Genesis 39 1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
2 The LORD was with Joseph so that 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. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
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19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 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.
When reading narratives in the Scripture it is always important to pay attention to patterns. The translators have taken advantage of the chapters here to help make this more clear. The beginning and the end of chapter 38 have the same pattern. Joseph is taken somewhere bad — the LORD is with him even in that bad place — because the LORD is with him he experiences favor and blessing is given not only to Joseph but to everyone he is in contact with. In each instance Joseph rises to being second in command even in these relatively lowly estates. This is certainly a foreshadowing of his future position as second in command over all of Egypt.
What we are seeing in these small events is a partial fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham on a micro level. God promised Abraham that through him all the families of the earth will be blessed (Gen. 12:3). Here we see this playing out in the individual household of an Egyptian military commander and even in an Egyptian prison. God doesn't only bless Joseph who is working in Potiphar's house, He blesses Potiphar's whole house. So much so that Potiphar gave Joseph charge of everything. In the prison we see this same pattern. God blesses Joseph in prison and the warden takes notice, giving him charge over the whole prison.
This pattern is setting us up for the fuller future fulfillment of God's covenant to Abraham. This covenant is more fully realized later in the story when Joseph saves the land of Egypt and the whole world comes to receive food from him (Gen. 41:57). As we mentioned last week this covenant will find its fullest fulfillment in the person of Jesus.