, all of a
sudden, opportunity meets that moment of weakness, and sin is conceived and is
born, and it brings forth death and destruction and difficulty and pain and
remorse. He says ultimately it’s sin
against God. You and I understand that,
the rest of this unsaved world doesn’t think about that, it is sin against God,
he has an order, he designed intimacy, he understands it better than anyone
else. And to misuse it, outside of the
parameters he prescribes is sin against God.
So Joseph first refused, he said ‘no.’ He understood some things about it, he said
there’s a husband, there’s a wife involved, there’s a spouse involved, ‘this
can’t happen, it is a measure of great wickedness, it is a sin against
God.’ And he does something very
smart, he says, in verse 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.” first of all he didn’t hearken
unto her, he didn’t listen, “to lie by her, or to be with her.” He stayed away from her, he tried not to get
into a situation with her. This is wisdom. If you are struggling with an addiction, if
you are an ex-alcoholic, don’t go to the bar.
If you’re struggling to have victory over pornography, don’t go to that
website. If you’re being tempted every
day with a sexual sin, don’t go alone into the house with the person that’s
tempting you. We look at this like
there’s a mystery here. He made some
wise and important decisions, and then it says finally when she took hold of
him, he ran out of the house. Potiphar’s
Wife Sets Joseph Up--He Runs Away Sometimes,
when the heat is turned up all the way up, the only smart thing to do is
run. You can turn around, God gave you a
system, you have nerve endings, you can do an about face, and then you can move
quickly in the other direction.
Sometimes, it’s cowardice to run, sometimes it’s bravery to run, and
wisdom. He ran. “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 within.
And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and
fled, and got him out.” (verses 11-12) Look,
the important thing is here, that Joseph had settled this in his heart long
before the temptation came, he said ‘How can I do this?’ It was settled. He had settled it in his heart before the day
of temptation ever came. There was
something between him and God, something between him and righteousness, he
wasn’t willing to surrender it. That has
to be settled ahead of time, because if you get into the opportunity, and your
inclinations, like all of our inclinations are there, towards sin can be there,
that’s too late to figure out what you’re doing. You know, nobody goes to war and just goes,
and then figures out what they’re doing when they get there. There are criticisms about the Iraq war, we
should have had more soldiers, or we should have done this. But I guarantee you, they didn’t just say ‘Just
send some guys go over there and take care of that.’ There was months of planning, there was
months of thinking, whether you agree with it or not that’s not the point, you
don’t go to war without planning. Joseph
had made up his mind before he hit the battlefield. There was already a plan there. And there has to be in our lives. We’ve gotta know what we believe, we gotta
know why we believe it, we have to realize that Jesus said ‘Every day, we
can pray Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,’ and
there’s a reason he told us to pray that way.
And we can go to him, and he’ll hear that prayer and answer that
prayer. What do we do when we make a
mistake? Look, David sinned, there were
repercussions, his family was a mess. He
could never address the sin in his own family.
He was a much better Psalmist in the long run, and we love some of the
things that he wrote. But he was never
the man or the king that he was before.
But God loved him. Samson sinned,
and in his repentance, God gave him his strength back again. He was blinded and bound by his sin, but God
gave him his strength back. The New
Testament tells us that if we confess our sins, homologao, to say the
same thing, if we agree with God about sexual sin, not ‘he made me do it,
well my life’s been so rough.’ Joseph
takes all of those excuses away, nobody here has a life rougher than
Joseph. That’s why we got all of these
chapters leading up to this temptation, no one’s got it rougher than he had
it. He refused, he understood the
implications, he understood what would take place, he understood the hurt, he
understood that it was wickedness, he understood it was sin against God, he
understood that he could turn and run away.
He understood all of that before it came. And so do you and so do I. But if we make a mistake, and our repentance
is real, it doesn’t mean there’s not going to be a lot of things broken around
us, but God loves us, and he will forgive us.
