Genesis 39:6b-18
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. 13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” 16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
Joseph's integrity in this scene is incredible and exemplary for how we should avoid temptation. First, in the face of her request, Joseph takes note of the favor Potiphar has shown him by promoting him to the position of authority in his house. Joseph does not take his favor lightly. Potiphar has been good to him, how could he then betray him. He recognizes, as we ought to, that there are relational consequences for his behavior. There is no hint of secrecy in Joseph's mind. He never, as far as we know, entertains the oft thought notion, "Maybe he will never find out." He seems to be living out the proverbial wisdom of Numbers 32:23, "...be sure your sin will find you out." We would all do well to remember this principle.
Joseph also recognizes that his sin would primarily be against God. Of course his sin would also be against Potiphar and his wife but his sin against God would be paramount (39:9). This is similar to David's declaration after he sinned with Bathsheba in Psalm 51:4, "Against you, you only, have I sinned." Sinning against God is not something to be taken lightly.
Verse 10 also hints at the wisdom of Joseph in avoiding temptation. He not only refused to go to bed with her, but he also refused to even be with her. He wisely sought to avoid her advances by attempting to avoid the situation entirely. Again, we would be wise to remember this. All too often we put ourselves in situations where we are tempted, or close to temptation, thinking "I can handle it." If we are honest with ourselves, deep down we know our desire is to sin, yet in our mind we know it's wrong and it will hurt ourselves and the ones we love. By constantly placing ourselves in the way of temptation and flirting with evil it is only a matter of time before our desire overwhelms us and we find ourselves doing what we know to be wrong. It is best to avoid situations where we will be tempted...at least attempt to avoid them. Can we honestly pray as Jesus taught us to: "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil"? (Matt. 6:13) Or would your prayer sound more like, "Lead me as close to temptation as I can get and keep me from the negative consequences of my actions."
In spite of Joseph's efforts to avoid these situations he nonetheless found himself in another moment of temptation. It seems as if the situation was unavoidable or he was simply unaware that he was in the house alone with her as he was simply attending to his duties (39:11). He wisely refuses her invitation and flees from the house. The narrator again doesn't fault Joseph here. His integrity is unquestioned, yet he is again falsely accused and mistreated. Again, he is disrobed and it is used as evidence against him. (37:31-33)
In the ensuing events Potiphar has Joseph thrown in prison. The more likely punishment for these accusations would have been death for Joseph. So it seems as if Potiphar didn't entirely believe her story or he really respected Joseph, recognizing the blessing he brought to his household, and did him a favor by not having him put to death. In either case, it was Joseph's integrity in the time he served Potiphar that likely led him to experiencing Potiphar's favor here. Again, this is a vitally important lesson for us to hear. We need to be people of integrity always because we never know when we may need to draw on that equity in the event of a false accusation.
Practice
- Pray the Lord's prayer today, especially the part "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil"
- Repent of the recent times you have given into temptation remembering God's forgiveness through Jesus.
- Commit to living in integrity and avoiding temptation.