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From Palace to Prison - The Book of Genesis · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And it came to pass after these things that his
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  Speaker 1: master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and she said,
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  Speaker 1: Lie with me. Genesis 39.7 Dear Lord, as I work
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  Speaker 1: diligently in my life to accomplish my goals and dreams,
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  Speaker 1: I thank you, Lord, that because I place you first,
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  Speaker 1: like Joseph, everything I touch, you cause to prosper. When
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  Speaker 1: I'm thrown into the darkness of life because of my integrity,
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  Speaker 1: I thank you that even in the prison of my despair,
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  Speaker 1: your favor still follows me. I thank you that promotion
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  Speaker 1: follows me in every season of my life. I thank
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  Speaker 1: you that on mountaintops and in valley moments, your light
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  Speaker 1: shines through me and causes the right people to look
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  Speaker 1: in my direction with uncommon favor. Thank you that no
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  Speaker 1: matter who tries to rise up against me, your hand
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  Speaker 1: never departs from my life. Therefore, I will keep my
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  Speaker 1: heart pure and know that even in the roughest times
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  Speaker 1: of your plans for me, my family and my business,
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  Speaker 1: they'll prevail. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for praying
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  Speaker 1: with us today. Continue your time with God by listening
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  Speaker 1: to today's Bible story, brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: FROM PALACE TO PRISON Before this story, we learned about
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  Speaker 2: Judah and Tamar, and God's faithfulness over family dysfunction. Before that,
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  Speaker 2: Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Their hatred
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  Speaker 2: and jealousy exiled Joseph to a life of labor and toil.
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  Speaker 2: Israel thought Joseph was dead and grieved deeply. Now we
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  Speaker 2: will learn about how Joseph, despite being a slave in
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  Speaker 2: Egypt for Potiphar, was a man of integrity and favored
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  Speaker 2: by the Lord, but was accused of wrongdoing by Potiphar's
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  Speaker 2: wife and ended up in prison, inspired by the book
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  Speaker 2: of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Previously, we saw how Joseph's
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  Speaker 3: brothers sold him into slavery and that he was sent
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  Speaker 3: to Egypt. We also heard of how Judah, the brother
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  Speaker 3: of Joseph, sought to build a kingdom apart from his
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  Speaker 3: own family, one that crumbled before his very eyes. Today,
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  Speaker 3: you will hear a very different story. Joseph will be
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  Speaker 3: elevated from slave to a position of great authority. More importantly, though, Joseph,
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  Speaker 3: despite being removed from his father's home and estranged in
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  Speaker 3: a land far away, would lean on God for his strength.
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  Speaker 3: He will grow in maturity and integrity and determined to
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  Speaker 3: always do what is right in the sight of God.
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  Speaker 3: The future will look bright for Joseph, but his integrity
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  Speaker 3: will be tested. As you listen, pay attention to how
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  Speaker 3: Joseph responds to temptation. It is no mistake this story
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  Speaker 3: immediately follows that of Jacob and Tamar because the two
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  Speaker 3: men could not be more different in their actions. So,
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  Speaker 3: let's listen now to Joseph's story.
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  Speaker 2: Now a slave in Egypt, Joseph worked diligently in the
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  Speaker 2: house of Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of
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  Speaker 2: the guard. Even in what seemed to be the worst
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  Speaker 2: of circumstances, the favor of God was with Joseph. Every
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  Speaker 2: task Joseph put his hand to succeeded, and Joseph worked
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  Speaker 2: with an excellence that could not be ignored. His master
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  Speaker 2: observed Joseph's success and kept him close because of it.
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  Speaker 2: Joseph found favor with Potiphar, and became his closest servant.
