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[0:00] Take your Bibles and turn to Genesis chapter 39.! And he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

[0:34] When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.

[0:50] From the time he put him in charge of his household and all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

[1:04] So he left in Joseph's care everything he had. With Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, Come to bed with me.

[1:22] But he refused. With me in charge, he told her, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house. Everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am.

[1:35] My master has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

[1:53] One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, Come to bed with me.

[2:05] But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants.

[2:18] Look, she said to them, this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.

[2:31] She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story. That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me.

[2:44] But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house. When his master heard the story, his wife told him, saying, This is how your slave treated me.

[2:55] He burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him.

[3:09] He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.

[3:23] The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

[3:33] Well, for a couple of months, we have been studying what the Bible has to say about the providence of God, the fact that he upholds and controls all things, all of his creatures in all their actions all the time.

[3:49] And then last week, we shifted into a case study of God's providence taking the life of Joseph.

[4:00] And what we find is the many lessons that we have learned and studied about the providence of God found throughout the word of God are seen again, but in the real muck and mire of life, which is what we meet in Joseph's life.

[4:21] So we were in chapter 37 most of the time last week, then follows chapter 38 of Genesis. It says nothing at all about Joseph.

[4:34] It's all about his brother Judah. And we come back then to chapter 39, or we come to 39, and we understand why it begins as it does.

[4:45] Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. It's reminding us of where chapter 37 left us. And many were gone last week, and so I think a bit of review is in order.

[4:58] Just how was Joseph taken down to Egypt? Well, it was by that band of Ishmaelite traders bringing their spices from afar.

[5:11] True. But how did they come to have Joseph with them? Well, his brothers sold him as a slave to them for 20 pieces of silver.

[5:23] Oh, why would they do something like that? Well, because they hated him and wanted him out of their lives once and for all.

[5:36] I see. Why did they hate him so much and want him out of their lives? Well, because of his messed up family. He had a father that loved him more than any of his other brothers.

[5:49] So, who was it then that sent Joseph down to Egypt? Was it his father by his favoritism? Yes.

[6:00] Was it his brothers by their hatred? Okay. Was it his Ishmaelite owners for profit motives? We understand that. But turn back to Genesis 45.

[6:11] And this is where we find Joseph now the ruler over all Egypt with only Pharaoh above him. And he's revealing himself to his brothers.

[6:23] His 11 brothers. Then Joseph, Genesis 45, 4 and following. Joseph said to his brothers, come close to me. And when they had done so, he said, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt.

[6:39] And after they got composure and stood up again or whatever, he says, and now do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here.

[6:49] Because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now, there's been famine in the land. And for the next five years, there will not be plowing and reaping.

[7:02] But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then it was not you who sent me here, but God.

[7:17] He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and say to him, this is what your son Joseph says. God has made me lord of all Egypt.

[7:30] Come down to me. Don't delay. Over and over, Joseph is emphasizing that God was the one who sent him to Egypt.

[7:41] God was the great conductor orchestrating his orchestra that day. You've seen the conductor and he calls for the violins to come forward.

[7:51] Then the flutes and the bassoons and the percussion. And he's bringing each instrument into this whole melody and symphony.

[8:02] With each one playing their part. God's hand of providence. In their own time and place. And that's God. The unseen conductor.

[8:13] Orchestrating all these events. Into this symphonic chain of events. To save Joseph's family. It was God.

[8:24] Who sent me. God's hand of providence. So that. That's the explanation. It was God's hand of providence that was active behind his messed up family. His father's favoritism.

[8:34] His brother's hatred. The Ishmaelites. Prophet motive. And that's what got him down to Egypt. So Joseph looks right past the second causes to the first cause. God himself.

[8:48] But why? Why had God taken him there? That was not revealed to Joseph at the time. That God took him there.

[9:02] Was God's. Was Joseph's view of providence. And I believe keeping his eyes on his God. Kept his sanity all these years.

[9:12] And kept him cheerful in an unchearful circumstance. Not bent in on himself. But ministering to others outside of himself.

[9:24] But we can get too hung up on second causes. Can't we? If only he. If only that hadn't happened. If only I'd had. And on and on we go.

