Genesis chapter 39, 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. Joseph was
brought down to Egypt. Egypt represents this world.
God voluntarily left his lofty throne and came down to earth. Joseph was sold into slavery. You and I sold ourselves out
to sin and Christ became a servant to the law of God for us. We
talked about that last time. Potiphar so rightly pictures
the law of God. Joseph served Potiphar. Joseph answered to Potiphar. Joseph must obey Potiphar. Potiphar was the law in Joseph's
life. And whatever Potiphar said to
do was the law to him. Jewish historians believe that
Potiphar was Pharaoh's chief executioner. I found that very
interesting. I didn't read that till earlier
this week. But upon looking at verse one
closer, that title captain of the guard in the original Hebrew
language actually means chief acting executioner. So whether
he was or wasn't, I don't know. But this man was somebody in
Egypt. He was a feared man. The law of God that Potiphar
pictures and represents, arrests the sinner. The law of
God convicts the sinner and proves the sinner's guilt. When the
law of God is a plumb line set out before us, we see just how
crooked and wretched that we are. The law of God is what sentences
The law of God pronounces death upon the sinner because all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. And we've talked
about this so much lately. I believe that the Lord is trying
to impress upon our hearts just how we cannot do what God requires
of us. We have to have a substitute.
We have to have a savior. There's no hope for it. The law
pronounces death. Death is the just recompense,
the just punishment for sin. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. The law of God, like Potiphar,
is the chief executioner of those who disobey it. Now look at verse
two, 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, being Potiphar, saw that the Lord was with him. It was
obvious to all who were around him. He saw that the Lord was
with him and 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 his house and
all that he had, he put into his hand. 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 Egyptians house
for Joseph's sake. And the blessing of the Lord
was upon all that he had in his house and in the field. And again,
we see how beautifully Joseph pictures our sovereign substitute. It's like you're reading about
Christ here. God was with him. He said, this is my beloved son
in whom I'm well pleased. Here ye him. He's somebody, he's
somebody. Everyone around Christ knew that
God was with him. It was obvious. God made him
to prosper in all things. And that word prospers, we talked
about it just briefly last time, but when you say prosper, men
immediately think of wealth, prosperity, riches, materialistically,
that's how our mind automatically thinks, but that word prosperous
here in verse two means much, much, much more than just having
an abundance of money and wealth. It actually means to be made
fit, to be made good, to be made proper, to be made righteous. Isn't that something? We automatically
just think of things in a materialistic, fleshly way, but a lot of times
these words mean something totally different. Do you know who that
word prosperous will mean something to? It'll mean something to someone
who's unfit, someone who is rotten and spoiled, to someone that
is improper. to someone that is unrighteous. Prosper, Lord, prosper my soul. Prosper my heart. Prosper me
spiritually. God made Jesus Christ prosperous. Once we truly understand what
it is to be prosperous, we'll see that Christ epitomizes prosperity. As a man, he was the only fit
person that ever lived. Truly fit, truly proper. As God,
He was the only one on earth who was ever really good. You
remember what He said to that rich young ruler? He said, good
master, what good thing must I do to be saved? He was all
about being good. And Christ said, there's only
one good. Why callest thou me good? There's
none good but God. And as the God-man, the Lord
Jesus Christ was the only one who ever truly possessed perfect
righteousness. Only one who is both God and
man in the same person can claim such a possession as perfect
righteousness. Oh, wait a minute. I almost forgot. You and I, can claim perfect
righteousness if Christ, who knew no sin, was made to be sin
for us. You see, my righteousness is
found in Him, not in what I do. My righteousness is what? Filthy
rags, but not His, perfect. He's the only sacrifice who can
appease and satisfy God's holy justice against us. Their soul is imperative. It's the only way that we'll
have life, trusting in Him. And if Christ took our sin upon
himself, then amazingly and supernaturally, we have his perfect righteousness
perfectly imputed to us. I can't explain how that works.
