創世記39章

         創世記39: 1-23 , 創世記39:3 ,

創世記39: 1-23

39:1 約瑟被帶下埃及去。有一個埃及人，是法老的內臣─護衛長波提乏，從那些帶下他來的以實瑪利人手下買了他去。
39:2 約瑟住在他主人埃及人的家中，耶和華與他同在，他就百事順利。
39:3 他主人見耶和華與他同在，又見耶和華使他手裡所辦的盡都順利，
39:4 約瑟就在主人眼前蒙恩，伺候他主人，並且主人派他管理家務，把一切所有的都交在他手裡。
39:5 自從主人派約瑟管理家務和他一切所有的，耶和華就因約瑟的緣故賜福與那埃及人的家；凡家裡和田間一切所有的都蒙耶和華賜福。
39:6 波提乏將一切所有的都交在約瑟的手中，除了自己所吃的飯，別的事一概不知。約瑟原來秀雅俊美。
39:7 這事以後，約瑟主人的妻以目送情給約瑟，說：「你與我同寢吧！」
39:8 約瑟不從，對他主人的妻說：「看哪，一切家務，我主人都不知道；他把所有的都交在我手裡。
39:9 在這家裡沒有比我大的；並且他沒有留下一樣不交給我，只留下了你，因為你是他的妻子。我怎能作這大惡，得罪上帝呢？」
39:10 後來她天天和約瑟說，約瑟卻不聽從她，不與她同寢，也不和她在一處。
39:11 有一天，約瑟進屋裡去辦事，家中人沒有一個在那屋裡，
39:12 婦人就拉住他的衣裳，說：「你與我同寢吧！」約瑟把衣裳丟在婦人手裡，跑到外邊去了。
39:13 婦人看見約瑟把衣裳丟在她手裡跑出去了，
39:14 就叫了家裡的人來，對他們說：「你們看！他帶了一個希伯來人進入我們家裡，要戲弄我們。他到我這裡來，要與我同寢，我就大聲喊叫。
39:15 他聽見我放聲喊起來，就把衣裳丟在我這裡，跑到外邊去了。」
39:16 婦人把約瑟的衣裳放在自己那裡，等著他主人回家，
39:17 就對他如此如此說：「你所帶到我們這裡的那希伯來僕人進來要戲弄我，
39:18 我放聲喊起來，他就把衣裳丟在我這裡，跑出去了。」
39:19 約瑟的主人聽見他妻子對他所說的話，說「你的僕人如此如此待我」，他就生氣，
39:20 把約瑟下在監裡，就是王的囚犯被囚的地方。於是約瑟在那裡坐監。
39:21 但耶和華與約瑟同在，向他施恩，使他在司獄的眼前蒙恩。
39:22 司獄就把監裡所有的囚犯都交在約瑟的手下；他們在那裡所辦的事都是經他的手。
39:23 凡在約瑟手下的事，司獄一概不察，因為耶和華與約瑟同在；耶和華使他所做的盡都順利。

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.
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 No one is greater in this house than I am. 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?” ¹⁰ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
¹¹ One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. ¹² She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
¹³ When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, ¹⁴ she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. ¹⁵ When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
¹⁶ She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. ¹⁸ But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
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.

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    約瑟被賣到埃及，上帝仍然與他同在，使他不論在什麼景況，都被人所重用與喜愛。雖然被陷害，上帝卻不離棄他。

    我們的人生的確有許多的不順遂、不如意！甚至讓我們感受到，家人和環境週遭的人對我們很大的傷害，以致失去活下去的勇氣。然而，在這樣的狀況，從基督來的盼望，是我們生活下去的重要支持！

    人常常要用自己的努力和想法來尋求人生的出入，然而屬基督得我們，不要忘記，我們是要倚靠基督而活，讓上帝在基督裡永恆的應許，成為我們人生的動力，沒有什麼力量比交託給主更有力量的！

箴言25:28

人不制伏自己的心，好像毀壞的城邑沒有牆垣。

Like a city whose walls are broken through

    is a person who lacks self-control.

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    說到「制伏自己的心」，英文是用「self-control」，也就是「節制」，由加拉太書5章22-23節：「聖靈所結的果子，就是仁愛、喜樂、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、信實、溫柔、節制。這樣的事沒有律法禁止」，可以知道這是聖靈工作的結果。

    既是來自於聖靈的工作，我們要憑信心領受，相信著基督在十字架上所完成的救贖大功，我們可以藉由禱告祈求，將自己交託給上帝，讓「節制」的能力可以從心底產生，讓我們在每天的生活中可以應用出來！我們的現實環境，是上帝讓我們體會聖靈工作的場域。

    求主保守我們，讓我們以榮耀上帝的心來體會聖靈的工作。你將會發現，上帝的真理聖靈的確是內住我們心中，讓我們感受主耶穌的同在！

箴言25:27

吃蜜過多是不好的；考究自己的榮耀也是可厭的。

It is not good to eat too much honey,

    nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.

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    蜜再好吃也要吃一定限量，不加節制一直吃，最後一定會感到膩與厭煩。正如一位朋友說到，他看見玉米濃湯就怕，因為他的小孩好長的一段時間，每餐都要求吃玉米濃湯，導致到他如此。

    要是我們常常就是誇耀自己的榮耀，弄到最後的結果，就是不會發現別人的長處，只陶醉在自己的小圈圈，久了之後就不會感覺到人生有什麼樂趣可言！這樣的人生，會感覺很無聊的！

    但是，我們將榮耀歸給上帝之時，我們將發現許多的驚奇，因為上帝是無限無量的，總是配得我們讚美！我們越歸榮耀給上帝，就越感受上帝的奇妙與全能，讓我們的生命越豐盛！