Dr Dean Alley, PhD: Alright, Chaplain Dean Alley. I had a moment. I hope you're doing okay today. It is Wednesday. We are halfway there, folks. And I don't know about you, but I have been having computer issues. I've been having issues with my email and all my DNS servers for different my different platforms and I have one Tullia which is one that does all my books then I have one for Dean Alley Ministries. Sorry about that. And I got one for another platform that I built a website for. But anyways I was down for about five days. Or maybe four. But I had to I had to put a lot into it to get back to where I am today. I'm back on track. So we finished up with 38. We're gonna move into 39. Very short chapter in 39 is 23 verses. We're talking this is BC 1727. Obviously it's An estimation. I don't know if that's exact. I'm not the archaeologist that dated these. These are professionals that do it for a living. I do not date books of the Bible. I just share what I read. Now it's up to us to determine whether or not we believe what the Bible is saying, which I I'm a firm believer we do. But anyways, I'm gonna I'm gonna read through these. And then come back and climb into them a little bit, maybe a little bit more detail to it. So so a little bit of background. the key to joke Joseph's whole life. This is where they talk about Joseph and his adverse ad he he has some adv adverse issues and concerns that he has to deal with. And I'm a little rusty, I haven't been on in a while, but What we learn here is his whole life is expressed in the words with the Lord was with him, and the Lord made all that he did prosper. We're gonna learn how God protected Joseph. And as we go through these, I think these are some exciting times of Genesis. I mean, all scriptures profitable, but I I like I like this one because Joseph becomes with he you know, he he becomes second in charge at in Eden in Egypt. h Potiphar, his his master's wife or his lord's li wife in Egypt, tried to seduce him, told her to come lay with him. That didn't work out too well. He ends up in ch in prison, because he refused and were those other men might have given in and yielded. So there's people that would have said, okay, he stayed on course and he did not violate vi violate common thing. That's that's a that's a husband and a wife. Nothing comes in between that. And he didn't buy like that. So I give him kudos for that. okay, he was free from the supervision and he made rapid rise to authority, which had corrupted Stewart. So there's been we see that every I see you see it today. I don't very few congressmen or women have not never convinced me that they are not somewhere getting on the take for something. It seems like they're always amassing money, they're always amassing things and stuff like that. But and then they act like they're they're doing us a favor. They pass two or three bills, act like they're doing something, they get out and, you know, there's a lot of infighting and it just nothing seems to ever really move forward and they blame the other guy, the other party. It's just a blame game up there. You know, there's no really accountability. Who's gonna hold them accountable? You say, Well, Champadine, the people will. They'll vote. All I gotta say is if you got a lot of money, which they do. you'll end up in office again. And the problem I have is I I'm not trying to be ugly or anything, but do you really need to be in Congress at eighty five years old? Been there for the last fifty years. Do you really need to be there? What are you accomplishing? I think it should be term limits. They should be in just like, you know, and let another person come in in that party or whatever it is. I am n not a Democrat and I'm not a Republican, so and I'm not a libertarian. So y y that that'll help you out right there. People tend to think because I lean conservative in my morals that I'm a Republican. That's not the case. I think they're all in some form or another Not as honest as they could be. Let's just put that way. All right. So then we we learn as we go through this he realizes in one realm it was forbidden for him to argue for being disalloyal. so he didn't argue the point. He called the proposition wicked and he said it is a sin against God. And it but she persisted. Potiphar's wife persisted day by day to try to get him to sleep with her. Sleep with her. And Samson, we saw this in Samson twice in his career, eventually he would not be with her. But Joseph I mean, Samson's a little different. He actually he he actually, I think, slept with the person. But Joseph's actions are contrast w contrast with Reuben, who what do we learn about Reuben? Reuben's the elder son and he slept with his father's concubine, which is a no no. She first approaches him with what? Flattery. You flatter that person. That usually builds them up, so that's usually the the point there. and then the tr then it's a drawn out enticing. Finally the ambush. And Joseph fled, not not not to be a coward, but to preserve his honor and the New Testament commands that this is the second time. A coat of Joseph is used in deceit about him because