But that’s the long way around the barn, that’s the hard way to do
it. And God gives us a young man, 18
years old, in the middle of all this, he shows us this guy without all of the
advantages we have, saying “no,” and escaping this particular circumstance. “he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her,
or to 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 within. And she caught him by his garment, saying,
Lie with me: and he left his garment in
her hand, and fled, and got him out.” (verses 10b-12) So she had planned this day, this was the big
setup. She made sure everybody else was
gone, she probably gave them all spending money and said ‘Go to town,’ she
did something, she cleared everybody out.
Joseph goes into the house, there was nobody there, except her, “And
she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and
fled, and got him out.” so she must have been chasing him around the
house. He ran away, and left whatever he
had on, doesn’t tell us what that was like.
“and fled,” it indicates “into the streets,” “and got him out of
there.” Now that’s a smart move. “And it came to pass, when she saw that he
had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, that she called unto the
men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he” now the “he” there
is her husband, Potiphar, “hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he
came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:” (verse 13) she’s talking to her servants, I’m sure
most of those servants were envious and jealous of Joseph because everything
had been given into his hand. And the
Egyptians detested shepherds, nomadic people, the Haburi they called them, they
detested them. That’s why when the
children of Israel go down into Egypt, they give them a separate place in
Goshen. And she’s belittling her
husband, Potiphar. ‘He has brought
a Hebrew unto us to mock us. He came
unto me to lie with me, tried to rape me, and I cried with a loud voice.’ “and it came to pass, when he heard that
I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and
got him out.” (verse 15) Now this is
the second time somebody’s blaming him for something he didn’t do, and using
his clothes to do it. “And she laid
up his garment by her, until his lord came home. And she spake unto him according to these
words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in
unto me to mock me: and it came to pass,
as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled
out. And it came to pass, when his
master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After
this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.” (verses 16-19) Now it doesn’t tell us who his wrath was
kindled at. My personal feeling is, that
he was angry because of the circumstance, I think he trusted Joseph and didn’t
trust his wife, to tell you the truth.
He’s the head executioner, and he doesn’t kill Joseph. He puts him in the king’s prison, not in the
common dungeon, he puts him in a particular place. If you look down in chapter 40, verse 4,
and it says “And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he
served them:” so he give him a particular place, “the captain of the
guard.” Look over in chapter 39,
verse 1, it says “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 Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither.” So the captain of the guard which
evidently gave him a privileged place in the prison was Potiphar. He’s the head executioner, and yet he doesn’t
kill Joseph. I think he knew well the
character of his wife. I think he’s an
intelligent man, I think he had been amazed with the character of Joseph, and I
think he was furious as this whole thing erupts, because his pride is at stake,
no doubt those of his own household are expecting him to make a move and do
something, and he has to do that. So it
says “And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place
where” notice “the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. But the LORD
was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the
keeper of the prison. And the keeper of
the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the
prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any
thing that was under his hand;” does
that sound familiar? “because the LORD
was with him, and that which he did, the LORD
made it to prosper.” (verses 20-23) Now I have to
believe that these years now in prison, most scholars feel we’re looking at 11
to 13 years, somewhere in that range, in prison, has to be the deepest trial of
his life. You know, before, no doubt he
could look at his brothers and blame them.
There must have been a temptation to be bitter, he’s been brought down
to Egypt, sold on the slave-block, because his brothers had taken him and
thrown him into the pit. Now he’s in
Egypt, and in Egypt he does everything right.
He refuses to do great wickedness, he refuses to sin against God, and
what he gets for that is thrown in prison.
And that’s the place where all of us have to sit, and say, ‘The
person whose abusing me now is God. I
have no one else to blame. This is what
I get for doing right? This is
unfair. This is unjust.’ If there’s a big courthouse in the sky called
fairness, and we’re going to have God show up there and give an account,
because we did something good, and we did our best, you refused to sin, and
what we get for that is something we never dream is equitable, it should never
happen, it’s not fair. And those are the
hardest things to come to terms with. Joseph
I believe in prison, comes to terms with some huge issues, I think it’s there
that he looks back and he says ‘Well, I guess it really wasn’t my brothers,
was it LORD,
it was you, you allowed that to happen.
