The Trail Of Trials - [Genesis 39]

How many of you here went for the hike last week to Mount Wachusett? Okay, a few hands here. Those of you familiar with hiking can identify that sometimes the trail seems to get longer as you get closer to the end, you know, especially if you're a little out of practice like I've been in the past few months.

For many others, I think especially the Wachusett Hike was probably not long enough. You wished it would have gone longer. Today we're going to look at a trail of sorts. The Sunday School is titled The Trail of Trials.

Pastor Steve has been preaching through 1 Peter, and as you know, that book deals with this whole aspect of suffering and the believer going through this trail and the purpose of God in walking us through this particular trail.

As we begin, I want to ask a question. Actually, this Sunday School is going to be a lot more interactive like the one we did a few weeks back. How many of you here can just quickly look back at your life, maybe this past week, this past month, and identify a couple of trials that you're going through?

I see hands almost everywhere. Trials in the world are common, but especially among believers, you can see that we have a path that the Lord has put before us, and it often involves going through trials.

The first time I was going to teach this lesson, actually, I had prepared this lesson. This is from Genesis 39. We'll get to it in a minute. It was very interesting. I had gone through two very unique trials at that particular time, just as I was going to teach.

This was for a class in seminary. I just picked up this note as I wanted to prepare something for Sunday School here, and I said, let me look back at these notes I prepared. It was a trial the first time I was teaching this.

The week before I taught this class, it was the first time that I came very close to being laid off. When the weight of just being laid off came upon me for the first time, I remember kind of falling back to think, oh, you know, I've been serving this company for all my life with all my strength, and I'm suddenly useless?

Is that what the company thinks of me? All of a sudden, that weight just hit me, and it took me a little while to kind of come back to stability, to realize, well, I'm still in God's world, and he takes care of me.

And the first time a particular trial attacks us, it sometimes tends to take away the focus of where we should be when we walk through it. I've had many other layoff situations come since, and now I'm almost waiting for when that happens, because we know our good God will take us through in his time and in his way and for his purpose.

And this particular week, again, as I was preparing for this class, it was very interesting, because I came through another situation, very unique, nothing that I had passed through before. And sadly, you know, sometimes I must confess, you know, when the particular trial we've gone through, we know how to deal with it, and then we know we can trust God if this thing happens.

But when something new comes in my human nature, I'm just looking to solve problems in my own way. I'm walking through it, scurrying along, trying to find all the ways I can solve this. And then I come to the wall and then say, well, I guess I'm not able to deal with this anymore.

And we always look back to our faithful father, because he has placed us there, and he has a purpose for us in those particular trials that we are placed in. And in today's class, we're going to look at the life of Joseph.

We're going to look at how God took him through a very particular situation, a very difficult trial, and how Joseph actually walked through this particular trial. And my purpose is, as I was studying this, I realized there's so much in the Bible on the subject of trials.

You can look at, you know, how to respond to trial, what are the causes of trials, what are the types of trials. The book is just filled with trials. But there's one thing that I want all of us here to get a grasp on and walk away from, and that is, what does God do in these trials?

What is God's role in these trials? And how are we to respond to trials in the knowledge of this truth? So let's open with a word of prayer, and I have some handouts. I'll just pass them along, and we'll get started.

Dear God, our heavenly father, each of us here this morning, Lord can honestly look back and see the trials that we are walking through today. But, Lord, we have come here to learn from you. We have come here to worship you, and we have come here to hear what you have to say about trials in the life of believers.

I pray that each and every one of us here will be encouraged as we read your word and as we understand your purposes in our lives and as we understand how we must respond to these circumstances and situations that you put us in.

We ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. I'd like a couple of volunteers to spread this out for me. Can I take you, Carl, thanks, and Daniel? Yes. And as Carl is handing that out, it's actually a very simple handout.

On the one side, it's got Genesis 39 printed out. It's got a few things highlighted and underlined, so you can look at specific keywords that I want you to focus on. And I was looking for some young ones here.