[9:35] And we miss the first cause. We miss God's providential hand. If only my father. If only my brothers. If only. And we fail to see that.

[9:46] The orc. The unseen. Conductor. Is working his. Perfect. Good. Sovereign. Plan. In missing him. We miss the sweet object of our faith.

[9:59] Of our hope. And of our love. We miss our portion. Our portion in life. And in eternity. So God's providence.

[10:11] Is always used to bring about God's plan. And we have seen in chapter 45. What that plan was. Was to save many people from death during famine.

[10:22] But especially. Joseph's own family. Jacob and his. His family. Especially the family of Judah.

[10:33] His brother. From whom our Lord Jesus was to come. As to his human nature. So we learned last week. That the story of Joseph. Fits into a larger story.

[10:44] Of God's. Plan. Of salvation. That means that you and I. Need Joseph. To get out of that pit. Alive. Where his.

[10:55] His. His brothers threw him. We need to get him down to Egypt. You and I need Joseph. To be. Down in Egypt. To get in a place. Where he would be able. To save. His family.

[11:06] And namely. Judah. His brother. If. If Judah's line is not preserved. We don't have a savior. That's the reality of this passage.

[11:17] And of this story of Joseph. We don't have a lion. Of the tribe of Judah. To worship this morning. So God's providence. Does. All of that. For us.

[11:28] Gets him out of the pit. Takes him to Egypt. And does everything else. That we'll see him doing today. It was for you. It was for me. That we might have a savior. Here. So he saved.

[11:40] Joseph's family. From famine. In order to save us. From sin. Death. And hell. That we deserved. Amazing.

[11:52] What. What weighty things. Our eternal destiny. Hang on. Such little. Moves of providence. Well not only was God's providence.

[12:03] Saving the family line. Of our savior. Jesus. In many ways. We can see. That Joseph is. A type. Of our savior. Jesus. Jesus too. Was the love son.

[12:13] Of his father. But hated. And rejected. By his brethren. Israel. And just as Joseph's brothers. Were enraged. By his dreams. That had them. Bowing down.

[12:24] To him. So Jesus brethren. Of Israel. Were enraged. When he presents himself. As the Messiah. King. To whom all knees. Must bow.

[12:36] We will not have this man. To rule over us. Was their response. And they proved. The sincerity. Of that. By nailing him. To a cross.

[12:51] And in doing so. They thought. They'd. Been done with him. For good. But just as. Joseph's brothers. Found it. You can't get rid of. Joseph. As easy as you think. You thought.

[13:02] You were rid of him. For good. But not so fast. So this world. Is to learn. That merely. Killing Jesus. Will not really. Get rid of him. At all. For he rose. From the dead.

[13:13] He lives. He's coming back. And he's coming. To judge all men. And those who. Who. Who. Who crucified him. And nailed him. To the tree. Must own.

[13:23] Their sin. Before him. Must confess. What they are. Before him. And bow. Before him. And receive.

[13:35] Judgment. From him. Just like. Joseph's brothers. Had to come. And bow. And confess. Their sin. To Joseph. Down in Egypt. So God's. Providence. Does use.

[13:45] The sinful actions. Of sinful men. To bring about. His good. Purpose. In the world. Even if he has to. Change men's plans. He can do that. Even if he has to.

[13:56] Use. Wicked. Wicked. Thoughts. And actions. Without getting. His own hands. Dirty in the process. He can do that. Such is the mystery. Of God's providence.

[14:07] And it's all. Connected. As a chain. With each link. And we saw last week. Just break the chain. At any one link. And we don't have a savior. What a God.

[14:20] Whose plan. Is fulfilled. Down to the slightest. Detail. In bringing a savior. For sinners. Now with Joseph.

[14:31] So well positioned. Then in Egypt. Here he is. He's. He's in the house. Of Potiphar. An official. Of Pharaoh. Oh. We know. That he needs. To get to Pharaoh's palace.

[14:41] He's. He's in a good position. We might think. Then. That he'll soon. Have an interview. With Pharaoh. And see the fulfillment. Of God's purpose. For his long trip. To Egypt. But if. We think that.