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  Speaker 2: He was charged with overseeing Potiphar's house, and all Potiphar
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  Speaker 2: owned was under his care. God blessed his work, and
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  Speaker 2: the Egyptians thrived for Joseph's sake. From the households to
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  Speaker 2: the fields, Potiphar rejoiced in the labor and successes of
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  Speaker 2: his valued servant and friend. Soon, all he had was
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  Speaker 2: Joseph's to care for. All except the food he ate,
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  Speaker 2: and the wife he loved. Joseph grew up to be
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  Speaker 2: a handsome and well-built man. His labor in the sun
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  Speaker 2: had made him tan and muscular, and he was a
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  Speaker 2: pleasant sight to all the women in Potiphar's household, including
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  Speaker 2: his wife. Her eyes lingered as she watched Joseph perform
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  Speaker 2: his tasks. Salaciously, she would lounge close to wherever Joseph worked.
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  Speaker 2: Her eyes locked onto his, and she slowly approached him. Sensually,
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  Speaker 2: She pressed her body against his and said, Lie with me, Joseph.
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  Speaker 2: Joseph immediately refused. Because of me, my master doesn't have
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  Speaker 2: to worry about anything, he said fearfully. He has put
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  Speaker 2: everything under my care. No one in this house has
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  Speaker 2: more authority than I, and he has not kept anything
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  Speaker 2: from me except for you, because you are his wife.
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  Speaker 2: He pushed her away, gently, trying to diffuse the situation.
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  Speaker 2: How could I do that wickedness against him and God?
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  Speaker 2: After saying this, Joseph left, but Potiphar's wife would not relent.
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  Speaker 2: Day after day she spoke sensually to him, beckoning him
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  Speaker 2: into her bedroom. Yet Joseph remained upright, refusing every gesture politely.
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  Speaker 2: One day, as the hot Egyptian sun was setting, Joseph
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  Speaker 2: entered into the house to finish up his work. He
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  Speaker 2: came in to discover all the men of the house
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  Speaker 2: were gone. Turning the corner, he bumped into Pontifer's wife.
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  Speaker 2: She was waiting for him. She smiled, grabbed him by
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  Speaker 2: his garment, turned her lips close to Joseph's ear, and whispered,
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  Speaker 2: Lie with me. This time, Joseph could not speak. He
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  Speaker 2: turned his body towards the door, with her still grabbing
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  Speaker 2: onto his garment. It slid off of him as she pulled,
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  Speaker 2: but he did not turn back to get in. Instead,
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  Speaker 2: he ran. He ran down the hall and out of
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  Speaker 2: the house. knowing full well he must get far away
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  Speaker 2: from her lest he stumbles. Embarrassed and teeming with anger,
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  Speaker 2: she looked down to see Joseph's garment still in her hands.
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  Speaker 2: Immediately she screamed for the guards. Help, she shouted. The
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  Speaker 2: guards came to attention. See, this Hebrew mocks us. He
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  Speaker 2: came to lie with me and I cried out for help.
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  Speaker 2: As soon as he heard my screams, he left his
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  Speaker 2: garment and fled. She continued to lie. and weaved stories
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  Speaker 2: about Joseph until Potiphar returned home. See how your servant
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  Speaker 2: has treated me, Potiphar's wife said, holding up his garment.
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  Speaker 2: Joseph's master writhed with anger. Like a wildfire fueled by
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  Speaker 2: a warm wind, Potiphar stormed out to find Joseph. Unable
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  Speaker 2: to explain himself, Joseph once again found himself under a
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  Speaker 2: fury of fists. Once again, Joseph found himself shackled by
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  Speaker 2: people he cared for, And once again, Joseph was thrown
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  Speaker 2: into the darkness. He was put in the prison where
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  Speaker 2: the king's servants were confined. There he sat in the cold,
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  Speaker 2: wondering why this was happening to him again. Yet God's
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  Speaker 2: steadfast love met Joseph in the worst of circumstances. Favor
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  Speaker 2: followed Joseph even in the dark depths of an Egyptian
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  Speaker 2: prison cell. Joseph became admired by the keeper of the prison,
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  Speaker 2: and Joseph began serving him. Soon Joseph became in charge
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  Speaker 2: of all the prisoners who were there with him. As
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  Speaker 2: it was before, whatever Joseph put his hand to was blessed.
