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THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Becky Harcourt and are based on Genesis 39
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
Genesis 39
1Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favour in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of 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. 6 So
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”...
But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favour in the eyes of the prison warden.
Sunday August 31 - The story so far
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials... bought him from the Ishmaelites... Genesis 39:1
Joseph may be most famous for his coat of many colours, but there is so much more to his life story. His father Jacob’s favourite and blessed by God with prophetic dreams, Joseph’s early life was a privileged one. However, that privilege provoked envy in his older brothers who weren’t impressed by Joseph’s status as favourite, or by his dreams – dreams which Joseph had unwisely shared with them, and that suggested they would one day bow down to Joseph, who would be much greater than them.
Between them, Joseph’s brothers conspire to sell him into slavery and then to convince their father that his favourite has died a tragic death, being torn apart and devoured by a ferocious animal. Jacob is devastated and refuses to be comforted. Meanwhile, Joseph arrives in Egypt with his captors and is sold into a high-ranking Egyptian household.
Joseph’s story sounds like one that started with great promise but has now become quite hopeless. Stranded in a foreign land, knowing no one and having the status of a slave, things looked bleak for him. That view, however, takes no account of God and his sovereign control. Joseph’s story is full of ups and downs, but through it all, God is in charge, working out his plans and purposes. The same is true for us. Whatever happens, God is in control, and he has the final say.
Thank you God that, in the ups and downs of my life, you are sovereign and always in control. Amen.
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. 21
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PRAYER FOR TODAY