February 13, 2024 | Be God's Light
Joseph is Betrayed by Potiphar's Wife
Scripture: Genesis 39(NIV)
1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”
8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Devotional
Joseph’s ten older brothers sold him for half a pound of silver to Midianite traders, who turned a profit by selling him to Pharaoh’s captain of the guard, Potiphar. But God was not done with Joseph. He worked hard for his master and earned his trust. In time, Joseph was running the place.
And Joseph wasn’t going to destroy that trust with a little tryst with his master’s wife. She made him pay for his integrity by having him tossed in prison. Sometimes life isn’t fair. Nobody could have blamed Joseph if he had given up.
Later in Israel’s history, there was turmoil and distress in the surrounding nations. But the Spirit of God said to King Asa, “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded” (2 Chronicles 15:7). There is something to be said for not giving up when things get tough.
When Joseph was back at home in Canaan, he rose to the top of his father’s favoritism. When he was sold into Egyptian slavery, he was placed in charge of his master’s estate. And when he got wrongfully dumped into prison, he became the warden’s right hand man. The final verse of today’s reading sums it up: “the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.”
Joseph didn’t give up. Neither did God. When we think all is lost, God is right there, ready to guide our lives through the troubles. The 23rd Psalm reminds us of this truth. As you read this, make it a prayer of trust between God and you.
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Poem
A Prayer I Pray
A prayer I pray
For this my child
“Don’t allow beauty
Too come too soon
For with it comes
A blindness in others
A greed for possession
A missing of the true beauty
Within
Beneath
Around”
A prayer I pray
For this my child
“Protection, LORD
From evil eyes
Their plotting schemes
To tempt with lust
To lure with power
To claim innocence
Within
Beneath
Around”
A prayer I pray
For this my child
“Wisdom to see
Beyond the lies
To flee from sin
And leave behind
And shed the dream
And run for truth
Within
Beneath
Around”
