Genesis 37–50

He was told in chapter 35 to go and live at Bethel. Here it says he "lived in the land of his father's sojournings." But the history now is the history of his sons. His history until he went to Egypt is in this one verse.

Verse 1 states a truth of deep significance: "Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan." It had taken him some years to settle there. Yet even while living there, he was still only a sojourner (Heb. 11:9). He did not remain indefinitely, but later went down to Egypt, where he died.

Then, in the freedom and strength of all this, our patriarch resumes his journey. He goes from Bethel to Bethlehem. From there he travels by the tower of Edar to Mamre in the south country, where his father Isaac was living. But in none of these places do we read of house or land again. It is the tent, the altar and the pillar, and the journey still going on. Then the burial of his aged father. And at last, one with his fathers, he lives in the land where they had lived before him.

The first verse has told us that he lived in the land where his father had been a stranger. In this he was moving ahead of God's purpose. So God soon allowed circumstances to move him and his sons into Egypt. In that way everything happened that God had foretold to Abraham in Genesis 15:13-14.

Jacob's dwelling in the land where his father was a stranger is not, I think, a contrast in evil. Scripture uses the same word yashav (to dwell) of Abraham and Lot together in Canaan, and of Lot in Sodom. He was no longer a wanderer outside the land, but someone living in it. Still, he was more settled than Abraham was — only, when he did settle, God stirred him up out of his rest.

The section called "The generations of Esau" begins at Genesis 36:1 and runs to Genesis 37:1. As with Ishmael and Isaac, Scripture mentions the rejected line first, but only briefly, and does not follow its dates. The chosen line comes second, and then enough dates are given to let us follow the passing of the years. This foreshadows a principle of God's ways, stated so clearly: "He takes away the first, that He may establish the second" (Heb. 10:9).

The next chapter follows with a long list of Esau's generations, ripening early into dukes and kings. The world must have its day… In chapter 37 a single verse sets Jacob's portion against all this. Its very shortness speaks volumes to the ear that hears.

The next mention of Jacob is in Genesis 37. There we read that he "lived in the land of his father's sojournings." This was his proper position, the one faith had called him to. Still, after a pause, the discipline goes on. He had to be weaned from depending on anything at all. Though Rachel is gone, her two sons remain, and through them Jacob undergoes a continued crucifixion of his affections.

His generations center simply in Joseph (v. 2): there is no list of names. The answer is simply that the true genealogy of the line of faith centers in the person of the Lord Jesus, of whom Joseph is a type.

Genesis 37:2 gives "the generations of Jacob." Joseph is the special object of interest. He is a plain figure of Him whom His brothers rejected and who was separated from them. God exalted Him to hold the power of the throne over the Gentiles. In due time His brothers are brought to repentance and humbled before His glory, and He makes Himself known to them.

The first view that we have of Joseph is at seventeen years, feeding the flock along with his brothers. The ruler God appoints is always a shepherd! We see this with Moses and with David. In Matthew, the Gospel of the kingdom, we hear the scribes quoting Micah to the king: "Out of you shall come a Governor who shall rule My people Israel." The margin has "feed." The word literally means "be a shepherd to" My people Israel. Jacob's prophecy at the close of this book connects this character of Christ's rule with the type of Joseph (49:24).

But he is with the children of the servant-woman. That is a telling picture of Israel's condition when our Lord came in the flesh — perhaps in politics as well as in spirit. Joseph is separated from them too, far from them in his morals, just as the Lord was. That was the ground of the later separation, and it came from their side, not from his. "The world... hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil."

He worked with his half-brothers, feeding Jacob's flocks. He brought his father the report of their bad practices. If these things were serious, Joseph may have needed to do it. But Scripture does not say one way or the other. On the other hand, we know that the Lord Jesus was always right to talk with His Father about the evils of His natural brothers.

He was a witness of their evil ways, and his father loved him. Both things made Joseph hateful to the sons of the servant-mothers. The special robe Jacob gave him did not soften their harshness, and neither did his two dreams. "Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?"... Everything on record stamps Joseph as a devout youth. He had moral courage. He was faithful toward those who were going wrong. He had a lowly mind, and wondered at the dreams as much as anyone or more.

The generations of Jacob are mainly about the doings of his sons, who came from him. They are about Joseph most of all. Verse 2 introduces him at the age of seventeen. It has been said that in him we have the most perfect and complete type of the Lord Jesus in all the Scriptures, and we believe that is true. In keeping with this, we shall see that Scripture records no sinful or unworthy action of his. This increases the value of his life as a type, though he was a sinful man like the rest of us.

Verse 3 tells us that Jacob loved Joseph more than all his other sons. This was Jacob's failure. Love in a family should be completely impartial and concerned about the true welfare of every child. Above all this, though, this history reminds us that God's love for His Son must be unique.

In His great grace God has brought His saints into relationship with Him as children and as His sons. He has given us "the Spirit of His Son…crying, Abba, Father" (Gal. 4:6). But we must never forget that the Son has His own special place at the Father's side, and it is His alone.

Israel bears witness to this place of distinction by clothing Joseph with a coat of many colours — a public testimony to the delight of the father in his son… The same chapter that tells us, "God so loved the world," also tells us that "the Father loves the Son." A measure is given of the love of God for the world, infinite though it is. But no measure is, or can be, given of the Father's love for the Son… Joseph's coat of many colours, the public testimony of his father's love, has its bright counterpart in the opened heavens of the New Testament. The heavens never open apart from Christ. When they open, they always bear some fresh witness to the Father's delight in the all-varied graces of the Son.

They were worn as marks of distinction — "for the neck as spoil," as Sisera's mother says. She thought he should wear this "spoil of dyed materials" as a special honour, fitting such a mighty conqueror as he was.

The inner garment is the kethoneth, a long tunic worn by men and women, made of wool, cotton, or linen. This was the garment God made of skins for Adam and Eve, and what Jacob made of many colours for Joseph.

God calls the Lord Jesus His well-beloved Son, and has given Him many glories. A robe of many colours is His, but they are the colours of His glories. Not one greater, or more brilliant, than the glory of His humiliation. He laid aside His riches, and became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich.

The many-coloured coat, as we saw earlier, was a mark of renown, or of superior dignity or excellence… The persecutors of the Son of God were not content until they had stripped Him of everything the many-coloured coat of Joseph stood for — His dignity, His moral excellence, His honour. They did this as far as it lay in their power.

Loved and marked out by his father in this way, his heart grew large. He tasted the sweetness of his father's affection, and his own affection came out in return. Nothing produces affection in us so much as the assurance that it exists for us. As it is written, "We love because He first loved us."… But at the same time this exposed him to the envy of those who had proved themselves unworthy of it.

He was the object of his father's love, and the subject of very high destinies. His brothers' hearts were not in communion with these things, so they hated him. They had no fellowship in the father's love… In all this they represent the Jews in Christ's day. "He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him."

He was the object of his father's love, and he was marked out for very high destinies. His brothers' hearts had no share in these things, so they hated him. They had no fellowship in the father's love. They would not accept the thought of Joseph's exaltation.

The love of Jacob for Joseph drew out the bitter animosity of his brothers. Jacob was to blame for this, of course, not Joseph, but the same thing has happened in many families. In the case of the Lord Jesus, Israel hated both Him and His Father (John 15:24). They did not have the slightest excuse for this, though Jacob's brothers might have had some excuse for hating Joseph.

The clearer it became that his father loved him in a special way, the more they hated him. Their hatred first showed in their speech — they "could not speak peacefully to him." Later it broke out in wicked action. But we see at once a type of the One of whom Psalm 69 speaks prophetically: "They ... hate Me without cause"; and again, "I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons."

Why was Joseph hated by his brothers? Was he not in their company as one who served? He was. But they were evil. However welcome his service might be, his presence exposed their evil and called out their hatred. For the same reason, and far more deeply, the world hated Christ. He could say, "It hates Me because I testify about it that its works are evil."

Joseph had done them no harm — no, he loved them, so very much: yet he lived among his brothers as one alone. He "was separate from his brothers." How it must have hurt poor Joseph — out "feeding the flock with his brothers," or at home with them, and never hearing a kind word from any of them.

On one side he learned the tenderness and the resources of his father's affection. On the other he suffered reproach and persecution for being so favoured. So early in life, and in his own family, Joseph learned — as all God's servants do — the basic truth that had to sustain him in the highest service later on: that the one loved by God is the one hated by man. His father's love, marked out by the coat of many colours, had to make up to him for the hatred of his brothers. It had to strengthen him and prepare him for all their opposition and envy.

In verse 4 of our chapter we read that Joseph's brothers "hated him and could not speak peacefully to him." It was the same with Jesus here on earth. People hated Him without a cause. And this is every sinner's attitude toward Christ until he comes to Him by faith and learns His love. You may not want to believe this of yourself, but it is true all the same. You may not know this enmity to Christ is in your heart, but it is there just the same.

Next comes the record of Joseph's two dreams. It is remarkable how large a part dreams played in his history. Scripture records no fewer than five of them before the climax, and every one contained a prophecy. Each was therefore produced by the finger of God touching the unconscious mind of the sleeper. Each marked a divine intervention, and indeed a revelation of secret things.

In the ages before Moses there was no written revelation of God's will. He often used dreams to communicate His mind, or to reveal coming events beforehand… Now we have His written revelation, the completed Bible. Only in very rare and exceptional cases can we recognise a dream as having come from God. "For a dream comes with much business," that is, from purely natural causes, Scripture says.

In Joseph's case, we see that his brothers refused his first dream, and yet he in no way softened his testimony… This was simple testimony founded on divine revelation; but it was testimony that brought Joseph down to the pit. He could have held back his testimony, or taken off some of its edge and power, and so spared himself. But no — he told them the truth, and so they hated him.

The dreams that speak of Joseph's future supremacy are a fresh motive for the envy and hatred of the brothers. He had been a witness against them of their evil; now he is a witness to them of his future glory. They will have neither one nor the other. The Lord did the same. He witnessed against the evil of the world and bore witness to His coming glories. Like Joseph, He drew hatred on Himself… Before the assembled leaders of Jerusalem He can say, "From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power." A furious outburst of hatred followed that confession.

Whether it was wise or fitting to repeat his dreams to those who had no love for him may be a question. But the dreams were of God, as the effect on his brothers was of the enemy… The whole record marks Joseph out as a devout youth. He had moral courage. He was faithful toward those going wrong. He had a humble mind, and wondered at the dreams as much as anyone or more… A sign of coming exaltation always provokes adversaries to madness and revenge. Yet, strange as it may seem in their eyes, God turns even their spite and wicked ways to accomplish His purpose.

We may not doubt that God had a gracious purpose in this. He was exercising Joseph's spirit and strengthening his heart for the distress and the many troubles ahead of him, before those remarkable foreshadowings came true… The dreams were simple and striking, and they touched the whole family. If his brothers could not forget them, the sufferer could forget them still less. In the middle of grief and shame he remembered the visions of strange dignity that awaited him.

All this applies in a striking way to the One Joseph pictures, our Lord Jesus. The Jews, His brothers by natural descent, hated Him without a cause and rejected Him when He came among them. Yet the day is coming when they will bow down before Him. But not only this. He is to be the central Object of worship to the heavens as well as the earth. What had been secret is now revealed. We know that God's purpose, according to His good pleasure, is "to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."

Next comes the record of Joseph's two dreams. It is striking how large a part dreams played in his history. Before the story reaches its climax, Scripture records no fewer than five, and every one of them contained a prophecy. So the finger of God produced each dream, touching the sleeper's unconscious mind. Each one marked a Divine intervention — indeed, a revelation of secret things.

Joseph spoke the truth about their evil ways, and his father loved him. That made him hateful to the sons of the servant mothers. The special robe Jacob gave him did not soften their harshness, and neither did his two dreams. "Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?" Was it wise or fitting to tell his dreams to those who had no love for him? That may be a question. But the dreams were of God, just as their effect on his brothers was of the enemy.

Now, in Joseph's case, we see that he in no way relaxed his testimony because his brothers refused his first dream. "Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more" … "Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers." This was simple testimony founded on divine revelation. But this testimony brought Joseph down to the pit. If he had held back his testimony, or blunted its edge and power, he might have spared himself. But no — he told them the truth, and so they hated him.

The dreams speak of Joseph's future supremacy, and that gives the brothers a fresh motive for envy and hatred. He had been a witness against them of their evil; now he is a witness to them of his future glory. They will have neither one nor the other. The Lord did the same. He witnessed against the evil of the world and bore witness to His coming glories. Like Joseph, He drew the world's hatred upon Himself. Before the assembled leaders of Jerusalem the Lord speaks of His coming glories: "From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power." A furious outburst of hatred follows that confession. Priests and elders unite to spit in the face of the Son of God.

In Joseph's first dream he tells his brothers that he and they were binding sheaves of grain in the field: his sheaf arose and stood erect, and those of his brothers all bowed down to his sheaf (v. 7). Joseph probably did not understand that God meant the dream as a prophecy: his brothers would one day bow to his authority. Genesis 42:6 tells us they did. Of course, the most vital lesson here is that all Israel will yet bow to the Lord Jesus, whom they have despised and hated.

We may not doubt that God had a gracious purpose here. He was exercising Joseph's spirit and strengthening his heart for the distress and many troubles that would be his portion before those remarkable foreshadowings came true… The brothers could not easily forget dreams so simple and striking, dreams that touched nearly the whole family. Still less could the sufferer forget them. In the middle of much grief and shame, he remembered the visions of strange dignity that awaited him within his lifetime and theirs.

Was it wise or fitting to repeat his dreams to those who had no love for him? That may be a question. But the dreams were from God, while the effect on his brothers came from the enemy... Everything recorded marks Joseph as a godly youth. He had moral courage. He was faithful toward those who went wrong. He had a humble mind that wondered at the dreams as much as anyone, or more... Such a sign always provokes opponents to madness and revenge. Yet God turns even their spite and wicked ways to accomplish His purpose.

To tell what his dreams, or his visions in the Spirit, had shown him was from God.

In Genesis 37, what could be simpler or better suited to these men? Joseph's sheaf rises up and keeps standing, while the other sheaves come round and bow down to his sheaf... The dream was so plain, vivid and startling that it needed no interpreter.

Joseph likely did not understand that God meant the dream as a prophecy: his brothers would one day bow to his authority. Genesis 42:6 tells us they did. The most vital lesson here is bigger still. All Israel will yet bow to the Lord Jesus, whom they have despised and hated.

The scene of this dream is the harvest field. It is Christ's kingdom on earth... All the earth shall own His rule... He does not yet openly take up His great power and reign. But He will, when He reaps the harvest of this earth. Now is the day of His kingdom and patience.... He waits in patient grace to see if you will submit to His authority of your own choice. If you refuse Him now, while He is patient, sheer force will make you own His righteous rule in the day of His power.

In Joseph's case, he did not soften his testimony when his brothers refused his first dream... This was simple testimony founded on God's revelation. But it was testimony that brought Joseph down to the pit. If he had held back his testimony, or blunted its edge and power, he might have spared himself. But no — he told them the truth, and so they hated him.

These dreams of their young brother enraged his jealous brothers, and they got rid of him. They sold him to passing merchants, who took the boy to Egypt and sold him as a slave. This did not look like the fulfilment of Joseph's dreams of future greatness. It was indeed a very sorrowful road to the answer of his dreams, but it was THE road.

Joseph was a witness against their evil ways, and his father loved him. That made him hateful to the sons of the servant mothers. The special robe Jacob gave Joseph did not soften their harshness, and neither did his two dreams. Whether it was wise or fitting to repeat his dreams to those who had no love for him may be a question. But the dreams were of God, just as the effect on his brothers was of the enemy.

Joseph tells his brothers his first dream. He and they were binding sheaves of grain in the field: his sheaf rose and stood upright, and the sheaves of his brothers all bowed down to it (v. 7). Joseph probably did not understand that God meant the dream as a prophecy: his brothers would one day bow to his authority. Genesis 42:6 tells us they did. Of course, the most vital lesson here is that all Israel will yet bow to the Lord Jesus, whom they have despised and hated. At the time Joseph's brothers thought it ridiculous that he would ever have dominion over them (v. 8).

And so his sufferings begin. The Lord marks him as the heir of glory. He speaks of the goodness he had found, and of God's high purpose for him. And his brothers hate him. They envy him; and who can stand before envy? They had already begrudged him his father's favour, and now they hate him for God's. They hate him for his words and for his dreams.

Finally, Joseph's brothers hated him for his words. … So too Christ is still the object of a hatred that men cannot hide, however hard they try. … But never forget what lies behind the "harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him": the "ungodly deeds that they have committed in such an ungodly way." The evil lives of Joseph's brothers lay behind the hatred in their hearts and the evil words of their lips (Jude 15).

Now, in Joseph's case, we see that he in no way relaxed his testimony because his brothers refused his first dream. … This was simple testimony founded on divine revelation; but it was testimony that brought Joseph down to the pit. Had he held back his testimony, or blunted its edge and power, he might have spared himself. But no — he told them the truth, and so they hated him.

He was the object of his father's love, and the subject of very high destinies. His brothers' hearts were not in fellowship with these things, so they hated him. They had no share in the father's love. They would not yield to the thought of Joseph's exaltation. In all this they represent the Jews in Christ's day. "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him." … They would neither own Him as the Son of God nor as king of Israel.

Joseph was lord. His rule was absolute in that great land. His dreams came true. The other sheaves bowed to his sheaf; sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed to him. His brothers had said, "Let us … throw him into one of the pits … and we will see what will become of his dreams." Well, now they had seen!

Both his dreams foretold his coming greatness and glory. The meaning was so plain that his brothers, and his father too, saw it at once. The drift of the two was the same. But only the second suggested that his father and mother, as well as his brothers, would bow down to him in a day to come. There was a further difference. Sheaves belong to an earthly harvest, while sun, moon and stars are heavenly objects. The sun is a symbol of supreme authority, and the moon of authority derived from it and joined with it. Jacob saw at once how well this fitted the place of father and mother in his large family.

The second dream seems to have raised questions in his brothers' minds. He told them, and told his father too, that he had dreamed of the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing down to him. His father rebuked him. He evidently felt that pride in Joseph had produced the dream. The implication was plain to him: he himself, Rachel and his eleven children would all bow down to Joseph.

The second dream implied a remarkable honour, and it moved Jacob. He could not help storing up its meaning, dim as it still was to him. Joseph was simple and open, with no presumption in him at all. That only made his brothers' spite burn hotter, and it soon found an occasion to break out in outrageous malice. How like the way of the Jews with Him who was long afterwards to be the blessed One that Joseph pictured!

His father rebuked him. He assumed that what the dream pointed to could never happen. Yet Scripture records that he "kept the saying in mind." That shows he could not dismiss it, and that he saw more in it than he had thought at first. He had faith in God, even if it was weak; whereas the brothers had none.

And see what happens next. When Joseph tells his second dream, we read that his brothers envied him. It was the same with the great One whom he pictured. It is written of Pilate, "he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up" (Matthew 27:18). And who can stand before envy, as the proverb asks? The rulers and the Pharisees were jealous of His standing. "Look, the world has gone after him," they said, in alarm.

One dream might have been enough to foretell the glories of Joseph. It would be far too small to picture the glories of Christ. For His supremacy will have a twofold character… The dream of the sheaves bowing to Joseph's sheaf may well speak of that excellent supremacy over all the earth which Christ is destined to wield. Yet this first dream does not set out His supremacy in full. He is destined to be supreme not only on earth, but to hold universal sway over heaven and earth… And this second dream speaks of that heavenly supremacy. It presents heavenly bodies — the sun, the moon, and the stars — bowing down to Joseph.

Jacob's view of the prophetic dream seems limited to his own family. He heard that the sun and moon and eleven stars paid homage to Joseph. He then asked whether he, Joseph's mother and Joseph's brothers would really bow to the ground before him. The sun and the moon were, to Jacob, father and mother. But this dream goes far beyond Jacob's family, or the nation of Israel.

Joseph told his brothers, and his father too, that he dreamed the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. His father rebuked him. He seemed to feel that pride on Joseph's part caused the dream, because the implication was plain to him: he, Rachel and his eleven children would bow down to Joseph. But his brothers envied him. Did this not show they were afraid Joseph would have such a place of authority? We know too that it was not only unbelief that moved the Jewish leaders to reject Christ. It was envy as well (Matt. 27:18).

The dreams that speak of Joseph's future supremacy are a fresh motive for the envy and hatred of the brothers. He had been a witness against them of their evil, now he is a witness to them of his future glory. They will have neither one nor the other. The Lord did the same. He witnessed against the evil of the world, and He bore witness to His coming glories. Like Joseph, He drew the hatred of the world onto Himself. Before the assembled leaders of Jerusalem the Lord speaks of His coming glories. "From now on," He can say, "you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power." A furious outburst of hatred followed that confession. Priests and elders united to spit in the face of the Son of God.

The recounting of these dreams greatly fanned the flame of hatred, as we see in verses 5, 8 and 11. His father rebuked him, thinking that what the dream pointed to could never happen. Yet the record says that he "kept the saying in mind." He could not put it out of his thoughts. He recognised that there was more in it than he had first thought. He had faith in God, even if it was weak; whereas the brothers had none.

Was it wise or fitting to tell his dreams to those who had no love for him? That may be a question. But the dreams were of God, and the effect on his brothers was of the enemy. Even to his father the second was distasteful, though he kept it in mind. Everything recorded here marks Joseph as a godly youth. He had moral courage. He was faithful toward those who were going wrong. He had a lowly mind, and wondered at the dreams as much as anyone, or more. And we cannot doubt that God had His gracious purpose in it: to exercise Joseph's spirit and strengthen his heart for the distress and many troubles that would be his before those remarkable foreshadowings came true.

When Joseph tells his second dream, we read that his brothers envied him. It was the same with Christ, the One Joseph pictured. Of Pilate it is written that "he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered Him up" (Matt. 27:18)… How different the spirit shown by John the Baptist, who said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." It was his joy to step into the background, so that Christ his Lord might, as God intends He shall, be preeminent in everything.

What a mercy it was for his half-brothers, who were not brothers in heart, that their cruel purpose took effect only in part. In divine goodness, wisdom and power God turned it to bring about the very exaltation which they hated as much as they envied. Like Cain, they meant to kill their brother. And why? Because, underneath it all, their works were evil and their brother's were righteous.

Jacob had many sheep and cattle. His sons fed the sheep at Shechem — the city where they had killed its people. Hebron, high on a mountain, makes us think of heaven; but Shechem makes us think of sin, deception and murder. Jacob's sons left Hebron and their father to feed the sheep down at Shechem. Have we not all left our heavenly Father and chosen this bad world?

