(Joseph part 5)

October 11, 2009

Dr. Ron Sumners

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RESPONSE TO TEMPTATION

(Joseph: Part 5)

Genesis 39:7-18

&nbs= p; The account of Joseph and the lustful advances of Potiphar’s wife sound as though it was taken from yesterday’s newspaper or last night’s prime-time television program. It has an immediate and striking relevance because it deals with issues that confront us all.

&nbs= p; But there is a striking difference between this story and the sorry sagas of ma= ny modern-day celebrities and leaders, namely the way it ends. Joseph dealt wi= th the advances of Mrs. Potiphar the same way he dealt with the temptation to bitterness or self-pity. He faced it head-on and emerged victorious in the power of God.

&nbs= p; Temptation is the enticement to evil or to sin. It is something that we all face; even= the Lord Jesus Himself did (Matthew 4:1-11). Therefore, it is not a sin to be tempted. It is our response to temptation that leads us down the path of righteousness or to the dead end of disobedience.

&nbs= p; Joseph was placed in the house of Potiphar by the hand of God. God knew that this temptation lay in Joseph’s path. And although God did not cause it, t= his incident became part of God’s sovereign plan to bring about good in Joseph’s life and the lives of his family. A number of factors stand = out as we review the persistent temptation Joseph endured.

&nbs= p; “Joseph was well-built and handsome” (Genesis 39:6). So he was vulnerable to = the perils that come to the beautiful people of the world.

&nbs= p; Joseph was always someone’s favorite. He was Jacob’s favorite back at = home, and he was Potiphar’s favorite. And, because he was, as girls would c= all him today, “A hunk,” he became the favorite of Potiphar’s wife.

&nbs= p; Physical attractiveness, beauty of face and physique, is something a lot of us would like to experience. I used to wish that I were tall, dark and handsome. Aft= er 60 years I have accepted the fact that short, pale and dumpy is as good as = it is going to get!

&nbs= p; Our culture suggests that physical beauty is the goal for everyone. Human histo= ry and the biblical record warn us that doors swing open for attractive people, but they can also swing shut and trap them in peril.

&nbs= p; Do you remember the story of Joseph’s own great-grandfather, Abraham? He= had a beautiful wife named Sarah. As the two were about to enter Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan, Abraham said to Sarah, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When t= he Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they = will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be tre= ated well for your sake and my life will be spared” (Genesis 12:11-13). Abraham’s lie was indefensible, but his fear that the Egyptians would admire Sarah illustrates the peculiar peril of beauty.

&nbs= p; Joseph faced the same peril. This story would not be in the Bible if Joseph had not been so handsome.

&nbs= p; What were the particulars of this strong temptation? In answering, we get to the heart of the matter. All of us are tempted whether or not we possess beauty. There were at least five elements in the approach Potiphar’s wife made toward Joseph.

&nbs= p; Her approach was initially subtle. In Genesis 39:7 the Bible says, “After= a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph.” She cast her ey= es upon him. That is, there came a time when she began to take notice of him. = She looked at him, and then looked back a second time in a way that was not the look of a married woman who wanted to live in purity.

&nbs= p; The eyes are the gateway to the soul, the path through which many loves come. T= he subtly of Potiphar’s wife was that she began by eyeing Joseph in a lustful way.

&nbs= p; Her approach was striking. Once Potiphar’s wife had allowed her eyes to ensnare her heart, she lost any semblance of modesty. “Come to bed wi= th me!” she tempted Joseph (v. 7).

&nbs= p; How could this woman proceed to such a boldfaced invitation to adultery? The an= swer is that Potiphar’s wife was feeding desire at the level of her imagination. When we do that, we embrace the possibility that we may sudden= ly do what we have been thinking about.

For example, the advertisement for a certain kind of automobile comes across wi= th such an appeal that you imagine yourself behind the wheel. And before you k= now it you are behind the wheel – and behind in the payments!<= /span>

&nbs= p; Where did it start? It started in your imagination. That’s where things beg= an with the wife of Joseph’s master. She fed her lust, and it was ready = to break forth in an instant.

