Great is Thy Faithfulness: Genesis 39

Carol Plafcan
Oct 19, 2022
3 min read

Updated: Feb 16

Have you ever been falsely accused? Joseph was. After rejecting the advances of his boss’s wife, she angrily lied to her husband, saying Joseph had tried to sleep with her, and he was thrown into prison. Yet his story reminds us of what we sing in church: Great is thy faithfulness. God was faithful to Joseph, turning injustice into something good. In Genesis 39, we read how Joseph, a slave in Potiphar’s house, refused the advances of Potiphar’s wife—and through it all, God’s faithfulness never failed him.

Unjust Accusations

Would he have felt abandoned by God? Would he have felt like this was an unfair thing to have happen since he had done everything that God had commanded? Perhaps if Joseph lived in today's world, preachers would tell him that if he remained faithful he would always "live his best life" and never experience hardship and failure.

Faithfulness

We have all experienced downturns that have seemed unfair. When we are faithful, we often think God will protect us and save us from all the bad in this world. God's plans are more complex. God works things out in His time and in His way, not ours.

But back to Joseph. Joseph's entire life was one of great pain and great success. Sold into slavery by his own brothers, God worked in ways that Joseph could not imagine. Do we see God at work in our lives? Do we see the good that has come from tragedy? Perhaps we will never understand the heartache we have endured but we trust God that in some way good will come from it.

While Joseph was in jail we are told that the Lord showed him mercy and gave him favor. Because the Lord was with Joseph everything he did in prison prospered, so the prison keeper put him in charge (Genesis 39:21-23). Scripture says to do all things without complaining , and we are never told that Joseph complained about his unfair circumstances. What we are told is that "the Lord was with Joseph". God supernaturally intervened in Joseph's circumstances to benefit Joseph and his people.

Eventually, Joseph came to the attention of Pharoah himself and literally became Pharoah's right hand man. Ultimately, Joseph was able to come to the aid of his brothers to save them and the Israelites from starvation.

In Genesis 50:20, Joseph tells his brothers,

"But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."

God uses these terrible circumstances, slavery, and unfair imprisonment, to elevate Joseph to a position where he could, quite literally, save the Israelites. This sets into motion the circumstances that led to the slavery of the Israelites in Egypt and eventually their escape and creation of the nation of Israel. But unjust suffering continued.

God's plan in suffering is also seen in the suffering of our Savior. If ever there was one who did not deserve that suffering it was He. And look at the great good that came from it. The cross led to the salvation of the lost.

Wait on the Lord

When we find ourselves in a place where we find our faithfulness seemingly rewarded with evil, will we wait on the Lord? Have we learned to trust God like Joseph did? The Hebrews in slavery in Egypt waited 400 years for their deliverance. We must remember God's faithfulness. Instead of remembering how God has provided for us, we often complain, moan, and sigh when our road is difficult. If only we would recognize that God is faithful and true in the midst of our suffering.

In Isaiah 25:1, the prophet praises and exalts God for the wonderful things He has done. He proclaims God's faithfulness. He remembers the "counsels of old". It is important for us to remember the many times God has been faithful to us. How easy it is to forget.