Why this return to Shechem? Was it because the purchased land, the family estate, was there? It was a dangerous place to be connected with. It had proved a snare to the whole family, and the Lord had called them away from it. Had Jacob been as watchful as he should have been, we might not now be hearing again of Shechem and of the flocks and the brothers there. Still, it is good to see signs of uneasiness in his mind about it. He sends Joseph to find out how the flocks and the brothers were doing there, as though he had some misgiving about them in such a suspect place. We may take this as the pulse of an awakened soul in Jacob, though that pulse is weak.

Shechem means "shoulder." It speaks of taking up responsibility, which Israel did under law. So the Lord Jesus, sent by the Father, came to the place where Israel was responsible to be, under the law God had given them. Joseph was sent "from the valley of Hebron" (v. 14). Hebron means "communion." This reminds us that the Father sent His Son from the place of close communion. That communion had been the portion of the Father and the Son from all past eternity.

Joseph gives willing and hearty obedience. "Here am I," he answers to his father's command. "So," we read, "he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem." Here we see a picture of the coming of the Son of God into the world. In type, it is the arrival of Israel's Messiah among them. He was "sent" by his father; and in the New Testament we read that "the Father has sent the Son."

Joseph then starts on his mission. He is sure of his father's love and aware of his brothers' hatred… He answered the will of the father, and did not shrink from the post of danger which the father did not fear for him… So Joseph followed this path of service, carrying his father's message and showing his father's concern. He came to Shechem. There his mission met a check: his brothers were not there. Such checks often happen to test how real we are — whether the Father's will is all we want. Joseph's heart was set on finishing the mission. Instead of going home when he could not find them, he waits at his post until he gets news of them.

In his own measure Joseph was like the Lord. He was a vessel of divine wisdom in humiliation that deepened into the shadow of death. His brothers rejected and scorned him most of all, and he was sold to the Gentiles. The very errand of love on which his father sent him to them gave them the opportunity for taking out their hatred on his lowly and blameless head.

Why this return to Shechem? Was it because the purchased land, the family estate, was there? It was a dangerous place to be connected with. It had proved a snare to the whole family, and the Lord had called them away from it. Jacob should have been more watchful. If he had been, we might not be hearing again of Shechem, or of the flocks and the brothers there. But still, it is good to see signs of uneasiness in his mind about it. He sends Joseph to find out how the flocks and the brothers were doing there, as though he had some misgiving about them in so suspicious a place.

Shechem means "shoulder," and speaks of assuming responsibility, which Israel did under law. So the Father sent the Lord Jesus to the place where Israel was responsible to be, under the law God had given them. Joseph was sent "from the valley of Hebron" (v. 14). Hebron means "communion." This reminds us that the Father sent His Son from the place of close communion. That communion had been the portion of the Father and the Son from all past eternity.

Hebron, high on a mountain, makes us think of heaven; but Shechem, of sin, deception and murder. Jacob's sons left Hebron and their father to feed the sheep down at Shechem. Have we not all left our heavenly Father and chosen this bad world?

Joseph would have had good reason to draw back from such an errand. He knew his brothers' wickedness and hatred. He knew the envy of their hearts against him. He could with reason have asked his father to excuse him from this undertaking. But no; "Here I am," he says, always ready to obey, and glad to seek his brothers' welfare.

Joseph first comes before you as a young man of seventeen (Gen. 37:2), and we find that his father sends him on a journey, saying, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers… and bring me word" (v. 14). In the same way, of the blessed Lord we read, "The Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world" (1 John 4:14). Did the world know Him? Ah, no! "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him" (John 1:10-11). So it was here. No sooner does Joseph appear among his brothers than they plot, as you know, for his death.

Responding to the will of the father, he did not shrink from the post of danger which the father did not see for him. Suppose the One greater than we are, in love and in wisdom, appoints us a path of service that would be pleasing to Himself. He knows all, and He sees no danger for us. Then we may surely enter on it in simple confidence… Joseph's heart was set on finishing the errand. Instead of turning back when he could not find his brothers, he waits at his post until he gets news of them, and then follows them to Dothan.

Joseph's service brought him reproach and misunderstanding. In the end he had the joy of fellowship with his brothers, and "Joseph provided… his brothers" with food (Genesis 47:12). Paul cared for all the churches. Timothy had genuine concern for the saints. Epaphras prayed fervently for them. These are a few of those who sought the welfare of their brothers — a happy service open to all.

Joseph followed this path of service. He carried his father's message and expressed his father's interest. He came to Shechem, but his mission stalled when he found that his brothers were not there. Such checks often happen to test how real we are about whether the Father's will is entirely our desire. Joseph's heart was clearly set on completing it. Instead of turning back when he could not find them, he stayed at his post until he got news of them. Then he followed them to Dothan, unprepared for the murderous and spiteful welcome waiting for him.

How like the blessed Son of God! He, too, "found in human form," was here, "Wandering as a homeless stranger."

Then the father sent out his beloved Joseph to seek his brothers who were lost. Israel put Joseph into their hands. All this foreshadows God's unspeakable gift in sending His only Son into this world to seek what is lost.

Joseph wandering in the field, in complete loneliness, is only a shadow of Him who here on earth had "nowhere to lay His head." Though often in the middle of crowds, His life was one of loneliness and sorrow. He was like "a lonely sparrow on the housetop." Few could, or even cared to, share His thoughts. Sometimes, as with Joseph, "a man found" Him, and to such people He told His errand. To these, His disciples, He could pour out the intentions of His burdened heart; but the world did not know Him! But how He kept up His search for those "lost sheep of the house of Israel" to whom He was "sent." Nothing could turn Him back.

Joseph did not find his brothers at Shechem, just as the Lord Jesus did not find Israel in the place of obedience to the law of God. Dothan means "their decree." Just as Joseph found his brothers at Dothan, so the Lord Jesus found Israel in a place of their own decrees and traditions, rather than in the place of submission to the law of God. He told the Pharisees and scribes, "So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God" (Matt. 15:6).

"Dothan" means "two wells," or, perhaps better, "cisterns." This at once recalls what God says of Israel in Jeremiah 2:13: "they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." This was Israel's exact condition when the One who had "the fountain of life" was among them.

Joseph was like the Lord in his measure. He was a vessel of divine wisdom in humiliation that deepened into the shadow of death. His brothers rejected and scorned him more than anyone else, and sold him to the Gentiles. The very errand of love on which his father sent him to them gave them the opportunity to pour out their hatred on his lowly and blameless head.

Joseph does not find his brothers when he comes to Shechem. They have departed. Now is his chance to return to Hebron if his heart is not wholly in his mission. Here is a good excuse for turning back and giving up the task. But no; he has no thought of turning back, or of giving up the work his father gave him to do.

Joseph followed this path of service. He carried his father's message and expressed his father's interest. He came to Shechem, but there his mission stalled, because his brothers were not there. Such checks often come to test how real we are — is the Father's will wholly our desire? Joseph's heart was set on finishing it. Instead of returning when he could not find them, he waits at his post until he gets news of them. Then he follows them to Dothan.

In this journey there is a foreshadowing of a far greater journey taken by the Son of God. He left the Father's home of light and love. He came into this world of death and darkness, and He knew well the evil into which He came. And yet He did not turn back. Even at the cross we read, "Jesus, knowing all that would happen to Him, came forward" (John 18:4). If the love of the Father would send Him, then the love of the Son is ready to do the Father's bidding. "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He comes as the sent One of the Father to declare the Father's love.

Joseph wandering in the field, in complete loneliness, is only a shadow of Him who had "nowhere to lay His head." He was often surrounded by crowds, yet His life was one of loneliness and sorrow… Sometimes, as with Joseph, "a man found" Him, and to such people He told His errand. To these, His disciples, He could unburden the thoughts of His heavy heart; but the world did not know Him! But oh, how He kept up His search for those "lost sheep of the house of Israel" to whom He was "sent." Nothing could turn Him back.

"Dothan" means "two wells," or perhaps better, "cisterns." This at once recalls what God says of Israel in Jeremiah 2:13. They have forsaken Him, "the fountain of living waters," and dug out for themselves "broken cisterns that can hold no water." That was Israel's condition exactly when the One with whom is "the fountain of life" was among them.

Joseph did not find his brothers at Shechem, just as the Lord Jesus did not find Israel in the place of obedience to the law of God… Dothan means "their decree." Joseph found his brothers at Dothan. In the same way, the Lord Jesus found Israel in a place of their own decrees and traditions, and not in the place of subjection to the law of God.

Joseph's service brought him reproach and misunderstanding. In the end he had the joy of fellowship with his brothers, and he provided for them (Genesis 47:12). Paul cared for all the churches. Timothy had genuine desires for the saints. Epaphras prayed for them with all his heart. These are a few of those who sought the welfare of the brothers — a happy service open to all.

Joseph does not find his brothers when he comes to Shechem. They have left. Now is his chance to return to Hebron if his heart is not wholly in his mission. Here was a good excuse for turning back and giving up the task. But no; he has no thought of turning back, or of giving up the work his father gave him to do.

Joseph took this path of service. He carried his father's message and stood for his father's interest. He came to Shechem, but found his brothers gone, and his mission stalled. Such checks often come to test how real we are — whether the Father's will is all we want. Joseph's heart was set on finishing the errand. Instead of going home when he could not find them, he waited at his post until he got news of them. Then he followed them to Dothan, unprepared for the murderous and spiteful welcome that awaited him.

Joseph was certainly not one to break from his brothers without cause. He followed them forty miles to be with them and serve them, but "they hated him without a cause." He was a picture, given in advance, of One whose deepest human sorrow was that "His own people did not receive Him." He was wounded in the house of His friends, and He said to those He had held close, "One of you will betray me."

Dothan means "their decree." Just as Joseph found his brothers at Dothan, so the Lord Jesus found Israel in a place of their own decrees and traditions, rather than in the place of subjection to the law of God.

They were zealous law-keepers, and Dothan points to this exactly, if I am not mistaken. The name means "laws" — not "precepts," the moral and spiritual guidance that God's law was, but imperial "decrees." Israel had gone away from God and from the path of their forefather. That is what God's word had become to them.

"Dothan" means "two wells," or perhaps better, "cisterns." That at once recalls what God says of Israel in Jeremiah 2:13: "they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." This was Israel's condition exactly when the One who held the fountain of life was among them.

Because of their self-righteousness and pride they would not be convinced by Him of their wickedness. So He appealed to their unsatisfied hearts and cried out, on the last day of the feast, the great day: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." Joseph goes from Shechem, the scene of their wickedness, to Dothan — heart thirst. This is still Christ's way with souls. Some find it impossible to think of themselves as great and grievous sinners. But they do have empty hearts. When they see how broken earth's cisterns are, they will come to Him who is Himself the satisfying fountain of true joy.

They were heartless toward the innocent sufferer and toward the father who had sent him in love. Yet in the middle of it rises the foreshadowing of Him who was to come, one infinitely greater than Joseph. He too was the Beloved of His Father, and His Father sent Him as Son of Man to seek the lost.

Joseph's touching story also points ahead to the reception the world has given to the One sent by the Father. Having no heart for their father, these men of evil ways have no eyes to recognise the one his love had sent. To them Joseph is only a dreamer whose dreams they would gladly stop by conspiring to kill him... And how eager man is to express his hatred: "They saw him from afar... they conspired against him to kill him." But God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways. If it is a question of the Son of the Father's love coming near to men, then He will be rejected while still far off. But it is different when a sinner is drawn to the Father. Then we read that "while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him."

These words are a powerful reminder of the parable in Matthew 21: "Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him." God sent His Son into the world with this thought: "They will respect my son." But man's heart had no respect for the "well beloved" of the Father. They cast Him out... Man crucified Him; but God raised Him from the dead. Man placed Him on a cross between two thieves; God set Him at His own right hand in the heavens.

The evil heart of man is marked by corruption and violence. The brothers are ready to rid themselves of Joseph by violent acts. They were also prepared to cover their violence with corrupt and lying words. "Let us kill him," they say, "and we will say, Some fierce animal has devoured him." Violence and corruption are the outstanding marks of fallen man. He is shameless in both. He is not merely overcome by a sudden temptation. Like Joseph's brothers, he can plan his violent act and his corrupt lies in advance.

God sent Joseph's dreams, and the outcome proved them real, while what other people call reality is only a daydream. And what a mercy it was for his half-brothers, who were not brothers in heart! Their cruel purpose succeeded only in part. God turned it, in His goodness, wisdom, and power, into the very means of bringing about the exaltation they hated as much as they envied. Like Cain, their intent was to kill their brother. And why? Because, at bottom, their works were evil and their brother's righteous.

The Jew did this nineteen hundred years ago. You and I, and every man, would do the same today, if grace had not renewed us and we stood in the same place.

Joseph then starts on his mission. He is sure of his father's love. He knows his brothers hate him. And deep inside he carries an idea of future greatness that he does not yet understand. Responding to the will of the father, he did not shrink from the post of danger which the father did not foresee for him... instead of returning when he could not find them, he stays at his post until he gets news of them. He then follows them to Dothan. He was not ready for the murderous, spiteful welcome waiting for him.

They could not bear the idea of his exaltation. They hated him, and called him "this master of dreams" (v. 19), so they plotted his death. But Reuben rescued him, and says, "Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit."

For them Joseph is only a dreamer whose dreams they would gladly frustrate by conspiring to kill him... And how eager man is to express his hatred. "When they saw him afar off … they conspired against him to slay him." But God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways. If it is a question of the Son of the Father's love drawing near to men, then indeed He will be rejected while still far off. But what if it is a question of a sinner drawn to the Father? Then we read that while he was "still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him."

These words strongly remind us of the parable in Matthew 21. "But last of all he sent to them his son, saying, They will respect my son. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance. And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him." God sent His Son into the world with this thought: "They will respect my son." But sadly, man's heart had no reverence for the "well beloved" of the Father. They cast Him out. Earth and heaven were at issue about Christ, and they are at issue still. Man crucified Him; but God raised Him from the dead.

They thought his dreams were only an idle fancy, which they could easily get rid of. They had to learn that the dreams were a revelation of the purpose of God, and they could not overthrow it.

The dreams of Joseph were God-sent, and as real in the outcome as the realities of others are only daydreams. And what a mercy it was for his half-brothers, who were not brothers in heart! Their cruel purpose took effect only in part. God, in His goodness, wisdom, and power, turned it to bring about the very rise they hated as much as they envied.

Man imagines in vain that corruption and violence will prosper. The brothers of Joseph did the same. They had planned to kill their brother and meant to cover their act with lies, yet they could say with complete confidence, "We shall see what will become of his dreams." They will indeed see. And it is a terrible thing for those who reject Christ. They too will see, for it is written: "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him."

The evil heart of man is marked by corruption and violence. The brothers are ready to rid themselves of Joseph by violent acts. They are also ready to cover their violence with corrupt and lying words. "Let us kill him," they say, "and we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him." Violence and corruption are the outstanding marks of fallen man, and he is shameless in both. He is not simply overcome by some sudden temptation. Like Joseph's brothers, he can deliberately plan his violent act and his corrupt lies.

And so his sufferings begin. The Lord marks him out as the heir of glory. Joseph speaks of the goodness he had found, and of God's high purpose for him, and his brothers hate him. They envy him; and who can stand before envy? They had already begrudged him his father's favour, and now they hate him for God's. They hate him for his words and for his dreams. They are in the field together, as Cain and Abel had been long before. There they discuss whether to kill him, to throw him into a pit, or to sell him to strangers. And all this happened while he was serving them. He had come a long way to ask after their welfare ... and to carry them blessings from their father's house with their father's love. Such a moment was their opportunity.

He came into this world, which He had made along with everything in it, but what happened? He was hated. He was not wanted. So Joseph's brothers hated him... In the same way, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world. When He came into the world men said, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours" (Mark 12:7). Joseph's brothers say, "Come now, let us kill him... and we will see what will become of his dreams." In other words, they plan to murder him, and then to back up their murder with deceit and lies. That was the proposal, but it was not carried out, because Reuben stepped in and Joseph was thrown into the pit. But with the Lord Jesus Christ the murder did take place. Men did kill Him.

Man imagines in vain that corruption and violence will prosper. Joseph's brothers had planned to kill their brother, and they meant to cover the act with lying. Yet they can say with complete confidence, "We will see what will become of his dreams." They will indeed see. And it will go badly for those who reject Christ. They too will see. Is it not written, "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him"?

God sent Joseph's dreams, and they proved as real in the event as other people's realities are mere daydreams. His half-brothers were not brothers at heart. What a mercy it was for them that their cruel purpose only took effect in part! God's goodness, wisdom and power turned it into the very elevation they hated as much as they envied. Like Cain, they intended to kill their brother. And why? Because, underneath it all, their works were evil and their brother's were righteous.

The Jews did this nineteen hundred years ago. You and I, and every man, would do the same today if grace had not renewed us and we stood in similar circumstances.

Joseph was still some distance away when his brothers saw him coming. They plotted to put him to death (vv. 19-20). From the time the Lord Jesus was born, Herod was determined to kill Him (Matt. 2:13-16). But at this time God's sovereign protection was clear. Reuben, the oldest of the brothers, had some sense of responsibility for a younger brother, and he was able to persuade them not to kill him. In the same way, the Jews often tried to kill the Lord Jesus. But they could not do it until the time God Himself had set. In the meantime their fear of consequences restrained them (Matt. 21:45-46).

Reuben suggested simply putting Joseph into a pit from which he could not escape, intending himself to afterward liberate Joseph so that he could return to his father (v. 22). He evidently felt that, being the oldest, he would be answerable to his father for what the brothers did, for evil does not generally continue long without being discovered.

There may be different measures in the common enmity; but in a great moral sense they are all one generation. Reuben was Jacob's firstborn. We may suppose that he felt more answerable to their aged father for the boy than any of them did. He saves Joseph from the sword, and Judah proposes a sale of him to the merchants, instead of the pit. In ways like these there are measures in the common enmity… here, all are the guilty brothers of Joseph.

Many are like Reuben — they try to occupy a neutral place. He seeks, in a timid, half-hearted way to save the life of Joseph. If he knew Joseph did not deserve such treatment, why did he not step out and say plainly, "No; lay no hand on this defenceless boy. Why do you want to kill the child? I shall stand by him; and if you kill him, you must do it over my dead body." "Well said, Reuben!" we would all exclaim. But no; he is too cowardly. He tries in a weak way to save Joseph's life, but he makes sure it costs him no risk. And he suffers along with his wicked brothers, just as if he had taken the leading part, like Judah.

Joseph was in danger from his brothers, and Reuben, as the eldest, should have protected him. He does go so far as to say, "Shed no blood" — people like him hate the thought of blood, especially in theology — "throw him into this pit." He meant to rescue him; but something always happens to upset a Reuben's good intentions. He means to be an upright man, no doubt, but falls into the terrible sin of which his father accuses him.

His older brother Reuben comes to the rescue. He plans to get Joseph out of the pit they threw him into, and to send him back to his father. Joseph would have been glad to hear of Reuben's plan. But that kindness would have stopped Joseph's dreams from coming true, and so it failed.

Joseph is sent to see the welfare of his brothers, follows them to Dothan, and there the last errand of love brings out their deepest hatred. They determine to get rid of him. They will have this dreamer no more. Reuben sets himself against their plan to murder him. But the result is that, at Judah's proposal, he is thrown into the pit and given up for death. Yet he is taken out of it and sold to the Midianites — a wonderful picture of One greater than Joseph.

The inner garment is the kethoneth, a long tunic worn by men and women. It was made of wool, cotton, or linen. This was the garment God made of skins for Adam and Eve, and what Jacob made of many colours for Joseph. Gen. 3:21; Gen. 37:3, 23-33. It formed part of the priest's dress... It was this garment of the Lord's that was woven in one piece, John 19:23.

The name does not mean exactly "of many colors." Nor was it a seamless robe of one piece, the kind the Lord Himself usually wore. It is a "tunic of pieces," which suggests variety. I think it points to the many powers seen in the Lord in those mighty works which He called works "from the Father."

His brothers stripped him of his coat of many colours and threw him into the pit. The father had marked him out with that coat; the brothers degrade him by tearing it off. It happens again and again with Christ. Some special display of divine power, wisdom and grace sets Him above all others, and at once man strips Him of His coat of many colours. Man tries to drag Him down to the level of an ordinary man by asking, "Is not this the carpenter's son?"... With Joseph the stripping was only the first step toward the pit. So with Christ: man rejected every witness to His glory, and at last, with wicked hands, delivered Him to death.

Joseph here shows himself as the righteous or separated one, and so he stirs up the hatred of his wicked brothers. The light makes the deeds of darkness visible, and the darkness hates the light. In the same way the world later hated Joseph's Lord, because He testified that its deeds were evil. And the marks of divine favour placed on the righteous one only stir that hatred further... His brothers envy him. Later, out in the field together, they take counsel like another Cain, who killed his brother: shall they kill Joseph, throw him into the pit, or sell him to strangers?

They likely took pleasure in stripping Joseph of his coat of many colors, because of their jealousy toward him over his father's favouritism. All of this reminds us of men taking the garments of the Lord Jesus and casting lots for them at the time of His crucifixion (Matt. 27:35). Joseph's brothers calmly sat down to eat. In the same way, Matthew says of those who crucified the Lord, "they sat down and kept watch over Him there" (Matt. 27:36).

The many-coloured coat... was a mark of renown, of superior dignity or excellence... The persecutors of the Son of God were not satisfied until they had stripped Him, as far as they were able, of everything the many-coloured coat of Joseph stood for — His dignity, His moral excellence, His honour. They took everything they could lay their guilty hands on... Yes, they stripped Him. But like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth. He submitted without complaint to the mockery and humiliation, and because of this God has "highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name."

Enough was done, and enough is written, to show that the Holy One of God stood before the eyes of the One who knows how to carry out His deliberate counsel and foreknowledge. God did this not only despite the unbelief of the Jews who had turned away from Him, and despite the hands of lawless Gentiles, but through them. In their blind pride they did not know what they were doing. Yet they knew more than enough to leave both without excuse.

The father had distinguished him by a coat of many colours; the brothers degrade him by stripping him. So it is with Christ. On many notable occasions He stands out above all others by some special display of divine power, wisdom and grace. At once man strips Him of His coat of many colours. Man tries to drag Him down to the level of a mere man by asking, "Is not this the carpenter's son?" or "Is not this the carpenter?" As with Joseph, the stripping was only the lead-up to the pit; so with Christ, the rejection of every witness to His glory led men at last with wicked hands to hand Him over to death.

Isaac goes up to the mountain to be offered up. Joseph goes down to the pit. The mountain speaks of the glory of the Person offered up. The pit tells of the misery and degradation of those for whom He is offered up… If his brothers are ever to enter blessing and share in Joseph's glory, then Joseph must take their place — the place of distance and shame that the pit sets out. "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins," and "unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains alone."

Joseph may again take up the story of the cross as his brothers cast him into the pit. But for him "the pit was empty; there was no water in it." How different the cross of Christ! At God's word "Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son." That same God can now say, "Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, against the man who stands next to Me." Twelve legions of angels await His commands, yet He tells not one of them to hold back the sword of judgment. It is no empty pit into which He must go. He can say, "You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and You overwhelm me with all Your waves" (Ps. 88:6-7).

