Genesis chapter 39. Jacob loved Joseph. Loved him. He gave him a coat
of many colors and none of his brethren were given a coat like
his. Joseph's robe of many colors was traded for the chains of
servitude down in Egypt. And God the father loved God
the son. And he said of him, this is my
beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. Oh, he loved him. He loved his son. But the coat
his father gave him was much different than the one Joseph
was given. God gave our Lord Jesus a coat
of humanity yet without sin for he was made, the scripture says,
in the likeness, the form, the similitude, of man, but his life
in the flesh displayed many brilliant colors of mercy, grace, compassion,
and forgiveness. The Lord Jesus wore a coat that
was similar or in the form of man's nature, likeness, and physical
appearance, yet his appearance while in this world was accompanied
with the brightness of many glorious attributes that his brethren,
according to the flesh, didn't have. Now Joseph's brothers,
we know, hated him without a cause, and they were envious of him.
And Stephen, preaching in the book of Acts, chapter seven said,
and the patriarch, speaking of Joseph's brothers, moved with
envy. And they sold Joseph into Egypt,
into slavery. And then it says, but God was
with him. But God was with him and delivered him out of all
his afflictions. In Joseph's brother's picture,
all of us by nature, by nature, all of us, every man and woman,
hate the Lord Jesus Christ without a cause, according to John 15,
25. And Joseph was sold into slavery
into Potiphar's house and served under the rule of his newfound
master. And we've talked about how Potiphar
pictures the law. It was the design and purpose
of God to send Christ down to this Egypt of a world and to
serve, obey, and keep God's holy law for his people. We've seen
so many ways in which Joseph pictures our Lord and Savior.
And God sent his son into the world that he might lay down
his life to present them his glorious bride, his chosen, to
present them holy and without blame before him in love, Ephesians
1, 4. And all who were in Potiphar's
house, remember we looked at it last time, all who were in
Potiphar's house with Joseph were greatly blessed for Joseph's
sake. And I can tell you with all confidence,
child of God, that God's people, the only reason God's people
are blessed and redeemed from the curse of the law is for the
sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. And again, we have a picture
of Christ and Joseph. I just read you what Stephen
said about Joseph. that Stephen said God was with
him. Stephen said God delivered him
out of all his afflictions. And I want you to look at verse
two here in chapter 39. And the Lord was with Joseph
and he was a prosperous man. And again, it's worth reminding
you that that word prosperous here means much, much more than
just an abundance of wealth. You look the word up in the original
language and it means to be fit. It means to be good. It means to be proper. And actually, if you want to
break the word down a little more, it means to be pushed.
I thought that was interesting. By nature, we're unfit, we're
evil, we're improper, but all of God's elect are pushed, gently,
drawn by grace. made willing to trust in Christ
in the day of God's power. And they trust in Christ alone
is their perfect righteousness. Now, if the Lord is with me,
what do I have or who do I have to fear? If the Lord is with
me, he's working all things together for my good. All things, not
some, not a few, not only the good things, but all things. And if the Lord is with me, I'll
prosper and be in health even as my soul prospers. And that's
all that really matters, that the Lord would prosper this soul
of mine and give me grace and faith to trust in Christ alone. Redemption comes to those who
the Lord is with. Look at verse three, and his
master saw that the Lord was with him. And the Lord made all
that he did to prosper in his hand. Look down at verse 21. But the Lord was with Joseph
and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the
keeper of the prison. Verse 23, the keeper of the prison
looked not to anything that was under his hand. Why? Because
the Lord was with him. And that which he did, the Lord
made it to what? Prosper. We see some valuable
lessons here in this chapter, both spiritual and practical
lessons. Let me just give you a few quickly.
When God is with us, bad things can still happen. Haven't you
learned that? Absolutely. Verse one, 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. from a prominent
place in his father's house with a father that loved him since
the day he was born, to a servant in the house of Egypt. Things
can be tough sometimes. Secondly, when God is with us,
others will eventually notice. Verse three, and his master saw
that the Lord was with him. And I can't help, in reading
that, I couldn't help but to remember what Claire East told
me, and what she'd always say about Miss Coleman. She said
that, first, she didn't know what Miss Coleman had, but she
knew that whatever it was, she wanted it. When God's with us,
people will eventually notice. Thirdly, when God is with us,
will be a blessing to others. Look at verse five. And it came
to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his
house, that being Potiphar making Joseph the overseer in his house,
and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptians'
house for Joseph's sake. And the blessing of the Lord
was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. The fourth
thing, when God is with us, temptations lose their power, verse seven.
