Genesis 39:1-23; Key Verse: Gen 39:2a, 21a
Just say "No" to free sex? How does a believer overcome lust and sexual temptation in a sexually promiscuous society? Even if one avoids sexual contact, how do we overcome the wild imaginations of our mind and the allurement of sexually explicit pornographic images freely available on the internet? Do we just say "No" to free sex, porno, nudity, strip clubs, as we say "No" to drugs? In this famous episode of Joseph and Potiphar's wife (Gen 39:1-23), let us consider how Joseph overcame such overpowering temptations. How did he do it? The answer might surprise you. It was not primarily his fortitude, but that God was with him (Gen 39:2). With God, Silence is not Absence. At the beginning of Genesis, in the narratives on creation, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God appears often, and often in spectacular fashion. But toward the end of Genesis in the narratives of Joseph, God is rarely mentioned. There are no miracles, no visions, no voices, no appearances of God. But with God, silence is not absence; hiddenness is not impotence. Often when God seems the most hidden, He is working the most for us. From Gen 37:1-40:23 we have:
- The "Hidden" God in Joseph's Suffering (Gen 37:2-36).
- The Hidden God in Judah's Sin (Gen 38:1-30).
- The "Hidden" God in Joseph's Temptations (Gen 39:1-23).
- The "Hidden" God in Joseph's Imprisonment (Gen 40:1-23).
- The power of temptation
- The sexual temptation
- The hardest temptation of all, in some ways.
I. The Power of Temptation
It might be easy to miss and not see that there is the power of temptation. Joseph had been sold to Potiphar who was likely the commander-in-chief of Pharaoh's armed forces (Gen 37:36, 39:1). He was a very powerful man, perhaps 1 of the most powerful men in the most powerful nation of his time. Joseph had come into a center of power. How do you use power? We may not realize in this text that there are 2 very different ways exemplified by 2 different people--Potiphar's wife and Joseph--in how they use their power:
- Use your power to serve yourself (Gen 39:7,12).
- Use your power to serve others (Gen 39:4-5).
Use power for yourself. Potiphar's wife had great power as the wife of Potiphar. She was used to getting what she wanted. When she wanted sex from Joseph, she simply demanded it, expecting that it would be done and carried out. She commanded Joseph, "Come to bed with me" (Gen 39:7,12). The English translation does not express the forcefulness of her demand. In Hebrew, it is just a 2 syllable word "shakab" (shä·kav'). It might be equivalent to commanding in English, "Sex! Now!" or "Down! Sex!" It is blunt, aggressive, crude. It is like throwing a ball and telling the dog, "Go! Fetch!" She was demanding sex. But it was about power. "She presents the matter in terms of power rather than love, of command rather than seduction; she is 'his master's wife.'" (Fretheim, Terrence E. "Genesis." 1994.) She was using her power to get what she wanted. The habits of her heart have been corrupted by the power that she was so accustomed to as the wife of a powerful man. She was so used to using her power to getting whatever she wanted, in order to fulfill her own desires.
She was willing to risk everything because of her uncontrollable desire for Joseph. We might look upon her as such a trashy women who just wanted sex. There’s a fascinating ancient Jewish legend in which Potiphar’s wife, named Zuleika, is mocked by other aristocratic Egyptian ladies, her circle of friends, for being infatuated with a Hebrew slave boy. So she invites her friends to her home, and gives them all oranges and knives to peel them with. While they’re engaged in this task, Zuleika has Joseph walk through the room. Distracted by his handsomeness, all the ladies cut themselves with the knives, and the blood flows, staining their garments. She then reminds her friends: “I have to see Joseph every single day.” And her friends never mock her again. (Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews, vol. 2, 28.) This explains why she pressures Joseph day after day. She used all of her power for herself.
Use power for others. What about Joseph? He also had been conferred great power as the chief steward of Potiphar's household. That Joseph was Potiphar's attendant (Gen 39:4) might be misleading. It is the same word used for Joshua as Moses' aide (Num 11:28). Joseph was not just Potiphar's personal assistant. Rather, he had power and stewardship over Potiphar's entire household (Gen 39:4b-5). He was like the COO (chief operating officer) of a Fortune 500 billion dollar company. But Joseph did not use his power the way Potiphar's wife did. He used it for the welfare and benefit of others. He used his power not for himself but to bless others (Gen 39:5). Joseph used his power such that a society that did not acknowledge his God, and a master who did not acknowledge his God was blessed by his stewardship and use of power. What might we learn here?