[14:52] We're mistaken. Because it will be. Some 20 years. Before God's plan. Is accomplished. There's a lot of moves. On the chess board. To get Joseph. Into position.

[15:02] And everybody else. Into position. For that. Final move. That will take him. To the top. And that means. That. There were a lot.

[15:13] Of intermediate steps. A lot of disappointing. Main steps. For Joseph. To swallow. Further dark shadows. Cast upon his path. And. Upon his future.

[15:28] So Joseph too. Like you and I. Finds the hand of providence. Can move at a tortuously. Slow pace. Compared to our desires. Lots of waiting. In store. For Joseph.

[15:39] Though he doesn't even know. What he's waiting for. We know. But he doesn't know. He's just stuck. Sold as a slave. Now stuck. As a slave.

[15:51] In an Egyptian home. In a strange land. Strange people. Strange language. And no sight of anything. Like a bright future. Now.

[16:01] When life goes south. On you like that. And you're stuck. In hard providences. What are some of the natural responses. To which we're tempted. Well. We. We would drown.

[16:12] In self pity. Why me? What did I ever do. To deserve this? We complain. Or grumble. About. Not only the hard.

[16:25] Providence. We're in. But. About everything else. Nothing can seem. To please. Us. And. We always find. Something wrong. With everything. And everybody. We can even be angry.

[16:37] With God. And. Everybody else. Too. In our lives. And. Adopt.

[16:47] A whole. Sour. Bitter. Attitude. We're just. Down. On. The world. A miserable. Person. That spreads. Misery. Wherever. We go. Nobody. Wants.

[16:57] To be. Around us. Those are some. Of the. The responses. To. Getting stuck. In hard. Providence. And. Seventeen. Year old. Joseph. Was capable. Of all. Of that. And more. He wasn't.

[17:08] Above. Such. Temptations. And such. Responses. His flesh. Was as sinful. As ours. But. He found. Grace. In God. To respond. Differently. He found. Satisfaction.

[17:18] In God. As his. Portion. In a way. That. He didn't. Vent. In that way. We find. A whole. Different. Attitude. Coming. From this. Man.

[17:28] Joseph. In hard. Providences. Well. Here he is. Then. And God's. Providence. Continues. To shape. Joseph's life. Now that he's a slave. In Egypt.

[17:39] He starts out as a common slave. At the bottom. In Potiphar's house. But he rises to the top. As a steward in charge of everything.

[17:50] That Potiphar owned. Now how did that happen? How does a guy go from. Bottom rung slave. To top rung. Steward. Over everything he owns.

[18:04] Well. The text says. Because God was with Joseph. God was with him. Cut off from father.

[18:14] And home. But not from. His God. And though his brother's hands. Were against him. God's hand was for him. And gave him success. In everything.

[18:25] That he did. Now that might sound like magic. It might sound like. You know. No matter what Joseph did. How he responded. To his.

[18:36] His providences. No matter how he worked. God just gave him. The Midas touch. And whatever he did. Turned to gold. And succeeded. But that would be.

[18:47] To misunderstand. The way God's providence. Worked in Joseph's life. And the way that God's providence. Usually works. In our lives. Today. It was not as if by magic.

[18:59] Joseph rose to the top. But by a whole lot of sweat. And hard work. By Joseph. In other words. There is a connection.

[19:10] Between Joseph's diligence. And God's. Blessing. Upon him. And God's providence. Usually. Combines these two.

[19:21] Together. And it's an important. Lesson. We need to grasp. Regarding how God's providence. Works. In this world. So he.

[19:34] Begins. Just a bottom rung. Servant. Slave. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe had to. Shovel manure. Out of the stable.

[19:45] And that's where he began. And I don't know. If Potiphar made it. To the stable. Very often. But. He noticed. One time. That. The stables.

[19:55] Were clean. Cleaner. And he'd ever seen them. And they weren't only clean. Everything was in order. Nothing lying around. And everything. In its place. And. And there's Joseph.

[20:07] And. He's not. Grumbling. Complaining. He's. Yes sir. What else sir. And he does more than. He's told to do. He goes the second mile. And.

[20:17] And that place is just. Turned around. And. Potiphar says. Wow. I think we'll try him out in the gardens. And. The lawn. And he does see that quite often.