I don't know how it works. I just know that God is pleased
to do so. It pleased the Lord to make you
his people. That's the only reason. No reason
outside of his own goodness, mercy, and grace to us. Isn't
that wonderful? That's just such a wonderful
thought. That God would have compassion on me. I can't get
over it. Don't want to get over it. That's what Paul said in 2 Corinthians
5. You know the verse well. For He, God, hath made Christ,
made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him. And as many times as
I've read that verse over the years, probably not a message
preached that I don't quote it or read it in my study, but this
morning I read that verse and two words just jumped out to
me like never before. He who knew no sin was made to
be sin for us. And here's the two words, that
we, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
You see, Christ was made sin for us, for His chosen people. Key words, that we, that we are
in order that. We might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. There is no righteousness to
be obtained apart from Christ. There's no righteousness where
sin is found. There's no sin where Christ is
found. Christ was made sin in order
for us to be made righteous. That we might be made righteousness. the righteousness of God in him.
How did he do that for us? Well, God's law had to be kept
for us. He kept it perfectly. God's justice had to be satisfied
against us. He satisfied it perfectly. Sin had to be punished by death. The law required it. The wages
of sin is what? Death. We know the answer. Christ died the just for the
unjust to bring us to God. Isn't that the best news you
ever heard? And the unjust was made just
by substitution. That's the gospel. And in our
day, preachers smile and they tell sinners that God wants to
prosper them with health and wealth. God wants you to be rich.
God never wants you to be sick. prospering beyond all that we
can think or imagine. And I know that it's God who
gives health, and I know that it's God that gives wealth. But
none of that's gonna matter if he doesn't enable your soul to
prosper. The beloved John said those very
words. He said, beloved, I wish above
all things that you prosper and be in wealth. or be in health,
he said, even as thy soul prospers. If our soul doesn't prosper,
then none of the other means anything. No real prosperity
above that. God prospering the soul in Christ. God making fit, righteous, a
sinner in the sight of God. That's what real prosperity is. I wish folks could learn that.
True prosperity is spiritual prosperity. It's being made righteous
in the sight of a holy God. We can only be prosperous in
Christ. Now, do you know why all who
resided in Potiphar's house prospered? Because Joseph dwelt there. Isn't
that what we just read? The Lord blessed the Egyptian's
house for Joseph's sake. Everything that God has done
in sovereign grace for his elect people and for their eternal
good is for Christ's sake. For Christ's sake. Never ever
forget that. The Lord was with Joseph. We
know that the Lord made him a prosperous man. He made him fit. He made
him righteous. He made him proper. The master
saw that the Lord was with him and so did everybody else. They
all saw that the Lord made him to prosper. But how much more
so is it with Christ? Oh, I'm telling you, Joseph is
a pitcher, but just a pitcher. Christ is our prosperity. Look at verse six. And he, Potiphar,
left all that he had in Joseph's hand. And he knew not aught he
had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly
person and well-favored. As we said last time, though
Joseph had access to all that belonged to Potiphar, all that
his master had, he didn't make any use of it for himself. He
enjoyed nothing but the bread and food that was given him to
eat. And so it was with Christ. He made himself of no reputation.