The Man God Uses. Joseph is an example of a great Christian. Dick Lucas, a renowned British pastor and preacher, said that if we see a book with the title "The Man (or Woman) God Uses," we would immediately think that it would be about some great missionary, preacher, pastor, minister, theologian, or some great Bible teacher in various positions of leadership and influence in the church. Why? It is because the church has conditioned us to think this way. But Joseph was none of these. He was simply a highly successful businessman. He was not a missionary, minister or Bible teacher. He was a great manager and administrator in Potiphar's house...and God was mightily using him. He was commended highly and greatly by the narrator of Genesis (Gen 39:3,5).In some ways, being a good missionary, minister or Bible teacher might be a whole lot easier. There is a certain degree of spiritual glamor in doing it. How much do we look up to Billy Graham, Hudson Taylor, Spurgeon, Moody, Edwards, Winfield, Calvin, Wesley? Yet, the Bible reveals that God is willing to use men and women of God in every sphere of life, in business, in music, in the arts, in law, in medicine, in every arena of life.
Music, business, communication skills. This is the great shortfall today. If one is a great singer or has great musical skills, the implicit idea is that if we want God to use us, we should use those skills in the church to bless the people who come to church and to Christian events. If one has great business and administrative skills, and if we want God to use us, we should use it for the church and for ministry. If one has great communication skills and we want God to use us, we have to be a great preacher or Bible teacher in the church.
Bless the church or the nations. Yet, in Gen 12:2-3, God promised Abram that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." The very person that God directly uses to bless the nations, God does not call him to be a preacher, prophet or minister. God called him to be a very successful businessman, and later a very successful government leader who will use all of his creative and administrative gifts to mount a massive hunger relief program to save his own family and the nation of Egypt. That is how God used him. It is because Joseph knows how to use power.
Do you know how to use power? God can use men and women of God in every sphere of life to do amazing things if we are able to do what Joseph did. What did Joseph do? He used power. But he was not used by power. He took up power. But he was not taken up by power. He took power but he was not co-opted by power the way Potiphar's wife was.
St. Augustine wrote the City of God. In every city there are 2 cities: the city of Man and the city of God, the earthly city and the heavenly city. What marks the people of these 2 cities is that the supreme motivation of the citizens of the city of God is the love of God, while the supreme motivation of the citizens of the earthly city is the love of self. The City of Man is shaped by the love of self, even to the contempt of God, and the City of God is shaped by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. But the practical difference of these 2 citizenries is in how they use power. The very best citizens of the earthly city are the citizens of the heavenly city, because in every area of life, whether it is law, or medicine, or government, or business, or the arts, they use power to bless others, not serve themselves. This is not easy. It is never ever easy because of the seductive temptation of power.
Can you overcome the seductive temptation of power? If anyone wants to be used by God, they must know how to overcome the temptation of power. If an attractive woman knows the kind of power she has over men, how does she use that power? Does she use men like the women in "Desperate Housewifes," or "Grey's Anatomy," or "Sex and the City"? When a leader knows the kind of power he has over those under him, how does he use that power? (Mt 20:25-28; Mk 10:42-45).
Once a boss took the blame for a major mistake one of his workers did. As a result she did not loose her job. She was shocked. She asked why he did this. She knew of bosses who would take credit for what his workers did. But she never heard of a boss who took the blame for his worker's mistakes. He told her it was because he was a Christian. Since he understood that Jesus took the blame for him, he has always let that shape the way he lived, including those who worked for him. She was so touched and moved by him that she began to investigate the claims of Christianity.
II. The Sexual Temptation
Just say "No" to premarital sex! Maintain your sexual purity until marriage. Is this the spiritual lesson of Joseph's victory over sexual temptation? Commentators have made the example of Joseph as an excellent study on how to overcome temptation. However, such morally inclined teachings are to be avoided. "No clear model is presented, and no exhortations or statements of approval from the narrator urge us to go and do likewise... It is only when we consistently adopt the criteria of taking our lead from the overt teaching of the text that the morass of subjectivity can be avoided and the text can retain its clear vision and voice." (Walton, John H. Genesis. 2001.)
