49 RESISTING TEMPTATION

Satan will try to kill, steal, and destroy your dream. You will be tested as you wait on God to fulfill your dream. Joseph’s trust in God, after his character was refined, made him a loving son, magnanimous brother, and powerful national leader. Joseph’s God, coupled with faith, morality, and character on Joseph’s part, led him to success and the fulfillment of his dreams. When enduring the temptation of Potiphar’s wife, Joseph gave her a wise response: “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (9) Joseph would not compromise his morality. If men and women of God will keep their faith focused on the fulfillment of their God-given dreams, it will help them through temptations. Satan can only kill, steal, and destroy when we yield to his temptations. Knowing that sin is against the God we love gives us power to resist.

Joseph was taken to Egypt and purchased. Potiphar who bought him, whatever he gave for him, had a good bargain. It was better than the merchandise of silver. “. . . Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites . . .” (1) He was sold to an officer of Pharaoh, with whom he might get acquainted with public persons and public business, and so be fitted for the special position for which he was designed. What God intends men to become He will be sure, some way or other, to qualify them for it. David playing a harp in Saul’s court is another example of this. God’s sovereign providence is to be acknowledged in the placement of even poor servants and in their settlements may be working towards something great and important. Joseph was blessed, wonderfully blessed, even in the house of his servitude because God made things go well for him; that is, God prospered him. Verses two and three say, “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered . . . . his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did . . .”

We do not know but what perhaps the affairs of Potiphar’s family had experienced remarkable reversals before; but, on Joseph’s coming into it, a discernible favorable change occurred in them, and their face and posture quickly turned for the better. Though, at first, we may suppose that his assignments were just of the lowliest services, even in those his ingenuity and industry evidently appeared; a particular blessing of Heaven attended him, which, as he rose in his employment, became more and more discernible. Anyone who has wisdom and grace has something that cannot be taken away, whatever else they are robbed of. Joseph’s brethren had stripped him of his coat of many colors, but they could not strip him of his virtue and prudence. Those that can separate us from all our friends, still cannot deprive us of the gracious presence of our God. When Joseph had none of his relations with him, he had his God with him, even in the house of an Egyptian. Joseph was separated from his brethren, but not from his God; banished from his father’s house, but the Lord was with him, and this comforted him. God’s presence with us can make all we do go well. If we want to prosper, if we want things to go well for us, let us make God our Friend; and when things go well for us let us therefore give God the praise.

His master preferred him, gradually promoted him and eventually made him steward of his entire household. Verse four says, “Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.” Industry and honesty are the surest and safest way both of rising and thriving. It is the wisdom of those who are in authority to observe and employ those with whom it appears is the presence of God. Wise persons look for dependable people to work for them. Psalm 101:6 says, “My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me.” Potiphar knew what he did when he put all into the hands of Joseph; for he knew it would prosper better there than in his own hand. He that is faithful in a few things has the chance to be made ruler over many things. Jesus, Himself, uses this principle as suggested in Matthew 25:21 which says “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” It is a great happiness to a master to have those employed under him who are trustworthy. Potiphar was so well satisfied with Joseph’s conduct that  he “. . . left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate” (9). The servant had all the care and responsibility of the estate; the master had only the enjoyment of it. This is an example not to be imitated by anyone, unless he could be sure that he had one in all respects like Joseph for a servant.

God favored his master for his sake as verse five says, “. . . the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph.” Though he was an Egyptian, a stranger to the true God, for Joseph’s sake; he, like Laban, soon learned by experience what it was like to have God’s blessings. Good men are the blessings of the places where they live; even good servants may be thought they are just a servant and lightly esteemed. The prosperity of the wicked is, one way or other, for the sake of the godly. Here was a wicked family blessed for the sake of one good servant in it.

Yet even in all of this wonderful success and prosperity a most shameful instance of foolishness, immodesty and evil appears in Joseph’s mistress. It is a shame and scandal of her sex, perfectly lost to all virtue and honor, and not to be mentioned, nor thought of, without the utmost indignation. She was an Egyptian. We would have to share in the confusion if such folly had been found in Israel. Her sin began in the eye. Verse seven says, “. . . and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’” She, herself, had been tempted, but without the advantages of good moral training that Joseph had. Verse six simply says, “Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,”Remarkable beauty, either of men or women, often proves a dangerous snare both to themselves and others, which should stop us from pride in it and, rather, commands constant watchfulness against the temptation that goes with it; favor is deceitful—deceiving. We have great need to make a covenant with our eyes as Job did lest the eye infect the heart. 

Potiphar’s wife was daring and shameless in her sin. With maybe a beautiful but certainly a deceitful face, and a harlot’s forehead, she said, “Come to bed with me!” having already, by her lustful looks and unchaste desires, committed adultery with him in her heart. When an unclean spirit gets possession and dominion in a soul, the clothes of modesty are thrown off and the bands and fetters of shame are broken in pieces. When lust has taken hold, it will not stop or  blush at anything. Decency, reputation, and conscience, are all sacrificed to that beautiful yet wicked idol. She was urgent and violent in the temptation. Often she had been denied with the strongest reasons, and yet as often continued her evil requests. Verse ten says, “And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.” This was a great wickedness in her, and showed her heart fully set to do evil. And to Joseph it was a great temptation. The hand of Satan, no doubt, was in it, who, when he found he could not overcome Joseph with troubles and the frowns of his brothers or the world next assaulted him with soft and charming pleasures, which have ruined more than the former, and have slain their ten-thousands. And at the same time, this story is a most illustrious instance of virtue and resolved chastity in Joseph, who, by the grace of God, was amazingly enabled to resist and overcome this temptation. All things considered, his escape was as great an example of the divine power of deliverance as that of the three Hebrew men escaping out of the fiery furnace or Daniel from the lion’s mouth.

