But he refused. "Look," he said to his master's wife, "with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care. But he refused.Joseph's refusal to succumb to temptation is a testament to his integrity and faithfulness to God. This act of resistance is significant in the biblical narrative, highlighting the importance of moral fortitude. Joseph's decision can be seen as a precursor to the teachings of Jesus, who also resisted temptation in the wilderness ( Matthew 4:1-11). His refusal is a model for believers to stand firm against sin. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife,
Joseph addresses Potiphar's wife directly, showing respect and clarity in his communication. This interaction takes place in Egypt, where Joseph, a Hebrew, serves in a foreign land. The cultural context is important, as Egyptian society had different norms and values, yet Joseph adheres to his own moral and spiritual convictions. “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house,
Joseph acknowledges the trust and responsibility given to him by Potiphar. This trust is significant, as it reflects Joseph's reliability and the favor he found in Potiphar's eyes (Genesis 39:4). The phrase underscores the theme of stewardship, which is echoed in the New Testament parables about faithful servants (Matthew 25:14-30). and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care.
Joseph's role as overseer of Potiphar's household is a position of great authority and responsibility. This trust is a foreshadowing of Joseph's later rise to power in Egypt (Genesis 41:41-44). The concept of stewardship is central to biblical teaching, emphasizing accountability and faithfulness in managing what is entrusted to us by God. Persons / Places / Events 1. JosephA Hebrew man sold into slavery by his brothers, now serving in the house of Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Joseph is known for his integrity and faithfulness to God. 2. Potiphar's WifeThe unnamed wife of Potiphar, who attempts to seduce Joseph. Her actions set the stage for Joseph's moral test and subsequent imprisonment. 3. PotipharAn Egyptian officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. He entrusts Joseph with the management of his household, demonstrating Joseph's trustworthiness. 4. EgyptThe land where Joseph is taken as a slave. It serves as the backdrop for Joseph's trials and eventual rise to power. 5. The House of PotipharThe setting for Joseph's service and the place where he faces temptation and false accusation. Teaching Points Integrity in TemptationJoseph's refusal to sin demonstrates the importance of maintaining integrity, even when faced with persistent temptation. Believers are called to uphold their values and commitments to God, regardless of external pressures. Stewardship and TrustJoseph's role in Potiphar's house illustrates the principle of stewardship. As Christians, we are entrusted with responsibilities and must manage them faithfully, recognizing that our ultimate accountability is to God. Fleeing from SinJoseph's immediate refusal and distancing from Potiphar's wife serve as a model for fleeing from sin. Believers should actively avoid situations that compromise their moral and spiritual integrity. Fear of the LordJoseph's actions are motivated by a reverent fear of God. This fear is not about being afraid but about respecting God's holiness and commands, which should guide our decisions and actions. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Joseph's response to Potiphar's wife reflect his understanding of stewardship and trust? How can we apply this understanding in our own lives? 2. In what ways does Joseph's refusal to sin against God serve as a model for dealing with temptation today? Can you think of a situation where you need to apply this principle? 3. How does the concept of fleeing from sin, as demonstrated by Joseph, relate to the teachings in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20? What practical steps can you take to avoid situations that lead to sin? 4. How does Joseph's fear of God influence his decision-making? How can cultivating a healthy fear of the Lord impact your daily choices? 5. Reflect on a time when you were entrusted with a responsibility. How did you handle it, and what can you learn from Joseph's example of faithfulness and integrity? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 39:9Joseph's refusal is rooted in his loyalty to Potiphar and his fear of sinning against God, highlighting his moral integrity. Proverbs 6:32-33These verses warn against adultery, emphasizing the disgrace and destruction it brings, which aligns with Joseph's understanding of the gravity of the sin. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20Paul advises believers to flee from sexual immorality, echoing Joseph's actions and reinforcing the call to honor God with our bodies. Hebrews 13:4This verse upholds the sanctity of marriage, which Joseph respects by refusing Potiphar's wife's advances. People Ishmaelites, Joseph, Pharaoh, PotipharPlaces EgyptTopics Account, Anything, Behold, Care, Charge, Cognizance, Committed, Concern, Control, Doesn't, Entrusted, Keeps, Knoweth, Lord's, Master, Master's, Nothing, Owns, Property, Refused, Refuseth, Takes, Wife, WottethDictionary of Bible Themes Genesis 39:6-12 6237 sexual sin, nature of
8777 lust Genesis 39:7-10 6251 temptation, resisting Genesis 39:7-12 5811 compromise
6242 adultery
8339 self-control Genesis 39:7-18 5202 accusation, false Genesis 39:7-20 5404 masters
5951 slander Genesis 39:8-12 8476 self-discipline Library Goodness in a Dungeon
'And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureJoseph
(Preached on the Sunday before the Wedding of the Prince of Wales. March 8th, third Sunday in Lent.) GENESIS xxxix. 9. How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? The story of Joseph is one which will go home to all healthy hearts. Every child can understand, every child can feel with it. It is a story for all men and all times. Even if it had not been true, and not real fact, but a romance of man's invention, it would have been loved and admired by men; far more then, when we know …
Charles Kingsley—The Gospel of the Pentateuch The Complete Surrender.
