The Story of Joseph – Pt 2

Genesis 39:1-6b (NLT)

1 When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3 Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4 This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. 5 From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. 6 So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!

1. God’s presence in Joseph’s life fueled his faithfulness and opened doors of opportunity to serve.

Genesis 39:6c-20 (NLT)

6c Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, 7 and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.

8 But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. 9 No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

10 She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. 11 One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. 12 She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.

13 When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled, 14 she called out to her servants. Soon all the men came running. “Look!” she said. “My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.”

16 She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home. 17 Then she told him her story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,” she said. 18 “But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!”

19 Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her. 20 So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.

Genesis 39:8-9 (NLT)

2 Joseph’s closeness to God prepared him to face sexual temptation with integrity and deliver a courageous response.

1 Corinthians 6:18 (NLT)

18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.

Hebrews 4:15-16 (NLT)

15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Genesis 39:21-23 (NLT)

21 But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. 22 Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. 23 The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.

3. Circumstances did not dictate Joseph’s responses. His faithfulness to God did, and it caused him to shine everywhere he was assigned by God.

COMMUNITY GROUP MEETING OUTLINE

Where your faith intersects with real life!

Reconnect:

Each person shares a recent high and low from their life.

Explore:

Review the message notes.

Big Idea: The story of Joseph demonstrates his faithfulness with no agenda other than doing what was right in God’s eyes, foreshadowing what Jesus would do when he gave up, not only his rights as Joseph did, but his very life for our salvation.

Consider:

Choose one or two questions for your Group to discuss as time allows.

▶ Read Genesis 39:1-6b. Joseph worked faithfully.

– What are some other ways he could have responded to this chapter of his life?

– How is living in today’s world like living in this chapter of Joseph’s life?

▶ Read Genesis 39:6c-20. Joseph could have chosen differently. What are some temptations we could get away with in our culture today, but where God has a different standard?

▶ Read 1 Corinthians 10:13. What are some of the “ways out” that God provides?

Activate:

Spend a moment in silence to consider your response, then share your decision with the Group.

Read Hebrews 4:15-16. Ask God to show you a place in your life he wants to give you grace to overcome. (If it is personal in nature, you can pass on sharing it with the group. Maybe this is a good week for silent prayer as a response and to consider the resources below.)

Prayer:

Thank God for the highs and lift up the lows.

This week our prayer focus is on churches. Let’s pray for pastors and people to live lives of faithfulness no matter what temptations come their way.

Want to go deeper?:

If you are dealing with unwanted sexual behavior, here are some helpful resources. Book: Unwanted by Jay Stringer, Online Group: The Journey Course by Jay Springer, and Podcast: Talk to me: Porn Problems with Debra Fileta.