Genesis chapter 39. Last week
in Genesis chapter 38 we had a departure from the story of
Joseph and we looked into the life of Judah. I have to say
what a blessing chapter 38 turned out to be because again we saw
how God has mercy on the chief of sinners. That'll mean something
to you if you're a real sinner. I mean if God has showed you
who and what you are. Christ didn't come into the world
just to save sinners. He came into the world to save
the worst of the worst. Paul said, of whom I am chief.
If you could ask Adam, if you could ask Lot, if you could ask
Judah, they'd all tell you the same thing, that while they were
yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. Has God shown you
that you're ungodly by nature? Well, It takes the revelation
of God to reveal that to a man or a woman. But here in Genesis
chapter 39, we pick right back up where we left off concerning
Joseph. If you remember, his brothers
hated him without a cause. We see how Joseph in so many
ways pictures the Lord Jesus Christ. And just chapter 37 alone,
I think over 25 or 26 things that just pictures Christ and
continues right on in this chapter. His brothers hated him. They
were envious of him and they were out to kill him, but instead
they sold him into slavery. That's my first point tonight.
Joseph became a bond slave, a servant. We read here in 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 at the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither.
So Joseph's brothers sold him. Potiphar, an Egyptian officer,
bought him, and Joseph was brought down to Egypt. In keeping with
the type, the Lord Jesus Christ, in order to save his people from
their great fall into sin, to redeem them from the curse of
the law, he stood in their place and was sold under sin. You and I were sold under sin.
Christ became what we were. And he left his throne on high
and he came down. He came down to this world, this
Egypt. That's what Egypt represents. It represents this world that
we live in. And he came down to this world
to serve under the law. That's, I believe we have a beautiful
picture here of Potiphar being a picture of the law of God. He came down to serve the law,
which in our fallen natural state was our master. Potiphar very
well pictures the law of God to whom we are all answerable. Joseph answered to Potiphar.
Potiphar was his master. Joseph obeyed Potiphar. Joseph served Potiphar. He had to keep the commandments
of Potiphar. You see the type, the picture
here? Joseph's life was under the rule of Potiphar. to disobey
or to offend this Egyptian officer who pictures the law of God would
bring certain wrath and condemnation and justice upon Joseph. And it's the same with us and
the law of God. As fallen sinner, we answer to
the law of God. We must obey the law of God.
We serve the law of God. We must keep the law of God in
order to be saved, in order to obtain a perfect righteousness.
And not only do we have to keep it, we've got to keep it perfectly.
We talk about that all the time, don't we? We looked at that in
great detail this past Sunday. We must give an account to the
law. And it's the law that judges
if we be guilty or not. The law proves us to be guilty. And Christ is our substitute
and as our mediator, He came down, didn't He? He came, He
left His throne on high. He came down to this Egypt of
a world in which we live and He became our representative
before God. Our Lord Jesus voluntarily allowed
himself to serve and be made answerable to his own law. Isn't
that amazing? That's what it's gonna take,
friends. It's gonna take a perfect man, the God-man, to keep this
law for us, to fulfill this holy law of God for us. The Lord Jesus
said these words. He said, think not that I'm come
to destroy the law or the prophets. I'm not come to destroy, but
to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till
heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. You see, the law
of God is not destroyed. All sinners are gonna be judged
by it. It's just as relevant today for anyone who doesn't
trust in Christ. But in Christ, if you're found
in Christ, if Christ is your mediator between you and God,
if Christ is your substitute, your sacrifice for sin, the law
of God's fulfilled. Sin has been paid and atoned
for. The law cannot charge you. That's what makes this thing
so beautiful. Isn't that what the scriptures
teach? For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believes. That perfect righteousness that
I must have, that perfect righteousness that God requires. Christ worked
it out for me. He gave it to me freely without
a cause. He's the one who took on the
form of a servant and voluntarily in our room instead came to fulfill
the law and provide a perfect righteousness, a perfect obedience
for us. I love those two words, for us,
don't you? He did for us what we cannot
do for ourselves. There's only one way to be saved,
really. And that is we have to be perfect
You and I must perform a perfect obedience unto God. If we offend
in one little thing, we're guilty of the whole law. And we see
that that's just unattainable. You and I must have a perfect
righteousness. What about our righteousness?
