Genesis 39:1-3, 6-14, 20-21 (ESV)
Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands...So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 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. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. 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, 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. And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice...And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Devotional Reflection
It’s easy to miss the point of this episode in the life of Joseph. To see it as a kind of Old Testament soap opera starring a powerful, yet distant, man, a lonely housewife, and a handsome pool boy. It’s easy, and natural I suppose, to want to reduce this story down to a simple morality tale—where the pure-hearted and virtuous Joseph becomes the model for how we might resist temptations that we experience and thereby gain victory over sin.
But while this episode is certainly gripping and full of drama, and while Joseph’s conduct in this sticky situation is certainly praiseworthy—neither of these things is the point of the story. What’s this story really all about?
Well, we don’t have to search all that hard for the answer, because the narrator repeats it four times for emphasis. Four times—twice at the beginning and twice at the end we read this statement:
“The LORD was with Joseph…”
Remember how Joseph had gotten here. Betrayed by his very own brothers. Sold as a slave to foreigners. Taken to a strange land. Alone.
But Joseph wasn’t alone. “The LORD was with Joseph…”
Throughout this entire strange and salacious episode—from his rise to power in the house of Potiphar to his unjust fall into prison—“the LORD was with Joseph.” Despite the separation that sin had put between Joseph and his family. Despite the slavery. Despite the attempted seduction. The LORD was with him. Blessing him. Showering him with favor. Showing him steadfast love.
That’s the point of this story. That, when it comes to God’s love, as Paul tells us: Neither tribulation or distress, nor persecution or famine, nor danger or sword—not death nor life, nor angels or rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation (including desperate housewives) will be able to separate us from the love of God which is our in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Image Description (AI Prompt)
[Note: For the final image, I added the "Now Showing" text using Canva--AI is still really bad at rendering accurate text]
A movie poster for the biblical story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife, set in ancient Egypt. The poster should feature an artistic rendering of Joseph, a young, handsome, and virtuous man, wearing ancient Egyptian attire, looking towards the future with determination. Potiphar's wife, depicted as a powerful and seductive woman, is seen in the background, casting a manipulative gaze towards Joseph. The backdrop should include iconic Egyptian symbols, such as pyramids, the Nile River, and palm trees, to set the scene. The poster's style should be reminiscent of classical biblical epics, with a rich, vibrant color palette and detailed character expressions to convey the dramatic tension of the story. The dimensions of the image should be vertical 4:5.