He took on the form of a servant. He did nothing for himself. He
had no place to lay his head. As we mentioned not long ago,
he was so available for everyone that the only time he had to
pray himself was when everyone else is asleep and he would go
up into the mountains and pray. He was a selfless person. That's
so foreign to us because we're so selfish by nature. Oh, to
be more like Christ. He came not to be served, but
to serve. He gave his life a ransom for
many, not all, but many, he became obedient unto death. And the
scriptures say, even the death of the cross. And he took only
the necessities that sustained his life. The Lord was with Joseph,
but I'm telling you, the Lord was infinitely more with the
Lord Jesus Christ, because he is God. He said, if you've seen
me, you've seen the Father. And all around him saw it. and
all around him knew it. And all God's people know the
same concerning their Lord, don't they? I know that in Christ,
I know this because God has taught it to me. God has showed me,
God's proved it to me over and over again. I know that Christ
is all the fullness of the Godhead in the body of a man. Isn't that
amazing? I know that Christ When you and
I were yet sinners, that He died for the ungodly. The Lord was
with Him. The Lord approved and prospered
Him in all that He did. And if I'm to be made righteous,
it's going to be in Him. No other way. So, do you see
the The importance of knowing Him, and this is life eternal,
that we might know Him, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
He has sent. Why? Because that is life, knowing
Him. And tonight our story takes a
drastic turn. And in verse 7 we read, and it
came to pass after these things. What things? All the things we
just talked about. Things were going well in the
house of Potiphar. A lot of times in our lives,
things are going well, aren't they? And we rejoice and we thank
God for it. The Lord had blessed the Egyptians'
house, but it came to pass after these things that the master's
wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and she said, lie with me. And
I'm telling you here in Potiphar's wife, I see a picture of the
false allurements found in this world. There are just so many
things in this life that tempt and allure us away from Christ. I don't think we understand sometimes
just how much trouble we're in if
God doesn't keep us. There's a great temptation found
living in this world. This world attempts to attract
us and lead us away with its so-called beauty and pleasure. That's what Potiphar's wife here
pictures. She pictures the allurements
of this world. No doubt in my mind now that
Potiphar's wife was a beautiful woman. No doubt about it. The world would call her a trophy
wife. You ever heard that term? Potiphar
was a wealthy man. Potiphar was a powerful man.
He was a popular man. He was a noble man. He was highly
respected and honored. And no doubt in my mind that
he had his pick among the women in Egypt. Don't think that this
wasn't a real temptation for Joseph either. He was a young
man, probably about 27 years old when this occurred. And he
had passions and he had hormones just like any young man would. And this was a great temptation
for him. She tempted him to lay with her.
But look at verse eight, but he refused. And he said unto
his master's wife, behold, my master wadeth, and that just
simply means knows. My master knows not what is with
me in the house. Potiphar so trusted Joseph with
everything that Potiphar didn't even know what all he had. He
said, Joseph takes care of that. You need a check, go see Joseph,
he'll write the check. He knows what I got. He said
he doesn't even know what he has in his own house and he's
committed all that he has to my hand. Potiphar trusted everything
to Joseph, even his wife. Joseph reminds her of this friendly
relationship that he had with his master, Potiphar, and how
Potiphar had committed trust to Joseph with all that he had. And in verse nine, Joseph continues,
he said, there's none greater in this house than I, and neither
hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art
his wife. All that he had, he's given to
me, Joseph said, but not you, not you, you're his wife. And
then read on, look at this question. How then can I do this great
wickedness and sin against God? Isn't that an amazing statement?
Did you notice what Joseph asked? He didn't say, how can I do this
wickedness and sin against Potiphar? Well, it was Potiphar's wife.
