Genesis 39:19

Genesis 39:19 says, And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.  Potipher heard what his wife said and he was very angry at Joseph.  Evidently, Potipher had no reason to doubt his wife, and therefore he would have certainly felt betrayed by Joseph.  She seemed to have proof of her accusations as well.  I don't believe we can blame Potipher for feeling as he did, but he might have asked himself if Joseph were really the type person who would do such thing, but sometimes people's public image will fool us.  Also, we need to realize that people seldom make the best decisions when they are very angry.  Verse twenty states, And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.  Potipher put Joseph in the king's prison.  Potipher was in a position where he could have just executed Joseph.  As a slave, Joseph had very few rights, and he had been accused of a very bad thing, so in some respects Potipher was being merciful to Joseph.  I am not sure that Joseph really saw it that way through.  Once again, through no fault of his own, Joseph found himself in a seemingly hopeless situation.  I believe that he would have really been questioning his dreams by now.  Joseph had to have felt especially bad since he ended up in prison because he was doing the right thing in the situation.  If anyone had a right to be bitter, it was Joseph.  If we find ourselves in a situation where we are tempted to sin, even if it would bring us pleasure that we might justify, we must stand firm for God.  If we are falsely accused and punished, we must never become bitter and waiver in our faith.  Verse twenty-one declares, But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.  When his brothers threw Joseph in the pit and sold him into slavery, God was with him.  When Joseph was in Potipher's house, God was with him.  Now, in prison, God was with him.  What we need to realize above everything else is that, as followers of Christ, wherever we are, no matter if our situation is good or bad, God is with us.  God showed mercy to Joseph and Joseph found favor in the sight of the prison guard.  We are even more blessed, because through our faith in Christ, we find mercy with the heavenly Father.  Verse twenty-two says, And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.  Joseph was once again put in a position of authority where he was.  He was not freed from the prison, and by now could have decided to simply take advantage of the situation, but we know that he didn't.  We cannot allow circumstances to cause us to become bitter and self-centered.  Verse twenty-three declares, The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.  The keeper of the prison was not concerned about anything Joseph did.  We are told that this was because the LORD was with Joseph and made what he did to prosper.  The question is whether the keeper recognized that God was at work through Joseph or not.  We, as followers of Christ, should live in such a way that others recognize that there is something different about us, whether they recognize it as the presence of God in our life our not.  Wherever we are, no matter our circumstances, as Christians we are blessed by God and He will cause us to prosper spiritually as long as we never lose faith in Him.  By now, Joseph could have had the attitude that nothing he did seemed to matter, so why bother, but he was still faithful in carrying out his duties.  Joseph had no evidence that by doing a good job he would somehow be freed from prison, but he did his best anyway.  As followers of Christ, all we can ever do is to do the best that we can whatever the situation so that God may be glorified.