October 8, 2009

• Joseph and temptation: How he kept from falling

  
  Several months ago I looked at Genesis 39 (the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife). At the time I wrote that temptations come even when the Lord is with us, even when we are in the will of God. I would like to return to this story and see how Joseph was able to withstand temptation.
  
  
  In that previous post about Joseph, I wrote:

  Let us remember Paul's words in II Corinthians 10: Let us take heed, lest we fall. The Bible tells us that the fool says in his heart there is no God I would propose there is another type fool, the fool who says there is no devil actively opposing the Christ, His Kingdom and His joint heirs! Don't be a fool. Be wise and sober and diligent. The devil is always prowling about seeking whom he will devour.

  
  

  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. I Peter 5:8.

  Let's return to the story of Joseph in Genesis 39, where temptation comes to him from Potiphar's wife.

  And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, Lie with me.

  
  And after a time...We may have been in a situation for a while before temptation rears its ugly head. We always need to be alert to the wiles of Satan for there is no time he is not prowling. In a moment, a innocent situation or relationship can become a cesspool of temptation. Just a glance, a word, whatever...

  Cast her eyes...I'm not a man, so I don't have a man's perspective, but I believe the men out there would agree that women's eyes can be very alluring and captivating (yes, of course, I do realize there's often more to the temptation than just the eyes...though this particular passage doesn't mention any more than the eyes...).

  and said, Lie with me...Now the inviting words come battering into Joseph's mind. A thought enters we might never have considered. Just like Eve in the garden who was minding her own business...

  Now let's look at Joseph's response to the advances of Potiphar's wife:

  But he refused and said to his master's wife, Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?

  
  How did Joseph battle this temptation?

  • Joseph refused the temptation. He immediately refused. Joseph didn't take Mrs. Potiphar's invitation under consideration, "Hmm. Let me think on this..." He didn't do what Eve did in the garden. He didn't allow himself to be engaged in conversation with the serpent. Anytime we begin to entertain temptation, even in our minds, we've taken a very big step on the way to succumb to it. Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? As we entertain temptation, all we've done is managed to make the slope a bit more slippery for ourselves and we're more likely to fall. Remember what Jesus said about the man who lusted in his heart... And then just to be sure Joseph was clear to himself as well as to Potiphar's wife about his resolve, Joseph spoke his resolution aloud to affirm his decision.

  • Joseph respected and submitted himself to his earthly master. God is sovereign over all earthly authorities and very often these authorities serve as a covering and protection for us. These include our parents, husbands, church and government leaders. If we aren't submitting to them (so long as they are not leading us into sin), how can we claim we are submitting ourselves to the Lord who placed them over us?

  • Joseph was thankful and content with what he had already been given. He saw he was blessed by God. We can certainly imagine Joseph would have had sexual urges and desires at this time yet he did not feed those by trying to rationalize he could fulfill them in a way God had not ordained for him. He realized no matter how he could have tried to spin the story or rationalize it, he was not entitled to Potiphar's wife. Joseph submitted to God's will for him in this and spurned her advances.

  • Joseph referred to sexual impropriety as great wickedness and sin. He did not try to cast it in a lesser light. He had the mind of God about the definition of sin; he called it what God called it: great wickedness and sin.

  I think what was really key here is this: Just as we see how Joseph respected and submitted himself to Potiphar, his earthly master, first and foremost Joseph submitted himself to God, his heavenly Master.

  When we are willing to submit our fleshly desires to the Spirit of God, we will be able to stand strong in the grace God provides and resist temptation. If we aren't willing to walk in the Spirit, if we're walking in disobedience to His promptings and following instead the lusts of our flesh, we end up grieving the Holy Spirit. The next thing we know we no longer walking in the Spirit but in the flesh, and we've already begun sliding down that slippery slope. We've stopped guarding our hearts and protecting our minds. We're no longer attempting to be pure and holy, and we've begun lusting in our hearts. Before we know it the fruit leading to death that had already been growing inside us now becomes apparent. Soon we are willing to go to any length in an attempt to fulfill the lust we'd been entertaining and playing with in our hearts and minds. To throw away years of marriage for a brief moment of satisfaction. To give away our virginity so we might feel loved. (What kind of satisfaction, what kind of love is that really?)

  Joseph had a high view of God (he saw God as holy, sovereign and good) and therefore he had a godly, Biblical view of sin (sin is great wickedness, it is an offense, an abomination to a holy God). Along with God, Joseph called adultery sin. Along with God, Joseph knew adultery was great wickedness against God. He knew if he engaged in adultery, he would, in fact, be committing adultery against His God, betraying the God who chose him and set His love on him. Therefore, He submitted himself to his heavenly Father as His master and trusted his Father's provision for him at the time and did not take what was not his to have.

