It sounds more like a soap opera than a story from the Bible, doesn't it, this tale of Joseph in Potiphar's house? Or maybe a Hollywood movie.

The characters in the story are pretty much the stock characters of popular entertainment -- the good-looking, innocent young fellow who catches the eye of the bored housewife. She turns temptress and makes every effort to corrupt him. When her little scheme fails, she turns on him and tries to blame him for the whole thing. Finally there is the husband, who never suspects what his wife is up to. When she invents a story about Joseph's improper advances, the husband responds in a predictable jealous rage.

As I said, at first glance, all this seems to be little more than a soap opera plot we've seen and heard countless times before. But there's more to it than that. Let's take a closer look at what happened in Potiphar's house.

The young man Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, is taken to Egypt and there becomes the property of Potiphar, a wealthy and powerful man described as "an officer of Pharaoh." The very next thing the Bible tells us is that "the Lord was with Joseph." What does that phrase imply? If the Lord is with Joseph, can no harm befall him? Maybe. Or perhaps it means Joseph will achieve great things. In fact, the very next sentence tells us that Joseph became a successful man in the house of his master. Even Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph, the Bible says, and Potiphar saw that the Lord caused all that Joseph did to prosper in his hands.

At this point I must tell you that whoever wrote down this story in Genesis was a literary artist of the highest measure, one who gave attention to every detail, every shade of meaning. We must pay attention to each word in the story. Case in point -- that word "hands": "the Lord caused all that [Joseph] did to prosper in his hands." Actually, the Hebrew word is singular -- "hand." Remember that innocent looking word; it will take on special meaning a bit later.

So Joseph is a success, and Potiphar makes him overseer of his house. Again, note that word, "house." It will appear ten times in this story and will underscore the great trust Potiphar has in Joseph. If you bring someone into your house, you are extending to that person a great deal of intimacy. Your house is your private space, the place that says more about you than anywhere in the world. You don't let just anyone cross your threshold. To have someone say to you, "please come in," is to enjoy a holy privilege. It's one of the reasons why as your pastors, Ann and I have encouraged all of you to extend this privilege to your fellow church members. The more often we visit in each other's homes, the closer our Christian fellowship becomes.

After the storyteller has described Joseph's great success and position of responsibility -- telling us repeatedly that Potiphar has put Joseph in charge of all that he had, we come to an unexpected sentence, one that doesn't seem to have any bearing at all on Joseph's status. It's a short sentence, and it catches us by surprise. "Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking." And with that sentence, we immediately sit up and take notice. On top of all the other great things going for Joseph, he's good looking. Some people have all the luck, don't they?