We are in chapter 39 of Genesis with our word for today. מַצְלִ֑יחַ from the root word צָלֵחַ force entry, cut through, cross, rush to, succeed, advance, prosper, be successful. It is used 65 times in the Old Testament. The overwhelming observation of our word is the fact that God is the one present causing or directing the outcome toward success. 1 Chronicles 22:11-13 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of David his father. And he וְהִצְלַחְתָּ֗ prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 2 Chronicles 14:7 And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and וַיַּצְלִֽיחוּ prospered 2 Chronicles 31:20-21 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and וְהִצְלִֽיחַ prospered.
The opposite is also true without God there is no real success. 2 Chronicles 24:20 Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot תַצְלִ֔יחוּ prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” Isaiah 54:17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall יִצְלָ֔חsucceed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.
So the whole point of success is being where God is so that he is with you. This is the sense that we see our word in our chapter today. Genesis 39:2-3, 21-23 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a מַצְלִ֑יחַ successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to מַצְלִ֥יחַsucceed in his hands… But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it מַצְלִֽיחַsucceed. In both settings, as Potiphar’s servant and in prison Joseph was successful because God was with him.
I’ll close with a Psalm that is a great picture of Joseph’s life regardless of what happened to him he prospered because he was connected to God and God was with him. Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he יַצְלִֽיחַprospers.
