Genesis Chapter 40 - Inconvenience or Opportunity?

The story of the cup bearer and the baker, servants to the king that were put in prison, gives us another opportunity to observe Joseph’s character. Joseph had already been promoted to prison administrator because of his diligent service and positive attitude. These two new prisoners were put in his care. Why these two new men were there is somewhat unclear, but somehow they managed to displease the king of Egypt, and prison was their current punishment.


One night both the cup bearer and the baker had dreams which left them perplexed. When Joseph came to attend to them the next morning, he could tell they were upset about something. A less compassionate person probably would not have cared how the prisoners felt, but Joseph truly cared. He asked them what made them so sad, and they told him of their dreams. This dreaming business was right down Joseph’s alley…he had been there, done that! So he listened closely, not only to their dreams, but to God. Joseph was humble enough to recognize that it was God who gave him the wisdom to interpret the dreams. When he told the two servants what their dreams meant, he also made sure to give God the credit. Joseph was not looking for any self glory, nor was he trying to win a popularity contest amongst the prisoners. God had him there for a purpose, and he intended to fulfill that purpose.

Have you ever thought about the "inconveniences" that may come your way may in fact be opportunities instead? There was a man who had been stood up by his boss. His boss was to have met him for dinner and then taken him to the airport to catch his plane. The boss had forgotten about the appointment and was at the zoo with his grandchildren. So the businessman called another business associate. This associate was unable to meet him for dinner, but would pick him up at the restaurant and deliver him to the airport. When that person did not show up either (having gone to the wrong restaurant), he finally called a cab. Wouldn’t you know it, the cab driver and this man started talking, and before they reached their destination, Jesus intervened. The man was able to witness to the cabby for the cabby was eager to learn more about this man’s spiritual journey. If the businessman had been bitter about being stood up by two people, and focused on the inconvenience they had caused him, I doubt he would have been in the frame of mind to be used as a witness for God. He made the decision, however, to focus on the potential of the situation, rather than the problem. That’s exactly what Joseph did while in prison. We need to learn to focus on God’s promises, and potential moments of service for Him. It will give us a whole new perspective on life, one of opportunities and blessings, instead of disappointments and bitterness.

Joseph had good news to give the cup bearer…he would be restored to his former position; but he had bad news for the baker…he would die. Joseph asked the cup bearer to remember him when he was free and ask Pharaoh for his release from prison. Both dreams were fulfilled, but the cup bearer forgot about Joseph. God did not. Joseph knew to trust God, and in His time he would be set free. Let us trust God today, and wait upon Him.

"In His time, in His time;
He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Lord, please show me every day
As You’re teaching me Your way,
That You do just what You say in Your time."
(Diane Ball, Copyright 1978 Maranatha! Music)

Genesis Chapter 39 - Have You Made Up Your Mind?

From rags to riches would certainly describe the young lad who was stripped and thrown into a pit in the middle of a desert. He was then sold to a band of merchants as a slave, taken to Egypt, and again sold to one of Pharaoh’s captains, Potiphar. Potiphar was a man of extreme importance and wealth. Joseph would be living and serving in an elaborate setting, far beyond his most creative imagination. No doubt he was very lonely for his own home, his beloved father, and all that was familiar to him, but working for Potiphar was a better outcome than dying of heat stroke and malnutrition in a dried up old well. So Joseph accepted his new surroundings, and made the choice to give his best service for his new master.

It didn’t take Captain Potiphar long to realize that he had a golden nugget in his servant Joseph. Everything Joseph did resulted in God’s blessing on the captain’s household. With Joseph around, Potiphar did not have a care in the world. He could eat, drink, and be merry. However, Potiphar was not the only one to take notice of the blessings Joseph had brought with him. This young man deserved a second look, and look is exactly what Mrs. Potiphar did. Here was a young stud with rippling muscles, a firm, strong body, and eyes to melt your heart. What would it be like to be held in his arms? Her look turned to lust, and since she was used to having anything she wanted, she decided she wanted him in her bed. She made herself very available to Joseph, and began to demand that he give in to her sensuous desires.

Joseph not only had physical strength, he had inner strength because of his strong relationship with God. He had standards which kept him from entertaining wrong desires. He recognized his position as a trust worthy servant, and he would do nothing to violate his master’s trust or his own conscience. Beyond being accountable to Potiphar, he was accountable to God for his actions. Having made his mind up to take responsibility for his actions ahead of time, he was able to say a most definite NO! to one of man’s strongest temptations, illegitimate sexual desires. Joseph had enough sense to put distance between him and that which was tempting him to be disobedient to God.

One day the lady of the house saw the perfect set up to trap Joseph. The house was empty except for the two of them, She grabbed him by the coat and demanded instant gratification from him. He slipped out of his coat and ran out of the house. "He’s going to pay for this! No one has ever refused me before and gotten away with it, and neither will Joseph!" Potiphar’s wife turned the tables and made it look like Joseph was the one with the lustful desires. She had his coat to prove how he had tried to advance on her. Potiphar had learned it was easier to go along with his wife, than to cross her, and he took her word for what had happened. In his anger he had Joseph confined to prison.

From riches to rags, now Joseph was in a prison cell. Time to pout now. Time to complain because it didn’t pay to serve God after all, right? Look where obedience had led him! Probably a lesser man would have given in to self-pity, but not Joseph. He saw his present circumstances as a time to trust God, and continue to give of his best service. Wherever God placed him, he would still honor God and be the person God called him to be…a person of integrity, dependability, and perseverance. And again, the Lord gave Joseph success in all that he did, even while in prison.

