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The following is Pastor Nate’s teaching transcription from Calvary Monterey’s 9/22/20 Tuesday Night Service and it may contain transcription inaccuracies.

Hey everyone. Thanks for joining us. Whether you're watching this or listening to this, thank you for joining us and joining me in our journey through the book of Genesis and through all of God's word. This through the bible study. And if you take your bible now and turn to Genesis chapter 38, we're going to continue on in this incredible book of God's word. And as you're turning there, or turning your screen and getting prepared to go through Genesis, I would encourage you to share these teachings. If they're a blessing to you in some way shape or form, tell a friend. Tell your social media network. That's a great way for us at least to say thank you. If this is something that is touching your life and that God using for you, it might mean that he might use it for someone else as well.

But as we turn to Genesis chapter 38, we're looking now at the life of Joseph. We followed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and now we've come to the story of the life of Joseph, which is a major story at the back half of the book of Genesis. And what we saw in chapter 37 in our last study together is that it was Judah's idea to sell Joseph into slavery. They found some Ishmaelite traders, sold them to the Ishmaelite traders, and then Joseph was brought to Egypt as we'll see in chapter 39. Judah though, for his part he needs to grow. There's a process that this man must go through because he is going to be the man years later, after Joseph is in Egyptian captivity for many years, after he ascends to the right hand of Pharaoh and becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt, Judah is going to be the one who volunteers himself into imprisonment on behalf of Joseph's younger brother Benjamin. And God has to prepare Judah's heart so that that great act of sacrifice, which would ultimately lead to the reconciliation of Joseph to his brothers and to his family. Judah has to be prepared for that moment to come.

Judah's Family

And at this point in the book of Genesis, Judah, who just sold Joseph into slavery, is not that kind of man. God had to work on Judah to get him to that point. And in part at least, Genesis chapter 38 is about that work of God in Judah's life. So let's start reading in verse one. It says, "It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went into her and she conceived and bore a son and he called his name Er. She conceived again and bore a son and she called his name Onan. She again bore a son and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Kezib when she bore him."

Judah's Wife and Children

1 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, 3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him.

Now, the chapter that we're about to enter into is one of the most explicit and frankly grotesque chapters in the story that we find here in the book of Genesis. There's just a lot of sin in this particular chapter. Judah is going to marry. As we saw here, he has three sons. Two of the sons are going to die. The one son that is left will be alive, but Judah will keep back the daughter-in-law from him. And as the story unfolds we're going to see the immorality of Judah, the deception of Judah, and even of Tamar just to defend herself. It's a wild passage that we're about to get into. And at first glance it doesn't seem to fit with where we're at in the book of Genesis. Like I said last week, we've translated or graduated into the story of Joseph. And now here we have this catastrophic story from the family of Judah. But this story served significant purposes. First, it served as confirmation of God's plan to select the younger over the older. This is what God has been doing all throughout the book of Genesis. He chose Isaac, he chose Jacob, he chose Joseph.

And Judah resisted that selection from God in choosing Joseph. But even in Judah's own family he's going to discover at the very end of this story, his daughter-in-law will have two children. Twins will be born and the younger will be the chosen child. Number two, this story connects to the lineage of Jesus. At the end of this story, the babies that are born, one of them will be named Perez and he's actually in the line of the messiah, in the line of Christ. And another purpose in this story is that in chapter 40 we're going to see the holiness and consecration of Joseph, particularly in the way that he resisted the temptation sexually that Potiphar's wife presented him with. Judah is shown in contrast in this chapter to Joseph's holiness. Judah would give in to sexual temptation while Joseph will not, therefore verifying that God made a good decision in blessing the younger when he blessed Joseph. So this chapter helps us see those elements.

