Genesis 39:13–18

She then saw an opportunity of getting revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out for other men, no doubt servants of the household. She told them Joseph had come in to rape her. She said she cried out, and he left without his garment. So from the moment it happened, she had witness against Joseph that seemed conclusive.

He did not stop to say, "I am Joseph, I am a man of God, I can withstand this sort of thing." He knew well the power of nature. He knew well the power of evil. So he fled, leaving his garment in the hand of the evil woman.

Our prayer can never be, "Lead us into temptation," and therefore we are never to act as if this were our prayer. In every case where escape is possible without disloyalty, we are to flee rather than face it. "Flee youthful passions." "Abstain (hold off) from the passions of the flesh." Flee, as Joseph fled. There was, perhaps, no bolder man.

Here the testing met him day after day. Only his fear of God preserved him, and his recognition of the great wickedness of the seduction placed before him. Whether young or old, we do well to keep this question in our hearts as we pass through this defiling world: "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Had he given in, he would have sinned against the woman, against Potiphar and against himself. But the controlling and saving thought was "against God."

Clearly this young man did more than resist her demands. He was also careful not to wound his master by proving the wife's guilty passion, and her still guiltier revenge on a blameless man. For lust, whether gratified or not, soon turns to hatred.

One event here shows the power of godliness. It also tells what the faithful may expect from this world: slander, false accusation, and prison. This was the first effect of faithfulness… In Potiphar's wife we see the world in a familiar character. Its prince is first the tempter, then the accuser of the saints. Joseph has to wait more than two full years before God appears for him. Faith and patience must have their perfect work.

Nothing was said about why he was put in prison. So far as the record goes, no one ever cleared him of the false charge brought against him. He evidently left this in the hand of God, who knows how to care for His servant's reputation.

Here then we have the holy youth resisting the tempter, enduring grief, and suffering when he had done no wrong… Joseph could be no true picture of the atonement. But of Christ's suffering unjustly and in grace, he was a blessed foreshadow.

The temptation came "day after day" (v. 10), and the attacks grew more persistent. Then Joseph "flees" from the temptation, and the devil is foiled. But having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18). The woman who once cast her evil eyes on Joseph now bears witness against him with a lying tongue. As an old writer said, "Those who have broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of truth. It is nothing new for the worst of criminals to accuse the best of men falsely of the worst crimes." As a result, Joseph escapes from a bad woman and keeps a good conscience. But keeping a good conscience can cost much.

We may regard Potiphar's wife as a type of the world, whose attractions she symbolises; and, failing to attract the prosperous servant of God, she becomes his fiercest and most unscrupulous foe. Evil company too often comes with prosperity. But for the God-fearing soul, prosperity tied to evil company cannot last. If he stays faithful, the evil company will destroy the prosperity.

She then saw an opportunity of getting revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out to other men, no doubt servants of the household. She told them Joseph had come in to rape her. She said she cried out, and he left without his garment. So, from the moment it happened, she had witnesses against Joseph who seemed to prove her case.

On the one hand stood the proved, unquestionable trustworthiness of his slave. On the other stood his wife. A woman capable of such an approach must have shown her evil character in many other ways long before, if not in this one. So her word was already doubtful. Still, she was his wife. Her fraud was bold, shameless, and malicious. Yet we hear of no effort on Joseph's part to clear himself by exposing her wickedness. A simple denial of her charge would not stand against a husband's natural anger. Potiphar had no wish to look closely at the terrible alternative.

The wicked woman's husband evidently did not really believe his wife's foul lie. It was perhaps only to keep up appearances that he made a show of punishing Joseph. If he really believed her story, it is hard to see why he did not have this Hebrew slave put to death at once. He probably knew her character well.

So here we see the holy young man resisting the tempter, bearing grief, and suffering wrongfully. And this is grace in the day of trial… Joseph could be no real type of the atonement. But of Christ suffering unjustly and in grace he was a blessed foreshadow.

In all this Joseph is only a type of One whose sufferings were far deeper, just as His glory is far greater… He, too, suffered under the false accusations of the wicked. Again He can say, "They laid to My charge things that I knew not" (Ps. 35:11). He, too, was led to prison and to death.

She then saw an opportunity of getting revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out for other men, no doubt servants of the household, and told them Joseph had come in with the object of raping her. She said she cried out, and he left without his garment. So from the very moment of the incident, she had a witness against Joseph that seemed conclusive.

The temptation came "day by day" (v. 10), and the attacks grew more persistent until Joseph "flees" from the temptation and the devil is foiled. But having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18). The woman who had earlier cast her evil eyes on Joseph now testifies against him with a lying tongue. As an old writer said, "Those who have broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of truth. It is nothing new for the best of men to be falsely accused of the worst crimes by those who are themselves the worst of criminals."

In all cases where escape is possible without disloyalty, we are to flee rather than face it. "So flee youthful passions." "Abstain (hold off) from the passions of the flesh." Flee, as Joseph fled; and there was, perhaps, no bolder man.

In the end Joseph escapes from a bad woman and keeps a good conscience. But keeping a good conscience may cost much. Joseph has to exchange the comfort of Potiphar's house for the hardships of Pharaoh's prison.

