Title: Joseph Overcame Temptation (Genesis 39:7-18)
Content 1. Words that begin
The verse we read is the story of Joseph who overcame a really difficult temptation.
2. Temptation of Potiphar's Wife
Joseph, who did not give up his faith in God even though he was sold, and maintained his faith while serving as a slave in the house of Potiphar, the Egyptian guard, prospered in everything he did because God was with him. When Potiphar, the leader of the protesters, learned this surprising and bizarre fact, he entrusted all the household chores to Joseph, so that he could concentrate on his country affairs. When Joseph became the general manager of Potiphar's household and began to take care of all household chores, God blessed General Potiphar's house because of Joseph who believed well. But Hosadamah, a very difficult hand of temptation came to Joseph.
For a while, Potiphar's wife, who had no interest in Joseph, who had been a slave for a while, dressed in clothes suitable for her position as a household secretary, and commanded many slaves, stopped lusting and blatantly. It is tempting to sleep with you.
There are several reasons why Joseph has a hard time resisting temptation.
The first is that the seducer is the wife of the demonstrator who holds the right to life or death. You don't know what will happen to you on the day that you recklessly refuse and get hated.
Second, because Joseph himself had long since left his parents and brothers and had been a foreign slave since he was young, he was starving for affection.
Third, Joseph was a young man who opened his eyes to the opposite sex and had a strong heart to draw the opposite sex.
Fourth, sexual seduction of the opposite sex itself is a very difficult test to overcome. Sexual desire is one of the most difficult to control, and it has the characteristic that there is no solid evidence of adultery. Proverbs 30:18-20 says, “There are three things that I marvel at, and yet do not understand: the traces of eagles flying in the air, the traces of serpents crawling on the rock, the traces of ships passing by the sea, and men. So it is with a woman and with a prostitute, as she eats and washes her mouth, saying, “I have done no evil.”
There is nothing more attractive than the temptation of unevidable sin to those who wish to do evil. Think about it. After committing a crime, do they commit greater sins to hide their sins, or even kill them altogether? However, there is no sin that can escape God's flaming eyes.
Evidence that Joseph's temptation was a very difficult test to overcome can be seen by looking at the sexual deviance of today's Korean society.
A cheating housewife dragged an executive into the house, and after a while her husband knocked on the door and shouted to open it. Surprised as if their hearts were about to fall, the two hurried to discuss, and as a result, an executive wearing only panties went into the closet and hid. Startled by the commotion, the child began to cry. As I calmed my heart and opened the door, my husband entered the room. My husband, who opened the closet door to hang his clothes, was startled and said: "Why is the kid crying because you're surprised? Not being polite." Maybe the husband is wise. "The whole world is like that, but what do you do by digging. You're a pitiful kid, you just have to pretend you don't know!" I don't know if I even thought of that.
Or, she doesn't even know that her husband has had a similar experience... .
3. Joseph's wise rejection and persistent temptation
Faced with a very difficult test, Joseph, very wisely, refused, giving good reasons.
First, the owner made himself the general manager of the household and delegated all possessions to his own hands without interfering with them. He said that he could not betray his master who trusted him so much.
Second, the master forbade only one thing: the mistress, the master's wife.
Third, it is therefore a great evil to grant the request of the mistress.
It should be noted that Joseph understands such evil as not merely a sin in human relationships, but as a sin against God. He said to the woman, "How can I do this great evil and sin against God?"
Everyone, please believe that all evil deeds are sins against God.
The secret to overcoming the temptation of sin is to fear God.
Each and every response of Joseph, who was tempted, came from a truly extraordinary wisdom of faith, so it was a good opportunity for Potiphar's wife to repent and believe in the God Joseph believed in. However, instead of repenting and believing in God, the woman begged Joseph to sleep with him every day. Joseph was not even with him at all. Psalm 1:1 says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers." A person must have discernment and the courage to practice. Even if you properly discern, if you do not practice it in the light of your interests or various other reasons, it is not much different from having no discernment. If it's wrong, you should stop doing it, and if it's right, you must do it. This is Joseph's attitude.
One day Joseph went in to serve, and there was no one in the house, only the woman. Joseph's heart sank, but the woman saw it as a golden opportunity and blatantly grabbed Joseph's long robe and draped it over to sleep. Joseph couldn't shake it off, so he took off the clothes he was caught in and ran out of the house.
4. Potiphar's wife who framed Joseph
The woman is ashamed and worthy of admiring Joseph as "a great man," but rather, it burns with hatred. So, I summoned the householders and said, "Look, the master is bringing a Hebrew to us and harassing us. He was trying to scare me, so I shouted loudly to come in to me, but I also left my clothes and ran away." They criticized him fiercely, and while showing Joseph's clothes to his husband after work, he framed them with the same words.
Strangely enough, Joseph's clothes are decisive evidence for the woman's slanderous logic, but at the same time serve as decisive evidence for the fact itself. Herein lies the problem of human reason and the law. This is why Joseph was so angry that he made no excuses for his master Potiphar. I hope you believe that the bigger reason is because you have faith to completely surrender your problems to Almighty God. No, God was with Joseph and made him prosper even in prison.
5. Conclusion
Although temptations are not difficult to overcome, there are many who ruin their character and life by giving in to temptation. In most cases, we are tempted, and sometimes succumbed to temptation, because of our own desires for money, reason, fame, or power. Even among church members who believe in the Lord, there are many people who, by falling into temptation, hide the glory of God and destroy their lives and families. If you live your whole life, you have no choice but to fight the constant temptation. Knowing that no matter how small a sin is, it is a sin against God, have faith to fear God, and overcome all temptations.