&nbs= p; Her approach was sustained. Joseph refused the advances of Potiphar’s wife (vv. 8-9), but that only served to make him more desirable to her. She kept after him day after day (v. 10), making every opportunity to be in his comp= any.

&nbs= p; She made sure that Joseph met her when he rounded a corner. She didn’t ma= ke one proposition and quit. It was constant. Her proposition was clear, but Joseph was equally clear in his answer. However, this woman was neither corrected by time or his repeated refusals.

This tells us someth= ing about the danger of allowing yourself to be held in the grip of vain and lustful imagination. It is the trap into which people fall, for example, wh= en they become hooked on pornography.

In their minds, every occasion beco= mes an occasion for the fulfillment of that lust, and time won’t cure the problem. Neither will the refusal of others to become involved. The person becomes enslaved to lust, as Potiphar’s wife clearly was.<= /span>

Her approach was strategic. When her lustful desire finally got the better of her, Mrs. Poti= phar made her move. “One day Joseph went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants were inside” (.v 11).=

It was the perfect opportunity. Did the woman set it up? Did she order the other servants out = of the house? There is no way to say. Even if the opportunity had just come her way, she took full advantage of it. She figured that as long as no one saw = her, it was OK.

Isn’t it inter= esting that when we sin, we think as long as no one sees us, we’re OK? But G= od sees us! And God was Joseph’s main concern. “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (v.9). If Joseph’s on= ly concern was that no one would find out, this woman’s strategic approa= ch at a time when they were alone would have snared him.

When she saw that Jo= seph wouldn’t yield, Potiphar’s wife grabbed him. She pressed her bo= dy against him in a seductive way. She could not imagine that he could resist = her. But he did!

Let’s look at = some things about Joseph’s resistance to this temptation.

His resistance was decisive. Joseph didn’t argue with his temptress. He gave her a decis= ive refusal. We must be just as decisive if we hope to deal with temptation successfully.

I believe that Josep= h had already settled the issue in his mind before the day of crisis came. Like Daniel, he made up his mind ahead of time so he would not sin against God!<= o:p>

When it comes to temptation, we sow the seeds of our destruction when we allow our minds to = be uncontrolled. By guarding our minds, we cultivate the ability to say, no.

You cannot make a de= cision like Joseph’s in the heat of the moment. The only way to deal with it= is to plan your answer long before the answer is needed. Joseph did this.=

His resistance was principled. He told Potiphar’s wife, “With me in charge . . . my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, everything he o= wns he has entrusted to me. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife” (v= v. 8-9). A lesser individual might have used the circumstances as an occasion = for sin.

Circumstances are ne= utral. Ultimately it is our response to them that makes the difference. Joseph responded on the basis of principle. “This is not right,” he sa= id. “I will not sin against God!”

There is no more pow= erful force in overcoming temptation than the fear of God. Proverbs 9:10 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom. This is not the f= ear of the pagan. This is not the fear of what God might do to me. It is the fe= ar of what I, through my actions, may do to Him. Joseph feared God.=

We are breeding a generation, even in the church, which gives little notion to fearing God. We don’t like to think of God that way any more. That is a negative imag= e of God. We want to make God more attractive and upbeat.

Fine, let’s go= ahead and be attractive and upbeat. And meanwhile immorality is rampant inside and outside the church because we are letting go of the foundational principle = that stands against immorality, which is the fear of God.

Joseph did not addre= ss the issue of his desires. The woman was no doubt beautiful. It is not as though= she was repulsive and he didn’t feel any attraction for her. That was not= the issue.

Neither was the issu= e that committing adultery would hurt them, or the fact that the news might get ou= t, or any other pragmatic consideration. The issue was that adultery with her would have been an act of wickedness against God.

No matter what contemporary culture says sexual sin is not just between two consenting adu= lts. It is an act of disobedience against God.

His resistance was unyielding. It had to be, because she spoke to him day after day.

It is one thing to r= esist temptation once. It is something else to resist the same temptation day aft= er day! Some of us manage to muster enough strength to resist the first temptation, and we’re so proud of ourselves for not having yielded th= at we go right ahead and yield the next time.

