Genesis (2011) 39B. After a brief pause in our study, we return to Joseph s situation in Potiphar s house

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1 Genesis (2011) 39B After a brief pause in ur study, we return t Jseph s situatin in Ptiphar s huse He has been made a slave by n fault f his wn, but Jseph has evidently thrwn himself int the wrk He has becme bedient t his new master just as he was t his father, Jacb We learned last time that Jseph s diligence and bedience was a indicatin f his trust in Gd s svereignty and a willingness t rest in Gd s prmises But then t accept that even negative circumstances are part f Gd s plan Yu may have nticed that Jseph s bedience in the face f injustice is a great picture f Christ s bedience t the Father s wishes Like Jseph, the Lrd was appinted by Gd the Father t suffer injustice fr the sake f a greater gd Is. 53:4 Surely ur griefs He Himself bre, And ur srrws He carried; Yet we urselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten f Gd, and afflicted. Is. 53:5 But He was pierced thrugh fr ur transgressins, He was crushed fr ur iniquities; The chastening fr ur well-being fell upn Him, And by His scurging we are healed. Is. 53:6 All f us like sheep have gne astray, Each f us has turned t his wn way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity f us all T fall n Him. What was the gd that the Father intended when He crushed HIs Sn n the crss? Isaiah says Jesus was carrying the iniquity f sinners Likewise, Jseph is carrying the sin f his brthers, in the sense that his brthers sin is respnsible fr placing Jseph in this circumstances 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Genesis 39B 2 f 11 Just as ur sin was respnsible fr putting Jesus n the crss Nevertheless, bth Jesus and Jseph accepted their situatin with an bedient and trusting heart, knwing the Father knew best Finally, we als tk nte that despite bedience, Jseph s situatin didn t get better, nt at first When we d the right thing, we might assume that nly gd utcmes will fllw But scripture and life tell us differently Jesus bedience led t a crucifixin Our bedience may lead t great persecutin And Jseph s bedience led t further trials We rejin him at v.7 where he has gained cmplete authrity in the master s huse But the master s wife has taken ntice f Jseph s appearance Gen. 39:6... Nw Jseph was handsme in frm and appearance. Gen. 39:7 It came abut after these events that his master s wife lked with desire at Jseph, and she said, Lie with me. Gen. 39:8 But he refused and said t his master s wife, Behld, with me here, my master des nt cncern himself with anything in the huse, and he has put all that he wns in my charge. Gen. 39:9 There is n ne greater in this huse than I, and he has withheld nthing frm me except yu, because yu are his wife. Hw then culd I d this great evil and sin against Gd? Gen. 39:10 As she spke t Jseph day after day, he did nt listen t her t lie beside her r be with her. I read nly the last part f v.6 t set the cntent fr the rest f the passage Jseph is described in terms nearly identical t the wrds used t describe his mther, Rachel Jseph is in his early 20s, we assume, and he is handsme in frm and appearance 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Genesis 39B 3 f 11 These were the same wrds fr Rachel, s we must assume Jseph inherited his gd lks frm his mther We can safely assume that Jseph s gd lks were anther reasn his brthers were jealus f him In Ptiphar s huse, Jseph s gd lks are a distinct disadvantage hwever Jseph s appearance leads Ptiphar s wife t take an unhealthy interest in him We learned earlier that Ptiphar is a eunuch, which means he has a greatly reduced interest and capacity fr intimate relatins This was the purpse f making a man a eunuch It was believed t make a man a safer risk arund the Pharah s harem f wives Furthermre, a castrated man wuld have been seen as disqualified t hld a kingly rule ver the natin S Ptiphar wuld have been made a eunuch t preclude him frm seeking t verthrw Pharah and seize the thrne But this prcedure als prbably led Ptiphar s wife t lse interest in her husband as well S she has evidently sught ther utlets t satisfy her desires Why wuld a wman marry a eunuch in the first place? Either she married befre he tk this psitin Or she married fr the mney and pwer f his psitin Or she had n chice since the marriage was arranged In any case, the wife eventually makes an verture t Jseph t cmmit adultery with her Jseph s respnse is truly nble He refuses the request, f curse, because t d therwise wuld have been a great sin But ntice the way in which he refuses 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Genesis 39B 4 f 11 Jseph desn t make excuses r try t sthe the wman s feelings Instead, he states the reality f the situatin and gives a clear and bld explanatin fr his chice First, Jseph declares that were he t agree t her request, he wuld be sinning against Ptiphar As Jseph explained t the wife, Ptiphar had cmplete trust in Jseph He gave all that he had int Jseph s hands, making Jseph s authrity equal t his wn in the husehld The nly thing that has been withheld frm Jseph are thse things that are reserved t