...........Genesis 38 also helps us understand "that the sons of Jacob, forgetting the sacred vocation of their race, were in danger of perishing in the sins of Canaan. Had not God in mercy interposed to bring about the removal of the whole house of Jacob to Egypt, the chosen race might have succumbed to the corrupting influence of Canaanite customs. Thus, chapter 38 is an integral part of the early history of Israel."—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 434.

After being discovered, Judah could do little but admit his guilt. Again, as in the plot against Joseph, he revealed a spirit of fair play and sincerity beneath his sometimes scandalous and corrupt conduct. His frank confession, his subsequent treatment of Tamar, and his special place in the ancestral line of Christ (Gen. 49:10) indicate a thorough reform on his part. A character more excellent than that of his older brothers qualified him for the leadership of the family and his posterity for leadership in Israel (see Gen. 49:3, 4, 8-10).

I think Joseph also had something in his life that needed to be burned out of his life.

Does anybody know what that was?

The caravan holding Joseph captive passed the hills where Jacob's tents stood. For a time the teenager "gave himself up to uncontrolled grief and terror."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 213. However, Joseph, remembering Jacob's stories about God's love and constancy shown to Abraham, Isaac, and him, decided to trust the Lord and act as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. With Joseph's descent into Egypt, divine Providence prepared the way for the deliverance of Jacob's family and for the foreign domination that Abraham's children were to experience until the sin of the Amorites in Canaan had reached its full measure (Gen. 15:13-16). It begins an incredible story of what the Lord can do through someone who, despite all odds, seeks to remain faithful to Him.

Considering, too, the problems with lust shown by other family members (Gen. 35:22; 38:16, 18), not to mention the common practice of polygamy (which no doubt fed the lower passions), Joseph's fortitude amid the constant badgering by the master's wife is a powerful testimony to his faith and character.

Here's Joseph, unjustly sold into slavery, then, unjustly, thrown into prison. Yet, three times Genesis 39 states that "the Lord was with" him. How are we to understand what that means? How could God be "with" him when so many bad things were happening to him?

Both the baker and the cupbearer were high-ranking officials at Pharaoh's court. (Compare Neh. 1:11.) They had themselves been thrown into jail (they may have been accused of plotting to overthrow Pharaoh) and had been placed under Joseph's care.