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Matthew Henry |
G E N E S I S
CHAP. XXXIX.
At this chapter we return to the story of Joseph. We have him
here,
I. A servant, a slave in Potiphar’s house
(ver. 1),
and yet
there greatly honoured and favoured,
1. By the providence of God,
which made him, in effect, a master,
2. By the grace of
God, which made him more than a conqueror over a strong temptation
to uncleanness,
II. We have him here a sufferer,
falsely accused
(ver. 13-18),
imprisoned
(ver. 19, 20),
and yet his imprisonment made both honourable and comfortable by
the tokens of God’s special presence with him,
And herein Joseph was a type of Christ, “who took upon him
the form of a servant,” and yet then did that which made it
evident that “God was with him,” who was tempted by Satan,
but overcame the temptation, who was falsely accused and bound,
and yet had all things committed to his hand.
| The History of Joseph. | B. C. 1721. |
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1 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.
2 And the LORD
was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous
man; and he was in the house
of his master the Egyptian.
3 And
his master saw that the LORD was
with him, and that the LORD made all
that he did to prosper in his hand.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
Here is,
I. Joseph bought
(v. 1),
and he
that bought him, whatever he gave for him,
had a good bargain of him; it was better
than the merchandise of silver. The Jews
have a proverb, “If the world did not know
the worth of good men, they would hedge
them about with pearls.” He was sold to
an officer of Pharaoh, with whom he might
get acquainted with public persons and public
business, and so be fitted for the preferment
for which he was designed. Note, 1. What
God intends men for he will be sure, some
way or other, to qualify them for.
2. Providence
is to be acknowledged in the disposal
even of poor servants and in their settlements,
and therein may perhaps be working towards
something great and important.
II. Joseph blessed, wonderfully blessed,
even in the house of his servitude.
1. God prospered him,
Perhaps
the affairs of Potiphar’s family had remarkably
gone backward before; but, upon Joseph’s
coming into it, a discernible turn was given
to them, and the face and posture of them
altered on a sudden. Though, at first, we
may suppose that his hand was put to the
meanest services, even in those appeared his
ingenuity and industry; a particular blessing
of Heaven attended him, which, as he rose
in his employment, became more and more
discernible. Note,
(1.) Those that have wisdom
and grace have that which cannot be
taken away from them, whatever else they
are robbed of. Joseph’s brethren had stripped
him of his coat of many colours, but they
could not strip him of his virtue and prudence.
(2.) Those that can separate us
from all our friends, yet cannot deprive
us of the gracious presence of our God.
When Joseph had none of all his relations
with him, he had his God with him, even in
the house of the Egyptian. Joseph was
separated from his brethren, but not from
his God; banished from his father’s house,
but the Lord was with him, and this comforted
him.
(3.) It is God’s presence with
us that makes all we do prosperous. Those
that would prosper must therefore make
God their friend; and those that do prosper
must therefore give God the praise.
2. His master preferred him, by degrees
made him steward of his household,
v. 4.
Note,
(1.) Industry and honesty are the
surest and safest way both of rising and
thriving: Seest thou a man prudent, and
faithful, and diligent in his business? He shall
stand before kings at length, and not always
before mean men.
(2.) It is the wisdom of
those that are in any sort of authority to
countenance and employ those with whom
it appears that the presence of God is,
Potiphar knew what he did when he
put all into the hands of Joseph; for he
knew it would prosper better there than in
his own hand.
(3.) He that is faithful in a
few things stand fair for being made ruler
over many things,
Christ goes by this rule with his servants.
(4.) It
is a great ease to a master to have those employed
under him that are trusty. Potiphar
was so well satisfied with Joseph’s conduct
that he knew not aught he had, save the bread
which he did eat,
v. 6.
The servant had all
the care and trouble of the estate; the master
had only the enjoyment of it: an example
not to be imitated by any master, unless he
could be sure that he had one in all respects
like Joseph for a servant.
