LESSONS FROM THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS
GENESIS PART 2 | PATRIARCHAL HISTORY
JOSEPH: A MAN OF GODLY INTEGRITY
GENESIS 39:1-23
[INTRODUCTION]
I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interest of America first. America needs a full-time President and a full-time Congress, particularly at this time with problems we face at home and abroad. To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home. Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow.
Those words, of course, were spoken by former President Richard Nixon in a speech given on August 8th, 1974. Perhaps we will never know whether or not President Nixon was guilty of all that he was accused of doing, but one thing is very clear from that tragic situation in American history: the President had lost his integrity. Congress did not trust him and had he not resigned he most likely would have been impeached. All integrity was lost.
Most of us have probably heard of what we now call the Great Wall of China. Many of us also recognize that this wall can be seen from space by astronauts using various visual equipment; and it can also be seen in satellite images. It is nearly 4,000 miles of actual wall and is combined with natural defense barriers such as rivers and hills to reach a length of over 5,000 miles. The wall was actually constructed in several parts beginning around the 5th century B.C.
The original reason for building the wall was for military purposes. In Ancient China, the Chinese often struggled with invaders from the north. A powerful nomadic tribe was constantly giving them trouble. So they began to build this fortress, this wall, to protect them from the northern invaders. The idea was that the wall would be impenetrable. It would be so high that no one would be able to climb over it; and so thick that no one could to break through it.
But the wall did not always do what it was intended to do. In fact by one account, the northern area of China was invaded three times in the wall’s first hundred years of existence. And not once did the barbaric tribe to the north climb over the wall or break a section of it down. How did they get in? Each time they bribed the Chinese gatekeepers, and walked right in through the gates.
The invaders did not need military might to accomplish their task. They simply needed military wit. They capitalized on the character weakness of certain gatekeepers. Now what is the character quality that was missing from those gatekeepers who allowed the enemy through the wall? It is the same quality that Richard Nixon had failed to display as President – integrity. Integrity has had many great definitions given to it. It’s been said that integrity is being the same person in private that you are in public. A more dictionary type definition would be that integrity is consistency of moral character.
There is perhaps, aside from Jesus himself, no greater example of integrity in Scripture than Joseph. Joseph was a man who endured the betrayal of family, the shame of slavery, and the injustice of false accusation; and yet still displayed an amazing amount of resolve and integrity. We are going to look to the example of Joseph today as we continue our look at the lives of the patriarchs.
Here is where we are in the biblical storyline. Jacob, whom we saw last time was chosen by God over his brother Esau before birth, has now had his children. He has twelve sons. Joseph is the second youngest of these sons, and one of only two sons born to Jacob by his wife Rachel. Joseph had received visions from God in the form of dreams indicating that he would one day rule over his family. His older siblings, of course, did not like that idea. So, in a moment of opportunity, they sold him to slave traders and tricked their father into thinking he had been mauled by a wild animal.
Joseph was then taken to Egypt and purchased by an officer of the Pharaoh named Potiphar. The story then picks up in Genesis 39. The account is of Joseph in Potiphar’s house.
[READ GENESIS 39:1-23]
Now there is so much that we could glean from this story. Themes such as divine favor, proximal blessing (or being blessed by being near someone who is blessed), obedience looked upon with blessing, and the persecution of the righteous are all found in this passage.
But there are two themes that I want to focus on this time, and they are integrity of character and fleeing temptation. And we are going to work our way up to those things as the story progresses. First, though, we need to start with this idea in mind:
[JOSEPH’S RISE TO PROMINENCE WAS A RESULT OF GOD’S FAVOR UPON HIS LIFE]
The beginning of the account starts out promising for Joseph, doesn’t it? Although his brothers sold him into slavery in a tragic act of betrayal, he does not live the life of a slave for long. In the providence of God, an officer of the Pharaoh purchases Joseph and notices his distinctive character. The Bible says that the Lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man.
The operative phrase there is the Lord was with Joseph. Moses, the author, reiterates that phrase in v.3 saying the Lord was with him and explains for us that it was God who was causing everything Joseph did to succeed.
And not only was Joseph blessed, but the whole house of Potiphar was blessed on account of Joseph being there. It’s the concept of proximal blessing; just being around Joseph meant that Potiphar and his household experienced God’s favor in a second hand way.
Now this has to be the foundation for how we understand the rest of the story. Joseph is where he is because God put him there. It was not his own doing, his own skill, or his own cunning. It was the blessing of God. And this is a scriptural concept that runs across the Testaments and so applies to us as well.