  As we face temptations to sin, how can we submit to God unless we agree with God about what He says about sin? Can two walk together unless they be agreed? We can't make up our own definitions of sin. We can't make up our own standards. God has not changed, nor have his standards changed.

  Joseph called adultery great wickedness because Joseph knew adultery was sin against God. Joseph didn't redefine adultery just so he might indulge in it and satisfy his lust. Notice too that Joseph didn't just call sin wickedness, though I think that would have been sufficient, but he called it great wickedness. The Hebrew word for wickedness is ra`, meaning "bad" or "evil." Joseph didn't dumb down God's standards for sin. Joseph didn't say he was entitled to  sexual fulfillment because of the abuse he suffered at the hand of his brothers. He didn't say sex would be a much-needed release for his body or a well-deserved reward for serving Potiphar well. Joseph didn't say lying with Potiphar's wife would be merely an error or a mistake in judgment. No, he didn't do any of those things. He called sexual immorality what it was: great wickedness and sin against God. Sin. And that's just what it was then and what it is today. Sin. Great wickedness. Rebellion against God's revealed will.

  The story of Joseph is about sexual sin, yes, but it goes beyond that to sin of all types. Sin is sin. Period.

  Our view of sin reflects our view of God. Our God is holy and cannot abide sin in His presence. If we're willing to tolerate or overlook or turn a blind eye to sin in our lives, are we truly reflecting the nature of a holy God who dwells in us? How can we claim to be children of light and yet flirt with the darkness?

  God sent His Son to die for our sin. That's how seriously He takes sin. Do we take sin so seriously?

  If we don't call sin sin, we will sin. We'll make excuses. We'll rationalize. We'll think we're entitled. We'll engage our thoughts on the temptation and before we know it we'll find ourselves engaging in great wickedness. We'll end up sinning against the Lover of our souls, the One who loved us so much that He was crucified and died for us.

  When was the last time you called your sin sin? When was the last time you called your sin great wickedness? Have you ever done so?

  Do you skip over certain portions of the Scripture that allude to sin because they are too convicting? Know that the entire Scripture is for us to read – all of it. All its words are inspired and are there for a purpose.They are there for our good and our protection. They are there for our instruction, exhortation, reproof and correction all so we might live holy and godly lives that are pleasing to our Savior.

  When you are convicted over your sin, do you say, "I'm saved, so it's covered by the blood of Jesus." God forbid that you would cheapen the grace of God and pursue a licentious lifestyle. God forbid you would presume upon the grace of God. How can you say you know God if you treat the precious blood of Jesus Christ with such contempt?

  When was the last time you heard a sermon that mentioned the words sin or wickedness? Do have you unconfessed sin in your life right now? I urge you to go to your heavenly Father right now and ask Him to cleanse you and forgive you and then for the power to overcome that sin (more on that below)...

  ...Now, back once again to Joseph. So we see Joseph withstood the temptation. Joseph refused Potiphar's wife. Whew! He's in the clear...Isn't that wonderful!...No, wait, no he's not in the clear after all! We see that Mrs. P. comes back at him and spoke to him again and again...day after day...

  And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. 11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12 she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house.

  We must remember the devil is persistent; he continues to prowl looking for some to devour. We can never think that Satan won't continue to persevere and pursue and sift us and try to wear us down (think of Delilah's scheme with Samson). Yes, it may seem he is gone for a season but beware that he is only hiding out and waiting for an opportune time to ensnare us and cause us to stumble. He waits for that one day...That's why we find so many commands throughout the Scripture for us to be vigilant and on guard.

  I don't want to say Joseph was unwise that one day. There is nothing to suggest that. The thing we do know is that there were no other men in the house at the time Joseph went to work. I think there are lessons for us here, however. We must be wise and take precautions and not to put ourselves in harm's way, in a place of temptation or in compromising situations. We're to avoid even the appearance of evil. We can't claim to be praying for God not to lead us into temptation while we're heading straight there of our own volition.

  At this point, we see Joseph had no recourse but to flee the scene. Sometimes that's all we can do. Are there situations from which God has shown you you must flee but you are continuing to remain there? Do you really think you can continue to play with fire in the hope you might not be burned? Take heed, lest you will fall.

