“And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” Genesis 39:7 (NKJV)
Joseph’s brothers had sold him as a slave and was taken to Egypt. Potiphar was an officer in Pharoah’s service and bought Joseph. Joseph was faithful to Potiphar and God blessed Potiphar’s household because of Joseph. Potiphar did not worry about anything because Joseph was taking care of his household completely. Then we come to verse 7 – and Potiphar’s wife was not content with her husband, but set her eyes upon Joseph.
Potiphar’s wife caused lots of trouble for both Joseph and Potiphar. To avoid calling his wife a liar, Potiphar had to have Joseph arrested and put into jail. However, that meant that Potiphar had to either replace Joseph with someone he might not be able to trust as much as he did Joseph OR go back to managing his household himself. That was not a choice he wanted to make; however, he didn’t have the courage to stand up to his wife.
Joseph was arrested and put into jail for something he hadn’t done. He could have become bitter and spend time thinking of how to get revenge for being mistreated (again! because his brothers had sold him as a slave and that was something he didn’t deserve to have happen to him).
What lesson can I learn from Potiphar’s wife’s actions and words? It is important for me to tell the truth and not manufacture lies to accomplish anything. It is also important that I keep my eyes only on my husband and not look to someone else to meet my need to be loved in any way.
Listen to Chris Tomlin as he sings “Give Us Clean Hands.”
Published on MyBibleRoom.com 1/17/24, 5:00 pm