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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page220"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXIX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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At this chapter we return to the story of Joseph. We have him
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here,
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I. A servant, a slave in Potiphar's house
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:1">ver. 1</A>),
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and yet
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there greatly honoured and favoured,
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1. By the providence of God,
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which made him, in effect, a master,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:2-6">ver. 2-6</A>.
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2. By the grace of
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God, which made him more than a conqueror over a strong temptation
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to uncleanness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:7-12">ver. 7-12</A>.
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II. We have him here a sufferer,
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falsely accused
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:13-18">ver. 13-18</A>),
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imprisoned
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:19,20">ver. 19, 20</A>),
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and yet his imprisonment made both honourable and comfortable by
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the tokens of God's special presence with him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:21-23">ver. 21-23</A>.
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And herein Joseph was a type of Christ, "who took upon him
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the form of a servant," and yet then did that which made it
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evident that "God was with him," who was tempted by Satan,
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but overcame the temptation, who was falsely accused and bound,
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and yet had all things committed to his hand.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge39_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge39_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge39_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge39_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge39_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge39_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The History of Joseph.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1721.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And Joseph was brought down
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to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer
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of Pharaoh, captain of the guard,
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an Egyptian, bought him of the hands
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of the Ishmeelites, which had brought
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him down thither.
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2 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous
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man; and he was in the house
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of his master the Egyptian.
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3 And
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his master saw that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>was</I>
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with him, and that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> made all
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that he did to prosper in his hand.
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4 And Joseph found grace in his sight,
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and he served him: and he made him
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overseer over his house, and all <I>that</I>
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he had he put into his hand.
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5 And
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it came to pass from the time <I>that</I> he
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had made him overseer in his house,
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and over all that he had, that the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> blessed the Egyptian's house
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for Joseph's sake; and the blessing
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of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> was upon all that he had
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in the house, and in the field.
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6 And
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he left all that he had in Joseph's
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hand; and he knew not ought he had,
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save the bread which he did eat. And
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Joseph was <I>a</I> goodly <I>person,</I> and well
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favoured.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. Joseph bought
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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and he
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that bought him, whatever he gave for him,
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had a good bargain of him; it was better
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than the merchandise of silver. The Jews
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have a proverb, "If the world did not know
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the worth of good men, they would hedge
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them about with pearls." He was sold to
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an officer of Pharaoh, with whom he might
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get acquainted with public persons and public
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business, and so be fitted for the preferment
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for which he was designed. Note, 1. What
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<A NAME="Page221"> </A>
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God intends men for he will be sure, some
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way or other, to qualify them for.
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2. Providence
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is to be acknowledged in the disposal
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even of poor servants and in their settlements,
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and therein may perhaps be working towards
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something great and important.</P>
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<P>
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II. Joseph blessed, wonderfully blessed,
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even in the house of his servitude.</P>
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<P>
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1. God prospered him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
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Perhaps
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the affairs of Potiphar's family had remarkably
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gone backward before; but, upon Joseph's
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coming into it, a discernible turn was given
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to them, and the face and posture of them
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altered on a sudden. Though, at first, we
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may suppose that his hand was put to the
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meanest services, even in those appeared his
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ingenuity and industry; a particular blessing
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of Heaven attended him, which, as he rose
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in his employment, became more and more
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discernible. Note,
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(1.) Those that have wisdom
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and grace have that which cannot be
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taken away from them, whatever else they
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are robbed of. Joseph's brethren had stripped
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him of his coat of many colours, but they
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could not strip him of his virtue and prudence.
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(2.) Those that can separate us
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from all our friends, yet cannot deprive
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us of the gracious presence of our God.
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When Joseph had none of all his relations
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with him, he had his God with him, even in
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the house of the Egyptian. Joseph was
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separated from his brethren, but not from
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his God; banished from his father's house,
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but <I>the Lord was with him,</I> and this comforted
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him.
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(3.) It is God's presence with
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us that makes all we do prosperous. Those
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that would prosper must therefore make
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God their friend; and those that do prosper
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must therefore give God the praise.</P>
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<P>
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2. His master preferred him, by degrees
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made him steward of his household,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Note,
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(1.) Industry and honesty are the
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surest and safest way both of rising and
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thriving: <I>Seest thou a man</I> prudent, and
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faithful, and <I>diligent in his business? He shall
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stand before kings</I> at length, and not always
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<I>before mean men.</I>
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(2.) It is the wisdom of
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those that are in any sort of authority to
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countenance and employ those with whom
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it appears that the presence of God is,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+101:6">Ps. ci. 6</A>.
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Potiphar knew what he did when he
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put all into the hands of Joseph; for he
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knew it would prosper better there than in
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his own hand.
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(3.) He that is faithful in a
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few things stand fair for being made ruler
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over many things,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+25:21">Matt. xxv. 21</A>.
