On two occasions in this chapter Moses tells us that the Lord "prospered" Joseph: first, as a slave in Potiphar's house (vs 2,3) and, second, as a prisoner in the royal jail (v 23). In view of what most of us consider the word "prosperity" to mean, it might strike us as strange or even humorous to apply that word to a slave or a prisoner. But Moses doesn't seem to see any conflict between God "prospering" Joseph and the harsh circumstances under which he was living. So we'll look more closely at this period of Joseph's life in order to discover how God defines prosperity. Then we'll try to identify why God prospered him. And finally, we'll apply this lesson to ourselves by asking the question, "What must I do so the Lord will prosper me?"

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Today we will focus on a very important aspect of human relationships, especially as it applies to marriage: our mental habits. If we look behind the main events of this chapter, we observe a marriage in trouble. Potiphar's wife has grown disloyal and disrespectful toward her husband to the point that she is aggressively pursuing other men. She has fallen into some negative mental habits which will produce greater unhappiness for both of them. Has he earned her contempt? Maybe, but whether he has or hasn't, her response can only make their marriage worse, not better. After observing Potiphar's marriage, we will turn to Philippians 4:6-9 in order to allow Paul to teach us the power of positive mental attitudes on our marriage and other important relationships.

Have you ever considered what would have happened to Joseph in Potiphar's house if he had yielded to the temptation of Potiphar's wife? In this episode we'll focus closely on character and why it's so important as it relates to Joseph and our lives. We'll also discuss how Joseph responded to temptation to learn how we can respond too. 

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Someone was determined to prevent Joseph's dreams from coming true. In fact, they were willing to kill him if that's what it took to stop those dreams. But God was the One who gave him those dreams, so God was able to outsmart Joseph's enemies and cause the dreams to come to pass. That's one of the great things about God: He can cause all things, even evil attacks, to work for His glory and the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Ro 8:28). Joseph's life is a perfect example of this truth. His brothers hated the prophetic promises God had given him, and they decided to kill him before the promises could come to pass. But as we read what happened to Joseph, we see that God was victorious over his enemies and, in time, even drew those enemies to repentance. We, too, have enemies determined to prevent God's dreams from coming true, so we have much to learn from Joseph.

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Over the course of about two years, Jacob would go through at least eight major grief-producing events. So severe was the shock to his mental and emotional state that I believe he went into a severe depression for the next 20 years (Ge 37:33-35; 42:36,38; 43:3; 44:20-34; 45:26-28). Hopefully few of us will ever have to face such an intense concentration of tragic events, but all of us, in going through life, will experience seasons of grief. It's a painful reality we must learn to deal with properly, or it can become a very destructive force. Today, with Jacob's sorrows as a back drop, we will look more closely at the subject of grief. We'll try to understand what it is; I'll share some of my pastoral obsenrations about how to deal with it; we'll let Scripture remind us that God can comfort our grief; and we'll look at how we can avoid despair in the future.

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It's impossible to go through life without being injured by others, just as it's impossible to go through life without being the one who causes injury to others. Each of us is afflicted with a spiritual disease called "sin" which produces rebellion toward God and selfishness. The result of living in a sinful world is that everybody carries scars which are left when others sin against us. Over the past few weeks we have studied some tragic mistakes Jacob made in the way he parented his children: he unnecessarily exposed them to Canaanite culture (Ge 33:18,19), he showed flagrant favoritism (Ge 33:1,2; 37:3,4), he passively refused to protect the honor of a daughter (Ge 34:1-31) and he tolerated demonic worship among his family (Ge 35:2,4). In doing so, he scarred all of his children one way or another, but today we'll particularly focus on the damage it did to his three oldest sons: Reuben, Simeon and Levi, because the way each reacted shows what can happen when bitterness is left unchecked. Sadly, their reaction caused the impact of their father's sin to extend much further than was necessary. Though they were not responsible for what Jacob did to them as a parent, God did hold them responsible for the sinful way they responded. Each in turn lost his birthright, which meant he forfeited the right to lead their family. Their example should be a warning to us how not to handle our deep scars the way they did, but to take them to God.

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As a husband and a father, Jacob shamelessly showed favoritism toward his wives and his children and, just as you would expect, it produced deep trouble in his family. Favoritism always does. Competition, jealousy, murderous rage and low self-esteem became the tragic fruit of the seeds he sowed. If this chapter seems bizarre and dysfunctional, it is, but it's been included in Scripture as a warning to us to treat those under our care differently than Jacob did. In today's study we will review his favoritism and the effects it produced, consider the deep instincts aroused when we are treated this way, and then we'll review the choices which must be made if we are going to love people the way God wants us to. In other words, we'll discover how to expand the circle of our love.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge! 

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Sometimes it takes a crisis to bring us back to forgotten promises. Somewhere in the past we may have made sincere promises to God, but changing circumstances and passing years have caused us to all but forget we ever made them. In fact, so much may have changed that we may have lost hope that it would still be possible for us to keep those promises. But in today's study of the life of Jacob we learn that God doesn't forget old promises, neither the ones we make to Him nor the ones He makes to us. And we discover how important it is for us to keep those old promises while it is still possible to do so. By breaking promises to his brother (Ge 33:14) and God (Ge 28:20-22), Jacob ended up in a place that brought terrible suffering upon himself, his family and the community (Ge 34): his children's morals were corrupted; his daughter was raped; he fell into such spiritual passivity that his sons led the family during the crisis, committing mass murder. Fortunately, when things got bad enough, Jacob turned to God and when he did God instructed him to fulfill the forgotten promises he had made 30 years before.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge! 

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Some of us find it very easy to relate to Jacob. He was a man with obvious weaknesses of character, yet, he clearly loved the Lord. Even after some dramatic encounters with God, we find him falling back under pressure to old, ungodly habits. But Jacob gives us hope because, in spite of his failures, God didn't give up on him. He promised to transform him into a new man (Ge 32:28) and then kept working on him for the rest of his life until by his later years he truly became the spiritual man God intended. What's so comforting to us is that the changes in him weren't the result of getting his "act together," but of God patiently working on him. In this way, Jacob models how God still deals with people. Many of us continue to struggle with areas of weak character long after becoming Christians. Our heartfelt promises to get ourselves under control have failed so often we've stopped making such promises. Yet, frustrated lives that fail to change probably result more from our misguided attempts to change, than from lack of desire. Today we'll look at an event in Jacob's life and reflect on how God changes us.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge! 

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Of all the strange events in Jacob's life, this is by far the strangest. Left alone on the far bank of the Jabbok River, he ended up wrestling with a stranger in the dark of the night. During the course of the fight, Jacob began to realize he was grappling with no ordinary man. Though painfully injured, he refused to release his hold on the man until he "blessed" him. The request for a blessing in itself is surprising because Jacob was already a wealthy man with a large family. What more could he desire beyond what he already had? Yet, in the blessing God gave him, we discover the deep longing of Jacob's heart: he was tired of being Jacob. He was a self-reliant, competitive man, and he had stubbornly prevailed with everyone he dealt with, starting with his twin brother in the womb (Ge 25:21-24). Yet, something of blessing was missing inside his unsubmitted heart. He needed to walk with God at a new level, but he wasn't able to do so. This is what God saw and said He would grant him because he had not quit in his pursuit of God.

Many of us are strong-willed and find it hard to become dependant on God. From God's dealings with Jacob we will learn how to receive the gift of a changed nature.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge! 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.