I think you're the youngest here. So those of you young or young at heart can use the table on the back side if you're interested in it, because that's very interesting to see how, as Joseph walks through the situation, you see his worldly situation fluctuate back and forth, and you see how he moves in a spiritual walk with the Lord.

So those of you who are interested, you can just fill that up as you go along as we study this verse. I think the handouts are distributed to everyone. So when I first started out, I asked how many of you have trials in your lives, and I saw almost every single hand here go up.

And I'd like you to keep your specific trial in mind as we go through this incident in the life of Joseph. And actually, if one or two of you would like to just share something, particularly that is a burden that you have in your heart that you're going through, feel free to do that, because we are going to quickly have that context set that this is our trials that we are going through that we need to see God's hand in.

We're going to spend about 20 minutes going through the life of Joseph, seeing what happens there, and then we'll come back and apply this in our lives to see how we must respond to our trials. Does anybody like to share a particular trial that you're going through that you're looking for God's hand?

Yes, Bruce? Yes. Looking for a place to live. And we know in one sense God provides, but when you go through those steps of looking for a place, and it can be challenging and difficult. Okay, so let's get into our lesson this morning.

Joseph in Egypt: God’s Favor in a Lowly Place

So today's situation from Genesis chapter 39, you're going to see a roller coaster situation. It's going to go up and it's going to go down, and it's a story that most of us are familiar with, and we're going to pick at Genesis 39 the life of Joseph.

But before we get to Genesis 39, there's a certain thing that has happened in the life of Joseph. So if you look at Genesis 39, verse 1, we read, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Now, you know, Joseph's life doesn't begin this way.

In this particular verse, he's a slave carried away against his will to a foreign land, but that's not how he always was. He wasn't born into slavery. What happened in Joseph's life before we get to 39, verse 1?

The Ishmaelites, yes. His brothers sold him, so there was a tragedy that cost the slavery before that. Exactly. So the cause for the dispute with his brothers was that he was actually loved by his father.

He was a very special child, born late, and his father had a special affection for him. And not just that, he also had some dreams that showed that God had a certain purpose for him. And unfortunately, both this favoritism that his dad showed and these words that Joseph spoke caused a little friction with his brothers.

And, I mean, if we think of sibling rivalry, you know, you need to go way back to Joseph's life. And you see what kind of conflict that causes, resulting in a son of a patriarch, someone who is wealthy and famous and doing well and loved, all of a sudden going down and sold and taken to a foreign land.

Here he is, when we begin Genesis 39, verse 1, he is in an unfamiliar country, unfamiliar people, unfamiliar language, in a totally different circumstance than anything that he's used to before, from someone highly favored to someone who is just a slave.

And so that's where we pick up. So if you look at the back of your sheet, you know, his worldly situation begins pretty low. I don't think you can go much lower than that to start in terms of your circumstances.

But if you flip back again into the chapter that I've printed out, I've kind of broken them into paragraphs. And there's one thing I want you to note, even before we get into the text. If you look at the first paragraph and the last paragraph, those are kind of the bookends of this chapter.

There's something that should just stand out to you when you look at it. You see the Lord's hand in Joseph's life. While Joseph is going to go through some really tumultuous time through the course of this chapter, you know that God's hand is with Joseph right at the beginning and right at the end.

And that's the one solid comfort that Joseph can have while he goes through the circumstances that the Lord puts him in. And the second thing that I want you to notice, the middle section, the other paragraphs in between, you're going to look at one particular trial that Joseph goes through.

And as he goes through the circumstances that God has put him in and the trial that he has to face, you're going to see how he grows in his spiritual maturity. And you're going to see the impact that this trial has on his worldly life.

And which is why I have the table at the back. So feel free to fill it if you'd like or come back and fill it up at the end. But let's get straight into today's text with that. I'm going to read each of those paragraphs as they are broken up and then we'll spend a few minutes talking about them in terms of understanding what happens and what we ought to learn from it.

