Central Thought: Faithfulness to and trust in God assures His defense and protection.
Hymn: God moves in a mysterious way
Text: Genesis 39:21-23, 40:6-8
Potiphar’s wife having failed in her attempts to make Joseph lie with her, got him portrayed as an immoral person. She accused him before his fellow servants, gave him a bad name among them, and even to his master, who had power in his hands to punish him. She told a malicious lie to incense her husband against him.
The husband, Potiphar believed the lie and was very angry with Joseph. Consequently, Joseph was imprisoned without trial. He was however not daunted. He did not complain but suffered in silence and continued to have faith in God.
Joseph was at a distance from all friends and relations but the Lord was with him and showed him mercy. Neither gates, nor bars can shut out God’s gracious presence from His people, for He has promised that He will never leave nor forsake them.
Lesson Objectives:
- To know what led to Joseph’s imprisonment.
- To know how God catered for Joseph in his plight.
- To know how to react when we suffer for offences we never committed.
- To know why the keeper of the prison put the prisoners under Joseph’s supervision.
Question 1.) What led to Joseph’s imprisonment?
Joseph was a very handsome young man whom his master, Potiphar trusted and made overseer of his house and all his goods in the field. It happened that his wife cast her eyes on Joseph and invited him to lie with her but he refused and continually spurned her daily invitation to lie with her. Potiphar’s wife was embittered against him because of his continual refusal of her request. She lied to her husband who without any investigation reacted angrily and consequently jailed Joseph based on the report of his wife (Genesis 39:10-20). Joseph was imprisoned after being wrongly accused, but he bore all in silence patiently.
Question 2.) How did God care for Joseph in his plight?
Joseph was imprisoned for the offence he did not commit, but he neither complained nor grumbled. He also did not blame God for allowing him to be jailed for committing no offence and so turn his back on God as some of us would have probably done, rather he bore everything quietly and suffered innocently.
In his plight, Joseph continued to live a life of faithfulness and dedication to God. On His part, God in His infinite mercy also related with Joseph by giving him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison who committed to Josephs hand all his fellow prisoners as well as all that they did. Joseph was far away from home, from all his friends and relations, but the Lord was with him and showed him mercy. His mind stayed on God and so He gave him perfect peace.
Because God was in the business, Joseph had not stayed long as a prisoner before he became a little ruler against all human expectation. This shows that God can raise up friends for His people even where they least expect it. The keeper like Potiphar, saw that everything prospered under Joseph’s hand and therefore entrusted him with the management of the prison. God can turn any situation or circumstance to our favor if we continue to be faithful and loyal to Him.
Question 3.) How should we react when we suffer for offences we never committed?
Naturally, no man would react kindly or be calm when he is made to suffer for the offence that he has not committed but for the Christian, he is not to react negatively. The Bible tells us what behavior or reaction we are to put up when we are wrongly treated. In Isaiah 53:7, we read this of our Lord “He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before the shearer’s is dumb, so he openenth not his mouth”.
Though He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth even to plead His own innocence but freely offered Himself to suffer and die for us. By His wisdom, He could have evaded the sentence and by His power have resisted the execution, but He submitted Himself and the result is our salvation.
When Paul and Silas were arrested and imprisoned for teaching “customs which are not lawful to receive” (Acts 16:21) as alleged by the officers, they prayed at midnight and sang praises to God. Although the jailor “made their feet fast in stocks”, they did not mourn nor complain, they trusted in God. One would have expected to hear them complaining but this was not to be, instead they prayed together to God to support and comfort them in their affliction and that God would forgive their persecutors and turn their hearts over to Him.
In Romans 12:19 we read “….. for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord”. This is a command of the Lord that we should not avenge ourselves but rather give place to wrath. We should leave vengeance to the Lord who will repay and effectively deal with the situation as He did in the case of Paul and Silas. The Lord’s injunction in Matthew 5:44-48, is as valid as ever.
Finally, if we suffer for righteousness sake, we should take the right attitude, we should not be afraid, neither should we be troubled but give God the rightful place in our hearts and hold Him in reverence and all the suffering for right-doing will work to our good. Is any one suffering as a Christian, he should not be ashamed, but rather glorify God (1 Peter 4:16).
Question 4.) Why did the keeper of the prison put all the prisoners under Joseph’s supervision/management?
God was with Joseph in the prison and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. The keeper saw that God was with him and that everything prospered under his hand and therefore entrusted him with the management of the affairs of the prison.
He saw that Joseph was someone that could be trusted with responsibilities. He knew that the Lord that was with him, would help him keep the prisoners and ensure everything that was done there was in proper order.
Because God was in control, everything went on smoothly in the prison when it was handed over to Joseph, thus his imprisonment was both honorable and comfortable by the tokens of God’s special presence with him.
As we read in Romans 8:28” And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose”. Joseph’s imprisonment was turned round to be another blessing for him by God Himself.
Daily Living Application:
Believers should be challenged by the life of Joseph while in prison. He was jailed for the offence he did not commit yet he bore his situation without complaining or grumbling. He continued to live a life of faithfulness and loyalty to God in every facet of activity in the prison.
He was still concerned about the welfare of others even in prison as he demonstrated in the case of Pharaoh’s officers who were in prison with him. His attitude as demonstrated here should be a lesson for believers to emulate.
Memory Verse
Romans 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose”..