So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
Genesis 37:28
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
Genesis 39:1
2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered…3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph.
Genesis 39:2-5a
6…Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
Genesis 39:6b-10
• Trust is
• I don’t have to
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5,6
Trust
“batakh” — cling to
20…But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
Genesis 39:20b,21
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1
Ever-Present Help
“nimsa” — to be discovered, encountered, experienced.
“meod” — exceedingly abundant, exceedingly much.
6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”
Genesis 40:6,7
• Trusting God is being
And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.
Genesis 41:57
• When I can’t see what God is doing
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
Genesis 45:4,5
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalm 20:7
LET’S TALK
1) Have you ever obeyed God when you didn’t understand what He was doing? What was that like? What did you learn from that experience?
2) What step could you take to demonstrate trusting God even if you are unsure of what He is doing around you? What might God be doing in you in this season?