Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. Describe Joseph’s dreams. After receiving these dreams, what does he do? See Genesis 37:5-11 (printed below) What does his action reveal about his character at this stage of his life?
Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers. Then they hated him all the more. (6) He said to them, I beg you, listen to this dream which I dreamed: (7) we were binding sheaves of grain out in the field, and my sheaf rose up and stood upright. Your sheaves came and bowed down to my sheaf. (8) His brothers said to him, Shall you, indeed, reign over us? Or shall you, indeed, have dominion over us? So they hated him all the more because of his dreams and because of his words. (9) Joseph had still another dream, and he reported it to his brothers. Listen, I have had another dream. In this dream the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me. (10) He also told it to his father as well as to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and brothers indeed come and bow down to the ground before you? (11) So his brothers envied him; but his father kept the thing in mind. (Genesis 37:5-11)
In the first dream his brother’s sheaves all bow down before his sheaf; in the second dream the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow down before Joseph. The theme in both dreams is the same: Joseph is given a position of dominion over his brothers. Note: God’s purpose was for the sake of His covenant people, as Joseph comes to understand and of which he testifies in Genesis 45:5,7-8. But at this stage in his life Joseph is overly impressed with the position of pre-eminence and has not grasped the purpose of that position, namely, service for the sake of his family.
2. At the beginning of Genesis 37 Joseph received great promises and a great calling from God, but what has happened to him by the end of chapter 37? Why do you think this is the case? Note Psalm 105:19 (printed below)
Until the time that Jehovah’s word was fulfilled, the word of Jehovah tested him. (Psalm 105:19)
As noted, at the outset of Genesis 37 Joseph received great promises and a great calling from God, but by the end of the chapter he is sold into slavery and shipped down to Egypt. As Psalm 105:19 points out, prior to the time of fulfillment, the Lord tested Joseph. The Lord did so in order to prove Joseph worthy of his high calling and in order to prepare Joseph to carry out that calling.
3. How did Joseph prove his faithfulness to the Lord while serving in the house of Potiphar? See Genesis 39:6-9 (printed below)
Potiphar left in Joseph’s care everything he had …Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, (7) and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, Come to bed with me! (8) But he refused. With me in charge, he told her, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. (9) …My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? (Genesis 39:6-9)
The whole incident involving Potiphar’s household and his wife demonstrates Joseph’s continuing commitment to the Lord. The very fact that Potiphar entrusts the oversight of his whole household to Joseph is evidence that he recognized Joseph to be a man of integrity. When Joseph is confronted with the seductions of Potiphar’s wife it becomes evident that his integrity stems from a holy fear and reverence of God: “How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9)
4. How did Joseph’s experience in prison serve to prepare him for his high calling? See Genesis 39:20-23 (printed below)
Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, (21) the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. (22) So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. (23) The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (Genesis 39:20-23)
The original promise God gave to Joseph was that Joseph would be placed in a position of pre-eminence for the sake of service. The trials and predicaments Joseph encounters prior to the fulfillment of that promise have a common feature: Joseph is put in a position of pre-eminence for the purpose of service. After he is sold into slavery, he is made the overseer of Potiphar’s entire household. Now, after he is sentenced to prison, he is made overseer of the entire prison. With each successive trial two things are being accomplished: Joseph is getting more and more experience for the position to which the Lord has ultimately called him—he is being led through a succession of “apprenticeships”—and Joseph is coming to better understand the purpose of God’s calling; namely, service for the cause of Christ and to the people of God, not self-exaltation.
5. What does Genesis 39:2-4 and 20-23 (printed below) tell us about the Lord’s faithfulness to Joseph and how do you think this affected Joseph’s life?
The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. (3) When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, (4) Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned… (20) Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, (21) the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. (22) So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. (23) The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (Genesis 39:2-4,20-23)
Throughout all of Joseph’s trials in Egypt there is the re-occurring phrase, “Jehovah (or, the LORD) was with Joseph.” The awareness of the Lord’s presence and covenant faithfulness inspired Joseph’s continued commitment. And conversely, Joseph’s continuing commitment insured the Lord’s continued favor and presence.
