Three men were in prison: (1.) Joseph serving, Gen. 39; (2.) Peter sleeping, Acts 12:6; (3.) Paul praying and singing, Acts 16:25.
You will notice the difference between Joseph in Gen. 39:1 who was brought down to Egypt, and Abram in Gen. 12:10 who went down into Egypt. Abram in the time of famine lost confidence in God and went down to Egypt to escape the famine. Abram did not have the mind of God in this. It was very different with Joseph who was brought down to Egypt. We see in this God working out His counsels and purposes. This is what God is doing today.
In many ways Joseph is a most beautiful type of the Lord Jesus. In this 39th chapter of Genesis he is in prison and is thus a type of the Lord Jesus. (See Isa. 53:8.) "He was taken from prison and from judgment." There is something very instructive for us here. It makes all the difference how the people of God get into their circumstances. Here Joseph could not help being brought down into Egypt. But in Gen. 12:10, Abram went down of his own will. "And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there." Egypt is a type of this world out of which the people of God have been delivered.
Prosperity
"And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian." Gen. 39:2. He was not prosperous in the things of this world. There are two kinds of prosperity spoken of in the Word of God: one is worldly prosperity, and the other is spiritual prosperity. I believe we have the two kinds of prosperity brought out in connection with Joseph and Abram.
Gen. 13 shows that Abram got back to the place which he left. He was rich in cattle, silver and gold, but all the time Abram spent in Egypt was lost time as far as communion with God was concerned. We do not read of the tent or the altar in Egypt. You may say Abram got on well in Egypt, and he was very rich in cattle, silver and gold, but that was worldly prosperity. Egypt can give a Christian that. If a Christian gets away from the Lord and gets into the world, the world can give him prosperity but it cannot give him Christ.
Spiritual Prosperity
But the prosperity Joseph enjoyed in the house of Potiphar and in the prison was of a different kind. It was prosperity of soul with Joseph. What do we desire as Christians, the prosperity of the world or spiritual prosperity? Twice we read in Gen. 39, "The Lord was with Joseph." It does not say that the Lord was with Abram in Egypt, although doubtless He was because Abram was a man of God. The Lord did not forsake Abram because he went down to Egypt, but the time Abram spent in Egypt was lost time as far as communion with God was concerned.
All the time we are out of communion with the Lord is wasted time. If you turn to Ex. 12:1, 2, you will find the same principle in regard to the sinner. The Israelites had been in Egypt about 430 years, yet the Lord says, "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you." All the time we are in our sins, not saved and out of Christ, is lost time as far as God is concerned. Our history Godward begins from the time we are born again, from the time we are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. It is so with the child of God if he is going on with the world, making his nest here, grasping after the things of this poor world. This is lost time as far as communion with God is concerned. A Christian cannot have the world in one hand and Christ in the other. It must be Christ or the world.
Fear God
Joseph was a prosperous man. He was upright, honest, and had great integrity of heart. A few words in Gen. 42:18 show us what characterized Joseph all the way through: "For I fear God." This was the holy fear of offending God which comes out very beautifully in the 39th chapter. The temptation must have been very strong which was presented to Joseph by his master's wife, but it was the fear of God which prevented him from falling into this awful sin. The fear of God possessed Joseph's soul and kept and preserved him in the hour of temptation. He ever desired to inculcate this fear into the hearts of his brethren. He succeeded in doing this and it resulted in their repentance and blessing.
Joseph was brought into circumstances over which he had no control. What a comfort this is to the people of God in a day like today. Sometimes we are brought into circumstances which we cannot help and from which we cannot extricate ourselves.
Potiphar bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites and found when he got this poor slave that the Lord was with him. It is a beautiful thing when the people round about us can see that the Lord is with us. It is said about Peter and John in Acts 4:13: "They took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."
Serving in Prison
Whether in the house of Potiphar or in the prison, Joseph served others. What should characterize us as the children of God? It should be happy, holy service. We are not to live down here to please ourselves, but to please the Lord. We read in Rev. 22, "And His servants shall serve Him." What a blessing Joseph was in the house of Potiphar. Because he was there, God blessed his house for Joseph's sake. We see the same in 1 Chron. 13:14, "The Lord blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that he had." It is very easy for the Lord to bless His people because of any service done for Him or His people. (See Matt. 25:35-40.)
