Joseph Overcomes Great Temptation

12/29/2007 11:23 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                              Focus: Joseph overcomes great temptation

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Genesis 39:7-20

            Message of the verses:  “7 ¶  It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me."  8  But he refused and said to his master’s wife, "Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge.  9  "There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?"  10  As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her.  11  Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside.  12  She caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me!" And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.

13 ¶  “When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14  she called to the men of her household and said to them, "See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed.  15  "When he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside."  16  So she left his garment beside her until his master came home.  17  Then she spoke to him with these words, "The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me; 18  and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside."

19 ¶  “Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, "This is what your slave did to me," his anger burned.  20  So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail.”

As I have read this account of Joseph on different times, it comes to my mind that this is one of the most remarkable things that he ever accomplished in his life, for his was a young man at this time and to resist a temptation like this is a great accomplishment and something that brought honor and glory to the Lord.  I also think of the upbringing that he must have had to learn that this was not the right thing to do in sleeping with another man’s wife.  I believe that Jacob must have spent some quality time with Joseph.

The Bible speaks much about this kind of sin and how dangerous it can be to those who participate in these types of sins.  One only needs to think of the story of David’s son and the trouble he got into by sleeping with his half sister, for it eventually caused him his life, and did great harm to the one he had raped.  The love or better yet lust quickly turned into hatred as it did in this case too. 

I realize that God was in control of this situation and He used Joseph’s time in jail to get him to the throne by interrupting the dreams of Pharaohs’ men and eventually the dream of Pharaoh, but I wonder why it was that Potiphar did not do something more harmful to Joseph, unless he did believe Joseph, but because of his home life he had to have Joseph put in jail.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is possible that with the help of the Lord to defeat the types of temptations that Joseph faced.  I can also see that God had a plan for Joseph, as He has for my life also.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to aid me in fighting the temptations that I face each day.