Now, in this first little paragraph that we read in verse one through five we first of all notice that Judah is quick to connect himself to the Canaanite culture. This would be a shocking thing that the ancient Israelite readers would feel uneasy about. He goes and finds an Adullamite named Hirah. They become good friends. Later on this story we'll see them traveling together. And he connects to a Canaanite woman named Shua. This is assimilation on Judah's part. He is in a sense endangering everything because of his desire to assimilate into the culture and the world around him. Later on at the end of the book of Genesis, near the end of their lives after God has blessed Joseph to the nth degree, Jacob is going to pronounce statements of fact on each of his sons. And it's going to become clear through that and then through the subsequent revelation, especially once you get to the life of David, that it will be the line of Judah that God is going to bring forth the messiah from. But here's the deal. When Judah connects to this Canaanite culture he is risking all of that. He is potentially sacrificing a great, everlasting heritage for a moment of pleasure.

Judah's Wicked Son

6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.

So he should not be connecting to this culture in this way but God is still going to produce his work. So we're going to see that as we move through this passage. He had three sons it tells us in the first paragraph that we read there. The first named Er, the second named Onan, and the last named Shelah. And these are the three sons of Judah. Now, it says in verse six of these three sons that Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar, but Er, Judah's firstborn was wicked in the sight of the lord and the lord put him to death. Now, it's important to note here that it doesn't tell us how Er was wicked. It just tells us that God saw the wickedness of this man. We don't know what it was. We can only guess. It was not something that was visible to at least us as the readers and might not have been visible to the people that were around Er at the time. But God knew what it was. It was visible to the lord. And so God judged this man, actually by taking his life.

Now, we have to recognize this as an act of mercy. That God was removing this man from the messianic line, lest he endanger God's program here on earth. But of course from our vantage point it's hard to understand this kind of judgment from God but we have to trust because we look to the cross of Christ that God's decisions are wise and gracious and good and that he is doing the right thing in this moment. If you were to take a rabid dog or animal and put it down, a little child would not understand what is being done. They would think of it as something that is cruel. But in actuality it's a loving act because that animal is endangering everyone around it. Here, God is doing a merciful thing in removing this man Er. At least we must trust that that's what's taking place. So Er, he dies.

8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. 10 And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.

Then in verse eight Judah said to Onan, "Go into your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her and raise up offspring for your brother. But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his so whenever he went into his brother's wife, he would waste the semen on the ground so as not to give offspring to his brother. And what he did was wicked in the sight of the lord and he put him to death also." Now, this entire paragraph that we just read, it's foreign to us. There's a lot here that is odd to us. All of it really centers, the oddity begins with Judah's command to Onan. Er was married to this woman named Tamar. Er dies. Judah then goes to the next son, Onan, Er's younger brother, and says, "Go into Tamar and have a child with her on behalf of your deceased brother." This is odd to us because it's not our custom, practice, law, or new testament command. But what this is called is levirate marriage. Not levirate from the Levites, but levirate meaning from your brother's family or your husband's brother.

And what this was, this practice, was that the surviving brother would try to impregnate the childless widow of his older brother so that that child could receive the inheritance of the deceased brother. Later on this became actually part of the old testament law in Deuteronomy chapter 25. And you might recall it from your familiarity with the life of Christ. There was that moment where the Sadducees came and proposed to Jesus a ridiculous scenario of seven brothers who had the same wife yet with no children and they wanted to know whose wife would she be in the resurrection. It was their theological way of mocking the idea of a great and final resurrection from the dead. And Jesus of course responded to them that you don't know the power of God's word, you don't know the scriptures. And in the last day in the resurrection they will not be married but will be like the angels that are neither given or receive marriage. So that might be where you're familiar with the concept of levirate marriage.

So Onan, according to the customs, the culture of the day that God later codified in his word, it was his responsibility to raise up an heir for his deceased brother Er. But Onan didn't want to do it. It says in verse nine and in verse 10 that Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. It says also that he did not want to do this because he did not want to give offspring to his brother. This helps us understand is that it was a birthright issue that Onan was kicking against. So God took Onan's life. God judged him with death. So the question of course that people will ask is, what was Onan's big crime? What was his sin? Well basically, he continually cheated Tamar of her legal rights according to the law and the customs of their day. He didn't impregnate her. He spilled his seed on the ground it says. Because he knew that this child would actually be his rival. You see Er was the firstborn. So with Er dead, Onan received the blessing of the firstborn. But if he raised up a child for Er through Tamar, then that child would receive the blessing of the firstborn. And Onan did not want his rival to exist. So he spilled his seed in an attempt to circumvent God's plan to get his way and to get the blessing for himself.

