Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife (Part 2 of 3)

When You Honour the Lord.

Genesis 39: 8-23

Ok were in this part of Genesis where it has rather unusually described Joseph as beautiful and thinking about how this Hebrew term has only previously been applied to women. We already looked at two examples of Abrahams wife Sarah in Genesis chapter 12, and of Rebecca, Isaac’s wife in Genesis chapter 26 both of whom were described in this way. Then again in Genesis, chapter 29, verse 17 when we were told.

“Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance”.

(Genesis 29: 17)

So, all of these women were described as being physically beautiful. The text goes to specific lengths to talks about it. These where 3 generation of gorgeous women in Joseph’s family line, so maybe not surprising that one of them had a son who was also described as handsome and well-built as well as good looking. He was clearly a handsome who was in good shape. In my day Charles Atlas was the body that every boy wanted, remember, he was the ultimate of physical physique, I’m just showing my age now. At any rate, the text back in Chapter 39 is telling us that Joseph was a very good-looking man and he had a good physique as well. Now this is important to the story in Genesis 39 because of what happens next. Let’s pick it up at verse 7.

“And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” So it was, as she spoke to Joseph, day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her”.

(Genesis 39: 7-10)

The first part of this message in the first six verses is telling us simply that Joseph loved and served the Lord and the Lord honoured Joseph and that Joseph was successful because he honoured the Lord and the Lord honoured him. He was promoted to being in the household and put in charge overall. But now, beginning in verse 7 there is a sinister turn of events. He is trusted in the first six verses he was trusted by Potiphar but now he is about to be tested. In verses 7 to 12, he is tempted by Potiphar’s wife, and this is the second phase of this story.

The text simply says that she longed after him, but the King James translation is being polite, many of the more modern translations tell it like it was, she lusted after him. We often about men lusting after women, and of course that’s true, but I think it doesn’t get as much press that women sometimes lust after men. Well, that’s what happened here. This woman, Potiphar’s wife lusts after Joseph but he refuses her. What is significant about this is that the text says that she she spoke to him, “day by day”. In other words, this was not a single event, this happened over and repeatedly as she was constantly trying to seduce him. And despite that, he repeatedly refused her, and in fact he refused to such an extent he not only wouldn’t go near the bedroom with her he didn’t even want to be near her. He not only refused her sexual advances, but he avoided her. I say that’s an insightful observation because the Bible tells us elsewhere in Romans.

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts”.

(Romans 13: 14)

So if there is a temptation or a test in you life do everything you can to avoid exposing yourself to that moral risk. This tells me if you have a problem with drinking, don’t go to a bar. If you have a problem with drugs, don’t hang out with drug users. If you have a problem with lust, change the filters on your internet settings. So, Joseph was avoiding the very opportunity He wouldn’t even put himself in a position to be alone with her. 

“But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside”.

(Genesis 39: 11-12)

So she’s hounded him and persisted until one day she physically grabbed him by the coat and tried to dray him into bed with her. But Joseph was so committed to honoring the Lord in this area of his life that he fled and left his coat behind again. This is very interestingly. The Bible tells us in First Corinthians chapter 6, verse 18.

“Flee immorality, flee sexual immorality”.

 So, Romans says don’t make provision for fulfil the lust of the flesh, and 1st Corinthians 6 says the way to do that is to flee. Matter of fact you have already heard me quote recently, First Corinthians where it says, “there’s no common to man that God will not make a way of escape so that you may be able to bear it. What’s that way of escape? Often it is to, “flee from it, like in this case flee. Don’t hang around, leave flee, don’t stay, go.

So, again, what we have is Joseph honouring the Lord as best he can, but does that prevent all his problems? And the answer is no. The Lord was with him, he Lord, blessed him, he was promoted again and again but it didn't solve all the problems. As a matter of fact, it created a problem for him, but Joseph simply refused there was no debating it he refused to lie with her or be with her. 

Like always success in resting temptation will always depends more on character than on circumstances, and character depends on and develops only by commitment to the will of God. We can see Joseph character in his loyalty concerning what his master had entrusted to his care. We also see it in the responsibility of to God for what belonged to someone else. It is further obvious in his responsibility to God, respecting his special personal calling. Additionally, we see it in his responsibility to God concerning his sacred vocation as a member of the House of Israel. So just because you decide to honour the Lord does not get rid of the potential for problems in your life. Joseph honoured the Lord and yet he encountered an enormous temptation. If you honour the Lord, you will still be tested and face temptation, it will still be there. 

When that happened to Joseph, he refused the temptation and he refused to make provision for the flesh. So, I repeat again, Joseph honoured the Lord and the Lord honoured Joseph. He made him successful, he blessed him. And he blessed others through him, but that didn’t prevent all of the problems. As a matter of fact, the next phase in this chapter is Joseph will get tested even more. He was trusted by Potiphar, he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife, and now he will get tested. Just how bad can it get? Well, lets look at verse 13. 

“And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought into us a Hebrew to mock us. He came into me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.” So, she kept the garment with her until his master, her husband, came home”.

(Genesis 39: 13-16)

There’s a proverb that says hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Joseph refused her sexual advances, and now she’s a scorned woman and she cries rape. She calls them in, says look, he tried to rape me and when I screamed, he fled leaving his garments in my hand. Did you notice what she said to them next. She says, he brought into us a Hebrew to mock us. Now what in the world is she saying, who brought him? Who brought Joseph into the house? The answer is Potiphar, she’s blaming her husband she is saying it’s really his fault, this has happened. He’s the one that brought this Hebrew into the house, and he came so he could mock us. 

“So, she kept his garment with her until his master came home. Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came into me to mock me; so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.” So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused.

(Genesis 39: 16-19)

So, she kept the garment to show it to her husband. Verse 19 when Potiphar heard what she said, and he hears his wife blaming him for bringing this young man into the household, he gets very angry. Not surprisingly, of course he would be angry because he gets home and hears that this man that he had entrusted with to have the authority in the oversight in fact to care of all that he had, had betrayed him, and attacked his wife. He was angry, very angry, I’m sure. We will find out what the repercussions are for Joseph in the next episode.