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Genesis 39:5  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. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

Perhaps the main teaching point of Genesis 39 is the importance of God’s people remaing true to his Word no matter how difficult this often is, how strong the temptations to give in to Satan’s guile, or how disastrous the consequences of faithful obedience might turn out to be for us personally; and the fact that our Sovereign God is effecting his eternal purposes in every situation in history no matter how much the opposite outcome might appear to us to be the case. Our perspective is very limited.  These are very important realities that we need to be reminded about in the present culture in which we find ourselves.

But in the midst of this important teaching, today’s verse reminds us of another important truth that we should not miss: Our God calls us, and blesses us, to be a constant source of blessing in and to our sad, broken, decaying world.  No matter how small and insignicant the responsibities that have been entrusted to us might appear to be, our faithful stewardhip of these responsibilities can be used by our Sovereign Lord to bring blessing to the situation in which he places us to serve him.

Yes, it was Joseph’s faithfulness to the Law of his God that, quite unjustly, got him into big personal trouble, but this same personal faithfulness in the short term brought noticeable blessing to Potiphar’s household, and in the much longer term to the whole land of Egypt, to the LORD’s Chosen Covenant People (his ‘Church’), and ultimately to the whole wide world.

Faithful Joseph himself had to go through much suffering and hardship and gross injustice in the process, and only got to see a very small part of the blessing in his own lifetime, but the whole of Scripture gives us a panoramic view of the significant part this one faithful servant of the LORD played in the outworking of Salvation History!

May Joseph’s seminal example of obedience and self-discipline inspire all of us today to remain strong and firm in the task(s) the LORD has entrusted to us – and let us resolve to do this regardless of the temptations, the hardships, and the hurtful injustices we might have to face in the process!

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever he does prospers.” (Psalm 1:1-3)

– Bruce Christian