Now of course, in the process he was satisfying his flesh sexually, but without taking the responsibility that was rightfully his. This is what immoral people do. They want the pleasures without the responsibility. Now, because of this some people have used this passage to rebuke all forms of family planning. But this I think misses the point of the passage. Onan's sin was his refusal to give Tamar her marital rights in an attempt to further his own heritage. Now, think about this with me for a second. This is actually a reflection of Judah's sin. You see, Judah in a sense was in line for the blessing. You say, "Hold on a second. I thought he was the fourth child of Jacob, the fourth son of Leah." Yes, absolutely. But remember, Reuben had disqualified himself through sexual sin. Simeon and Levi had disqualified themselves through violence towards the people of Shechem. Now Judah, the fourth son, he's in line to be the one who is blessed. And he knew that Joseph was chosen and favored by Jacob. So he did what he could. Throwing Joseph into the pit, selling him into slavery. He did what he could to eliminate his rival, to eliminate the one who might receive the blessing, just like Onan was trying to eliminate the one who might receive the blessing instead of him.

Shelah

11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.

So God judged Onan. It should have been a lesson for Judah to understand I should not stand in God's way. I should not stand in the way of God's program. And so God judged this man Onan. Then Judah, verse 11, said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house til Shelah, my son, grows up, for he feared that he would die like his brothers." So Tamar went and remained in her father's house. After the first two boys died, Judah says, "Well, I have one more son, Shelah. I don't really want to give him to Tamar, lest Shelah die also." And so he really kind of deceives Tamar, delays everything by giving an excuse. I've got to wait for my third son to actually grow up. Now, this is shocking because really what you have here is the patriarch, Judah, who only had three sons, he's willing to let his own line, his own family that would eventually become the tribe of Judah, the greatest tribe in Israel, he was willing to let his line wither off and die because of this conflict and this moment.

He withholds Shelah and the line is now at a stopping point. It's not moving forward. For us as Christians, we look back on this and realize the jeopardy because Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah. So we know that the line has to carry forward. For the Israelites who did not understand that at this point, they would have seen this man jeopardizing the whole tribe of Judah with this action holding Shelah away from Tamar. This is shocking. But God, of course, is going to continue to be on the move and do what he needs to do to produce offspring in Judah's family and he's going to use Tamar to accomplish his righteous purposes. Now, it is important to recognize that Judah was committing a couple of sins when he did this to Tamar. First of all he deceived her. This was not the full truth that he presented to her. He wasn't really only waiting for Shelah to grow older. He was also just going to keep him away from her entirely. Secondly, he committed the sin of believing it was his sons that were guiltless and that something was wrong with Tamar.

Tamar's Plot

12 In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14 she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage.

He doesn't want Shelah to marry her, lest he die like all of the other brothers. The other brothers didn't die because of Tamar. They died because of their own wickedness. And Judah just wouldn't confess that about his own children. Now verse 12. "In the course of time, the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died. When Judah was comforted he went up to Timnah to his sheep shearers. He and his friend Hirah, the Addulamite. And when Tamar was told, 'Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep', she took off her widow's garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up and sat at the entrance of Enaim which is on the road to Timnah, for she saw that Shelah was grown up and she had not been given to him in marriage." So here we see Tamar at a specific moment disguising herself on the side of the road. She's basically going to disguise herself as a prostitute, cover her face, and tempt Judah himself into a sexual relationship so that she can have a child for Er, Judah's own son. She's making Judah the one who fulfills the obligations of levirate marriage without Judah's consent, without Judah, knowing, but trapping him because of sexual immorality, his desire at least to engage a prostitute.