And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife,
Potiphar's wife, cast her eyes upon Joseph. And she said, lie
with me. But he refused and said unto
his master's wife, behold, my master wadeth not what is with
me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to
my hand. There's none greater in this
house than I, neither hath he kept back anything from me but
thee. And because thou art his wife,
how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"
We talked about that. He didn't say, and sin against
my master. He said, sin against God. All
sin is against God. Against thee and thee only have
we sinned and done this evil in thy sight. And verse 10, and
it came to pass as he spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened,
that she spake, excuse me, to Joseph day by day, that 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. Here we see also when God is
with us, our accusers look to attack us. We just read that
in verse 11 and look at verse 13. 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. Look down at verse 17. And she
spake unto him according to these words saying, the Hebrew servant,
she's talking to Potiphar now. She held his garment, kept it
next to her. And when he got home, he said,
the Hebrew servant which thou brought unto us came in and unto
me to mock me. And verse 19, and it came to
pass when his master heard the words of his wife, which he spake
unto him saying, after this manner did thy servant to me that his
wrath was kindled. When God's with us, accusers
look to attack us. When God is with us, even our
adversities become blessings. Look at verse 20. And Joseph's
master took him and put him into prison, a place where the king's
prisoners were bound. And he was there in the prison.
But look at verse 21. But the Lord was with Joseph
and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the
keeper. of the prison. Oh, when God is
with us, we'll prosper in the work of God. Verse 22, and the
keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all that 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 anything that was under his hand because the Lord was
with him. And that which he did, the Lord
made it to prosper. Now, I don't know if you, reading
this chapter on your own, if you noticed also how many times
we read, and it came to pass. This is one of the most used
phrases in all the scripture. And many may think that that
little phrase has no significance, but I'm telling you, it has great
significance, because God is the first cause of all things. and it came to pass. God works
all things we know after the counsel of his own will. So when
we read the words, and it came to pass, we can be certain and
sure that God caused it to be so. Time and time again, several
times here in chapter 39, Moses uses that phrase, and it came
to pass. And we could read it just the
same by saying God brought it to pass. Wouldn't change the
meaning of it at all. Why? Because God is the first
cause of everything. Look at verse 5, and it came
to pass. God made Joseph head over Potiphar's
house. God brought that to pass. Look
at verse 7, and it came to pass. Potiphar's wife tried to seduce
Joseph. God allowed that to happen. The
evil and the sin was in Potiphar's wife. She of her own will did
this thing. You see, sinners have a will,
but it's in bondage to sin. God let her have her way and
she was responsible for her actions. And at the same time, she served
God's purpose and it came to pass. Why? Because God caused
it to come to pass. Do you see how God Almighty works? Verse 10, and it came to pass
Potiphar's wife tempted and tried to seduce Joseph day after day
to lie with him. God allowed this temptation day
after day. God allows the wicked to carry
out their will and he uses it to accomplish his own will and
purpose in all things. Isn't that amazing? Shall there
be evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it? Hath the Lord
not allowed it? That's what Amos is asking. David
said, surely the wrath of man shall praise thee. You see man's
disobedience, man's evil, man's sin, praise him for he allows
their sin to accomplish his will. and the remainder of their wrath
God restrains. God's in control of everything.
He's the first cause of all things. The unrepentant sinner's still
responsible for what he does, responsible for his sin, yet
God's will is sovereignly accomplished and God gets all the glory. Verse
11, and it came to pass about this time. About what time? The
time that God ordained. The time that God allowed, a
time when Joseph is in the house doing his job, he's taking care
of business. And it just so happens that all
the men that were normally there in the house were gone. No, that's
not right. Didn't just so happen, did it?
No, no, no. Nothing comes to pass by happenstance. Nothing comes to pass by coincidence. Nothing comes to pass by luck,
good or bad. Nothing happens according to
chance. And it came to pass about this
time. God brought it to pass just as
He purposed it. Do you believe that? Oh, I'm
telling you, if you could get a hold of that, it would make
life a whole lot simpler for you in many ways. Knowing that
whatever happens, your God is in control of and He's working
it together for your good and for His glory. That's the only
way you can be with a sovereign, omnipotent God. And in verse
12, we see that she catches Joseph by the garment saying, lie with
me. And Joseph, he never stopped. He walked right out of his robe
and the scripture says he fled. And in verses 13 and 14, again,
we read, and it came to pass when Potiphar's wife saw that
he left his garment in her hand and she called to the other men's
servants and falsely accused Joseph of attempted rape. Do
you know what the majority of folks today would say about Joseph?
