39:1
We now return to Joseph, and there is a stark contrast between the actions of Joseph and those of his brother Judah. Whereas Judah’s actions were decidedly immoral, Joseph’s were the exact opposite, refusing to be drawn into immorality. This verse echoes the end of chapter 37. Potiphar is an important captain man in Egypt, being the captain of the guard, and he had bought Joseph as a slave.
39:2,3
“The Lord was with Joseph”. Now Joseph was undoubtedly in very difficult circumstances, having been hated by his brothers, sold into slavery and taken off to a foreign land. The Lord being with us does not mean that every circumstance will work out in the way we think it should, or would like it to. Sometimes, as here, things will go very much against the way we would like them to. That does not mean that God has abandoned us. So Joseph made the best of things and acted as a high quality slave, doing all things well. We should also note that slavery here was quite different from the slave trade of the time of William Wilberforce, or in the United States. That is not to condone it, or to make out that it was a bed of roses! But when considering slavery in the Bible we need to have an accurate picture of the situation. The simple truth is that slavery had been endemic in human societies.
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