Joseph, Part 6
In part 6 of our series on Joseph, we see that God uses Joseph, where he is, in spite of some negative circumstances. Click here for the recording of this 7/21 Service, and you can fast-forward to 25:22 to get to the start of the sermon.
Our text comes from Genesis 39.19-23
19 Now when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying, “ This is what your slave did to me,” his anger burned. 20 So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the warden of the prison.
22 And the warden of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. 23 The warden of the prison did not supervise anything under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and, the Lord made whatever he did prosper.
Introduction… The Innocense Project
On June 14, 2024, Livingston County Presiding Judge Ryan Horsman overturned Sandra Hemme’s conviction in the 1980 murder of Patricia Jeschke in St. Joseph, Missouri — a crime for which Ms. Hemme has been wrongly incarcerated for the past 43 years.
No witnesses linked Ms. Hemme to the murder, the victim, or the crime scene. She had no motive to harm Ms. Jeschke, nor was there any evidence that the two had ever met. Neither did any physical or forensic evidence link Ms. Hemme to the killing. The only evidence that ever connected Ms. Hemme to the crime was her own unreliable and false confessions: statements taken from her while she was being treated at the state psychiatric hospital and forcibly given medication literally designed to overpower her will.
At the same time, the St. Joseph Police Department hid evidence implicating one of their own: fellow police officer Michael Holman, who was found using the victim’s credit card the day after the murder; whose truck was seen parked near the victim’s home at the time she was killed; in whose closet the victim’s earrings were discovered; and who in the months before and after Ms. Jeschke’s murder, committed many other crimes against women.
Meanwhile, the Court found, evidence implicating Mr. Holman was so significant, “it would be difficult to imagine that the State could prove Ms. Hemme’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt based on the weight of the evidence now available that ties Holman to this victim and crime and excludes Ms. Hemme.”
We are grateful to the Court for acknowledging the grave injustice Ms. Hemme has endured for more than four decades. We will continue to fight until all charges are dismissed and Ms. Hemme is reunited with her family.
(innocenceproject.org)
Sandra (center) with her sister (left) and mother (right)
Joseph’s Back Story… In the text…
Ch37- Jacob favors his son Joseph over his other sons, to the point that this causes resentment by the brothers.
They plot to kill him than sell him to traders bound for Egypt, and infer to their father that a wild beast has killed Joseph.
Ch39- Joseph rises to prominence in Potiphar’s house, where his wife tries to seduce Joseph, who resists, at great cost, to the point of imprisonment.
V19- Potiphar was incensed (his anger burned) when he heard his wife’s accusation against Joseph (which again, was a lie).
A husband would likely naturally believe his wife’s version of a story like this.
Given Potiphar’s rank, he likely could have had Joseph killed, and no one would have objected.
What control did Joseph have over Potiphar or his wife?
V20- Potiphar put Joseph in a prison where ”the King’s prisoners” were kept; likely, political prisoners; Zondervan says Joseph was in prison “for several years” (ZPEB 3.692).
Again, what control did Joseph have over being wrongly imprisoned?
V21- “But the Lord was with Joseph…” and showed him His covenant love (kindness, chesed) and God gave him favor in the sight of the prison warden.
Notice- this favor was God’s sovereign act toward Joseph.
V22- the prison warden gave Joseph power, putting him in charge of all the prisoners, so that he was responsible for all that went on among the prisoners.
V23- the prison warden relinquished responsibility to Joseph, because the Lord was with him, and the Lord made him prosper.
What do we learn from this passage?
There are those times when we have absolutely no control over life events- a lie, imprisonment.
The only thing we CAN control is our reaction and attitude toward those events.
It is possible to do good in bad places- this requires a mind shift from bitterness and resentment to a positive attitude and work ethic; a shift from “why am I here?” to “how am I going to respond now that I am here?”.
God blesses obedience, and a good heart - God’s sovereignty was behind Joseph’s prosperity, ultimately for the salvation of the Hebrews, r ather than Joseph’s comfort.
We rarely know the end of our story; Joseph certainly did not know his
Sources
Innocenceproject.org
Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol 3