Cruel as the treatment by Joseph's brothers was, he was not forsaken. But Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"… The sufferings of Joseph were against his will; but the death of Jesus was His own voluntary offering. "I lay down my life for the sheep."

At Dothan, then, Joseph's brothers are found, and at once they plan to kill him. In fact they cast him into a pit, but one that holds no water. "It is not lawful for us," the Jews said to Pilate, "to put any man to death." Then they draw him out of it and sell him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. So Israel handed the Lord over to the Gentiles.

He was rejected and cast into the pit. He passed, in figure, through the deep waters of death, and so reached the place of dignity and glory. He was raised from the dungeon to rule over the land of Egypt, and to keep his brothers alive and provide for them… A striking picture of Him who hung upon the cross, lay in the grave, and is now on the throne of the majesty of heaven.

Joseph did not speak of it; no one in Egypt knew of it; but conscience spoke inside them. It had been quiet for a time, but it could not be silent for ever. It now woke, and each of them remembered the very look of anguish on his face: "We saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen." Memory does not die, though it may sleep for a while.

Having cast Joseph into the pit, his brothers "sat down to eat bread." Nor was it otherwise at the cross. The presence of Joseph only reveals the evil of his brothers. In the same way, the cross exposes how deep the corruption of man's heart goes. The leaders of Israel hand the true Passover Lamb over to death, and then calmly sit down to eat the Passover feast. They are an evil and adulterous generation, like the adulterous woman of Proverbs, of whom it is written, "she eats and wipes her mouth and says, 'I have done no wrong.'"

None can teach like God. He alone can give the conscience the true sense of sin. He alone brings the soul down into the deep places of its own condition in His presence. Men run on in their life of guilt, taking notice of nothing, until the arrow of the Almighty pierces their conscience... Joseph's brothers had no idea of all that was to flow to them from what they did to him. "They took him and cast him into a pit … and they sat down to eat bread." "Woe to those … who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph." (Amos 6:6)

The gum of the balsam bush, of great medicinal value. Gilead was noted for producing it. It is used as a proverb to describe the healing God had for His people if they really turned to Him. Jer. 8:22; Jer. 46:11; Jer. 51:8. It was carried by the merchants into Egypt and elsewhere. Gen. 37:25; Ezek. 27:17.

Meanwhile Joseph had gone "wrapped" with the myrrh and spices of the Ishmaelites to Egypt. Was it his fragrance that attracted Potiphar to buy him?

The traders on their way to Egypt at once suggest to Judah a chance of making a profit out of their brother. Why not sell Joseph and make a little money? If they are not going to satisfy their hatred by killing Joseph, why not satisfy their greed by selling Joseph?... "Profit" is the word that governed the actions of Joseph's brothers. Judah asks the question of the greedy heart — not "Is it right?" or "Is it wrong?" but "What profit is it?"

Yet in the middle of this heartlessness — toward the innocent sufferer, and toward the father who had sent him in love — a foreshadowing rises of Him who was to come. He is infinitely greater than Joseph. He too was the Beloved of His Father, and sent as Son of man in search of the lost. As the Faithful Witness, He drew out man's evil by divine good, and in everything He pleased God the Father.

Notice what Joseph's trial did. God's ordering kept it from anything that would hinder it. It was meant to frustrate God's purpose, and it looked completely against it. Yet that trial, and his righteous suffering in Egypt, only brought about the very thing they seemed to frustrate. It was the Egypt his brothers sold him to, and the prison Potiphar put him in, that brought him to the butler and the baker. That is what made him governor over all the land of Egypt. We cannot put God out of His way. It is better to trust Him.

The company of merchants on their way to Egypt at once suggests to Judah the chance of making a profit out of his brother. Why not sell Joseph and make a little money? If they are not going to satisfy their hatred by killing Joseph, why not satisfy their covetousness by selling Joseph? So they gave their brother up to the Gentiles, and gave themselves up to money-making… "Profit" is the word that governed the actions of Joseph's brothers. Judah asks the question of the covetous heart — not "Is it right?" or "Is it wrong?" but "What profit is it?"

A company of Ishmaelite traders appears, travelling towards Egypt. Judah is quick to see an ideal way to get rid of Joseph and make some money at the same time. So he points out to his brothers that killing Joseph and hiding it would gain them nothing. Selling him as a slave to the Ishmaelites would bring a profit — and leave them no dead body to get rid of. He also appeals to their sense of loyalty to their family relationship. Joseph was their brother. He seems to have a conscience against killing his brother, but no conscience against selling him as a slave!

There may be different degrees in the shared hatred; but in a deep moral sense they are all one generation. Reuben was Jacob's firstborn, and we may suppose he felt himself more answerable to the aged father for the boy than any of them. He saves Joseph from the sword, and Judah proposes selling him to the merchants instead of the pit. … The Judge of all the earth will surely do right. Sins will get their many stripes and their few stripes. But the world has cast out Jesus, and the world is the world. Here, all alike are the guilty brothers of Joseph.

How evident that in Jehovah alone can one boast, and that the objects of His choice are in themselves nothing and worse than nothing! Yet heartlessness towards the guiltless sufferer, and towards the father who had sent him in love, is not all we see. In the middle of it rises a foreshadowing of Him who was to come, One infinitely greater than Joseph. He too was the Beloved of His Father, and sent as Son of Man in search of the lost.

We may notice that it was not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads who proposed the sale of Joseph. It was Judah. In his own house he later showed the evil that brought curse after curse. In the end he had to admit that Tamar, whom he had sentenced to die by fire, was more righteous than himself. Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came He who cleanses from all sin by His blood. He will reign over the universe to God's glory, far beyond all that Joseph pictured, for He went far lower in humiliation and suffering.

He had taken the lead in selling Joseph to the Midianites going to Egypt, speaking with much hardness of heart. Now he has to speak about Benjamin, and what a change is clear! Instead of hardness, great tenderness of feeling, especially for his old father, Jacob. Then it did not matter how Jacob would feel: now it mattered everything to him. Here we see the working of a repentance not to be repented of.

If they are not going to satisfy their hatred by killing Joseph, why not satisfy their greed by selling him? So they handed their brother over to the Gentiles, and handed themselves over to making money. "Profit" is the word that governed the actions of Joseph's brothers. Judah asks the question of the covetous heart — not "Is it right?" or "Is it wrong?" but "What profit is it?"

A company of Ishmaelite traders appear, traveling toward Egypt. Judah is quick to see an ideal way of getting rid of Joseph and gaining some money at the same time… He also appeals to their sense of some loyalty to their family relationship. Joseph was their brother (v. 27). He seems to have a conscience against killing his brother, but no conscience against selling him as a slave!

The same kindred: "you are my bone and my flesh," Gen. 29:14; "he is our brother, our own flesh." Gen. 37:27.

There may be different measures in the common hatred, but in a great moral sense they are all one generation. Reuben saves Joseph from the sword, and Judah proposes selling him to the merchants instead of the pit… The Judge of all the earth will surely do right, and sins will get their many stripes and their few stripes. But the world has cast out Jesus, and the world is the world. Here, all are the guilty brothers of Joseph; and, as the outcome of their plans and their shared hatred, he is sold to the merchants.

Judah sells him for a few pieces of silver, just as Judas sold the One he pictured — the same name, and a descendant of the same man. They kill him ("in a figure"). He passes to the Gentiles, where he is tempted, slandered, and numbered with wrongdoers.

Twenty pieces of silver is the price they get for him. This was just two-thirds the price of an average adult slave (see Ex. 21:32). Judas asked the chief priests what they would give for Jesus. Thirty pieces of silver is their offer… "Every man has his price" is a common saying of the world, and it is often untrue. But every soul that Satan cheats out of Jesus has its price. Some accept gold, others position or power. With some it is cheap pleasure, or lust, or some favourite secret sin.

Notice how Joseph's trial… meant to frustrate God's purpose, and looking completely against it — and his righteous suffering in Egypt — only bring about the very thing they seemed to prevent. It was the Egypt his brothers sold him to, and the prison Potiphar put him in, that led him to the butler and baker, and made him governor over all the land of Egypt. We cannot put God out of His way. It is better to trust Him.

Reuben's plan to save him from his brothers fails. True, they do not kill him. They strip him of his coat of many colours and throw him into a pit in the wilderness. And in Reuben's absence, it seems, they sell him to the Ishmaelites. Twenty pieces of silver is the price they get for him. This was just two-thirds the price of an average adult slave (see Ex. 21:32). Judas asked the chief priests what they would give for Jesus. Thirty pieces of silver is their offer. They valued Him at the price of a slave. Yet He was always God's delight. All angels adore Him, demons fear Him, and to the crowds of the redeemed He is the "all" and the "altogether lovely"... The sold and slighted Saviour may well watch it all and say, with what sounds like irony, "What a fine price they set on Me!" (Zech. 11:13).

The group of merchants on their way to Egypt at once gives Judah the idea of making a profit out of their brother. Why not sell Joseph and make a little money? If they will not feed their hatred by killing Joseph, why not feed their greed by selling him? So they gave their brother up to the Gentiles, and gave themselves up to making money... Judah asks the question for the covetous heart — not "Is it right?" or "Is it wrong?" but "What profit is it?"

In fact they throw him into a pit that holds no water. ("It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," the Jews said to Pilate.) Then they draw him out of it and sell him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. So Israel handed the Lord over to the Gentiles.

Like Isaac in this picture, Joseph did not die; there was no water in the pit. But our precious Jesus sank in the deep mire... Isaac lay on the altar and was spared. Joseph went into the pit and was spared. But when Jesus hung on the cross, God did not spare His own beloved Son. Joseph's brothers treated him cruelly, yet he was not forsaken. Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"... Joseph suffered against his will. Jesus offered up His own life freely.

The famine was the immediate reason they went down to Egypt. But through the famine, and through the wickedness of Jacob's sons in selling their brother to the Ishmaelites (Gen. 37:28), God was simply carrying out His own purposes. Long before this He had said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions."... So even human anger is harnessed to the chariot wheels of God's decrees.

Conscience connects their present trouble with their past sin. The prison has so far done its work. They not only say, "We are guilty," but "We are guilty concerning our brother." We saw the anguish of his soul, but we hardened our hearts. He begged us, but we shut our ears to all his pleading. "That is why this distress has come upon us."

God defeated their evil plan by touching the hearts of two of the brothers, Reuben and Judah. Of the two, Reuben appears in the better light. His purpose was to bring Joseph back to his father in the end. They stripped Joseph of the coat that showed the special place he had in his father's heart, and threw him into a pit with no water in it. Judah backed Reuben in this, but while Reuben was away he took the lead in selling Joseph to the Midianite merchants for twenty pieces of silver. So although Joseph did not actually die, he went down into the pit and was sold as a slave.

The tearing of his clothes was the outward expression of his indignation and grief (Gen. 37:29; Lev. 10:6; Judges 11:35; Esther 4:1).

Reuben was clearly not present when the brothers sold Joseph. When he returns to the pit he is shocked to find him gone (v. 29). His question to his brothers, "and I, where shall I go?" shows he feared being held responsible. Did he think Joseph had escaped and gone to report the whole matter to his father?

His elder brother Reuben comes to the rescue, meaning to get him out of the pit the brothers had thrown him into, and take him back to his father. Joseph would of course have been delighted if he had known Reuben's plan. But that kindness would have stopped Joseph's dreams from coming true, and so it failed.

Two other features stand out in Reuben's character. One of them is the constant misery of the undecided mind. It is never really repentant, yet it is always full of regret over its weaknesses and its missed opportunities. When Reuben returned to the pit and found Joseph gone, "he tore his clothes … and said, 'The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?'"

All the brothers were guilty, but not to the same degree. Reuben was unstable, and morally corrupt, as we know from his history (Gen. 35:22; Gen. 49:3-4), but he was not cruel by nature. Like his brothers he has wronged his father, yet not all human affection has died in his heart. He would have spared Joseph's life, and his father's feelings.

Many are like Reuben — they try to take a neutral place. He tries in a weak way to save Joseph's life, but he is careful that it costs him no risk. And he suffers along with his wicked brothers, just as if he had taken the leading part, like Judah… You cannot take a neutral place between this Christ-rejecting world and openly confessing His name.

Reuben suggested just putting Joseph into a pit he could not escape from. He meant to set Joseph free later, so that Joseph could go back to his father (v. 22). He clearly felt that, as the oldest, he would answer to his father for what the brothers did. Evil does not usually stay hidden for long.

Reuben clearly was not there when the brothers sold Joseph. When he comes back to the pit, he is shocked to find him gone (v. 29). His question to his brothers, "and I, where shall I go?" shows he was afraid the blame would fall on him. Did he think that Joseph had escaped and gone home to tell his father the whole story?

Joseph was in danger from his brothers. Reuben was the eldest, and he should have protected him. He does go so far as to say, "Shed no blood… throw him into this pit." He meant to rescue him. But something always happens to upset a Reuben's good intentions.

While Zebulun and Naphtali were "risking their lives on the heights of the field," locked in a death grip with a strong enemy, Reuben stayed among the sheepfolds. He was searching his heart about what he ought to do — sitting on the fence. I expect he had almost made up his mind by the time the battle was over. Well, it is a convenient way. And he has left many descendants.

One feature that usually stands out in the Reuben character is the misery of the undecided mind. Such a mind is never truly repentant, yet it is always full of regret over its weaknesses or its missed opportunities. When Reuben returned to the pit and found Joseph gone, "he tore his clothes … and said, The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?"

Perfect goodness brings out the guilt of everyone. But though all are guilty, there are different measures of guilt. The Judge of all the earth will take account of this in due time, giving one person few lashes and another many. We see hints of these different degrees of guilt in the story of Joseph. All the brothers were guilty, but not in the same degree. Reuben was unstable, and morally corrupt, as we know from his history (Gen. 35:22; Gen. 49:3-4), yet he was not necessarily cruel. Like his brothers he has wronged his father, but not all human affection is dead in his heart. He would have spared Joseph's life, and his father's feelings.

Joseph is sold into Egypt, and his brothers have got rid of him. Jesus is killed, and the world has got rid of Him. The lies and deceit of Joseph's brothers work so well and for so long that Joseph is almost forgotten. If he is ever remembered, it is only as the one who is dead, or "the one that is not."

They were guilty of cruel hatred both toward their brother and toward their father. They ask their father to examine the coat, to make sure it was Joseph's. Of course, in recognising it he assumed that a wild animal had killed and eaten his son. Apparently it did not occur to him to ask them if they found bones nearby or other pieces of clothing. A wild animal would not be so careful as to hide everything else and leave only a bloodstained coat.

His brothers avoided the telling of a plain lie, they only inferred it, and Jacob fell into their trap.

Jacob is only reaping what he had already sown. Thirty years before, Jacob had deceived his father with "the skins of the young goats." Now, after long years, his own sons deceive him with "a young goat." There may be long years between the sowing and the reaping, but at last the reaping time comes. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small.

Esau's garment is called "fine clothing." As he was the elder, it may have been something very like Joseph's "coat of many colours." With fine clothing Jacob deceived his father; with fine clothing his sons deceived him. As he measured out, so it was measured back to him. God's government of His people works with great precision.

So when Joseph's brothers sell him into Egypt, they take his coat of many colours, kill a young goat and dip the garment into the blood. They show it to their father, who thinks a wild animal has killed his beloved son. In both these cases the deceivers used a young goat, not a lamb. We find goats' hair used the same way when Michal, Saul's daughter, tried to deceive her father. David had fled from him.

They dipped the favoured coat, the coat that the old father had put on Joseph, in blood. Then they sent it to their father with these words: "This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not." This is the language of Cain: "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain was laying the burden of Abel's blood on the Lord, hinting that the Lord should have been Abel's keeper, since He had shown such respect to him and his offering. So these words of Joseph's brothers seem to lay the burden of Joseph's blood on the aged father. If he loved him as much as this coat seemed to say he did, he should have looked after him better than this blood seemed to say he had.

Do you remember that they stripped Jesus of His clothes? When Joseph's brothers stripped off his coat, they killed a little goat and dipped the coat in the blood... It was very, very bad to deceive their old father like that. Even so, God saw all those things, and did not forget. He says, "they do not consider that I remember all their evil." For more than twenty years they kept quiet about the goat's blood on the coat. Nobody knew about it — nobody but God.

How bad it is to try to cover up sin! God says, "be sure your sin will find you out." ... Now God has made a way to cover all the sins of those who confess them. There is no other way. Only the Lord Jesus' precious blood can cover people's sins.

Verses 31-35 recount the crafty way the brothers led Jacob to one conclusion: some evil beast had killed Joseph and eaten him. His brothers avoided telling a plain lie; they only implied it, and Jacob fell into their trap.

What depths there are in the corruption that is in us! Here they took the favoured coat, the coat the old father had put on Joseph, and dipped it in blood. They sent it to their father with these words: "This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not." This is the language of Cain: "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain was laying the burden of Abel's blood on the Lord. By these words he hinted that the Lord should have been Abel's keeper, since He had shown such regard for him and his offering. So these words of Joseph's brothers seem to lay the burden of Joseph's blood on the aged father. If he loved him as well as this coat seemed to say he did, he should have looked after him better than this blood seemed to say he had.

They were guilty of cruel hatred both toward their brother and toward their father. They ask their father to examine the coat, to make sure it was Joseph's. Of course, in recognising it he assumed that a wild animal had killed and eaten his son. Apparently it did not occur to him to ask them if they had found bones in the area, or other pieces of clothing. For a wild animal would not be so careful as to hide everything else and leave only a bloodstained coat.

They played a heartless trick on their father, and it plunges the old man into the deepest sorrow. Then these hypocrites gather round to comfort him. No one can excuse the wickedness of his sons. Even so, this scene shows Jacob only reaping what he had already sown. Thirty years before, Jacob had deceived his father with "the skins of the young goats." Now, after long years, his own sons deceive him with "a young goat." There may be long years between the sowing and the reaping, but at last the reaping time comes.

Like the Lord, Joseph was in his measure a vessel of divine wisdom in humiliation that deepened into the shadow of death. He was rejected and scorned most by his brothers, and sold to the Gentiles. His father had sent him to them on an errand of love, and that very errand gave them the chance to vent their hatred on his lowly and blameless head.

It was very, very bad to deceive their old father like that. Even so, God saw all those things and did not forget... For more than twenty years they kept quiet about the goat's blood on the coat, so nobody knew it — but GOD.

They had once hidden their guilt under the lie they sent to their father. Now they are willing to hide their innocence about the cup under the confession they make to Joseph.

They ask their father to examine the coat, to make sure it was Joseph's. Of course, in recognizing it he surmised that a wild animal had killed and eaten his son. It seems it did not occur to him to ask them if they found bones in the area or other articles of clothing. For a wild animal would not be so careful as to hide everything else and leave only a bloodstained coat.

His brothers avoided telling a plain lie; they only implied it, and Jacob fell into their trap.

Thirty years before, Jacob had deceived his father with "the skins of the young goats." Now, after long years, his own sons deceive him with "a young goat." There may be long years between the sowing and the reaping, but at last the reaping time comes. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small.

In Genesis 27 we read how Jacob deceived his blind father, Isaac, by wearing Esau's fine clothes. Since Esau was the elder, that clothing may have been very similar to Joseph's robe of many colours. By fine clothing Jacob deceived his father; by fine clothing his sons deceived him. As he measured out, so it was measured back to him. God's government of His people works with great precision.

That the word cannot mean the grave here is clear from this passage. Jacob believed his son Joseph was dead. The sight of his son's robe of many colours, dyed red in blood, deceived him, and he exclaimed, "Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces." So he had not the slightest hope of his own body being put in his son's grave, since he did not believe that grave existed at all.

Jacob says, "I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning." But of David we read that he "arose… and went into the house of the LORD and worshipped." Both men are facing the death of a child. One says, "I will go down to Sheol mourning." The other says, "I will go up to the house of the LORD and worship." Yet both were true saints. One looked no further than death and the grave. The other looked beyond death to resurrection.

Joseph's blood is on themselves, however much they try to hide it. The day is coming when their sin will find them out. Then this blood on Joseph's coat will be a swift witness against them.

For more than twenty years they kept quiet about the goat's blood on the coat, so nobody knew it — but God.

When Joseph made himself known to his brothers, he had been, as it were, dead for about twenty years. Twenty long years had passed since his father had said, "I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning." Jacob had torn his clothes, put on sackcloth, and wept for him. But now Israel said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive." As a picture of Christ, death and resurrection are the two great points.

The other main garment was the simlah, a cloak or wide outer mantle, worn by men and women, who wrapped themselves in it at night… The simlah is the garment that was torn in grief. Genesis 37:34; Genesis 44:13; Joshua 7:6.

A rough cloth made of hair, used for sacks and coarse clothing. Anyone who put it on as a symbol of sorrow or repentance wore it next to the skin, and did not take it off at night. It was often used together with ashes.

In Genesis 27 we read how Jacob, by wearing Esau's garment, deceived his blind father, Isaac. Esau's garment is called "fine clothing." As he was the elder, it may have been something very similar to Joseph's coat of many colours. By fine clothing Jacob deceived his father; by fine clothing his sons deceived him. As he measured out, so it was measured back to him. God's government of His people works with great precision.

Thirty years before, Jacob had deceived his father with "the skins of the young goats." Now, after long years, his own sons deceive him with "a young goat." There may be long years between the sowing and the reaping, but at last the reaping time comes.

In the first instance he tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his body, and refused to be comforted. "For," he said, "I will go down to the grave to my son, mourning." But in the last he says, "If I am bereaved, I am bereaved" — in other words, "I submit." What a difference! What desolation, when the heart is wrenched and there is no resource in God! But what a contrast, when the Almighty God is a refuge… This is simple submission to the will of God, and it does for us what God so much desires — that we should find our resources in Him. The soul brought to this is never unsatisfied.

Jacob says, "I will go down to the grave to my son, mourning"; but of David we read that he "arose… and went into the house of the LORD and worshipped." Both men stand in the presence of the death of a child. One says, "I will go down to the grave mourning." The other says, "I will go up to the house of the LORD and worship." Yet both were true saints. One looked no further than death and the grave. The other looked beyond death to resurrection.

This is heartlessness toward the innocent sufferer, and toward the father who had sent him in love. Yet in the middle of it rises the foreshadowing of Him who was to come, one infinitely greater than Joseph. He too was the Beloved of His Father, and was sent as Son of Man to seek the lost.

Everything seemed to be against Jacob. But little as he knew it, the very things he thought were against him were working for the richest blessing, both for him and for his children… God used the loss of Joseph to preserve Jacob and his house, and also to preserve the lives of many more.