What's the big deal about sex? Isn’t sex just another appetite like all other appetites? Hungry? Eat. Feeling sexy? Have sex. C. S. Lewis said there’s something different about sex. In Mere Christianity, he wrote, "Everyone knows that the sexual appetite, like our other appetites, grows by indulgence. Starving men may think much about food, but so do gluttons; the gorged, as well as the famished, like titillations." No other appetite gets so obsessive for us so quickly. Imagine, he said, finding a country where young guys go off to university and they plaster all kinds of posters of hamburgers and sushi all over their walls, and everyone runs from room to room, looking at them. And in this country, you find people gathering in a dark room, and paying money to watch someone slowly uncover cakes and pies. You’d assume that this country was filled with starving people. And you’d be astonished to find that not only are they not starving, but the more they eat, the more they do this. You’d surely conclude that this is an appetite out of control! (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity. Also retold in a sermon by Tim Keller, “Lust: The Case of Joseph,” March 12, 1995.)
Joseph uses 3 arguments in refusing his master's wife.
- He cannot betray his master who has entrusted everything under his care (Gen 39:8).
- To obey his master's wife would be to disobey his master who has withheld nothing from him except his wife (Gen 39:9a).
- Joseph's primary reason for refusing her aggressive demand for sex is that it is a “a wicked thing and sin against God” (Gen 39:9b).
Is sex or sexual desire wicked and evil? Does the Bible teach that sexual desire is bad? Not at all! In the beginning, God created sexuality and said, "It was very good" (Gen 1:31). In Proverbs, husbands and wives are instructed to be ravished by each other (Prov 5:15-20). In the Song of Songs, an entire book in our Bible is dedicated to the celebration and enjoyment of sexual desire within the context that God created it for. How about that bachelor Paul? In the very next chapter, right after his instructions to “flee sexual immorality” (1 Cor 6:18), he uses 40 verses to instruct husbands and wives in detail to consciously cultivate intense sexual desire and passion for each other, and to be ravished by each other.
One flesh. It is a sin not just because she is married to Potiphar (and therefore wrong and wicked), but because she is not married to Joseph. Paul, in a riff on this Joseph story, alludes to this text and to the Christian sex ethic in 1 Cor 6:15-20 that sex is different from other apetites. "Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, 'The two will become one flesh.' Flee from sexual immorality..." (1 Cor 6:16,18a). Perhaps Paul was thinking of what Joseph did, for he fled from sexual immorality ("porneia" [Greek] means "illicit sexual intercourse").
Whole life oneness. According to Paul and the Bible, why is it wrong to have sex with anyone you please? It is because sex is designed to create "one flesh." Both Old and New Testament say the same thing over and over: our sexuality is beautiful, powerful, sacred. It is not just another appetite. It has a purpose—the two will become one flesh. Sex is God’s way, created to say to someone else: I belong completely and exclusively to you in every aspect of my being. Sexual intercourse was never intended by God to be used purely for sexual gratification. Rather, sex was designed by God for two individuals who are wholly and singularly committed to each other. Sex is intended by God to say to another person that "I belong entirely and exclusively to you with the entirely of my being: socially, financially, economically, legally, emotionally and spiritually." In other words, our physical vulnerability and oneness in sex must be an expression of our whole life vulnerability and oneness. God created the sex act to involve the complete person. It is the most intimate and most vulnerable way possible to give yourself entirely to the one to whom you belong.
Sexual integrity. The Bible calls us to complete sexual integrity: integrate your body with your whole life! When you have given your whole life to another, then it’s safe and good to give yourself most intimately, even your body, in complete vulnerability. That is integrity. If sex/physical union is an expression of our whole life expression of oneness, then sex deepens trust. But if someone has sex, while keeping their options open, then they are saying that they only want physical oneness, but not whole life oneness. It is to give ourselves to each other physically and sexually, but not completely and entirely. It is like saying, "I want you. But I do not want to entrust myself to you. I still want some things that I have control over, such as seeing another person, or keeping my money separate from you." Thus, if one is not willing to give their whole life, they should not be giving their body.
