Genesis 39 Devotional
By Pastor Lawrence

I think it’s safe to say to say that we as Americans have a skewed understanding of what it means to be successful, for often, we think of success merely in a material manner. A person is considered to be successful because they have arrived somehow financially and live a cushy life. In the Hebrew, the Scriptures sometimes use a word for this American view of success, and it literally means to be at ease, but normally that word is used only of wicked and foolish men. The desire to be at ease is not a godly virtue, but rather a worldly one. No, the biblical view of success is much different than that. There are a number of words in the OT that define for us what God’s view of success is. Shalom is one of those words that means to be at peace rather than at ease. But there are a few other Hebrew words for success that when literally translated mean wise, good and profitable, not profitable in the sense of being rich necessarily, but being profitable in the use of one’s time and talents. If a man can love God and love his brothers by being useful and beneficial to them in some way, then he is considered to be a successful man.

In Moses’ account of the narrative of Joseph, he repeatedly mentions that he is a successful man even when he is a slave, a prisoner, and an immigrant in a foreign land. Interestingly, he is only given this moniker after he was stripped of his fancy robe, humbled and humiliated by his brothers. How then was he successful? Moses gives us that answer in v.2 telling us that Joseph, though lonely, was never alone, for the Lord was with him. Although his brothers had despised him and disowned him, the Lord had never left him or forsaken him. Four times we are reminded in this passage that regardless of Joseph’s bleak prospects and mistreatment, the Lord was with him to grant him success. In fact, Yahweh is mentioned eight times in this passage to remind us that the Lord is the primary mover and not Joseph. This narrative is not really about Joseph, but about the Lord and his mysterious providence, and his faithfulness to the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Just as the Lord promised to bless Abraham that he might be a blessing, so the Lord was determined to bless and prosper Joseph so that he in turn could bless and prosper others.

Another important reiteration that Moses makes in this narrative is how the unbelievers around him noticed that the Lord was with Joseph in prospering him and as a result Joseph grew in favor in their eyes. That doesn’t mean, of course, that Joseph had some kind of heavenly glow emanating from his body but rather, they could see his love and the fruit of his labor that served to bless his neighbors. And as a result, those who would see such a blessing desired to put Joseph over all their house that he might be a blessing to them as well. In the Greek, he became the Oikonomos or head servant or steward over Potiphar’s house, then later over the prison, and even later over Pharaoh’s house. Our English word economy stems from this Greek word and signifies that there is law and order in the house as a result of a good ruler or overseer.

It’s interesting, the apostle Peter uses this same word in the Greek exhorting believers that whatever we have received from the Lord we should use to serve others, faithfully administering or stewarding God’s grace in its various forms in whatever household he has placed us. And just like with Joseph, Jesus reminds us that if we are faithful with a few things, he will put us in charge of many things for he who has been given much, much will be demanded and he who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. This is the reward of success, a greater role in God’s economy, not a vain life of ease.