Perspective: Wk2 - THU
Accusation
Genesis 39:11-18
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, “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 me 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.”
Persistence allows temptation to escalate. Whether Joseph has dropped his guard a little or Potiphar’s wife has orchestrated the servants’ absence, the effect is the same. Our handsome hero stands vulnerable to the woman of the house.
However playful her advances had originally been, our story now drips with entrapment, coercion, and force. She grabs Joseph and hangs on as he sprints from the house, wearing at least one fewer garment than he started with. He has put to full use the instruction Paul gives in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee from sexual immorality.” Good advice. If your internet browsing, a coworker’s flirting, or an overt invitation nears the threshold of your sexual morality, run. Don’t pause to argue; remove yourself immediately.
What happens next is another lesson in the realities of this sinful world. Just because Joseph resists evil doesn’t mean he's immune to attack or slander. He has repeatedly done the right thing by his boss and by his faith. Nevertheless, he is about to pay a steep price for his fortitude.
Potiphar’s wife soaks in the simmering broth of rejection. By the time her husband comes home, she has concocted a story, gathered the closest thing she can find to witnesses, and sits with exhibit A on her lap. How is it that Joseph keeps getting into trouble over his coat?
Shoving Joseph’s outer garment in her husband’s face, this woman reenacts her false accusation, setting in motion the next round of the young Hebrew’s troubles. Each difficulty is worse than the last. And just when things seem to improve, calamity descends. Hopefully, God’s presence was able to convey the sentiment Peter would later express:
“For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God… if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.” (1 Peter 2:19-20)
Genesis 39:11-18
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, “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 me 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.”
Persistence allows temptation to escalate. Whether Joseph has dropped his guard a little or Potiphar’s wife has orchestrated the servants’ absence, the effect is the same. Our handsome hero stands vulnerable to the woman of the house.
However playful her advances had originally been, our story now drips with entrapment, coercion, and force. She grabs Joseph and hangs on as he sprints from the house, wearing at least one fewer garment than he started with. He has put to full use the instruction Paul gives in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee from sexual immorality.” Good advice. If your internet browsing, a coworker’s flirting, or an overt invitation nears the threshold of your sexual morality, run. Don’t pause to argue; remove yourself immediately.
What happens next is another lesson in the realities of this sinful world. Just because Joseph resists evil doesn’t mean he's immune to attack or slander. He has repeatedly done the right thing by his boss and by his faith. Nevertheless, he is about to pay a steep price for his fortitude.
Potiphar’s wife soaks in the simmering broth of rejection. By the time her husband comes home, she has concocted a story, gathered the closest thing she can find to witnesses, and sits with exhibit A on her lap. How is it that Joseph keeps getting into trouble over his coat?
Shoving Joseph’s outer garment in her husband’s face, this woman reenacts her false accusation, setting in motion the next round of the young Hebrew’s troubles. Each difficulty is worse than the last. And just when things seem to improve, calamity descends. Hopefully, God’s presence was able to convey the sentiment Peter would later express:
“For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God… if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.” (1 Peter 2:19-20)
- If you are watching a sporting event, either live or on television, and an official makes the wrong call, how do you react?
- Was there a time when you were punished for doing the right thing? When? Why do you think it turned out that way?
- Have you ever resented God for unfairness? When did that happen, and what would you like to say to Him about it?
Written by Pastor Dave Ferguson
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