And then we'll conclude the passage with an overall lesson that we need to learn. Genesis 39, 1 to 6. Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.

The Lord was with Joseph and he was a successful man and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Verse 3. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.

So Joseph found favor in his sight and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was from the time that he made him overseer of his house and all that he had that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake.

And the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus he left all that he had in Joseph's hand and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

Just think about this paragraph for a minute. How do you think Joseph is doing so far having come to Egypt? Pretty good? Under the circumstances, yes. I mean, still looking back at his father's house, he's probably not back at that state yet.

But under the circumstances, good. But in many cases, even far beyond what most slaves could have expected. You come as a slave, you don't expect to rise quickly up the ranks. It takes a few years to serve as underslave and slave one and then move your way up the chain of command.

But Joseph moved quickly to be responsible for everything that his master had for one reason. And what was that? Yeah. You see that the Lord's hand was upon Joseph and he wanted Joseph to gain favor in the eyes of his master and he has a specific role that he wants Joseph to play and it is because of God's hand that Joseph is elevated in the eyes of his master.

Now, things are about to change. And those of you familiar with the story, you can see that this is not the end that God has in place for Joseph. If God wanted Joseph to be second in command to Potiphar's house till he died, I don't think he would have let this trial come up in Joseph's life.

But Joseph has no idea what God is doing. And look at the circumstance and listen carefully to see what the trial is that Joseph is facing. I will read verses 7 through 9. And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph and she said, Lie with me.

But he refused and said to his master's wife, Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife.

How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Many of us are familiar with this verse that Joseph says, How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? What exactly is Joseph telling here when he says this sentence or this response to Joseph to Potiphar's wife?

That is true, yes, because he explains the reason why this would be sinful because she is his wife and it would be... Yeah, actually you kind of hit upon two of the... Actually, I think you hit all three of them.

So there are three reasons that Joseph actually gives here. So let's kind of walk through those verses. Right at verse 8, what is Joseph saying there? What is one of the reasons why he cannot do this sin?

Right, and he is in a position of trust with his master and he is to reciprocate that trust to his master Potiphar and he is to be in a relationship of trust and he cannot break that trust that his master has on him.

So that's one of the most obvious statements that, you know, he has given me everything, I have authority, I can do what I please but I will do what pleases my master and I will not break his trust in me.

So that's the first thing in verse 8. And in verse 9, he says something else which I think Daniel pointed out too. What is he talking to the wife about? He is trying to tell her something that she should have been aware of.

What is he telling her? That's exactly right. I mean, the Egyptian women, I think, are supposed to be notorious for their infidelity and historians writing about how it's very difficult for a man to find a faithful wife in those days.

But here he is reminding her, you know, though you may be crazed in your lust and your desires, this is what you should be about. You are married to your husband and you should be faithful to him and for you to break this covenant with your husband is sinful.

And he's kind of reminding her, this is wrong for you and it is wrong for me. And finally, he concludes by saying, what? Ultimately, all sin is directed against God. So he is looking at his own character.

And if you think about his position here, you know, just imagine, it's kind of hard for us too because we have not been slaves before. But he has pointed for his master that he has to serve. And this lady is his wife and she has a position of authority too.

His responsibility is to serve them, please them, but not in a state of sin. He cannot compromise his character. He cannot compromise his integrity in order to please somebody who is an authority over him.

And he makes it very clear, you know, if I were to do this, this would be a great wickedness and it would be a sin against God. And he knows that this is probably going to go a path that is not going to be easy.

If you think about it for a minute, whom can he go and tell that this woman is making advances to me? Who is that? That's exactly right. The only person he can talk to is God. Imagine, he goes to Potiphar.

Hey, Mr. Potiphar, I have a little problem. You know, your wife is doing this to me. Who would he believe? And not just that. A slave just doesn't go talk to his master about these things. And here is Joseph.

