It seemed like everything was going in Joseph’s favor. Although he was taken to a land that was not his own and was taken there by force, he found a way to be content and God blessed him for it. It looks like everything is going to be just fine and life will be okay for Joseph and then . . . Have you ever been there? I know I have, I am content and then boom, a bombshell hits and life seems unfair and unjust. Let’s take a look at the bombshell that was dropped on Joseph.
Genesis 39: 6b - 7 “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!’ I want you to take special note of what Joseph’s answer to this request was. Genesis 39: 8 “Be he refused. ’With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he 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?’.
How did Joseph respond to temptation? As I reflect on this question, I see that Joseph recognized it, he confronted it, and he rejected it. 1) Recognized - Joseph recognized first what was entrusted into his care. He recognized God’s provisions that were given to him through Potiphar. He recognized his authority and he recognized his boundaries. Furthermore, he recognized who the sin would be against. 2) He confronted the sin directly, he didn’t ignore the temptation but tried to explain why it was so important t to refuse that temptation. He gave his testimony to the temptation, shared of God’s provisions in his life. 3) He rejected the temptation. I believe it is important to note who he said that he would be sinning against. He didn’t say he would be sinning against Potiphar and that he could lose his position of power because of it, he said that he would be sinning against God.
We can get caught up in this world in trying to please people. People in power will help us climb the ladder. That is what we thing anyway. By looking at Joseph’s response he was not concerned with the reaction of Potiphar’s wife, he was concerned to the response that would come from God. He recognized that the only reason he had what he had was because of God. The one he wanted to please more than anyone was God. Today I must reflect on who I am trying to please, man or God? Who are you trying to please, man or God?
Jesus talks about serving two masters in Matthew 6:24 - 26 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important that clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
Jesus spoke about one master being money and for me that money would equal pleasing those who hold that money. Just as I mentioned in my last blog, whatever we do in life, it need to bring glory to God, not to man as all that we have is from God. Joseph recognized this, he didn’t respond by saying he would sin against his earthly master and God, he simply said he would be sinning against God. When we put sin in perceptive and realize that every time we sin we are sinning against the one who sacrificed Himself for us then it is much easier to say “no!” to that temptation. There is a song, “He Grew the Tree” that speaks of the one who sacrificed for us. Below I have copied a link to that song, for you to listen and reflect on: Years ago a friend of ours introduced it to us and it was a blessing then as it was today as I listened to it..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jsLzkXnp_E
As temptations of life come your way in the workplace, on the streets, in your school, in your church, take a moment and think about who you would really be sinning against. Joseph realized he would be hurting an earthly man but he would be sinning against his God. As you seek Him and you find Him, may the temptations of this world may you recognize that the temptations of this world do not compare to the love of your Heavenly Father.
Tomorrow we will look at the result of Joseph running from his temptation.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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