Filthy rags. How are we going to clean that
up and present it to God? We're going to hold those filthy
rags of ours before God and say, this is what I offer to you,
Lord? No, sir. It must be perfect to
be accepted. Isn't that what the scriptures
teach? This can only be obtained, this perfect righteousness, this
perfect obedience can only be obtained by perfectly keeping
the law. How are we gonna do that? We're not, we can't. Now I want
you to hold your place here in Genesis 39, we're gonna come
right back to it. I want you to turn with me to
Hebrews chapter 10. You can put your marker there
in Genesis 39, but I just want to show you a few verses here
in light of what we're talking about here. Hebrews chapter 10,
beginning in verse one. Give you a moment to get there. Now, I want us to be reminded
that any man or woman who endeavors to keep the law, as a way or
as a means to be saved, as a way or a means to be righteous, makes
themselves a slave to do a work of righteousness that they can
never do. People that are trying to obtain righteousness by a
work that they do, they just become bond slaves to it. They
can't do it. It's impossible. Look at verse one, for the law,
having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image
of the things. Notice this language, can never,
never, with those sacrifices which they offered year by year,
continually, make the comers there unto perfect." Now that's
the issue. God requires perfection. The
law, those sacrifices made year after year, continually, cannot
make the comers there unto perfect. Verse two, for then would they
not have ceased to be offered because that the worshipers once
purged should have no more conscience of sins. You see, if sin had
been truly put away by these sacrifices, man would no longer
have a consciousness of his sin. God would have put his sin away.
He'd have confidence in that sacrifice that he made. With
these yearly sacrifices, there was no relief. There was no ease
of conscience. Man was still aware and conscious
of his sin. Those sacrifices never made men
what God required, and that was perfection. God requires perfection. What does verse one say? It could
not, could not make the comers there unto perfect. Look at verse
three. But in those sacrifices, there's
a remembrance again made of sins every year. Every year when that
time came, reminded of our sin. He said, it's not possible. Notice
this language. It's not possible that the blood
of bulls and of goats should take away sins. It's not possible. Wherefore, when he cometh into
the world, He said, sacrifice an offering thou wouldest not,
but a body hast thou prepared me. And burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou hast had what? No pleasure. Man's sacrifice
of the blood with the blood of bulls and goats could never take
away the first sin, not the first one. God's holy law cannot be
satisfied that way. God's holy justice cannot be
appeased that way. It could never take away sin. Sacrifice and offering, notice
this, God would us not. God would not have them. God
won't accept them. That's what that means. Do you
see that in verse five? How's a man then gonna be made
obedient and righteous? Right back to the gospel. Only
one way. But a body has thou prepared
me. Why do we keep trying to offer
something to God we know that he can't accept, won't accept? It's gonna require the blood
and sacrifice of a perfect man. Perfect man. A man who has kept
the law of God perfectly. That's what it's gonna take.
Where is such a man to be found? Verse seven. Then said I, lo,
I come. See in the volume of the book,
it is written of me to do thy will, O God. Oh, it was the will
of God that Christ would come and that Christ would, before
the foundation of the world, be the Lamb slain for His people,
and that in the fullness of time, He would come and accomplish
that perfect work, that keeping of the law for His people. Every
day of His life, of the 33 1�2 years He lived here, Christ lived
perfectly before God. Not one sin, not one evil thought,
not one bad intention. Why did He do that? He's doing
that for His people. Yes, I know He's God and He's
a man, but He's doing that for you, child of God. He's working
out that perfect righteousness for you. Oh, I'm telling you,
Christ served under the law of God and he worked out a perfect
righteousness for his people. And the Lord made him to be sin,
one who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Now, the second point, back in
Genesis 39, my second point is the Lord was
with Joseph. 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. Mr. Spurgeon once said that scripture
often sums up a man's life in one sentence. I thought about
that. That's true. Oftentimes it does.