He keeps his calm and the only person he can talk to in this trial is God. But the problem doesn't stop there. Potiphar's wife doesn't make the advance and say, Okay, I know you're a chaste boy. You're a young kid, but you are holy.

So forget about this, that it ever happened. Look at verse 10. So it was as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her to lie with her or to be with her.

Now, even though her response, her advance has been not reciprocated. She is persistent. And what does Joseph do? He does what is right. He tries in all circumstances to avoid being with her. And we'll find out being with her alone.

And, you know, so far, has Joseph done anything wrong? None that we can see. He has done, he has preserved his integrity, and he has tried to live a life responding to this trial in a way that God would have him.

He knows this is sinful, this temptation that has come. And he responds by doing what is right. Now the trial comes to a head. He's had, he's been approached by part of his wife. This temptation has remained over a period of time.

And finally, we read as verses 11 and 12. But it happened about this time that Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house were inside, that she caught him by his garment saying, lie with me.

But he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside. What do you think Joseph could have done in this circumstance? That would have been good because we know that he tried to avoid her in the past.

And in this particular circumstance, when nobody else was there, maybe he could have tried to be not present there. But we realize that his duty was over the house, so his responsibility was in this place.

And unfortunately, in this particular circumstance, there was nobody else there. What else could he have done, maybe? And I think that's a good advice for us today, especially if we are in a circumstance that we are never in a position of compromise.

We are always careful not to put ourselves in those places. But in this particular circumstance, we don't know. Joseph may not have had any control over who else he could have had there because maybe the people of the house were serving outside, and he had a specific task on the inside he had to accomplish.

But this event has happened. So the woman has made her advance. She has put all her things on the front and then decided to force the issue. And Joseph has refused her advances, left his cloak, and run away.

What do you think the woman is thinking of right now? I got him now, yeah, in the sense that that's right. Yeah, so she now has an evidence. Yes, Daniel? That's a good statement. We'll get to it in a minute.

Yes. It's possible in one sense. And that, I think, would have been what motivated or started this whole thing. Thank you. We'll come back to this. Yes, Mrs. Joyce? That is true. And what happens here is here is a woman who has been persistently trying to get this little young guy whom she thinks would be easy, you know, this slave has to do what she's telling him to do.

But this guy has not just persistently refused her, but when she thought she had him under control, he pretty much left everything and went away. And she's rejected, humiliated, and she wants to get back at him.

She's angry. And, you know, she also has herself in a spot. She's kind of come out in the open, and she has to deal with the circumstances now. And she comes out and says, OK, here I am. I'm going to come up with a way to really get you back, Joseph.

And that's what's running through her mind because of what we see happening next. We'll come back to what you said, Daniel. So let's see what she does in verses 13 through 15. So it was when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, See, he, this is Potiphar, has brought into us a Hebrew to mock us.

He, Joseph, came into me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And it happened when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled and went outside.

So here comes the first accusation. So she's made up a story. She knows how she's going to get back at Joseph. She tells the servants this is what happened. She's preparing her jury before the case comes before the master of the house.

And so that's the lie she comes up with. And in verse 16, we read,. So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. I want us to just stop here for a moment. Joseph fled from the woman in order not to sin.

The woman talking to all the servants and preparing the case against Joseph. What do you think is going through Joseph's mind while he is here outside waiting for his master to come back? Many a time, yes, did somebody say something?

I'm a dead man. Yes. I mean, this is very serious. This is not somebody, you know, just spilled some milk and, you know, has to apologize over the $2 that it cost him. Here is the he's working for the captain of the guard.

Daniel pointed out a man of very high authority capable of doing anything he wants. Here is a woman who has much more standing than he does, whose word is going to hold up against him, who is also preparing the groundwork to make sure that whatever he says will not stand.

And this is, in a sense, the anticipation of waiting. What is going to happen, I think, is a much more difficult trial than what actually will happen when Joseph meets Potiphar. In fact, one of the types of suffering that most people go through is this mental suffering of anticipation, because you do not know what is going to happen.