In Daniel 2, the prophet Daniel is about to respond to a request given to him by King Nebuchadnezzar. The king asked for someone to interpret his dream; and God gave the interpretation to Daniel. Before he tells the king the interpretation he praises God by saying this in vv.20-21: Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding...
Pharaoh was who he was because God put him there. Potiphar was the officer of Pharaoh because God put him there. Joseph was Potiphar’s servant because God brought him there. To put that in a contemporary context, Barack Obama is the president of the United States because God put him there. Even those who don’t acknowledge God’s rule are under God’s rule. We are who we are and where we are because God has made it so.
Psalm 103:19 says: The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. One text for you from the New Testament, 1 Timothy 2:1-2: First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
Why pray for kings and those who are in authority? Because God’s hand is what ultimately controls them, just as he controls all people. Jesus Christ is, as Revelation says, the King of kings and Lord of lords. So there is no doubt: Joseph was exactly where God wanted him.
Here is why it is so important that we know and remember this principle. Because Joseph knew this, and this knowledge informed how he responded to the opportunity given to him by Potiphar’s wife. I put it this way:
[JOSEPH’S REFUSAL TO COMMIT ADULTERY WAS BASED UPON REVERENCE FOR GOD]
Paint this picture in your mind of what is going on here. Joseph has risen to prominence in Potiphar’s house. He is in charge of everything except for what Potiphar himself ate. He is the top dog under Potiphar. As top dog he was well known in the house. In addition to being well known he was, according to v.6, a very good looking man.
Now I see Joseph as being one of those people who is good looking and does not know it. There are two kinds of attractive people – those who know they are good looking and those who don’t. Those who know they are good looking sometimes show off their good looks. Those who don’t are typically attractive without even realizing it. That’s how I picture Joseph; a tremendously handsome young man but not one to flaunt it.
But he didn’t have to flaunt it to catch the eye of Potiphar’s wife. And the request that she makes was not culturally uncommon. Adultery ran rampant in Egypt, just as it does today. She wants Joseph to sleep with her. However, Joseph refuses. Why?
Listen carefully to his response: 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 yourself, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?
He starts out by talking all about his master. My master has no concern in this house because of me. He has put me in charge of everything. There is no one greater in this house than me. The only thing he hasn’t given me is you because you are his wife. And here is what I would have expected next: how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against my master?
But instead it is: how can I sin against God? What does that tell us about how Joseph thought of his situation? He knew that he was only in Potiphar’s house on account of God’s sovereign care for his life. And he knew that having sex with his master’s wife was not simply a slap in the face to his master, it was a slap in the face to God.
To give in to her request would have been tantamount to saying: God, I don’t care that you’ve put me here for my own good. I don’t care that you brought me out of slavery into this privileged position. I don’t care that you have a plan for me to rule over my people. I want what my body is telling me I want...I want her.
But he was wiser than that. He could see past the next moment of possible pleasure to the consequences of his actions and the grief it would have caused to the heart of God. Here is where we must draw out application for our lives. How does this help us? In this way:
[JOSEPH’S RESPONSE TO POTIPHAR’S WIFE REVEALS HOW TO HANDLE TEMPTATION]
There are three key things we see in Joseph’s response. I’ve labeled them with three “r”s so that they are easy to remember. I’ll give them to you, and then we’ll unpack them: recognize, resist/run, and remember.
First, Joseph recognized and understood the situation. He did not view the opportunity as an innocent display of human sexuality. He did not justify the situation by appealing to his natural desires. He called a spade, a spade, and recognized that to do what she was requesting would be a sin against God.
Think about what she was offering to Joseph. Would Joseph have enjoyed this act? Yes. Would it have brought him pleasure? Yes. But what kind of pleasure? Sinful, temporary pleasure. The kind of fun that the writer of Hebrews describes when recounting the life of Moses as the fleeting pleasures of sin.
Here is an interesting, humorous way to think of it. This past week I woke up at 5:00 in the morning (shocking I know) in order to attend a pastor’s forum at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. And I knew I should eat something for breakfast; but at 5:00 in the morning my level of motivation was considerably low if you know what I mean. So I decided to make one of the easiest breakfast dishes known to man: toast.
I put the bread in the toaster oven, and when it was golden brown I pulled it out and began to butter it. Now when you are up before the sun is shining your mind does strange things. So I began to wonder about where toast came from. I thought to myself: I wonder who invented toast?
