Gen. 39-40: “Joseph Is Bought
By Potiphar And Prospers Until Potiphar’s Wife Tries To Seduce Him / Joseph
Interprets Dreams For Pharaoh’s Baker And Cup Bearer”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study
we looked at Genesis chapters 37-38.
1.1.1. Previously in our study we studied about Jacob’s
favorite son Joseph, Rachel’s firstborn son, who began to have dreams which
foretold his prominence among his brothers and family. When he told the dreams to his brothers they
become angry and jealous of him. His
father Jacob even chided him about these dreams when Joseph told him about
them.
1.1.2. When Jacob sent Joseph to find out about his brothers
the brothers captured him and contemplated killing him. Then, they ended up selling him as a slave to
some Ishmaelites on their way to
1.2.
In our study
today, we are going to look at Genesis chapters 39-40.
1.2.1. In
1.2.2. While Joseph is in jail the chief cup bearer and baker
for Pharaoh are thrown into jail with him, and he is placed in charge over
them.
1.2.3. On a certain night both of these men in jail with
Joseph have dreams, and Joseph ends up interpreting their dreams for them. Three days later the chief cupbearer is
restored to his job and the baker is hanged, just as Joseph interpreted their
dreams to reveal.
2.
VS 39:1-6a - “1
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer
of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who
had taken him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a
successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. 3 Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper
in his hand. 4 So Joseph found favor in
his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his
house, and all that he owned he put in his charge. 5 It came about that from the time he made him
overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus
the Lord’s blessing was upon all
that he owned, in the house and in the field.
6 So he left everything he
owned in Joseph’s charge; and with him there he did not concern himself
with anything except the food which he ate.” - An officer, the captain of the bodyguard, of
Pharaoh of Egypt bought Joseph as a slave and as he learned how that everything
prospered under Joseph’s charge he soon made Joseph the overseer of his entire
house and all that he owned
2.1.
Potiphar was a
very important person in
2.2.
This Hebrew word
translated ‘officer’ means that he was also a ‘eunich,’ though
some debate this fact. Evidently, in
Egypt at this time if a man was chosen as an officer of Pharaoh he had to be castrated
since his charge required great focus and dedication. The fact that Potiphar was a ‘eunich’
probably led to his wife’s sexual frustrations and temptations. We will talk about them shortly.
2.3.
Joseph not only
showed great administrative and organizational ability, the text here says that
the Lord caused it to come about that ‘the Lord caused all that he did to
prosper in his hand.’ In the
scriptures we read that everywhere that Joseph went that he gained the favor of
those whom he served under.
2.3.1. It is a blessing when the Lord causes us as His people
to have favor with people in this world.
As we serve Him we ought to also to pray that the Lord causes us to have
favor with men, favor with our bosses, favor with our co-workers, favor with
our family, favor with our neighbors, etc.
2.3.2. When we gain people’s favor we can be a witness to
them for Christ and let them know the reason why God is blessing us, the reason
why we are successful, is because of God.
He is giving us favor.
3.
VS 39:6b-12 - “Now Joseph was handsome in
form and appearance. 7 It came about after these
events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “Lie
with me.” 8 But he refused and said
to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern
himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my
charge. 9 “There is no one greater
in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because
you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” 10 As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not
listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. 11 Now it happened one day that he went into the
house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. 12 She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with
me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.” - Potiphar’s wife was attracted to Joseph and
often tried to seduce him, however he rebuffed her attempts citing that he must
not commit such a great evil and sin against God, then finally one day she
tried to rip his clothes off and pull him into her bed however he ran out of
their leaving her holding his garment
3.1.
Here we see for
the first time that Joseph ‘was handsome.’ Not only did he gain favor with others, he
also was blessed with good looks.
3.2.
Potiphar had
probably experienced problems with his wife and her fidelity before. He was a ‘eunich’ so he couldn’t
satisfy his wife as he would like, and this probably led to her
infidelity. It didn’t excuse her behavior,
it simply makes it a little easier for us to understand it.
3.3.