In Genesis 27 we read how Jacob deceived his blind father, Isaac, by wearing Esau's garment. That garment is described as Esau's "best garments," and since he was the elder son it may have been much like Joseph's "coat of many colours." Fine clothes were how Jacob deceived his father, and fine clothes were how his sons deceived him. He dealt out deceit, and it was dealt back to him. God's government of His people works with great precision.

Thirty years before, Jacob had deceived his father with "the skins of the young goats." Now, after long years, his own sons deceive him with a young goat. There may be long years between the sowing and the reaping, but at last the reaping time comes. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind very fine.

His mourning for his son went on for a long time. All his sons and his daughters tried to comfort him, but he would not respond. Of course the comfort his sons offered was hypocritical, and we may be sure that Jacob's intense sorrow troubled their consciences all the more. He tells them that the agony of his mourning will not be relieved before he goes "down to Sheol" — the unseen state of soul and spirit that begins at death.

Jacob says, "I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning." Of David we read that he "arose ... and came into the house of the LORD and worshipped." Both men stand in the presence of a child's death, but one goes down mourning and the other goes up to worship. Both were true saints, yet one looked no further than death and the grave, while the other looked beyond death to resurrection.

The word cannot mean the grave here. Jacob believed his son Joseph was dead. He had been deceived by the sight of his son's coat of many colours, dyed red with blood, and he cried out, "Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces." So he had not the slightest hope of his own body being laid in his son's grave, when he did not believe that grave existed at all.

Jacob speaks of going down to Sheol to his son Joseph; and that has very little force if it means going down to nothing at all. David's words about his child make the point stronger still: "I shall go to him, but he will not return to me" (2 Sam. 12:23).

In the first instance he tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and refused to be comforted... But in the last he says, "If I am bereaved, I am bereaved" — in other words, "I submit." What a difference! What desolation, when grief tears the heart and there is no resource in God! What a contrast, when the Almighty God is a refuge, and the grieving one can say, "If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!"

When Joseph made himself known to his brothers, he had been, as it were, dead about twenty years. Yes, twenty long years had passed since his father had said, "I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning."... But now Israel said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive."

The word "executioner" does not occur in the Old Testament text, only in the margin. In three places the text points out men as "captain of the guard," while the margin calls them "chief of the executioners or slaughtermen": Genesis 37:36; Jeremiah 39:9; Daniel 2:14.

Joseph's brothers plan at once to kill him. In fact they throw him into a pit — but a pit with no water in it. "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," the Jews said to Pilate. Then they draw him out of it and sell him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. So Israel handed the Lord over to the Gentiles.

Scripture says nothing here about how deeply Joseph felt the trauma of his ordeal. But we learn something of it from his brothers' later words to one another: "we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen" (Gen. 42:21). He was now taken to a far distant country and made a slave at the tender age of seventeen. How many must have been the hours of his painful agony!

Thus Joseph passes into the land of the Gentiles and is "brought" into Egypt. Egypt was a snare to Abraham, and his stay in Egypt brought him only sorrow and shame. With Joseph, however, it brought blessing and glory. Why this difference? Is it not that in Abraham's case he "went down into Egypt to sojourn there" (Gen. 12:10); but Joseph was "brought" into Egypt. One went there in unbelief and self-will. God brought the other there according to His own settled purpose and foreknowledge.

Notice how God's ordering kept Joseph's trial from anything that could hinder it. The trial was meant to frustrate God's purpose, and it seemed to run clean against it. Yet his righteous suffering in Egypt is the very thing that brought about the whole plan they seemed to be frustrating. It was the Egypt his brothers sold him to, and the prison Potiphar put him in, that brought him to Pharaoh's butler and baker — and that made him governor over all the land of Egypt. We cannot put God out of His way. It is better to trust Him.

But then God was in all this, as well as man; and it is His prerogative to bring good out of evil. Joseph's brothers might sell him to the Ishmaelites. The Ishmaelites might sell him to Potiphar. Potiphar might throw him into prison. But the LORD was above it all, and He was accomplishing His own mighty ends. "The wrath of man shall praise Him." The time had not yet come when the heirs were ready for the inheritance, and the inheritance ready for the heirs.

Judah leaves his brothers to join the world of the Canaanite (the Merchant) with all its ruin. The words of Scripture, "went down from," show the path of departure he set out on. They warn the reader that what follows will be marked by sin. Judah's deliberate departure will have serious results. He must learn that he cannot please himself without reaping a harvest of sorrow. He must learn that "whatever one sows, that will he also reap" (Gal. 6:7).

It is pretty easy to get away a very long distance without knowing it. The heart does not fall away all at once. It happened little by little in Samson's story (see Judges 13–16). He was a Nazirite — a man set apart for God. There was no feat of strength he could not perform with ease. What was the secret of it? God sustained him. As long as he stayed separate, God kept him. But after a while his affections drifted away from Jehovah... What the devil wants above all is to get you cosy with the world.

Genesis 38 breaks off the story of Joseph completely. Genesis 39 picks it up again, and at once tells of the great temptation he faced. It seems that the shameful story of Judah is told here to sharpen in our minds the way Joseph stood firm under a temptation of the same kind. Judah seems to have been among the better behaved of Jacob's sons. Yet the practices that marked him and his family were evil, and they clearly accepted them as nothing unusual.

The chapter needs few words to press home its proof of how low Judah had sunk morally, just as the next needs few to show Joseph blessed and a blessing... And notice that it was not Reuben or any other of the heads of the tribes, but Judah who proposed the sale of Joseph. Now he showed in his own house the evil that drew down curse upon curse. In the end the head of that house had to admit the sad shame of Tamar — more righteous than himself, the man who had condemned her to die by fire.

Right at the start Judah separates himself from his brothers and ties himself to the Canaanite — the "merchant" — marrying the daughter of Shuah (which means "riches"). These names say plainly what has marked the nation in the centuries since the cross! Yet his line still continues on the earth, even though God's wrath rests on the first two sons. Their names speak too: Er of "enmity," and Onan of "iniquity." The third son, Shelah (perhaps "sprout"), speaks of divine power in resurrection, bringing life out of death. So a remnant is kept.

The story of Tamar shows us God's own marvellous way of bringing Christ into connection with Judah. So her name appears in the Lord's family line in Matthew's Gospel, the first of those four women's names. Their presence there shows the grace that has stooped down to take up men... Tamar's sin is the point pressed home, just as Rahab's faith is. For Ruth to come in, the sentence of the law has to be set aside. And Bathsheba shows us grace winning even over a believer's sin.

This chapter is seldom read in public, because it deals with deeds of the darkest kind. It shows human nature raw, in its sordid character away from God. It has a strange place, tucked into the unfolding story of Joseph... Joseph's high moral conduct shines like a bright light. It makes the corrupt, unprincipled behaviour of his brother Judah stand out even more. Joseph was a conscript into the world, like Daniel in later years. Sadly many are determined to go into the place where Christ has been rejected. They do not lose their first love — they leave it.

In the second verse we see the downward path bringing Judah into the closest association with a daughter of a Canaanite... Here he repeats the sin of Esau, whose marriages were a grief to his parents (Gen. 26:35). Judah had no regard for the landmark Abraham set up long before. Abraham said, "you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites" (Gen. 24:3). He had no scruple about marrying a pagan, "the daughter of a foreign god" (Mal. 2:11). For the Christian today the principle is clear. The instruction of 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 is, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers." The phrase "Judah saw" suggests the standard he used in choosing a wife. It was much the same with Samson later: "Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines" (Judges 14:1). There was no thought of choosing according to the mind of God.

But Judah afterwards goes beyond even all this in a very frightening way. He represents the fourth generation of this chosen family. He does not guard against trouble beforehand, as Abraham did in ordering his family. He does not grieve over trouble once it has come in, as Isaac did. He is not even simply indifferent to it, as Jacob was. He brings it in himself!

Here at the very start Judah separates himself from his brothers. He joins himself to the Canaanite — the "merchant" — and marries the daughter of Shuah (or "riches"). Surely these names tell us plainly what has marked the nation through the centuries since the cross! Even so, his line still continues on the earth. God's anger falls on the first two sons, whose names speak of "enmity" in Er and "iniquity" in Onan. But the third son, Shelah ("sprout"), speaks of divine power in resurrection, bringing life out of death. In this way a remnant is preserved.

This passage gives us the first crisis of succession in Judah. We know that our Lord came from Judah (Matt. 1:3; Heb. 7:14), and so we can see Satan pushing his way into these events. His aim was always to hinder the coming and work of the Messiah.

Judah was to be the chief royal tribe, and the ancestor of the King of kings. Yet without reverence he takes a daughter of Canaan for himself. No wonder wickedness killed his firstborn... Such is man, and such is Judah; but such too is God. Where terrible sin abounded, grace much more abounded.

Here is one of those remarkable cases where divine grace triumphs in glory over man's sin... "Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar" (Matt. 1:3). This is very striking. God, in His great grace, rises above the sin and folly of man to carry out His own purposes of love and mercy... How clear it is that there is nothing of man in this! Man could never have devised such a genealogy.

Genesis 38 completely interrupts the story of Joseph. Genesis 39 takes it up again and at once tells of the great temptation he faced. It seems the shameful story of Judah is told here to sharpen our sense of how firmly Joseph stood under a temptation of the same kind. Judah seems to have been one of the better behaved sons of Jacob. Yet the practices that marked him and his family were evil, and were clearly accepted as nothing unusual.

How this warns us of our tendency to drift from God's principles! What happened in the same chosen family, generation after generation, may happen in the same chosen person, year after year. People may desert the principles of God by easy stages. They may first relax them, then forget them, then despise them. Those principles may pass from a firm hand into an easy one, then into an indifferent one, until at last a rebellious hand flings them away.

Er was the firstborn of Judah's strength. His father named him, and the meaning of his name may be "watchful". Er clearly became watchful for chances to do evil... Jehovah saw his wickedness, and he reaped the due reward of his actions... It is not easy to bring up children in an evil world. When parents introduce their children to the things of this present evil age, those children will throw themselves into the world with all its ruin and its turning away from God.

Right at the start Judah separates himself from his brothers and joins himself to the Canaanite — the "merchant" — by marrying the daughter of Shuah (or "riches"). These names tell us plainly what has marked the nation in the centuries since the cross! His seed still continues on the earth, though God's wrath rests on the first two sons. Their names speak: Er of "enmity", Onan of "iniquity". The third son, Shelah ("sprout"?), speaks of divine power in resurrection, bringing out of death. So a remnant is preserved.

This chapter needs few words to press home its proof of how low Judah had sunk, just as the next needs few to show Joseph blessed and a blessing. Both chapters mark the name "Jehovah", not just "God". In Genesis 38 that name judges the open breaking of His will. In Genesis 39 it makes Joseph prosper, because he sought to please Jehovah.

In Judah's history we find his utter wandering and misery. Yet in it, and out of it, comes the genealogy of grace. He marries Canaanites. Sin is in his family. He commits immorality with his own daughter-in-law. Everything had gone wrong. Yet out of this sprang the One in whom men would bless others.

The Tamar of this chapter is the first of the women named in the genealogy of our Lord in Matthew 1... Such names would never have appeared in that record if it were not for the grace of God — the grace that triumphs over human sin.

Judah leaves his brothers to join the world of the Canaanite (the Merchant) in all its ruined character. The actual words of Scripture, "went down from," show the course of departure he set out on. They alert the reader that what follows will be marked by sin. Judah's wilful departure will have serious consequences. He will have to learn that he cannot please himself without reaping a harvest of sorrow. He has to learn that "whatever one sows, that will he also reap" (Gal. 6:7).

Here at the start, Judah separates himself from his brothers and joins himself to the Canaanite — the "merchant." He marries the daughter of Shuah (or "riches"). These names give us in plain speech the characteristics of the nation in these centuries since the cross! His seed is, however, continued on the earth. God's wrath is on the first two sons, whose names speak: Er of "enmity," and Onan of "iniquity." The third son, Shelah ("sprout"?), speaks of divine power in resurrection bringing out of death. Thus a remnant is preserved.

Onan — their vigour (feminine): their iniquity

Onan married Tamar but then refused to grant her the privilege of being the mother of Judah's heir. He was prepared to marry her and enjoy married relations, but he wanted to hold back from giving his strength. The sin that is so displeasing to God in Onan's case was not simply spilling his seed on the ground. It was selfishness. He wanted her to remain a childless and despised widow, and this governed his whole attitude. It was not a single sin but a repeated one, for the word "when" in verse 9 should read "whenever." So, as with his wicked brother, the solemn harvest was reaped, and the Lord slew him too (v. 10).

The chapter needs few words to prove Judah's low moral state. The next chapter needs as few to show Joseph blessed and a blessing. Both mark the name "Jehovah," not just "God": in Genesis 38 He judges the open breaking of His will... And notice this: it was not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads, but Judah, who proposed the sale of Joseph. Now he showed in his house the evil that drew down curse upon curse.

Genesis 38 presents one of those remarkable cases where divine grace triumphs gloriously over man's sin. "It is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah" (Heb. 7:14). But how? "Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar" (Matt. 1:3). This is striking. God, in His great grace, rises above the sin and folly of man to bring about His own purposes of love and mercy... Man could never have devised such a genealogy. It is entirely divine.

Right at the start Judah separates himself from his brothers and ties himself to the Canaanite — the "merchant" — by marrying the daughter of Shuah (which means "riches"). These names tell us in plain words what the nation has been like in the centuries since the cross! Yet his line is still kept going on the earth, even though God's wrath rests on the first two sons. Their names speak of "enmity" (Er) and of "iniquity" (Onan). The third son, Shelah ("sprout"?), speaks of God's power in resurrection, bringing life out of death. So a remnant is preserved.

First we are taken back to Er and Onan, so that we remember what kind of history Judah's family had. In these two, the enmity against God, and the iniquity that this enmity shows itself in, are condemned and pass away. No fruit of righteousness — Tamar, the "palm" — can come from them. In the third son, Shelah, Judah's line finds something like its resurrection, and his name speaks of "peace," found here for the first time.

Shelah is the last son born, and his name is said to mean "a sprout." The people who are now outcasts will yet see a national revival. Israel is the fig tree putting out its leaves. Their long, dark winter will soon be over, and their springtime of sprouting will have come (see Matt. 24:32-35; Song 2:11-13). And the inspired writer is careful to tell us where Shelah was born: "Judah was in Chezib when she bore him." Chezib means "false." So the nation will sprout at a time when false prophets and false Christs are everywhere.

Genesis 38 interrupts the story of Joseph completely. Genesis 39 takes it up again and at once tells of the great temptation he faced. It seems that the shameful story of Judah is told to sharpen our sense of how firmly Joseph stood when a temptation of the same kind came to him. Judah seems to have been one of the better behaved sons of Jacob. Yet the habits that marked him and his family were evil, and clearly treated as nothing unusual.

This passage gives us the first crisis over who will carry on Judah's line. We know that our Lord came from Judah (Matt. 1:3; Heb. 7:14), so we can see Satan pushing his way into these events. His aim was always to hinder the coming and work of the Messiah.

The chapter needs few words to press home its proof of how low Judah had sunk morally... And notice that it was not Reuben or any other head of a tribe, but Judah, who proposed selling Joseph. Now he showed in his own house the evil that brought curse after curse. In the end the head of that house had to admit the sad shame of Tamar, who was more righteous than he was — though he had sentenced her to die by fire. Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came the One who cleanses from all sin by His blood.

It would seem that Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah, was a daughter of the Canaanites, like her mother-in-law. Abraham had been most careful about the choice of a wife for Isaac; she was not to be a daughter of the Canaanites. But Isaac plainly did not step in when Esau took wives from the daughters of the Hittites, though they caused him grief. Isaac charged Jacob not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Yet Jacob does not seem to have been troubled when Judah joined himself to the Canaanites through Shuah, or when he took Tamar to be the wife of his eldest son, Er. There is much instruction for Christians in all this: how very careful we should be about our associations, both for ourselves and for our children.

Er was the firstborn of Judah's strength. His father named him, and his name may mean "watchful." Er, it seems, became watchful for chances to do evil… Er deceived himself. But was he not simply following his father? To bring up children in an evil world is not easy. When parents introduce their children to the things of this present evil age, they will find them throwing themselves into it with great energy. And that world lies in ruin, far from God.

Tamar had the right to be the mother of Judah's heir. He kept that right from her, and in doing so blamed her for the death of his sons. He did not blame his own sons for any wrong. Judah's favouritism toward his own family blinded him to the truth… Many people today let family ties sway their judgment in important matters.

Genesis 38 completely interrupts the story of Joseph. It would seem that the shameful story of Judah is told here to heighten in our minds the way Joseph stood firm under a temptation of the same kind. Judah appears to have been among the better behaved of Jacob's sons. Yet the practices that marked him and his family were evil, and it seems they were accepted as nothing very unusual.

It was Judah, not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads, who proposed the sale of Joseph. Now he showed in his own house the evil that drew down curse on curse. In the end he had to admit the sad shame of Tamar — more righteous than himself, though he had sentenced her to die by fire. Yet by this guilty Judah, and by Tamar, came He who cleanses from all sin by His blood, and will reign over the universe to God's glory.

With Tamar it is her sin that stands out, as with Rahab it is her faith. For Ruth to come in, the sentence of the law has to be set aside. And Bathsheba shows us grace winning even over a believer's sin. A salvation for sinners. A salvation by faith. A salvation from the sentence of the law. An eternal salvation. This is what the simple placing of these names declares… Tamar's sin alone brought her into the Lord's genealogy, and God has taken pains to record, doubly record, this striking fact. In the same way, simply as sinners, we have the right to rejoice in a work done for the need of sinners.

Judah does not guard his household against evil beforehand, as Abraham did. He does not grieve over evil once it has come in, as Isaac did. He is not even careless about it, whether it comes in or not, like Jacob. He brings it in himself! He does nothing less than take a daughter of the Canaanites to be the wife of his son Er!

He sold his brother, he deceived his father, he married a Canaanite wife, he had both his sons killed by the Lord for wickedness, he deceived his daughter-in-law when promising his son Shelah to her, then had two sons by the same daughter-in-law (unwittingly).

The only places where we find "Jehovah" in the rest of the book are in Judah's case, chapter 38:7-10, where you can see that these are His special ways and His government; and with Joseph sold and in trial, chapter 39.

The name "Jehovah," not just "God," stands out in both chapters. In Genesis 38 He judges the open breaking of His will. In Genesis 39 He makes the man prosper who sought to please Him, and that in the hardest circumstances — first as a slave, then as a prisoner.

Er was the firstborn of Judah's strength. His father named him, and the meaning of his name may be "watchful." Er clearly became watchful for chances to do evil. He thought his sins would have no consequences. But the biblical principle in Galatians 6:7 holds good for all time: "God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." Jehovah saw his wickedness, and he reaped what his actions deserved. Pay-day came fast for him: "and the LORD put him to death."

Er deceived himself. But was he not simply following his father? … When parents introduce their children to the things of this present evil age, they will find them throwing themselves with full energy into the world, in all its ruin and turning away from God.

Yet his line still goes on in the earth. God's wrath rests on the first two sons, whose names speak — Er of "enmity," and Onan of "iniquity" — while the third son, Shelah ("sprout"?), speaks of the divine power of resurrection, which brings out of death. So a remnant is preserved.

Judah was about to become not only the royal tribe above all others, but the ancestor of the King of kings. Yet he takes for himself, without any reverence, a daughter of Canaan. No wonder that wickedness killed his firstborn, and disgraceful sin his brother… Such is man, and such is Judah; but such too is God. Where terrible sin abounded, grace abounded far more.

One marked exception was needed to keep up tribal inheritance in Israel. It existed elsewhere, but it applied to no other people as it did to them, and still less to a Christian: a Levirate, or brother-in-law, marriage. It came into force when a man died childless. Then his brother or next of kin was called to raise up offspring for the dead man. The aim was to hold the family line and the inheritance together. If the nearer kinsman refused, the widow had the right to take off his shoe in public and spit in his face.

The law made a merciful provision (Deut. 25:5-10): no man's family should die out while a brother lived to carry on the line. In Israel, to be childless was a disgrace. If a man's name was blotted out — his family dying out — people saw it as a special mark of God's displeasure... In His provision there seems, too, to be a recognition of that hope in the heart of every Hebrew woman: that through her the promise of "the woman's seed" might somehow be fulfilled. This came true literally in the family line kept alive through Ruth.

Judah had no regard for the ancient landmark set up by Abraham, who said, "you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites" (Gen. 24:3)... The way he chose his wife is suggested by the phrase "And Judah saw," much the same as Samson in later years... There was no thought of making a choice according to the mind of God.

Onan married Tamar but then refused to grant her the privilege of being the mother of Judah's heir. He was prepared to marry her and enjoy conjugal relations, but he wanted to hold back his strength. The sin that is so displeasing to God in Onan's case was not simply spilling his seed on the ground, but selfishness. He wanted her to remain a childless and despised widow, and his whole attitude was governed by this. It was not a single sin but a repeated one, for the word "when" in verse 9 should read "whenever."

His seed still continues on the earth, even though God's wrath rests on the first two sons. Their names speak: Er of "enmity," and Onan of "iniquity." The third son, Shelah ("sprout"?), speaks of divine power in resurrection, bringing life out of death. So a remnant is preserved.

"It is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah" (Heb. 7:14). But how? "Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar" (Matt. 1:3). This is especially striking. God, in His great grace, rises above the sin and folly of man to bring about His own purposes of love and mercy... How plain it is that when we reach the close of the first chapter of Matthew, it is "God manifest in the flesh" we find. Man could never have devised such a genealogy.

One marked exception was needed to keep up tribal inheritance in Israel: a levirate, or brother-in-law, marriage. It existed elsewhere too, but it applied to no other people as it did to Israel, and still less to a Christian. It was used when a man died childless. His brother or next of kin then had to raise up a child for the dead man. The aim was to bind up the family line and the inheritance. This mattered so much that if the nearer kinsman refused, the widow had the right to take off his shoe in public and spit in his face.

The law made a merciful provision: no man's family should die out while a brother was still alive to carry on the line. In Israel, to be childless was a disgrace. For a man's name to be blotted out — his family dying out — counted as a special mark of God's displeasure.

Onan married Tamar but then refused to grant her the privilege of being the mother of Judah's heir. He was prepared to marry her and enjoy the relationship, but he wanted to hold back from giving of his strength. In Onan's case, the sin that is so displeasing to God was not simply spilling his seed on the ground. It was selfishness. He wanted her to stay a childless and despised widow, and that desire ruled his whole attitude. It was not a single sin but a repeated one, for the word "when" in verse 9 should read "whenever."

Onan, the second son, agreed to take Er's widow as his wife so as to have a child who would count as his brother's. But he did not honour his side of the agreement, and the Lord considered this serious enough to kill him too. The reason was his complete selfishness: the child would not count as his own, though in fact it would be.