And the absurdity went further. I then thought: How cool would it be to be able to say that I met the person who first thought of toast? Then as the day went on and my mental faculties began to return to their normal state, my excitement about the toast not so surprisingly began to fade. And I later decided that meeting the inventor of toast would be exciting for all of about 10 seconds. I mean, we’re not talking about the wheel, or the light bulb, or the automobile here. We’re talking about toast.
The excitement and pleasure that sin gives us is like meeting the inventor of toast. It does not last. And when you look back on the situation you see the absurdity of your thinking and/or behavior. It’s not worth all of the hoopla. It makes promises to satisfy you that it cannot keep. That’s why John wrote in 1 John 2:15-17: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
If we are to respond to temptation with godly integrity as Joseph did we must first recognize the situation for what it is. Then, once we know what we are dealing with, we must resist/run from the situation. First, he simply tells Potiphar’s wife that he cannot engage in adultery with her. He resists her. But notice what he does when she vaults her most pointed attack – vv.11-12: 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. What did he do? He ran.
It is a mistake for us to think that we need to prove we are stronger than temptation and therefore make ourselves subject to it whenever it arises. Paul encouraged Timothy in his second letter to him: flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness. Sometimes, most times, the best thing to do when being tempted is to get out of the situation. Run.
And right alongside that is the last “r”: remember. After the woman’s first attempt to sleep with Joseph, Moses gives us a very important commentary concerning how Joseph handled himself afterward. It says in v.10 that he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. And the distinction made between lying beside her (which implies sexual activity) and being with her suggests that from that point on Joseph made it a point to not even be around her.
If we are to successfully handle our temptations with godly responses we need to make sure we are doing all that we can not to put ourselves in situations we know will lead to sin. That’s what Joseph was doing: remembering the situation so that he could avoid entering into it again.
So Joseph did everything right. And yet, he was still wrongly blamed. Even though he resisted, and even though he ran Potiphar’s wife used her position and power to exploit Joseph. She accused him of attempted rape. And so Joseph was thrown into prison.
Incidentally, this is the first mention of prison in Scripture; and there are a few signals that Potiphar did not exactly believe his wife’s story. The first indication of this is that Joseph was even thrown in prison at all and not executed. Potiphar’s job as the captain of the guard included being the chief executioner for Pharaoh. Joseph could have easily been executed for his perceived crime.
The second signal is that later on in the story, in chapter 40, the Bible says that the captain of the guard (Potiphar) put Joseph in charge of the two prisoners of Pharaoh in that account; so he evidently still trusted Joseph.
But even before that Joseph finds favor in the eyes of the keeper of the prison and he is once again put in a position of authority. He watches all of the prisoner and, in essence, runs the prison. And that is where we will end:
[JOSEPH’S RETURN TO AUTHORITY SHOWS THAT GOD HONORS INTEGRITY]
We might be tempted to think that because Joseph went to prison, he did something wrong. But nothing could be further from the truth. He did everything right. And though God allowed his imprisonment, he still caused all that Joseph did to succeed. This tells us that though it might not seem so immediately, God rewards godly integrity.
And there is a difference. Someone can be honest and truthful and seek to be a person of integrity without pursuing godly integrity. The key is that Joseph’s integrity was fueled by his desire to please his God. To be a person of integrity simply in order to display yourself as a person of character is self-righteousness. But to be a person of integrity in order to please Christ, that is godly integrity.
[CONCLUSION]
So insert your own temptation to sin. It could be a temptation to lie, cheat, or take a shortcut at work or school. It could be a sexual temptation, or an opportunity for revenge. Maybe you’re tempted with pride or self-sufficiency. Whatever it is, the method of dealing with it is always the same: recognize it for what it is, resist or run from it, and remember it so as to avoid it in the future.
Now I want to close with this point. Don’t be confused or deceived. You cannot do what Joseph did on your own. He did not do it on his own. In order to respond like Joseph we must know Jesus Christ as Savior and be following him as Lord. Otherwise any attempt to resist sin is futile.
2 Peter 1 says this: His [Christ’s] divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
It is through Christ’s power given to us by the Holy Spirit that we respond to temptation in the same way Joseph did. On our own we would give in every time. So let’s examine our hearts. Let’s ask God, as the psalmist asked, to search us and see if there is any unjust way within us. We all face various temptations day by day. May we by God’s grace and power respond with godly integrity.