What is
impressive here in this story is the character of Joseph. Joseph knew that infidelity and adultery was
wrong before the Lord. It wasn’t just
that it would be a wrong committed against Potiphar, a man who had been very
generous towards him, he knew it was wrong before the Lord. Joseph tells Potiphar’s wife that to do such
a thing would be a ‘great evil´ before the Lord and also a ‘sin.’ Joseph didn’t have to have the Law of Moses
(which hadn’t been given yet) in order to know that adultery was a sin.
3.4.
Potiphar’s wife
kept pestering Joseph day after day to lie with her, but he denied her. She probably wanted to have an ongoing affair
with him since her husband could not satisfy her. Finally, one day she decides to force him to
sleep with her. She knew that none of
the men were around the house and so there was little danger of being
discovered with another man in her bed.
She probably at this point took off her clothes when Joseph wasn’t
looking, or just took off all her clothes but some see-through neglige. Then, she probably tried to tear Joseph’s
clothes off him and pull him on top of her, as she said, ‘Lie with me!’
3.5.
Joseph was strong
of will in resisting this temptation and he knew that he had to simply run for
his life if he was to get away from Potiphar’s wife. So, he even left his floor length garment
behind and ran away only in his under garments.
3.5.1. The scripture tells us to “flee temptation,”
and “immorality” (1 Cor. 6:18).
We are to resist temptation but when if you find yourself in a situation
where you know you could be tempted, then the best thing to do is get out of
there as fast as you can. As the song
says, “Get on your bike Mike.”
Remaining in a situation where you are tempted can in time cause the
strongest of Christians to eventually give in and sins.
4.
VS 39:13-20 - “13
When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside,
14 she called to the men of
her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make
sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed. 15 “When he heard that I raised my voice and
screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.” 16 So she left his garment beside her until his
master came home. 17 Then she spoke to him
with these words, “The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to
make sport of me; 18 and as I raised my voice
and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” 19 Now when his master heard the words of his wife,
which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” his anger
burned. 20 So Joseph’s master took
him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were
confined; and he was there in the jail.” - After Joseph
left, Potiphar’s wife called to the men of the house and told them that Joseph
had come into her bed and tried to have sex with her, then when her husband,
Potiphar, came home she told him the story and he became angry and threw Joseph
in the jail
4.1.
Potiphar’s wife
was now a woman scorned and so her passionate lust for Joseph turned
immediately to vengeful hate for him.
She decided that since Joseph would not lie with her that she would make
his life miserable, and in fact the crime of rape brought a capital punishment,
and she now wanted him to be dead. So,
she decided to scream out to the men in the house accusing Joseph of coming
into her bedroom and trying to rape her.
4.2.
Another thing that
probably led to Potiphar’s wife screaming out and accusing him of rape was the
fact that if she did not do this she was going to have to explain why she now
had his garment in her bedroom.
4.3.
Notice that when
Potiphar heard his wife’s scream and then came to her, we read here that ‘his
anger burned.’ But, it doesn’t say
that his anger was directed towards Joseph.
He may have believed Joseph to be innocent and was angry at his wife at
this point.
4.4.
It appears from
this story that Potiphar might have believed Joseph to be innocent of this
charge all along because he put Joseph into the jail where political prisoners
were held, not the run of the mill types.
Also, this jail was in his own house.
Plus, there is a good chance that Potiphar knew by this time that he
could not trust his wife, for she might have done such things before.
5.
VS 39:21-23 - “21
But the Lord was with Joseph
and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief
jailer. 22 The chief jailer
committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that
whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. 23 The chief jailer did not supervise anything under
Joseph’s charge because the Lord
was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord
made to prosper.” - The Lord
blessed and prospered Joseph in the jail and the chief jailer soon gave Joseph
charge of all of the prisoners and everything that went on in the jail
5.1.
Here we see that
in the jail in which Joseph was thrown that once again the Lord ‘gave him
favor.’ As before, the Lord blesses
Joseph not only with wisdom and insight but his administrative and
organizational abilities were quickly seen, and once again Joseph was put in
charge. This time the ‘chief jailer
committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail.’
5.2.
