Joseph: Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness: Lesson 3 on Joseph
“Joseph got in prison, but prison didn’t get in him.”
-Chuck Swindoll
When we last saw our hero, Joseph, he had been framed for attempted rape by his bosses’ wife, the evil Mrs. Potiphar.
When Potiphar returns that evening, his wife is waiting, Joseph’s cloak in hand, screaming bloody murder. Her accusation is worth noting, “That Hebrew slave that you brought us tried. to take advantage of me. I screamed and he ran, leaving his cloak behind.
Her lust had turned to anger. As they say, “A woman scorned. . .”
She wasn’t the only one angry. Genesis 39 says that his master burned with anger. Potiphar took Joseph and put him in prison.
I’ve always wondered who Potiphar was angry with. I’m sure that he was mad at the Hebrew slave, but if there was more to the story than we’re told. Potiphar was described “As the captain of the guard and the chief executioner for Pharoah”. At the flick of a wrist, It’d been easy for Potiphar to simply behead this slave.
But Potiphar instead put him in the King’s prison. I’m sure he was angry at losing the best slave he’d ever had. Maybe he was also angry at his wife. As one rural philosopher once told me:
“I bet that wasn’t her first rodeo.”
Well, let’s climb out of that rabbit hole and get back to Joseph. He’s in prison but evidently doesn’t let prison get in him. Listen to this: “But while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.”
Soon, just as in Potiphar’s house, Joseph was soon running the prison. And that leads to an observation: Joseph was trustworthy in every situation and job.
1. He was trustworthy in Potiphar’s house, assuming the head servant as well as C.F.O. roles.
2. When Joseph got into the dark prison, he eventually became the associate warden.
3. Later in our story we’ll see Joseph rise to be the de facto vice president of all Egypt and help save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Joseph was trustworthy no matter how dreary the task was. God’s blessings coupled with Joseph’s gifts of administration/dream interpreter, led to a succession of promotions.
From the pit to Potiphar’s house to the prison and eventually, to the palace. Joseph had a proactive habit of being trustworthy.
It’s a good lesson for all of us. Trustworthiness in small things, especially in difficult situations always leads to eventual
blessings for us and those around us.
I’ve always wondered about Joseph’s first job as he arrived as a dirty tired slave in the house of Potiphar.
I’m sure of this: it was a dreary small job, but our hero did it in a trustworthy, passionate, and hard-working way.
Trustworthiness must be earned, and it always starts with small things.
This statement, attributed to Mother Teresa, ‘is worth remembering, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”’
Even the Lord Jesus spoke of this in Luke 16:10: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can be trusted with much.”
Our next and final lesson is my favorite trait of our hero: Joseph was a man of forgiveness.
This is lesson three. If you missed either of the first two, go to www.creekbank.net/blog and scroll down. I’d also encourage you to read the full story of Joseph in Genesis 37:50.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Shares