Joseph knew that it = was wrong to give in to Potiphar’s wife. He didn’t play mind games = like people who say, “You know, pastor, I really believe that if God did n= ot want me to enter into this relationship, He would remove the temptation. He= would take away the feelings. He would make it clear to me.”

He has already given= you a book on the subject! He is not going to remove the temptation. You are to remove yourself from the temptation.

We can’t fool = with God’s requirements. We can’t allow our desires to overturn reas= on. We have to recognize that the battle is within us, not just outside us.

We may think we mere= ly respond to the outward temptations that are presented to us. But the truth = is that the evil desires in our hearts are constantly searching out temptation= s to satisfy our lusts. As long as we live in this body, we will wage war against the flesh!

Every day we live, w= e have this choice. Every day we move, either in the realm of obedience or in the realm of disobedience. There is a propensity within us, even as Christians,= to seek out that which is most attractive to us.

The attractions of t= he world, represented by Potiphar’s wife, were brought to Joseph by the = Evil One. Would Joseph sow to his flesh and reap destruction, or would he sow to= the Spirit and reap eternal life? God empowered Joseph to make the right choice= ; He will do the same for you.

His resistance was physical. He avoided her physical presence. He wasn’t going to risk t= he possibility of changing his mind. He didn’t assume that because he was able to resist her on Friday that he would automatically be successful on Saturday. He wasn’t foolish enough to say, “I’ve got this thing under control. It won’t bother me.”

A Chinese proverb sa= ys, “He who would not enter the room of sin must not sit at the door of temptation.” Joseph avoided Mrs. Potiphar as much as possible.

His resistance was ruthless. Genesis 39:12 tells us that when Potiphar’s wife grabbed his cloak, he left it in her hand and ran out of the house. It was better to lo= se his cloak than his character. It can take a lifetime to build a reputation = and only five minutes to destroy it when we don’t resist sin!<= /span>

That is why Paul told Timothy, “Flee the evil desires of youth” (2 Timothy 2:22). Tha= t is why he told the Corinthians, “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18). Don’t hang around and play with sexual temptation!=

Why? Because, as the writer of Proverbs told his son, “At the end of your life you will gr= oan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, ‘How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors. I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the mid= st of the whole assembly’” (Proverbs 5:11-14).

James provides us wi= th powerful principles for applying the truths we have learned here from the l= ife of Joseph. James 1:13-15 is a classic passage on temptation in which the apostle writes, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempt= ing me’”(v.13).

Here is the first principle. God is never the source of temptation! We lay the problem at His feet if we fail.

After Joseph fled fr= om Potiphar’s wife, she tried to lay the blame for her lust at Joseph’s feet, and then at the feet of her husband. She told her other servants Joseph had tried to rape her, and then she insinuated to Potiphar = that it was his fault for bringing Joseph into their home.

Neither of those accusations was true, but when people are under the gun and on the spot, th= ey will reach for anything to justify themselves. They’ll blame others, = and they may even blame God.

But James says, R= 20;God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (James 1:13). God tests us, but the difference between God’s testing and the devil̵= 7;s temptations is this: God sets up His tests for His children to pass. The temptations of the devil are set up so that we will fail. God is never the author of temptation, so we’ll have to place the blame elsewhere.

The second principle= is that temptation begins with our individual desire. James 1:14-15 tells us, “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away= and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

The third principle = is that when temptation comes, there is always a way out. Be honest. Did you e= ver give in to temptation because there was no way of escape? You never did, and neither did I! God always has a way out. The problem comes when we close our eyes to the escape route because we have allowed our desires to overwhelm o= ur reason.

If talking about temptation is a painful experience for you because of mistakes and failures= in your past, let me leave you with a word of hope.

With God’s hel= p we can chart a new course and set our sails in the direction of obedience to G= od. The Lord says, “I will forgive your wickedness and will remember your sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

God’s word to = you is the same word Jesus gave to the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). Aft= er all her pharisaic accusers had slunk away one at a time, Jesus asked her, “Has no one condemned you?” When the woman answered, “No = one, sir,” Jesus said to her, “then neither do I condemn you. Go now= and sin no more.”

No matter what has happened, you can leave your life of sin by the enabling of the Spirit of G= od through the Word of God. His power to overcome temptation is available to us all.

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