We read And we've studied in Genesis that Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. That summed up Noah's life. Noah's whole life was one of
grace, wasn't it? The whole world hated God, lived
in just total chaos, hated God. But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. All friends, if we're ever to
have to find grace, it's gonna be a gift of God. I can assure
you of that. If you belong to Christ, the
same will be said of you. Found grace, that sinner found
grace in the eyes of the Lord. Abraham, here's another one.
Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Abraham's life was one of faith while he's referred to as the
father of the faithful. And if you belong to Christ,
the same would be said of you. David Edmondson believed God
and it was counted unto him for righteousness. You put your name
in there and you rejoice child of God. Oh, and I guess not no
one sentence in all the Bible better sums up the life of Joseph
than this one. The Lord was with Joseph. Boy, isn't that a comforting
thought. Dear sinner, if you belong to Christ, the same will
be said of you. The same will be said of you. The portraits that God paints
in scripture give us not only the outward picture of the one
of whom it speaks, but also the inward." You see, God looks upon
the heart. He always says. So the scriptural
descriptions that God gives of his saints not only portray their
physical, their natural lives, but also their supernatural,
spiritual lives. Physically, outwardly speaking,
it didn't always appear that God was with Joseph. Did it? While his brothers hated him,
they sold him into slavery. Now he's down in Egypt and he's
living in an Egyptian's home under his rule. And folks would
look at him and say, well, the Lord's not with him. How could
the Lord be with him in all this trouble? My. It's the same with all God's
elect people. It might not always look like God's with us, but
I hang on the words of scripture where the Lord Jesus said, I
will never leave you, child of God, nor forsake you. Never means
never when it's Christ that says it. And again, verse two, and
the Lord was with Joseph and he was prosperous. Now, whenever
folks, in the world hear that word prosperous, immediately
we associate the word with the increase of worldly and material
goods, wealth, and fame. We just do, don't we? Oh, he's
really prospered. In other words, he's got a lot
of money in the bank. He's got a lot of this, a lot
of that. But the true child of God really doesn't think that
way. knowing that we came into this
world naked. Job said, naked I came into the
world, naked I'm gonna leave. Knowing that we came into the
world naked and we're gonna leave the same way. How can material
wealth and worldly fame and notoriety really be thought by us to be
prosperous? We're not taking it with us,
are we? No, sir. Spiritual prosperity is all that's
gonna matter in the end. Spiritual wealth is all that
will count in eternity. How much money I've got won't
mean a thing. How many possessions I own won't
mean a thing. All that'll matter is do I have
Christ? That's all that'll matter. Joseph
was not always prosperous outwardly, but he certainly was always prosperous
inwardly. Joseph was not always blessed
physically or monetarily, but he was always blessed spiritually.
And he lived in communion with the Most High God, and how much
truer can those words be spoken of Christ? Christ was prosperous
above all others, and he didn't even have a place to lay his
head. Even Nicodemus, that Pharisee
knew that God was with him and that God prospered him for he
said to the Lord, we know that you're a teacher come from God
for no man can do these miracles that you do except God be with
him. The Lord was with Joseph. when
he was at home with his father, and the Lord was with Joseph
when he was sold into slavery, and the Lord is with Joseph now
in Potiphar's house, in the house of an Egyptian officer. And we'll see in future studies
that the Lord was with Joseph all the days of his life. The
Lord blessed him. For the Lord promises, as I said,
to never leave nor forsake his chosen people. And that means
you. That means you. It's written here, and the Lord
was with Joseph. And there's no doubt that God
was with Christ. He was with God in eternity before
the world began. Just like Joseph, he was with
Him when he was at home with his father. God was with Christ
in eternity. He was with our Lord. God was
with our Lord when He came to dwell here on earth. He was with
Him all the days of His earthly life. Did He not say, if you've
seen me, you've seen the Father? Me and my Father are one, God
was with Him. Did He not say, glorify me with
the glory which I had with thee before the world was? The Lord
is with Christ, and even now, as He's seated at the right hand
of God in all power, majesty, and glory, God's with Him. God's
with him. And yet I suppose that the most
amazing thought in this whole consideration of the gospel is
the fact that God in Christ is always with me. Oh, can we get
a hold of that? If you trust in Christ, God is
with you day in and day out. He's gonna do you good. He's out to do you good. Always
with you, always with those who trust in Him. Stephen, in the
book of Acts, he said that the patriarch, speaking of Joseph's
brothers, moved with envy and sold him into slavery. But you
know what he added? He added this, you look it up,
Acts 7, 9. But the Lord was with him. All
his brothers sold him into slavery. They hated him without a call.