Genesis 39:1-3.--Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him at the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian, and his master saw that the Lord was with him. We have in this passage an object lesson which teaches us what Christ is to us. Note: Joseph was a slave, but God was with him so distinctly …
Andrew Murray—The Master's Indwelling Seventh Sunday after Trinity Exhortation to Resist Sin.
Text: Romans 6, 19-23. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification. 20 For when ye were servants of sin, ye were free in regard of righteousness. 21 What fruit then had ye at that time in the things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III Trials of the Christian
AFFLICTION--ITS NATURE AND BENEFITS. The school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world's vanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God's mind. Out of dark afflictions comes a spiritual light. In times of affliction, we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God. The end of affliction is the discovery of sin; and of that, to bring us to a Saviour. Doth not God ofttimes even take occasion, by the hardest of things that come upon us, to visit …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Mosaic Cosmogony.
ON the revival of science in the 16th century, some of the earliest conclusions at which philosophers arrived were found to be at variance with popular and long-established belief. The Ptolemaic system of astronomy, which had then full possession of the minds of men, contemplated the whole visible universe from the earth as the immovable centre of things. Copernicus changed the point of view, and placing the beholder in the sun, at once reduced the earth to an inconspicuous globule, a merely subordinate …
Frederick Temple—Essays and Reviews: The Education of the World Meditations for Household Piety.
1. If thou be called to the government of a family, thou must not hold it sufficient to serve God and live uprightly in thy own person, unless thou cause all under thy charge to do the same with thee. For the performance of this duty God was so well pleased with Abraham, that he would not hide from him his counsel: "For," saith God, "I know him that he will command his sons and his household after him that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Wisdom of God
The next attribute is God's wisdom, which is one of the brightest beams of the Godhead. He is wise in heart.' Job 9:9. The heart is the seat of wisdom. Cor in Hebraeo sumitur pro judicio. Pineda. Among the Hebrews, the heart is put for wisdom.' Let men of understanding tell me:' Job 34:44: in the Hebrew, Let men of heart tell me.' God is wise in heart, that is, he is most wise. God only is wise; he solely and wholly possesses all wisdom; therefore he is called, the only wise God.' I Tim 1:17. All …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Tests of Love to God
LET us test ourselves impartially whether we are in the number of those that love God. For the deciding of this, as our love will be best seen by the fruits of it, I shall lay down fourteen signs, or fruits, of love to God, and it concerns us to search carefully whether any of these fruits grow in our garden. 1. The first fruit of love is the musing of the mind upon God. He who is in love, his thoughts are ever upon the object. He who loves God is ravished and transported with the contemplation of …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial Lii. Concerning Hypocrisy, Worldly Anxiety, Watchfulness, and his Approaching Passion.
(Galilee.) ^C Luke XII. 1-59. ^c 1 In the meantime [that is, while these things were occurring in the Pharisee's house], when the many thousands of the multitude were gathered together, insomuch that they trod one upon another [in their eagerness to get near enough to Jesus to see and hear] , he began to say unto his disciples first of all [that is, as the first or most appropriate lesson], Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. [This admonition is the key to the understanding …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Genesis 39:8 NIVGenesis 39:8 NLTGenesis 39:8 ESVGenesis 39:8 NASBGenesis 39:8 KJV
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