So we're in Genesis chapter 39,
and I want to read from verse seven, please. So turn with me
to verse seven, and this is what the Word of God says. And it came to pass after these
things that his master's wife, that is Joseph's master'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 wanteth
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 anything 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
with 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. 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 hath brought in an Hebrew
unto us to mock us. And he came in 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 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. 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. But the Lord was
with Joseph, and showed 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 anything that was under his hand, because the Lord was
with him, and that which he did the Lord made it to prosper. Amen. May God bless to us the
reading of this word. This was a very difficult period
in Joseph's life, and it reminds us that the Lord's people have
very difficult periods in their lives. Even if a person seeks
to honour God, and even when God is one with his little ones,
Yet there are difficult times in life and we all have to face
them and we all have to encounter them. Joseph was still quite
young at this time. He was perhaps 18 years of age,
maybe 20, but he did not for his years, forget God. He did not forget that he was
one of God's people. And that reminds us, even when
we are young, that faith is not just something for older people. Trusting the Lord Jesus Christ
is a privilege for young people too. And when Joseph was tempted
by Potiphar's wife, even as a young man, he knew that it was wrong
to betray the trust that had been placed in him by his master. He knew that it was wrong to
commit adultery with Potiphar's wife when she asked him to lie
with her. But most of all, he knew that
sin is ultimately against God. Against God himself. Yes, he
would be sinning against his master. Yes, he would be sinning
against his master's wife. He would be sinning against his
own soul. But he knew that sin was really
against God and that was something that he did not want to do. And
so this is a lovely example of this relatively young person
desiring to honour God in the things that he did. And there's
something else that I wanted to point out to you here with
respect to Joseph. And that is that even although
Joseph did write, he still ended up in trouble. Now our first
thought in that situation might be, this is very unfair. If Joseph had rebelled against
his master. If Joseph had agreed with his
master's wife and did what she asked, then he would not have
got into the trouble that he did. And that temptation came
upon Joseph and yet he chose to honour God and to do that
which was right. And look what ended up happening. He ended up being in prison. And we might think, that's very
unfair. If Joseph stood for what was
right, why did God not help him? Why did God not protect him? The lies that this woman told,
this wicked woman told, against Joseph, stuck. And Joseph spent
the next, listen, 10 years, at least 10 years, maybe more. He
spent the next 10 years in prison with at least some of that time,
we're told, in iron chains so heavy that they cut into his
feet. I wonder what he felt like in
those long hours when he was chained to the floor or the wall
of his cell and all of the things that were happening around about
him. Turn with me if you've got your
Bibles there to Psalm 105, because I just want to show you something
else about this time in Joseph's experience. There's a lovely
Psalm there, Psalm 105, and if we go down to verse 17, we can
read there something about Joseph. And this is speaking about the
Lord sending Joseph. We're told in verse 17 of Psalm
105, he sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for
a servant. Whose feet they hurt with fetters,
he was laid in iron until the time that his word came and the
word of the Lord tried him. I wonder if we might not think
to ourselves, here is the Holy Spirit helping us to understand
what was going on in this period of Joseph's life. Here is the
Holy Spirit many, many years later explaining why the Lord
brought these troubles upon Joseph. Even although Joseph had done
right, even although Joseph had honoured the Lord, even although
he endeavoured to live faithfully to the Lord, yet these trials,
these problems came upon him. And just before we speak about
that, I want you to notice something important. I want you to think
about this. There's a lesson here for us.
If you think that something is strange in the Bible, or something
is unfair, or even if something is wrong in the Bible, it is
because you haven't understood it properly. It's because you
haven't yet seen the whole picture. Neither you nor I can judge the
Lord and His actions and His ways because we have limited
understanding and the Lord knows what the outcomes of His will
and actions will be. We don't know that. the famous
poet and hymn writer, William Cooper, he wrote, God is his
own interpreter, and he will make it plain. So even if we
think, wait a minute, that's not right. Joseph did what was
right, he did what was good, and he still got into trouble.
When we think, if Joseph did what was right, why did God not
protect him? Here we find the reason why.
because Joseph was being tested by the Lord. His faith was being
tested and his faith was being proved. Joseph was being taught
about God. And just as Abraham and Isaac
and Jacob before him had been tested and tried in their various
experiences of life, so the Lord was preparing Joseph for something
very special. and he must learn to know and
trust his saviour. In prison, yes. In chains, yes. Before he could serve in Pharaoh's
palace, he had to learn to serve him in that prison setting. Did you notice the little word
that came to us in that Psalm 105? It said, his word came. the word of the Lord. Now I like to think that that
was another one of these occasions as when Abraham met the Lord
Jesus. Remember at Mamre the Lord and
two others came and Abraham gave them a meal. Abraham met the
Lord several times and Jacob also. He wrestled with the Lord. So the Lord Jesus Christ came
and literally spent time with these men as it were face to
face in a human form. And I like to think that this
was another example of this with Joseph. That Joseph met the Lord
Jesus Christ in that dark prison. and that if Joseph had not been
in the prison then perhaps that meeting would not have taken
place. Here is the living word, the
essential word, the word that was with God and was God. He came in person, the Lord Jesus
Christ visited Joseph during that particularly difficult time
in his life. So that even in the toughest
times, the Lord will be close to his people. In Hebrews 13
verse 5 he said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. And even in prison the Lord blessed
Joseph and made his jailer kind to him. We read there that the
Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy. Three times we're
told in this chapter that the Lord was with Joseph. That's
significant. The Lord repeats it so that we
remember that even in the midst of difficult times, the Lord
is with us and the Lord will show us mercy. Don't ever think that because
of bad things happening in your life that the Lord has left you. If we are his, we might leave
him, but he will never leave us. I will never leave thee nor
forsake thee. We said before that Joseph is
in many ways a picture and type of the Lord Jesus. And like Joseph,
the Lord's enemies bore false witness against him, and he was
bound and he was imprisoned. And like Joseph, it was done
to this end, for this reason, that he might save and deliver
his people. You and I don't know what the
Lord has in store for us in the days and the weeks, even the
years ahead. But we trust the Lord, that he
will do good by us, both in body and in soul. And if times are
hard and difficult for us now, it will not always be so. Even the bad things, the hard
and the hurtful things of life, work together for the good of
those who love the Lord and who are loved by him. And if now
you don't understand how that can be, then remember this, God
is his own interpreter and he will make it plain. Amen.