The Lord Was With Him Gen. 39:3 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

In the Bible you find the expression, the Lord was with him, in conjunction with several notable men.  We are going to study these men to see why the Lord was with them and how the Lord being with them affected their work.

The Lord was with Joseph – Gen 39:2-3, 21, 23 – Potiphar recognized that the Lord was with him and the keeper of the prison recognized that the Lord was with him.  They knew it because they could see that the Lord made what he did to prosper in his hand.  He was absolutely faithful and never complained.  As a result he was very suited to be a steward over other men’s possessions and affairs.  Potiphar, the keeper of the prison and, eventually, Pharaoh were over Joseph but he was over everything else.  Thus, in this capacity he is a perfect type of Jesus Christ [1 Cor 15:27].  If you want to be a good steward the Lord must be with you.

The Lord was with Samuel – 1 Sam 3:19 – all the people knew that the Lord was with Samuel because what he said came to pass.  The Lord revealed himself to Samuel by the word of the Lord and Samuel was absolutely faithful to God’s words.  He was established to be a prophet of the Lord.  He typifies Jesus Christ in this regard because Jesus was also a prophet [Deut 18:15].  To be a good preacher, the Lord must be with you.  Jesus said, “without me ye can do nothing.”  You must be absolutely faithful to the words of the Lord and never depart from them.

The Lord was with David – 1 Sam 18:12, 14, 28 – at this time, David was captain over 1,000 in Saul’s military [1 Sam 18:13].  He typifies the Lord Jesus Christ in that Jesus is the captain of the host of the Lord [Jos 5:14] and the captain of our salvation [Heb 2:10].  If you are in the military, to be a good commander the Lord must be with you.  David was fearless in the face of his enemies, like Goliath, because he fought in the name of the Lord of hosts [1 Sam 17:45].  You will never be more courageous than when your courage comes from God [1 Sam 30:6].

The Lord was with Hezekiah – 2 Ki 18:7 –the Lord was with Hezekiah and he prospered withersoever he went forth.  Hezekiah was the king of Israel and in this regard he typifies the Lord Jesus in that Jesus is the King of kings.  Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God [2 Ki 18:5], clave to the Lord and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments.  If you want to be an excellent ruler, the Lord must be with you and you must cleave to him and keep his commands.

The Lord was with Phinehas – 1 Chr 9:20 – Phinehas was the ruler of the porters and those who kept the gates of the entry [1 Chr 9:18-19].  In this capacity he typifies the Lord Jesus who is the door [Jn 10:7].  It may not seem like such a big deal to keep the gates and the entry.  But even for this task it was noted that the Lord was with him.  In other words, your job may not seem like such a big deal to you or others, but when you do it for the Lord it is a big deal to God [Eph 6:6-8].

The Lord was with Solomon – 2 Chr 1:1 – Solomon was the king after David and his rule matches the peaceful millennial reign of Jesus Christ.  The Lord was with him and strengthened his kingdom and magnified him like he will do to the Lord Jesus Christ when he returns to this earth.  God gave him wisdom and knowledge in response to his prayer request.  In the millennial reign of Jesus we are also supposed to reign with him.  Like Solomon you are a child of the king and he will exalt you in due time [1 Pet 5:6].  Therefore, your deportment should be that of a prince.  And in order for you to have the wisdom and knowledge of God as a child of God, the Lord must be with you.

The Lord was with Asa – 2 Chr 15:9 – Asa was Solomon’s great grandson.  By the time he ruled, Judah had been without the true God and without a teaching priest for a long while [2 Chr 15:3].  Asa needed a lot of courage to bring Judah back to the Lord.  This beginning of his reign gives us a picture of what it’s going to be like when Jesus directs Israel back to God and away from the idolatry of the antichrist [2 Chr 15:8].  When you return from being backslidden or when you are helping your family come back to the Lord after a season of being away from him, the Lord must be with you as he was with Asa.  If you seek him, he will be found of you [2 Chr 15:2].

Conclusion: certainly there are others that the Lord was with.  However, we see in the lives of these individuals the obvious work of the Lord in their lives.  It should be evident to others that the Lord is with us as it was evident to others that the Lord was with these.  Our lives should typify the life of the Lord Jesus when he is with us and when we are doing what he has called us to do.  We do not have the strength, knowledge, wisdom or courage to do what he wants us to do without him.  The Lord must be with us.