she pulls his coat off and shows her husband and we'll learn about that. So let's go ahead and just get into 39 and we'll we'll go through this and then we'll we'll dissect it a little bit. So this is Joseph's advancement and it says and Joseph was brought down to Egypt. And Potiphar, that's the Egyptian sir person that bought him, brought him in as like a s a slave or a servant to his house. So Potiphar is the guy he's working for. And he is an officer and of Pharaoh. He's and captain of a guard and Egypt, Egyptian bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites. So Ishmaelites sold him and he purchased them. That's what happened there. Which had brought him down there or thither. And the Lord was with Joseph. That's key. And the Lord was with Joseph and he was prosperous. And successful then basically is what the word says. prosperous man and it and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. So he's in Egypt. He has been sold by his brothers. He's been sold to the Ishmaelites Israelites sell him to the Egyptian Potiphar and his family and using him as a servant. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. So basically whatever he's touching, whatever he's doing, he's got favor and care, so he's th they he sees the fact that Joseph has favor of from God and he sees it probably through his fruits or whatever it is that he that it doesn't Bible specifically doesn't say. I probably could look Midrash, maybe the Midrash would tell me. But anyways, let's just keep on going. And Joseph found grace. And then and it came to pass from the time that he had made him an overseer of the house and over all that he had that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. So he's getting blessed through Jo Joseph. And we think of we think of Jacob when he was working for Laban. Right. And Laban's flocks were were were exploding. We're getting, you know, well he was doing well because of Jacob. Jacob was with God and he benefited from that. Let's see, and then let's see, see he left okay, so that a blessing of the Lord and all of the field, and he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he knew not aught or against him had and saved the bread which he did eat. Joseph was a godly or goodly man and well favored. So there's some fruits probably something that identified him. This is Joseph and Potiver picking up in seven. And it came to pass after these things that the master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, Lie with me. She's trying to get him to lie with I guess Cheap, I I don't know. Sure. But anyways, so when we think about it, I was I was thinking about this the other day. Talking about Adam and Eve and Eve sinning, giving to Adam, he sinned, and then the weaker of the two is the woman, and typically the one the woman is the one that sins, and it's got the inherently the one that is going to be less faithful would be the woman. I don't know, I'm not a woman, but I mean, it kinda gives us that sense. I'm not saying you know, I'm not saying guys aren't, you know, little dogs too, so either way It's important that we understand that marriage is between a man and a woman and nobody comes to break that up. And that that should be the the thinking there. So what is she doing? She wants him to lie with him. But he refused and said unto his masters, What behold, my master woteth not or wouldn't not that is with me in the house, and he hath committed all these all that the that He hath to my hand, there is none greater in this house than I. Neither hath I kept back anything from me but thee. Because thou art his wife, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? So he wasn't just thinking what he was doing to Potiphar. He was thinking about how he was not honoring God and he was going to sin to God. And it came to pass, and she spake to Joseph day by day, so every day, that he hearkened or heard not unto her to lie by her or to be with her. And it came to pass about that time that Joseph went into the house to do his business, and there while there was none of the men of the house were were in. So there's nobody there, just her and him. I can see this coming. Joseph went in the house. Everybody's basically gone. Verse 12. And he and she caught him by the garment, saying, Lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand. That's the analogy of the coat. Remember, he loses the coat when his brothers throw him in the pit. Coat of many colors, you've heard it before. Well, now he has his garment taken off again. So You know, there's there's a play on words there, in our hand, and fled and got him out. And it came to pass when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and he fled forth, that she called unto the men of her house and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in a Hebrew unto us to mock us. He came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice. So She's turning the tables, making it look like it's his fault. Yeah. And then it says here, I cried out loud in verse fifteen, and it came to pass when he had heard that I had lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment