Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 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. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge; and, with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate. Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. 7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. 9 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 could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” 10 And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her. 11 One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house, 12 she caught hold of his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14 she called out to the members of her household and said to them, “See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice; 15 and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.” 16 Then she kept his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me; 18 but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.” 19 When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” he became enraged. 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. 22 The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.
This is an event in the life of Joseph that shares an incredible response to an offer to do something immoral. Joseph was offered an opportunity for intimacy with his boss’ wife. No dinner, flowers, candy or a movie required. No need to meet at the local coffee shop first for conversation and croissants. No expectations, no promise to love, no request for respect in the morning, no negotiation for cab fare, no discussion of avoiding the 7AM walk of shame, no elaborate mating rituals – just immediate, easy access. Joseph declines the offer and winds up in prison. He loses his freedom but keeps his integrity.
Let’s ask this question – “How was Joseph able to live righteously an retain the favor of God?”:
1. Was it because of the blood of Christ? No – because this was about 1,300 years before Christ.
2. Was it because of the indwelling Holy Spirit? No because during this time, the Holy Spirit rested upon people temporarily to perform a specific mighty work (like Samson); indwelling is associated with believers in Christ.
3. Was it because he quoted scriptures? No because the scriptures were not completed.
4. Was it because of a prayer partner? No evidence of a prayer partner.
5. Was it because he was inspired by the elements of worship (bells, incense, altar candles, the choir, etc.)? No evidence of his participating in corporate worship.
6. Was it because of his professional training? No evidence of Joseph going to seminary.
So what did it take for Joseph to live righteously? Simple – a made-up mind. Joseph was determined not to sin against God. Somewhere along his journey, Joseph made the decision that he would willfully, purposefully, consciously, knowingly, calculatingly and intentionally live in a manner that pleased God. Somewhere along his journey, Joseph concluded that life with God may be hard, but life without God was impossible. Somewhere along his journey, Joseph resolved that it was not his will but God’s will that must be done. Somewhere along his journey, Joseph chose to exercise his right as a free moral agent and submit himself to his creator. Without the blood of Christ, without an indwelling Holy Spirit, without scriptures, without dial-a-prayer, without the bells and smells of corporate worship, without affirmation from a seminary – Joseph used a made-up mind to live righteously.
What does this mean for us? This means that we must be willing to be held accountable for our shortcomings (Jesus paid our sin debt, but we cannot willfully, purposefully, consciously, knowingly, calculatingly and intentionally continue in sin that grace may abound). This means that we cannot play the ‘Adam and Eve Blame Game’ for not attempting to manage our lives in a manner that pleases the Master. It means that whether we struggle with one sin or several sins, God expects believers to make the effort to aim for righteous living. It means that not only must we decide to embrace Jesus as our Savior, but also decide to embrace Jesus as our Lord.
I am fully aware that it is almost blasphemy to suggest that we dare speak of honoring the righteousness of God. We should only focus on the love of God. After all, we are all broken people, sinners saved by grace and unable to overcome sin without being released by death. All absolutely true. However, the scriptures show that God seeks those who love Him enough to change a sinful lifestyle. Second Chronicles 7:14 says “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”. Isaiah 1:18 says “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Psalm 51:10 says “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” In short, God so loved us to make Jesus our Savior, but do we love God enough to make Jesus our Lord? Salvation has given us new life; how then shall we live?
I encourage you today to willfully, purposefully, consciously, knowingly, calculatingly and intentionally make a decision to live in a manner that pleases God. The first impression that people have about Jesus is how we share our lives in plain sight. In that light, do people think that Jesus is filled with anger and envy? Do people think that Jesus has a profane vocabulary? Do people think that Jesus takes office supplies home for personal use? Do people think that Jesus acts like Potiphar’s wife or like Joseph? Let us renew our covenants with each other and with God to willfully, purposefully, consciously, knowingly, calculatingly and intentionally live righteously. And if we see a sister or brother fall, then help that person to recover. Let’s resolve to get right with God. We do not have power over sin without the blood of Christ, but we can willfully, purposefully, consciously, knowingly, calculatingly and intentionally renew our minds and aim toward God’s righteousness. Jesus has put us on the right road; let us resolve to keep moving in the right direction. Amen.