You can imagine the consequences. They are severe any way you look at it. But just the waiting and anticipating what is going to happen, I think, is like that sword that is hanging over your head. You just don't know when it's going to fall.

And there's just one verse, a couple of verses I want you to think of here, because it's easy for us to forget why Joseph is in this spot. The two verses are from 1 Peter again. One is from 1 Peter 2 .20, where Peter says, If when you do good and suffer for it and you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

You know Joseph was acting out of integrity before God. He knew by doing that he was going to put himself in a spot, and it didn't matter because he was doing this in the eyes of God. And actually, the other verse is in 1 Peter 3 .14, where it says, Even if you would suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed.

He knows that he has to do what he has to do before God, and the consequences are in God's hand. But again, the suffering of waiting and going to find out what is going to happen is hanging ominously over his head.

Let's get to the trial, if you will, the mock trial, verses 17 -19. Then she spoke with him, this is her husband, with words like these, saying, The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came into me to mock me.

So it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside. And verse 19, So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, Your servant did this to me after this manner, that his anger was aroused.

She first accused him with the servants, got there to buy into a story, and now she paints a vivid and false picture of what actually happened before the master. And actually, if you can see it, she's insinuating that he is responsible for everything that has happened.

You are the guy who brought this Hebrew slave here, and look what he has done, trying to work all angles to get Joseph into trouble. And like Daniel pointed out, it's interesting, I really wish the Lord would have written down clearly, you know, the object of his anger.

The master is angry, and it could very well be, because, you know, on the one hand, put yourself in the master's situation. Here is a slave you bought for, I don't know how much, more than 20 shekels for sure, because that's what the Ishmaelites got him.

But you got him as a slave, and he has risen quickly because of his integrity, because of his honesty, because of the way he has worked, and the blessing that he has brought into the house. He knows this guy even for a short while, that there's something special about him.

A woman like Potiphar's wife, I'm pretty sure there must have been other issues that Potiphar was probably aware of. But here he is, put in a spot in front of everybody, his wife is accusing somebody else, and he has to deal with it.

And actually she's accusing him of having brought this person out here. And what should he have done? And as Daniel pointed out, he probably had the authority to lop off his head. He was the captain of the guard.

He was the chief executioner. It's called like a prince. He had total authority over this group of people. But the law of the land at that time had a certain punishment, and we don't see that punishment administered to someone who would have done this crime.

And he interestingly puts him in prison. Do you know what prison he puts him in? Yeah, King's prison. And who is in charge of the King's prison? He is. If you look back to chapter 40, you look back and see that Chief Baker and the Chief Cupbearer, they are put in the King's prison, and the person responsible for the King's prison is the captain of the guard.

It is his responsibility to look after all these high officials who are put in this prison. And actually if you look at that verse, you'll find that Joseph is not there just serving as a... He's not just looking down at these two men, but he's actually serving them, because this is a pretty big...

It's a prison for important people, and he's actually put there. And he actually puts him in a place, I think, where he can kind of keep his mouth shut, because he probably knows what has happened. He doesn't want to do something that will compromise his situation or his wife, but he puts him in a place which is...

He doesn't kill him, which he could have if he wanted to. So I think I kind of got ahead of myself. That's in verse 20. So then Joseph's master took him and put him in the prison, a place where the King's prisoners were confined, and he was there in the prison.

Now, Joseph obviously did not get to defend himself before his master, tell him what really happened. He probably knew that he could not defend himself, because he was a slave, and this is not a position that he had the opportunity.

He did not have the kind of right to stand up and challenge this accusation that has come before him. But then, where is Joseph now? He's almost back, or even worse than where he started off at the beginning of verse 1.

He started off as a slave, but now he's not just a slave, he's actually in a position of incarceration, in prison. His freedom is restricted even more, and he does not know what the outcome of this is going to be.

