Genesis 39:7-12 – Fleeing From Temptation

These verses tell us about the sinful behaviour of Potiphar’s wife. Her sin begins in the eye. Looking around she lusts after Joseph. We must guard against the sins of our eyes and thoughts before they work their way into our actions. But Potiphar’s wife does not stop with committing adultery in her heart, she works to get Joseph to commit adultery with her. Her heart is fully set to do evil, and she is not ashamed or deterred.

This is a great temptation to Joseph. The hand of Satan is probably in it, who, when he finds he cannot get Joseph to sin in anger and bitterness towards his brothers, takes a different tack. It is a very strong and persistent temptation, one possibly very attractive to a young man like Joseph. It is seemingly in his best interests to give in to the temptation as it can lead to power and influence or even his freedom, whereas to resist it will only cause trouble as he will make his master’s wife his enemy. Finally, if he gives in, there appears to be no danger of it ever being discovered – it seems as though no one will ever know.

By the grace of God, Joseph is able to resist and flee from this great sin. He will not wrong his master by doing such an ungrateful and wicked thing, especially considering the great trust his master has placed in him. Being in a position of trust and responsibility does not give us a license to sin, instead it gives us even more reason not to sin. But more importantly Joseph realises that he cannot sin against God. God has chosen him and taken care of him, and this sin that Joseph calls ‘such a wicked thing’ is against Him primarily. If we want to avoid sin, we must learn to see it for how wicked it really is, avoid it whenever we can, and flee from it when it grabs hold of us.