[20:30] And it's not long before. Uh. He starts to see. What looks like the gardens of Biltmore Mansion. Uh. Everything. In its place. And beautiful to see.

[20:41] And. And he's recognizing. Wow. Wow. Joseph. Slave. Look at this. Let's try him inside.

[20:52] Takes him inside. Can you turn this wreck around? I've got all kinds of infighting. And nothing's getting done on time. And. And sure enough. Joseph whips the whole household into shape.

[21:04] So when state affairs have a party. At. Potiphar's house. Some. Some state event. Where all the other officials. The Pharaoh come. And. They say.

[21:14] What happened to your place? Potiphar. And he says. Well it's this slave. It's this slave. Joseph. Some Hebrew. I bought him. I paid so much for him.

[21:25] But my goodness. Every. Everything he does. His God blesses. And. Now look at the place. Every. Everybody's doing their job.

[21:36] Everything's done on time. It's. It's impressive. And. It was done in such a way that. The scriptures tell us that Potiphar couldn't miss the fact. That it was the blessing of God's hand upon him.

[21:48] No doubt Joseph had spoken of as God. And. And he recognizes. God's blessing is on everything. That he's put his hand to.

[21:59] Both in the field. And in. The house. I don't know how much. He paid for him. From those Ishmaelite traders. I. I can see the scene.

[22:11] The Ishmaelites are going away. Just chuckling. How much they got out of. Potiphar. They paid 20. Pieces of silver. They probably got. 30. 40. 50. Who knows.

[22:22] But he who laughs. Laughs. Laughs. Best. Potiphar got far more than he ever. His money was ever worth. In getting Joseph. It blessed his entire holdings.

[22:43] How did God's providence take Joseph to the top? To be sure God was with him. To be sure God blessed him. Was it because Joseph worked hard.

[22:57] Or because God blessed him? Yes. And yes. Not either or. But both. And that's the way God's providence works.

[23:07] In the world. If Joseph had been a lazy. Half-hearted. Grumpy old guy. Young guy. Too lazy to water. And weed the crops.

[23:18] And care for the cattle. God's blessing of success. Would not have rested on the works of his hands. According to Proverbs. God's providence. Does not reward laziness with success. But rewards it with poverty.

[23:30] God rewards diligence with success. That's the way providence works. Usually in this world. So again. The Lord was with him. Helping him to work smart. Helping him to pursue excellence.

[23:42] Helping him to be diligent. And to do everything with a concern. For Potiphar's well-being. I want him better off for having me. Doing this job. Providence helped him.

[23:55] Not to be grumpy. Complaining. Down in the mouth. Oh. I have to do this. You mean. I. No. He. Providence. God was with him. And. And was blessing him.

[24:05] And satisfying him. So that he. Was the kind of man. That Potiphar says. Well. Why don't I just have him run the whole estate. And that's exactly what he does.

[24:17] So. The Lord. Did indeed bless him. As he worked. Diligently. And with cheerfulness.

[24:27] The Lord indeed bless him. And Potiphar's fields had yields like he had never had before. And his cattle were all like. Grand champions at the state fair.

[24:37] He was blessed. There. There's no doubt that God. Blessed. Potiphar's. Things. For Joseph's sake. But there was also no doubt that Joseph.

[24:50] Worked diligently. Verse 4 tells us similarly that Joseph found favor in Potiphar's eyes. Now the Bible tells us that. Favor with others is something God gives.

[25:02] In his providence. He gives us favor with people. That is God's to give in providence. But how does he give it? Well most usually he gives it for reasons in the person.

[25:14] The person's. Not being obnoxious to them. They're not being unkind to them. They're not being. In this case lazy. Or stealing from him. Rather.

[25:26] Joseph could be trusted with anything. Such that Potiphar didn't even have to be present. And he knew. Joseph would do his job just as well. Whether he's present or absent.

[25:37] He'd seen it. Dozens of times. And through means you see. God gave favor. In Potiphar's eyes. That's how God's providence.

[25:51] Works in the world. Most usually. So there's this wonderful convergence. Of man's effort. And God's blessing. In the way of providence. So we're not surprised then.

