The Lord Was with Joseph

39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, purchased him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful and lived in the household of his Egyptian master. 39:3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. 39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar appointed Joseph overseer of his household and put him in charge of everything he owned. 39:5 From the time Potiphar appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both in his house and in his fields. 39:6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; he gave no thought to anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. 39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” 39:8 But he refused, saying to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought to his household with me here, and everything that he owns he has put into my care. 39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak to Joseph day after day, he did not respond to her invitation to have sex with her. 39:11 One day he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants were there in the house. 39:12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran outside. 39:13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 39:14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought in a Hebrew man to us to humiliate us. He tried to have sex with me, but I screamed loudly. 39:15 When he heard me raise my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.” 39:16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 39:17 This is what she said to him: “That Hebrew slave you brought to us tried to humiliate me, 39:18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.” 39:19 When his master heard his wife say, “This is the way your slave treated me,” he became furious. 39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. 39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. 39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. 39:23 The warden did not concern himself with anything that was in Joseph’s care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Joseph served in Potiphar’s house, and the Lord made him successful. Potiphar’s wife tried to lure him into sin, but Joseph refused and fled. She falsely accused him, and he was thrown into prison. Even there, the Lord was with Joseph and gave him favor.

This passage shows that the Lord’s presence with Joseph was real in both good times and hard times. In Potiphar’s house, Joseph worked faithfully, and everything he did prospered because the Lord was with him. Potiphar saw this and put Joseph in charge of his household. The Lord also blessed Potiphar’s house because of Joseph.

Then Joseph faced a serious test. Potiphar’s wife kept pressing him to sin with her, but Joseph refused. He said the act would be a great evil and a sin against God. This was not only about protecting himself or honoring Potiphar. Joseph knew that sin against another person is also sin against God. When she kept pressing him, he ran away rather than give in.

She then used Joseph’s garment to tell a false story and accused him before her household and her husband. Potiphar became angry and had Joseph put into prison. Joseph suffered injustice even though he had done right. Yet the Lord was still with him. The prison warden saw Joseph’s reliability and put him in charge of the prisoners.

The main message is simple: the Lord does not leave his servant in success or in suffering. God can give favor in a house and in a prison. Joseph’s faithfulness mattered, but the chapter keeps pointing beyond Joseph to the Lord who sustained him.

• The Lord was with Joseph in Potiphar’s house and in prison.
• Joseph’s success came from the Lord, not from luck alone.
• Joseph refused adultery and called it a great evil and a sin against God.
• When temptation remained, Joseph fled instead of staying near it.
• Joseph was falsely accused and punished even though he had done right.
• God gave Joseph favor with both Potiphar and the prison warden.
• Human injustice did not stop God’s purpose for Joseph.

• Warning: sexual sin is a great evil and a sin against God.
• Warning: false accusation can bring real harm to the innocent.
• Promise: the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness.
• Promise: the Lord gave Joseph favor in the eyes of others.
• Command/example: refuse sin, even when pressure continues.
• Command/example: run from temptation rather than remain in it.
• Command/example: keep working faithfully in hard circumstances.

This chapter is part of God’s care for the family of promise. Joseph’s hardship in Egypt is not the end of the story. God is preserving him for a larger purpose that will later help protect Jacob’s family. The chapter also fits a wider biblical pattern of the righteous servant who suffers unjustly and is later lifted up, though this passage itself is not a direct prophecy of Christ.

Believers should not assume that hardship means God has left them. The Lord may be at work even in slavery, pressure, false blame, and prison. Joseph shows that faithfulness includes refusing sin, speaking honestly about evil, and fleeing temptation. It also includes continuing to serve well when life is unfair. Do not turn this passage into a promise that every faithful person will become prosperous in the same outward way Joseph did. The promise here is God’s presence, not an easy life.

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