Bible Study - Pitfalls (2) - The Pitfall of Temptation - Genesis 39:1-12 - January 30, 2022

 

Bible Study – Pitfalls (2) – The Pitfall of Temptation – January 30, 2022

This is lesson two (2) in our Series entitled, “How to Avoid Life’s Pitfalls.”

Our focus scripture is Genesis 39:1-12.

Remembering what is at stake helps us overcome temptation some of the time but not all of the time.

In the life stories we read in the Bible gives us an overview of a person’s life and the events taking place in his or her life. We know the whole life events in Joseph’s life but Joseph did not know the outcome until the latter days of his life. Joseph had to trust GOD as he was going through life. GOD was building a firm foundation in Joseph to trust GOD in all things.

As we study the life of Joseph, we get to witness GOD testing the trust and character of Joseph. Why? It was because GOD had a major role for Joseph to play in the preservation of HIS chosen people and other people groups.  

One of worst things a Christian can do is to think he or she is beyond being tempted and falling into sin. Satan loves it. I know. I thought I could walk through Hell and come out the other end without having the smell of smoke, so to speak. When we feel self-sufficient, that is when we are the least self-sufficient and need to surround ourselves with family and friends who can walk with us during troubling times in our lives.

I will highlight a time when a man or woman is most vulnerable – Mid-life crisis. This is a time when a person needs to be open and honest in his or her feeling. If a person has a spouse, it is a good time to confide what you are feeling. That is when a person feels like opportunity to be successful is passing him or her by and now is the time when that person must get all that life has to offer e.g., new sports car, new job, new spouse, etc. LET ME MAKE CLEAR, JOSEPH WAS NOT EXPERIENCING A MID-LIFE CRISIS. POTIPHOR’S WIFE MAY HAVE BUT NOT JOSEPH!

A former pastor, counselor began seeing the signs in himself that he had symptoms of mid-life crisis. He had the foresight and courage to confess it to his wife and asked her to help him as he went through this time in his life. Mid-life crisis can last a short time or as long a ten or more years.

Our study this week reveals the character of Joseph. I state again, He was not in mid-life crisis but he was in a situation where the spouse of the person who owned him made sexual demands toward him. Joseph did the right thing, yet he ended up in prison but all was part of GOD’S plan for Joseph to be guided to be in the right place at the right time.

It is important that Joseph did not succumb to the advances of Potiphar’s wife because he would have not been in GOD’S will. Some spouses who find themselves attracted to another person take it as GOD’S will. DO NOT FALL For THAT LIE! That is Satan baiting the hook to reel you into an ungodly relationship and to defeat your witness for HIM.

How we act and react to the issues we face in our lives reflects our Spiritual maturity and relationship with GOD through our relationship with JESUS.  The issues we face in our lives are Spiritual and relationship building blocks.

Let’s explore!

Let’s read Genesis 39:1-7:

Joseph in Potiphar’s House

39 Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. ² The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving^[a] in the household of his Egyptian master. ³ When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything, he did successful, ⁴ Joseph found favor with his master and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority.^[b] 5 From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph. The Lord’s blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields. ⁶ He left all that he owned under Joseph’s authority;^[c] he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Joseph had gone from privilege in his own country to servant in another country. How did he react to his new circumstances in life? Who did Joseph realize had not abandoned him? GOD! Did Joseph whine against GOD for his plight in life? NO! He remained faithful to GOD. What would we have done if we had been in Joseph’s shoes? Woe is me or to trust GOD with the outcome?

