Genesis 39:11

Genesis 39:11 says, And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.  Joseph went into the house alone to conduct his business, and none of the other men were around.  Maybe he should have immediately left when he realized this, especially with Potipher's wife being like she was, but he did have business to attend to.  We, as followers of Christ, should try to never put ourselves in a compromising position, especially if we are already aware that there could be problems.  Verse twelve states, And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.  Potipher's wife caught Joseph's garment and once again propositioned him.  She was determined to lead Joseph into a sinful situation, and he was just as determined not to commit this sin.  He chose to run to get out of the situation.  It is better to flee with nothing than to be seduced by sin.  Verse thirteen adds, And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,  Potipher's wife realized that Joseph had left his garment.  It seems that Joseph's garments were once more to be used to prove a lie.  I believe that Potipher's wife was probably anger that Joseph had once again refused her, and she saw the garment as a way to punish him, as we will see.  We should not be surprised when people of the world are unable get us to enter into a sinful situation that they may instead want to simply cause us trouble.  Verse fourteen declares, That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:  Though I am sure that she was glad to be alone with Joseph a few minutes before, Potipher's wife now wanted the men of the house there, so she called them.  She said Joseph had attempted to have sexual relationships with her, and then she blamed Potipher for causing the problem.  Not only had Potipher brought Joseph into the house, but Joseph was a Hebrew, a foreigner.  We should never be surprised when someone attempts to blame others for their sins, but as followers of Christ, we should never do so.  Verse fifteen adds, And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.  She claimed that she cried out and caused Joseph to flee without his garment.  The garment would be her proof.  Accusations of sexual misconduct are continually in the news today, and often there is no physical proof.  I personally believe that in most cases the accusations are most likely true, but we do know that some aren't, so it becomes a question of whom to believe.  I don't believe that we can accept some accusations and dismiss others simply because of whom the person is that is being accused.  Verse fifteen continues, And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.  As just discussed, Potipher's wife used Joseph's garment to support her claim.  In this respect, it became more than a she said situation.  She seemingly had proof.  Verse sixteen states, And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.  Potipher's wife kept Joseph's garment until Potipher got home.  She was determined to cause problems for Joseph.  Verse seventeen says, And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:  She began once more by laying the responsibility of her alleged attack on Potipher.  She reminded him that he had brought Joseph, this foreigner into the house.  It is not uncommon for people to attempt to blame their sins on anyone they can.  It was not enough to blame Joseph.  Potipher's wife wanted him to feel that he was responsible for what allegedly happened and make herself be the victim of both men.  Verse eighteen adds, And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.  She repeated her lie to Potipher.  Hopefully, if anyone ever accuses us, as followers of Christ, of some sinful act it will have to be based on a lie, and we should always attempt to avoid situations where the lie might appear to be the truth.

Genesis 39:1

Genesis 39;1 says, And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.  Joseph was brought to Egypt and sold to Potiphar.  Joseph was being removed farther from the people of Israel, the people through whom God had chosen to reveal Himself to the world.  If we are enslaved by the things of this world, we will only get farther and farther away from God.  Verse two states, And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.  Fortunately, even though Joseph was separated from God's people, he was not separated from God.  No matter how far we get away from God and His people physically, we are never really out of God's presence.  God blessed Joseph and made him prosper in Potipher's house.  God did not set Joseph free from slavery, but blessed him where he was.  Even if God does not change our circumstances, He will bless us where we are if we allow Him to.  Verse three declares, And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.  Potipher realized that God was with Joseph and was causing him to prosper.  We need to pray that people will realize that God is with us today, no matter our circumstances, if we are followers of Christ.  Verse four adds, And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.  Joseph found grace in Potipher's sight, and was put in charge of all of Potipher's house.  Had Joseph been sitting around feeling sorry for himself this would have never happened.  We cannot allow our situation in the world to turn us bitter, but must always do our best to show God to the world wherever we are.  Verse five says, And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.  God blessed Potipher for Joseph's sake.  Joseph was still a slave.  I wonder how often do we prevent other people from being blessed by God because of our attitude toward them.  Verse six states, And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.  Potipher entrusted Joseph's with everything that he had in his household.  Joseph was a good person and did not take advantage of his position.  Of course, being a good person is not enough if we do not know God in a personal relationship through faith in Christ.  Verse seven declares, And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.  When things were going well with Joseph, Potipher's wife noticed him and asked him to engage in a sexual relationship with her.  As a slave still, Joseph could have thought why not.  He could have seen this as God just adding to his blessings.  Verse eight states, But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;  Joseph refused her and remained faithful to Potipher.  Even if something may be tempting, if it is against God's law we must refuse it and remain faithful to God.  Verse nine continues, There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?  Joseph said that Potipher had not held anything back from him except for his wife, and to be involved with her would be a sin.  When we are tempted by anything, no matter how appealing it may be, we must first ask if it is a sin against God, and if so how can we do it.  Verse ten states,  And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.  Joseph refusal and and statement of loyalty to Potipher did not stop Potipher's wife from continuing to tempt Joseph.  When we stand firm for God, the temptations of the world may get worse instead of better, but we must never give in.