Now, the bible actually never paints Tamar in a negative light. It never calls her out for some sin that she's committed. And of course by our new testament ethics, with everything that we understand in the culture that we live in, we think that this kind of behavior is abhorrent and odd and not the way to move forward. But you have to remember, the customs of her day, the law that they were under, it was just a different time. And with the revelation that she had, she felt that this was her way of fighting for what was rightfully hers that God had bestowed upon her. Now of course, she's not the first person in Genesis to disguise themselves to get the blessing of God. I mean, first of all, Jacob and his mother Rebecca concocted a plan to disguise Jacob to look like and feel like, smell like Esau in order to get the blessing. And then Leah herself, the first wife of Jacob. There was a semblance of a disguise on the wedding night because Jacob thought that he was marring her younger sister Rachel. So this is not the first time that a person has disguised themselves in Genesis to get the blessings. Through a disguise Tamar received the blessing that was rightfully hers.

15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 17 He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” 18 He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

Verse 15. "When Judah saw her he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He turned to her at the roadside and said, 'Come, let me come into you.' For he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, 'What will you give me that you may come into me?' He answered, 'I will send you a young goat from the flock.' And she said, 'If you give me a pledge until you send it.' He said, 'What pledge shall I give you?' She replied, 'Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.' So he gave them to her and went into her and she conceived by him. Then she arose and went away and taking off her veil, she put on the garments of her widowhood." Now, again, as I mentioned to you already, this whole chapter stands out to us as a contrast between righteous Joseph who we'll see in chapter 40. He stood in the face of daily constant offers of sexual temptation. Judah on the other hand, he's just on the way to shear his sheep, he sees this woman, feels that she's a prostitute and proposes himself to her. Propositions her.

So he's a man who is giving in to sexual temptation. But in order to make the deal, Tamar knows what she's doing, she asks for a down payment so to speak, or a guarantee that he will send payment later on. And so she says, "Give me your signet, your cord, and your staff." The signet was the way that Judah would write his signature in that way. Kind of the pressing of a wax ring, something like that. The cord was likely where he wore that signet around his neck. And the staff was his walking stick but also probably represented the authority or the power that he had amongst his people or in his clan. In a sense what these items are, they serve as his form of identification. These belong to Judah. This was Judah. Judah was here.

20 When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. 21 And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” 22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’ ” 23 And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”

24 About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”

After all this was over, verse 20. "When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman's hand, he did not find her. And he asked the men of the place, 'Where's the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?' And they said, 'No cult prostitute has been here.' So he returned to Judah and said, 'I've not found her. Also the men of the place said no cult prostitute has been here.' And Judah replied, 'Let her keep the things as her own while we shall be laughed at. You see I sent this young goat and you did not find her.' About three months later," verse 24, "Judah was told, 'Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.' And Judah said, 'Bring her out and let her be burned.'"

Now of course as the reader we understand that Judah is the one who's impregnated Tamar. But the whole scene is filled with suspense. She has his signet, his cord, his staff. So she's going to prove that she is impregnated by him. But he doesn't know that yet and when he hears the news that his daughter-in-law has been sexually immoral. Excuse me? Who has been sexually immoral? Judah. But he thinks she has been sexually immoral and he says, "Bring her out and let her be burned." Not only is this man sexually promiscuous, but he is a great hypocrite, highly judgmental of this woman.

25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” 26 Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.

"As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law. 'By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.' And she said, 'Please identify whose these are. The signet and the cord and the staff.' Then Judah identified them and said, 'She is more righteous than I since I did not give her to my son Shelah and he did not know her again.'" Here, the other shoe drops and everybody understands what's happened. Judah has impregnated his daughter-in-law Tamar. She's going to have a child and it's going to be his offspring. This is a massive moment. Now, in the midst of all of this, here is what I propose to you. I think God was working on Judah. Like I said earlier, Judah would become the man who would volunteer himself in Benjamin's place later in the book of Genesis. Here, he's revealed as a judgemental hypocrite, but he says, "She is more righteous than I." I think God is working on this man.

