When Life is the Pits
A Study of the Life of Joseph
Sermon # 3
“Dealing With Temptation”
Genesis 39:1-20
When we left Joseph last time he had been sold into slavery by his brothers to a band of Ishmaelite traders on their way to Egypt. In Egypt we learn that he is sold as a slave to man by the name of Potiphar.
Joseph must have realized as he journeyed that whatever lay ahead of him in Egypt was also a part of God’s plan for his life, and that God would preserve and protect him there. It is encouraging to realize that we do not have to know how God’s plan is going to work out in order to know that it is going to work out. Joseph learned two lessons, that God had a plan for his life and that plan-required faithfulness on his part. These two truths governed and influenced everything that Joseph did and everyone around him took note that there was something different about him.
This is more than a story of sexual intrigue; it is the story of the clash of two cultures or two standards of living.
Joseph represents those who belong to God, those whose lives are a reflection of His revealed truth. Potiphar’s wife on the other hand, represents those who see no higher authority than themselves, who live only for the gratification of their own desires. When we view this story from this perspective, we see that it is more than ancient drama. We see it as a drama that is still be acted out each day. As the people of God we are still called to live out the revealed truth of Gods’ word. But we still find that we are living in a culture that is not only hostile to the things of God, but is also intent on seducing the children of God to live on their level.
“Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. (2) The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. (3) And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand. (4) So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. (5) So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field. (6) Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.”
Can you imagine being Joseph? Sold as a slave by your own brothers, then living in such a way that others trust you?
Yet Joseph lived in such a way that Potiphar saw that Jehovah was the source of his success (v.3). Joseph’s life brought praise from an important officer of the king, even though he was a pagan. Has your life had that effect on the ungodly?
Today I want to share with you five principles concerning temptation drawn from the life of Joseph.
Principle One: Temptation Often Comes When You Least Expect It vv. 6b-7
“…. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. (7) And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”
Joseph was on top of the world, all his hard work had paid off and it was now that he had a responsible position that temptation came. Beware of temptation when you have experience a victory or you think you have arrived. Temptation came to King David when he was in his fifties; he had unified his kingdom, expanded his borders and brought peace to the region. It was then that he was tempted and fell.
The Hebrew has a wonderful way of telling what Potiphar’s wife did. It literally says that she “lifted up her eyes” at Joseph. The Living Bible says that she “made eyes” at him. But if he had not picked-up on what Mrs. Potiphar wanted, she made it crystal clear with her words, come “lie with me.”
Joseph could have just given in and slept with this woman. Perhaps he could have tried to justify it, because of all the bad that had happened to him. It does not matter that she was lonely or attractive or available or anything else. Wrong is always wrong no matter what.
Perhaps we need to stop at this point and establish one truth. It is not a sin to be tempted. Many Christians have felt needless guilt because they have been tempted and they have equated temptation with sin. The sin is in yielding to temptation, not in just being tempted. Even the Lord himself was tempted and yet according to Hebrews 4:15 he was without sin. Temptation is a sign that we live in a fallen world. It is not temptation that matters; it is how we respond to it.
Principle Two: Temptation Always Tries To Make Sin Look Acceptable.
We need to have our reasons in mind before temptation comes our way, so that if we find ourselves unable to remember our reasons later, we will at least remember that we have reasons for obeying God and live in response to them rather than surrender to our passions. We need to make up our minds about sin in advance. If we wait until we are tempted then it will be too late. Because Joseph had settled these matters before hand in his mind, Joseph did not hesitate to put them into practice.
The first thing he did was, he endeavored to reason with the woman (vv. 8-9). “But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. (9) There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
The bible says simply, that Joseph “refused.” He pointed out the sacredness of marriage. If you are of the opinion that running out of your marriage is a light thing and will solve all your problems, please think long and hard about what God has to say about the matter.
Joseph knew his character; reputation and the trust he had been given were at stake. He did not see this as some harmless act but as a sin against God. For Joseph to violate the Lord’s will in this matter would certainly damage whatever testimony Joseph had among the Egyptians. It would have destroyed his witness. It would have undermined any trust his master was developing to the one true God.
Joseph recognized that sin is not “alternative lifestyle” or “innocent experimentation” it is “wickedness” and it remains so, regardless of what we rename it. We can always find some way to rationalize and make excuses when we want to yield to temptation. In addition he saw that sin was something that is always harmful to other human beings. There are people who trust us not to yield to temptation – our children, our marital partners, our fellow Christians and last but not least, our watching lost friends and associates.
Joseph also understood that sin is an primarily an offense against God. Like David later on who prayed after his sin with Bathsheba, “Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:4). The words “against you and you only” carry the meaning of “against you and you in particular.”
