Episode 309 - "Joseph and Potiphar's Wife" - Genesis 39

Gen. 39:1 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. 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. 6 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. 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?” 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.

Gen. 39:11 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. 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.” 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.”

Gen. 39:19 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. 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.

Ok. So after that interlude about Judah having sexual relations with his daughter-in-law (although he was not aware of it), our story returns to Joseph, who has been sold as a slave to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. Before we do, however, I’d like to review the key thing about what happened with Judah and Tamar.

Judah has been far from righteous. He married a pagan Canaanite woman, contrary to what Abraham and Isaac modeled. The LORD struck down the first two of his three sons because they did evil. Then, rather than trust the LORD to see if his third son would fulfill the Levirate marriage to produce a son for his deceased brother, Judah sought to protect him from the LORD and did not give his son to Tamar. When Tamar realized what Judah was doing, she disguised herself as a prostitute and made herself available to Judah, who fell for her trick, and she conceived twins. We might think that Tamar’s actions were evil. But when Tamar revealed that Judah was the father of her twins, he declared, “She is more righteous than I.” How can that be? The answer to that question may be that Tamar either knew or sensed that she would bear offspring through whom the promised seed would come. Knowingly or unknowingly, she was fulfilling the LORD’s plan. The Messiah would someday carry her DNA.

Now, back to Joseph. Moses tells us that the LORD was with Joseph and caused him to be successful in serving Potiphar. Because Potiphar saw how the LORD blessed Joseph, he gave him more responsibility and privilege. This is the Abrahamic covenant being worked out, isn’t it? God is blessing Joseph as well as those who bless Abraham’s descendants.

It would be so easy to look at the circumstances of what Joseph’s brothers did to him and think, “Where was the LORD in all this?” Moses seems to be indicating that the LORD was with Joseph all the time. But Joseph’s troubles weren’t over.

Apparently, Joseph was an attractive man and caught the eye and interest of Potiphar’s wife. Joseph resisted her advances. But when she grabbed onto him, he ran, leaving his outer garment behind. Now, how will Potiphar’s wife explain this? Simple. She turned the story around to her husband and accused Joseph of attacking her, and fled when she screamed. We’re told that Potiphar became angry and had Joseph thrown in prison. One might wonder why such a powerful person did not have him executed. Is it possible that Potiphar did not trust his wife? Perhaps he was not as angry at Joseph as he was at the situation he was in. He may not have believed her story, but he could not ignore it in fear that other people would get the idea that Potiphar would not punish such an offense. But that’s speculation. What we do know is that the LORD was with Joseph, and nothing was going to happen that the LORD didn’t allow. In fact, Moses reiterates that while in prison, the LORD was with Joseph and, as he had with Potiphar, the LORD caused Joseph to find favor with the keeper of the prison.

I love that emphatic message in this story that, despite all the challenges and terrible things that happened to Joseph, the LORD was with him the whole time. I can’t help but think that same principle holds true for all who trust in the LORD.

Episode 120 - "I have taught openly" - John 18:19-24

John 18:19   The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” 22 When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” 24 Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

From this account, we observe that this context supports what we suggested about the crowd taking Jesus to Annas first. Even though Rome had technically deposed Annas as the high priest, the officer who hit Jesus (v. 22) referred to Annas as the high priest. Many Jews still considered him the high priest. 

Yet, it doesn’t appear that Annas wanted to “deal with” Jesus after Jesus’ responses backed Annas into a corner. Jesus had spoken and taught openly. Jesus clearly and strongly asserted that he was speaking nothing from his own, but only what he had seen and heard from the Father. Furthermore, Jesus tells them to reveal anything “wrong” in what he had said. There are some important lessons in this. 

Occasionally in our current day and culture, people with charismatic personalities are able to persuade others that they have a special or more accurate truth about God. Some even claim to be a god or prophet. But, these people often do not speak in a venue where they can be questioned, challenged, and rebuffed by sound doctrine that has consistently been held within the Christian faith since its beginnings. These groups are cults. 

There are many denominations that vary in some beliefs from other Christian denominations and that is understandable. But, these differences are often respectfully understood and accepted. But, few would accuse the other denomination of being a cult. Besides significant doctrinal differences such as the nature of Jesus and the sources of revelation considered to be a divine origin, cults have secretive practices. Jesus is turning the table on his accusers by saying, “I’ve done everything in the open. Layout the evidence that shows I’m a false teacher.” (My interpretation/paraphrase)

The bottom line from that is we should not follow people who are not accountable and are secretive or not willing to be questioned about their teaching and we should be observant that those around us are not led into such deception.

Perhaps another lesson we can learn from this is to follow Jesus’ example. We can teach others things we are learning in God’s word. It’s ok to have opinions on some things. But, where the Scriptures and the common beliefs of the Christian faith speak, we should not have anything “new” or “novel.” We should not try to create our own fan club around our ideas and convictions. If our teaching is consistent with the Scriptures and someone is challenging specific teaching, invite them to explain how they read the Scripture. I’ve changed my mind about a few things over the years when I realized that some idea I had was not consistent with what was being revealed in what I believe is God’s word. 

I think Annas realized he didn’t have a leg to stand on and handed him off to Caiaphas who had already made up his mind what he wanted to do with Jesus. May we all humbly listen to God’s word to learn and discern. May the Lord lead us to believe and share with others what has been faithfully handed down over time concerning the revelation of God in the Holy Scriptures.