In the rest of the book, "Jehovah" appears in only three places. The first is Judah's case, chapter 38:7-10, where one sees His special ways and His government. The second is Joseph sold and in trial, chapter 39. The third is Jacob's waiting for His salvation. We often get "God" — His dealings as ruling all things, in contrast with men.

This passage gives us the first crisis of succession in Judah. We know that our Lord came from Judah, so we can see Satan breaking into the situation. His aim was always to hinder the coming and work of the Messiah.

It seems the sorry story of Judah is told to bring out all the more how Joseph stood firm under a temptation of the same kind. Judah appears to have been among the better behaved of Jacob's sons. Yet the practices that marked him and his family were evil, and clearly accepted as nothing unusual.

Tamar's sin was the very thing that brought her into the Lord's genealogy. And it is simply as sinners that we have the right to rejoice in a work done for sinners. In a day that is near, Judah will find his right standing not in legal righteousness, and not in mere descent from Abraham, but in the truth that God has stressed for us here.

Onan married Tamar, but then refused to grant her the privilege of being the mother of Judah's heir. He was prepared to marry her and enjoy relations with her, but he wanted to hold back his strength. In Onan's case, the sin that so displeases God was not simply spilling his seed on the ground. It was selfishness. He wanted her to stay a childless and despised widow, and that desire drove everything he did. It was not a single sin but a repeated one, for the word "when" in verse 9 should read "whenever."

He did not keep his side of the agreement, and the Lord considered this serious enough to kill him too. The reason was his complete selfishness: the child would not count as his own, even though it really would be.

In the rest of the book, the name "Jehovah" is used in only a few places. One is Judah's case, chapter 38:7-10, where you can see that these are His own special ways and His government. Another is Joseph sold and in trial, chapter 39. Another is after Dan, where Jacob waits for His salvation, chapter 49:18 — the longing of an Israelite for the coming kingdom.

Judah could have cried out, "My house is not so with God!" Er, his firstborn, "was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death." Then Onan, his second son, rebelled against his father's command, and the Lord killed him too.

Judah was to be the leading royal tribe and the ancestor of the King of kings. Yet he shamelessly takes a daughter of Canaan for himself. No wonder that wickedness killed his firstborn, and disgrace killed his brother.

Judah's line still continues on the earth, even though God's wrath is on the first two sons. Their names speak of "enmity" (Er) and "iniquity" (Onan). But the third son, Shelah ("sprout"?), speaks of divine power in resurrection, bringing life out of death. In this way God preserves a remnant.

Yet from this guilty Judah, and from Tamar, came the One who cleanses from all sin by His blood. He will reign over the universe to God's glory. That reign goes far beyond all that Joseph pictured, just as He went far lower in humiliation and suffering.

Tamar's name appears in the Lord's genealogy in the gospel of Matthew. Her sin alone brought her there, and God has taken pains to record this striking fact — and to record it twice. In the same way, simply as sinners, we have the right to rejoice in a work done for the need of sinners.

Tamar had the right to be the mother of Judah's heir. He kept that right from her, and in doing so he blamed her for the death of his sons. He did not blame his own sons for any wrong. Judah's favouritism towards his own family blinded him to the truth… Many people today let family ties sway their judgment in important matters. Judah's values are twisted. On a practical note, the idea that Shelah could be a husband before he was full grown also goes against the mind of God… Every area of life calls for maturity: physical, mental and emotional. Shelah was much younger than Tamar, and that was not a good recipe for a marriage.

Judah promised Tamar that she could marry Shelah when he was grown, since he was still young. In the meantime he asked her to remain a widow in her father's house. But we shall see that Judah failed to keep his promise, just as the tribe of Judah has done again and again.

Tamar had the natural desire for children. She was clearly content to wait until Judah's third son was old enough to be her husband. That seemed to show she valued her place in the family of Jacob.

Her desire for children was a right one. We can admire how she valued a place in the family where God's Name was known, and the righteous, trusting qualities she showed in her patient waiting as a widow. But we cannot excuse what she did to get what she wanted. It showed a lack of confidence in God, and the sin itself was unnatural… How ready we are by nature to try to get God's blessing in our own way.

Judah's failure has features that strongly remind us of David's failure. First, Judah neglected his duty towards Tamar. Second, he indulged the flesh and so badly dishonoured the Name of the Lord. Third, he was quick to pass the death sentence on evil he was guilty of himself. Do we not see these very same features in the failure of King David?

Judah was to be the royal tribe above all others, and the ancestor of the King of kings. Yet he takes a daughter of Canaan for himself with no regard for God. No wonder wickedness killed his firstborn, and disgraceful conduct his brother. No wonder the widow got no regard from the third son… Such is man, and such Judah; but such too is God. Where terrible sin increased, grace increased far more.

Judah leaves his brothers to join the world of the Canaanite (the Merchant) in all its ruined character. The actual words of Scripture, "went down from," show the path of departure he took. They warn the reader that what follows will be marked by sin. The consequences of Judah's deliberate departure will be serious. He will have to learn that he cannot please himself without reaping a harvest of sorrow. He has to learn that whatever one sows, that will he also reap (Gal. 6:7).

The chapter needs few words to prove how low Judah had sunk morally... It was not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads, but Judah, who proposed the sale of Joseph. Now he showed in his own house the evil that drew down curse on curse. In the end the head of that house had to admit the sad shame of Tamar — more righteous than himself, who had sentenced her to die by fire.

Only four times in scripture do we read of sheep shearing. First, in Genesis 31:19; second here in Genesis 38:13 (Judah); third in 1 Samuel 25:4 (Nabal); and fourth in 2 Samuel 13:23 (Absalom). In each case, something unpleasantly selfish is involved. Peter was not told by the Lord to "shear My sheep," but "shepherd My sheep" and "feed My sheep" (John 21:16-17).

This shameful episode happened at sheep-shearing time, when something is taken from the sheep. To take and leave naked is Satan's work. The practices of the Canaanite religion increased sexual temptation. Ritual sex was part of their fertility magic. It seems Tamar posed as a temple prostitute. Such was the world that Judah had married into!

Tamar had the right to be the mother of Judah's heir. He kept that right from her, in effect blaming her for the death of his sons. He did not blame his own sons for any wrong. Judah's prejudice in favour of his own family blinded him to the truth.

Eventually Judah's wife died. Judah was not driven to the feet of the Lord by that loss, but turned to the company of one whom he thought was a prostitute. He had promised to give his youngest son Shelah to Tamar, but had not kept his promise. She therefore took matters into her own hands and deceitfully posed as a prostitute to seduce Judah (vv. 13-15).

Her desire for children was a right one. We can admire the value she put on a place in the family where God's Name was known, and the righteous, trusting spirit shown in her patient waiting as a widow. But her actions to reach that end cannot be excused. She lacked confidence in God, and the sin itself was unnatural... How ready we are by nature to seek God's blessing in our own way.

Out of this shameful history it is amazing to think that God has seen fit to bring about wonderful blessing. For Judah, Tamar and Pharez are all recorded in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 1:3. In fact, Tamar is one of only four women mentioned in that genealogy — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and "the wife of Uriah" (Matt. 1:3-6). But this is meant to impress on us the wonder of God's pure grace, reaching guilty sinners through the gift of His holy, sinless Son!

Judah promised Tamar that she could marry Shelah when he was grown up, since Shelah was still young. In the meantime he asked her to stay a widow in her father's house. But we shall see that Judah failed to keep his promise, just as the tribe of Judah has done again and again.

Tamar had the right to be the mother of Judah's heir. He withheld this rightful claim from her, and in effect blamed her for the death of his sons. He did not blame his own sons for any wrong. Judah's bias towards his own family blinded him to the truth… To make Shelah a husband before he was full grown would also have been contrary to the mind of God. Maturity is assumed in every area of life: physical, mental and emotional. Shelah was much younger than Tamar, and this was not a good recipe for a marriage.

Judah leaves his brothers to join the world of the Canaanite in all its ruined character. The actual words of Scripture, "went down from," show the path of departure he set out on. They warn the reader that sin will mark what follows. The results of Judah's wilful departure will be serious. He will have to learn that he cannot please himself without reaping a harvest of sorrow.

The practices of the Canaanite cult increased sexual temptation. Ritual fornication was part of their fertility magic. It seems that Tamar posed as a temple prostitute. Such was the world that Judah had married into!

She took matters into her own hands. She used deceit, posing as a prostitute to seduce Judah.

Her desire for children was a right one. We can admire how much she valued a place in the family where God's Name was known. We can admire too the righteous and trusting qualities she showed in her patient waiting as a widow. But we cannot excuse what she did to reach her goal. It showed a lack of confidence in God, and the sin itself was unnatural. Her deceit showed the natural scheming that is only too common among those whom God has brought into a place of privilege.

In all this history of Tamar's there is no redeeming feature. She comes before me in this picture as a sinner and nothing else. She was the wife of two men, one after the other, and divine judgment cut off each of them for his wickedness. Yet she herself dares to provoke that same judgment by a crime equal to theirs. But the wonder above all this is that this very sin brings her name into the Lord's genealogy.

Tamar's history shows the boundlessness of divine mercy. We see God's own wonderful way of connecting Christ with Judah, and so Tamar is listed in the genealogy recorded in Matthew's Gospel. She is the first of the four women mentioned there, each with her own special place by God's grace.

This is one of those remarkable cases where divine grace triumphs gloriously over man's sin. God, in His great grace, rises above the sin and folly of man to bring about His own purposes of love and mercy… Man could never have devised such a genealogy. It is entirely divine.

Judah leaves his brothers to join the world of the Canaanite (the Merchant) in all its ruined character. The actual words of Scripture, "went down from," show the course of departure he had set out on. They warn the reader that sin will mark what follows. The consequences of Judah's wilful departure will be serious. He will have to learn that he cannot please himself without reaping a harvest of sorrow. He has to learn that whatever one sows, that will he also reap (Gal. 6:7). The heart that has strayed from God is easy prey to the deceit and enticements of men. Anyone who does not walk closely with God will soon walk with the unconverted men of the world.

Eventually Judah's wife died. Judah was not driven to the feet of the Lord by this, but turned to the company of one whom he thought was a prostitute. He had promised to give his youngest son Shelah to Tamar, but had not kept his promise. So she took matters into her own hands and deceitfully posed as a prostitute to seduce Judah (vv. 13-15).

This sordid event took place at sheep-shearing, the time when something was taken from the sheep. To take and leave naked is Satan's work. The practices of the Canaanite cult increased sexual temptation. Ritual fornication was part of their fertility magic. It seems that Tamar posed as a temple prostitute. Such was the world that Judah had married into!

I doubt that many serious readers will agree with one scholar's notion that the Hebrew word means a holy woman or seer. Far more probable is the ordinary view, which supposes a "consecration" to the corrupt Astarte, or Venus, of early and later idolatry. Terrible to say, prostitution was an almost universal element of heathen holiness!

What a hypocrite! Judah acts as if he is completely right and blameless, but it is he who has the greater guilt. It was he who caused Tamar to stumble, and now he wants her punished. If I cause another to sin because of my own wickedness, how great then is my responsibility. He has a double standard, which is not acceptable to a holy God. Judah is ready to condemn Tamar to be burnt, but she had secured a pledge from him. She now brought this forward as evidence (v. 25), and everyone saw Judah's part in the sin. Tamar is acknowledged to be more righteous than Judah (v. 26).

We need not dwell on this. We only note that the Tamar of this chapter is the first of the women listed in the genealogy of our Lord in Matthew 1. Of the four women mentioned, only Ruth had a clean record morally, and she came from an accursed race. Such names would never have appeared in the record without the grace of God — the grace that triumphs over human sin.

In our thoughts, the way of the harlot and the tax collector is worse than the easy, respectable course of the world. If we had the balances of the sanctuary, we would weigh things differently. "What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God."

Genesis 38 cuts the story of Joseph off completely. Genesis 39 picks it up again and tells at once of the great temptation that faced him. The sad story of Judah seems to be placed here for a reason. It heightens our sense of how firmly Joseph stood under a temptation of the same kind. Judah seems to have been one of the better behaved sons of Jacob. Yet the practices that marked him and his family were evil, and clearly accepted as nothing very unusual.

Tamar had the right to be the mother of Judah's heir. He withheld this legitimate entitlement from her, effectively blaming her for the death of his sons. He did not blame his own sons for any wrong. Judah's prejudice in favour of his own family blinded him to the truth... Many today allow the ties of nature to sway their judgment in matters of importance.

Judah was not driven to the feet of the Lord by this, but turned to the company of one whom he thought was a prostitute. He had promised to give his youngest son Shelah to Tamar, but had not kept his promise. So she took matters into her own hands. She posed as a prostitute to deceive and seduce Judah. He promised to send her a young goat as payment for his immorality. She then demanded security, and he gave her three things that were clearly his own.

Tamar lay in wait for Judah. She may have valued a place in the family that knew the true God. Even so, her action did not spring from faith in God. On a human level, her act was more righteous than Judah's, as he confessed. But morally the two were alike, partners in a serious sin. Behaviour like this might suit Canaanite families. But it was hateful to the holiness of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

What a hypocrite! Judah acts as if he is completely right and without blame, but it is he who has the greater guilt. It was he who caused Tamar to stumble and now he wants her punished. If I cause another to sin because of my own wickedness, how great then is my responsibility... He has a double standard, which is not acceptable to a holy God... A frank confession will secure His mercy.

In Tamar's whole story, what strikes me is that there is nothing good in it at all... She comes before me in this picture as a sinner and nothing else. But the wonder above all this is that this very sin brings her name into the Lord's family line. It was this sin that made her the mother of Pharez, one of the direct ancestors of Christ!

It was not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads who proposed the sale of Joseph. It was Judah. And now his own house showed the evil that drew down curse on curse. In the end its head had to own the sad shame of Tamar — more righteous than himself — whom he had sentenced to die by fire. Yet by this guilty Judah, and by Tamar, came He who cleanses from all sin by His blood.

Judah was not driven to the feet of the Lord by this, but turned to the company of one whom he thought was a prostitute. He had promised to give his youngest son Shelah to Tamar, but had not kept his promise. So she took matters into her own hands. She used deceit and posed as a prostitute to seduce Judah. He promised to send her a young goat as payment for his fornication. She demanded some security, and he gave her three things that were clearly his own property.

Tamar had the right to be the mother of Judah's heir. He held back this right that was hers, and in effect blamed her for the death of his sons. He did not blame his own sons for any wrong. Judah's prejudice in favour of his own family blinded him to the truth. Many today let family ties sway their judgment in important matters.

This passage gives us the first crisis of succession in Judah. We know that our Lord came from Judah. So we can see Satan pushing his way into these events. His design was always to hinder the coming and work of the Messiah. Note that this threatens more than Tamar's security. It threatens her right to become the mother of Judah's heir.

Judah acts as if he is completely right and without blame, but it is he who has the greater guilt. It was he who caused Tamar to stumble, and now he wants her punished. If I cause someone else to sin by my own wickedness, how great my responsibility is... Judah is ready to condemn Tamar to be burned, but she had secured a pledge from him. She now brought it forward as evidence, and everyone saw that Judah shared in the sin. This is the way God works. A frank confession will secure His mercy... Having established righteousness He is now free to show mercy.

She comes before me in this picture as a sinner and nothing else. She was the wife of two men, one after the other, and divine judgment cut off each of them for his wickedness. Yet she dares in her own person to provoke divine judgment by a crime equal to theirs. But the wonder above all this is that it is this very sin that brings her name into the Lord's genealogy — for it was this sin that made her the mother of Perez, one of the direct line in Christ's ancestry.

It was Judah, not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads, who proposed the sale of Joseph. Then he showed in his own house the evil that drew down curse on curse, until the head of that house had to admit the sad shame of Tamar, more righteous than himself, though he had sentenced her to die by fire. Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came He who cleanses from all sin by His blood, and who will reign over the universe to God's glory.

Stones with words, letters, or symbols engraved on them. In ancient times people pierced them and hung them from the arm or the neck by a cord or chain, or set them in rings and wore them on the finger. The design was pressed into pieces of clay attached to official documents. In the East people do not treat such documents as genuine unless they are sealed.

Judah's wife Shuah died… Judah was not driven to the feet of the Lord by this. Instead he turned to the company of one whom he thought was a prostitute. He had promised to give his youngest son Shelah to Tamar, but he had not kept his promise. So Tamar took matters into her own hands. She deceitfully posed as a prostitute to seduce Judah (vv. 13-15). He promised to send her a young goat as payment for his fornication. She demanded some security, and he gave her three things that were plainly his own (v. 18).

This shameful event happened at sheep-shearing time, the time when something is taken from the sheep. To take and leave naked is Satan's work. The practices of the Canaanite cult increased sexual temptation. Ritual fornication was part of their fertility magic. It seems that Tamar posed as a temple prostitute. Such was the world that Judah had married into!

Judah acts as if he is completely right and blameless. Yet he is the one with the greater guilt. It was he who caused Tamar to stumble, and now he wants her punished. If I cause someone else to sin by my own wickedness, how great is my responsibility… Judah is ready to condemn Tamar to be burnt. But she had secured a pledge from him. She now brought it forward as evidence (v. 25), and everyone saw Judah's own share in the sin. This is the way God works. A frank confession will secure His mercy.

It was not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads, but Judah, who proposed the sale of Joseph. Now he showed in his own house the evil which drew down curse on curse. In the end the head of that house had to own the sad shame of Tamar — more righteous than himself, though he had sentenced her to die by fire. Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came He who cleanses from all sin by His blood.

Genesis 38 interrupts the story of Joseph… It seems that Judah's shameful story is told here to sharpen in our minds how firmly Joseph stood under a similar temptation… The Tamar of this chapter is the first of the women named in the genealogy of our Lord in Matthew 1. Of the four women named, only Ruth had a clean record morally, and she came of an accursed race. Such names would never have appeared in the record without the grace of God — the grace that triumphs over human sin.

Her desire for children was a right one. We can admire how she valued a place in the family where God's name was known… But her actions to achieve her ends cannot be excused. They showed a lack of confidence in God, and the sin itself was unnatural… How ready we are by nature to try to get God's blessing in our own way.

Tamar had the right to be the mother of Judah's heir. He kept this right from her, and in doing so blamed her for the death of his sons. He did not blame his own sons for any wrong. Judah's prejudice in favour of his own family blinded him to the truth.

The practices of the Canaanite religion made sexual temptation stronger. Ritual fornication was part of their fertility magic. It seems that Tamar posed as a temple prostitute. Such was the world that Judah had married into! Can there be anything so dreadful as this kind of union?

At once she left the area and changed her clothes, going back to her widow's state. Of course, Judah then sent the young goat, expecting to get back the pledge he had left. But his messenger could not find the prostitute. He was even told that no prostitute had been in that place.

Everything must come to light. The stream may flow for a time underground, but sooner or later it will break out. We may go on for years in a course of secret evil. We may cultivate some unholy principle, indulge some unholy desire, or feed some unholy temper or feeling. But the smouldering flame must break out in the end, and show us the real character of what we have done.

Judah acts as if he is right and free of blame. But it is he who has the greater guilt… Judah is ready to have Tamar burnt, but she had secured a pledge from him. She now brought it forward as evidence (v. 25), and everyone saw Judah's part in the sin. This is the way God works. A frank confession will secure His mercy. Tamar is acknowledged as being more righteous than Judah (v. 26)… Having established righteousness He is now free to show mercy.

The history of Tamar shows us in God's own marvellous way how Christ comes into connection with Judah. So her name appears in the Lord's genealogy in the gospel of Matthew. It is the first of four women's names there, and their presence shows the grace which has stooped to take up men. Each of these four has its own gospel feature to bring out. The record presses Tamar's sin, as it presses Rahab's faith… Tamar's sin alone brought her into the Lord's genealogy, and God has taken pains to record this striking fact, and to record it twice.

She left the area at once and changed her clothes, going back to her widow's dress. So Judah sent the young goat, expecting to get back the pledge he had left. His messenger could not find the prostitute. He was even told that no prostitute had ever been in that place.

He promised to send her a young goat as payment for his immorality. She asked for some security, and he gave her three things that were clearly his own property. From that one occasion she conceived a child.

It is sad to watch Judah leave the relative safety and enjoyment of his brothers' company. His heart was already far from the joy of communion with his father. Now he takes this further step and leaves his brothers. We have seen this often with people whose hearts have grown cold. In time their feet follow where their minds already lean. A heart that has wandered from God is easy prey to the deceit and pressure of men. Someone who does not walk in fellowship with God will soon walk in friendship with the unconverted people of the world. In verse 1 we see that Judah must have had common interests with Hirah. In verse 12 he is called "his friend Hirah the Adullamite." James tells us that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4), but a man set on doing his own will had no room for such thoughts.

Judah chose to walk away, and the consequences will be serious. He will have to learn that he cannot please himself without reaping a harvest of sorrow. He has to learn that whatever one sows, that will he also reap (Galatians 6:7).

God knows your most secret sin... Look into the word. You will find that God has usually shamed in this world those who counted most on secrecy in their sinning.

Judah is ready to condemn Tamar to be burnt, but she had secured a pledge from him. She now brings it forward as evidence, and everyone can see Judah's share in the sin. This is the way God works. An honest confession will secure His mercy.

Judah, the head of the tribe, had to admit the sad shame of Tamar. She was more righteous than he was, and he had sentenced her to die by fire. Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came the One who cleanses from all sin by His blood. He will reign over the universe to God's glory.

She comes before me in this picture as a sinner and nothing else... But the wonder above all this is that this very sin brings her name into the Lord's genealogy. This sin made her the mother of Perez, one of the direct line in Christ's ancestry.

Judah leaves his brothers to join the world of the Canaanite in all its ruined character. The actual words of Scripture, "went down from," show the path of departure he set out on. They warn the reader that sin will mark what follows. The consequences of Judah's wilful departure will be serious. He will have to learn that he cannot please himself without reaping a harvest of sorrow.

The practices of the Canaanite cult increased sexual temptation. Ritual fornication was part of their fertility magic. It seems that Tamar posed as a temple or cult prostitute. Such was the world that Judah had married into!

He had promised to give his youngest son Shelah to Tamar, but had not kept his promise. She therefore took matters into her own hands and deceitfully posed as a prostitute to seduce Judah. He promised to send her a young goat as payment. She demanded some security, and he gave her three things that were unmistakably his own. From that one occasion she conceived a child. She left the area at once and changed her clothes, going back to her state as a widow. Then Judah sent the young goat, expecting to get back the pledge he had left. His messenger could not find the prostitute, and the men there told him that no prostitute had ever been in that place.

How bad it is to try to cover up sin! God says, "Be sure your sin will find you out." But you must thank God if He makes your sin find you out now. If not, it will find you out when you stand before God's judgment throne. God says, "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).

What a hypocrite! Judah acts as if he is completely right and without blame, but it is he who has the greater guilt... Judah is ready to condemn Tamar to be burned, but she had secured a pledge from him. She now brought it forward in evidence, and everyone could see Judah's share in the sin. This is the way God works. A frank confession will secure His mercy.