You’ll have me to prosper in Potiphar’s house, why did you even do that
if you were going to throw me in the dungeon?’
And somewhere no doubt he sat there and
he thought ‘LORD,
I don’t understand. But I’m not going to
turn away from you and I’m not going to stop serving you,’ and
as he applied himself even there, God began to prosper everything he did, God
began to show favour, and he ends up again, the keeper of the prison put
everything in his hand, and he did. And
remember this, Joseph never read this chapter.
It’s not like he said ‘Oh, this is great, wait until you see what
happens next, this will blow your mind.’
He’s headed into this without the God-book that we have.” [Neither do we have the God-book for our
specific lives, we just have the general outline given to us in the
Bible.] Genesis
40:1-23 “And
it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt
and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. 2
And Pharaoh was wroth against the two of
his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the
bakers. 3 And
he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison,
the place where Joseph was bound. 4
And the captain of the guard charged
Joseph with them, and he served them:
and they continued a season in ward. 5
And they dreamed a dream both of them, each
man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his
dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound
in the prison. 6 And
Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold,
they were sad. 7 And
he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s
house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? 8
And they said unto him, We have dreamed
a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not
interpretations belong to God? tell me them I pray you. 9
And the chief butler told his dream to
Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; 10
and in the vine were three
branches: and it was as though it
budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought
forth ripe grapes: 11 and
Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and
I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into
Pharaoh’s hand. 12 And
Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: 13
yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift
up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place:
and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former
manner when thou wast his butler. 14
But think on me when it shall be well
with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto
Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: 15
for indeed I was stolen away out of the
land of the Hebrews: and here also have
I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. 16
When the chief baker saw that the
interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream,
and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head: 17
and in the uppermost basket there was
of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the
basket upon my head. 18 And
Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: 19
yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift
up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall
eat thy flesh from off thee. 20 And
it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he
made a feast unto all his servants: and
he lifted the head of his chief butler and of the chief baker among his
servants. 21 And
he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup
into Pharaoh’s hand: 22 but
he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had
interpreted to them. 23 Yet
did not the chief butler remember Joseph but forgat him.” Pharaoh’s
Chief Cup-Bearer & Chief Baker Get Thrown Into Prison With Joseph, Creating
A Divine Set-Up “It
says “And it came to pass after these things,” now every time there’s an
“after these things” something’s going on in Joseph’s life, “that the
butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the
king of Egypt.” (verse 1) “the
butler,” now that’s the cup-bearer, “and his baker,” that’s the chief
cook. They had done something
wrong. So the cup-bearer’s job was,
before the king ever drank wine, and the major drink in Egypt by the way was
beer, it wasn’t wine. The pharaohs had
brewmasters, they never had a cold one their whole life, it was warm, but their
favorite drink was beer. Again, there
are hieroglyphics that have been uncovered, written by professors in ancient
universities in Egypt, and the professors saying “my students are good for
nothing, all they do is carouse and drink beer.” There’s nothing new under the sun, Solomon
says. The cup-bearer, he would taste the
king’s drink before the king did, and if the cup-bearer dropped over dead, he’d
know it was poisoned. So usually the
cub-bearer and the king or the pharaoh would have a fairly decent relationship,
because this guy put his life on the line every day, that’s what he got paid
for. The baker, we’re not sure what he
did, chief cook, whether he’s accused of doing something wrong, maybe he made
the Caesar salad for pharaoh, he made something to offend him, glad you’re
listening, tuned in there. “And
Pharaoh was wroth against the two of his officers, against the chief of
the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.” (verse 2) he’s
suspecting one of them of something. “And
he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison,
the place where Joseph was bound.