The chief jailer
had so much trust in Joseph that he realized he did not need to even ‘supervise
anything under Joseph’s charge.’ Further, the chief jailer even recognized
why he could entrust everything to Joseph, it was ‘because the Lord was with
him and whatever he did the Lord made to prosper.’
5.3.
Many of us having
been unjustly thrown into jail might have gotten bitter, angry, and even
slothful in serving the Lord. Instead of
trying to do all that we did unto the Lord we might have served half-heartedly
and not tried to do our best in carrying out our responsibilities. But, Joseph didn’t do this. He worked just as hard and was just as
diligent, and he did this the entire 13 years he was in jail.
5.3.1. Many of us find ourselves in jails, so to speak. Our circumstances are humble and we aren’t
able to do many of the things we want to do.
Maybe we can’t buy a nice house, or even be able to have a marriage or
children, or it’s the case that we can’t buy the toys that we would like to
buy. Like Joseph, we have dreamed great
dreams about our life and how God might work through us and use us, but the
fact is we just continually find ourselves in these humble circumstances. We need to look to Joseph as an example in
these times to give thanks to God and try to be the best witness we can be for
Christ, right where we are. We need to
realize that the Christian character that God wants to form in our life will be
formed through these trials and crucible that the Lord puts us through. We need therefore to be found faithful in
humble circumstances as well as when God enlarges our borders, and always “do
all that we do as unto the Lord,” as if we are worshipping and serving Him
through it. We need to always be trying
to gain favor with men, as was mentioned earlier, even in our times of
humility. We need to allow God to use
our lives, as he did with Joseph, even in these dark and humbling times.
6.
VS 40:1-4 - “1
Then it came about after these things, the cupbearer and the baker for the
king of
6.1.
The chief ‘cupbearer’
was in charge of everything that Pharaoh and those at his table and house had
to drink. His job was also to sample
every drink before the Pharaoh drank of it in case there was poison in the
drink.
6.2.
The chief ‘baker’
was in charge of the cooking of all meals and food for Pharaoh.
6.3.
We read here that
something happened at Pharaoh’s table such that his chief cup bearer and baker
‘offended’ him. There has been
speculation that perhaps there was some poison that had been found nearby the
kitchen or dining area nearby Pharaoh, and their was suspicion this had been
put their for a possible assassination attempt.
This could be what happened, but the fact is that all we know is that
something happened that caused Pharaoh to be ‘offended’ by them.
6.4.
At this point
some sort of an investigation was in progress to see who had done whatever
offense that had been done to Pharaoh.
Both men had been locked up until the guilty culprit could be determined. Evidently, this investigation went on for
some time for it says here that ‘they were in confinement for some time.’
6.5.
Since Joseph was
in charge of this jail for political prisoners, we see that he was now in charge
of these two officers of Pharaoh, and that Joseph ‘took care of them.’
7.
VS 40:5-8 - “5
Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined
in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and
each dream with its own interpretation. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning and
observed them, behold, they were dejected. 7 He asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in
confinement in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?” 8 Then they said to him, “We have had a dream and
there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not
interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”” - The cup bearer and the baker to Pharaoh who
were there in jail with Joseph both had a dream one night and they were
dejected because they sensed that the dream had some important meaning for
them, but they couldn’t understand it, so Joseph asked them to tell him the
dream since God is the one who can interpret dreams
7.1.
After the chief
cup bearer and baker had been in the jail with Joseph for some time, they both
have a unique dream on the same night, and both of them sense that the dream
held some significance for them. But, they don’t know how to interpret their
dream. Had they not been locked up I’m
sure these men would have gone to some sort of astrologer, soothsayer,
sorcerer, or whatever to try and get an interpretation of their dream. But, they are now frustrated because they
cannot seek such a one out and get an interpretation.
7.2.
Interpretation of
dreams has been part of civilization almost from the beginning. There are dream interpretations written on
clay tablets dating back to 3,000 – 4,000 BC.
The pagan nations believed that the gods gave them insight or direction
through their dreams. The ancient
Egyptians believed that dreams were for warnings, advice, and prophecy. The Greeks and the Romans had those who could
interpret dreams accompany their generals and military leaders into
battle. The American Indians as well as
the Mexican peoples had the same view of dream interpretation as the ancient
cultures.