She did value a place in the family where the true God was known. But her plan to trap Judah on the road did not spring from faith in God. Humanly speaking, her act was more righteous than Judah's, as he admitted. Yet morally they were alike — partners in a grievous sin. Conduct like this might suit the families of the Canaanites. But it was hateful to the holiness of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

She comes before me in this picture as a sinner and nothing else. She had been the wife of two men in turn, each cut off by God's judgment for his wickedness. Yet she dared to provoke the same judgment herself. But the wonder above all this is that this very sin brings her name into the Lord's genealogy. This sin made her the mother of Perez, who stands in the direct line of Christ's ancestry.

The Spirit of God is leading us along the line through which Christ came, and He gives us, as links in the chain, Tamar and Bathsheba!... Man could never have devised such a genealogy. It is entirely divine. No spiritual person can read it without seeing in it a blessed display of divine grace.

Judah leaves his brothers to join the world of the Canaanite (the Merchant) in all its ruined character. The actual words of Scripture, "went down from," show the course of departure he began. They alert the reader that sin will mark what follows. The consequences of Judah's wilful departure will be serious. He will have to learn that he cannot please himself without reaping a harvest of sorrow. He has to learn that "whatever one sows, that will he also reap" (Gal. 6:7).

Of course when Judah sent the young goat, expecting to get back the pledge he had left, the messenger was not only unable to find the prostitute, but was told that no prostitute had even been in that place.

God knows your most secret sin: "You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence" (Ps. 90:8)... The word tells you of an informer you carry in your own heart: conscience. It goes along with you, and it witnesses all your carefully laid plots. What it sees, it writes down, for it is a court of record... Consult the word. You will find that God has usually put to shame in this world those who promised themselves the most secrecy in their sinning.

Shame merely drives them to hide from God and to make excuses to Him. And so with ourselves: as long as the shame of sin continues, we try to hide it, to get away from it, but it only drives us farther and farther from God. It is not a conscience taught by God, because we are more concerned about the shame before men than the sinfulness before God.

Judah's pretended virtue is about to be exposed by what happens next... He has a double standard, which is not acceptable to a holy God. Judah is ready to condemn Tamar to be burned, but she had secured a pledge from him. She now brought this forward as evidence (v. 25), and Judah's part in the sin was made plain to everyone. This is the way God works. An honest confession will secure His mercy.

It was not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads, but Judah, who proposed the sale of Joseph. Now he showed in his own household the evil that drew down curse upon curse. In the end the head of that house had to admit the sad shame of Tamar. She was more righteous than he was, and he had sentenced her to die by fire. Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came the One who cleanses from all sin by His blood. He will reign over the universe to God's glory.

Shame only drives Adam and Eve to hide from God and to make excuses to Him. It is the same with us. As long as the shame of sin lasts, we try to hide it and escape it. But it only drives us farther and farther from God. That is not a conscience taught by God, because we care more about the shame in front of people than about the sinfulness before God... our sense of the guilt of sin should always be deeper than our sense of its shame.

Judah's pretended virtue is about to be exposed by the subsequent events... Judah is ready to condemn Tamar to be burnt, but she had secured a pledge from him. This she now brought forward in evidence (v. 25) and Judah's complicity in the sin is manifested before all. This is the way God works. A frank confession will secure His mercy.

God knows your most secret sin: "You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence" (Psalm 90:8)... You have an informer in your own heart — your conscience. It goes along with you and witnesses every plot you lay. What it sees, it writes down, for it is a court of record... Look into the word. You will find that God has usually shamed in this world the very people who counted most on secrecy in their sinning.

The actual words of Scripture, "went down from," show the path of departure he had set out on. They warn the reader that sin will mark what follows... The heart astray from God is a ready prey to the deceit and incitements of men. Someone not walking in communion with God will soon walk in fellowship with unconverted people of the world.

It seems we have the sad story of Judah told here to heighten in our minds the way Joseph stood firm under a temptation of the same kind... the Tamar of this chapter is the first of the women mentioned in the genealogy of our Lord, recounted in Matthew 1. Of the four women mentioned, only Ruth had a clean record from the moral point of view, and she came from a nation under a curse. Such names would never have appeared in the record had it not been for the grace of God — the grace that triumphs over human sin.

How shocking that she claimed her right in such a shameless and incestuous way! How self-righteous Judah was, ready to burn the mother of babies who were his own without his knowing it! And one of those babies is carefully marked out in Messiah's direct line. Such is man, and such Judah; but such too is God. Where heinous sin abounded, grace much more exceeded.

Tamar's plan worked as she had wanted. Three months later, someone told Judah that she was pregnant through prostitution (v. 24). He had no hesitation in condemning her, and passed sentence that she should be burned to death. Clearly he never even thought about the man involved in the case. Judah could sin and no one asked a question. Yet for the very same sin he thought Tamar must die!

What a hypocrite! Judah acts as if he is completely right and without blame, but it is he who has the greater guilt. It was he who caused Tamar to stumble, and now he wants her punished. If I cause another to sin because of my own wickedness, how great then is my responsibility. Judah is the one who started these sins, and now he places all the blame on Tamar… He has a double standard, and a holy God does not accept it. Judah is ready to condemn Tamar to be burned, but she had taken a pledge from him. She now brings it forward as evidence (v. 25), and Judah's part in the sin is shown to everyone. This is how God works. An honest confession secures His mercy.

When Judah heard about Tamar's condition, he said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned." He was quick to pass the harshest sentence on a sin he had shared in himself. So it was with David! Nathan the prophet told the king his story. David's anger blazed against the man in it. He said to Nathan that as the Lord lives, the man who had done this thing must surely die.

Judging our brother is a very deep-seated tendency in our heart. The Lord forbids it. If we do it anyway, two penalties are sure to follow, as He shows here. First, we ourselves shall come under judgment, and have measured out to us just what we have measured to others. Second, we shall drift into hypocrisy. As soon as we start judging others we become blind to our own defects… The most profitable form of judgment for each of us is self-judgment.

Tamar's plan to trap Judah did not come from faith in God. That is true even if she valued a place in the family where the true God was known. On a human level, Tamar's act was more righteous than Judah's, as he confessed. But morally they were the same: partners in a grievous sin. Conduct like this might suit the Canaanite families, but it was hateful to the holy God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It may be hard for us to judge Tamar's true worth. Her desire for children was a right one, but her actions to reach her goal cannot be excused.

It was not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads, but Judah who proposed the sale of Joseph. In his own house he then showed the evil that drew down curse upon curse. In the end the head of that house had to admit the sad shame of Tamar. She was more righteous than he was, and he had sentenced her to die by fire. Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came He who cleanses from all sin by His blood. He will reign over the universe to God's glory.

In Genesis 38:18, 25 the Hebrew word means "cord," and it was probably the cord by which the signet was hung.

When he promised to send her a young goat as payment for his fornication, she demanded some security, and he gave her three things that were unmistakably his property (v. 18). From this one occasion she conceived a child.

He had no hesitation in condemning her, and passed sentence that she should be burned to death. Evidently he never even thought of the man who was involved in the case. Judah could sin without any question being raised, but he considered that for the very same sin Tamar must be killed!

What a hypocrite! Judah acts as if he is completely right and without blame, but it is he who has the greater guilt. It was he who caused Tamar to stumble and now he wants her punished… God's Spirit will say, as to his great heir David, "You are the man" (2 Sam. 12:7). He has a double standard, which is not acceptable to a holy God. Judah is ready to condemn Tamar to be burned, but she had secured a pledge from him. She now brought it forward in evidence (v. 25), and it showed Judah's part in the sin before all. This is the way God works. A frank confession will secure His mercy.

The sense here is not absolute but comparative justification, just as in Judah's expression in the Greek version of Genesis 38:26: "Tamar is justified rather than I" (that is, more righteous).

It was not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads, but Judah, who proposed the sale of Joseph. Now he showed in his own house the evil that drew down curse upon curse. In the end its head had to own the sad shame of Tamar, more righteous than himself — the woman he had sentenced to die by fire.

Here divine grace triumphs gloriously over man's sin. "It is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah" (Heb. 7:14). But how? "Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar" (Matt. 1:3)… The Spirit of God is leading us along the line through which, as to the flesh, Christ came, and in doing so He gives us, as links in the genealogical chain, Tamar and Bathsheba! How clear it is that there is nothing of man in this!

The sense here is not absolute justification but comparative justification. It is like Judah's words in the Septuagint version of Genesis 38:26: "Tamar is justified rather than I" — that is, more righteous.

Judah at least gave her credit for being more righteous than he was (v. 26). But he was in fact more guilty than Tamar, and righteousness was not involved in the matter at all.

Judah acts as if he is right and without blame. But he is the one with the greater guilt. It was he who caused Tamar to stumble and now he wants her punished... Judah was the prime mover in these sins and now he places all the blame on Tamar... He has a double standard, which is not acceptable to a holy God.

When Judah was told of Tamar's condition, he said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned." He was quick to pronounce the most severe sentence against a sin he had taken part in himself. So it was with David! When Nathan the prophet told him his parable, David burned with anger against the man in the story, and he swore to Nathan that the man who had done this must die.

When Judah exclaimed, "She is more righteous than I," we cannot doubt it was the evidence of a divine work in his soul. The precious fruit of that work came out later in his words to his father and to Joseph.

This is the way God works. A frank confession will secure His mercy... Having established righteousness, He is now free to show mercy.

It was not Reuben or any other of the tribal heads, but Judah, who proposed the sale of Joseph. Now his own house showed the evil which drew down curse on curse. In the end its head had to own the sad shame of Tamar — more righteous than himself, though he had sentenced her to die by fire. Yet by this guilty Judah, and by Tamar, came He who cleanses from all sin by His blood.

The history of Tamar shows us in God's own marvellous way how Christ comes into connection with Judah, and so her name appears in the Lord's genealogy in the gospel of Matthew... It is Tamar's sin that is insisted on... Tamar's sin alone brought her into the Lord's genealogy, and God has taken pains to record it, and to record it twice. In the same way, simply as sinners, we have a title to rejoice in a work done for the need of sinners. Judah shall find in a coming day his title, not in legal righteousness, nor in descent from Abraham, but in what God has emphasized for us here.

Genesis 38 completely interrupts the story of Joseph. In Genesis 39 the story starts again... It seems that we have the shameful story of Judah told to sharpen our sense of how Joseph stood firm under a temptation of the same kind... The Tamar of this chapter is the first of the women named in the genealogy of our Lord in Matthew 1. Of those four women, only Ruth had a clean record morally, and she came from an accursed race. Such names would never have appeared in the record if it were not for the grace of God — the grace that triumphs over human sin.

Even here grace secures a pledge. Pharez is a second supplanter, one who takes another's place. The hope of Israel is in the womb, and a blessing is in the cluster. Yet it is the cluster of a wild vine, fit to be doomed to the sickle, if sovereign, abounding grace did not say, "Do not destroy it." Isa. 65:8; Matt. 1:3.

The colour "scarlet" stands for the rights of the Lord to rule. It is both remarkable and instructive to see how the thought of Christ's supremacy runs through Scripture like a "thread of scarlet." This beautiful thought first appears in what may be one of the darkest chapters in the Old Testament, Genesis 38. In dark, sordid circumstances something shows itself that has power to "break through" and to "rise up" — as the names of the twins suggest. This leads at last to the line from which David comes.

Pharez, the "breaker forth," breaks out into fruit beyond counting, which fills all the later history of Judah. From him come her kings, and her great King. His twin is Zerah, whose name means the sunrise, and from him come singers later on, such as Ethan, and warriors, such as Shammah, Sibbechai and Maharai, strong defenders of the throne.

Tamar gave birth to twins. One began to come first, but the other took his place (vv. 27-29). This is another lesson of the first being last and the last first, as with Esau and Jacob, and many others.

The closing verses (vv. 27-30) of this chapter show how mercy rejoices over judgment... The midwife had seen nothing like this before and exclaims, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" (v. 29 — older translations read, "How have you broken forth?"). But in this way the line to Christ moves forward. Pharez comes out, the second Jacob, one who takes another's place. From him would come the True Inheritor of every blessing. Christ is the righteous One who takes the place of every usurper. He will prevail, and His kingdom will stand for ever.

It is Tamar's sin that brings her in, and Rahab's faith that brings her in. For Ruth to come in, the law's sentence against the Moabites had to be set aside. And Bathsheba — named even as the wife of Uriah — shows us grace triumphing over even a believer's sin. Salvation for sinners, through faith, apart from law, and eternal: this is what the simple placing of these names declares.

Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came the One who cleanses from all sin by His blood. He will reign over the whole universe to God's glory. That reign goes far beyond all that Joseph pictured, just as He Himself went far lower in humiliation and suffering.

The colour "scarlet" stands for the rights of the Lord. It is both striking and instructive to see how the thought of Christ's supremacy runs through Scripture like a "thread of scarlet." This beautiful thought comes in at one of the darkest chapters in the Old Testament, Genesis 38. In dark, sordid circumstances something appears with power to "break through" and "rise up" (as the names of the twins suggest), and it reaches its high point in the family line that David comes from (Ruth 4:18-22).

Tamar gave birth to twins. One began to come out first, but the other took his place (vv. 27-29). This is another lesson of the first being last and the last first, as in the case of Esau and Jacob, and many others.

God gave special rights to the firstborn son of each family (a double inheritance). Again and again we meet firstborn sons who fail, and their blessing goes to another who has no claim to it. Cain was the firstborn, but Seth took his place. So it was with Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Reuben and Joseph, and others. The underlying principle is clear: the firstborn speaks of man in his natural strength: 'for he is the firstfruits of his vigour' (Deut. 21:17). And this is the point: natural man acting in his own strength always leads to failure. For blessing to come at all, God has to provide the 'second'. Hebrews 10 states the principle plainly: 'He takes away the first that he may establish the second' (v. 9).

Shelah is fruitful, but Tamar's children far more so. From them Pharez, the "breaker forth," breaks out into a vast fruit that fills the whole later history of Judah. From him come her kings, and her great King. Twin with Pharez comes Zerah, whose name means the [sun] rise, and from him come singers later on, such as Ethan, and warriors such as Shammah, Sibbechai and Maharai, strong defenders of the throne.

The closing verses (vv. 27-30) of this chapter show how mercy triumphs over judgment. J. G. Bellett wrote of this, "The hope of Israel is in the womb, a blessing is in the cluster. Yet it is truly such a cluster of wild vine as might well be doomed to the sickle, if sovereign, abounding grace did not say, 'Destroy it not' (Isa. 65:8; Matt. 1:3)." The midwife had never seen anything like this, and she cries out, "How have you broken forth?" (v. 29). But in this way the line to Christ is carried on. Pharez comes out, the second Jacob, one who takes another's place. From him would come the True Inheritor of every blessing.

This chapter needs few words to prove how low Judah had sunk… And notice that it was not Reuben or any other head of a tribe, but Judah who proposed selling Joseph. He then showed in his own house the evil that drew down curse after curse, until he himself, the head of that house, had to admit the sad shame of Tamar. She was more righteous than he was, though he had sentenced her to die by fire. Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came the One who cleanses from all sin by His blood and who will reign over the universe to God's glory.

In Judah's history we find the utter wandering and misery of Judah, but in it and out of it comes the genealogy of grace. He marries Canaanite women. Sin is in his family. He commits sexual sin with his own daughter-in-law. Everything had gone wrong. Yet from this sprang the One in whom men would bless themselves. They would say, "May the Lord make your house like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah," and "may you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem." Yet of Perez himself it might be said, how have you broken out?

The midwife had seen nothing like this before and exclaims, "How have you broken out?" (v. 29). But this is how the line to Christ moves forward… We wonder how any good could come out of such a disastrous series of events. But what is impossible with men is not impossible with God. He brings glory to His Name out of the darkest shame.

Shelah is fruitful, but Tamar's children much more so. One of them is Perez, the "breaker forth." He breaks out into a large family that fills all the later history of Judah. From him come her kings, and her great King. His twin is Zerah, whose name means the sunrise. From Zerah come singers later on, such as Ethan, and warriors, such as Shammah, Sibbecai and Maharai — sturdy defenders of the throne.

Judah is brought to know and confess his sin… and then mercy triumphs over judgment. Perez comes forth, and he is a second Jacob, the supplanter. Despite his elder brother's natural claim, he gets the birthright. The kingdom suffers violence at his hand, and he takes it by force. And from this Perez comes the true Inheritor of the blessing. He is the righteous Supplanter of every usurper. He will prevail, and His kingdom will stand for ever. (Matt. 1:3.)

The story of Tamar shows us how, in God's marvellous way of grace, Christ comes into connection with Judah. So her name appears in the Lord's genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew. Hers is the first of those four women's names, and their presence there shows the grace that has stooped to take up men… It is Tamar's sin that brings her in, as it is Rahab's faith. For Ruth to come in, the law's sentence about the Moabites had to be set aside. And Bathsheba — named even as the wife of Uriah — shows us grace triumphing over even a believer's sin. A salvation for sinners, through faith, apart from law, and eternal: this is what the simple insertion of these names declares.

Is it not remarkable that the elders and the people should take the house of Perez as a pattern of blessing for the house of Boaz? Who was Perez? Let Genesis 38 answer… But it was through Perez, son of Tamar, that the promised blessing had to come. God led His line of promise through the base things of the world, and took up those whom man would spurn. This was to magnify His grace and exalt His name.

The colour "scarlet" stands for rights of lordship. It is both remarkable and instructive to see how the thought of Christ's supremacy runs through Scripture like a "thread of scarlet." This beautiful thought appears in what may be one of the darkest chapters in the Old Testament, Genesis 38. In dark and shameful circumstances, something with power to "break through" and to "rise up" (as the names of the twins suggest) is clearly at work. It leads on to a generation from which David springs.

In that beautiful passage, Isaiah 60:1-7, the same thought is in view. Sin, darkness and turning away from God have marked His people, and thick darkness covers them. But the Lord rises upon them, His glory shines out, and nations and kings come to acknowledge the "rising" (Zerah) that has broken through the darkness and shown His supremacy over all.

Scripture always puts Perez, the son of Judah and Tamar, ahead of his twin brother Zarah, or Zerah, so he held the right of the firstborn. In David's reign the family of Perez held the highest rank in the tribe of Judah, and it appears to have stood out for its many children and its strength.

Perez, the "breaker forth," breaks out into abundant fruit, which fills all the later history of Judah. From him come Judah's kings, and her great King. Twin with Perez comes Zerah, the sunrise. From him came singers, such as Ethan, and warriors, such as Shammah, Sibbechai and Maharai — strong defenders of the throne.

Of all the women who might have been named, these four were, in different ways, the apparent blots on the genealogy. Far from hiding what was shameful about them, the record brings in details one might have thought could be left out. It is as if it wants to draw our attention to what might otherwise have been less noticed. So it mentions Zerah's twin birth with Perez, though Zerah himself is not in the line of the genealogy, as if to recall the sin that brought them into being.

Genesis 38 shows one of those remarkable cases where divine grace triumphs gloriously over man's sin. "It is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah" (Hebrews 7:14). But how? "Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar" (Matthew 1:3). This is especially striking. God, in His great grace, rises above the sin and folly of man to bring about His own purposes of love and mercy.

Yet through this guilty Judah, and through Tamar, came the One who cleanses from all sin by His blood. He will reign over the universe to God's glory.

The last verse of chapter 37 and the first verse of chapter 39 belong together. The story of Judah comes in between, a complete twenty years on its own. "At that time" only marks the general period, and the whole story is given in one piece. Scripture does this very often. Joseph is a remarkable picture of Christ; Judah is the ancestor Christ came from as a man.

What a change for him! He had been first and dearest in his father's love. Then his own brothers attacked him and wanted him dead, and now he is a slave in Egypt! Had the messages God gave him in his dreams made him independent of everything that came from man, whether love or hatred, and dependent only on God? If they had, he needed that now. And that, without doubt, was the value of the discipline he was going through.

Strange that he had dreamed of future greatness, and here he was, brought low, sold twice over for a few pieces of silver, and held as a slave in a foreign land.

The man who bought him was Potiphar, the captain of the guard. So this put Joseph in a place of real danger on the one hand, but close to Pharaoh on the other. Things began to work together for his final good, though that was in no way clear at the time.

Notice how far the trial of Joseph went. God's ordering kept it within limits, so that nothing in it could hinder His purpose. The trial was meant to frustrate that purpose, and it seemed to be completely against it. Yet that trial, and his righteous suffering in Egypt, brought about the very thing they seemed to stop. The Egypt his brothers sold him into, and the prison Potiphar put him in, led him to the butler and the baker — and that set him as governor over all the land of Egypt. We cannot put God out of His way. It is better to trust Him.

Every trial he passes through is only one more stage in the path that leads to glory. So is the way his brothers treated him, the slavery in the Egyptian's house, the false accusations of Potiphar's wife, Pharaoh's prison, and the neglect of Pharaoh's butler. His work as a shepherd, his errand to his brothers, and his service in Potiphar's house and in Pharaoh's prison are preparing him to use power in the day of his glory. The service in the trials prepares him for the right use of glory.

While Reuben was away, Judah took the lead in pulling him out and selling him to the Ishmaelites, who then sold him to an Egyptian master. What a foreshadowing of Christ, who suffered first from a faithless Judah, and then from the nations outside Israel as well! God's own history tells the future as truly in the pictures given in the law as in the heartfelt cries of the Psalms, or in the prophets who speak more directly.

Here is the explanation of all that happened: "The Lord was with Joseph." That being so, all he did prospered. Even what looked like disaster proved to be only a stepping-stone to something much better. Potiphar did not know the explanation of it, but he found he had made a first-rate bargain when he bought the young Semitic lad. The boy showed such skilful powers, together with God-fearing uprightness and integrity.

The Egyptian never expected the treasure that one small purchase brought into his house. But the explanation is not hard to find, and it makes everything clear. "Jehovah was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man." Never before was the word so emphatic. This does not mean Jehovah had been absent before, at home or abroad. Jehovah was with him when he gained his father's confidence and love. Jehovah was with him when by his faithfulness he earned the envy and hatred of his brothers. But now the words carry marked force: he is a slave in a strange land. But Jehovah was with him all the more because the need was greater.

The submissive man will always be a prosperous man. Nature would say that slavery and prosperity can never go together. But if we submit to His ways, the presence of the Lord can turn days of hardship into days of prosperity. The whole world would admit that Joseph was a prosperous man in the day of his exaltation. But faith sees, and God declares, that he was a prosperous man in the day of his humiliation. He will, in due time, ride prosperously as the ruler of Egypt, but first he must live prosperously as the slave of an Egyptian. The prosperity of the prison must come before the prosperity of the palace.

Joseph was sold in Egypt to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's bodyguard. But the Lord was with him (v. 2). He had suffered injustice, and had lost every connection with relatives and friends. The Lord delights to encourage the lonely and deprived. The result was that he was faithful and dependable in his work, prospering in it, though he was a slave.