Genesis 38:20

Genesis 38:20 says, And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.  Judah attempted to fulfill his pledge, but his friend could not find the woman.  I am not sure what he told his friend, but evidently Judah did not want to go himself.  We cannot expect our friends to fulfill our obligations, especially spiritually ones.  Verse twenty-one states, Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.  We are told that the friend at least thought he knew that he was looking for a harlot, but not that he said why.  Those that he talked to may have thought that he owed the woman something.  Verse twenty-two adds, And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.  The friend returned to Judah with news that could have been considered either good or bad.  The woman couldn't be found which could have been good, but she still had Judah's things, which could have been bad.  There is never an easy way to get out of a sinful situation without some cost, especially spiritually, and we must accept the responsibility for it individually.  Even though as followers of Christ we are forgiven of our sins, we must still accept the responsibility for them in order for them to be forgiven.  Verse twenty-three says, And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.  Judah basically said to just let things go, unless we be shamed.  His friend had done nothing to be shamed by, but too often we like Judah want to have our friends share the shame of our sins.  Verse twenty-four states, And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.  Three months later, word came to Judah that Tamar was pregnant, and he condemned her to be burned.  Judah was willing to pay a harlot that he had been with, but was ready to condemn his daughter-in-law to death.  Of course, Judah was as guilty of the same sin that he was condemning her for.  We are often more willing to see others condemned for their sins than we are to think that we should be condemned for ours.  Verse twenty-five declares, When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.  When Tamar was brought out to face the charges, she produced Judah's signet, bracelets, and staff and said the owner was the father of her child.  I don't know if other people recognized them, but Judah certainly did.  We can be certain that our sins will find us out, in the judgment of Christ if not before.  Verse twenty-six states, And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.  At least Judah acknowledged his guilt, even more than getting her pregnant.  He had not given Shelah to Tamar as her husband as he had promised.  If failure to live up to our promises leads someone else to sin, we cannot feel that they deserve to be punished more than we do.  Verse twenty-seven states, And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.  Then verse twenty-eight adds, And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. Tamar gave birth to twins and the midwife put a scarlet ribbon on the wrist of what she thought would be the first born.  Verse twenty-nine adds, And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.  The other son was actually born first.  Then verse thirty concludes, And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.  I guess we could say that this was an unusual birth, but both sons were born and named.  We cannot always determine how events will play out in life, but as followers of Christ, we must always accept them as they happen.