Ptiphar, specifically his wife S Jseph declares that he cannt lie with her, r else he sins against the trust f his master Secndly, in v.9 Jseph crrectly describes such an act as a great sin against Gd Nt nly wuld his actins harm Ptiphar, but they als harm his relatinship with the Lrd Gd is als injured, in the sense that Gd s hliness demands that His peple be hly as well Even it were pssible t sin in such a way that Ptiphar never knws abut it, Gd will knw and He will be angered by Jseph s sin Jseph isn t abut t risk ffending a hly and just Gd And neither shuld we Take a lessn here frm Jseph, and I m nt referring t aviding sin (I hpe that part f the lessn is already clear t everyne) The lessn we learn is hw t understand the impact f sin and hw t explain ur actins t thers First, we must always understand that there is n such thing as a victim-less sin 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Genesis 39B 5 f 11 Almst withut exceptin, ur sin will bring negative cnsequences t thers Just as Adam s chice in the garden enslaved the human race, each sin we cmmit bears cnsequences smewhere dwn the line Fr urselves and thers But even in thse rare cases when we might sin in a way that has n impact n thers, we are als always sinning against the Lrd Our sin is an ffense t the Gd Wh saves us T the Gd Wh will judge us Imagine if yu were scheduled t g befre a judge next week fr a verdict f sme kind And that judge says he will be mnitring yur behavir in the meantime And he will take yur behavir int accunt befre rendering his verdict Hw wuld yu behave during that week f waiting? Hw much mre shuld we guard ur behavir while we await the day f ur judgment befre the Lrd, the Judge f all? Jseph understd his chices wuld have cnsequences fr himself, fr thers and fr his relatinship with the Lrd And he wasn t willing t sacrifice thse things he cherished fr a few stlen mments f pleasure Secndly, ntice hw Jseph explains his chice t Ptiphar s wife He desn t make excuses r try t sften the message He tells her in clear and hnest wrds that he cannt sin with her Remember, she is the wife f the master, and as such she can be a serius threat t Jseph 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Genesis 39B 6 f 11 Jseph knws this, f curse, s we might expect him t find a diplmatic way t rebuff her He culd have used excuses, claimed t be wrried abut getting caught, r tried t ratinalize reasns why it wuldn t be a gd idea Instead, Jseph called it like it was: it was sin and he wasn t willing t sin against Ptiphar nr Gd That kind f respnse is certain t prmpt sme cnvictin in Ptiphar s wife Jseph s wrds nt nly defended his chices but it als indicted her chices And when we turn anther persn s sin arund and allw it t cnvict them, inevitably it leads t anger and resentment And hell hath n fury like a wman scrned by cnvictin We shuld endeavr t imitate Jseph, bth in saying n t sin but als in the way we say n Dn t make excuses fr ding the right thing in the hpe f aviding hurting smene feelings When smene else invites us t sin, they need t have their feeling hurt a little, in lve f curse When yu keep cmpany with peple wh encurage yu t d the wrng thing, yu have a chice t make Either help set them straight s yu can enjy their cmpany withut temptatin t sin Or put an end t that cmpany altgether, as Paul and thers say, we shuld flee the enemy and flee immrality and flee yuthful lusts If we dn t fllw Jseph in this way, we take great risks with ur wn walk and sanctificatin When we negtiate with an ffer t sin, we immediately begin t lse any advantage in ur battle against the enemy and the flesh Cnsider hw Wman negtiated with temptatin in the Garden 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Genesis 39B 7 f 11 She debated the merits f the serpent s suggestin She ratinalized that benefits f the fruit Eventually, she succumbed What she shuld have said was what Jseph said I knw that this is sin I knw this sin will bring ruin t my husband and ffends the Lrd And then put an end t the cnservatin This is ur best path as well Dn t feel any bligatin t prtect the feelings f smene wh invites yu int sin Tell them yu wn t sin They them why yu are determined t avid sin And encurage them t fllw yur example, in faith And f curse, when we make these right chices and d the right thing, gd things will always fllw, crrect? Like we saw last time, despite ding the right thing Jseph will nt see his circumstances imprve In fact, they will get wrse Once again, the scripture is calling us t a greater maturity in ur understanding f what it means t be a disciple f the Christ We are called t live accrding t the standards f a Kingdm that has nt yet arrived n earth As a result, ur hliness ffends the residents and pwers f the fallen kingdm that surrunds us fr nw And because we must ffend, we must experience persecutin, at least until the new Kingdm cmes If yu feel this deal is unfair, then I must remind yu nce again f the deal ur Lrd received frm the Father, which is pictured nce again by Jseph 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Genesis 39B 8 f 11 Jesus was temped by the enemy just as Jseph was tempted here by Ptiphar s wife He was given the chance t have an