His testimony was the testimony of his life, not his lips. What struck Potiphar was what he saw, not what he heard. If Joseph had spent his time complaining about his hard lot, or talking up his high destiny, he would have been no witness for the Lord in Potiphar's house. The Egyptian cared nothing about Joseph's past. Even if someone had explained his future to him, he would have understood none of it. But Potiphar could see and value his daily life of wholehearted attention to his duties. A Christian servant who lives a quiet, consistent, uncomplaining life and carries out his daily duties is a true witness for the Lord. That is something an unconverted master can value.

But Jehovah was with Joseph in the prison, just as much as in Potiphar's house. Verse 2 says He was with Joseph. Verse 21 says He was with Joseph, "and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison." It mattered little where he was, since Jehovah was with him. What a difference it makes when God is with us — and God in that special, known relationship, which the name "Jehovah" carries here as everywhere.

We are given the explanation of all that happened — "The Lord was with Joseph." Because that was true, everything he did prospered. Even what looked like disaster turned out to be only a stepping-stone to something much better. Verses 3 and 4 make us notice the striking way Joseph's "hand" is spoken of in the story. Because the Lord was with him, He "caused all that he did to succeed in his hands." So Joseph found favour with his master, who put all that he had into Joseph's hand. This was only natural. Potiphar did not know the reason for it, but he found he had made a first-rate bargain when he bought the young Semitic boy. Here was a slave with real skill, joined to honesty and uprightness that came from the fear of God.

His witness was the witness of his life, not of his lips. Potiphar was struck by what he "saw", not by what he heard... If Joseph had always complained about his hard lot, or talked up the great future ahead of him, he would have been no witness for the Lord in Potiphar's house. The Egyptian cared nothing about his past, and even if Joseph had spelled out his future, the Egyptian would have understood nothing of it. But Joseph's daily life of wholehearted attention to his work was something Potiphar could see and value... To see a Christian servant living a quiet, steady, uncomplaining life, faithfully doing his daily work, is a true witness for the Lord, and something a master who is not a believer can appreciate.

In the Egyptian's house he saw a new field of duty. He looked to Jehovah, so that by serving Him he might serve his master best... He had been saved from a cruel death that seemed about to fall on him. So he bowed under God's hand, and set himself to do carefully and honestly whatever lay before him each day, to please the Master above. That is why he prospered and became master of the situation. Potiphar had never had such a slave, and neither had anyone else. There was no self-seeking in him, and no working only while the master watched... A force for good was at work here, with clear results of blessing, and even the sharp eye of a man who did not know God could not miss them.

But Jehovah was with Joseph in the prison, just as much as in Potiphar's house. Verse 2 says He was with Joseph. Verse 21 says He was with Joseph, "and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison"... It mattered little where he was, since Jehovah was with him. What a difference it makes when God is with us — and God in that special, known relationship, which the name "Jehovah" carries here as everywhere.

Divine blessing marked Joseph's whole career. Yet notice that Scripture mentions it here, when he was a slave and unknown — and mentions it not once but three times. With the Lord Jesus it was during His lowly service in this narrow world that His mission and work looked like failure. It was just then that He had to say, in the words of the prophet, "I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God" (Isa. 49:4). But Jehovah had just said, "You are My servant... in whom I will be glorified."

The Lord was not only with Joseph, but He was for Joseph, disposing the heart of the master in favour of His servant.

In the Egyptian's house he saw a new field of duty. He looked to Jehovah, so that by serving Him he might best serve his master… Potiphar had never had such a slave, and neither had anyone else. Joseph never sought himself, and he never worked only to be seen. He put not just his heart into his work, but his faith. That gave his work a new character and power, and a shrewd master who had met plenty of human dishonesty and incompetence valued it all the more.

Verses 3 and 4 lead us to notice the striking way the story mentions Joseph's "hand." Because the Lord was with him, He "made all that he did to prosper in his hand." So Joseph found favour with his master, and "all that he had he put into his hand." No wonder. Potiphar did not know the reason for it, but he found he had made a first-rate bargain when he bought the young Semitic boy. Joseph showed real skill along with God-fearing honesty and integrity.

The wording of that blessing is striking, given the way Joseph's hands keep appearing in his story. Here the secret source of Joseph's skill comes to light. Upon the hands of Joseph rested the hands of the mighty God.

If Joseph had spent his time complaining about his hard lot, or talking up his great future, he would have been no witness for the Lord in Potiphar's house. The Egyptian cared nothing about Joseph's past. Even if someone had set his future before him, he would have understood none of it. But Potiphar could see and value Joseph's daily life of wholehearted attention to his duties. It is no different today… A Christian servant who lives a quiet, steady, uncomplaining life and does his daily duties faithfully is a true witness for the Lord, and his master can value that even without sharing his faith.

Potiphar gives Joseph the highest place in his household, and at once Potiphar is blessed. A little later the jailer makes Joseph supreme in the prison, and blessing follows. So in the day of his universal rule, all submit to him and all are blessed… As far as we yield ourselves, our lives and our all to the supremacy of Christ, we too shall be blessed.

To know that you stand in the unclouded favour of God is a privilege beyond words. Next to it, the favour of rulers on earth is weak and changeable, though men of the world fight hard for it. Joseph "found grace" in Potiphar's sight, and he soon lost it through no fault of his own (Gen. 39:4).

Here was blessing plainly seen in his servitude, and his master's trust at last without limit. "And he left all that was his in Joseph's hand, and took notice of nothing with him except the bread which he ate." Corruption was in that house, and it soon came out in a shameless way. But until then "the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake."

In the Egyptian's house he saw a new sphere of duty, and he looked to Jehovah so that he might serve Him and so best serve his master. Potiphar had never had such a slave: in him there was no self-seeking and no working only when watched… Because he was faithful in the least, his master promoted him to greater tasks and much more honourable ones. "And he set him over his house, and all that was his he put into his hand." This was no small sphere of service. It involved running an immense establishment… All of it was new to him, and he had come there so recently and so strangely. Even so, "the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field."

He enjoyed more than this ease of mind about the running of his household. Extraordinary good fortune marked all his affairs, both "in the house and in the field." As a result Potiphar left everything "in Joseph's hand."

Notice that the Lord was ready to save all of Lot's household. The angels said to him: "Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place." Those sons-in-law were probably Sodomites. Yet for Lot's sake the Lord would have saved them, if they had been willing to be saved. (Gen. 19). Potiphar's whole house was blessed for Joseph's sake. And Joseph was his slave.

So Joseph became a source of blessing in the house of the Gentile (v. 5). The Christian is not only called to blessing but, as he passes along his way, to be a blessing.

In Joseph's case it is stressed that he was what he was by the blessing of Jehovah (Gen. 39:3 and 5), and if the blessing of Jehovah was on Potiphar's house it was "for Joseph's sake." So too with the Lord Jesus. He "went about doing good… for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38). The blessing of the Lord was shown among men as never before: healing, deliverance from every kind of evil, and spiritual life came to them. But it was "for Jesus' sake." Divine blessing marked Joseph's whole career. Yet Scripture mentions it at this point, when he was in servitude and obscurity — and not once only, but three times.

With Joseph in it, the house of the Egyptian is blessed by God; but with Christ ministering in it, how beyond words the world was blessed! All the power was there, and showing itself. It could have turned — and will yet turn — the need of man, however great and varied, into an occasion for displaying the wealth of divine loving-mercy. But it did not turn man's heart to God.

Here it was clear blessing in his slavery, and his master's trust in the end without limit. Corruption was in that house, as it came out soon in a shameless form; but until then "the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake."

The wording of Genesis 49:24 stands out when you see how often the story mentions Joseph's hands — see Genesis 39:3-4, 6, 22; Genesis 41:42. Here we see the secret spring of Joseph's skill. Upon the hands of Joseph rested the hands of the mighty God.

Viewing Joseph as a type of Christ, it is important to remember that it was God's purpose to set Joseph in the place of supremacy, and so everyone who submits to his supremacy is blessed. Potiphar gives Joseph a place of supremacy in his household, and immediately Potiphar is blessed. A little later the jailer makes Joseph supreme in the prison and blessing follows... The supremacy of Christ demands the submission of man, and the submission of man leads to the blessing of man — though while He is rejected, that blessing is spiritual rather than material.

His testimony was the testimony of his life rather than his lips. Potiphar was impressed by what he "saw" rather than by what he heard... Had Joseph been forever complaining of his hard lot, or going on about his high destiny, he would have been no witness for the Lord in Potiphar's house. The Egyptian cared nothing about Joseph's past. Even if someone had set his future before him, he would have understood none of it. But Potiphar could see and value his daily life of wholehearted attention to his duties.

So we have seen that in the house of the Gentile Joseph was a submissive man, a prosperous man, a witness for the Lord, a respected and trusted man, and a centre of blessing. Such qualities make up a very complete life. So we are not surprised to read that Joseph was "handsome in form and appearance." This Old Testament saint shows us a life that is beautiful before God and man.

There is another kind of beauty that can go with outward beauty in men of faith. God values it as the reflection of character: the beauty of a pure soul or of simple faith, the shining out of a heart that shuts out evil and sin... This is the beauty of Joseph, "handsome in form and appearance," yet set apart among his brothers.

The winter is seldom without some gleam of sunshine... Before the harshest part of the discipline reaches us, we are often cheered by an unexpected relief. So Joseph is a prosperous man in the captain's house. But he is soon driven from it. The adversary of souls sets a trap for him, and he has the integrity and dignity to run from it... Evil association too often goes along with prosperity. But for the God-fearing soul, prosperity in evil association cannot last.

We should not expect the devil to leave alone a life that is beautiful in the sight of God and man. Devotion to the Lord exposes Joseph to the hatred of the devil. The devil failed completely to overcome Joseph by the frowns of the world and the trials of hard circumstances. So he changes his tactics and tries to overcome Joseph by the pleasures of sin. In Potiphar's wife he has a ready tool to tempt Joseph, and the circumstances favour her evil plans.

Joseph is a prosperous man in the captain's house. But he is soon driven out of it. The enemy of souls prepares a snare for him, and Joseph has the integrity and dignity to flee from it. The snare only appealed to what was corrupt in his nature. It offered no relief from his condition as a slave. We may see Potiphar's wife as a picture of the world; she stands for its attractions. When she fails to attract this prosperous servant of God, she becomes his fiercest and most ruthless enemy. Evil company too often comes with prosperity. But for a God-fearing soul, prosperity held with evil company cannot last.

Many critics claim "that Joseph could never have seen his master's wife, for the women were secluded and had separate apartments." But monuments and Egyptian paintings show that the women were not shut away. They mixed freely with the men. In the hieroglyphics the word for woman is neb-t-en pa, which means "mistress of the house." Someone also found an ancient papyrus containing "the romance of the two brothers." It has an episode much like the one in our chapter. It fully confirms that the temptation of Joseph is not a myth.

How good it is to notice that Joseph, faced with the most terrible temptation, resists and escapes. What is the secret of his being kept? He says, "How can I sin against God?" His eye is upon God. He lives before God. Happy man! Before God he knows what is right and wrong. He knows that every sin, whether "against his own body" or not, is a sin against God.

His way for us is always one that makes us realize our weakness. Our prayer can never be, "Lead us into temptation," and so we are never to act as if this were our prayer. In every case where escape is possible without disloyalty, we are to flee rather than face it. "Flee youthful passions." "Abstain from the passions of the flesh." Flee, as Joseph fled; and perhaps no man was bolder.

Here we see the holy young man resisting the tempter. He endures grief and suffers though he has done nothing wrong. And this is grace in the day of trial. For what glory is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you take it patiently? But if when you do good and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is grace with God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow His steps. Joseph could be no real picture of the atonement. But of Christ suffering unjustly and in grace he was a blessed foreshadow.

Potiphar's wife was Satan's tool in this wicked attack. She tried many times to seduce Joseph into adultery with her (vv. 7-14), but he refused every time. He told her that his master had trusted him with great responsibility in his house. He was not going to prove false to that trust by violating the marriage between his master and his wife.

In the Egyptian's house he saw a new field of duty. He looked to Jehovah, so that by serving Him he might best serve his master… He had been saved from a cruel death that seemed very near. So he humbled himself under God's hand, and set himself to do carefully and honestly whatever lay before him each day, to please the Master above. That is why he prospered and became master of the situation. Potiphar had never had such a slave, and neither had anyone else. There was no self-seeking in him, and no work done only when the master was watching.

Devotion to the Lord exposes Joseph to the hatred of the devil. The devil has completely failed to overcome Joseph by the world's frowns and by hard circumstances. So he changes his tactics and tries to overcome Joseph by the pleasures of sin… Joseph escapes the trap by holding to his faithfulness to his master and his fear of God… Here is the secret of Joseph's steady life before his master. He served faithfully in front of people because he walked always in the presence of God. And because he walked in the fear of God, he was kept safe in the hour of temptation.

Then came a time of fierce and long testing… Here the testing met him day after day. Nothing kept him safe but his fear of God and his recognition of the great wickedness of what she offered him. Whether young or old, as we pass through this defiling world, we do well to keep this question always in our hearts: "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" If he had given in, he would have sinned against the woman, against Potiphar and against himself. But the thought that controlled and saved him was "against God."

The blessed Book is full of passages that show, in every possible way, how immensely important the fear of God is… The man who walks day by day in the fear of God is kept from every form of moral corruption. A living sense of God's presence must be a real shelter from every temptation. How often we find that the presence of a very holy and spiritual person acts as a healthy check on silliness and folly! If another human being has that much moral influence, how much more powerful would the felt presence of God be!

The temptation came "day by day" (v. 10), and the attacks grew more persistent, until Joseph "flees" from the temptation and the devil is beaten. Having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18). The woman who once looked at Joseph with evil desire now lies about him. As one writer said, "Those who have broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of truth. It is no new thing for the best of men to be falsely accused of the worst crimes by people who are themselves the worst of criminals." So Joseph escapes from a bad woman and keeps a good conscience. But keeping a good conscience can cost a lot.

She tried many times to get Joseph to commit adultery with her (vv. 7-14). He refused every time. He told her that his master had trusted him with great responsibility in his house. He was not going to betray that trust by breaking the marriage between his master and his wife. Doing that, he tells her, would be great wickedness and a sin against the Lord.

Young or old, as we pass through this world that stains us, we do well to keep this question always in our hearts: "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" If he had given in, he would have sinned against the woman, against Potiphar and against himself. But the thought that controlled him and saved him was "against God."

What was the secret that kept him? He says, "How can I … sin against God?" His eye is on God. He lives before God. Happy man! Before God he has a sense of what is right and what is wrong. He knows that every sin, whether it is "against his own body" (see 1 Cor. 6:18) or not, is a sin against God. His reply showed a godly state of mind and a tender conscience.

Here is the secret of Joseph's steady life in front of his master. He served man faithfully because he walked always in the presence of God. Walking in the fear of God kept him in the hour of temptation. It is good for each one of us if the moment of fierce temptation finds us walking so close to God that we ask at once, "Can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" To ask that question is to escape the trap. The only thing we really have to be afraid of is fearing anything, or anyone, more than God.

Whenever we can escape without being disloyal, we are to run from temptation rather than face it. Scripture says, "Flee youthful passions," and "abstain from the passions of the flesh" — hold off from them. Flee, as Joseph fled; and there was perhaps no bolder man.

The temptation came "day after day" (v. 10), and the attacks grew more persistent, until Joseph fled from it and the devil failed. Having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18)… So Joseph escapes from a bad woman and keeps a good conscience. But keeping a good conscience can cost a lot. Joseph has to trade the comfort of Potiphar's house for the hardship of Pharaoh's prison.

Many people think Joseph was a good young man, but a rather soft one. Read his history carefully and you trace a character that is strong, wise, noble, generous and manly. Wherever he was, God was in all his thoughts. When he was tempted, he said, "How can I … sin against God?" When he stands before Pharaoh, his first words are, "God will give …" When he tells his brothers who he is, he says, "Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves … for God sent me before you." … He did not complain under that great disaster. He looks around to see what he can do to help others, even his jailers.

The devil, however, is not content with isolated attacks upon the children of God. He will wage a continual warfare. It was so with Joseph. The temptation came "day after day" (v. 10), and the attacks grew more persistent until Joseph flees from it. That foils the devil. But having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18).

Then came a time of fierce and prolonged testing, and we see how great is the contrast with Judah's action in the previous chapter. There Judah sinned at once, and hardly saw it as sin. Here the testing met him day after day. Two things held him: his fear of God, and his sense of the great wickedness of the seduction put before him... If he had given in, he would have sinned against the woman, against Potiphar and against himself. But the thought that controlled and saved him was "against God."

The wife of Potiphar spoke to Joseph day by day, seducing him. Evil comes to us day by day in this seductive way. That is why we must keep numbering our own days before God... Each day he lives, he is living before God. Joseph is numbering his days according to God. He lives out God's Commandments before they are given — "You shall not commit adultery" — and counts his days by that.

His way for us is always one that makes us feel our own weakness. Our prayer can never be, "Lead us into temptation," and therefore we are never to act as if this were our prayer. In all cases where escape is possible without disloyalty, we are to flee rather than face it. "So flee youthful passions." "Abstain (hold off) from the passions of the flesh." Flee, as Joseph fled — and there was, perhaps, no bolder man.

The adversary of souls then prepared a snare for him, and he had the integrity and dignity to flee from it. It only appealed to the depravity of his nature, and offered no relief to his condition as a slave. We may regard Potiphar's wife as a picture of the world; she stands for its attractions. She fails to win the prosperous servant of God, and so she becomes his fiercest and most unscrupulous foe.

So here we have the holy young man resisting the tempter, bearing grief, suffering though he had done no wrong. And this is grace in the day of trial... "But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps"... Joseph could be no real picture of the atonement. But of Christ suffering unjustly and in grace, he was a blessed foreshadow.

We should not expect the devil to leave alone a life that is beautiful in the sight of God and man. Devotion to the Lord exposes Joseph to the hatred of the devil. The devil had completely failed to overcome Joseph by the world's disapproval and by hard circumstances. So he changes his tactics and tries to overcome Joseph by the pleasures of sin. In Potiphar's wife he has a ready tool to tempt Joseph, and the circumstances favour her evil plans. As it turned out, the temptation only served to bring out the moral excellence of Joseph.

When Potiphar's wife kept urging Joseph to commit adultery with her, what could he do but firmly refuse? If he reported it to Potiphar, she would accuse him of lying, and probably say that Joseph had tried to seduce her. Finally the day came when no one else was present. Joseph had to go into the house to take care of his work. She caught him by his garment and demanded again that he commit adultery with her.

Joseph had no father near to counsel him when the temptation arose, and it came again and again through his master's wife. But he utterly refused her shameless flattery, as one who sees the Unseen. The ten commandments had not yet been spoken; but he feared God, and he was jealous for his master's honour.

Our prayer can never be, "Lead us into temptation," and therefore we are never to act as if this were our prayer. In every case where escape is possible without disloyalty, we are to flee rather than face it. "Flee youthful passions." "Abstain from the passions of the flesh." Flee, as Joseph fled; and there was, perhaps, no bolder man.

Here the testing met him day after day. Nothing preserved him but his fear of God, and his sense of the great wickedness of the seduction placed before him. Whether young or old, as we pass through this defiling world, we do well to keep this question in our hearts: "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Had he complied, he would have sinned against the woman, against Potiphar, and against himself. But the controlling and saving thought was "against God."

Having failed as the tempter, the devil now becomes the persecutor. The woman who had earlier cast her evil eyes on Joseph now bears false witness against him with a lying tongue. As an old writer said, "Those who have broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of truth." … In the end Joseph escapes from a bad woman and keeps a good conscience. But keeping a good conscience may cost much. Joseph has to exchange the comfort of Potiphar's house for the hardships of Pharaoh's prison.

Here we see the holy young man resisting the tempter, enduring grief, suffering wrongfully. And this is grace in the day of trial. … Joseph could be no real picture of the atonement; but of Christ's suffering unjustly and in grace he was a blessed foreshadow.

God's way for us always makes us realize our own weakness. Our prayer can never be, "Lead us into temptation," and therefore we are never to act as if this were our prayer. Whenever we can escape without being disloyal, we should run rather than stand and face it. "Flee also youthful lusts." "Abstain (hold off) from fleshly lusts." Flee, as Joseph fled; and there was, perhaps, no bolder man.

If you do not want temptation to defeat you, do not argue with Satan. When Eve began to argue her case with the serpent, the serpent was too clever for her. The devil used his reasoning to argue her right out of Paradise. If you sit down to talk terms with him, you give him half the victory.

The devil has completely failed to break Joseph through the world's hostility and hard circumstances, so he changes tactics and tries to defeat him with the pleasures of sin. Joseph escapes the trap by holding on to his faithfulness to his master and his fear of God. "Behold," says Joseph, "my master … has put everything he has into my hands … how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" (vv. 8, 9). Here is the secret of Joseph's consistent life before his master. He served people faithfully because he lived every day in God's presence. And because he walked in the fear of God, God kept him in the hour of temptation. It is good for each of us if fierce temptation finds us walking so close to God that we ask at once, "Can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" To ask that question is to escape the snare. The only thing we really need to fear is fearing anything, or anyone, more than God.

The temptation came "day by day" (v. 10), and the attacks grew more persistent, until Joseph "flees" from the temptation and the devil's plan fails. But having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18). The woman who once looked at Joseph with evil desire now gives lying testimony against him. As an older writer said, "Those who have broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of truth. It is nothing new for the worst of criminals to accuse the best of men of the worst crimes." So Joseph escapes a wicked woman and keeps a good conscience. But to retain a good conscience may cost much. Joseph has to exchange the comfort of Potiphar's house for the hardships of Pharaoh's prison.

She then saw an opportunity of getting revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out for other men, no doubt servants of the household, and told them Joseph had come in to rape her. She said she cried out, and he left without his garment. So from the moment it happened, she had testimony against Joseph that looked convincing.

This is just how the world works. People will first do all they can to lure a Christian away from faithfulness to Christ. If he resists and stands firm, they turn around and start to persecute him and spread lies about him.

So here we see the holy young man resisting the tempter, bearing grief, suffering though he had done no wrong. And this is grace in the day of trial. … Joseph could be no real picture of the atonement. But of Christ suffering unjustly and in grace he was a wonderful foreshadowing.

She then saw an opportunity of getting revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out for other men, no doubt servants of the household. She told them Joseph had come in to rape her. She said she cried out, and he left without his garment. So from the moment it happened, she had witness against Joseph that seemed conclusive.

He did not stop to say, "I am Joseph, I am a man of God, I can withstand this sort of thing." He knew well the power of nature. He knew well the power of evil. So he fled, leaving his garment in the hand of the evil woman.