7.3.
Psychiatrists and
psychologists have felt that dreams reveal important things about our lives,
but they vary greatly in the way they think dreams should be interpreted, for
instance:
7.3.1. Freud said the dreams are “wish fulfillment.”
7.3.2. Jung said that dreams were “windows to our
unconscious” and a guide to achieve wholeness.
7.3.3. Etc.
7.4.
I don’t encourage
you to go and buy a book by a psychiatrist or psychologist on how to interpret
your dreams however. I think also that
we need to be careful not to be deceived by those who claim that they can
interpret dreams. There are even books
and websites for Christians telling them methods that they can use to interpret
dreams, I don’t encourage us to figure out a method. But, I will say that I think God wants to
teach us some things through our dreams and that we need to learn from them.
7.5.
We find in the
scriptures that there are many instances, some say over 100 or more, where the
Lord spoke to or directed His people through dreams. In fact, the Lord tells us in the scriptures
that He will, at least to some extent, direct His people through our dreams:
7.5.1. Numbers 12:6, “6 He said, “Hear now My words: If
there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord,
shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream.”
7.5.2. Hosea 12:10, “10 I have also spoken to the
prophets, And I gave numerous visions, And through the prophets I gave parables.”
7.5.3. Psalm 16:7, “7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed, my
mind instructs me in the night.”
7.5.4. Acts 2:17, “17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will
pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams.”.
7.6.
For each of us as
Christians, our dreams are unique and we learn to deal with our dreams
uniquely. I want to ask three questions
here of those listening to this message as I am going to take a quick survey. Please raised your hands for each one of
these if they are true for you.
7.6.1. Questions:
7.6.1.1.How many of you believe that you have had a dream
given to you by God?
7.6.1.2.How many of you find that you are often affected by
your dreams?
7.6.1.3.How many of you have ever had a dream that you thought
was inspired by Satan?
7.6.1.4.How many of you are often trying to figure out what
your dreams mean to you?
7.6.2. I personally answered “yes,” to each of these
questions. Dreams have and do have a
great impact on my life, and in fact on any given day when I wake up I can
remember up to four dreams I have had.
7.7.
I believe that
the Lord wants to teach each of us things about ourselves through our dreams.
Many of us have recurring dreams and we ought to ask God to reveal to us in the
scriptures why this is. We probably have
all had a dream where we forgot to wear clothes and went to school or
work. I think this dream reveals our
insecurities. Many of us, including
myself, often have dreams where I am in combat and fighting with others. Someone once said that this dream is a good
thing because it reveals that you take seriously the spiritual warfare you are
under before the Lord.
7.8.
Previously, we
saw that Joseph had dreams that were of a prophetic nature concerning
himself. We are not sure the significance
he at this point in his life placed in those dreams, and in fact the very
circumstances that he was in being in jail would have seemed to him at this
point in his life that these prior dreams were not being fulfilled in his life,
and perhaps that they were even ludicrous to consider. But, here he tells the chief cup bearer and
baker that ‘interpretations belong to God,’ and then he asks these men
to tell him the dreams they have had as if he is expecting that God shall give
him the interpretation of the dream.
8.
VS 40:9-15 - “9
So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my
dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me; 10 and on the vine were three branches. And as
it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe
grapes. 11 “Now Pharaoh’s cup was in
my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put
the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.” 12
Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three
branches are three days; 13 within three more days
Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put
Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his
cupbearer. 14 “Only keep me in mind
when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to
Pharaoh and get me out of this house. 15 “For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the
Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into
the dungeon.”” - The chief cupbearer for
Pharaoh told his dream to Joseph and Joseph interpreted the dream for him and
asked him to remember Joseph when he was released and to mention Joseph to
Pharaoh
8.1.
The chief
cupbearer took the stage first and explained his view to Joseph. He probably volunteered first because he was
innocent and had nothing to hide.
8.2.
