Living Room Study

Genesis 39

“Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.  After some time his master’s wife looked longingly at Joseph and said, ‘Sleep with me.’  But he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Look, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority.  No one in this house is greater than I am.  He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife.  So how could I do such an evil and sin against God?’”  Genesis 39:6b-9

Just like Adam & Eve in the garden with the “tree of Knowledge”, so was Potiphar’s wife to Joseph in Potifer’s house. (As it pertains to sexual relations.) If Joseph can be considered a “Type of Messiah”, his response to temptation surely passed the test!

Joseph had everything going for him. He was handsome and brilliant. Despite difficult circumstances, he (again) rose to a position of authority. If it seemed unnatural for a 17 year old to supervise his 10 elder shepherd brothers, imagine the same youth running the household of the 2^nd most powerful man in Egypt. Some guys seem destined for success, but success can have unforeseen downsides. Joseph knew this all too well.

In my career, I have been around many successful people, and I generally sort them into two piles: Humble, and self-absorbed. There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground and sadly, the humble variety is in very short supply. Joseph was humble, while Potiphar’s wife was completely self-absorbed.

If there were ever a “stud”, it would have been Joseph. Perhaps, his experience with his brothers taught him to restrain his tongue. Perhaps, those early days in slavery taught him to be thankful for even the lowliest position of authority. I believe it was his faith in God (and his response to God’s faithfulness) that gave Joseph his resolve.

Potiphar’s wife, on the other hand, did not have the Lord’s moral compass. Perhaps, that is the lesson of today’s passage. Joseph faithfully served Potiphar, because Joseph served God. He worked as unto the Lord. Potiphar’s wife could not honor her husband, because she had no relationship with the Lord. She simply lived to serve herself.

There is only one true God, and only one salvation…which is found exclusively in Jesus. If we reject Him, the only God we’ll end up serving is the one we see looking back in the mirror: ourselves.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins