But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Though condemned unjustly and shut in prison for refusing to sin, Joseph was not forsaken, for the Lord remained with him in kindness and mercy and gave him favor with the keeper, who entrusted the prisoners to his care. God watched over him in that gloomy confinement, sustained him in affliction, guarded his cause, and turned the hardship into blessing and victory. That adversity and discipline were God's preparation for the honor to follow, for providence overrules the enemy's revenge so that faithfulness under calumny is exalted in due time. He was upheld because he kept simplicity and fidelity to God amid idolatry and temptation, suffering rather than sinning and showing the same regard for God's will in the cell as beside the throne. His tried youth thus stands as a pattern of integrity, proving that firm principle with unwavering trust is shielded by grace to shine untarnished and to bless others in darkness.
God With Joseph Imprisoned
Joseph was cast into prison for refusing to sin, falsely accused and condemned unjustly at the cost of his reputation and liberty. There he was treated as a criminal while vice seemed to prosper and virtue to be brought low. Humanly speaking he had no hope of vindication or release.
His confinement in a gloomy prison among idolaters did not mean that God had forgotten or forsaken him. The Lord remained with him, showing him mercy and kindness, watching over him and leading him through his trials. That sustaining presence upheld him after separation from his father and through false charges and grievous affliction.
The Lord gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. The keeper therefore entrusted him with responsibility for the prisoners. Joseph answered that trust by putting his principles into practice, serving his fellow prisoners and encouraging his suffering companions.
God guarded his reputation in hardship and turned the imprisonment into a blessing. He cared for Joseph's case while Joseph remained patient, hopeful and faithful. So even when appearances were against him, God brought victories for him and did not forsake him.
Prison Preparing for Exaltation
The prison time of temptation, adversity and hardship was designed to give experience that would prepare for filling an exalted position of later prosperity and honor. That discipline prepared for responsibility, honor and usefulness, for obedience and humility were learned before exaltation came.
Providence overrules all the devices of the enemy for good, and in His own time exalts those who suffer calumny and false accusation for keeping integrity as much higher as for a while they were debased by wicked revenge. The imprisonment was turned into a blessing and made the path and the way to later elevation, with reputation guarded and responsibility entrusted even in confinement. The faithful part acted in prison finally raised to prosperity and honor, to come out of prison to share Egypt's throne. Watching and leading through trials continued through the suffering endured for refusing sin.
Amid snares and surrounding corrupting influences, the shield of grace with firm principle and unwavering trust in God preserves sufferers unconquered. Virtue and nobleness of character are thus kept with no taint upon them, and shine forth unspoiled.
Integrity for Believers to Follow
The Lord was with Joseph because he preserved simplicity and fidelity to God amid idolatry, vice, and temptation, openly living as a worshiper of God and refusing to conceal his principles or hide his allegiance, and refusing to linger on forbidden subjects. The favor and prosperity attending everything placed under his care was not a direct miracle but his industry, care, and energy crowned with divine blessing, which he attributed to God's favor and which even his idolatrous master accepted as the secret of his prosperity.
He carried his religion everywhere, showing the same sacred regard for God's will in the prisoner's cell as when exalted to wealth and honor beside the king, bearing the test of character in adversity with his gold undimmed because love and fear of God kept him pure and untarnished. He remained patient, hopeful, faithful, and attentive to the troubles of others, confident that God had supported him and would care for his case. His religion kept his temper sweet and his sympathy warm, and though his circumstances humbled him they did not degrade him; he brought his Christian principles into prison life, served and encouraged his fellow prisoners, cared for his suffering companions, and remained cheerful and willing to learn.
He trusted the Lord as his friend and protector after separation from his father and through false charges and grievous affliction, and the goodness in his character came from God and displayed the mind of Christ. Hiding in God and holding Christ's hand amid unseen dangers guarded him against presumption and cherished in him a spirit that would suffer rather than sin, gaining the precious victory over self so that neither adversity overcame him nor did sudden elevation to a lofty and dangerous height ruin him through forgetting humility and forgetting that God was his strength and becoming independent and self-sufficient. In purity and uprightness he appeared in marked contrast to worshipers of idols, so that the light of heavenly grace shone amid heathen darkness, and as a captive who remained a faithful representative, God's care and honor toward him made him a means of bringing the blessings of knowing God to those around him.
In prison he had light in himself from a personal experience of truth gained by searching the Scriptures for himself and pleading for God's Spirit to know truth and understand its principles, not believing merely because others said so, growing in knowledge with faith-filled talk and prayer and no seed of doubt, so nothing could turn him from the truth. His life as a youth tried and proved makes him a representative man and a pattern of integrity worthy of imitation by students forming characters to stand the test of judgment. Youth in probationary time are deciding their own eternal destiny by the character they build, with only this opportunity to stand God's test and proving and no second probation that another can build for them.
