Genesis 39:19
And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
Potiphar, captain of the king's guard, had made Joseph steward over all his possessions because he saw prosperity attending him, but when his wife failed to corrupt Joseph's virtue she revenged herself with a false charge of base wrong, which her husband believed so that his wrath was kindled and Joseph was condemned to gloomy prison in fetters with loss of liberty and character though his past integrity testified to his innocence. The verse shows Joseph maligned and punished as a criminal without fault because he would not be persuaded by inducement or threat to yield his integrity and transgress God's law. He did not sink in despair or murmur but meekly bore imprisonment in consciousness of innocence, placing his reputation in God's hands, and God did not forsake him but gave him favor with the keepers, committed the prisoners to his charge, guarded his blackened reputation until it shone, and made affliction the way to exalted position. Close connection with God does not secure prosperity in this life but brings sore trial when vice seems to prosper and virtue is brought low, and Joseph's condemnation though innocent foreshadows Christ, who was also rejected for rebuking sin and condemned on hired false witness though guilty of no wrong. As a tried representative of God among a heathen people his steadfast resistance by the fear of God witnesses to sustaining grace, making him a pattern for youth in probationary time to honor God in adversity without compromise and calmly repose in Him unto an eternal weight of glory.
False Charge and Wrath
The master in the verse is Potiphar, captain of the king's guard, to whom Joseph had been sold on arriving in Egypt and whom he served for ten years. Potiphar saw that Jehovah was with Joseph and made all that he did prosper in his hand, so his confidence increased daily until he made Joseph steward with full control over all his possessions, knowing nothing himself except the bread he ate. That prosperity came not by direct miracle but by industry, care, and energy crowned with divine blessing, which Joseph credited to God's favor and which even his idolatrous master accepted as the secret of success. Thus in purity and uprightness the believer stood in marked contrast to the worshipers of idols.
Potiphar's wife failed to subvert Joseph's virtue and to lead him astray, and she hated the virtue and integrity she could not corrupt. In revenge she testified falsely against him, charging him with a base and foul crime and wrong. When the master heard his wife's report he believed her false accusation and his wrath was kindled. Although Joseph's past conduct and integrity testified to his innocence, he was sacrificed to protect his master's household and condemned to a gloomy prison. There he was bound with fetters, bringing him disgrace and loss of liberty, name, and character under the stigma of a felon.
Providence, Trial and Witness
Joseph was maligned, persecuted, and treated as a criminal because he preserved his virtue and integrity and did what was right. He suffered because he was determined not to yield his integrity and would not be persuaded by any inducements or threats to deviate from righteousness and transgress God's law. His steadfastness under unjust reproach makes him an example of faithfulness and one of God's appointed witnesses who exposed himself to reproach and persecution for the truth's sake. God had victories for him even when he appeared to suffer.
Though falsely accused of criminal conduct and punished without fault with loss of liberty, name, and character under the stigma of a felon, Joseph did not sink in despair, lose heart, or turn from trust in God. In consciousness of innocence and right he placed his reputation and interest in God's hands and meekly bore gloomy imprisonment without murmuring, with self-control, patience in adversity, courage, uprightness, and purity of motive. His religion kept his temper gentle and his sympathy for others warm and strong while God watched his conduct and supported him. Stripped and bound with fetters, he continued faithful, and God gave him favor with the keepers of the prison.
God did not forsake or forget Joseph in this trying hour among idolaters, but turned the misfortune, calumny, and the enemy's devices toward good. He gave Joseph favor with the keepers of the prison and committed to him the charge of all the prisoners, safely guarded the reputation blackened by the wicked accuser and in His own good time caused it to shine, and made the affliction, temptation, adversity, and hardship the preparation and way to his elevation to an important and exalted position and honor in due time. His suffering because he refused to yield his integrity thus became blessing and victory even when he appeared to suffer. Close connection with God does not give prosperity in this life but brings sore trial and affliction, when vice appears to prosper and virtue is brought low. Followers of Christ will often be sorely tried and afflicted, for it is through much tribulation that we enter the kingdom of God, and through such trial God leads His children to perfect trust.
Joseph's unjust suffering for righteousness foreshadows Jesus, whose righteous, self-denying life rebuked sin. As Joseph's integrity and virtue provoked hatred in one who could not corrupt him and he was condemned though innocent on false testimony, so Christ was rejected and despised for faithful reproof, was not guilty of any wrong yet was condemned on hired false witness, and meekly forgave while suffering. Joseph was tried and proved and stood firm to principle, becoming a representative man and a representative of God among a heathen people. As one of God's appointed witnesses he exposed himself to reproach and persecution for the truth's sake, and his steadfastness in the might of divine power witnesses to the world of the faithfulness of God's promises and of His abiding presence and sustaining grace, which the world cannot discern. Fierce temptation from one of influence can be promptly and firmly resisted by the fear of God as defense, shield, and present help, and virtue suffered for will in time bring its own reward when Providence overrules calumny for good.
Joseph is a pattern of integrity for youth who are building characters to stand the test of the judgment, who are now in probationary time with no second probation to come and who decide their own eternal destiny by the character they form. God's people are to honor Him in adversity without compromising religious identity, and to calmly repose in God in the darkest hour feeling that the Father is at the helm. They have promise of an inheritance of greater value than any earthly riches that will satisfy the longings of the soul, enrollment as citizens in the record books of heaven, and an exalted greatness, an enduring eternal weight of glory, as heirs of all things. As God did not forget Joseph in Egypt when surrounded by idolaters and did not leave him to perish, He will not leave His people to perish when they endure privation and want of food while judgments visit the earth, but angels will provide the righteous with food and water.