Genesis 39:7 Commentary and Bible Study

After his elevation to the position of overseer in the house, then comes the great temptation. Joseph comes to the attention of Potiphar’s wife. Seeing how good looking he is, she starts to imagine what he could mean to her, and indulges in the possibilities that she sees. She is a woman without principle, and to her it is nothing to betray her husband. In this she probably behaved as many women behaved in Egyptian society. She looks, and instead of putting to death the desire of her heart, she feeds it by looking again and again. Surely he will be flattered by her approaches, and it will be easy for her to entice him. She is therefore brazen about her intention and comes straight out with it – ‘Lie with me’. The woman wants Joseph or herself. She is attracted to him a merely carnal level, and yet no doubt she called this love. Once she had taken the first plunge and revealed her intentions, there was no going back. Joseph does not immediately report this; he is still only a slave in the house. Of course she will deny it, and who is his master going to believe? A man will not easily listen to such things. Joseph was therefore in a very difficult position.But Joseph refuses her. He is not the person she imagines him to be. She has never come across anyone with genuine piety and holiness like this, and she doesn’t understand it. Naturally, she thinks that she can turn up the pressure and he will yield, but Joseph proves that his life is governed not just by the desire to please men, but to please God also. He comes into a position of temptation, but continues to be faithful to God. What was the nature of the temptation? Was it simply that Potiphar’s wife was an attractive woman? There was more to it than that. He was in a trap. Had he yielded, it would have greatly enriched him; but on the other hand, if he refused, he might be ruined. In the same way Christ was tempted to forego Calvary. Make a deal with Satan, was the temptation. ‘If you do, you can avoid all that suffering and I will give you all the glory of this world; but if not, you must face the horror of making an atonement, and I will add to your suffering.’ But Christ rejected all such suggestions, and Joseph too stood firm. How? He was a godly young man, and also he had the prophecy, which promised him exaltation in God’s good time. So we, when faced with any trouble, remember that we will one day be beyond it. He gives three reasons for refusing. He had to convince her that he really meant to refuse. It would be an appalling act of ingratitude to Potiphar, who had placed such enormous trust in him. His master trusted him so much he did not even bother to keep track of what Joseph did. Joseph could not betray such great trust. Secondly, there was nothing in the house that he did not have responsibility for and complete freedom to do as he liked with. The one exception to this was of course Potiphar’s wife, and it would have been unthinkable for it to be any other way. In being given such liberty Joseph knew where to draw the line. But above all he could not do this thing because it would be wickedness and sin against God. Joseph brings God into this to show her that she is not going to change his mind. This is a matter of his testimony and this is more important to him than anything else.