Though condemned unjustly and shut in prison for refusing to sin, Joseph was not forsaken, for the Lord remained with him in kindness and mercy and gave him favor with the keeper, who entrusted the prisoners to his care. God watched over him in that gloomy confinement, sustained him in affliction, guarded his cause, and turned the hardship into blessing and victory. That adversity and discipline were God's preparation for the honor to follow, for providence overrules the enemy's revenge so that faithfulness under calumny is exalted in due time. He was upheld because he kept simplicity and fidelity to God amid idolatry and temptation, suffering rather than sinning and showing the same regard for God's will in the cell as beside the throne. His tried youth thus stands as a pattern of integrity, proving that firm principle with unwavering trust is shielded by grace to shine untarnished and to bless others in darkness.
God With Joseph Imprisoned
Joseph was cast into prison for refusing to sin, falsely accused and condemned unjustly at the cost of his reputation and liberty. There he was treated as a criminal while vice seemed to prosper and virtue to be brought low. Humanly speaking he had no hope of vindication or release.
His confinement in a gloomy prison among idolaters did not mean that God had forgotten or forsaken him. The Lord remained with him, showing him mercy and kindness, watching over him and leading him through his trials. That sustaining presence upheld him after separation from his father and through false charges and grievous affliction.
The Lord gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. The keeper therefore entrusted him with responsibility for the prisoners. Joseph answered that trust by putting his principles into practice, serving his fellow prisoners and encouraging his suffering companions.
God guarded his reputation in hardship and turned the imprisonment into a blessing. He cared for Joseph's case while Joseph remained patient, hopeful and faithful. So even when appearances were against him, God brought victories for him and did not forsake him.
Prison Preparing for Exaltation
The prison time of temptation, adversity and hardship was designed to give experience that would prepare for filling an exalted position of later prosperity and honor. That discipline prepared for responsibility, honor and usefulness, for obedience and humility were learned before exaltation came.
Providence overrules all the devices of the enemy for good, and in His own time exalts those who suffer calumny and false accusation for keeping integrity as much higher as for a while they were debased by wicked revenge. The imprisonment was turned into a blessing and made the path and the way to later elevation, with reputation guarded and responsibility entrusted even in confinement. The faithful part acted in prison finally raised to prosperity and honor, to come out of prison to share Egypt's throne. Watching and leading through trials continued through the suffering endured for refusing sin.
Amid snares and surrounding corrupting influences, the shield of grace with firm principle and unwavering trust in God preserves sufferers unconquered. Virtue and nobleness of character are thus kept with no taint upon them, and shine forth unspoiled.
Integrity for Believers to Follow
The Lord was with Joseph because he preserved simplicity and fidelity to God amid idolatry, vice, and temptation, openly living as a worshiper of God and refusing to conceal his principles or hide his allegiance, and refusing to linger on forbidden subjects. The favor and prosperity attending everything placed under his care was not a direct miracle but his industry, care, and energy crowned with divine blessing, which he attributed to God's favor and which even his idolatrous master accepted as the secret of his prosperity.
He carried his religion everywhere, showing the same sacred regard for God's will in the prisoner's cell as when exalted to wealth and honor beside the king, bearing the test of character in adversity with his gold undimmed because love and fear of God kept him pure and untarnished. He remained patient, hopeful, faithful, and attentive to the troubles of others, confident that God had supported him and would care for his case. His religion kept his temper sweet and his sympathy warm, and though his circumstances humbled him they did not degrade him; he brought his Christian principles into prison life, served and encouraged his fellow prisoners, cared for his suffering companions, and remained cheerful and willing to learn.
He trusted the Lord as his friend and protector after separation from his father and through false charges and grievous affliction, and the goodness in his character came from God and displayed the mind of Christ. Hiding in God and holding Christ's hand amid unseen dangers guarded him against presumption and cherished in him a spirit that would suffer rather than sin, gaining the precious victory over self so that neither adversity overcame him nor did sudden elevation to a lofty and dangerous height ruin him through forgetting humility and forgetting that God was his strength and becoming independent and self-sufficient. In purity and uprightness he appeared in marked contrast to worshipers of idols, so that the light of heavenly grace shone amid heathen darkness, and as a captive who remained a faithful representative, God's care and honor toward him made him a means of bringing the blessings of knowing God to those around him.
In prison he had light in himself from a personal experience of truth gained by searching the Scriptures for himself and pleading for God's Spirit to know truth and understand its principles, not believing merely because others said so, growing in knowledge with faith-filled talk and prayer and no seed of doubt, so nothing could turn him from the truth. His life as a youth tried and proved makes him a representative man and a pattern of integrity worthy of imitation by students forming characters to stand the test of judgment. Youth in probationary time are deciding their own eternal destiny by the character they build, with only this opportunity to stand God's test and proving and no second probation that another can build for them.