[26:03] To see. This pattern in Joseph's life. That he keeps rising to the top. He rises to the top. Potiphar's house. Throw him in jail. He rises to the top. In jail. Send him to Pharaoh.

[26:15] He'll rise to the top there. As well. God's blessing. Yes. God with him. Yes. Him being trustworthy. Hardworking.

[26:26] Diligent. Cheerful. Yes. So who's being blessed. For having you in the family. For having you as the neighbor.

[26:41] Having you as his or her employee. Who are you blessing. Just because you work there. Are you. The place is better.

[26:52] Because you're there. What fellow workers are blessed. To have you beside them. What enemies. Are being blessed. Through your life.

[27:04] That doesn't happen. When we're. We're turned inward. In bitter. Anger. Complaining. Spirit. You see. God was his portion. And he was able to look out. And to serve the well-being of others.

[27:15] That's. That's. How God was with him. And helping him. So. Waiting.

[27:27] Time. Waiting times. Are tempting times. And. We've seen some of the temptations. That. That.

[27:38] That Joseph overcame. To be this inward. Complaining whiner. Uh. And it's in this same context. That we see. Joseph. In a hard.

[27:48] Providence. Joseph. Being forced to wait. We find him tempted. By the bold. And constant advances. Of Potiphar's wife. He passes the first test.

[27:59] Satan cannot sink. This man's faith in God. Just by overwhelming him. With troubles. And hardships. But he's got more than one play. In the playbook. Let's try.

[28:10] Comforts. Comforts. And pleasures. And see if we can sink him that way. And so. Potiphar's wife. Appears.

[28:21] On center stage. Now. The readers of Genesis. Have just come out of chapter 38. And as I told you. That had nothing to do with Joseph.

[28:32] It had everything to do with. His brother Judah. And his sexual immorality. And that becomes the backdrop. On which. We see. Joseph's sexual purity.

[28:45] Now. If I were God. And I was looking for which. Which line. To bless. And to become the line. And lineage. From which the Savior would come. I would choose Joseph's.

[28:56] Wouldn't you? You know who God chose. He chose Judah. The one we've just seen. In such sunken. Sexual immorality. In chapter 38.

[29:09] And Jesus would be known. As the lion. Not of the tribe of Joseph. But the lion. Of the tribe of Judah. And he would teach us. That. His whole plan.

[29:22] Of salvation. Turns not on merit. And worthiness. But turns on grace. And that's why you see. The whole lineage. Is just splattered. With great sinners. Well known sinners.

[29:32] And. That's all there is. To work with. Is sinners. Isn't it? And he sometimes. Chooses the worst. That. No man.

[29:43] Might boast. Except in the Lord. And his wonderful grace. So here. We come through. The immorality. Immorality. Of Joseph's brother. Judah. Now. We step into the.

[29:53] The clear atmosphere. Of. The sexual purity. Of Joseph. He's handsome. He's well built.

[30:05] And good looks. Can be a stumbling. Block. Both to yourself. And to others. Around you. Such temptations.

[30:17] Are very powerful. In any circumstance. But. What Joseph. Met with. Were. Especially. Difficult. In that they happened.

[30:28] During. His slavery. His time. Away from. Home. And the blessings. Of. Of home. He's in a. He's in this strange. He's in a. A hard providence.

[30:39] And we can get to thinking. In a hard providence. That we're owed. A bit of pleasure. Because life's hard. And God has. Has withheld. So many pleasures. From me. Then we cut ourselves slack.

[30:49] And give ourselves. Permission. To get a bit of pleasure. In life. Even if it means. Stepping over. God's commandments. To get that. To get it. But Joseph. Isn't looking at. Hard providences.

[31:00] That way. Oh. Look at all the good. I'm missing out on. No. He's seen. All the blessing. That he's partaking of.

[31:11] Joseph. Doesn't look. At his God. As withholding. Something good. From him. But he sees. That he's with him. And he's. He sees his blessings.

[31:22] And he's thankful. For those blessings. And he sees. This temptation. Not as an opportunity. To grab a little pleasure. For myself. And an otherwise boring. Hard providence.