And the captain of the guard” that’s Potiphar, “charged Joseph
with them, and he served them: and they
continued a season in ward. And they
dreamed a dream both of them,” what a coincidence, “each man his dream
in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler
and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning,
and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were
with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly
to day?” (verses 3-7) now that seems like a strange question to ask, ‘Maybe
because you’re in prison,’ but he took note that they looked worse this day
than other days I guess. Joseph,
discerning, Joseph merciful, he had charge over them, so he watches them
carefully. “And they said unto him,
We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not
interpretations belong to God? tell me them I pray you.” (verse
8) and Joseph said, ‘Oh, poor
baby, are you sad because you had a dream, let me tell you about the last 17
years of my life!’ No, he didn’t do
that. “And Joseph said unto them, Do
not interpretations belong to God? tell me them I pray you.”
(verse 8b) The point is, they had no
access to astrologers or the magicians in Egypt to try to interpret their
dreams. He said “tell me them
I pray you.” ‘God can do this,’ and of course he had had his own
dreams, was holding onto those in some remarkable way. And most scholars feel by this time, again,
he’s 11 to 13 years in prison [or 11 to 13 years totally, in service first to
Potiphar in his house and fields, and then in prison]. So he’s coming up on 30 years of age,
somewhere, he’s probably 27, 28 at this point in time. “And the chief butler told his dream to
Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; and
in the vine were three branches:
and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot
forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: and Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into
Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.” (verses 9-11) “And Joseph said unto him, This is
the interpretation of it: The three
branches are three days: yet
within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy
place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s
cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.” (verses
12-13) Now he’s fast, Daniel and his
friends gotta pray all night, Joseph, he’s got it. Now look, the interpreting of this dream,
Joseph being in prison, when these men end up there, sets the stage for Jacob
and his family to come down into Egypt and be preserved, they would have been
extinct in the famine and the trouble that there was in Canaan. [And this famine extended throughout the
Middle East, all the way into Persia and what is now Saudi Arabia.] It sets the stage for the tribe of Judah to
be preserved [along with the other 11 tribes, let’s not forget them]. It sets the stage for God’s Plan of Salvation
to continue, this dream. This man, this
young man being there, this interpretation.
He says this is the interpretation of it, verse 12, that’s the
fact, by the way, because he interpreted that dream, that’s why we’re sitting
here tonight, if you want to follow it all the way out. “The three branches are three
days: yet within three days shall
Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his
hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.” (verses 12-13) “But think on me when it shall be well with
thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto
Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:
for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they
should put me into the dungeon.” (verses 14-15) He doesn’t say ‘My stupid brothers, they
sold me,’ ‘I was stolen away,’ he’s dealing with it, “I was
stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews:
and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the
dungeon.” ‘I refused to betray
my master, and here I am. So remember
me, when you’re out of here, when you’re back in power again.’ And it’s interesting because when you
study Egypt, they believed that someone who had the ability to interpret dreams
was also responsible for that dream coming to fruition. So this cup-bearer would not only as he realizes
what Joseph said is coming true, he would then naturally, in the Egyptian
culture, supposedly have some attachment to Joseph, who he believed was
responsible for his success again. It is
important to keep that in mind. “When
the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I
also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on
my head: and in the uppermost basket there
was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out
of the basket upon my head.” (verses 16-17)
“And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation
thereof: The three baskets are
three days: yet within three days shall
Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the
birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.” (verses 18-19) just doesn’t sound
as good as the chief butler’s interpretation.
‘Within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off of
thee,’ I don’t like those three words together, “head, off, of thee,” “and
shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.” Well that’s a chipper little interpretation,
I knew I shouldn’t have asked you. “And
it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he
made a feast unto all his servants: and
he lifted the head of his chief butler and of the chief baker among his
servants.” (verse 20) Evidently he
invited them both to the party. “And
he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup
into Pharaoh’s hand:” (verse 21) He
must be thinking, ‘This is unbelievable, this is exactly what that young
Hebrew told me would happen. This is
amazing,’ “but he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.” (verse
22) and I don’t know along the way whether he’s thinking ‘This is
amazing, that’s exactly what the young Hebrew guy told…’ I’m hoping that
Joseph talked to him when he said ‘Man, check your dream thing again, this
is bad news,’ maybe Joseph said ‘You know, you need to trust in the
Living God, you’ve got all these idols down here in Egypt, there’s a Living God
and if you trust him, there’s a place, there’s paradise, there’s something on
the other side of this.’ Knowing his
sensitivity towards them, he must have consoled him in some way. “but he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.” The
Cup-Bearer Forgets All About Joseph Please
notice, “Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph but forgat him.”
