HealingStrong's Around the Word

Episode 4 - The Joseph Series: Joseph's Refusal (Genesis 39:6-20 NIV)

• HealingStrong • Episode 4

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Joseph's unwavering integrity when faced with Mrs. Potiphar's advances reveals the importance of establishing moral boundaries before temptation strikes. Rather than compromising his values, Joseph chose to flee, demonstrating that true faith means honoring God even when it comes at great personal cost.

This quick episode covers:

• Joseph served faithfully as Potiphar's household manager, doing everything as unto the Lord
• Mrs. Potiphar repeatedly tried to seduce Joseph, but he refused to betray both his master and God
• Joseph's key response: "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"
• When physically confronted, Joseph ran away rather than compromise, even leaving his cloak behind
• Joseph had decided his boundaries before facing temptation, not during the moment of crisis
• Despite doing the right thing, Joseph suffered imprisonment due to false accusations
• God remained with Joseph even through unjust suffering and imprisonment
• We cannot debate with temptation—we must establish firm boundaries and flee when necessary

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Suggested Resources:

BIBLE PLAN - Trusting God's Plan in the Waiting: Lessons from the Life of Joseph

PODCAST - Genesis to Revelation Bible Reading

TOOLS - Refresh Your Spirit through God's Word



Speaker 1:

So Joseph was living and serving and doing what he did as unto the Lord.

Speaker 2:

That was who he answered to Hi there, my name is Cheryl and you're listening to Healing Strong's. Around the Word. We are a group of friends that like to sit around the table and talk about God's Word and dig deep into it. Each day, I'll read a Bible passage and then we'll chat about what we're learning into it. Each day, I'll read a Bible passage and then we'll chat about what we're learning from it. Today, I'll be reading Genesis 39, verses 6 through 20 from the NIV version of the Bible. So join us Around the Word Genesis 39, 6 through 20.

Speaker 2:

So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph's care With Joseph in charge. He did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said Come to bed with me. 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. 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? And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

Speaker 2:

One day he went into the house to attend to his duties and none of the household servants was inside. 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. When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. Look. She said to them.

Speaker 2:

This Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house. She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story that Hebrew slave you brought us came to make sport of me, but as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house. When his master heard the story, his wife told him saying this is how your slave treated me. He burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. That was our Bible reading for today. So now let's listen in on what Susie, angie Maren and myself are talking about around. The word Story gets juicy here y'all. So Mrs Potiphar has been eyeing Joseph for quite a while.

Speaker 1:

She sees an opportune time to proposition him and I mean, how does the enemy get at our men? Really, this is one of the ways that so many men are tempted. But I love, love the response in scripture where Joseph was doing it as unto the Lord, not even as unto Potiphar. So Joseph was living and serving and doing what he did as unto the Lord. That was who he answered to. How then could I do such a wicked thing? And sin against God is what he said.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, he pointed out that Potiphar could trust him with everything. He trusted him with everything. He was in charge of his household, but not his wife. He couldn't do this.

Speaker 4:

I wouldn't do this, I think that's evidence that Joseph had his decisions made up before the question came. Yes, Before the situation came. Because you know the enemy was there to whisper in Joseph's ear. She could get you out of here, she could get you this, she could get you that you might not be a slave anymore, she could do you all kinds of favors. Yet he didn't listen to any of that because he knew where his allegiance was, and that was to the one true God. We can't wait until we get in the temptation to make a decision. We got to stand firm before that, and then we got to make sure we don't allow ourselves to get in situations that we're going to be tempted, I believe he had set good boundaries too.

Speaker 2:

Obviously he did not want to sin against the Lord. That was the ultimate. But I mean you and I. You can't worry what other people think about you, like if you have a rule that you're not going to go out to eat with someone of the opposite sex. If you're married out of respect to your spouse, you need to uphold that, even if people think it's antiquated and silly. You're protecting your marriage. You're protecting that vow. Obey God and leave all the consequences to him. That's what Charles Stanley says, a really popular preacher.

Speaker 4:

There's no debate. You don't debate with the devil. You take your stand, you know what your stand is ahead of time, and then you just repeat that to yourself I'm not going there, I'm not going to do that, I'm never going to do that, that kind of thing, and that helps when the temptation comes, I think.

Speaker 1:

Well, and when temptation comes and grabs you, what did he do? He ran the other way. So even though she ended with his cloak or his coat, like you bring up in the devotion I love that Even though she ends up with a coat and he ends up outside naked, he ran from it. And so there's so many lessons in this.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, Another cool lesson is that he could have been really bitter about being in this position. He didn't have to work hard and do this work for this man that you know, an Egyptian. Why would he? His brothers sold him. He could have been kind of mad at God that he let that happen. People do that. People think God let that happen.

Speaker 4:

He didn't let his brothers change his destiny and the scripture said that the Lord was with Joseph there too, even in prison.

Speaker 2:

Good night. That was an amazingly interesting chapter of the Bible and can you believe that's in God's word? I'm telling you, if you ever think that the word of God is boring, you probably haven't been reading it. Anyway, thank you for joining us for Healing Strong's Around the Word podcast. We hope you were encouraged to dig deeper into God's Word. Join us next time for more discussion around the Word and if you like our podcast, please give us a five-star rating, click that subscribe button and tell everybody you know about us, and please visit us at healingstrongorg where you can find out more about our mission and community groups. Until next time, remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.