They'd say, what an unlucky fellow. You might be shocked how many
people actually believe in Murphy's Law. You know what Murphy's Law
is. Murphy's Law is the belief that
anything that can go bad will go bad. I know people who believe
that. A lot of folks today actually
make Murphy and his law optimist. They make Murphy to seem hopeful
and confident about the future. The child of God doesn't believe
that. The believer knows that God works all things according
to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what
doest thou? He's the first cause of everything. Verse 19, and it came to pass,
as God made it to, when Potiphar heard the words of his wife,
and verse 20 says, he put Joseph in prison. Why is Joseph in prison? Well, many would say because
he was falsely accused. Well, that's exactly right, but
that's the second cause. God was the first cause of his
imprisonment. God put Joseph in prison. Why
did God put Joseph in prison? He's going to do him good there.
He's going to do him good. God is making all things to work
together for his people's good. God is with Joseph. God loves
Joseph. God's going to do him good. Oh,
believing sinner, believe me when I tell you, in Christ, God's
gonna do you good. But it don't seem like it. We
walk by faith, not by sight. God's gonna do you good. God
is with him and with you in him. God loves his son, and he loves
you if you're in him. God doesn't love sinners outside
of Christ. He's too holy and just. And I
was thinking today, one of my favorite verses in all the Bible
is that verse found in John 13 one, having loved his own, which
were in the world. He loved them until the end.
Verse 21, but the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and
gave him favor 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. And the keeper of the prison
looked not to anything that was under his hand, because the Lord
was with him. And that which he did, the Lord
made it to prosper." Now, hear me just for a few minutes longer.
Here we have the gospel. The only hope that I have of
being reconciled to the God with whom I have sinned against is
found right here. We have no hope of redemption
outside of God's Son. He came down to Egypt to work
out a perfect righteousness for his people. He did that. He did
that. He kept God's law perfectly,
every jot and tittle, perfectly. Like Joseph subjected himself
to Potiphar, Christ submitted himself to God's law and became
answerable to it in the stead of his people. And I'm telling
you, believe me when I tell you, if Christ stood in my place and
satisfied the accusations of the law against me, then I'm
not going to be answerable to him. No, sir. He died the just
for the unjust. Why? To bring us to God. Oh,
in order to bring me to God, I have to be made sinless. How
can I stand in my self-righteousness, my filthy rags righteousness
before a thrice holy God? That's what Christ did for his
people on the cross of Calvary. He died the just, the just one. for the unjust, you and I. To
be justified is to be made perfectly right and perfectly holy. Christ
is both just and the justifier of them that believe in Christ.
He's a just God and a Savior. You see, Christ, the God-man,
he's the only one who could be both just and justify the ungodly. He's a just God and a savior.
He's the one mediator between, key word, between God and man,
the man, Christ Jesus. He's the only one who can stand
in the gap, plead the cause, and make intercession for his
people. Now, the most important question
I could ask you is what think you of him? What do you think
of the Lord Jesus Christ? Oh, he's perfect, therefore he's
a suitable sacrifice for according to Leviticus chapter 22, verse
21, anything and everything that God accepts must be perfect to
be accepted. And we live in a day where I
hear a whole lot of folks talking about accepting Jesus. But I
don't hear anybody talking about how God accepts the sinner. It's
only in Christ. Only in Him. Now I want you to
notice here in verse 22, it tells us that the keeper of the prison
committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the
prison. And whatsoever they did there,
he, Joseph, was the doer of it. Friends, God Almighty has committed
all judgment unto the Son, John 5.22. All who are found guilty
according to the law of God. all who have transgressed against
God. All sins against Him, remember?
Against thee and thee only, David said, have I sinned and done
this evil in thy sight, that you might be justified when you
speak. And you might be clear when you
judge. Why? Because we're guilty. We're guilty. All sins against God. And that
means all, for all have sinned. Did you notice in verse 20 that
it says that Joseph was put in the prison where the king's prisoners
were bound, bound by sin. All who have been found guilty
and lie in prison, waiting the judgment of God have been committed
into the hands of God's beloved son. And as God, he has mercy
on whom he will. And as man, he has compassion
on all whom the father has given him. Now, let me ask you again,
what do you think of God's son? Your destiny's in his hand. God's
committed all judgment into his hand. And the prisoners in prison
who were committed unto Joseph's hand, verse 22 says, whatsoever
they did there, Joseph was the doer of it. No work was done
that he did not allow. Joseph answered only to the keeper
of the prison. That responsibility was committed
to him alone. That was something that was charged
to him. That's what the word committed
means, charged to. It means to charge to, to be
appointed to. Who appointed these things to
Joseph? The keeper of the prison. Do
you know what the word keeper here means? It means master.
