Hi there! I hope you've had a good night rest.
Here's your devotional text for Thursday, December 14.

 

According to Genesis 37:2 and 41:1, 46, many scholars believe Joseph must have been at Potiphar’s house for approximately ten years. We don’t know exactly when he was made overseer, but the narrative suggests that it was towards the end of those ten years (Gen 39:7). In other words, Joseph worked super hard for almost ten years without seeing significant results. He stayed faithful to God for nearly ten years without getting the big blessings. Would you do the same?

 

The story, as you know, doesn’t end here. “And Joseph lived in Potiphar’s house all the rest of his life and died peacefully.” That’s not what the Bible says. He had been through the traumatic experience of human trafficking. He had shaken off the yoke of slavery, and now another temptation — so sudden, so intense, and so seductive — was waiting at the door. It was Potiphar’s wife.

 

Imagine you’re working at the gym, and this one person keeps flirting with you. Dressed totally inappropriately, always making dirty jokes and suggestions, you face that temptation day in and day out. But it’s your workplace; you can’t avoid the person. One late evening, the gym is empty, and it’s just the two of you. You’re waiting for that person to finish the workout so you can lock the gym and go home. But then, she grabs you. All the cameras are already off. No one is there. She is very attractive and already half-naked. You know that if you would give in for just a few minutes, no one would know. But you push her out of the gym, and while she grabs your jacket, you lock the door and leave her outside.

One week later, at 7:30 AM, two police officers knock at your door. You’re getting arrested for sexual harassment — the allegations: attempted rape at the gym.

 

This modern-day illustration of Genesis 39:7-20 reveals that Joseph’s story isn’t old and outdated. It can literally happen to us today. Would you go to prison for a crime you didn’t commit? We read through Joseph’s narrative and think, “Oh, he was having a good time in prison, and it was just for two years. Then he got promoted to Pharaoh’s palace!! Happy end!” No, not really.

 

Joseph’s first months at the prison were terrible. Read Psalm 105:17-18 for a detailed description. He was suffering. And what makes us think that he knew he would get out of prison soon? The Hebrew language structure of the narrative reveals something completely different. Throughout Joseph’s story, the author establishes a recurring sequence. It goes like this: a piece of clothing, two dreams, a pit, and movement. Clothing, two dreams, pit, movement. A careful reader would have noticed that already in chapter 37. There is Joseph’s coat of many colors (Gen 37:3), then two dreams (Gen 37:6-9), followed by the pit (Gen 37:22) and movement to Egypt (Gen 37:28). In chapters 39 and 40, the same sequence reappears.

 

First, Potiphar’s wife grabs Joseph’s garment (Gen 39:12), then Joseph interprets two dreams (Gen 40:5), and then he says to the cupbearer, “Think about me when you’re getting out. I have done nothing here that they should put me in this PIT.” The Hebrew word bôr used here means pit, dungeon, prison, or cistern. Just like the cistern Joseph was thrown into as a teenager! It’s the same word. Joseph knows he’s in a pit again, and now he expects movement! But there is no movement. Genesis 40:23 says, “Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”

 

That’s another “But If Not” experience. Not only are you in prison for a crime you didn’t commit, but you are gradually losing all your hope because the person you asked for help completely forgets about you.

 

Read Genesis 40:23. How would you react after gradually realizing that the chief butler forgot about you? Would your relationship with God change? Why (not)?

 

Think about your most recent struggle. Would you still be faithful to God, even if there would be no sign of delivery for years?

 

Study Genesis 40:5-7. Analyze Joseph’s behavior here. What did he do while being in prison? Why did he do that? What can I do when I’m going through something shattering in life?