Joseph's Self Control

View daily reading plan: Genesis 39; 2 Peter 1:6

What a trial faced Joseph in Potiphar’s house! The Genesis record says that “day by day” his master’s wife attempted to seduce him. Joseph’s method of dealing with such a dangerous character is worth adopting should we find ourselves in a similar situation.

Not only did he refuse to “lie by her”, he was careful not to “be with her” as far as was possible within his duties as a servant. Joseph did not allow himself to be placed in a position where the lusts of the flesh became irresistible. Paul’s advice to Timothy is to “flee youthful lusts” (2 Tim 2:22).

Joseph did not regard an affair with his master’s wife as a trifling matter. He saw it as being “great wickedness”. The sin may have gone undetected but Joseph was conscious that “the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Prov 15:3). He was aware of the fact that not only would the act be a sin against Potiphar and his wife (Lev 20:10), and a sin against himself (1 Cor 6:18), in the final analysis it would be “sin against God”.

Friday, 31 May, 2024