So I still don't see too many kids here, but if any of you are interested, you are welcome to fill that table in the back, and I think he's pretty much back where he started, if not any worse. Now let's pick up where Joseph is once again, in verse 21 to 23.

The Lord Was with Joseph in Prison

But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy. And he gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison.

Whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

So what is the Lord doing here? Is he just taking a situation that somehow went bad and trying to work his way back up? Yes, Lewis? Exactly. He's in a school, a very hard school, but a very important school.

Yes, Charlie? Yeah, actually what you said is what I wanted to actually spend much of our time on, which is, you know, in the one hand, we have God purposely taking him through this trial. This woman, you know, mad woman with a lust was not something God was surprised with.

He knew what was going to happen. And he knew that Joseph was going to go into this prison. And the trial was going to come. God had ordained it for a purpose for Joseph's sanctification and also for Joseph's position, where he needed to be in the end.

But in all of that, God was with him. It wasn't that just said, OK, Joseph, you're not good enough right now. Let me just throw you out there. And when you're ready, let's talk again. You know, God's hand was with Joseph through the trial with an express purpose of taking him through that path.

And I think you're probably thinking of First Corinthians 10, 13, where, you know, every circumstance, every temptation that we go through, God is faithful and he will not cause something that is beyond our ability to bear that, you know, he would be just broken and despair and die in the prison.

God had a purpose. And as a loving father, even though the trial seems so hard for us to understand, 13 years in a prison, come on, I could go and rescue my people right now. You know, put me in Genesis 50.

I don't want to spend 13 years in 39. But then God is a loving father. He knows exactly what needed to happen in Joseph's life. Like Luz was mentioning, if you look at just the aspect of his speech, you know, before the bratty kid, he couldn't just keep his mouth shut.

And here he is in a situation where if he had just opened his mouth, he probably could have told the truth and done all he could have to rescue himself, but nothing he can do about it. And you will find again later in Genesis 40, he does something great and the guy he does a big favor for in interpreting his dream keeps quiet for two years and nothing he can do about it.

Here are lessons that God does in his life to prepare him for a place. And actually, that's what I would like to keep in mind. In fact, in James 1, 14, we read that when we are tested, our faith produces patience and patience must have its full effect so that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

I mean, there is an express purpose for all these trials that we go through. And in fact, if you look at Genesis 50, when Joseph's father Jacob has died, his brothers are fully under his authority. This is Joseph at the highest command and can do anything he wants, just like Potiphar could have lopped off his head.

And here he looks back at his brothers and he says, What? That's right. He is able to see what God has done even through all those trials. You brothers did it wrong, but God used it for good and I'm not going to take it out on you.

And that's the state to which God had brought Joseph up in his personal sanctification. So in the time that we have left, we've studied what God did with Joseph's life. We see how God was a loving father who carried him through every step of this trial.

There was nothing that happened in Joseph's life that God did not know about, that God in a sovereign way did not ordain that happened in Joseph's life. And there was a purpose for Joseph in his own personal growth and also for what Joseph was to do down the road.

Now let's look at the two aspects. One is Joseph's sanctification. If you take out those top two and look at that one temptation that he faces, can someone tell me the difference between a temptation and a trial?

What is the difference between a temptation and a trial? And temptation? Yes. And actually as I was thinking about this and doing a little studying, that's mostly what we associate temptation and trial with.

On the one hand, trial seems to kind of come like this huge wave carries you off and you just have to somehow try to stay afloat. There's really nothing more you can do than try not to go under. Whereas temptation seems to kind of knock at your door and say, well, you have two choices.

Do you want to do this or that? And in a sense that is true because we are given a more direct choice when we are faced with a decision. But going back to what Dallas, you said, there is a sense in which every trial requires a response from us as believers.

Because God puts us in a place of trial for a purpose. It isn't that we are just to be carried about by life whichever way it carries us. But God's purpose must be worked out in our lives. And in many cases, it may be as simple as deciding not to do or think wrong of what is happening in our lives.