Genesis 39:7-10 (ESV Strong's)
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?”
And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.
Subject: Temptation
The story of Joseph and Potiper's wife is one of the most known stories in the Old Testament. Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers, is eventually bought by Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the Captain of the guard. This was a very powerful man. (Since Joseph would eventually serve second in command to Pharaoh, we have to wonder if Joseph ever returned to Potipher to get his revenge.) Potipar's wife makes advances after advances to have relationships with Joseph. Yet, the young man does not succumb to the temptation. It is something that happened to him day after day. Although she eventually falsely accused Joseph of rape, the temptation to have her is not once, or twice, but daily. Joseph gives us a great picture of a man of God who is tempted to sin and, through faith, endures that temptation. Note what Solomon says about these type of temptations:
Proverbs 1:10 (ESV Strong's)
My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
Joseph, in faith, refused to constant. He was not willing to throw away his faith for filth. In Proverbs 7 we have the story of someone who did. It was a lack of the fear of the Lord that the naive in in Proverbs 7 gave in to sin. Joseph, in the Fear of the Lord, took prison rather than passion.
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