with me and fled and got him out, or got out of the got out of there. And she laid up his garment by her until the Lord came, or his Lord came. And so yeah, his Lord, it would be Joseph's Lord. And she spake unto him according to the words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto me, came in unto me and to mock me, and it came to pass, and I lifted up my voice and cried that his garment he left his garment with me and fled out. And it came to pass when his master had heard these words. And she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me, and his wrath was kindled. So now he's believing her because he's mad. He's mad, he thinks that Joseph is, you know, trying to lie with his wife, which we know is not true. But Joseph, what what does he do? He casts him in prison. And Joseph's master took him and put him into prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound, and he was there. in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in prison. Whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. So he what we get to picture he goes he's thrown in a prison. He he he befriends the prison prison guard there. And he gets the responsibilities of watching the other inmates. So he's getting some authority. So God's with him at this point. And then the last verse twenty three says, The keeper of the prison looked not on anything that was under his hand, because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made prosper. Key point there. The Lord definitely makes you know the situation for Joseph. you know, very favorable and so let's let's look at a couple deeper dives. All right, so I've been doing the So you can see that. This is the midrash, this is the Beresheet, Beresheathis, they call it. So anyways, I'm reading those. Those are so those are sages, those are ancient We're that's ancient people that are like sages and and rebies or rabbis and they're thought highly of and they comment on some of the points in it. Now, let me caveat. Some of it is written into a way you can understand it in in that day, this was written this was written by Anyways, so it's it's in between these verses and gives some insight. Now, you know, like my old pastor used to say, you gotta spit out the bones. So yeah, you have to some of the things you listen to that he's comparing, this rabbi, and he writes the the the the midrash for the four Torahs, and of course I'm I'm reading that you we're in the Torah or we're in the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, however you want to call it, this is the foundation of the Bible. Which is all gonna point to who? Jesus, to to to the New Testament, to the new heavens and the earth, the kingdom of heaven. Where you know, the whole thing is whole the whole purpose in our lives, honor and glorify God, law the heart, mind, soul, and our neighbors as love as ourselves, continue in the faith, continue doing the obedience things that God's asking us to do. And it all points to the new heaven. In a new earth, which I believe is gonna be a physical earth and a physical heaven. You know, there's gonna be people on here gonna go, Yeah, what kind of pipe dream are you dreaming? If it's in the Bible, God wanted us to know. He wouldn't have put it in a way, he's not gonna waste his time, folks. If these things are in the Bible, it just comes down to the person, either you're gonna believe or you're not gonna believe. If you choose not to believe and stick your chest out and think you got it figured out and All the boys slapping you on the back and everybody going, Yeah, that's all fantasy and all that and everybody gets in the circle. That's the wrong side of of truth, folks. You need to get on the right side of truth. And Most people know deep down, especially on their deathbed. Trust me. I'm a chaplain. So I would say this. as we go through let me ch kinda just go through this and give some so I'm I've been studying the like I said, the midrash, and some of the some of the Torah in the original language as well. Why do I do that? No, I'm not gonna be a I'm not converting to Jewish Judaism. I'm a Christian. I believe in Christ Jesus, who came and died on the cross, buried three days later, and he is my living savior today. I appreciate the historical pieces of what we learn about Judaism and understanding first century, or in this case, all the way back to 1747 BC. it it kinda I appreciate because it teaches us about what's in the Bible and how these can be utilized as devotions, teachable moments I call This is a teachable moment. Like when I read that last verse. The Lord Lord was with Joseph, right? So he was blessed. That precept or that learning I'm t is is I'm I'm extracting that saying, you know, y Lord will be with you if you're obedient, you know, and it just kinda gives some pieces there. But so the reason I study a lot of these books and and Mid rash. Also, some of the Rashis Rashi is one of the most famous rabbis. I've I'm reading some of his stuff. Not all of it. Some of it it's interesting. But some of it I think is made up. And I don't know if that is it it's i if it's to bring color