Genesis 38:12

Genesis 38:12 says, And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.  Judah's wife died.  We are not told how long they had been married when this happened.  Matthew Henry said that Judah went up to his sheep shearers for a time of merriment after he buried his wife and was comforted.  We do know that life goes on after the death of a spouse, but a person may not be thinking as clearly as they should for awhile.  Verse thirteen states, And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.  Someone told Tamar that Judah had left.  We are not told how much time had passed since the death of her second husband, but she may have felt that Judah was not going to honor his promise to her to give his youngest son as her husband.  Matthew Henry says that some people believe that Tamar had accepted God as her God and wanted to possibly be in the lineage of the Messiah, which she was.  Still for whatever reason, she devised a plan to have a child with Judah.  Again, I don't believe that God wants us to use deception to accomplish His will, though He may sometimes work His will in spite of our deceptions.  Verse fourteen declares, And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.  Tamar saw that Shelah was grown and Judah had not fulfilled his promise to her, so she devised her own plan.  She put away her mourning clothes and dressed as a harlot and set in an open place on the way to Timnath, where she evidently knew that she would encounter Judah.  Verse fifteen adds, When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.  Judah saw her and didn't recognize her, possibly because he had simply dismissed her as a harlot.  He definitely was not looking at her with kindness and understanding, but simply as someone to be used.  When we encounter people who are doing bad things, we cannot just dismiss them as someone to be used or ignored.  Verse sixteen states, And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?  Judah asked Tamar to come to him for the purpose of having sexual relations with her, and she asked him what he would give her.  This would have reinforced the idea that she was a harlot.  Verse seventeen says, And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?  Judah promised her a kid from his flock, but Tamar asked for a pledge, something of value, to ensure that Judah would carry out his promise.  He had already made a promise to her once before.  Of course, Judah was not acting much like a man who was following God.  As followers of Christ, when we see people acting in a sinful way, we can either attempt to bring people up God, ignore them, or move down to their level ignoring God's guidance.  Verse eighteen adds, And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.  Judah asked Tamar what she wanted for a pledge, and she said his signet, bracelets and staff.  Judah had to put a little faith in her returning these things when he sent her the kid.  Verse nineteen declares, And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.  After being with Judah, Tamar again put on her garments of widowhood.  We cannot sin and then just go on as if nothing had happened, because no matter if anyone else ever knows or not, God does.  Christianity cannot be like a robe that we put on and take off when it stands between what we want and following God's will.

Genesis 38:1

Genesis 38:1 says, And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.  Jesus was born from the house, or descendants, of Judah.  This does not seem a likely family for the Messiah to be born from, as we shall see.  Verse two states,  And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.   While separated from his family, Judah took the daughter of a Cannanite as his wife.  Matthew Henry says that Judah married too young and that his marriage was arranged by his wife's father and not by his own father, which was customary.  I believe that the main point is that he did not marry a woman who was also a part of God's chosen people.  Verse three declares, And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.  Judah had a son, who was named Er.  Verse four adds,  And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.  Then verse five concludes,  And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.  Judah now had three sons, and he was at least carrying out God's promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that he would make a great nation from them, but he was not carrying it out under God's authority.  As followers of Christ, we cannot just do what we want to do and expect God to bless us, but we must seek His will first.  Verse six states, And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.  Judah chose a wife for Er.  Her name was Tamar.  Matthew Henry says that Er was too young to be married, but I believe that it was his character and not his age that was a problem.  Verse seven declares, And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.   As just stated, Er was a wicked man, not necessarily in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of God.  We are told that God slew Er.  I am not sure how this happened, but we do know that God is the Creator and sustains life, so however Er died, people saw it as God killing him.  Er must have been particularly evil for this to happen.  Verse eight states, And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.  As was the custom, when Er died Judah had Er's brother Onan to marry Tamar to preserve Er's name by having a child with her.  I am not sure how we would we feel about marrying our brother's widow simply so his name could be preserved, but I believe that like Onan we would not be wild about the idea.  Verse nine adds, And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.  Onan decided that since the child would be viewed as a descendant of Er and not of Onan himself that he would not carry out this obligation.  Verse ten declares, And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.  We are told that God was not pleased with Onan and killed him also.  I really don't believe that God kills people just because they displease Him, but think it more likely that since Er and Onan both died young that it was attributed to God killing them.  I base this on the nature of God not being vindictive, but this is still just my interpretation.  Verse eleven states, Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.  Judah's youngest son, Shelah, was too young to marry, so Judah instructed Tamar to remain a widow in her father's house until Shelah was old enough to marry.  This was all being done to preserve the name of Er by giving him a descendant.  I don't believe that I would have been happy to be either Shelah or Tamar.  We are not told that any of this was God's plan.  As followers of Christ, we cannot make our own plans to carry out God's purpose without ensuring that we are following His will and hope for success.