Principle Three:To Be Victorious Over Temptation We Will Have Avoid Known Areas Of Temptation.
The temptation was strong because it came to Joseph repeatedly, Joseph refuses her advances four times in our text, (vv. 8, 9, 10 & 12). Her requests, which sought to bring the two in closer contact, were refused. (v. 10) “So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.” Not only did Joseph consistently refused the invitation of Potiphar’s wife, but he eventually refused to “even be with her.” What wisdom we see in his actions. If you want to avoid sin, stay away from the places, people and things that entice you to sin. Had she succeeded in seducing Joseph, it is probable that would not have been her first nor the last of her extramarital affairs
Temptation is like a telemarketer
It comes to us when it is least convenient
It comes back again and again
It keeps pushing even after you say no
It makes what it is selling sound great…but there is always a catch. [Bruce Goettsche. “Combating Temptation” (www.unionchurch.com/archive/110799.html]
Principle Four: To Be Victorious Over Temptation You May Have to Literally Remove Yourself
Joseph had the good sense to flee from temptation (vv.11-12). Joseph had to run to get away from this woman. “But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, (12) that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.” I like the way the King James Version phrases what happened it says, “He left his garment in her hand and fled, and got him out.” Nobody else was going to get him out. It he was going to resist the sin he had to get himself out.
This was no time to reason with the woman. It was not a time to “pray about it” or to mediate. The only godly course of action was to flee from her. I wonder if the apostle Paul was not thinking of the biblical story of Joseph when he later gave the warning to those in his day, “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Cor. 6:18). Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” There is a “way out” for those who will take it.
We sometimes like to see how close we can get to sin, Joseph was interested only in getting as far away as possible from it. We often have a tendency to walk as close to sin as we can get before we try to get away. It is true of immorality and it is true of every other sin. The longer we wait to say, No the harder it is to do so. Instead of acting decisively against sin we flirt and see how far we can go without getting burned. We fantasize. We say “no,” but we play with “yes.” We return again and again to play with sin. But this is foolishness. The more we play, the weaker we become. Before long we have lost all perspective and develop desires that are powerful and destructive. The moment we allow ourselves to debate the merits of wrong behavior we have given the devil a foothold. In most of our situations we cannot say that the temptation we face are beyond our control. Many of the temptations we face are those that we have allowed, and perhaps even encouraged.
Principle Five: Being Victorious Over Temptation Will Not Necessarily Make You Popular vv. 13- 20
“And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, (14) that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. (15) And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.” (16) So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. (17) Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; (18) so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.” (19) So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused. (20) Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.”
Two things happen very quickly. Potiphar’s wife brings a false accusation (vv. 18-20) and Joseph is unjustly imprisoned (vv. 19-20). Perhaps part of her motivation in making the false accusation, was to protect herself in case her flirtatious conduct was brought to the attention of her husband, in such an event she wanted to be covered. No doubt Potiphar’s wife plan also was to make Joseph regret his resistance. As is often the case, the passion of love can quickly turn to hate (2 Samuel 13:15).
For doing right Joseph was cast into prison. What made Joseph’s imprisonment all the more had to bear was that it was so utterly, unequivocally unjust.
Some Christians today seem to think that obedience should always bring success and prosperity, Joseph’s imprison-ment should cause us to rethink the success strategies that are so popular in our circles. Obedience does not shield us from pain. The good guys do not always win immediately.
F.B. Meyer puts it in a more personal perspective, “Was it any use, then being good? Could there be any truth in what his father had taught him of good coming to the good, and evil to the bad? Was there a God who judges righteous ng with the consequences of doing wrong.
Conclusion
If you are going to be victorious over temptation we must do as Joseph dhat the prison referred to is located in Potiphar’s house, probably a dungeon in the basement.
Joseph’s imprisonment by Potipha rit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.” (NKJV)
It needs to be ic attitudes associated with the extending of forgiveness
1. I can’t
He did not tell the disciples that they could pray, “Lord,id. The bible says simply, that Joseph “refused (v.8).”
When you are tempted to do wrong this week just refuse.
When Satan whispers in your ear, “go ahead every one is doing it,” just refuse!
When you feel like giving someone a piece of your mind, just remember you don’t have it to spare, so smile and just refuse.
When a business associate ask you do something that is not ethical, just remember who you are and just refuse.
All of us can identify with the words of C.S. Lewis when he said, “No man knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good.” Perhaps this morning you there have been times you’re you were not victorious over temptation. You are filled with shame at the recollection of past failures. Joseph stood in the time of temptation, but you have fallen. Because of past failure we are tempted to give up in our efforts to live a pure life and instead sin more, that having failed in the past, if does not matter what we do from this point on. But the truth is that there is forgiveness and restoration available to all that come to the Lord. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive us from all unrighteousness.”