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Christ goes by this rule with his servants.
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(4.) It
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is a great ease to a master to have those employed
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under him that are trusty. Potiphar
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was so well satisfied with Joseph's conduct
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that <I>he knew not aught he had, save the bread
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which he did eat,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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The servant had all
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the care and trouble of the estate; the master
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had only the enjoyment of it: an example
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not to be imitated by any master, unless he
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could be sure that he had one in all respects
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like Joseph for a servant.</P>
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<P>
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3. God favoured his master for his sake
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>He blessed the Egyptian's house,</I>
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though he was an Egyptian, a stranger to
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the true God, <I>for Joseph's sake;</I> and he himself,
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like Laban, soon learned it by experience,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+30:27"><I>ch.</I> xxx. 27</A>.
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Note,
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(1.) Good men
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are the blessings of the places where they
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live; even good servants may be so, though
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mean, and lightly esteemed.
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(2.) The prosperity
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of the wicked is, one way or other,
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for the sake of the godly. Here was a
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wicked family blessed for the sake of one
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good servant in it.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge39_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge39_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge39_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge39_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge39_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge39_12"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>7 And it came to pass after these
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things, that his master's wife cast her
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eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie
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with me.
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8 But he refused, and said
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unto his master's wife, Behold, my
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master wotteth not what <I>is</I> with me
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in the house, and he hath committed
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all that he hath to my hand;
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9 <I>There
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is</I> none greater in this house than I;
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neither hath he kept back any thing
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from me but thee, because thou <I>art</I>
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his wife: how then can I do this great
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wickedness, and sin against God?
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10 And it came to pass, as she spake to
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Joseph day by day, that he hearkened
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not unto her, to lie by her, <I>or</I> to be
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with her.
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11 And it came to pass
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about this time, that <I>Joseph</I> went into
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the house to do his business; and
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<I>there was</I> none of the men of the house
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there within.
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12 And she caught
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him by his garment, saying, Lie with
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me: and he left his garment in her
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hand, and fled, and got him out.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. A most shameful instance of impudence
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and immodesty in Joseph's mistress,
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the shame and scandal of her sex, perfectly
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lost to all virtue and honour, and not to be
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mentioned, nor thought of, without the utmost
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indignation. It was well that she was
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an Egyptian; for we must have shared in
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the confusion if such folly had been found
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in Israel. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. Her sin began in the eye: She <I>cast her
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eyes upon Joseph</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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who <I>was a goodly
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person, and well-favoured,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Note,
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(1.) Remarkable beauty, either of men or women,
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often proves a dangerous snare both to themselves
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and others, which forbids pride in it
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and commands constant watchfulness against
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the temptation that attends it; favour is
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deceitful--deceiving.
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(2.) We have great
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need to make a covenant with our eyes
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+31:1">Job xxxi. 1</A>),
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lest the eye infect the heart.
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Joseph's mistress had a husband that ought
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to have been to her for a covering of the
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eyes from all others,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+20:16"><I>ch.</I> xx. 16</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. She was daring and shameless in the
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<A NAME="Page222"> </A>
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sin. With an impudent face, and a harlot's
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forehead, she said, <I>Lie with me,</I> having
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already, by her wanton looks and unchaste
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desires, committed adultery with him in her
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heart. Note, Where the unclean spirit gets
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possession and dominion in a soul, it is as
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with the possessed of the devils
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+7:27,29">Luke viii. 27, 29</A>),
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the clothes of modesty are thrown
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off and the bands and fetters of shame are
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broken in pieces. When lust has got head,
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it will stick at nothing, blush at nothing;
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decency, and reputation, and conscience, are
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all sacrificed to that Baal-peor.
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3. She was
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urgent and violent in the temptation. Often
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she had been denied with the strongest
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reasons, and yet as often renewed her vile
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solicitations. She <I>spoke to him day by day,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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Now this was,
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(1.) Great wickedness
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in her, and showed her heart fully set to do
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evil.
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(2.) A great temptation to Joseph.
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The hand of Satan, no doubt, was in it, who,
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when he found he could not overcome him
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with troubles and the frowns of the world
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(for in them he still held fast his integrity),
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assaulted him with soft and charming pleasures,
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which have ruined more than the
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former, and have slain their ten-thousands.</P>
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<P>
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II. Here is a most illustrious instance of
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virtue and resolved chastity in Joseph, who,
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by the grace of God, was enabled to resist
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and overcome this temptation; and, all
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things considered, his escape was, for aught
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I know, as great an instance of the divine
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power as the deliverance of the three children
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out of the fiery furnace.</P>
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<P>
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1. The temptation he was assaulted with
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was very strong. Never was a more violent
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onset made upon the fort of chastity than
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this recorded here.