  Christ's power to resist temptation

  How can we resist temptation? Not in our own power. But if you are Christ's you do have the power to resist it by His indwelling Holy Spirit. (Please read Romans 6-7:6.) God's desire and will for us is holiness. God does not command or demand anything from us without giving us the power to perform it.

  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
  

  –Philippians 2:12-16

  The apostle Paul tells us:

  So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 13:12-14.

  Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness, Ephesians 4:17-24.

  We have been born of the incorruptible seed of God and we have the Spirit of Christ indwelling us. God has given us the power to withstand temptation. God is renewing our minds and we are being transformed. That is the work of the Spirit, but then as the Spirit works in us to transform us there are things we are able to do and we are responsible to do. We must work out what God has been working in us. We have an active role here:

  to cast off
  to put on Christ
  to walk properly
  to make no provision for the flesh
  to no longer walk as the Gentiles do
  to put off the old self
  to put on the new self

  Each and every day we face many choices but by the grace and power of God we can make choices that reflect the Holy Spirit of Christ who dwells in us so we might not give way to temptation. God's commands to us are not burdensome because He gives us the power to fulfill them. By the resurrection power that dwells in us we can choose not to walk in the darkness and we can choose not to be slaves to sin. And we can choose to walk in the light and to be slaves to God. He has given us all we need to be the holy people He has intended us. As we walk in the Spirit, sin will not have dominion over us and we will bear fruits of holiness and righteousness and be well pleasing to our God and bring the glory.

  
  Some questions to be asking
  
  Do you see God as infinitely holy? Do you know what God considers sin? Have you ever read his Word for yourself to see what He has to say, rather than defining sin based on the current culture? (I guarantee you t.v. sitcoms and the internet are not a good sources for Biblical standards about sin. And I am sad to say even some preachers or churches may not be a good source for Biblical standards about sin. You must go to the Word of God and read it yourself.)

  How do you view your sin? Do you call sin great wickedness? Do you call sin sin? Do you acknowledge that any sin is rebellion against a holy God? Do you really care if you sin against God? Does your sin grieve you?

  Are you living your life for the One who died for You? Are you submitting yourself to the Lord as your Master the way Joseph did? Are you living your life with a single-eye to do your Master's will or are you continuing to live to do your own will and fulfill the lusts of your flesh? Do you understand God's call for you to live a holy life? Do you understand the power He has made available to you through the Holy Spirit to be holy?

  Do you know those areas of your life in which you are most vulnerable to temptation? Are you mindful that the prowling lion will often appear when you least expect him? Are you being vigilant and taking the proper precautions to guard against sin and temptation? Or do you continue to put yourself in the way of temptation? Is there a particular sin that is charming you today and casting longing eyes on you, "Lie with me," with the intent that you be drawn away from your husband, the Lord Jesus Christ and play the harlot? Has God been telling you to flee the scene, but have you been secretly entertaining that sin in your mind? Do you really think you can continue to play with fire and not be burned by it?

  Do you realize that our heavenly Father loves you and had given us His commandments for our good? Do you understand that He will not withhold anything good from His children? Will you ask Him to help you trust He is working all things for your good even in circumstances that may be very perplexing to you at the present time? Are you content with what God has given you and where you are today? Or is there something after which you're lusting? Will you place yourself under the examination of the Word of God and the Spirit of God and make yourself accountable to other believers? Remember our hearts and deceitful and desperately wicked. Will you ask God to help you to learn to be content and rest in Him and in His love for you no matter what your circumstances?

  * * *

  And my whole hope is only in Thy exceeding great mercy. Give what Thou commandest, and command what Thou wilt. Thou imposest continency upon us, "nevertheless, I when I perceived," saith one, "that I could [not otherwise obtain her, except God gave her me; ... that was a point of wisdom also to know whose gift she was." For by continency are we bound up and brought into one, whence we were scattered abroad into many. For he loves Thee too little who loves aught with Thee, which he loves not for Thee, O love, who ever burnest, and art never quenched ! O charity, my God, kindle me! Thou commandest continency; give what Thou commandest, and command what Thou wilt.

  –St. Augustine, Confessions, Book 10

  
  

  ---

  Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  Related posts:

  "You shall be holy to Me..." Bible reading: Leviticus
  Christian, are you bearing fruit in keeping with repentance?
  what's your price? (Bible reading - Matthew 26:14-16)
  the visitor we can't ever entertain (mortifying sin)
  why we need a new heart (Bible reading - Matthew 5)
  Lessons about Spiritual Formation from H-O-R-S-E
  Naphtali News/Bible Reading: Isaiah-Looking at My Vineyard
  

  • 6:16 PM
  • Leave a comment