understanding to the the text. yeah. Okay. And you can use it or spit out the bones, like I said. So midrash, the Torah, reading Tal a Talmud, a Temud. I mean have them all. And I'm just studying how the first century Judaism would have seen or what do they see and trying to bring that into our our language here. So we we see Jo Joseph becomes a stranger, right? He's a stranger through serving and observing those that are in need, right? he learns to care and to be kind. And let me go here. Share a screen 'cause I have it all ready for you. Okay, you should see that. This is Judah. Alright, thirty-nine. Ta-da. Genesis thirty-nine. Joseph's in Egypt. Potiphar purchases Joseph. These are some highlights. And Potiphar, who is what? An Egyp Egyptian. And Egypt had no had not been an aggressive nation. They really hadn't been, yeah, you know, in the first part of the the Bible. you know, until they get utilized as he uses, you know. Pharaoh uses them as slaves. But Egypt conquered by the Bedouins. I hadn't heard that since I was in the Middle East. The Bedouins. Let me give you an example. You're going along, you're in the desert, and literally the same scenery over the next hill, over the next hill, over the next hill. You're just going. And all of a sudden, this Mercedes flies by you in a vertical, like he knows where he's going. To his house. It's it's amazing. But there's Bedouins out there that just roam and do that. And a lot of the Semites are Bedouins. so we see the Hycos rulers controlled Egypt for about 200 years. And the word Haik you can see here means king. Sosis means shepherd. And then what they say here is how you can figure it out is Hycos is the shepherds and kings. That's the words that we want to pull out of this. So The rules of the high coast. Egyptians do not record defeats. Okay? So if they lost battles or whatever it is, they're not gonna record that. During the lifetime of Joseph, and for about a hundred years after his death, Hycos ruled. And you can see the realm here, seventeen twenty. 1570. I said 1737 or 27, so I'm about twenty-seven years off of what this this analogy is. But again, I mean I wasn't there. I don't have the exact date and time, and just like these people that are dating, they don't have the exact time, but they have enough information to make that decision. so we learn that the ex explains why Farrell allowed Joseph to have such high power, the Pharaoh was a Semanite, not an Egyptian. So here you go. I didn't I didn't know that. So Potiphar, his wife, here she is right here, tr was attracted to Joseph. I'm sure he was a handsome man. Joseph became a prop prosperous even as a household servant. So when you think that you are just doing whatever job you're doing or you're in a pos you're in a position you could still be prosperous and you could still honor God in whatever position you do. You say, Well Chapman Dean, I I I I just work for the city, I just pick up trash. It doesn't matter what you do for a living. it doesn't matter how much money you make. It's not gonna matter, right? At the end of the day. You're gonna leave with nothing. You're gonna go back to dust. So, you know, the people that are working a hundred hours a week and they're making good money and they're smiling, they'll never enjoy it. they'll give that away. And they work their whole lives and miss out. And I see that a lot with well, that was me. I was that way. So God guided the entire situation. Mrs. Botifer, we don't know her name, grabs Joseph and he runs. She lies and says that he tried to basically rape her. So that's the analogy we get there. Then we get the picture here of Joseph. Joseph, Egyptians were detested being under the rule of a bedou and Seminite. So here's the reason, another reason why he was favored. So Joseph was counted as among them. Thrown into prison, soon to be a jailer's supervisor. We see. The prison prisons Can't get it because it's okay, right here. Prisons were not used in Canaan. Alright, so they didn't have a prison. So could you say this was the start of the prisons and and all the stuff? I don't know, maybe. But the important thing is to understand that 'Cause they didn't have prisons in Canaan, as he as he talks about here. Okay, so let's stop the share and now you come back to Modegway face. And then let's walk through. So the first and it came to pass. so he's serving, he's observing. Pharaoh imprisoned his butler, his chief butler, and his chief baker, because they offended and angered him. They put him in jail. Number two, he he imprisoned them in the same prison Joseph was at. Joseph was put in charge for of serving and caring for their needs. And I love, if you think about it from the analogy standpoint as a Christian, what are we supposed to do? Well, we're supposed to number one love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to help the poor, the widows, the less fortunate. We are to continue in the faith by praying, reading our Bible, sharing the gospel with people. I'm I'm giving it to you in one one big loop here and We can see it in in this even in this imprisonment of Joseph, he's still serving. Question