[31:34] Of a life. But he sees it. As an opportunity. To show his loyalty. To the God. Who has. Blessed him. So even here.

[31:45] He remains faithful. To his master. Potiphar. And faithful. To his God. And he rejects. The forbidden pleasures. That were at his fingertips. Listen to what he says.

[31:55] To her. With me in charge. He told her. My master. Does not concern himself. With anything. In the house. Everything he owns. He is entrusted. To my care. Nobody is greater.

[32:05] Than I am. In this house. My master. Has withheld. Nothing from me. Except you. And that. Because you are his. His wife. How then. Could I do.

[32:15] Such a wicked. Thing. How did Joseph live? This isn't just. Suddenly a spurt. Of grace. That meets him. In temptation's hour.

[32:27] How did Joseph live. His whole life? Well. He lived it. Under the eye of God. It didn't really matter. Whether Potiphar was there. Or not. When he was shoveling. Manure in the stable. Or when he was out.

[32:38] In the field. Dealing with a servant. He always did. What was best. For Potiphar. He always. Did. What would.

[32:49] Better him. And that's exactly. Where he's at now. Potiphar's nowhere. In sight. Neither. Are the other servants. And how does he act?

[33:00] He acts. Consistently. The way that he. He always does. And he says. You know. Potiphar. Has.

[33:10] Trusted me. He's trusted me. With everything. And I cannot. Do such a wicked thing. As to betray. His trust. That would be wickedness.

[33:23] He's. He's. Handed it to me. And walked away. Do I then. Use my position. For selfish gain. No. He. He didn't live that way. That wasn't his practice. And neither is it his practice.

[33:34] As. Jezebel. Has her claws on him. Or not Jezebel. But Potiphar's. Potiphar's wife. She is a Jezebel. Though. It's all one piece.

[33:48] With Joseph. Unite my heart. To fear thy name. Make my life one. Give me true integrity. I'm not. Not one thing here. Another thing there.

[33:58] I want to be the same. I want to. I want to be a man. Of integrity. And honesty. And truthfulness. And where I've been entrusted. I don't want to betray.

[34:09] Those trusts. How are you doing. With the things. That have been entrusted. To you. By a wife. A husband. With your children. With your job.

[34:21] Things that are trusted. Do you see it. As a wickedness. To. To use that trust. For personal gain. Now that would drain the swamp. Wouldn't it. If. If everybody.

[34:31] Did not betray the trust. And use it for selfish gain. Not Joseph. God was with him. And God was helping him. And God in his providence. Was blessing him.

[34:43] Him. But it wasn't just that. It was also the fact. That to. Take. Potiphar's wife. Would be.

[34:54] A wickedness. A sin against God. Um. And he knew that. Before the ten commandments. Were given. Didn't he. There was no seventh commandment.

[35:06] That's engraved on stone yet. But it was engraved in his heart. It was in the conscience of men. And how could I, how can I, how can I do this wickedness and sin against God?

[35:26] Now that's another powerful motivation that kept him pure. How can I sin against this God who's been with me down here in Egypt? I'm all alone, but I'm not alone. He's with me. And his blessing has given me such success.

[35:40] How can I, how can I? He tells her that. No amount of pleasure is worth sinning against such a good God. I find more pleasure in God's presence and blessing than your bed.

[35:55] That's the kind of relationship that he has with his God, that he spurns anything that would interfere that sweet fellowship with his God.

[36:06] And as he fled her temptation, she grabbed his coat and kept it as evidence against him. Oh, the troubles Joseph has with his coats.

[36:20] It was the coat of many colors that enraged his brothers against him and sold him into Egypt. And now it's his Egyptian coat. That is used as evidence to charge him as trying to rape her.

[36:39] And she presents herself as the virtuous wife. And Joseph is the sexually immoral pervert. There's a day of judgment that will right all wrongs.

[37:01] And there's something more important than a good reputation. It's knowing in your conscience before God that you have a good reputation heavenward.

[37:14] Even if men slander you. They slander Jesus. Here's this more. Joseph is amazing for purity.

[37:28] In a far off land, nobody that he knows would think less of him. You know better than that, Joseph. You were raised in... It was on his lap.