Wouldn't the sin have been against him? Well, yeah, it would have
been, but ultimately it was against God. All sin is. We say that all the time. That's
another verse that we very seldom get around in preaching, and
that's Psalm 51, four, against thee, and thee only have I sinned,
and none this evil in thy sight. You see, how can I sin against God is
what Joseph's saying, all sins against him. To lay with your
wife would be to sin against Potiphar, but more than that,
it'd be a sin against God. And this is the believer's motivation,
is it not, to resist sin and temptation? Well, it's mine,
I think it's yours too. Because of Christ's love and
His mercy and His grace to us and the saving of our souls,
We don't want to be unpleasing to Him. I don't want to disappoint
my Savior who loved me and gave Himself for me. Do you? That's
what Joseph is saying here. I don't want to disappoint Potiphar. And here we see that Joseph was
greatly tempted, but sin not. Joseph was not tempted by his
brothers in Canaan, was he? No, he was tempted in Egypt,
which is a symbol of the world, by the allurement of the beautiful
wife of Pharaoh's guard. And Christ was not tempted by
his brethren, according to the flesh, but by Satan, the prince
of this world. And you remember one of the ways
that Satan tempted him? Allurement of the world. He said
all these things, all these kingdoms I'll give unto you if you'll
but bow down and worship me. And you remember that in the
wilderness when he was tempted 40 days. All the allurements
of this world. God deliver us from them. I'm
telling you, a lot of times things seem to be so innocent and they
turn out to be such harmful detriments to us. May God give us wisdom
to know. 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. And it came to a pass about
this time that Joseph went into the house to do his business,
his everyday chores. And there was none of the men
of the house there within. For some reason, I don't know
if it was a festival or for some other reason, all the men in
the house that normally were there were gone. And verse 12,
and she caught him by the garment, saying, lie with me. And he left
his garment and fled and got him out. I like the language
there. He got him out. He got out of
Dodge. She grabbed his robe and he just
kept right on going. And the robe stayed with her
and he went on out. I immediately thought of what
Paul told Timothy when I read that. He said, flee youthful
lust. That's exactly what Joseph was
doing here. He was fleeing this youthful
lust. And it was a real temptation,
a real temptation. Beautiful woman. Verse 13, and
it came to pass when she saw that he had left his garment
in her hand and was fled forth, that she called into the men
of her house, and undoubtedly they had come home, or this was
a little later, and she's speaking to them saying, He hath brought
in a Hebrew, Potiphar brought this Hebrew into our house and
he brought him into this house to mock us. He came unto me to
lie with 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. And she laid
up his garment by her until his Lord came home. And she spoke
unto him, spoke unto Potiphar, her husband, according to these
words saying, the Hebrew servant, which thou has 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." In other words, He was making advances towards me.
And here's the proof. Joseph was falsely accused. Potiphar's
wife accused Joseph of the very thing that she herself was guilty
of. And this world did the same to
our Lord and Savior. In Matthew chapter 26, Two verses there reads this way.
Now the chief priest and the elders and the council sought
false witness against Jesus to put him to death, but found none. They couldn't find any. So what'd
they do? They went out and hired false
witnesses and said, we'll pay you to lie against. And yea,
though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. There was
none who could truly bring false accusations against the Lord
and Savior, because there were no false accusations to bring
against Him. He knew no sin. He did no wrong. The scripture said He was hated
without a cause. Just as we're loved without a
cause, that word freely, that's what that means. We're loved
freely without a cause. Christ was hated without, He
was hated freely without a cause. And again, I think of what men
talk about their free will. Men freely, by their will, hated
him without a cause. There was no reason to hate him.
There was nothing to accuse him of, but they did anyway. And
Joseph attempted no defense. Look at this, isn't this amazing?
Verse 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, Potiphar
got upset." Now, with Joseph here, there's no ground for accusations. He was an honorable man. He respected the master of his
house, just as Christ respected God's law. But more importantly,
Joseph feared God. Christ always was about his father's
business. And Joseph here said, how can
I do this wickedness and sin against God? Joseph was above
reproach, but the lie was believed and so it is with our Lord who
scripture says was holy and undefiled and separate from sinners. And
the majority of the Jews believed the false witnesses, the false
lies and the accusations that they brought against the Lord
Jesus Christ. And what did they do when he
was in Pallett's Hall? They cried, crucify him, crucify
him. He's a criminal. Put him on a cross between two
of the worst criminals. Well, you know, it's a custom
now, let one go, release unto us Barabbas. He's a murderer. We'd rather have him than this
Jesus of Nazareth. Did you notice what verse 19
didn't say? Potiphar heard the words of his
wife, but he didn't hear a word from Joseph. Not a word. Potiphar's wrath was kindled
at the word of the woman, but Joseph didn't speak a word of
defense. He didn't say anything. Joseph attempts no self-vindication. He makes no effort to appeal
these charges. Joseph doesn't even murmur against
this cruel injustice. If that hadn't been me, I'd have
been thrown a fit. Why, you crazy nut, I didn't
do that. We defend ourselves, don't we?