(verse 23) That ever happen to you
before? Do me a favour? My wife says probably three or four times a
week ‘Honey, remember to do this, will you remember?’ ‘Ah-ha,’
I don’t remember anything, I can’t do anything anymore. But Joseph, when he heard about the steward,
just imagine how excited he was, he must be thinking ‘I’m going to see my
father Jacob again, I’m going to get home again. Is he still alive? Is he still alive? It’s been 12 years, 11 years, over a decade,
what’s happened?’ And nothing
happened the first day, he must have thought ‘Well you know, it takes time
to, he’s at Pharoah’s party, he’s got to get restored again, he can’t just run
to Pharaoh and say ‘Hey I got a Hebrew friend,’ you know, he’s got to warm
up to Pharaoh, he’s got to get back into Pharaoh’s good graces. The second day nothing happened, the first
week went by, no response. Probably
tried to stay positive, the next week goes by, and the weeks turn to months,
and as the months are turning into a year Joseph somewhere must realize ‘he’s
forgotten about me, he’s forgotten me.’ Now
look, I believe, this is Divine amnesia.
Because when the cup-bearer is going to remember Joseph is when Pharaoh
has a dream that he needs interpreted, that’s when he’s going to remember him,
and that’s going to set the course of his life, and for the nation of Israel
[all 12 tribes], of the tribe of Judah, the Messiah and you and I will all be
set, we’re here tonight because the cup-bearer forgot Joseph. And I know you don’t like to hear that. Because hopefully, somebody in your life that
told you they were going to do something, and they forgot [it happens to me all
the time, beginning to wonder if it’s a patience-building exercise], they stood
you up, didn’t deliver. It might be
me. God made me do it, I didn’t want to
do it, I didn’t want to forget it.
Whoever that person is you’re angry at, there’s a chance, there’s the
outside chance that God had them forget.
He’s the same yesterday, today and forever, he certainly does it in this
circumstance. It’s interesting, we’re
told this in Psalm 105, it says “Moreover he [the LORD]
called for a famine upon the land: he
brake the whole staff of bread. He sent
a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:” God’s
view of what we just studied, God superintending. It says “whose feet they hurt with
fetters: he was laid in iron: until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD
tried him. The king [Pharaoh] sent and
loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house; and ruler of
all his substance: to bind his princes
at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom.
Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of
Ham. And he increased his people
greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies.” (verses 16-24) “fetters,”
now that’s King James, the Septuagint translators translated that “whose feet
they humbled with fetters.” Joseph was
humbled in those fetters. King James
says “he was laid in iron,” it says in your gloss in the column “his soul came
into iron.” The Old English Prayerbooks
say “iron came into his soul.” God was
refining Joseph. He was thrown into
prison for something he didn’t do. I
don’t like to hear “11 years” “in prison” together, “and God’s plan.” 11 years, and then this guy forgets him,
because there in prison Joseph had to let go of what his brothers did, Joseph
had no one else to blame because he had done what was right, and in prison
Joseph no doubt came face to face with God in a way that he had never come face
to face with God before that. And it says
he was humbled there. He realized God’s
sovereignty, God’s power, no doubt. It
says “iron came into his soul,” God gave him the dreams, it says all of Egypt
was going to bow down in front of him, but he wasn’t that man yet, he wasn’t
ready for that position yet, and God was refining him, and working on him. Joseph had made wise decisions, he was more
concerned with his character than his reputation, he had turned Potiphar’s wife
down for the sake of character, his relationship with God, and his reputation
ended up smeared. There’s too many
people today that are more worried about their reputation than their character,
Don’t tell anybody I did that, I don’t want anybody to find out I did that,’
we’re more concerned about reputation than character. Joseph was a unique individual, and then in
prison it says “iron is coming into his soul,” he’s being formed into the man
that God wants him to be. It says ‘until
the time that his word,’ Joseph’s dreams ‘came.’ Until that time it says ‘the
word of the LORD
tried him,’ the Hebrew word is “to fuse metal
together,” or “to refine,” or “to purge.”