It means captain. It means the one in charge. Now, listen to me. Whatever the
prisoners did, Joseph was responsible for. Joseph must answer to the
keeper of the prison. If something was done wrong,
Joseph had to answer for it. If there was a prison riot, the
rioters were not charged, Joseph would have been charged. He was
responsible for the prisoner. Any transgression committed under
Joseph's watch he made himself responsible for. He who knew no sin was made to
be sin for us. Look again at verse 23, the keeper
of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand, whose
hand? Joseph's. because the Lord was
with him. And that which he did, the Lord
made it to prosper. God, my friends, is the keeper
of the prison, and he looks not to anything that was or is found
under Christ's nail-scarred hands. When Christ died for his people's
sin, that sin had to satisfy the justice of God in order to
be forgiven. We've talked about that so much
lately. God doesn't just Forget sin because He loves you so much. God doesn't just forgive sin
because He's a loving God. Sin's not gonna be swept under
a rug. It's gonna be paid for. God's
holy justice requires it. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. This is serious business. Your sin's not simply overlooked
because God loves you. Your sin's gotta be dealt with.
Your sin's gotta be paid for. Your sin's gotta be appeased
according to divine justice. That's no problem with Christ.
No problem. Because the Lord was with him.
And everything he did for his elect, God made it to prosper. Our Lord said, always do those
things which please Him. I don't do anything that pleases
Him, but my Lord and Savior, my substitute and sacrifice,
always does those things that please Him. That's where I find
my hope. That's where I find my confidence.
Is that where you find it? God sees no sin in His elect
because it's all under the blood of Jesus Christ. It's all under
Joseph's hand. God doesn't charge the redeemed
transgressor for the transgression. He's already charged it to Christ. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him. Oh, do you see the substitution
of the Savior here? It's with His stripes that we
are healed. We are healed. Christ is responsible
for the sin of His people. Do you believe that? Do you believe
that? That's where all my hope for
salvation lies. I believe it so much, I'm trusting
my soul upon it. Look at verse 22 again. Whatsoever
they, the prisoners, did there, He was the doer of it. Whatever
sin I have committed, whatever sin I now commit, whatever sin
I will commit in the future, my Lord's responsible for it. Now, if I belong to Him, He's
responsible for it. Now, you're going to lead people
to sin believing that way. Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? God forbid. The child of God
won't do that. He hates his sin. He'll fall
short, yes. God allow him to fall short.
To keep him clinging and trusting to their Joseph. We've made it
a bit cliche, I guess, but it's still true. Christ died for all
the sin of all the elect throughout all time. His blood sufficient. Whatever they did there, Christ
was the doer of it. Our Lord paid the debt for our
sin, all of it. Our Lord satisfied divine justice
against us. Our gospel's not a message of
doing. Our gospel's a message of done. God looks not to anything in
the way of our sin that is under the blood of Christ, in whom
we have redemption through his blood. Even, even, even the forgiveness
of sin. Colossians 1.14. Now Joseph is
a type of Christ, but there is no perfect type. The Lord was
with Joseph, it was obvious. We're going to even see it more
so in an upcoming study. But that's really where the type
stops. The Lord was with Joseph. Jesus Christ was the Lord. Big difference. Big difference. All that Joseph did, anyone could
do if the Lord was with them, if God be with them. But none
could do what Christ did for His people unless they be God.
Unless they be the Lord. How wretched is our sin? Oh,
I think about that so often. So wretched that God's blood
had to be shed. God's blood, it took the blood
of God to cover our sin, dear friends. Don't ever forget that.
Were we seeking God? No, sir. We were way down in
Egypt. Way down in Egypt. We were way
down in the dungeon of the keeper of the prison. And Christ came
down to where I was. And he raiseth up the poor out
of the dust, and he lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill
to set them among princes. And you know the rest of the
story here, don't you? That's exactly what God's gonna
do for Joseph. He's gonna set him among the
princes. He's gonna set him second in power to only Pharaoh. Is that what Christ has done
for you? Well, I was gonna try to get
into chapter 40, but I'm not. However, I do wanna read you
eight words of chapter 40, verse one. And it came to pass after
these things. And it came to pass, why? Because
God caused it to come to pass.