As the captain of Pharaoh’s guard, Potiphar was a perceptive
man. Whether it was the way Joseph
carried himself, the obvious appearance of intelligence in his face, or the
depth of soul revealed in his eyes, Potiphar saw in this young man a talent he
could use. Factor in the idea that it
probably pleased God to have Joseph go to Potiphar’s household and there’s no
way Potiphar is not going to purchase Joseph at auction.
Subsequent events would vindicate Potiphar’s choice. Though at first Joseph struggled with the
language and committed several social blunders, his intuitive understanding of
situations more than compensated for lacks he soon overcame. Additionally, Joseph had enormous
interpersonal skills sharply honed in a fruitless attempt to get along with his
brothers.
Inasmuch as Joseph was not a muscular young man, not brawny,
Potiphar started him off with household chores, not menial stuff, but things
that carried some responsibility. These
Joseph handled with such ease as to amaze Potiphar who had been evaluating
persons, not only for household use, but for Pharaoh’s guard as his
captain—determining their hire and who would and would not advance . Within a few months Joseph’s language
proficiency was such, Potiphar set him over his entire household. But there was more. Potiphar noticed Joseph was quite at home
with his livestock, especially the sheep, even taking in hand a couple of ewes
to assist with at shearing time. This
Joseph did in slack moments from household chores.
Beyond all Joseph’s talents and capabilities, Potiphar
discerned the “Lord” (the one true God) was with him. Being wise and shrewd, Potiphar knew the
future of his whole “operation” would profit from making Joseph overseer. With this at first there was some jealousy
and maybe a little bit of envy, but when Joseph’s fellow workers of every sort
saw the wisdom of his decisions and how these made life better for everyone, their
mouths were stopped. Life was good and
this made it possible for Potiphar to freely give himself to other matters that
frequently called for his being away, especially at Pharaoh's palace.
No one knew Potiphar’s schedule better than his wife and
where before she had simply made overtures to Joseph, this time knowing her
husband would be away for several days and with all the other household servants
out and about tending other matters, she would not be denied. Cornering Joseph in a room, she said, “Lie
with me”. Time and again she had tried
to seduce him to no avail, but this time Joseph knew things were different and
the only thing left for him to do was push past her on the way out the
door. Clawing at him as he rushed past,
she pulled off his cloak.
Inasmuch as there was no one else on the premises she could
have let the matter pass. But, no, she
became a living demonstration of the saying, “Hell hath no fury like that of a
woman scorned.” Later this cloak was exhibit “A” as she accused Joseph to her
husband saying he attempted to bring shame upon the household by raping
her. Though he feigned great anger,
Potiphar was not fooled. He knew Joseph
and his incredible honesty and that he would not risk his life for so foolish
an episode as this. Otherwise, Potiphar
would have had Joseph killed on the spot—that was his business as Captain of
the Guard.
So, what did Potiphar do inasmuch as there were no prisons
for trespassing slaves? He personally took him to Pharaoh’s prison accompanied
by, of all things, statements of commendation to the Warden. There in Pharaoh’s prison, matters would take
a different turn.
------------
No comments:
Post a Comment