would be, are you serving? Have you served? Are you serving in a great way? I don't know. So that's the question you have to ask. For me, I feel like I never do enough. I don't I don't pray enough. I don't study enough. I don't you know, I've I've done one one Bible study this week, but I don't feel like I've done enough. I need to do more for for for the kingdom and for Jesus. All right, so Joseph becomes stronger through the blessings that God's given him. He learned leadership and hard work. I was talking to somebody, I think I was talking to my wife. When I was growing up, if I wanted something, I had to go work for it. The old saying is, as my grandfather would say, there's if you want wood, you gotta go out and chop it and bring it in. No other way are you gonna heat the house or you're gonna be able to have a fire unless you go out, you work, and you bring it in. Now that's a simple analogy of working hard pays off. So Joseph was brought to Egypt, sold to Potiphar, who was the captain of the Pharaoh, Pharaoh's guard. God was with Joseph and he prospered even in prison and his needs. God moved Potiphar to note Joseph, Joseph's Lord. So note Jose Potiphar notes that he recognizes Joseph's Lord. And then note that Joseph's diligent labor. He continues constantly working and doing the things he's doing, and God's blessing him. And Potiphar sees it and makes him in charge of his affairs. And then God blesses Potiphar, we learned just like I was telling you earlier in Laban, Laban benefit benefited from Jacob. immensely from God's blessings. in the field. And blessed Potiphar so much that he had everything. He just he blessed him so much he just said, hey you take over. You you you you keep running this and and we know Also, we know that Joseph was a handsome man. He was he was easy on the eyes, I guess. And Joseph became stronger through the temptation. He was tempted. He learned self denial. He learned discipline and control. he learned self denial, he learned discipline, he learned To have self-control. These are all things that are good attributes that we need to think about. So Joseph was tempted Potiphar. and and then he goes on to say, Okay. wife. Okay. Now, if you're gonna go spend time sitting at Frankie's bar on Friday night looking for your husband, I'm not thinking that's a good place to find that person. I would find more wholesome places and find the right individual that is in Christ and serving Christ. That's that's what you want. That's that's the fruits of a good person. and you always hear it a lot of times is the good guy finishes last and then the Billy Bad boy gets the girl. You know, they're not gonna be around long, trust me. They're only there to Get a little little little love in and then moving on. Joseph was fiercely tempted day by day. He learned self-discipline, self-denial and control. And Joseph, we know that was schemed against, right? So by the tempter. Who is the tempter? His wife, Potiphar's wife, and trapped him in the house alone. He got she got all everybody out of there and then trapped him inside the house and tried to tempt him even more. She physically assaults him, and then Joseph fled the temptation so rapidly that he leaves his coat. So he leaves it from leaves it behind. So Joseph becomes stronger through this terrible trial. He learned the feeling of hum humiliation, compassion, endurance, and hardship. These are some things we're pulling out of these texts that it's showing us. following God and doing the right thing and enduring to the end, what's the end of our lives, and we just change places. I'm I'm a firm believer we're just gonna change places. And Joseph suffered these trials and lies of falsecution. He was probably inside angry that he was the one being targeted, before his fellow slaves, workers and friends, embarrassment and humiliation. So you know they're all talking about, well, why are you down here? Well, I was accused of trying to sleep with the master's wife. So he got a bad rap that way. So before his master, the one who trusted and appreciated, and whom he appreciated, they had a good relationship. So Joseph goes through this trial of losing it all. Potiphar just angry and burned him up, put him right in prison. And then Joseph becomes stronger through God's presence, his kindness, and his favor. He learns to depend more and more upon God. And Joseph learns that learns a positive spirit in despite the circumstances. So when you think it's all bad, there is proof positive that there's always something good in there. And that's a matter of looking for it. Gotta learn how to lead. He even had the difficulty times and Joseph learned to trust God, his care and power to help him succeed through it all. So he he was going to be that was the the plan that God was gonna see him through it. So we're gonna go through some high level stuff and maybe a couple points and we're done. And so we basically I talked about the introduction already. Joseph's enslaved in Egypt. he becomes stronger. and through the blessings and the truths and trials, excuse me, of life. Are you in a trial in your life? Is there something