3. God favoured his master for his sake
(v. 5):
He blessed the Egyptian’s house,
though he was an Egyptian, a stranger to
the true God, for Joseph’s sake; and he himself,
like Laban, soon learned it by experience,
Note,
(1.) Good men
are the blessings of the places where they
live; even good servants may be so, though
mean, and lightly esteemed.
(2.) The prosperity
of the wicked is, one way or other,
for the sake of the godly. Here was a
wicked family blessed for the sake of one
good servant in it.
7 And it came to pass after these
things, that his master’s wife cast her
eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie
with me.
8 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;
9 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?
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.
Here is,
I. A most shameful instance of impudence
and immodesty in Joseph’s mistress,
the shame and scandal of her sex, perfectly
lost to all virtue and honour, and not to be
mentioned, nor thought of, without the utmost
indignation. It was well that she was
an Egyptian; for we must have shared in
the confusion if such folly had been found
in Israel. Observe,
I. Her sin began in the eye: She cast her
eyes upon Joseph
(v. 7),
who was a goodly
person, and well-favoured,
v. 6.
Note,
(1.) Remarkable beauty, either of men or women,
often proves a dangerous snare both to themselves
and others, which forbids pride in it
and commands constant watchfulness against
the temptation that attends it; favour is
deceitful–deceiving.
(2.) We have great
need to make a covenant with our eyes
(Job xxxi. 1),
lest the eye infect the heart.
Joseph’s mistress had a husband that ought
to have been to her for a covering of the
eyes from all others,
2. She was daring and shameless in the
sin. With an impudent face, and a harlot’s
forehead, she said, Lie with me, having
already, by her wanton looks and unchaste
desires, committed adultery with him in her
heart. Note, Where the unclean spirit gets
possession and dominion in a soul, it is as
with the possessed of the devils
the clothes of modesty are thrown
off and the bands and fetters of shame are
broken in pieces. When lust has got head,
it will stick at nothing, blush at nothing;
decency, and reputation, and conscience, are
all sacrificed to that Baal-peor.
3. She was
urgent and violent in the temptation. Often
she had been denied with the strongest
reasons, and yet as often renewed her vile
solicitations. She spoke to him day by day,
v. 10.
Now this was,
(1.) Great wickedness
in her, and showed her heart fully set to do
evil.
(2.) A great temptation to Joseph.
The hand of Satan, no doubt, was in it, who,
when he found he could not overcome him
with troubles and the frowns of the world
(for in them he still held fast his integrity),
assaulted him with soft and charming pleasures,
which have ruined more than the
former, and have slain their ten-thousands.
II. Here is a most illustrious instance of
virtue and resolved chastity in Joseph, who,
by the grace of God, was enabled to resist
and overcome this temptation; and, all
things considered, his escape was, for aught
I know, as great an instance of the divine
power as the deliverance of the three children
out of the fiery furnace.
1. The temptation he was assaulted with
was very strong. Never was a more violent
onset made upon the fort of chastity than
this recorded here.
(1.) The sin he was
tempted to was uncleanness, which considering
his youth, his beauty, his single state,
and his plentiful living at the table of a ruler,
was a sin which, one would think, might
most easily beset him and betray him.
(2.) The tempter was his mistress, a person of
quality, whom it was his place to obey and
his interest to oblige, whose favour would
contribute more than any thing to his preferment,
and by whose means he might
arrive at the highest honours of the court.
On the other hand, it was at his utmost peril
if he slighted her, and made her his enemy.
(3.) Opportunity makes a thief, makes an
adulterer, and that favoured the temptation.
The tempter was in the house with him; his
business led him to be, without any suspicion,
where she was; none of the family were
within
(v. 11);
there appeared no danger of
its being ever discovered, or, if it should be
suspected, his mistress would protect him.
(4.) To all this was added importunity,
frequent constant importunity, to such a degree
that, at last, she laid violent hands on him.