Sex is God's invention for complete life entrustment. If one uses sex just for physical satisfaction for the moment, we weaken ourselves from doing whole life entrustment; we weaken ourselves from living a complete and full life. Paul is saying that separating sex from whole life oneness is a monstrosity and a dissonance. That is why Joseph recoiled from it, and why Paul says to recoil from it.
Casual sex. In a promiscuous society where casual sex is regarded as healthy or OK between consenting adults, people will feel guilty about hearing that one should flee from casual sex, which is non-whole life entrustment sex. But people should be open to this novel and interesting idea that we should integrate our body with our whole life, rather than separating sex from the rest of our life.
Ridiculous and retrograde. Other people will reject such thoughts out-rightly because it is so foreign and strange and ridiculous and retrograde to modern society. Many have slammed Christianity for being exclusive by claiming that Jesus is the only way, and by raising Christianity above other religions. They say that Christians should celebrate what all other religions in the world have in common. This is one of them. There are a few things all religions in the world share a consensus and have in common. But all religions basically say that you should not have sex outside of whole life covenant and commitment.
Does self-control work? How does Joseph resist temptation? Greeks, Buddhists, Taoists, or any life coach and modern psychologists think this way--that self control, including sexual self control is mainly a matter of the will, reaching deep inside to find the strength within: Just suppress all those bad desires that could get you into trouble. Use self control by using the will to subdue the heart. But those who do so invariably come across as being constipated and sanctimonious. That is not how Joseph dealt with sexual temptation. This is not the way of the Bible. Joseph did not look inward for moral strength, but outward. He wasn’t looking inside to suppress his natural desires; instead he looked outside to expand, to enhance, his deepest desires for God. As Tim Keller puts it, moral strength is not a matter of will-power, but of heart-power. Our temptations are not the result of too much desire, but too little desire. Our desires are too small.
Look not inside to self, but outside to God. Joseph is not looking inside to suppress his desire for her, but looking outside to enhance his desire for God. What was Joseph's ultimate argument? This was primarily a sin against God, not just against Potiphar. Joseph is not using self-control and will power to overcome the temptation. Rather it is through heart power. He does not look inside and say, "No" to illicit sex. Rather he looks outside and says, "How can I trample on the God of my life?"
How does self control work effectively? When Jacob agreed to work for 7 years of hard labor for Rachel whom he fell madly in love that it "seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her" (Gen 29:20). 7 years of hard labor takes a lot of self control, for surely Jacob wanted to give up, take a break, slow down, enjoy pleasure and leisure, be lazy, not work, give into self pity. He was like everyone else when they have to work so hard. But Jacob had self control. Why? Though he wanted many, many things, it was not like how he wanted Rachel. Jacob had 1 over-mastering desire and passion that put all the other desires in his heart in their proper place.
What self control is: re-ordering the loves of the heart by 1 supreme passion. Rather, it is all the desires of the heart being re-ordered and put in their proper place by an overmastering passion and supreme love. If anyone just tries to suppress desires, they will not be able to do so indefinitely. Real self control does not come by suppressing the desires of the heart, but by re-ordering the loves of the heart through 1 overarching overmastering passion and supreme love that puts all other loves in their place. We need a Rachel. We need something that captures our heart, and our imagination.
Another Joseph. Joseph did that. But we have something better. We have something Joseph never had. We have access to something Joseph never had access to. We have resources that Joseph could not dream of. Joseph was beautiful. But there is another Joseph. He was beautiful (Ps 27:4; Isa 33:17). He had the palace and the glory (Isa 48:11). He was equal with God (Phil 2:6). He was in the very bosom of God (Jn 1:18). He enjoyed the glory of the Father from all eternity (Jn 17:5). But like Joseph, he lost it all. Jesus lost his beauty and his majesty (Isa 53:2). Like Joseph, Jesus also was assailed by powerful temptations to turn away from his vocation and mission. Jesus cried out with sweat like drops of blood, saying, "Take this cup from me." Like Joseph, Jesus was false accused, numbered with the guilty and the transgressors (Isa 53:12), even though he was neither guilty or a transgressor. Like Joseph, Jesus refused the temptations. Like Joseph, Jesus was willing to lay down his life.