In fact, there are some who have tried to put together the timeline of events. Remember, Joseph at 17 years of age has been sold into slavery. He's going to, after a season in slavery, be thrown into prison, and then after prison ascend to Pharaoh's right hand. He will serve Pharaoh for 14 years before the brothers are reunified together. And some have even put together the timeline and said this even right here might have occurred in between the two visits of Joseph's brother to him there in Egypt. And it could be that God is moving on Judah's heart right now preparing him for an event that is right around the corner where he needs to reconcile with Joseph by doing the right thing. He wouldn't sacrifice himself for Joseph, his younger brother, years earlier out in the wilderness, but instead sold him into slavery. But would he repeat the sin with Joseph's younger brother Benjamin? No, Judah would actually stand up and say, "No, please, send Benjamin back home. I will go into the prison on his behalf." And I think God is preparing, he's massaging this man's heart, correcting the things that are wrong inside of him to get him ready for that moment so that the family can be reconciled and that they can all move to Egypt, which was God's plan.

The Births

27 When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. 28 And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.

You see, God will just do what he has to do to work on your heart. And here, he was working on his man Judah through the circumstances of life and he also is faithful to work on us as his children. "When the time of her labor came," verse 27, "there were twins in her womb. And when she was in labor one put out a hand and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand saying this one came out first. But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, 'What a breech you have made for yourself.' Therefore his named was called Perez. Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand and his name was called Zerah."

Now, this sounds familiar to us because it sounds similar to the birth of Jacob and Esau. And it's a real fitting story to include into Jacob's story. It's kind of an abrupt ending to the whole episode. As if we're supposed to know the meaning of this particular movement. These two boys were born, one came out first, they tied a thread around his arm, but then he went back in and the younger brother came out. He was actually born first and they named him with these names that gave that significance for the rest of their lives. But when you consider Jacob's story, it's a fitting end isn't it? The younger has the place of prominence. Perez will be the one that goes into the line of the messiah. The younger prevails in other words. In other words, though Judah and all of his brothers thought that they could thwart God's plans, the very clear dreams that God had given to Joseph, they couldn't thwart God's plans. God's will, God's plan, God's purposes will unfold. Such a blessing to know that God is unstoppable.

Sometimes we think that the church will be stopped, that the gospel will be stopped. And there are various reasons that would cause us to think this might occur. But the reality is that God's kingdom will move forward. So even though Judah had tried to reject God's plan for his younger brother Joseph, God had his way of giving Joseph good success.

Genesis 39 -- Joseph In Potiphar's House

Joseph's Success

1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.

Now, let's move on to chapter 39. It says in verse one, "Joseph," back to his story, "had been brought down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had brought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his Egyptian master." So here we have Joseph there in Egypt. He'd gone down to Egypt after being sold into slavery and this man Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, had actually bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him into Egypt. Now, all of this is a clever design by God. You see, the people of Israel were very prone to assimilation with the people around them. As we saw in the story of Judah, he wanted to assimilate to the Canaanites that were around them. And of course if Abraham's offspring assimilated, then the plan would be thwarted. So God didn't want assimilation, he wanted separation. And for separation to occur, the people of Israel needed a chance to grow without ties binding them to the surrounding people. Without the temptation to intermarry for economic reasons.

So the people of Egypt would provide the perfect incubator for the people of Israel to grow from a large family into a nation of people. The reason the Egyptians were perfect for this is because they had certain laws and customs, as we'll see as we go through the book of Genesis, that caused them to think of the people of Israel as unclean people, especially because the people of Israel were herdsmen who were taking care of flocks. And because of that uncleanness, they separated themself from the people of Israel and it allowed the Israelites to grow, like I said, from a large family into a small nation. So this is very strategic that God has brought Joseph to Egypt because this is where God wants to embed his people for a period of time. So Potiphar, this officer of Pharaoh, purchases Joseph and Joseph begins to serve in Potiphar's house. Now, notice there in verse two, we already read it, it says that the lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man. Four times throughout this chapter we're going to see that the lord was with Joseph.