Genesis 37:29

Genesis 37:29 says, And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.  When Reuben returned, Joseph was gone.  We should not be surprised when our plans made to compromise with sinful actions do not work out.  Reuben should have simply stood up against the plan instead of attempting to go along and undo it later.  When we see something sinful occurring in the world today, especially if it involves those closest to us, we cannot pretend to go along, but must stand firm against the action.  Though Reuben was sorrowful, this did not change what had happened.  Verse thirty says, And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?  Since he didn't know where Joseph had gone, Reuben was at a loss as to what to do.  I believe that if we have had a part in a sinful plan, even if it was just by seeming to go along, once the plan is carried out, we are just as responsible, even if we weren't there.  Verse thirty-one states, And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;  The brothers had a plan for Joseph's coat.  It had represented their father's preference for Joseph, and now they were going to use it to bring him pain.  We should not be surprised if people who are jealous of us want to cause us to suffer, and if the jealousy is because of our relationship to someone else, we should not be surprised if they want the other person to suffer as well.  Verse thirty-two adds, And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.  The brothers first took the coat from Joseph, then soaked it in blood, and then took it to their father and said they didn't know if it was Joseph's or not.  They did not say their brother's, but said your son's.  I believe that they had separated themselves from any kinship with Joseph and just wanted to cause as much pain to their father as possible.  Verse thirty-three declares, And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.  Jacob, or Israel, recognised Joseph's coat, just as his other sons knew he would.  He concluded that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal, and his sons let him think so, even Reuben.  This was a lie that they would have to live with for years.  We need to realize that one sin often leads to another, and if we are only guilty by association, we will still be caught up in the lie.  Verse thirty-four adds, And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.  Jacob was distraught, and mourned for many days.  I have to wonder if any of his other sons ever felt like telling him the truth, or if they simply thought he deserved to suffer.  Even if we feel that someone may deserve to suffer we as followers of Christ know the truth that can set them free and that is the gospel of Christ.  The question is whether or not we will share the gospel or take joy in their suffering.  Verse thirty-five states, And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.  It was hypocritical for his sons to attempt to comfort Jacob, since they were the cause of his suffering.  I believe they may have felt justified since he was mourning Joseph more than he was allowing his other children to comfort him.  Even if we feel slighted somehow, we should never be hypocritical in our sharing in someone else's suffering.  Verse thirty-six declares,  And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.  While his brothers were pretending to mourn, Joseph was sold once again, this time to Potiphar, a captain of Pharoah's guard.  I believe that by now Joseph was likely really questioning his dreams.  Once more, if we know that we are doing God's will, we should never allow circumstances to cause us to doubt.

Genesis 37:22

Genesis 37:22 says, And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.  Rueben had a plan to save Joseph.  He told his brothers to not kill Joseph, but to throw him into a pit instead.  Rueben then planned to take Joseph out and return him to his father.  We cannot successfully rescue anyone spiritually by compromising with the sinful actions of others, but must simply stand firm against the sin to begin with, just as Rueben should have done.  Verse twenty-three declares, And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;  Joseph's coat had to be a source of anger for his brothers, since it showed their father's favoritism for him.  Also, it was easily identifiable as Joseph's, so they first stripped the coat off him when he reached them.  Verse twenty-four adds, And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.  They threw Joseph into a dry pit.  The brothers were beginning to have their revenge against Joseph.  Showing favoritism in a family can cause many problems, even if it is in the family of God as followers of Christ.  Hopefully, if we feel such favoritism is being shown, we will not allow anger at the favoritism to rule our actions.  Verse twenty-five states, And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.  While Joseph was in the pit without even water, his brothers sat down to eat.  They had no concern for Joseph at all.  While they were eating, a band of Ishmaelites came along on their way to Egypt.  These were really some of Joseph's relatives, but they really didn't know or care about him either.  We can never rely on earthly relationships, no matter how close or how distant, to save us spiritually.  Verse twenty-six adds, And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?  Judah asked how would they profit from just killing Joseph.  We should not be surprised if people of the world want to not just kill us but to profit from our suffering as well.  Verse twenty-seven adds, Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.  Judah proposed selling Joseph to the Ishaelmites.  He now remembered that Joseph was their brother and didn't want his death on their hands.  This was not done out of concern for Joseph, but to profit from his situation and to feel somewhat better about it.  Once more, we cannot compromise with sin so that we can profit from it and hope to not feel as guilty about it.  Verse twenty-eight declares, Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.  Joseph was sold into slavery and on his way to Egypt.  I would imagine that by now Joseph was questioning his dreams of being in power over his brothers.  We are not told that Joseph thought these dreams to be a revolution from God, but if we know that God has spoken to use about anything, no matter how bad things get, we can never doubt Him.