The temptation with which she assaulted Joseph was very strong. What a violent attack was made against the fort of chastity! The sin he was tempted to was uncleanness, which considering his youth, handsome appearance, single state, and plentiful living at the table of a ruler, was a sin which, one would think, might most easily lure and betray him. The tempter, a temptress, was his mistress, a person of quality, whom it was his place to obey and his interest to oblige, whose favor would contribute much to his advancement, and by whose means he might arrive at the highest honors of the court. On the other hand, it was at his utmost peril if he slighted or offended her, and made her his enemy. The temptress was in the house with him; his business led him to be, without any suspicion, where she was; none of the family were in the house and there appeared no danger of a secret ever being discovered, or, if it should be suspected, his mistress would protect him. To all this was added her persistent insistence, frequent and constant invitations, to such a degree that, at last, she laid forceful hands on him.

His resistance of the temptation was very brave, and the victory truly honorable. The almighty grace of God enabled him to overcome this assault of the enemy by strength of reason; and wherever right reason may be heard, righteousness no doubt will carry the day. He argues from the respect he owed both to God and his master, My maser trusts me and how could I do this and sin against God? He would not wrong his master, nor do such an irreparable injury to his honor by misbehaving with his master’s wife. He considers, and urges, how kind his master had been to him, what confidence he had placed in him, in how many instances he had befriended him, for which he abhorred the thought of betraying his master.

See how he argues in verse nine, “No one is greater in this house than I am.” Those that are great, instead of being proud of their greatness, should use it as an argument against sin. ‘I will scorn to do a wicked thing; it is below me to serve a base lust; I will not ruin myself like that.’  He would not offend his God. This is the chief argument with which he strengthens his resistance to the sin. How can I do this? not only, How will I? or, How dare I? but, How can I? It is good to shut out sin with the strongest bar, even that of an impossibility. Joseph urges three arguments on himself. First, He considers who he was that was tempted. “I. Others may perhaps take their liberty, but I cannot. I that am an Israelite in covenant with God, that profess religion, and relation to Him: it is next to impossible for me to do so.” Secondly, What the sin was to which he was tempted: This great wickedness. Others might look on it as a small matter, but Joseph had another idea. In general, when at any time we are tempted to sin, we must consider the great wickedness there is in it, let sin appear sin. Call it by its own name, and never go about to lessen it. Particularly let the sin of uncleanness always be looked on as great wickedness, as an exceedingly sinful sin, that wars against the soul as much as any other. Thirdly, Against whom he was tempted to sin—against God; not only, “How shall I do it, and sin against my master, my mistress, myself, my own body and soul; but against God?” Wise souls view this as the worst thing in sin that it is against God, against His nature and His dominion, against His love and His design. Those that love God do for this reason hate sin.

By steadfastness of resolution Joseph resisted. The grace of God enabled him to overcome the temptation by avoiding the temptress. Anyone who want to be kept from harm must keep themselves out of harm’s way. When she laid hold of him, “he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house” (12). He would not stay to argue further with the temptation, but flew out from it with the utmost abhorrence; he left his garment, as one escaping for his life. It is better to lose a good coat than a good conscience.

Joseph’s mistress, having tried in vain to make him a criminal, now endeavors to represent him as one; so as to be revenged on him for his virtue. Now her love was turned into the utmost rage and malice, and she pretends she cannot endure the sight of him whom awhile ago she could not endure out of her sight. Chaste and holy love will continue, though slighted; but sinful love, like Amnon’s to Tamar, is easily changed into sinful hatred. She accused him to his fellow servants and gave him a bad name among them. Possibly these Egyptian workers envied Joseph, the foreigner in his high position in their master’s favor, and his authority in the house; and perhaps found themselves angered by his honesty which prevented their own advancements and therefore they were glad to hear anything that might add to his disgrace, and, maybe they even exacerbated the anger of his mistress yet more. She then accused him to his master, who had power in his hand to punish him, which his fellow servants did not have. Furthermore, what an improbable story she tells, producing his garment as evidence that he had tried to force to her, which could be just as plain an indication that she had wanted to force him. If she could say “Come to bed with me,” she could also say, “He wanted to take me to bed.” She adds the desire  for revenge to her other sins. Consequently, Joseph is to be punished for doing right! It is no new thing for the best of men to be falsely accused of the worst of crimes by those who themselves are the worst of criminals. It is well that a day of discovery is coming, in which all will appear in their true characters. Interestingly, this was not the first time Joseph’s coat was made use of to tell a lie about him. His father had been deceived by an earlier coat and now Potiphar’s wife tried to deceive Potiphar with this one.

This is an intriguing story, but we don’t read and study it for entertainment. Rather we want instruction.  Joseph was to be one of the most successful men recorded in Scripture. Twelve chapters are devoted to his story. We want to be successful too. Let’s ponder this story and its end and follow Joseph’s example. Some of the stories in the Bible are there to be a warning, but this one is there to be an example to be followed.