‘Until the time that Josephs dream became realized,’ so he
was holding onto that all along. The
word of the LORD
tried him, purified him, it refined him.
‘The king [Pharaoh] sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the
people, and let him go free. He made him
lord of his house; and ruler of all his substance: to bind his princes at his pleasure; and
teach his senators wisdom.’ Man,
that sounds like a plan, doesn’t it?
Raise up somebody to teach senators wisdom. Well back here, this guy forgot him, he’s
stewing in his cell, weeks turning to months, months turning to years, ‘and
hope deferred maketh the heart sick,’ no doubt this is the place of
refining, this goes on for two years.
Every time he heard the prison door open or he heard the hinges squeak,
what were his thoughts, what was he thinking about? Not understanding what God was doing, not
understanding what God was doing, no doubt.
Startling. I love Job in his
suffering, he says this, ‘Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and
backward, but I cannot perceive him,’ he’s suffering, his body is in
pain, he said ‘I go forward, it doesn’t seem the LORD’s
there, I go backward, I can’t perceive him, on the left hand where he doth
work, I know he’s working, but I cannot behold him. He hideth himself on the right hand that I
cannot see him.’ Maybe
you’re in a situation like that tonight, you believe in the Lord, you know he’s
working, but you’re plagued with something, everything’s falling apart, it
seems unfair, you’ve done your best and what do you get for it. We all end up in prison of one type or
another, and by the way, before we’re saved, we’re all incarcerated, we’re all
in prison, to our lusts, to drugs, we’re in prison to darkness, we’re in prison
to phoniness and hypocrisy, before we come to the Lord and come into the
light. Job is saying here ‘I can’t
sense him, I know he’s there, on the left hand where he doth work, but I cannot
behold him, he hideth himself on the right hand, I cannot see him--but he
knoweth the way that I take. And when he
hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold, my foot hath held his steps, his way
have I kept, and not declined. Neither
have I gone back from the commandment of his lips, I have esteemed the word of
his mouth more than my necessary food.’ Job
says ‘in the middle of it, I can’t sense him, I don’t know what
he’s doing, sometimes I feel like I can see his work on the left, he’s hiding
himself on the right, but I’ve kept his commandments, I’ve kept his Word, but I
know when I’m tried, I’m going to come forward out of this as gold, refined,
because I’ve esteemed the word of his mouth more than my necessary food.’ Something in that was in Joseph. He had lots of reasons to be bitter, lots of
reasons to look back and say ‘Nothing my life ever works out, nothing in my
life ever works out, everything’s gone wrong since the time I was a little
kid. At every turn somebody abuses me
and does something wrong to me.’ He
had every excuse that our culture has right now, and James says ‘The
man who is blessed is the one who endures temptation, he’s going to come forth
with the crown of life. Don’t let anyone
whose tempted say he’s being tempted of God, for God temps no man with evil,
but neither can he be tempted with evil, but every man when he is tempted is drawn
away with his own lusts, and when lust hath conceived it brings forth sin, and
sin when it is mature brings forth death.