2. His resistance of the temptation was
very brave, and the victory truly honourable.
The almighty grace of God enabled him to
overcome this assault of the enemy,
(1.) By strength of reason; and wherever
right reason may be heard, religion no
doubt will carry the day. He argues from
the respect he owed both to God and his
master,
[1.] He would not wrong
his master, nor do such an irreparable injury
to his honour. He considers, and urges,
how kind his master had been to him, what
a confidence he had reposed in him, in how
many instances he had befriended him, for
which he abhorred the thought of making
such an ungrateful return. Note, We are
bound in honour, as well as justice and
gratitude, not in any thing to injure those
that have a good opinion of us and place a
trust in us, how secretly soever it may be
done. See how he argues
(v. 9):
“There
is none greater in this house than I, therefore
I will not do it.” Note, Those that are
great, instead of being proud of their greatness,
should use it as an argument against
sin. “Is none greater than I? Then I will
scorn to do a wicked thing; it is below me
to serve a base lust; I will not disparage
myself so much.”
[2.] He would not offend
his God. This is the chief argument with
which he strengthens his aversion to the
sin. How can I do this? not only, How shall
I? or, How dare I? but, How can I? Id possumus,
quod jure possumus–We can do that
which we can do lawfully. It is good to shut
out sin with the strongest bar, even that of
an impossibility. He that is born of God
cannot sin,
Three arguments
Joseph urges upon himself. First, He considers
who he was that was tempted. “I;
others may perhaps take their liberty, but I
cannot. I that am an Israelite in covenant
with God, that profess religion, and relation
to him: it is next to impossible for me to do
so.” Secondly, What the sin was to which
he was tempted: This great wickedness.
Others might look upon it as a small matter,
a peccadillo, a trick of youth; but Joseph
had another idea of it. In general, when at
any time we are tempted to sin, we must consider
the great wickedness there is in it, let
sin appear sin
(Rom. vii. 13),
call it by its
own name, and never go about to lessen it.
Particularly let the sin of uncleanness always
be looked upon as great wickedness, as an
exceedingly sinful sin, that wars against
the soul as much as any other. Thirdly,
Against whom he was tempted to sin–against
God; not only, “How shall I do it, and sin
against my master, my mistress, myself, my
own body and soul; but against God?”
Note, Gracious souls look upon this as the
worst thing in sin that it is against God,
against his nature and his dominion, against
his love and his design. Those that love
God do for this reason hate sin.
(2.) By stedfastness of resolution. The
grace of God enabled him to overcome the
temptation by avoiding the tempter.
[1.] He hearkened not to her, so much as to be
with her,
Note, Those that would be
kept from harm must keep themselves out of
harm’s way. Avoid it, pass not by it. Nay,
[2.] When she laid hold of him, he left his garment
in her hand,
v. 12.
He would not stay so
much as to parley with the temptation, but
flew out from it with the utmost abhorrence;
he left his garment, as one escaping for his
life. Note, It is better to lose a good coat
than a good conscience.
13 And it came to pass, when she
saw that he had left his garment in her
hand, and was fled forth,
14 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:
15 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.
16 And she
laid up his garment by her, until his
lord came home.
17 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:
18 And it came
to pass, as I lifted up my voice and
cried, that he left his garment with
me, and fled out.
Joseph’s mistress, having tried in vain to
make him a criminal, now endeavours to represent
him as one; so to be revenged on
him for his virtue. Now was her love turned
into the utmost rage and malice, and she
pretends she cannot endure the sight of him
whom awhile ago she could not endure out
of her sight. Chaste and holy love will
continue, though slighted; but sinful love,
like Amnon’s to Tamar, is easily changed
into sinful hatred.
1. She accused him to
his fellow servants
(v. 13-15)
and gave him
a bad name among them. Probably they
envied him his interest in their master’s
favour, and his authority in the house; and
perhaps found themselves aggrieved sometimes
by his fidelity, which prevented their
purloining; and therefore they were glad to
hear any thing that might tend to his disgrace,
and, if there was room for it, incensed
their mistress yet more against him. Observe,
When she speaks of her husband, she
does not call him her husband, or her lord,
but only he; for she had forgotten the covenant
of her God, that was between them.