This helps us understand that Joseph was clearly a recipient of the Abrahamic covenant and promise. God had said, back in Genesis 12 verse three, to Abraham, "I will bless those who bless you. And him who dishonors you, I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." Joseph clearly has the blessing of God upon his life. He is going to bless the people that he's around. The lord was with Joseph.

3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 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. 5 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. 6a 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.

"His master," verse three, "saw that the lord was with him and the lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hand 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. So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food that he ate."

So Joseph, he's running Potiphar's house. Potiphar, he just delegates everything to Joseph because everything Joseph does is prosperous because of God's blessing upon his life. So Joseph is in charge of Potiphar's entire household. Now, this is beautiful from Joseph because it shows us a believer, a man, who excelled in his workplace. And I think he excelled for a few reasons there in the household of Potiphar. First of all, he embraced the work. He embraced the work. He saw this as part of God's plan for his life. He could have sat and complained and said to himself, "Whoa is me. How has this happened in my life?" But instead of complaining, he embraced the situation that he found himself in. And believers should embrace their workplace. Also Joseph sought the strength of God for his work. He sought the strength of God for his work. It was the lord strengthening him, the lord filling him up. And we know of course that as we pray, as we seek the lord, as we're in his word that those are ways that he strengthens us for life. So he must have been seeking God for strength.

Also, Joseph was faithful in his work. He was just constant and trustworthy over time. And because of that he excelled. He was exalted. Also, Joseph blessed his work. I think that he brought the blessing of God into unbelieving Potiphar's life. I believe that he prayed for his boss, that he prayed for his workplace before his workday. And finally Joseph was trustworthy as well. Potiphar just had no idea what he even had because Joseph was so trustworthy. Too often believers in their workplaces sink to the lowest common denominator. If the culture in their workplace is ungodly, unwholesome, cutting corners, doing unethical things, too often a believer will sink to that level. But instead, we should prayerfully, by the spirit's help and power, seek ways to hold fast to our convictions and a new testament ethic, all will bringing a blessing to our workplace. You see, I believe that Christians ought to excel in the workplace. I think we should excel in the workplace for a few reasons. First of all, we should excel in the workplace because of our theology about what work is. So many people think of work as a necessary evil. But out theology of work teaches us that before sin entered into the world, Adam was given a job by God.

And our theology tells us that after Jesus returns and establishes his rule and reign forever, we will be ruling and reigning with him. There will be work for us to do. So we understand that work is something that God has called us to as people. We were meant to fill the earth and subdue it. This signifies work. And so our theology should make us into great workers in our workplaces. But secondly, we should also excel in the workplace because of the mission that we have. First of all, we have the mission to love God. Our work can be a way for us to love God. We have a mission to love our neighbor as ourself. So our work can be a way for us to love our neighbor as ourself. And we have a mission to go into all the world and make disciples. So we're looking for opportunities to be salt and light in our workplaces. One of the ways we can be salt and light is through the work that we actually produce. It earns us, if you will, an audience with those around us. But finally, the third reason I wanted to say that I think Christians should be great workers is because of the new nature that we have in Christ Jesus.

We're changed. We're different. We've been transformed. Sure. We still have the flesh that we deal with, but we are new in Christ Jesus. And with this new nature, by the help of the holy spirit, we can exhibit the fruit of the spirit. And we you read of the fruit of the spirit there in Galatians chapter six, you'll discover the kinds of attributes that any workplace would admire. So I believe that Christians ought to excel in the workplace like Joseph excelled in his.

Joseph's Temptation

6b Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 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. 9 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?”

Now, as Joseph worked, it says in the second half of verse six, "Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 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?'"