Though we don’t
see Joseph praying for an interpretation of this dream, I’m sure that he must
have prayed. He says that the
interpretation will come from God, so he must have prayed.
8.3.
Joseph saw in a
revelation from the Lord that the fact that the cup bearer was again squeezing
grapes into Pharaoh’s cup as indicating that he would be restored to his
previous position.
8.4.
Joseph also the
Lord also revealing that the ‘three branches’ on the vine were
indicating that this was going to happen in three days. This was a very specific interpretation so if
it didn’t come to pass as Joseph had said, then his interpretation was not from
God.
8.5.
It is interesting
today to see that many of those who call themselves modern day prophets in the
church are not committing themselves in their prophesies to any specifics which
could disprove what they are prophesying.
This vagary then makes people think that they are true prophets when in
fact they are just false prophets and teachers.
This was not so with Joseph for he says that this will come to pass in 3
days. If this does not come to Joseph
then he is a false prophet and has not heard from God, as he believes.
9.
VS 40:16-19 - “16
When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to
Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three
baskets of white bread on my head; 17 and in the top basket there were some of all sorts
of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on
my head.” 18 Then Joseph answered and
said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; 19 within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your
head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh
off you.”” - The chief baker for Pharaoh told his dream to
Joseph and Joseph interpreted his dream for him
9.1.
Next, the chief
baker told Joseph his dream. He had
heard a favorable interpretation for the cup bearer’s dream and he surely hoped
that he would be so lucky. The problem
was that he was most likely guilty and therefore deserved whatever fate Pharaoh
should decide upon for him.
9.2.
In the chief
baker’s dream he again was preparing and cooking meals, and he put into three
baskets on his head some various food and white bread that he had cooked.
9.3.
But, instead of
the chief baker actually giving the food he had cooked to Pharaoh, instead
birds came and were eating out of the baskets.
Joseph had a revelation from the Lord that this meant that this man
would not be restored to his post. In
fact, since the punishment for whatever this crime he was accused of was death
by hanging, Joseph told the man that he would be hung on a tree and that the
birds would eat his flesh.
9.4.
Further, Joseph
also saw from revelation from God that the three baskets indicated that it
would be in three days that Pharaoh would carry out this punishment. Again, this was a very specific
interpretation so if it didn’t come to pass as Joseph said, then his
interpretation would not be of God.
10.
VS 40:20-22 - “20
Thus it came about on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday,
that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the
chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and
he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand; 22 but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had
interpreted to them.” - On his
birthday, Pharaoh had a feast and then he restored the chief cupbearer to his
office and hanged the chief baker, both in fulfillment of how Joseph had
interpreted these dreams
10.1. Pharaoh’s birthday celebration came and we see here
that he made a big feast for all of his servants. At his birthday celebration, Pharaoh decided
to announce what his investigation had determined: the cup bearer was innocent and should be
restored to his position and the baker was guilty and he must now immediately
be hung.
10.2. Both of these results fulfilled exactly Joseph’s
interpretation of the dreams of the chief cup bearer and baker. Because of how specific Joseph has been in
his interpretation of this dream the chief cup bearer and baker should not have
believed that his interpretation was a matter of mere coincidence. God had given Joseph these interpretations.
11.
VS 40:23 - “23
Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.” - The chief cupbearer for Pharaoh forgot to
mention Joseph and his interpretation of the two dreams to Pharaoh
11.1. The chief cupbearer was very appreciative to be able
to live another day, and though he was convinced that the Lord had indeed given
Joseph the interpretation to his dream none the less he did not remember to
mention to Pharaoh that Joseph like him was also an innocent man, and that God was
working in Joseph’s life to the extent that he had interpreted his dream as
well as the dream of the, now deceased chief baker, correctly.
12.
CONCLUSIONS:
12.1. Flee temptation.
12.2. Pray that God gives you favor with men.
12.3. Allow God to use you even in the toughest times, and
wherever you may be, do your work as unto the Lord and determine to be a
witness to God.
12.4. Allow God to reveal to you from your dreams the things
He wants to reveal about you, His leading in your life, and whatever mysteries
he wants to unravel for you, for “interpretations belong to God.”