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Patriarchs and Prophets
Redeemer. Now all these precious lessons came vividly before him.
Joseph believed that the God of his fathers would be his God. He then
and there gave himself fully to the Lord, and he prayed that the Keeper
of Israel would be with him in the land of his exile.
His soul thrilled with the high resolve to prove himself true to
God—under all circumstances to act as became a subject of the King
of heaven. He would serve the Lord with undivided heart; he would
meet the trials of his lot with fortitude and perform every duty with
fidelity. One day’s experience had been the turning point in Joseph’s
life. Its terrible calamity had transformed him from a petted child to a
man, thoughtful, courageous, and self-possessed.
Arriving in Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, captain of the
king’s guard, in whose service he remained for ten years. He was
here exposed to temptations of no ordinary character. He was in the
midst of idolatry. The worship of false gods was surrounded by all
the pomp of royalty, supported by the wealth and culture of the most
highly civilized nation then in existence. Yet Joseph preserved his
simplicity and his fidelity to God. The sights and sounds of vice were
all about him, but he was as one who saw and heard not. His thoughts
were not permitted to linger upon forbidden subjects. The desire to
gain the favor of the Egyptians could not cause him to conceal his
principles. Had he attempted to do this, he would have been overcome
by temptation; but he was not ashamed of the religion of his fathers,
and he made no effort to hide the fact that he was a worshiper of
Jehovah.
“And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man....
And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord
made all that he did to prosper in his hand.” Potiphar’s confidence in
Joseph increased daily, and he finally promoted him to be his steward,
with full control over all his possessions. “And he left all that he had
in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not aught he had, save the bread which
he did eat.”
The marked prosperity which attended everything placed under
Joseph’s care was not the result of a direct miracle; but his industry,
care, and energy were crowned with the divine blessing. Joseph at-
tributed his success to the favor of God, and even his idolatrous master
accepted this as the secret of his unparalleled prosperity. Without
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steadfast, well-directed effort, however, success could never have been