Now, this is a powerful movement in the story of Joseph. There are a few things I want to point out to you from it. First of all, think about this woman. Verse seven it says that Potiphar's wife, she cast her eyes upon Joseph. It means that she lifted her eyes towards. It's as if an awakening has occurred. And the awakening that's occurred is lust. Where she hadn't seen Joseph in that way before, as God is blessing him, raising him up, prospering him as he's aging, she sees him in a totally different way. And she presents herself now as a temptress to this man. She says, "Lie with me." She is very direct with Joseph. There is no misunderstanding what she is offering to him. She is unreservedly, without any holding back of herself whatsoever, offering her full self physically to this man. She is like the Proverbs seven woman who came with the attire of a harlot, who was loud and rebellious, who caught the man in Proverbs seven, enticed him with her speech and brought him to the way of slaughter. That's Potiphar's wife.

But notice Joseph. He refused. He refused. He's just a young man at this point, but he refused. Now, when Joseph refused, if you've been paying attention in the book of Genesis you might notice that he is flipping the normal script. Normally the way it goes is the patriarch goes down to Egypt, goes into foreign territory and his wife is so beautiful that the foreign power takes the wife into his own harem and God has to protect the woman from harming the messianic line through sexual sin. God has to jump in to protect things. Here though, it's the patriarch himself, Joseph, who is being pursued by a foreign woman. And God is there, but he's working through Joseph. Because Joseph himself stands up to this temptation. He flips the script as it has normally been written. Listen, brothers and sisters, by the power of Jesus, the power of the holy spirit, we can live that same kind of life. We can flip the script. Even the script that we have lived out so many times in our lives giving into temptation.

We don't have to go there. In Christ Jesus we can be a victorious people. Now, Joseph, for his part, he had a reason why he would not touch this woman. He says there in verse nine, he says, "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Sin against God. Now, we're reading this from the bible, we might just assume to ourselves he's a bible guy, of course he's godly, of course he loves God. But think about what's happened in Joseph's life. He received dreams from God, great promises from God that he would ascend to a position of authority in the lives of his whole family, even his mother and father and all of his brothers. And then subsequently he's thrown into prison. The pit of prison and sold into slavery and sold into Potiphar's house. Joseph could have given up on God. But instead, Joseph believes God. He still in this moment, far from home, trusted God. And he we able to endure temptation because he believed that God had called him to a special task. He's holding to God. He's holding on to the dreams that God gave him. He's holding on to the plan of God for his life.

I like to say it like this. Joseph was able to endure this temptation because he believed in a greater thrill for his life. Could it have been exciting and thrilling and sensuous to have a moment of pleasure with Potiphar's wife? Absolutely. But he felt that there was something greater that God was calling him to and he did not want to, like Judah, jeopardize all of it. He wanted what God wanted for his life. And so he said, "I do not want to betray my God. How could I look God in the eye if I did this thing?"

10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. 11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12 she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house.

"And as she spoke," verse 10, "to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her to lie beside her or to be with her, but one day when he went into the house to do his work and one of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment saying, 'Lie with me.' But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house." Now, in verse 11 there's this scary phrase. Day after day this woman tempted Joseph. Day after day she propositioned him. He resisted every day. I'm sure the temptation wore down on him, but one day he went into the house to do his work and it says none of the men of the house was there in the house. None of the men of the house was there in the house. At this point Joseph was alone. And alone by himself, faced with this temptation, it would have been so strong pressing against him. And so Joseph, he did the only thing he knew he could do. He fled. He wriggled out of his garment as she grabbed ahold of him and he fled without his garment from this house.

It says in First Corinthians chapter six that we must flee sexual immorality. It's not a sin that we can stand against or in our own power resist. It just takes flight. In a sense it takes the courage of cowardice to say, "I know that I can't face this one. I've got to run away. I've got to retreat." But the thing I'm really wanting to highlight for you today is the fact that none of the men of the house were in there and that's what made this temptation so dangerous and strong at this particular moment. The reason that I'm mentioning this today is because we live in an era and in a time where it is very easy for a man to find himself by himself faced with temptations. I'm a father. They say that it's important in our modern age to make sure that children, your kids, don't have full access to the internet alone and in their room. When they figure and study where most internet trouble begins, whether it's an internet crime or a temptation that a child is exposed to or a predator that is reaching out to them, it doesn't happen in the living room with the family around as the child is on their laptop. No, it happens in the bedroom, alone, in the dark.