going on in your life that you don't have control of? Have you given it over to God? You say, Well chaplain chaplain Dean, that's just a cliche. No, it's not. I've done it before. I'm I lay it at his feet. Lord you're gonna have to help me. I can't do it. And so that's because I trust him. So you have to trust him. Do you partially trust him? Are you all in trusting him? Those are questions we have to ask ourselves. So, and again, we know when we go through trials, Romans 8 28 says, and we know all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them that are called according to what? His purpose. And that is just the way it is. That's in Romans 8 28. And So our leadership, we look at our leadership and blessings and labor. So the thought here is God has using trials and circumstances in Joseph to teach him a leadership and teach him hard work. We go through different things in our our lives and we basically have trials. You've heard the story. You're either getting ready to go into trial, you're in the trial, or you're coming out of the trial. And I would point out this, I'd be remiss if I didn't say, you are once you the old saying is you're on top of the mountain, everything's good, the food tastes good, I'm sleeping good. you get on top of that mountain, there's not a whole lot of vegetation, not a lot of things that grow. My analogy is as you get into the trial, you get into the valley. Everything grows there, including you. You grow as Joseph did in this situation. That's the the precept here. so we're gonna, you know, God was using these trials for Jason for him for help him with leadership and build a hard work ethic which certainly is gonna help him down the road when he gets into the point of being second command. he didn't waller in his self-pity. How many people wall waller in safe in in in pity so Yeah, he was he just he he he didn't. He he wasn't lashing out against the world. He didn't curse God because he had been so badly treated. He didn't say, Well, God, look at me, you look what you did to me, I'm I'm the one suffering. He didn't do that. He didn't waller in that. He wasn't looking for the pity. So neither should we, right? No matter how terrible our circumstances are and our trials, we shouldn't be wallering in them and feeling self-pity. We need to do what Joseph did. He cast them on to God. Folks, I'll leave it right there. Gotta cast it. Psalms ninety one ninety one one says, He that dwelleth in secret places of the most high shall abide under the s the shadow of the Almighty. So we saw temptation. The second point was temptation, his discipline, his self control, the immor the the immoral things that are going on. So the thought here is it's not it's a striking point, a pointing statement about Joseph and a a sinful the man has perverted truth about licid sex. It's called an alternate lifestyle or woman, alternate lifestyle, experimenting sexual freedom, sexual preference, nor a norm, legitimate expression of one's nature. So if you are constantly being exposed to certain things in life at a young age. When you get older, it's not a big deal. You become hardened or it doesn't bother you anymore. It doesn't that moral fabric is not an issue anymore. You kind of say, okay, whatever. That's what we do when we have children and grandchildren. What example? What do we stand for? What's our role? And I think of this point about Joseph here, Sin is sin, folks. Wickedness is wickedness. That's the way it is. And Romans 1 8, chapter 1, verse 18 says it this way: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men or women who hold the truth in unrighteousness. The worst thing in the world, the Bible says, to know the truth. and not abide by it or walk away from it. You might as well be what Bi the Bible calls as an infidel. You are better off not knowing God and still not good. You're not gonna you're still gonna to without your change your mind in in you continue in the you continue doing things you're doing and you know it's wrong and you've been told the truth. Pretty bad. It's like putting millstone tied around your neck and throwing in the ocean. That's how bad that is, folks. Wicked's wicked. Say what you want. You could chop it up, you could change it, you could change the wordsmithing. You can put anything on a piece of paper and call it your truth. I'm giving you biblical truth. So keep in mind. No matter what you call it, God strongly condemns it. Okay, did I did you hear what I said? God condemns it. We should flee for fornication. Every sin that man does or woman is without the body. But he that committeth fornication sinneth against his body. Fornication is having sex outside of marriage, before you married or during. But nevertheless, avoid fornication. Let every man Have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband. First Corinthians seven two. But Chaplin doesn't say anything about a New Testament about a man and a woman. Okay, I'll read it again. