Verse 1: After Joseph’s brothers sold him to a passing Ishmaelite caravan, the Ishmaelites took him to Egypt. Potiphar, at that time an official of Egypt's Pharaoh, bought Joseph from them, enslaving him.
2–6: Despite this devastating turn of events, Joseph prospered because of God's good presence in and favor over his life. Potiphar put him in charge of his entire household, and allowed Joseph to live in his home. Joseph managed everything he owned, and God saw to it that Joseph greatly succeeded in this. Potiphar had no concerns, except for that of his food. Because of Joseph, his home and land, his entire life, was blessed.
Act Honorably, Even When No One Is Looking
6–10: Joseph was a great-looking guy both in his physique and face, and he didn't go unnoticed by Potiphar's wife. Eventually, she tried to seduce him into sleeping with her. Joseph refused, asking how he could so deeply wrong God in view of Potiphar's complete trust in him. After all, Potiphar had given him access to everything, except his wife. Despite Joseph’s noble character, Potiphar's wife wouldn't back down; she continued her attempts to seduce him daily.
11–12: One day, when the servants were absent from the house, Joseph came inside to tend to his duties. Potiphar's wife seized the opportunity, grabbing Joseph by his cloak and demanding, “Come to bed with me!” (v. 12 NIV). Wisely, Joseph bolted out of the house, but left his cloak behind.
13–18: Potiphar's wife, angered by Joseph’s rejection, called her servants into the house and began to accuse him of attempting to rape her. She produced his cloak as evidence, claiming that he left only after she screamed, and that he intended to ridicule and humiliate the entire house by his actions. Once Potiphar returned home, she wove the same wicked tale for him.
He is Life, Even in the Rough Places
19–23: After hearing (and believing) her lies, an outraged Potiphar threw Joseph into the king’s prison. But just as in slavery, so Joseph prospered in prison, because God was with him. He blessed Joseph with kindness for his righteous character and his trust that God would see him through even a situation this bleak. God also gave him favor with the warden, who eventually entrusted Joseph with overseeing the prison and all its prisoners. Like Potiphar, the warden worried about nothing under Joseph’s care, because God granted him success in his stewardship over it all.
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