Do not err about these things, my beloved brethren.’ In
closing My
encouragement to you tonight, look, is this, I don’t want anyone to leave here
feeling condemned, if you’ve failed, got caught up in one of these things. But you need to be honest, you need to walk
in the light. You need to find another
Christian you trust, you can’t be more worried about your reputation than your
character. You need to make it right,
God is faithful, he loves you, his Son died for you, your sins are already paid
for. But they need to be confessed. I would talk to a pastor, I would talk to
somebody that you trust, I would start to get into the light, it’s such a
relief. Because what happens when you
sin, then you have to lie to cover that up, then you have to tell a second lie
relative to that lie, and a third lie relative to the second lie, and a fourth
lie, and it gets so complicated. I’m
just not smart enough to do that. I’m
happy with stupid, you know. And when
you’re not in sin you can look forward to the Lord coming every day, you don’t
have to say ‘Don’t come today, Lord, till I get this together,’ I hope
he doesn’t listen to you if you’re praying that, because I want him to
come. And you don’t have to remember all
that stuff, if you’re walking in the light.
It’s when you complicate things, trying to cover it all up, I hope this
can be a relief to someone here tonight, and you can realize that he loves you,
he’s paid for your sin, you can bring it into the light. I hope tonight if you’re in one of those
relationships you’re playing with, you’re going into the house every night, and
Potiphar’s wife is saying ‘Hey big boy, I’ll meet you after work, I’ll see
ya here,’ say “No!” refuse, say ‘Think of the implications, think of the
injury to the other spouse, think of the wickedness that’s destroying our
culture and our nation and our teenagers and junior high kids, and realize
ultimately this is a sin against God.’ Make
an about-face, and run outa there. If
you need sneakers, see us, we’ll give you money for sneakers. Get out of there, the Bible says ‘Flee
youthful lusts, and don’t leave a forwarding address.’ That’s what it says. And every day, you have instruction by the
Lord, the freedom to say ‘Lead us not, lead me not into temptation, Lord,
but deliver me from the evil one.’
There is an enemy, we are in a struggle, there is a warfare, it’s a good
fight though. We’re fighting the good
fight, it’s worthwhile. I encourage
you. If you feel forgotten tonight,
don’t be angry at your forgetter, because I guarantee you’ve forgotten things
in your life, and if you keep breathing, you’ll wear glasses, your hearing will
start to go, your hair will change colors, you’re going to forget somebody
too. Not because you want to, but
because your brain will be fried with years of age. You will switch roles at some point. Don’t be mad.
Maybe not, maybe God gives somebody amnesia. I’m not saying it’s right if it’s a person
who forgets ‘Lend me ten bucks, I’ll give it back to you tomorrow,’ and
tomorrow never comes, I know there’s those people. And unforgiveness is still wrong, don’t let
that happen. Sit where you are, maybe
God is putting the iron in your soul.
Maybe he’s more concerned with your character than your reputation. Realize, just as the Bible says, he’s
conforming you into the image and likeness of his own dear Son. You see, our ultimate destination is not just
a place, it’s an image, it’s an image that we’re enroute to. Let’s stand, let’s pray together, we’ll have
the musicians come. If you’re here
tonight and you don’t know Christ, your life is in a mess, and you think ‘you
hit the nail right on the head tonight,’ feel free as we worship if you
want to come up here and pray with us and ask Christ to forgive your sins and
be your Lord and Saviour, we’d love to give you a copy of the Scriptures, some
things to read, ah, nobody’s going to think you’re Joseph if you came up and
you just got in trouble with Potiphar’s wife, that’s not our point. But if you’re tired with the struggle, you’re
tired of the emptiness, you’re tired of being incarcerated, just because you’re
not in prison does not mean you’re not incarcerated, people are bound by all
kinds of things. Maybe you’re tired of
no freedom, you’re tired of being in the prison that you’re in. Jesus said whom the Son sets free is free
indeed. And maybe tonight is the night
for you to be set free. If that’s you as
we worship, feel free to come. But we’re
going to lift our hearts, we’re going to be praying, saying ‘Lord help us,
help us to say no, help us to refuse, help us to be wise, fill us with your
Spirit, have our hearts,’ we’re going to worship the King of kings and Lord
of lords, let’s do that…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on
Genesis 39:1-23 and Genesis 40:1-23, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel
of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116] related
links: Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED540 |