Genesis 41:37-57
‘So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God”’ (41:38).  In these words of a very troubled man whom God has just spoken to and comforted directly, is one of the main points of our following Christ.  Yes, this is the Old Testament, but nonetheless, God had manifest Himself directly through Joseph and Pharaoh recognized not Joseph, but the Spirit of God.  It would seem that one of our goals as followers of Christ is exactly this sentiment expressed by Pharaoh.  If the people around us recognize the Spirit of God working through us, we have accomplished something significant in the Kingdom of God.  The question in my mind is whether or not that really is acceptable to us.

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Genesis 40:1-23
What is your lesson today?  What is it that God is trying to teach you about Himself in the place where He has you today?  You may have great acts of character and faith to your credit, but God is still trying to expand your understanding and intimacy with Him.  The Holy Spirit is never one to allow you to rest on your laurels for very long.  He knows both your strengths and your weaknesses and will use both to bring you to the place where He would have you.  He is speaking to you today, right now, with His Lesson in hand.  The question is ‘are you listening?’

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Genesis 39:22-23
Once again, Joseph rises to the top.  As much as we would like this to be about Joseph, about how obedient Joseph was or how resilient Joseph was or how whatever Joseph was, this is not about Joseph, but rather about God.  Joseph rose to the top because God undertook for him, because the Lord was with him, showing him kindness, granting him favor and giving him success in whatever he did (39:2-3; 39:21-22).  Take God out of the equation and Joseph is nothing.

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Genesis 39:21
When we read this portion of Joseph’s story, most of us have an objection; our inherent sense of justice says that Joseph has gotten a raw deal.  He does everything ‘right’; he stands up to the wife and tells her ‘no’, he repeats his position at every encounter, he stands his ground.  Yet when it all shakes out, Joseph is unjustly accused and thrown in prison while the real ‘bad-guy’ is free to go about whatever other acts of evil she feels like.  There is something just plain wrong about what happens here.  But I don’t think that is necessarily God’s point-of-view here; He is engineering this whole affair and what we see as a miscarriage of justice is just another step along the path of God filling the long-term need for a man who could ramrod the entire nation of Egypt in the midst of a crisis.

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Genesis 39:19-20
What was Potiphar thinking as Pharaoh introduces Joseph as the new Number Two in the entire kingdom of Egypt?  What had these last years been like for Potiphar and his house since Joseph had been thrown into prison?  We have absolutely no idea what the answers to those questions are, but so often in our own lives we can get into that mindset of ‘If I had only…’ when we look back at the critical moments of our past.  The contrast between Joseph and Potiphar in this respect is obvious.  Joseph’s decisions had stood the test while we don’t even know if Potiphar is still around.  What strikes me about this contrast is not that it has some deep and profound explanation or it was some near run thing, but rather that Potiphar’s decision to throw Joseph in jail was a ‘no-brainer’ because Potiphar was a man of his times, no more or less.

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Genesis 39:13-18
While Joseph has been the paragon of integrity, Potiphar’s wife has been the evil twin.  Joseph has stood in the fire, withstanding her constant temptations and come out gold.  On the other hand, Potiphar’s wife sinks deeper and deeper into the muck.

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