Oh, I tell you, we have trouble owning up to the things we do
do. I tell you, we get real upset when somebody accuses us of something
we didn't do. But doesn't this rightly picture
our Lord and Savior, our substitute? He quietly endured the wrong
done against him, as Joseph did here. When, who, when he was
reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to God that judges righteously. Judges righteously. Isn't that,
that's beautiful. First Peter 2.23, Isaiah 53.7,
he, the Lord Jesus Christ was oppressed. And he was afflicted, yet he
opened not his mouth. He's brought as a lamb to the
slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is done. So he openeth
not his mouth." Now, why didn't the Lord defend himself? Well,
that's the beautiful thing. That's what makes the gospel
so glorious. He was standing in the guilty
person's place, his people. He didn't speak a word because
you and I were guilty. He didn't speak a word of defense
because in my place, he was guilty. How amazing are the words found
in Mark chapter 15, verses three through five. And the chief priest
accused him of many things, but he answered nothing. And Pilate
asked him again, saying, answerest thou nothing? Behold, how many
things they witness against you. This can't all be so, why don't
you say anything? But Jesus yet answered nothing,
so that Pilate marveled. Pilate even marveled at how he
couldn't defend, how he wouldn't defend himself. But why didn't
he defend himself? That's the real question, because
you and I were guilty, and he was standing in our place. Everything
they accused Christ of, I was guilty of. He saved others himself. He cannot say, that's exactly
right. Not if he's gonna be both just
and justifier. He can't save himself if you
and I are to go free. And then lastly, my friends,
Joseph was thrown into prison. 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. Now, there
are some things here that are not told us, but, and I know
preaching is not telling you what I believe or what I think,
but I do want to just make these comments. I believe that Potiphar
loved Joseph. I really do. It says that he
knew, he saw that the Lord was with him. And he was obviously
blessed because of Joseph. He saw these things, why his
whole house was blessed. It said in this house and in
the field, everything that Potiphar had was blessed for Joseph's
sake. I believe that Potiphar loved Joseph. And I believe that
if Potiphar had really believed his wife, that he would have
executed Joseph. You remember, he is the chief
executioner. It's an easy thing for him to
bring someone's condemnation and death and execution. I believe that Potiphar would
have executed him if he thought that he'd really done the things
that his wife claimed. But since Joseph wouldn't defend
himself, Potiphar had no choice but to execute judgment. And
again, Potiphar pictures God's law. The law of God must exact
judgment for sin. So the sinneth that shall die.
Either Joseph defends himself or he pays the price. If he holds
his tongue, then the guilty one goes free, right? The very one
who committed the things that she accused him of goes free. And again, Joseph pictures our
Lord Jesus. This verse to me speaks the loudest
though about the character of Joseph's accuser. His accuser was the one who was
guilty. She fictitiously slandered Joseph's
name to the servants and then she tells this fabricated outlandish
story to Potiphar. And the way she spoke to both
proved her character. And it's the same today, isn't
it? How a person talks and what they talk about reveals a great
deal about themselves. Truly, out of the abundance of
a man's heart, his mouth speaks. The things that men love the
most are the things they talk about. That's just a fact. Folks
today don't give much mind to the truth of Christ in Scripture. Many folks today know don't know the God that this
book declares. They just don't. If you talk
to many religious folks, you know that it's true. There's
a church somewhere, if not everywhere, where you can hear and believe
pretty much what you want to hear and believe. If you keep
going, you'll find one that teaches what you want to hear. Preachers
preach and people believe anything and everything they say. But
what does God say? You remember how those noble
Bereans were commended by the apostle because they just didn't
take Paul's word at what he said. And I'm telling you, don't just
take my word in it. Get in this book and see that
I'm not telling you the truth about God, who he is and what
he's done for wretches like you and I. Oh, I'm... Am I saying to you week after
week what God is saying in this book? If I'm not, you better
quit listening to me. If I'm not, you'd be wise to
flee from here as quick as Joseph did from Miss Potiphar. Men and
women who talk about what they do for Christ, I'm telling you,
they wind up trusting in what they think they're doing for
Christ. Folks who believe that God will reward their efforts
will wind up trusting in the rewards that they believe they've
got. This woman cared about nobody but herself. How dare anyone
deprive her of her will? It was her desire and will to
lie with Joseph. And when she didn't get her way
and her will, she threw a fit. Well, does that sound familiar?