Isn't that awful? Oh no, the Lord was with him.
Everything's going to be all right. The Lord is with you. The next time you're in a struggle
or a trial, a temptation, the next time you feel like all hope
is lost, remember who you belong to and rejoice that the Lord's
with you, always with you, and never leave you nor forsake you.
Oh my, I just get lost in the thought of it. God was certainly
with him. Joseph was just a man, but Christ
was the God man. How much more is that so with
him? Third thing, Joseph was a profitable
servant. Look at verse three. And his
master saw that the Lord was with him. Now don't ever think,
I say this all the time, but don't ever think that people
don't see that the Lord's with you. When things go well, we
praise the Lord. When things get tough, we praise
the Lord, right? We know from whom our trials
and troubles come. When trials come, we trust the
Lord. He's in control of all things.
He makes all things work together for our good. Do you believe
that? I do. I do, I believe that he causes
all things to work together for the good of them who love the
Lord, who are thee called according to his purpose. That's what the
scriptures teach. He's in control of all things
and he makes all things work together for his people's good.
And we bow to his purpose and providence in all things, whether
we think it's bad or we think it's good, whether the world
thinks it's bad or whether the world thinks it's good. We bow
to Christ and he enables us to praise and to worship and to
trust him, even in our trouble. His presence with his people
will cause others to notice. The blessings of the Lord are
on his people and people will notice, you can count on it.
Potiphar noticed, didn't it? Isn't that what it says? And
his master saw that the Lord was with him. The Lord was with
him, Potiphar saw that the Lord was with him. What did Potiphar and all his
house notice? Again, verse three, they saw
that the Lord made all that he, Joseph, did to prosper in his
hand. Is that not a picture of Christ?
Does that not speak of the Lord Jesus? Speaking of Christ, the
psalmist said this, and he shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.
His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper. How well do the words of Isaiah
speak of Christ? Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand." Oh, it's talking about much more than material wealth. Prosperity, oh, it's talking
about spiritual prosperity. Verse four, and Joseph found
grace in Potiphar's sight, and he served him, and he made him
overseer of his house, and all that he had, he put into his
hand. Joseph's master was well pleased
with him. How much more so was the law
of God whom Potiphar here pictures satisfied with Christ? How much
more was God the father well pleased with his only begotten
son? Potiphar made Joseph the overseer
of all his house and he trusted him with absolutely everything
that he owned. Did not God do the same with
Christ? For he whom God hath sent speaketh
the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto
him. The Father loveth the Son, and
hath given all things into his hand. Fourth thing, all that
God does for his people, he does it for Christ's sake. Look at
verse five. And it came to pass from the
time that he had made him overseer in his house and over all that
he had, now watch this, 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. Did you
hear what that said? For Joseph's sake. The Lord blessed
this Egyptian's house, this non-believing, probably idol-worshiping Egyptian. He blessed his house for Joseph's
sake. And keeping with the type of
Potiphar picturing the holy law of God, the Lord blessed, the
Lord honored, the Lord fulfilled the law of God for Christ's sake. Just as the Lord blessed Potiphar's
house for Joseph's sake, the Lord's holy law was honored and
satisfied by Christ. It was for Christ's sake. That
when God now looks at us, he says, Larry Perryman kept my
law perfectly. Perfectly. How so, Lord? In Christ. Christ kept it for
him. You see, Christ honored the law
of God in and by and through the perfect keeping of it. That's
how he honored the law. And it's only by the righteousness
of Christ alone that we're justified in God's sight. That's what we
looked at Sunday. That's what makes God both just
and justifier, makes him both Lord and Savior. He's a just God and a Savior. You see, in Christ, the law is
honored. In Christ, the law is satisfied. In Christ, the law is fulfilled.