We can easily imagine how hard this was for Joseph's master, because of his wife's treachery. On one side stood the proven, unquestionable trustworthiness of his slave. On the other stood a wife capable of such an approach. A woman like that must long have shown her bad character in many ways, even if not in this one, so her word was doubtful. Still, she was his wife. However bold, shameless, and malicious her fraud, we never hear of Joseph trying to clear himself by exposing her wickedness.

Here then we have the holy youth resisting the tempter, and enduring grief, suffering wrongfully… "But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly." Joseph could be no real type of the atonement; but of Christ's suffering unjustly and in grace he was a blessed foreshadowing.

In Genesis 39 Satan uses Potiphar's wife, and in Genesis 40 he uses Pharaoh's chief butler. He used the first to put Joseph into the dungeon. He used the second to keep him there, through his ungrateful forgetfulness. But it was all in vain. God was behind the scenes. His finger was guiding every part of the vast machine of circumstances. When the due time came, He brought forth the man of His purpose and set his feet in a wide, open place.

She then saw an opportunity of getting revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out for other men, no doubt servants of the household. She told them Joseph had come in to rape her. She said she cried out, and he left without his garment. So from the very moment of the incident, she had a witness against Joseph that seemed conclusive. When Potiphar came home, she told him the same false story. Joseph's garment lay there as apparent proof of her evil accusation.

Because he kept his eyes on the God no one can see, Joseph pushed back the temptation and came through it unstained. He quietly suffered under the false charge of the shameless woman who tried to seduce him. Clearly this young man did more than resist her pressure. He was also careful not to wound his master by proving the wife's guilty passion and her still guiltier revenge on an innocent man. For lust, whether satisfied or not, soon turns into hatred.

The temptation came "day by day" (v. 10). The attacks grew more persistent until Joseph "flees" from the temptation and so defeats the devil. But having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18). The woman who had once cast her evil eyes on Joseph now testifies against him with a lying tongue. As an older writer said, "The bonds of truth will never hold those who have broken the bonds of modesty. It is nothing new for the worst of criminals to bring false charges of the worst crimes against the best of men." The result is that Joseph escapes from a bad woman and keeps a good conscience. But keeping a good conscience may cost a great deal. Joseph has to swap the comfort of Potiphar's house for the hardship of Pharaoh's prison.

We can easily imagine the difficulty the wife's treachery created for Joseph's master. On one side stood the proven, unquestionable trustworthiness of his slave. On the other stood his wife. A woman capable of such a proposition must long have shown her bad character in many ways, even if not in this one. That alone would make her word doubtful. Still, she was his wife. Whatever her bold, shameless, malicious fraud, we hear of no effort by Joseph to clear himself by exposing her wickedness.

In all this Joseph is only a picture of One whose sufferings were far deeper, just as His glory is far greater. During His life on earth He too was among us as One who serves, for He could say, "Man acquired Me as bondman from My youth" (Zechariah 13:5). He too suffered under the false accusations of the wicked. Again He can say, "They laid to My charge things that I knew not" (Psalm 35:11). He too was led to prison and to death.

In Genesis 39 Satan uses Potiphar's wife, and in Genesis 40 he uses Pharaoh's chief cupbearer. He used the first to put Joseph into the dungeon. He used the second to keep him there, through ungrateful neglect. But it was all in vain. God was behind the scenes. His finger was guiding all the springs of the vast machine of circumstances. When the right time came, He brought out the man of His purpose and set his feet in a large room.

She saw a chance to get revenge on Joseph because he would not join her in evil. She called out to other men, no doubt servants of the household, and told them Joseph had come in meaning to rape her. She said she cried out, and that he left without his garment. So from the very moment of the incident she had testimony against Joseph, and it seemed conclusive. When Potiphar came home she told him the same false story. Joseph's garment lay there as apparent proof of her evil accusation.

The temptation came "day by day" (v. 10), and the attacks grew more persistent. Then Joseph "flees" from the temptation, and the devil is foiled. But having failed as the tempter, he now becomes the persecutor (vv. 13-18). The woman who had earlier cast her evil eyes on Joseph now bears witness against him with a lying tongue. As an old writer said, "Those who have broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of truth. It is nothing new for the best of men to be falsely accused of the worst crimes by those who are themselves the worst of criminals."

Of course Joseph was helpless to do anything. His word, the word of a slave, would mean nothing to Potiphar compared with the word of his wife.

The wicked woman's husband evidently did not really believe his wife's foul lie. It was perhaps only to save appearances that he made a show of punishing Joseph. If he really believed her story, it is hard to see why he did not have this Hebrew slave put to death at once. He probably knew her character well.

By his steadfast refusal he enraged the woman. She invented a cunning story against him. Her husband believed it, and it landed Joseph in prison. But in Joseph's history we are going to see a striking example of what the Apostle Peter wrote in his First Epistle. Peter said, "But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God" (1 Peter 2:20). He was brought low for a moment, but only so that he might be lifted up at the right time.

Here we have the holy young man resisting the tempter, and bearing grief, suffering wrongfully. This is grace in the day of trial. Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow His steps… Joseph could be no real type of the atonement. But of Christ's suffering unjustly and in grace he was a blessed foreshadowing.

Nothing was said about the reason he was put in prison. So far as the record goes, he was never cleared of the charge that was falsely brought against him. He evidently left this in the hand of God, who knows how to care for His servant's reputation.