The guilty one accused the one who was innocent, and that's
exactly what the religious dudes did. All they cared about was
their will, their work, and their way. And that's still the problem
today. I mean, let's just call a spade
a spade. Men and women are seeking heaven,
but only a chosen few are seeking Christ. Everybody wants to go
to heaven. There's a song. Everybody wants
to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. That's true. Nobody wants
to die to themselves. Nobody wants to bow to Christ
and Him alone. They work in their own way. There's
a way that seems right to a man, but that way in the end is a
way of destruction. I don't want my way. Don't want
it. Danny prayed that tonight. Don't
give us our way. What sayeth the scripture? Men
and women are exercising their will. They're working away they
think is right. But what does the scripture say?
What does God say? That's what's important. Abraham
believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Before
Potiphar, nobody was telling the truth about Joseph. She was lying, and the servants,
well, they only knew what she had told them. And today, before
the holy law of God, where are the ones who are telling the
truth about Christ? Men tell you to do this and do
that and you'll be saved. And the law says if you offend
in one point, you don't dot one little I of the law, you're guilty
of the whole law. What kind of hope are we giving
folks when we're telling them to keep the law of God? The law
was our schoolmaster to do what? Bring us to Christ. Oh, you know
these things. I wish everybody did. Oh, God's people. They are those
who admit and confess their sin. They know what they've done.
They know who they've done it against. They're the ones who
know that God must be with them day in and day out. And when
things are going well, and when things take a sad, tragic turn,
like they did in Joseph's life, and Joseph was cast into prison,
though he was innocent. Poor Joseph. He didn't feel that
way. So mistreated, so abused. Woe
is me, people say. Look at verse 21. But the Lord was with Joseph. Still with him. He was with him
in verse one. Verse two, he's still with him.
Shout of God, he's still with you if you belong to him. 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. Throw him into prison and the
Lord blesses him there. And he just, 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." More of the same story. Now listen, regardless
of your trouble, child of God, regardless of your trouble, if
the Lord is with you, everything is all right. All right. But it don't feel all right.
Well, we don't walk by feelings, do we? No, we better not. We walk by faith, not by sight.
We don't walk by what we see. We walk in knowing who he is
and what he's done for. We know how the story ends. Don't
you know how the story ends? What are we worried about? Oh, all that Joseph did, the
Lord made it to prosper. In Christ, I am made to be all
that God requires me to be. And I know that if I'm to have eternal life,
that I'm going to have to have it in Him. Joseph's brothers
would soon be made to find out the same thing. If they were
to have their life sustained for them, it's going to have
to come from the hand of Joseph. Boy, isn't that a picture of
your Lord and Savior. May God enable us to trust Him
and trust Him alone. And this story just keeps getting
better, I'm telling you. Well, it looks like it got worse
for Joseph. No sirree. No sirree. Pretty soon he's sitting
on the seat of of the throne of Egypt. And Pharaoh's going,
I've committed it all unto him. It was that way in Potiphar's
house. It's that way in prison. It's going to be that way in
the throne of Egypt, on the throne of Egypt. God's going to have
his way. Couldn't make this stuff up. It's wonderful. May God enable
us to believe it. All righty. Larry, would you dismiss us,
please?