"Being with God"(Genesis 39:2-9)

 

Genesis 39:2-9

 

Joseph had a difficult life, but God also blessed him. The reason Joseph had a blessed life was because the Lord was with Joseph.

 

The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.

Genesis 39:2 ESV

 

We need to be aware of the blessing and how to respond to the blessing.

 

The first blessing is that Joseph was successful in everything he did. Everyone understood that it was God that made Joseph successful. The Egyptians had idols and their false gods, but Lord God was the God of Joseph and not the Egyptians. Joseph must of made it clear Whom he worshipped and attributed his success to.

 

His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.

Genesis 39:3 ESV

 

Joseph took the time to make everyone know that it was God who gave him the success.

 

In the past in the South Korea, if someone was a Christian,  they had a good reputation. Nowadays, Christians have a bad reputation. Christians may feel it is not good to reveal their beliefs. They hesitate to talk about their faith or show their practices. Joseph did not care what others think, he only cared what God thought. Joseph knew where his blessings came and made it known that is was God who blessed him.

 

We can bless everything around us.

 

So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.

Genesis 39:4-5 ESV

 

However, not everyone is interested in blessing everyone around us. We are more interested in our own blessings and less about serving others. We need to be aware that God's blessings can flow from us to others and bless them. God's love can flow from us to others, and they too can experience God's love.

 

We do not make decisions about who deserves to be blessed by God or not to be blessed. We should not judge and condemn those to be punished by God. We should allow God's blessings flow from us to all. No one is too wicked to be ignored by God's love.

 

So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

Genesis 39:6-9 ESV

 

Although Joseph was a slave, Potiphar made Joseph the steward of Potiphar’s entire household. Joseph was still under the authority of Potiphar and God. We need to be under the authority of man but more importantly under the authority of God.

 

Both Daniel and Joseph faced temptation. Joseph did not sin against his worldly master and yet Daniel did and God rescued both of them. This is because both Daniel and Joseph saw the importance of putting God’s laws and interests before everything else. We cannot blindly follow worldly authority, when we choose to not follow, we will face consequences, but we will face harsher consequences when we choose not to follow God.

 

Let us be like Joseph and give God credit when we have any success and be bold and let others know that we have the Lord God who loves us and blesses us, so that we can love and bless others.

"Prosperous Life"(Genesis 39: 19-23)

Genesis 39: 19-23

There are many ways to classify people, and one way to do this is by how prosperous a person is in the kingdom of God. We can further put them into one of three types of people of prosperous people.

 

1.       There are people who live in opposition to God. They cause much harm to others and themselves and although at times they may prosper, it is for a short time.

2.       There are people who live their lives without meaning. Their lives are self-centered, and their prosperity is for them only and short lived.

3.       There are people who live to please God. They bring blessings to everyone. Whatever they do, they do it for the glory of God and, consequently, God blesses their work and those around them also get to enjoy God’s blessings. However, they may go through rough times when their prosperity is not apparent, but in the end they and others are blessed richly.

Joseph was like the third kind of prosperous person. Joseph was a person who brought prosperity to everyone whom he encountered. He provided blessings to all even to those who had wished him harm and did not deserve to be blessed. Joseph endured many hardships but remained faithful to God and His commandments.

The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.

Genesis 39:2 ESV

 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

Genesis 39:5-6 ESV

Joseph was a sincere man. He was genuine to God and because of his sincerity with God, Joseph could accept all the difficulties in his life that came to him. Now, it was not easy for Joseph, he had to work at his sincerity. As a slave, he was honest and prospered, yet he was put into prison because of false accusations.

 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.

Genesis 39:19-20 ESV

 Faith is not a gamble. We know that the outcome will be good when we act faithfully. True faith is doing our work for God. We can be sure that God will use our good works for His kingdom, and we will be successful. That success may take time and involve sacrifices, but it is only when we act faithfully that we are truly successful. Joseph knew that turning away from God and His rules is a sin and it is better to be faithful to God.

 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

Genesis 39:8-9 ESV

 Joseph feared God more than the pleasure of sin. In fact, he fled the temptation as if his life depended on it. Joseph did the right thing; however, he still went to prison even though he was innocent.

 Joseph’s story is like Jesus’ story. Jesus was executed for crimes he did not commit. He was hated by many and punished for doing what is right. Yet, Jesus always acted faithfully to God and did not compromise. He knew that God would do good things through His faithfulness and even change the punishment into some beneficial not just for Him, but for many others.

 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

Romans 1:1 ESV

 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

Genesis 45:5 ESV

 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Genesis 50:20 ESV

 Those who believe in God do not complain because they know that God is in control and God is using the painful circumstances to bring us and others closer to God. God’s plan is usually not apparent to us, but if we have the knowledge and accept that God’s plans are for good, we can overcome the difficulties.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 ESV

We need to be victorious through the One who died on the cross. We need to live a purposeful life that renounces sin and strives to do the God's work if we want to be successful.

 

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