What have your made your mind up to do? What kind of a person do you want to be remembered as? You must make those decisions before the heat of the battle, or you might cave in to the pressures of the moment. The Psalmist wrote, In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever. (Psalm 41:12) Determine today your life will count for God, and then enjoy His presence. He will be with you today, tomorrow, in the moment of crisis, and throughout eternity. Praise God Almighty!!

Genesis Chapter 38 - Double Standards

Double standards have been around a long time. Whereas Joseph was a man of honesty and integrity, his brother Judah was a man with double standards. What he did in his public life and his private life did not match up. What he demanded of others and what he demanded of himself was not consistent. We will put Joseph’s story on hold while we take a look at Judah’s conflicting lifestyle.

If you will recall, the men of Israel were not to marry the Canaanite women. Israelites were God’s chosen people, and they were to marry within their own clan to keep their race pure. Those women of Canaan must have been some kind of temptation, as many of God’s chosen men gave in to their lust for them. Judah, ignoring God’s command, married a Canaanite and they had three sons. When his first son was of age, Judah got a wife for him, named Tamar. However, this firstborn son was judged wicked by the Lord, and the Lord brought his life to an abrupt end.

We take God too lightly. We think of Him as an emergency room doctor who is there when we need Him, but it is up to us how we live our lives. I mean, He’s a God of love, and He wants us to be happy, right? The thing is, God knows what will bring us genuine happiness, and not just momentary ecstasy that fades away. His commandments are to help us make choices that lead to our happiness. When we go against His rules of wisdom, we choose disaster. Sometimes it is immediate, sometimes it simmers on the back burner for a while. Just remember, payday does come eventually. For this first born son of Judah, payday was rather immediate.

The custom of that day was for a brother to marry his brother’s widow so that she might have an inheritance. Therefore, Judah ordered his second son to marry Tamar. But he also did wrong, and God demanded his life. Afraid for his third son’s life, Judah sent Tamar back home to her father’s house, making a false promise that his son would marry her when he grew up.

Recognizing that Judah had basically written her off, Tamar decided to take matters into her hands. She seduced Judah to sleep with her so that she might have an inheritance. She pretended to be a prostitute, and Judah demanded her services, not realizing it was Tamar. For payment, Tamar asked for Judah’s seal, cord, and staff.

When Judah found out that Tamar was pregnant as a result of prostitution, not realizing he was the guilty person, he ordered her to be burned to death. Double standard par none. Don’t you just love it when Tamar was able to produce proof of who fathered her child…Judah’s seal, cord, and staff. Caught in his own trap, Judah realized his guilt. He was guilty for sleeping with her, and guilty for not giving her his third son as he promised. She gave birth to twin boys. And the life line went on, a life line that eventually results in the birth of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-6). God is the ultimate Judge, but He is also full of mercy. May I live so I do not have to rely on His mercy…no double standards for me!

Genesis Chapter 37 - Conquer Jealousy Before It Conquers You

We have observed the lives of several Bible heroes whose stories are well known. As we looked closer at each of them…Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…we found that they were very human. They each failed God in some way. God never gave up on them though, and He never withdrew His promise to make them a mighty nation. Hopefully, we have learned lessons from their mistakes. Once in a while, however, along comes a golden nugget, someone who follows God without wavering. Joseph was such a man. He was a man of integrity, and we can learn from what he did right.

Jacob loved his son, Joseph, more than all of his other sons because he was born to him in his old age. He displayed his favoritism by making Joseph a very costly robe. This favored son was already on his brothers’ "most likely to hate" list, and this robe only added more strain to their relationship. In addition, Joseph had a couple of strange dreams regarding how his brothers would bow down to him. He would have been wiser to keep these dreams to himself, but in his innocence he told his brothers about the dreams. By then they were furious with him. Even his father Jacob was troubled by Joseph’s dreams.

What was the true element that caused the hatred the brothers had in their hearts for Joseph? The bottom line is they were jealous. Their father loved Joseph more than he did them. He gave Joseph special attention and privileges. To them Joseph was a spoiled little brat. While they had to toil hard, Joseph was lost in his dreams. Each one no doubt thought, "Why him and not me?" Trouble enters the door when we begin to look at others and how it seems they have all the gifts, the talents, the privileges, and life comes easy for them. In comparison we seem to diminish and then we have laid the groundwork for jealousy to take over. Jealousy leads to bitterness and can destroy us. It is better to conquer jealousy before it conquers us.

The brothers of Joseph allowed jealousy to take root in them. One day when they were out in the fields working, they saw "the dreamer" coming toward them. They decided to take care of their "little problem" once and for all. At first they decided to kill him, but his brother Reuben convinced them to just throw Joseph into an empty well there in the desert. While they were eating, a caravan of merchants came along. Judah came up with the idea of making some money on their brother by selling him to the merchants heading to Egypt. To cover their crime, they dipped Joseph’s costly robe in the blood of a slaughtered goat. When they took it back to their father Jacob he assumed that Joseph had been devoured by a wild animal. They might as well have murdered their father or sold him into slavery also, for that day his heart was broken, and nothing could comfort him.

Jacob himself had been a deceiver in his younger days, and now his sons were playing the same game. It is a game where no one wins. The only possible winner in this episode is the one that currently appears to be the loser…Joseph. Living above reproach…a life of total honesty…is the way God would have us to live. We will learn that this lifestyle of integrity is how Joseph chose to live, and God was with him all the way, turning his trials into triumph.

Quick Update

We are on vacation in the Traverse City, Michigan, area. Therefore I did not post a Genesis chapter on Sunday. I did make a post for my Journey of Hope blog, and mistakenly posted it on this blog first. I have now corrected it and put in on the Journey of Hope Blog. You can go there from here by clicking on that blog sight under the side bar title "My Other Blogs". I'll post the next Genesis chapter when I get back home and have a little time to catch up on things.