The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 39:6-10,
"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."
After Joseph was sold to slave traders by his brothers, he was taken to Egypt. One of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him. The official, Potiphar, saw that the Lord gave Joseph success in all he did and eventually put Joseph in charge of everything in his household.
We read that Joseph was "well-built and handsome", verse 6, and so caught the eye of Potiphar's wife. I assume, since Potiphar was an important official in Egypt, he had "the pick of the litter" so I'm going to guess she was quite attractive herself. She approached Joseph for a tryst (and approached him "day after day"), and when Joseph refused, she physically grabbed him one day. The story goes on to say he fled out of the house, leaving his cloak in her hands, which provided Potiphar's wife evidence to falsely accuse Joseph in her revenge against him for refusing her. With my assumption that she was probably an attractive woman, she was likewise probably not accustomed to being refused.
Just like you, I have heard all the sermons about how Joseph shows us the way: we need to flee sin! References are made to passages like 2 Timothy 2:22, "Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."
While I heartily endorse Paul's admonition to "Flee the evil desires of youth..." (I heartily endorse anything Paul has to say), this account of Joseph isn't that at all. Such a connection of fleeing sin with this account of Joseph distorts this account and is very unfair to Joseph.
Joseph did not flee the temptations of sin here! He stood up against sin "day after day"! What he fled was a woman grabbing him. He was breaking and fleeing her grasp. In this account, what Joseph shows us is how to stand up against sin.
There is a difference between standing up against sin and just merely fleeing it. The one implies mastering our own emancipation over sin that Paul discusses in Romans 6. We flee what we cannot overcome. However, I will say, if I am struggling as a slave to sin, it may be best to flee!
Joseph was a man of integrity who stood his ground against sin and that gets lost in mischaracterizing his actions in Genesis 39. Let's give Joseph his due!
After Joseph was sold to slave traders by his brothers, he was taken to Egypt. One of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him. The official, Potiphar, saw that the Lord gave Joseph success in all he did and eventually put Joseph in charge of everything in his household.
We read that Joseph was "well-built and handsome", verse 6, and so caught the eye of Potiphar's wife. I assume, since Potiphar was an important official in Egypt, he had "the pick of the litter" so I'm going to guess she was quite attractive herself. She approached Joseph for a tryst (and approached him "day after day"), and when Joseph refused, she physically grabbed him one day. The story goes on to say he fled out of the house, leaving his cloak in her hands, which provided Potiphar's wife evidence to falsely accuse Joseph in her revenge against him for refusing her. With my assumption that she was probably an attractive woman, she was likewise probably not accustomed to being refused.
Just like you, I have heard all the sermons about how Joseph shows us the way: we need to flee sin! References are made to passages like 2 Timothy 2:22, "Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."
While I heartily endorse Paul's admonition to "Flee the evil desires of youth..." (I heartily endorse anything Paul has to say), this account of Joseph isn't that at all. Such a connection of fleeing sin with this account of Joseph distorts this account and is very unfair to Joseph.
Joseph did not flee the temptations of sin here! He stood up against sin "day after day"! What he fled was a woman grabbing him. He was breaking and fleeing her grasp. In this account, what Joseph shows us is how to stand up against sin.
There is a difference between standing up against sin and just merely fleeing it. The one implies mastering our own emancipation over sin that Paul discusses in Romans 6. We flee what we cannot overcome. However, I will say, if I am struggling as a slave to sin, it may be best to flee!
Joseph was a man of integrity who stood his ground against sin and that gets lost in mischaracterizing his actions in Genesis 39. Let's give Joseph his due!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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