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(1.) The sin he was
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tempted to was uncleanness, which considering
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his youth, his beauty, his single state,
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and his plentiful living at the table of a ruler,
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was a sin which, one would think, might
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most easily beset him and betray him.
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(2.) The tempter was his mistress, a person of
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quality, whom it was his place to obey and
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his interest to oblige, whose favour would
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contribute more than any thing to his preferment,
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and by whose means he might
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arrive at the highest honours of the court.
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On the other hand, it was at his utmost peril
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if he slighted her, and made her his enemy.
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(3.) Opportunity makes a thief, makes an
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adulterer, and that favoured the temptation.
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The tempter was in the house with him; his
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business led him to be, without any suspicion,
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where she was; none of the family were
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within
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>);
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there appeared no danger of
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its being ever discovered, or, if it should be
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suspected, his mistress would protect him.
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(4.) To all this was added importunity,
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frequent constant importunity, to such a degree
|
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that, at last, she laid violent hands on him.</P>
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<P>
|
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2. His resistance of the temptation was
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very brave, and the victory truly honourable.
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The almighty grace of God enabled him to
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overcome this assault of the enemy,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) By strength of reason; and wherever
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right reason may be heard, religion no
|
|
doubt will carry the day. He argues from
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the respect he owed both to God and his
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|
master,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:8,9"><I>v.</I> 8, 9</A>.
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[1.] He would not wrong
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|
his master, nor do such an irreparable injury
|
|
to his honour. He considers, and urges,
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|
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
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|
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
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|
done. See how he argues
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
|
|
"<I>There
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|
is none greater in this house than I,</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. <I>How can I do this?</I> not only, How shall
|
|
I? or, How dare I? but, <I>How can I? Id possumus,
|
|
quod jure possumus--We can do that
|
|
which we can do lawfully.</I> It is good to shut
|
|
out sin with the strongest bar, even that of
|
|
an impossibility. He that is born of God
|
|
cannot sin,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:9">1 John iii. 9</A>.
|
|
Three arguments
|
|
Joseph urges upon himself. <I>First,</I> He considers
|
|
who he was that was tempted. "<I>I;</I>
|
|
others may perhaps take their liberty, but <I>I</I>
|
|
cannot. <I>I</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." <I>Secondly,</I> What the sin was to which
|
|
he was tempted: <I>This great wickedness.</I>
|
|
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
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+7:13">Rom. vii. 13</A>),
|
|
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. <I>Thirdly,</I>
|
|
Against whom he was tempted to sin--<I>against
|
|
God;</I> 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.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) By stedfastness of resolution. The
|
|
grace of God enabled him to overcome the
|
|
temptation by avoiding the tempter.
|
|
|
|
[1.] He <I>hearkened not to her,</I> so much as to be
|
|
with her,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
Note, Those that would be
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page223"> </A>
|
|
|
|
kept from harm must keep themselves out of
|
|
harm's way. <I>Avoid it, pass not by it.</I> Nay,
|
|
|
|
[2.] When she laid hold of him, he <I>left his garment
|
|
in her hand,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
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.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge39_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge39_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge39_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge39_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge39_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge39_18"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>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.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:13-15"><I>v.</I> 13-15</A>)
|
|
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 <I>he;</I> for she had forgotten the covenant
|
|
of her God, that was between them.
|
|
Thus the adulteress
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+7:19">Prov. vii. 19</A>)
|
|
calls her
|
|
husband <I>the good man.</I> 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,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>.
|
|
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, <I>Lie with me,</I> 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.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge39_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge39_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge39_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge39_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge39_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>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 <I>were</I> bound: and he
|
|
was there in the prison.
|
|
21 But the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> 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 <I>were</I> in the prison; and
|
|
whatsoever they did there, he was the
|
|
doer <I>of it.</I>
|
|
23 The keeper of the
|
|
prison looked not to any thing <I>that
|
|
was</I> under his hand; because the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> was with him, and <I>that</I> which
|
|
he did, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> made <I>it</I> to prosper.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:19,20"><I>v.</I> 19, 20</A>.
|
|
God restrained his wrath, else he
|
|
had put him to death; and that wrath which
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page224"> </A>
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+105:18">Ps. cv. 18</A>),
|
|
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 <I>the Lord was with
|
|
Joseph, and showed him mercy,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) God despises not his prisoners,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+69:33">Ps. lxix. 33</A>.
|
|
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
|
|
<I>gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of
|
|
the prison.</I> Note, God can raise up friends
|
|
for his people even where they little expect
|
|
to find them, and can <I>make them to be pitied</I>
|
|
even of those that carry them captive,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+106:46">Ps. cvi. 46</A>.
|
|
|
|
[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,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+39:22,23"><I>v.</I> 22, 23</A>.
|
|
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,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+1:12,13">Phil. i. 12, 13</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
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