Joseph Rejects Potiphar's Wife (MP 30)

Because God blessed Joseph in ev’rything,
Potiphar trusted him his house to run;
All went well as Joseph did success bring;
His master’s wealth increased and all well done!
Potiphar’s wife sought Joseph to seduce;
“Come, lie with me!” she begged, day after day;
Each time she approached him, he would refuse,
“My master trusts me; him I won’t betray!”
At last, she sent all the servants away,
Clutched his robe, and pulled him to her breast;
He shed his robe, refraining with her to lay,
And ran from the house, to end her behest!
She showed the robe to Potiphar and lied;
Joseph was put in jail for her wounded pride!

Scripture Quoted: Genesis 39:6b-10 (NIV)

“Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while the master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ 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. 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?’ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even to be with her.”

Commentary on Genesis 39:1-20 (NIV)

Joseph was bought by Potiphar in Egypt; he was the captain of the guard for Pharaoh the king. Joseph was put to work in Potiphar’s house and quickly gained his master’s notice, as everything he did turned out well because of the blessings of God upon him. After a time, Potiphar put his whole trust in him and made Joseph ruler over everything he owned, his house and work in the field.

Until Joseph, all the men thus far in the Bible have had great flaws and committed sins, though God continued blessing those instrumental in His Master Plan for the world. Joseph was a key necessity to God in building His Chosen Nation of Israel, and God blessed him on that account; however, Joseph is also the first who has a strong moral character and is alertly aware of sin; that is, of committing acts offensive to God. In the sordid attempt of Potiphar’s wife to seduce him, we see that he not only refused her request to lie with her, but he also told her that to do so was wicked and a sin to God. This is the way a Christian believer of today is supposed to conduct himself or herself in a new kind of life—to identify acts offensive to God and show the will power to decline such actions. Most Bible characters before Joseph committed sins without seeming to care what God might have them do.

When asking Joseph to have sex with her did not work, she dismissed all the servants from the house. When Joseph came, she caught his robe as if to pull him into bed with her. He did not yield to her aggressive attack; instead, he threw off his robe and ran from the house. She called the servants back and told them the lie that Joseph had been the offender, trying to rape her; she showed them his robe, which, she said, he left in a hurry when she screamed. She told Potiphar the same thing, and he believed her. The Bible does not say whether he gave Joseph a chance to refute her story; if he did, he did not believe him. Joseph was put into the Pharaoh’s prison, I suppose, with no trial and no date of release.

Keep in mind that these events in the life of Joseph are all happening by the instigation of God. God is not the author of every event that takes place in this world of His, but He does cause outcomes that serve to complete His Plan for the world. Joseph seems to reach a new low point in his life frequently, but God is at work, and He won’t quit until Joseph is in a position to bring the Israelites all down to Egypt.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)