The devil whispered “lie with me.”
This post was written by a man, not an AI.
Genesis 39:6-18
So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”…But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.”
The Bible is full of instances wherein men encountered sexual temptation. Men of God. Men not of God. Men of all religions have fallen prey to the wicked power of sexual temptation. Herein is an instance in the biblical account where a man, who was not Jesus, encountered a woman enticing him to sleep with her. This is not the typical blame formula potrayed on mainstream TV.
This is a feat of strength. First, Joseph just received a promotion. He had been faithful in the house of Potiphar. After starting at the very bottom as a slave, he proved himself reliable to Potiphar and Potiphar made him the manager of the house. Joseph’s status escalated from a slave brought from a foreign land to the lead “help” for the property of this Egyptian officer. I imagine his confidence was brimming and hope was dawning after his brothers sold him to slavery.
Second, the woman is pursuing the man//not the other way around. Now, Potiphor’s wife, I’m sure, had a reason for this. What marriage problems created this possibility in her mind? The text doesn’t say. But if she is a woman of status, it seems a bit unreasonable to want to sleep with the help. Joseph must have been a stud.
The compelling strength of this text is that Joseph stands his ground and rejects a woman’s offer for adultery. If you want strength over sexual temptation, let’s examine some of the surrounding details that can inform us as to how Joseph said no in this moment of intense sexual temptation.
- Joseph was blessed by God. Gen 39:5- “From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.” The text makes it clear that God was with Joseph. A man with the Lord on his side can deliver immense damage to the power of sin.
- He was genuinely loyal to his master. Gen 39:8-9 “But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” Joseph’s words reveal that he sees Potiphor as his master. The woman is Potiphar’s wife. There was an illusion that Joseph was somewhere beside’s Potiphar’s house. The temptation tried to fixate Joseph on the desirability of the temptation and be numb to the fact that he was in the house of his master. Joseph maintains situational awareness. He doesn’t get caught in the trap.
This text tells us that 1) men can exercise strength in the midst of sexual temptation ; 2) God’s blessing is the precursor to exercising strength in the face of sexual temptation; 3) the trial does not end after saying no. There were still consequences and difficulties Joseph had to face.