There is no doubt that God blesses the unconverted down here in this world because of their kindness to the people of God. Joseph is now in prison, falsely accused, and one would naturally suppose his days were done. He was accused of the most dreadful crime and put into the dungeon. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Suffering
We see in Psa. 105:17-20 what the Lord had to say about Joseph: "He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron." We would not have known how much Joseph suffered were it not for this Psalm. God wants us to know that Joseph was a sufferer. Few men have submitted to a more severe test than; Joseph, but he stood the test. It is in a time of prosperity that Satan tries people most. Joseph's trust was in the Lord. "The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul." Psa. 121:5.7. There are very many Scriptures which show how the Lord takes care of His own. May we enter into the truth of the little hymn:
Keep us Lord, O keep us cleaving,
To Thyself, and still believing;
Till the hour of our receiving,
Promised joys with Thee.
In times of trial and difficulty we can always cry to the Lord. "Lord, help me. Hold me up and I shall be safe." We cannot keep ourselves.
Sleeping in Prison
In Acts 12:6 we have another man in prison, Peter, who is not serving like Joseph, but sleeping. Matt. 26:40 says. "He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with Me one hour?" Peter had failed to watch with His beloved Master in His hour of sorrow. Through sleeping, Peter lost that precious privilege. In Acts 12, Peter is asleep again, but under different circumstances. Here he is the beloved servant of the Lord and is tired and weary in service for his Master. He is sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains.
It is nice to turn away from ourselves and our failures to the One who never fails. Here we have the blessed Master watching so lovingly and tenderly over His beloved servant. Peter, lying chained between two soldiers was casting all his care upon the Lord. We like to read about Peter because he is so much like ourselves. This is the very thing that Peter exhorts believers to do in his first epistle: "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." It is very encouraging to read the letters of Peter and Paul who carried out the truth practically and also taught others so to do. May we all learn in time of trouble to cast all our care upon the Lord, knowing He cares for us.
Praying and Singing in Prison
"At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them" Acts 16:25. Here we have the third man in prison, Paul, praying and singing praises to God at the midnight hour. A most unusual event took place in that prison. The jailor had never seen such a thing take place before. They had been severely beaten and their feet made fast in the stocks, yet they were singing. In the most trying circumstances what a wonderful thing it is to be a Christian, to be saved. Paul was saved on his way to Damascus where he was going to persecute the Church (Acts 9:1-9).
Paul and Silas, two dear children of God in the prison, two real believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, endured great suffering, yet it did not hinder the divine life from flowing out. They had been imprisoned wrongfully. It was an effort of the devil to get rid of the truth.
Conversion
In Acts 16 there are three characters are brought before us. In Lydia we sec an honest seeker; in the young girl with the spirit of Python, we have the false professor; in the jailor, we recognize the hardened sinner. The jailor is about the most hardened man one could find. It was through Paul and Silas's being put in prison that this jailor was converted. Perhaps he would not have heard the gospel had they not been put into prison. God had His eye upon the jailor. He caused the jailor to see that Paul and Silas had something that he did not possess. The Spirit of Christ was manifested beautifully in these servants of the Lord. They do not complain of their treatment, but they can pray for those who put them there.
“And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed." v. 26. It was a wonderful earthquake; no damage was done. It accomplished one thing: it awoke the jailor from his sleep! The bands were loosed; the prisoners were all free and could have gone out but not one prisoner stirred. The jailer heard from the inner prison, "Do thyself no harm: for we are all here." He had drawn his sword and was about to kill himself supposing that the prisoners had fled.
It was the same spirit manifested by the Lord Jesus when He was on the cross. Jesus prayed for His enemies saying, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." If Paul and Silas had not been born again, they could not have acted as they did. They knew the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior.
Priesthood
Paul and Silas were carrying out the two aspects of the priesthood as given us in 1 Peter 2:5-9: the holy priesthood and the royal priesthood. The holy priesthood offers up spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. The royal priest shows forth the character of Christ to others. We are not only left here to give God something, the worship and thanksgiving of our hearts, but we are here to show forth the virtues of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Are we doing this as Christians? Are we acting like Paul and Silas in the prison: something going up and something of Christ manifested in our daily lives? It is only the salvation of God possessed and enjoyed in our souls that can enable us to do this. W. Willis