And you see, men are carrying around little devices in their pockets so often without any restriction, without any filter, without any accountability, without any blockage whatsoever. All apps, all channels, all URLs are fully available to them at all times. And to me, this is tantamount to Joseph walking into the house without any other men in the house keeping an eye on him and Potiphar's wife. You see, we need help. We need people to be a part of our lives. We need accountability. We need to have things blocked for us. We should not just think that we could constantly resist temptation. Let's instead be a people who build that accountability into our lives.

Joseph's Imprisonment

13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.”

Now, as soon as Potiphar's wife saw, as soon as she saw in verse 13, "That he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, 'See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came into me to lie with me and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.'" This is her way of accusing Joseph of attempted rape. "Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home and she told him the same story saying, 'The Hebrew servant whom you have brought among us came into me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.' 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 the prison.

Now, picture it. Potiphar comes home and his wife who has been telling all the servants of the house of this attempted rape that she has fabricated is there holding Joseph's garment in her hand and presents the same story to Potiphar himself. This is of course the second time that Joseph's garment has been used to give a false report about Joseph. Joseph's brothers had taken the garment, had torn it, put blood on it, and given Jacob, the father, the impression that a wild animal had killed Joseph while he was out in the field. And in both instances he was serving faithfully. Here he's serving Potiphar. Before he's serving his father, inspecting his brothers and the job they were doing. And in both cases he ends up imprisoned. First and the pit, and now here in this story in the place where Pharaoh put his own prisoners.

16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.” 19 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. 20 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.

Now Potiphar, for his part, his anger it says in verse nine was kindled against Joseph. Now, it's possible that the anger that is expressed here in verse 19 wasn't against Joseph. It actually doesn't say that his anger was kindled against Joseph. It just says that his anger was kindled and he then took Joseph and threw him into the king's prison. You see, attempted rape was punishable by death in that Egyptian culture so it's very possible that Potiphar, knowing Joseph's character, suspecting something of his wife, did not trust his own wife but knew that he had to save face for his wife because of this reported violation. So we don't really know, but he definitely did not take the opportunity to take Joseph's life but only threw him into the prison. Now, again, what prison does Joseph go to? Well he goes to the place, verse 20, where the king's prisoners were confined.

Now, if you were to tell Joseph the story of his life and say, "Joseph, there's going to come a point where you are going to become the second most powerful man in all of Egypt, and I'm not going to tell you the details of how you're going to get there but that's what's going to happen" ... After he was sold into slavery and then sold into Egypt, bought by Potiphar who was an officer of Pharaoh, I'm sure that Joseph over the years was thinking to himself, "I will do such a good job here. I wonder if this is the connection that I'm going to have that will bring me into Pharaoh's presence. I'm going to have to know Pharaoh at some point." But this would not be the way that Joseph would have ever imagined that he would receive those connections. He didn't get the connection through Potiphar. He got the connection through becoming a prisoner in the king's prison. But this is the sovereign hand of God. This is God working and God moving in Joseph's life.

21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

"But the lord," verse 21, "was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge because the lord was with him and whatever he did the lord made it succeed. Even there in prison, the lord was with Joseph." Listen, he did not deserve to go there. It was not something that should have been. This was unjust. But the lord was with him in that unjust place. This was not the plight he deserved, but God was with him. Just as Jesus, who did not deserve to die on the cross. God was with him. The father was with him as he went to that place that he did not deserve. My prayer is that we would be able to, as believers, receive injustice in our own lives like Christ did.

Now Joseph here was a faithful servant of God. Loyal to God no matter what. Even right there in the prison. To the point that he became the man in charge. The prisoner is in charge of the entire prison because God favored his life.

Church, thank you and God bless you. Have a wonderful week.