GOD was blessing Joseph in a mighty way along with his Egyptian master. When we are in right relationship with GOD all that we do, according to HIS will and purpose, is blessed by GOD. We see this in the life of Joseph and it was a witness to Potiphar. Joseph was a strong young man and could have been placed in the fields and out of the sight of Potiphar. Who placed Joseph in the right place at the right time? GOD! All was going well, until -----

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome. ⁷ After some time his master’s wife looked longingly at Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”

The literal translation of verse 7 is, “she asked Joseph to lie down on the bed next to her.” Step one is to place oneself in a compromising situation. Laying on the bed with her would have make it more difficult for him to run. Laying with her would have moved Joseph closer to her and increase the possibility of Joseph compromising his foundational principles. The winds and storms of sin are strong and blow a person’s Spiritual house off its foundation and its destruction is great and far reaching. Therefore, do not put yourself in a position to compromise your faith in JESUS. Run, run, run from and not toward temptation or compromise!!! When you take action to resist, GOD’S strength comes upon you and a battle with Satan may begin. But Spirit-born people must keep in mind that “greater is HE that is in them than he (Satan) that is in the world. Stand strong and surround yourself with those who will stand with you during this storm in your life.

Lust raised its head in the eyes of Potiphar’s wife. Potiphar’s wife was the aggressor. She approached Joseph. It was decision time for Joseph. He was in a very awkward situation. What would he do? He could not leave and get another master. He had to trust GOD. But when a person trusts GOD and things still not do not according to his or her plan, what do he or she do? We remain steadfast and trust that if we remain faithful, GOD will see us through that time in our lives.

Let’s read Genesis 39:8-10:

⁸ But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority.^[d] 9 No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?”

¹⁰ Although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her.^[e] 

Likely the more Joseph resisted her, the more her desire for Joseph intensified. Joseph remained steadfast in his resolve not to succumb to her desires. But she was determined to get what she desired.

What was foundational in Joseph’s heart? Sleeping with her would have been, “So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?” Joseph had built his relationship with GOD upon a firm Spiritual foundation and GOD knew his heart toward HIM.

When temptation comes our way that is when what we have built our faith upon is tested – sand or solid rock. JESUS said it best as recorded in Matthew 7:24-25:

²⁴ “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”

What we build our faith upon is vital to our Spiritual growth and to how we respond when we face the issues of life. We must build upon the solid rock of JESUS and not false notions that we dream up or that we hear from those who tell us they know the truth, including me. Test what you hear and are told against the truth of GOD’S Word and the Holy Spirit within.

Joseph had built upon the solid foundation and he knew that yielding to the offer to sin would have been a sin against GOD. He would have been a party to Potiphar’s wife sinning against her husband and Joseph’s GOD. Just because Potiphar’s wife did not know the One True GOD of Joseph did not make her free from the consequence of sin.

Let’s read Genesis 39:11-12:

¹¹ Now one day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there.^[f] 12 She grabbed him by his garment and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. 

The day came when opportunity gave way to action. Notice, “none of the household servants were there.”^[f] Had Potiphar’s wife orchestrated this day off? Did this make the servants suspicious of what she might be up to?

Joseph went about his daily routine when Potiphar’s wife seized the moment. Joseph had a quick decision to make and he did the right thing and ran outside. But Potiphar’s wife stripped Joseph of his outer garment. In hot climates people wore a thin, white, cotton/linen, loose flowing outer garment to help keep them cool.

GOD was watching these events unfold and likely, so were the other household servants. They had the day off but were they really not around somewhere? The walls have ears and eyes. Nothing is in private then and now. Opportunity often equals trouble. What does a Christian do?  In First Corinthians 10:13, we read - ¹³ No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.

GOD will provide the way to escape and when a person sees the way to escape, he or she must take it!

What was Joseph’s escape route? It was to run away from the situation. Running away is often the best way to escape temptation. Joseph did the right thing but where did it lead him? It led him to prison and a ruined reputation. Joseph knew that he had done the right thing in the sight of GOD and in accordance with what he believed GOD would have him to do. Joseph had a clear conscience and he knew that GOD knew the details of what had happened. In the words of Dr. Vance Havner, “practice in the dark what you learn in the light.”

Yes, many of us will have dark times in their lives. How will we respond? Is our Spiritual house built upon the solid rock of JESUS CHRIST? Building upon the solid rock of JESUS does not mean that we will not be tested. What is important is how solid is our foundation. Does our anchor hold when we encounter the storms in life?

Companies do quality control tests to evaluate the quality of the products being manufactured. GOD allowed Satan to test Job with the provision, Satan could not take Job’s life.

Blessings!!!