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  Speaker 2: Whatever needed to be done, he leaped at the opportunity.
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  Speaker 2: The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything
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  Speaker 2: that was in his charge because the Lord was with him.
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  Speaker 2: And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.
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  Speaker 3: Joseph is a bright young man, an excellent man, a
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  Speaker 3: great spirit was in him, and with hard work he
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  Speaker 3: soon proves himself trustworthy to his master Potiphar, a man
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  Speaker 3: in Egypt of great influence and power. When we live
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  Speaker 3: with integrity, and when God blesses the work of our hands,
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  Speaker 3: the outside world can't help but notice that there is
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  Speaker 3: something different about us. That is what we see happening
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  Speaker 3: in the life of Joseph. He was a man with
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  Speaker 3: an excellent spirit. But not all attention is good attention.
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  Speaker 3: Some will see your success and either be attracted to
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  Speaker 3: you for unrighteous reasons, or they'll set their sights on
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  Speaker 3: you to take you down. In Joseph's case, he experiences
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  Speaker 3: the unwelcome attention of a very lustful woman, Potiphar's wife.
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  Speaker 3: She presents him an offer many young men would not
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  Speaker 3: have turned down. In fact, the world would tell someone
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  Speaker 3: to jump at the chance for a conquest. But Joseph
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  Speaker 3: was different. He knew his master trusted him, and he
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  Speaker 3: would not sacrifice his integrity and break that trust for
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  Speaker 3: momentary pleasures. More importantly, much more importantly, Joseph would not
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  Speaker 3: dishonor God in this way. The woman, however, would not relent,
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  Speaker 3: and day after day she threw herself at Joseph, and
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  Speaker 3: day after day he refused the temptations. How many times
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  Speaker 3: are we able to resist temptation the first time, the second,
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  Speaker 3: maybe the third, but then give in? That's why we
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  Speaker 3: are told to flee, to run from temptation, because it
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  Speaker 3: wears you out.
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  Speaker 2: Down.
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  Speaker 3: It can beat you down and defeat you. And so
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  Speaker 3: that's what Joseph did. He ran away. When Potiphar's wife
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  Speaker 3: finally corners him in the palace alone, he doesn't offer
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  Speaker 3: kind excuses or polite refusals. He runs. His garment falls
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  Speaker 3: to the ground as he runs away, and the scorned
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  Speaker 3: woman decides that since she can't have him, she will
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  Speaker 3: make him pay. She accuses Joseph of assault, and unable
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  Speaker 3: to defend himself, Joseph, who did the right thing, is
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  Speaker 3: thrown into prison. From one pit to another, Joseph is
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  Speaker 3: once again in chains. He's in a pit, he's in
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  Speaker 3: a prison, and he is powerless. But he is not alone.
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  Speaker 3: He is not abandoned. For even there in prison, God
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  Speaker 3: shows his favor on Joseph and is with him. Soon,
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  Speaker 3: Joseph becomes leader over all the other prisoners. Even in
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  Speaker 3: this moment, God is preparing Joseph with the skills that
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  Speaker 3: will one day help him serve well in the land
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  Speaker 3: of Egypt. But for now, Joseph must look to God
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  Speaker 3: even when he cannot see the future and lean on
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  Speaker 3: him and trust him with all his heart. And that
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  Speaker 3: is exactly what he does. Dear Lord, help us to
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  Speaker 3: follow Joseph's beautiful example of integrity and run away from temptations.
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  Speaker 3: Resist the devil, and that we would honor you with
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  Speaker 3: all of our actions. We know there might be a
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  Speaker 3: high cost to this, but we also know that you
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  Speaker 3: are faithful to sustain us and never leave us. Thank
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  Speaker 3: you for your enduring love and kindness. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
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  Speaker 3: to tap into God's power for successful Christian living, be
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  Speaker 3: sure to visit jackgraham.org. God bless.
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  Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by MediShare, an innovative healthcare solution
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