Have you ever been in a situation where saying no cost you something important? Genesis 39 shows us Joseph in exactly that place. He refuses temptation, but instead of being rewarded, he ends up in prison.
Genesis 39 (ESV)
Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 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. 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?” And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.
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.” Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”
As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.
Now we need to remember the context of this story. The previous passage outlined Judah’s failure by treating his daughter in law as a prostitute. And so as we return to Joseph’s story, the contrast is very clear. Things looked like they were going well for Joseph. He had been sold to Potiphar, had worked hard and diligently and Potiphar entrusted him with more and more responsibility. In fact, God was blessing everything he touched. But into that blessing came temptation.
Potiphar’s wife sees Joseph and wants him. And he could have easily given in. His brother Judah had given in with way less temptation in the chapter before this one. Joseph could have said to himself “no one will find out”. He could have said, “I deserve this after all I’ve been through.” He could have said, “This will help me get even further ahead in life”. But instead, Joseph calls it what it is: “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”
That is what it looks like to have a heart of faith. A heart of faith recognises that sin is never just about the people it hurts. It is always and even primarily an offense against the Holy God. Joseph instinctively seemed to have known this. King David wrote about this in psalm 51 where he says to God: “Against you, and you only have I sinned." Joseph understands this and in the face of this temptation he flees. He does the right thing, but doing the right thing doesn’t always bring an earthly reward. In this case it ends up costing Jacob massively. He loses his job, his reputation and his freedom and he ends back up in jail.
But the text reminds us of something beautiful: “The Lord was with Joseph.” He was with him in Potiphar’s house, and He was with him in the prison. God’s steadfast love did not abandon him.
What about us? Well I think sadly, we are often far more like Judah than Joseph. We are weak, easily tempted, and often guilty of succumbing to temptation. But Jesus is the true and greater Joseph. Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. He fled from sin perfectly, not only as our example but as our substitute. It is because we continually fail to flee from temptation that he fled for us. And now having fled for us he gives us his righteousness when we trust in Him.
Now because the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ Spirit now lives in us, we are now given what we need to flee temptation too. We can resist because we have a strength that is greater than our own. We resist in Jesus’ strength. But if we fail, we also have this encouragement. We can always run back to Jesus who is righteous for us. God was with Joseph in prison. But Jesus is with us forever.
Prayer
Father, thank You that You are with Your people in blessing and in hardship. Thank You for the Lord Jesus, who resisted temptation perfectly and covers our failures with His righteousness. Help us to flee from sin, to trust You when obedience costs us, and to rest in Your steadfast love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.