[37:40] And he still refuses. Amazing purity. And yet he's the one that's being called the pervert. No one was purer than Jesus.

[37:51] Resisting every temptation. Tempted in every way like Joseph, like you, like me. And yet without sin. And yet what did they accuse him of? The worst of crimes.

[38:06] Rebelling against the king, against Caesar. And blaspheming God. Those are the highest crimes they could charge him with. And the fact that he was wholly blameless and pure did not stop them from charging him.

[38:20] And he went quietly, didn't he? To their mistreatment and judgment of the cross to save us.

[38:32] Joseph was faithful to his master, Potiphar. And it was his very faithfulness that gets him into trouble.

[38:43] You see, he had to know that to fall on the bad side of Potiphar's wife was to invite trouble. He's known success.

[38:54] He's risen to the top. He's in charge of everything. But if he angers her, then he knows he's got wrath to pay. And yet he... Something just more important.

[39:06] He's willing to lose it all. And he does lose it all. And he's... Slammed in prison. It says that her husband, after her act, must have been a...

[39:28] Should have won her an Oscar, I'm sure. And her husband not only bit it, he got angry, enraged at Joseph. No matter what Joseph had done, he was piping mad.

[39:41] And it's a wonder he didn't kill him. He's just a slave. Foreigner. And he's been messing with my wife.

[39:54] But you know, a dead Joseph wouldn't have done any good for saving his family. And so God in providence restrains the wrath of man and has him throw him in prison instead.

[40:07] And not just any prison, but the place where the king's prisoners were confined. The king's prisoners. Pharaoh's prisoners. The heads of state.

[40:18] The people who are important in Pharaoh's administration. That's the prison Joseph is thrown into. And that's because God intends to take him to the palace of that king.

[40:32] And that will come through one of the king's prisoners. And there in prison, we find him rising right back to the top.

[40:45] How did God's providence do that? Well, the same way he rose to the top in Potiphar's house. It wasn't by griping, I don't deserve to be here.

[40:55] Shouldn't be here. What a lousy day. Let me bite your head off. None of that attitude. And I say, what but a God who was his portion could keep him from such an attitude.

[41:13] Even though God's providence rewards his faithfulness with prison. My God is good. My God is good. And so he's good.

[41:25] He's good to the other prisoners. He's good to the warden. And pretty soon, the warden has the same response that Potiphar does. Well, let me try having him do this.

[41:37] Clean out the stalls. And he does it so well. And gives him more response. And pretty soon, he just says, well, you just look over the whole shoot. I don't know what the warden did.

[41:48] Maybe he played cards in the back room or something. He didn't have to look after anything. Joseph's got it. And he trusted him with all the prisoners as they came in.

[41:58] Again, we see this mix. God was with him and blessed him. And Joseph was a unique man, satisfied with God, serving him in his hard providence.

[42:08] And it's there that God moves him on to the next link in his plan.

[42:21] Now, I had planned to go through chapter 40, but I'm not going to make it, so I'm not even going to start. And we'll save that, Lord willing, for next week. because we're going to meet a couple fellas that came from Pharaoh's presence.

[42:36] And we'll see how that perfect timing was a part of God's plan to take Joseph to the top where he can then save his people.

[42:50] The line of Judah. The line of our Savior. Just a couple lessons and conclusion and we'll be done. Times of hard providence are tempting times.

[43:03] Are you there? If not, you will be. We're born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. So how do we do in the hard knocks of God's hard providences?

[43:23] Their preparation times. Waiting times are preparation times. None of these years were wasted on Joseph, were they? Think about it.

[43:34] What's God's plan for him? It's to oversee the whole of Egypt. All of her granary. To see it harvested, stored, and then distributed in time of famine.

[43:47] The whole nation. To be the overseer of the whole nation. How do you get ready for that? You're just father's favorite at home. Checking up on your brothers. How do you get a man from there to being fit and able to handle such a task?

[44:03] Well, let's stick him in Potiphar's house as a slave and let's see him start to learn what it is to work there. Be faithful with little and trusted with little.

[44:14] And then see how he does with the little more, little more, until he's overseeing all of Potiphar's house. And then slamming into prison. Well, let's start over.

