Joseph is one of my favorite Bible characters. He was the second youngest of 12 brothers. Unfortunately, his brothers despised him. Why?

  1. He told on them (Genesis 37:1-2).
  2. He was their father’s favorite (Genesis 37:5-8).
  3. He had dreams about them serving him (Genesis 37:5-8).

Because of these things, Joseph’s brothers form a plot to sell him into slavery. Eventually he winds up working in Potiphar’s house (Genesis 37:18-28; 39:1). Potiphar’s wife feels an attraction towards Joseph and tries to urge him to have an affair with her (Genesis 39:1-8). Oddly enough, even though he was far from home (and probably could have kept his sin secret), Joseph refused her advances (Genesis 39:9)! His words demonstrate three things that he understood about God.

God could see him.

  • Joseph knew that God was still capable of seeing his actions even though he was living as a slave in the land of Egypt.
    • He knew that even in Egypt God was near him.
    • He knew that even in Egypt God was still watching over him.
  • Do we understand the same thing? See Psalm 139:1-12; Proverbs 5:21; Hebrews 4:13.
    • God can see everything we look at on our computers.
    • God can hear slanderous words we say to others.
    • God can see everything that is going on in our hearts (John 2:24-25).

His actions impacted God.

  • When finding himself in a very tempting situation, Joseph thought about how his actions were going to impact God. He knew that if he chose to sin, he was going to break God’s heart.
  • This truth is announced throughout the Bible.
    • God was grieved by the sins committed in the time of Noah (Genesis 6:6).
    • God was grieved by the sins of Israel in the time of Hosea (Hosea 1:2).
    • The Holy Spirit grieves every time we rebel against the word of God that He has revealed (Ephesians 4:30).
  • God is emotionally invested in the decisions we make in our lives!

He was accountable to God.

  • Joseph knew that even while in Egypt God was his judge!
    • He knew that one day he would have to give an account of his evil to God.
    • There are several verses that reveal this truth in scripture (Romans 14:12; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; 2 Corinthians 5:10).
  • While we may be able to avoid punishment for sin in this life, we will not be able to avoid it when we stand before the throne of Christ!

Conclusion: Let’s challenge ourselves to always remember what Joseph knew about God.