Thus the adulteress
calls her
husband the good man. Note, Innocence
itself cannot secure a man’s reputation. Not
every one that keeps a good conscience can
keep a good name.
2. She accused him to
his master, who had power in his hand to
punish him, which his fellow servants had
not,
Observe,
(1.) What an improbable
story she tells, producing his garment
as an evidence that he had offered
violence to her, which was a plain indication
that she had offered violence to him. Note,
Those that have broken the bonds of modesty
will never be held by the bonds of truth. No
marvel that she who had impudence enough
to say, Lie with me, had front enough to say,
“He would have lien with me.” Had the
lie been told to conceal her own crime it
would have been bad enough, yet, in some
degree, excusable; but it was told to be revenged
upon his virtue, a most malicious
lie. And yet,
(2.) She manages it so as to
incense her husband against him, reflecting
upon him for bringing this Hebrew servant
among them, perhaps at first against her
mind, because he was a Hebrew. Note, It
is no new thing for the best of men to be
falsely accused of the worst of crimes by
those who themselves are the worst of
criminals. As this matter was represented,
one would have thought chaste Joseph a
very bad man and his wanton mistress a
virtuous woman; it is well that there is a
day of discovery coming, in which all shall
appear in their true characters. This was
not the first time that Joseph’s coat was
made use of as a false witness concerning
him; his father had been deceived by it
before, now his master.
19 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.
20 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.
21 But the
LORD was with Joseph, and showed
him mercy, and gave him favour in
the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22 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.
23 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.
Here is,
1. Joseph wronged by his master.
He believed the accusation, and either Joseph
durst not make his defence by telling the
truth, as it would reflect too much upon his
mistress, or his master would not hear it, or
would not believe it, and there is no remedy,
he is condemned to perpetual imprisonment,
God restrained his wrath, else he
had put him to death; and that wrath which
imprisoned him God made to turn to his
praise, in order to which Providence so disposed
that he should be shut up among the
king’s prisoners, the state-prisoners. Potiphar,
it is likely, chose that prison because
it was the worst; for there the iron entered
into the soul
(Ps. cv. 18),
but God designed
to pave the way to his enlargement. He was
committed to the king’s prison, that he might
thence be preferred to the king’s person.
Note, Many an action of false imprisonment
will, in the great day, be found to lie against
the enemies and persecutors of God’s people.
Our Lord Jesus, like Joseph here, was bound,
and numbered with the transgressors.
2. Joseph
owned and righted by his God, who is,
and will be, the just and powerful patron of oppressed
innocence. Joseph was at a distance
from all his friends and relations, had not them
with him to comfort him, or to minister to him,
or to mediate for him; but the Lord was with
Joseph, and showed him mercy,
v. 21.
Note,
(1.) God despises not his prisoners,
No gates nor bars can shut out his
gracious presence from his people; for he
has promised that he will never leave them.
(2.) Those that have a good conscience in a
prison have a good God there. Integrity
and uprightness qualify us for the divine
favour, wherever we are. Joseph is not long
a prisoner before he becomes a little ruler
even in the prison, which is to be attributed,
under God,
[1.] To the keeper’s favour. God
gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of
the prison. Note, God can raise up friends
for his people even where they little expect
to find them, and can make them to be pitied
even of those that carry them captive,
[2.] To Joseph’s fitness for business.
The keeper saw that God was with
him, and that every thing prospered under
his hand; and therefore entrusted him with
the management of the affairs of the prison,
Note, Wisdom and virtue will
shine in the narrowest spheres. A good man
will do good wherever he is, and will be a
blessing even in bonds and banishment; for
the Spirit of the Lord is not bound nor
banished, witness St. Paul,
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