earthly kingdm, given t Him by Satan Jesus had nly t repeat the sin f Adam, by sinning against the Father and giving authrity t Satan instead As we knw, Jesus refused the temptatin t sin Instead, He called t mind the wrd f Gd and declared that Satan was wrng Jseph pictures the way Jesus cnfrnted the temptatin t sin head n, and declares in clear terms why He wuldn t accept that path Just like Jseph, Jesus received all authrity frm the Father Jesus had the cmplete trust and lve f the Father And had Jesus agreed t the enemy s temptatins in the desert, as Jseph said in v.9, it wuld have been a great evil and sin against Gd Jesus bedience didn t earn an immediate relief frm His persecutin and trials On the cntrary, His unwillingness t meet Satan s demands ensured that Jesus wuld g t the crss Because by His bedience, Jesus qualified Himself t becme the perfect sacrifice necessary t atne fr sin Likewise, when Jseph made his declaratin t Ptiphar s wife, he ensured that his preferential treatment in Ptiphar s huse wuld end Jseph didn t knw what might happen But his trust in the Lrd meant he culd rest in the knwledge that whatever might happen was accrding t Gd s plan 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Genesis 39B 9 f 11 Gen. 39:10 As she spke t Jseph day after day, he did nt listen t her t lie beside her r be with her. Gen. 39:11 Nw it happened ne day that he went int the huse t d his wrk, and nne f the men f the husehld was there inside. Gen. 39:12 She caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me! And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went utside. Gen. 39:13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled utside, Gen. 39:14 she called t the men f her husehld and said t them, See, he has brught in a Hebrew t us t make sprt f us; he came in t me t lie with me, and I screamed. Gen. 39:15 When he heard that I raised my vice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went utside. Gen. 39:16 S she left his garment beside her until his master came hme. Gen. 39:17 Then she spke t him with these wrds, The Hebrew slave, whm yu brught t us, came in t me t make sprt f me; Gen. 39:18 and as I raised my vice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled utside. Gen. 39:19 Nw when his master heard the wrds f his wife, which she spke t him, saying, This is what yur slave did t me, his anger burned. Gen. 39:20 S Jseph s master tk him and put him int the jail, the place where the king s prisners were cnfined; and he was there in the jail. As we expected, Ptiphar s wife hasn t given up and she is determined t have her way with Jseph As we read, she times her next advance fr a mment when she and Jseph were alne in the huse She grabs nt him tightly demanding he agree t her request In respnse, Jseph fllws scriptures demands and literally flees temptatin There are times when the Bible s instructins t flee temptatin are metaphric, when flee means resist strngly But there are als times when flee means flee There is n substitute fr separating yurself physically frm a persn, place r influence that causes us t sin When he flees, she is left hlding a piece f his clthing 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Genesis 39B 10 f 11 Having been made a fl twice by Jseph, the wife decides t seek revenge by making a false accusatin f Jseph She uses the clthing t prve her case knwing that her wrd wuld nt be challenged by the wrd f a slave She makes up a stry f having been sexually assaulted Her accusatin takes place in tw parts First she makes accusatins befre the rest f the servants t discredit Jseph in their eyes In v.14 she includes the rest f the servants as c-victims with her And she blames her husband publicly in frnt f the servants Later, when Ptiphar cmes hme, she uses Jseph s clthing again t accuse him t Ptipihar And Ptiphar s respnse is t imprisn Jseph This was actually a surprisingly mild respnse given the circumstances Mre likely, Jseph shuld have been killed I suspect that Ptiphar s grace is an indicatin that he has sme dubts abut his wife s accusatin Or at the very least, it is evidence f Gd s grace in preserving Jseph in the midst f this trial S nce again, Jseph des the right thing, yet his upright behavir lands him in greater truble But here again, the Lrd is wrking thrugh Jseph s circumstances One small piece f evidence t indicate the Lrd s wrk is the rle Jseph s clthing played in this event Remember that is was Jseph s cat that caused his brthers t have anger against him And the cat became the tl they used t cver up their sin 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Genesis 39B 11 f 11 Once again, Jseph s clthing has becme the reasn fr Ptiphar s wife t falsely accuse him And it became a tl t cver up her sin This detail is mre than cincidence...it s Gd s signature in a way It shws that Jseph s circumstances are part f a pattern that Gd created t reveal His presence In the same what that time and time again the birthright has been assigned t the yunger ver the lder The clthing is a clue telling us that Gd wants Jseph t experience mre trials even as Jseph cntinues t act in bedience 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.