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own what? Husband. So a couple thoughts going into this is sin is first of all all against God and God alone. It hurts God, cuts God, and it causes great pain for him. And he gets disple he's displeased. And there's several verses that talk about how angry he gets. sin always breaks down your relationship with God. I always say a good lie doesn't last long, even in your own mind. People put things in their head and they they rationalize with circular reasoning. Well he's a loving God. He'd never do that. I I would beg to differ. I I would he's a righteous God. He's a just God, and he has to punish sin. Simply put. God allowed Joseph to be tempted time after time, day by day, month after month. And God was letting Joseph learn self-denial and discipline and self-control. You know, few people ever escaped the temptations and sex outside of marriage. the temptations to have illicit sex. begins basically before the marriage and continues throughout the life. So best predictor of future behaviors, past performance. And without God you'll continue to sin and you have to ask God to help you with those things. And He gives us an opportunity to escape the temptations too. but there's temptations that come school, maybe at work, maybe it's maybe at church, maybe a sporting event, maybe it's gosh, maybe it's a restaurant or or what our fellow workers or classmates, neighbors, employers So he gets God's God puts you through trial so you say well chaplain Dean I'm having a tough time and I don't like God right now. Well nobody likes to be chastised. Nobody likes to be reproved. Ask yourself if you're going through a tough time what is it that God's trying to show me or teach me as he's doing here in Joseph? What is it? Ask him, God show me, is there something I'm missing or doing or said or is there a sin in my way that you're allowing this to happen? am I praying for your will or am I praying for my will? And that that is a question you have to ask your yourself, especially in prayer. all right, humiliation endurance of the trial. You have to endure in these trials. And some believers will experience terrible trials and they'll suffer. I don't know why, but we learn in Genesis 39 that there are trials that you will go through. And God will allow certain things, like Job and Joseph, he you know, terribly treated. Sometimes the fault is theirs. Sometimes the fault is lies at the feet of others. But no matter who is at fault, humiliation is one of the worst sufferings ever experienced. Some suffer humiliation from a separation or a divorce. If you've been remarried, there's a little bit of humility there, right? Maybe you weren't good enough to be married. You're thinking these are these are these are things you're thinking. I've been here. I loss of a job or unemployment. experienced that one time and you do you feel like you're humiliated and you're not good enough. Bankruptcy, you go through a bankruptcy, loss of all your possessions. That brings humility. Homelessness and poverty are other things that bring humility to our lives. the terrible sin and shame, the failure of lack suc lack of success. I wasn't success successful, which So I'm I I should have done this when I was younger. Now I'm humiliated it because I didn't and I had lack of success. I'm not coming through and being untrustworthy of false charges and accusations of humility and imprisonment and injury. So if you're you're sent to prison, all these things. Humiliate us, but they're unlimited. It's not this is not an exclusive list. So the purpose of God and the sovereignty of God was to make Joseph stronger to be a future leader in God's presence, his kindness and favor to develop and build him. he had to lean and care of lean and care on God, for him and God to really care for him. And learn to depend more and more upon God. The question for you today is: are you leaning into God? Are you are you Asking God for his will in your life. So So God cares for us. He cares for us and helps us in the strength, strengthens us. does he answer every prayer? No. Does he hear every prayer? He does of a righteous person. That's what the Bible says. I'm not righteous. I always feel like I'm guilty on everything. I was guilty the other day. I was telling my wife, I felt guilty about something that happened thirty some odd years ago in high school with a person and it convicted me. You say, Well that's yeah, they probably ought to for no no no no no no no no no. That's the Holy Spirit convicted me of that sin that sin and I f I felt bad about it. I was humiliated by it. But I was telling my wife I just feel horrible. Anyways, so I just gave that to God. I had to because it was just difficult. So you have to believe in God, believe the scriptures. God wants to use the trials in our lives as well as blessings. And the trials make us the people we should be and better workers for God and servants upon earth. And God cares for us, cares enough to help us and strengthen us to make us what we should be. And from his his seed. So that's chapter thirty-nine, folks. And I'm gonna wrap it up here and I hope it's been a blessing for you and I hope you learned something. and I will bring chapter forty. next time. You take care. God bless. Chaplain Dean Alley. Al