Our prayer can never be, "Lead us into temptation," and therefore we are never to act as if this were our prayer. In every case where escape is possible without disloyalty, we are to flee rather than face it. "Flee youthful passions." "Abstain (hold off) from the passions of the flesh." Flee, as Joseph fled. There was, perhaps, no bolder man.

Here the testing met him day after day. Only his fear of God preserved him, and his recognition of the great wickedness of the seduction placed before him. Whether young or old, we do well to keep this question in our hearts as we pass through this defiling world: "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Had he given in, he would have sinned against the woman, against Potiphar and against himself. But the controlling and saving thought was "against God."

Clearly this young man did more than resist her demands. He was also careful not to wound his master by proving the wife's guilty passion, and her still guiltier revenge on a blameless man. For lust, whether gratified or not, soon turns to hatred.

One event here shows the power of godliness. It also tells what the faithful may expect from this world: slander, false accusation, and prison. This was the first effect of faithfulness… In Potiphar's wife we see the world in a familiar character. Its prince is first the tempter, then the accuser of the saints. Joseph has to wait more than two full years before God appears for him. Faith and patience must have their perfect work.

Nothing was said about why he was put in prison. So far as the record goes, no one ever cleared him of the false charge brought against him. He evidently left this in the hand of God, who knows how to care for His servant's reputation.

Here then we have the holy youth resisting the tempter, enduring grief, and suffering when he had done no wrong… Joseph could be no true picture of the atonement. But of Christ's suffering unjustly and in grace, he was a blessed foreshadow.

The temptation came "day after day" (v. 10), and the attacks grew more persistent. Then Joseph "flees" from the temptation, and the devil is foiled. But having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18). The woman who once cast her evil eyes on Joseph now bears witness against him with a lying tongue. As an old writer said, "Those who have broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of truth. It is nothing new for the worst of criminals to accuse the best of men falsely of the worst crimes." As a result, Joseph escapes from a bad woman and keeps a good conscience. But keeping a good conscience can cost much.

We may regard Potiphar's wife as a type of the world, whose attractions she symbolises; and, failing to attract the prosperous servant of God, she becomes his fiercest and most unscrupulous foe. Evil company too often comes with prosperity. But for the God-fearing soul, prosperity tied to evil company cannot last. If he stays faithful, the evil company will destroy the prosperity.

She then saw an opportunity of getting revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out to other men, no doubt servants of the household. She told them Joseph had come in to rape her. She said she cried out, and he left without his garment. So, from the moment it happened, she had witnesses against Joseph who seemed to prove her case.

On the one hand stood the proved, unquestionable trustworthiness of his slave. On the other stood his wife. A woman capable of such an approach must have shown her evil character in many other ways long before, if not in this one. So her word was already doubtful. Still, she was his wife. Her fraud was bold, shameless, and malicious. Yet we hear of no effort on Joseph's part to clear himself by exposing her wickedness. A simple denial of her charge would not stand against a husband's natural anger. Potiphar had no wish to look closely at the terrible alternative.

The wicked woman's husband evidently did not really believe his wife's foul lie. It was perhaps only to keep up appearances that he made a show of punishing Joseph. If he really believed her story, it is hard to see why he did not have this Hebrew slave put to death at once. He probably knew her character well.

So here we see the holy young man resisting the tempter, bearing grief, and suffering wrongfully. And this is grace in the day of trial… Joseph could be no real type of the atonement. But of Christ suffering unjustly and in grace he was a blessed foreshadow.

In all this Joseph is only a type of One whose sufferings were far deeper, just as His glory is far greater… He, too, suffered under the false accusations of the wicked. Again He can say, "They laid to My charge things that I knew not" (Ps. 35:11). He, too, was led to prison and to death.

She then saw an opportunity of getting revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out for other men, no doubt servants of the household, and told them Joseph had come in with the object of raping her. She said she cried out, and he left without his garment. So from the very moment of the incident, she had a witness against Joseph that seemed conclusive.

The temptation came "day by day" (v. 10), and the attacks grew more persistent until Joseph "flees" from the temptation and the devil is foiled. But having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18). The woman who had earlier cast her evil eyes on Joseph now testifies against him with a lying tongue. As an old writer said, "Those who have broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of truth. It is nothing new for the best of men to be falsely accused of the worst crimes by those who are themselves the worst of criminals."

In all cases where escape is possible without disloyalty, we are to flee rather than face it. "So flee youthful passions." "Abstain (hold off) from the passions of the flesh." Flee, as Joseph fled; and there was, perhaps, no bolder man.

In the end Joseph escapes from a bad woman and keeps a good conscience. But keeping a good conscience may cost much. Joseph has to exchange the comfort of Potiphar's house for the hardships of Pharaoh's prison.

We can easily imagine how hard this was for Joseph's master, because of his wife's treachery. On one side stood the proven, unquestionable trustworthiness of his slave. On the other stood a wife capable of such an approach. A woman like that must long have shown her bad character in many ways, even if not in this one, so her word was doubtful. Still, she was his wife. However bold, shameless, and malicious her fraud, we never hear of Joseph trying to clear himself by exposing her wickedness.

Here then we have the holy youth resisting the tempter, and enduring grief, suffering wrongfully… "But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly." Joseph could be no real type of the atonement; but of Christ's suffering unjustly and in grace he was a blessed foreshadowing.

In Genesis 39 Satan uses Potiphar's wife, and in Genesis 40 he uses Pharaoh's chief butler. He used the first to put Joseph into the dungeon. He used the second to keep him there, through his ungrateful forgetfulness. But it was all in vain. God was behind the scenes. His finger was guiding every part of the vast machine of circumstances. When the due time came, He brought forth the man of His purpose and set his feet in a wide, open place.

She then saw an opportunity of getting revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out for other men, no doubt servants of the household. She told them Joseph had come in to rape her. She said she cried out, and he left without his garment. So from the very moment of the incident, she had a witness against Joseph that seemed conclusive. When Potiphar came home, she told him the same false story. Joseph's garment lay there as apparent proof of her evil accusation.

Because he kept his eyes on the God no one can see, Joseph pushed back the temptation and came through it unstained. He quietly suffered under the false charge of the shameless woman who tried to seduce him. Clearly this young man did more than resist her pressure. He was also careful not to wound his master by proving the wife's guilty passion and her still guiltier revenge on an innocent man. For lust, whether satisfied or not, soon turns into hatred.

The temptation came "day by day" (v. 10). The attacks grew more persistent until Joseph "flees" from the temptation and so defeats the devil. But having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18). The woman who had once cast her evil eyes on Joseph now testifies against him with a lying tongue. As an older writer said, "The bonds of truth will never hold those who have broken the bonds of modesty. It is nothing new for the worst of criminals to bring false charges of the worst crimes against the best of men." The result is that Joseph escapes from a bad woman and keeps a good conscience. But keeping a good conscience may cost a great deal. Joseph has to swap the comfort of Potiphar's house for the hardship of Pharaoh's prison.

We can easily imagine the difficulty the wife's treachery created for Joseph's master. On one side stood the proven, unquestionable trustworthiness of his slave. On the other stood his wife. A woman capable of such a proposition must long have shown her bad character in many ways, even if not in this one. That alone would make her word doubtful. Still, she was his wife. Whatever her bold, shameless, malicious fraud, we hear of no effort by Joseph to clear himself by exposing her wickedness.

In all this Joseph is only a picture of One whose sufferings were far deeper, just as His glory is far greater. During His life on earth He too was among us as One who serves, for He could say, "Man acquired Me as bondman from My youth" (Zechariah 13:5). He too suffered under the false accusations of the wicked. Again He can say, "They laid to My charge things that I knew not" (Psalm 35:11). He too was led to prison and to death.

In Genesis 39 Satan uses Potiphar's wife, and in Genesis 40 he uses Pharaoh's chief cupbearer. He used the first to put Joseph into the dungeon. He used the second to keep him there, through ungrateful neglect. But it was all in vain. God was behind the scenes. His finger was guiding all the springs of the vast machine of circumstances. When the right time came, He brought out the man of His purpose and set his feet in a large room.

She saw a chance to get revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out to other men, no doubt servants of the household, and told them Joseph had come in meaning to rape her. She said she cried out, and that he left without his garment. So from the very moment of the incident she had testimony against Joseph, and it seemed conclusive. When Potiphar came home she told him the same false story. Joseph's garment lay there as apparent proof of her evil accusation.

The temptation came "day by day" (v. 10), and the attacks grew more persistent. Then Joseph "flees" from the temptation, and the devil is foiled. But having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18). The woman who had earlier cast her evil eyes on Joseph now bears witness against him with a lying tongue. As an old writer said, "Those who have broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of truth. It is nothing new for the best of men to be falsely accused of the worst crimes by those who are themselves the worst of criminals."

Of course Joseph was helpless to do anything. His word, the word of a slave, would mean nothing to Potiphar compared with the word of his wife.

The wicked woman's husband evidently did not really believe his wife's foul lie. It was perhaps only to save appearances that he made a show of punishing Joseph. If he really believed her story, it is hard to see why he did not have this Hebrew slave put to death at once. He probably knew her character well.

By his steadfast refusal he enraged the woman. She invented a cunning story against him. Her husband believed it, and it landed Joseph in prison. But in Joseph's history we are going to see a striking example of what the Apostle Peter wrote in his First Epistle. Peter said, "But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God" (1 Peter 2:20). He was brought low for a moment, but only so that he might be lifted up at the right time.

Here we have the holy young man resisting the tempter, and bearing grief, suffering wrongfully. This is grace in the day of trial. Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow His steps… Joseph could be no real type of the atonement. But of Christ's suffering unjustly and in grace he was a blessed foreshadowing.

Nothing was said about the reason he was put in prison. So far as the record goes, he was never cleared of the charge that was falsely brought against him. He evidently left this in the hand of God, who knows how to care for His servant's reputation.

She then saw an opportunity of getting revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out for other men, no doubt servants of the household. She told them Joseph had come in to rape her. She said she cried out, and he left without his garment. So from the very time of the incident, she had testimony against Joseph that seemed conclusive. When Potiphar came home she told him the same false story. Joseph's garment lay there as apparent proof of her evil accusation.

But having failed as the tempter, the devil now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18). The woman who once cast her evil eyes on Joseph now testifies against him with a lying tongue. As an old writer said: "Those who have broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of truth. It is nothing new for the best of men to be falsely accused of the worst crimes by those who are themselves the worst of criminals." The result is that Joseph escapes from a bad woman and keeps a good conscience. But keeping a good conscience may cost much. Joseph has to exchange the comfort of Potiphar's house for the hardships of Pharaoh's prison.

Of course Joseph was helpless to do anything. His word, the word of a slave, would mean nothing to Potiphar compared with the word of his wife. He was understandably angry with Joseph. He removed him from his high position in Potiphar's house. He also put him in prison with others who were evidently mostly political prisoners of Pharaoh.

The husband of this base woman evidently did not really believe his wife's foul lie. It was perhaps only to save appearances that he made a show of punishing Joseph. If he really believed her story, it is hard to see why he should not have had this Hebrew slave put to death at once. He probably knew her character quite well.

Nothing was said about the reason for which he was put in prison. So far as the record goes, he was never cleared of the charge that was falsely brought against him. He evidently left this in the hand of God, who knows how to care for His servant's reputation.

His steadfast refusal enraged the woman. She invented a cunning story against him. Her husband believed it, and it landed him in prison. But Joseph's history gives a striking illustration of what the apostle Peter wrote in his First Epistle: "But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God" (1 Peter 2:20). He was brought low for a moment, but only that he might be lifted up at the right time.

In all this Joseph is a picture of One whose sufferings were far deeper. He too suffered under the false accusations of the wicked, for He can say, "They laid to My charge things that I knew not" (Ps. 35:11). He too was led to prison and to death. In full measure He had to meet the base ingratitude of those who had received only good at His hands.

We can easily imagine the difficulty the wife's treachery created for Joseph's master. On one side stood the proved and unquestionable trustworthiness of his slave. On the other stood a wife who could make such a proposal. A woman like that must long have shown her evil character in many ways, even if not in this one, so her word was doubtful. Still, she was his wife. Whatever her bold, shameless and malicious fraud, we hear of no effort by Joseph to clear himself by exposing her wickedness. A simple denial of her charge would not stand against the natural anger of a husband unwilling to look closely into the terrible alternative.

The husband of this shameless woman clearly did not really believe his wife's foul lie. Perhaps he made a show of punishing Joseph only to keep up appearances. If he had believed her story, it is hard to see why he did not have this Hebrew slave put to death at once. He probably knew her character quite well... This is exactly why Pilate was so slow to agree to the crucifixion of "the Lord of glory." He knew the character of His accusers well. He did not believe Him guilty of death.

We may regard Potiphar's wife as a picture of the world and the attractions it holds out. She fails to attract the prosperous servant of God, and so she becomes his most bitter and unscrupulous enemy... How varied is the life of this future witness for God! First he was sold as a slave for carrying his father's love to his brothers. Now his master throws him into prison, because he had honestly guarded his master's property.

His steadfast refusal enraged the woman. She cunningly made up a story against him, her husband believed it, and it landed him in prison. But in Joseph's history we are going to see a striking example of a word from the Apostle Peter's First Letter. He wrote, "if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God" (1 Peter 2:20). He was brought low for a moment, only so that he might be lifted up in due time.

In both, Joseph suffered for love and for righteousness' sake. In both, Jehovah stood by His wronged servant, and caused His favour to rest on him even while he suffered... It was hard enough for a free man to be sold into slavery. It was harder still for a godly man to be condemned for a crime that the false accuser had invited him to commit in vain. But Jehovah was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour where it might least have been expected.

In Genesis 39 Satan uses Potiphar's wife to put Joseph into the dungeon. In Genesis 40 he uses Pharaoh's chief cupbearer to keep him there, through that man's ungrateful forgetfulness. But it was all in vain. God was behind the scenes. His finger was guiding every spring of the vast machine of circumstances. When the right time came, He brought forward the man of His purpose and set his feet in a large room.

In all this Joseph is only a picture of One whose sufferings were far deeper, just as His glory is far greater. He too suffered under the false accusations of the wicked, for again He can say, "malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know" (Psalm 35:11). He too was led to prison and to death.

We can easily imagine the difficulty the wife's treachery created for Joseph's master. On one side stood the proven, unquestionable trustworthiness of his slave. On the other stood a wife who could make such an approach. She must long have shown her evil character in many ways, even if not in this one, so her word was doubtful. Still, she was his wife. Whatever her bold, shameless, and malicious fraud, we hear of no effort on Joseph's part to clear himself by exposing her wickedness. A simple denial of her charge would not stand against a husband's natural anger. He was unwilling to look closely into the terrible alternative.

The wicked woman's husband clearly did not really believe his wife's foul lie. It was perhaps only to keep up appearances that he made a show of punishing Joseph. If he really believed her story, it is hard to see why he did not have this Hebrew slave put to death at once. He probably knew her character quite well. That seems to me the only way to explain his great leniency towards Joseph. Pilate was slow to consent to the crucifixion of "the Lord of glory" for the same reason. He knew the character of His accusers well, and did not really believe Him deserving of death.

That it was a terrible experience we learn from Psalm 105:18. Speaking of Joseph, it says, "His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron." The margin of the Bible says, "Hebrew: his soul came into iron." Do we not have a saying in English, "The iron entered his soul"? Nothing is more depressing than captivity like that, day after day, night after night, summer and winter, year in and year out. The weariness, discomfort, sameness and hopelessness of it is a great test. Under that test character will either collapse or show itself. Trials make or mar a person.

Pending a decision in the matter, they were confined in the same prison as Joseph, and put in his charge. God ordered the chain of events. The first link was Joseph's placing where the king's prisoners were confined. The second was that these two men came there in due time.

In Genesis 39 Satan uses Potiphar's wife, and in Genesis 40 he uses Pharaoh's chief butler. The first he used to put Joseph into the dungeon; the second he used to keep him there, through his ungrateful neglect. But it was all in vain. God was behind the scenes. His finger was guiding all the springs of the vast machine of circumstances. When the time was right, He brought out the man of His purpose and set his feet in a wide, open place.

God was with Joseph and showed him mercy… Before this, in Potiphar's home, God made everything go well. Now, while Joseph was in the prison, God did the same. It is much better to live in a prison with God than to live in a king's house without Him.

With Joseph in it, the house of the Egyptian is blessed by God. But with Christ ministering in it, how beyond words was the world blessed!… Yet it did not turn man's heart to God. False witness casts Joseph into Pharaoh's prison, where everything again comes under his hand. Under false accusation the Lord descends into a darker prison-house, and as a result He shows Himself Master of all there.

Once again he comes into suffering. Once again he is misrepresented and slandered, though he deserves none of it, and thrown quickly into the dungeon. But Jehovah was with Joseph in the prison, just as much as in Potiphar's house. It mattered little where he was, since Jehovah was with him. What a difference it makes when God is with us — and God in that special relationship His people know, which the name "Jehovah" carries here as everywhere.

The Lord was with him as much in the time and place of his trouble as He had been in the days when he did well in Potiphar's house and estate. As a result He showed mercy to him. That mercy took the form of bringing him into the favour of the keeper of the prison, who clearly held absolute power within his own limited area.

He was put into that particular prison, "the place where the king's prisoners were confined." This proved to be a link in the chain of circumstances that connected him with ultimate triumph. Had it been another prison he would never have met the butler and baker who had offended the king.

We learn how terrible this experience was from Psalm 105:18. Speaking of Joseph, it says, "his feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron." The margin of the Bible says, "his soul came into iron." Nothing is more depressing than captivity like that — day after day, night after night, summer and winter, year in and year out. The weariness, discomfort, sameness and hopelessness of it is a great test. Under it character either collapses or comes out.

How good it is that everyone who suffers for righteousness' sake will have the Lord's gracious sympathy. He will not give him up to self-pity and depression. The chief jailer of course saw that Joseph was an honorable man, not a common criminal. He soon trusted Joseph with unusual responsibilities for a prisoner. We are told again that the Lord was with Joseph and made whatever he did prosper. It may seem strange that this could be true of a prisoner, but it does show that Joseph was not a negative man, but positive and faithful.

Satan uses Potiphar's wife, and later he uses Pharaoh's chief butler. The first he used to put Joseph into the dungeon; the second he used to keep him there, through his ungrateful forgetfulness. But it was all in vain. God was behind the scenes. His finger was guiding every spring of the vast machine of circumstances. When the right time came, He brought out the man He had purposed and set that man's feet in a large room.

Before this in Potiphar's home, God made everything go well. Now while Joseph was in the prison, God did the same. It is much better to live in a prison with God, than to live in a king's house without Him.

Joseph had now tasted the bitterness of both the pit and the prison. Taken together they foreshadow Christ going down into death because of the hatred of men. But there the power of His hand was felt.

Placed in servitude, he became the one who ran his master's house. Cast down into prison, once more all things fall into his hands. The prisoner in chains becomes the ruler of the prison. The official keeper of the prison found such a treasure in him that he gave him full powers. He "paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed."

That "God was with him" is what marks his condition, and he had plenty of evidence of it. A change of scene changes nothing here. As soon as he is in prison, we read the same record of him and see the same circumstances around him. The keeper of the prison puts the same confidence in him that Potiphar his master had. Under his hand in the prison all things prosper, as they had in the Egyptian's house. So Joseph had full witness from God that God was enough for him.

Reading the story, we cannot miss one thing: he was a submissive man. His circumstances were hard and his position was trying. He was cut off from his relatives, a stranger in a foreign land. He had passed from the love of his father's home to slavery in the Egyptian's house, yet there is no complaining. He holds no bitter thoughts against his brothers. He makes no complaint about his hard lot, and not a single rebellious word against the ways of God.

The person who really leans on God improves the circumstances of trial he is in, whether they are temporary or permanent. No adverse circumstances can crush real living energy; they may limit and shape it... And Joseph is soon found to be as useful in prison as he was in the house of the captain of the guard... In every trial, however dark, there are gleams of light and relief. But full deliverance is often delayed by our anxiety to get it. God is to be the satisfaction of His servant, not the deliverance. So the deliverance is often postponed until we have no prospect or expectation of it.

With Joseph in it, God blesses the house of the Egyptian. But with Christ serving in it, how beyond words the world was blessed!... Even this did not turn man's heart to God. False witness casts Joseph into Pharaoh's prison, where, however, all things come into his hand. Under a false accusation the Lord goes down into a darker prison-house, and there He shows Himself Master of all.

Notice the trial of Joseph and his righteous suffering in Egypt. They were meant to frustrate God's purpose and looked dead against it, yet they only brought about the very thing they seemed to prevent. His brothers sold him into Egypt, and Potiphar put him in prison. It was there that he met the cupbearer and the baker, and that meeting set him as governor over all the land of Egypt. We cannot push God out of His way. It is better to trust Him.

Here again he comes into suffering. Here again men wrongly misrepresent and slander him, and rush him into the dungeon. But Jehovah was with Joseph in the prison, just as much as in Potiphar's house. Verse 2 says, He was with Joseph. Verse 21 says again, He was with Joseph, "and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison." It mattered little where he was, since Jehovah was with him. What a difference it makes when God is with us — God in the special, known relationship that the name "Jehovah" implies here and everywhere.

As soon as he is in Potiphar's house, everything under his hand, committed to him by his master, prospers. And a change of scene works no change in this; for as soon as he is in prison, we read the same record of him, and see the same circumstances around him. The keeper of the prison puts the same confidence in him that his master Potiphar had; and under his hand in the prison all things prosper, as they had in the Egyptian's house. So Joseph had full witness from God that God was sufficient for him.

So we find everything in the prison "committed to Joseph's hand." The record makes the extraordinary statement that "whatever they did there, he was the doer of it." The young man thrown in as a prisoner becomes the super-efficient deputy of the jailer, and ends up controlling the whole place! We wonder whether any prison has seen anything close to this since that day. The keeper had no work and no worry left. He no doubt took the salary, and Joseph did the work.

How good it is that everyone who suffers for righteousness' sake will have the gracious sympathy of the Lord! He will not give him up to self-pity and depression... It may seem strange that this could be true of a prisoner, but it does show that Joseph was not of a negative character, but positive and faithful.

His brothers' cruelty was unnatural, and it ended in his slavery. Worse still was the new trial that came through a guilty woman. In both Joseph suffered, for love and for righteousness' sake. In both Jehovah stood by His wronged servant, and made His favour rest on him even while he suffered... Violence did not overcome him, and neither did corruption. He overcame evil with good. People who did not know God saw it, even if the evil state of his brothers blinded them for a while... Slaves and criminals do not, in themselves, win the approval of their guardians, as everyone knows.

He had now tasted the bitterness of both pit and prison. Taken together they foreshadow Christ going down into death as a result of the malice of man. But there the power of His hand was felt. The skill of Joseph's hand in the house of Potiphar may remind us of the mighty hand of Christ in His matchless life. But in the closing verses of our chapter we see pictured the power of His mighty hand in the dark domain of death.