[44:25] Let's go back and learn those same lessons and let's see him rise again to the top. Waiting times are not wasted times.

[44:35] They're preparation times. Remember, Moses had 80 years before he ever led the Israelites out of Egypt. And they weren't wasted years on the backside of the desert.

[44:46] God was having dealings with Moses. He was preparing him and he's preparing Joseph in a strange place. Strange. I don't know where you're at, but he's preparing you.

[45:01] He's preparing you for what's ahead, what's around the bend. You don't know. God knows. And you need some preparation. Young people recognize that. He's got you right where he wants you.

[45:13] Be faithful there. No telling what he's cooking up for you. But come. Come to class.

[45:25] God's preparation every morning. Come. Teach me, Lord. Make me faithful where you have me. And then it's not just that what he's got at the end of the wait is so precious.

[45:40] Though that's true, but it's often what he does in and by the wait that is so precious. What does he do? He drives us into his arms, doesn't he?

[45:55] And he makes us see that he is the portion of his people. And what a portion he is. He's more than enough for me in this providence.

[46:07] And we learn more of his love. Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what thou art. I'm finding out the greatness of thy loving heart. You know where you learn that? You learn that in prison and stuck in a hard providence.

[46:20] You find your joy in the Lord. It's the joy of the Lord. Your strength. The joy releases you from self-pity, anger, grousing, and complaining.

[46:31] To look out and who can I bless today? You can put a man like that in prison and he'll find people to bless. Where's God got you? There's people to bless.

[46:42] There's people to love. It's the second greatest commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. Are you even seeing them? Are you so turned in? For me? For me? You see, what God's doing with us in the wait is worth waiting.

[46:56] If there was nothing at the end, that alone is worth it. To be driven closer to him. To find our all and all in him. Let me just close with a contrast with Jesus and Joseph.

[47:18] We've pointed out some of the commonalities. Joseph, the pure one, is accused as being impure.

[47:29] Jesus, the pure one, is numbered with transgressors. He's just one of the three up there getting what he deserves. But there's a unique way that Jesus differs from Joseph.

[47:43] We've said that at different points along the way where it looked like Joseph was history, his brothers wanted to kill him. They were mad enough to kill him. And then there was a plan, well, let's not shed his blood.

[47:54] Let's just ditch him in this pit and let him die in the pit. That way we won't have blood on our hands. And as I said, Potiphar could have been mad enough to kill him.

[48:06] But again, a dead Joseph can do no good to the saving of his people. And you get the contrast. Jesus will do good to his people precisely by his death.

[48:21] It will be by dying that he will pay for our sins. It will be going to the place where Joseph never went to be able to put all of our sins under his blood and to count us righteous in the sight of God.

[48:38] And Jesus will do that because he's not turned in on himself. And what's best for him? He's looking out in love and kindness to bless us even in the hardest providence that has ever hit a human being.

[48:54] The forsakenness of his God on the cross as he bears the sins of many. Oh, thank God for Jesus.

[49:06] Thank God that his death does take away sin. But you know, even a dead Jesus couldn't save us, could he? Really. We need a living Jesus. And that's what we have for three days later he rose.

[49:18] and he now lives and he now reigns and he reigns over your life and he's the one upholding you and controlling. He's the king of providence in your life.

[49:30] We need him to be alive. And God is able to save us to the uttermost because Jesus always lives. Jesus is able to save us to the uttermost because he always lives to intercede for us.

[49:46] He's always there caring for us. So let's trust him. Let's rejoice in him. Let's go back into this week with the confidence of a risen living Savior.

[49:59] Let's pray. Our Father, there's so much that we don't know and sometimes we get stuck on what we don't know.

[50:10] But what we do know is enough to keep us singing a song of praise. in the darkest night. And we'll one day put a song in our hearts.

[50:24] Indeed, it already has been planted there that all eternity will never erase as we sing glory to the Lamb, the Lamb of God, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. We thank you for the Lord Jesus and what he's done for us.

[50:39] Now help us to be an honor and a praise to him and the world you've given us to live in. Give us faithfulness where you've planted us that Jesus Christ might be lifted up in and through us.

[50:52]  We ask in his name. Amen. Amen. Amen.