In Christ, God's anger is appeased. He's no longer angry with the
guilty, those who are in Christ. In Christ, God's justice is reconciled. We no longer have an obligation
to the law. Christ perfectly kept the law
in our place instead. And the law cannot charge us
with any wrongdoing. Potiphar's house was blessed
of the Lord for Joseph's sake. The law of God will be forever
satisfied for Christ's sake. For Joseph's sake, all who were
in Potiphar's house, all who were in Potiphar's field, had
the blessing of the Lord upon them. Why? Because of Joseph. Because Joseph lived in that
house. And for Christ's sake, all for whom he shed his blood,
all for whom he redeemed by the sacrifice of himself, all who
trust in him alone for righteousness, all for whom the law has been
satisfied and appeased, have the eternal blessing of the Lord
upon them. Why? Christ's sake. Only reason. No other reason. Fifth thing,
Joseph was a goodly, and that word means favored person. It means more than that, we'll
talk about that in a moment. But verse six, and he left all
that he had, Potiphar left all that he had in Joseph's hand.
And he, Joseph, knew not ought he had. Now, I know that's hard
reading in the King James, But it says, he knew not aught he
had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly
person and well-favored. Now there are several things
in this verse for us to consider. I'm almost finished, so this
is, This is real important. I think this would be a blessing
to you. Potiphar gave Joseph authority over all that he possessed. We know that God gave Christ
authority over all that belonged to him. We've already seen that.
Now, the phrase here that reads, and he knew not aught he had,
save the bread which he did eat, means this. I did a lot of study
on this, so I could try to make this clear for you. Though Joseph
had access to all that Potiphar had, and he did, because we just
saw that. Though Joseph had access to all
that his master Potiphar had, he made no use of it for himself. That's what that means. He enjoyed
nothing but the bread and the food that was given him to eat.
Boy, if that's not a picture of Christ, I don't know what
is. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Scripture says, made Himself
of what? No reputation. And He took on
the form of what? A servant. He did nothing for
Himself. He was selfless in all His ways. Christ did not come to be served,
the Scripture says, but to serve and to give His life a ransom
for many. Christ humbled himself and became
obedient even unto death, became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. Verse five tells us that Joseph
was a goodly person. He was goodly, lovely. That word means several things.
Lovely is one of them. He was a favored man of God.
And here where it says, and well-favored, you notice that? He said he was
a goodly man and well-favored. I found this so interesting.
I love to look up these original words and see what they mean
because sometimes they lose a little in translation in the King James
and then even in other versions. The words well and favored here,
two different words, are two different Hebrew words, but they
mean the same thing, mean the exact same thing. The word well
and the word favored means beautiful. Joseph was a lovely person and
beautiful, beautiful. That's what it says. That's what
it actually says in the original. Joseph was a beautiful, lovely
person who was beautiful. Beautiful! Oh my, how... He is the well-favored of God. Jesus Christ is the well-favored
of God, isn't he? God said, this is my beloved
son in whom I am well-pleased, well-pleased. God's well-pleased
with Christ because Christ is well-beloved. So here again,
we have the same message, the same message as we always have. Apart from Christ, there's no
blessing from God. If you don't learn anything else
in this life, learn that. There's no blessings from God
apart from Christ. None. God is with Christ and
we are in him, and therefore we're blessed. How does Joseph
picture and point us to Christ? Well, I've shown you five things
tonight. What are they? Like Joseph, Christ
became subservient to God's holy law for me. Like Joseph, the Lord God Almighty,
secondly, was with Christ in all that he did. The Lord was
with him. Thirdly, like Joseph, Christ
was a profitable servant. Oh, was he not? Fourthly, like
those in Potiphar's house, They all were and they all had. All
they were and all they had was by the grace of God for Joseph's
sake. All that we are and all that
we have is by the grace of God for Christ's sake. And fifthly,
like Joseph, Christ is altogether lovely. He's lovely and he's
beautiful, beautiful. and more beautiful every single
minute of every single day. To God's people he is. What think ye of Christ? You
know, he's not only lovely, he's altogether lovely. Altogether
lovely. Well, I'm gonna stop there because
We get into a whole different thing here in Potiphar's house,
and I wanna be able to spend the time we need to do that next
time the Lord willing. So I hope that whenever you think
of Joseph, you think of Christ, because my, he's such a picture
of him. I appreciate your attention, and I do.