What do we really want? We think we want sex and power, when what we really want is God. Freud says that spiritual longings are just frustrated sexual longings. But the Bible says that sexual longings are just frustrated spiritual longings. Zuleika (Potiphar's wife) didn’t know the beauty she really longed for. All of us need 1 thing. We need an ultimate beautiful person to find us beautiful, and to give themselves completely to us. Jesus, the most Beautiful One, the ultimate Beauty, did that for us. He, the most Beautiful One, gave Himself completely and wholly to us. We are his Rachel. When we realize that we are his Rachel, then he becomes our Rachel.
Does marriage solve the problem of sexual temptation? Single Christians often think, “If only I were married, then I wouldn’t struggle with sexual temptation." Not so. Even the best marriages cannot be entirely fulfilled by the spouse whom they love and who loves them. Why not? Unless one has the Spousal love of Jesus as the ultimate existential reality, we will never be able to overcome sexual temptation. Without Jesus the ultimate Beauty fulfilling us, this will eventually spill out into sexual temptation no matter how happily married one is. But if Jesus is the ultimate Beauty in our hearts, then all other desires in our hearts will be ordered and they will find their proper place.
III. The "Hardest" Temptation
Here Joseph does everything right. Yet his life blows up. The hardest temptation may be the temptation to despair. When we do our best and do what is right, and yet things go bad. The temptation to despair is the hardest temptation when things go wrong even though we do things right. We have a perspective on Joseph's life that he did not have. Nothing can derail God's care for us and his ultimate plan for our life.
The ultimate Joseph lived the perfect life and yet his life completely blew up. William Cowper often gets depressed. He wrote "God Moves In A Mysterious Way."
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Of never-failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
How could Joseph overcome such devastating temptations and adversities where his life literally gets worse and worse and falls apart? He went from a most beloved son to a slave to a prisoner all the while doing his best to do what was right. Many a lesser man gives up and gives in with far lesser trials and temptations. How did Joseph do it?
The name Yahweh (the LORD) is used 8 times in Gen 39:2,3 (2x),5 (2x),21,23 (2x). This 8fold use of God's covenant name stands out here because in the entire story of Joseph it is used only once more (Gen 49:18; plus 3 times in the Judah story [Gen 38:7 (2x),10]). Moreover the narrator repeats 4 times that "the Lord was with Joseph" (Gen 39:2,3,21,23). 3 times he links this presence of the Lord with Joseph's success/prosperity (Gen 39:2,3,23). 2 times he mentions the Lord's blessing on the Egyptian's household, his house and fields (Gen 39:5). Clearly, Joseph's success is not because of his innate wisdom or ability but because the Lord is with him.
How do we overcome temptation? We need to know that the Lord is with us. We need to know that the Lord loves us and gave himself for us (Gal 2:20), even more than Jacob loving Rachel. We need to know that Jesus is our Rachel, our ultimate beauty, that no other beauty in the world can compare with. Potiphar's wife did not know one more beautiful than Joseph and was overcome by her own desire. But Joseph knew of One more beautiful than the seemingly irresistible temptation of power and sex. We know Him more clearly than Joseph ever could, as we behold His beauty of loving us unto death.
References:
- Greidanus, Sidney, Preaching Christ from Genesis. Chap. 20. Joseph in Potiphar's house (Gen 39:1-23). Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmas Publishing Co. 2007, 378-393.
- Kidner, Derek. Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove: IVP. 1967, 189-192.
- Altar, Robert. Genesis: Translation and Commentary. New York: W W Norton & Company. 1996, 224-228.
- Duncan, Ligon. Success, Loyalty and Betrayal (Gen 39:1-23). Sermon, March 26, 2000.
- Keller, Timothy. "Temptation" (Gen 39:1-23). Sermon, June 15, 2003.
- Kuepfer, Tim. Falsely Accused (Gen 39:1-23). Sermon, July 17, 2011.
- A Sentence-Outline of C.S. Lewis's MERE CHRISTIANITY.
Textual Theme (Greidanus): The Lord is with his people both in prosperity and adversity (as the Lord was with Joseph in his rise and fall in Potiphar's house).
Textual goal: To assure God's people of his presence with them in times of prosperity as well as times of adversity.
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