Resilient Character Building

Resilient Character Building

Genesis 39: ¹⁰ So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.

 

¹¹ But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, ¹² that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. ¹³ And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, ¹⁴ that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. ¹⁵ And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”

 

¹⁶ So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; ¹⁸ so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”

 

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Potiphar’s wife propositioned Joseph, day after day after day. He may have tried to avoid her, or ignore her, but she got to the point where she was not going to take “no” for an answer. She aggressively pursued Joseph, but he escaped. He left his garment and she thought of a lie.

 

My Observations:

• Joseph had integrity and character because he was following GOD.
• Abram was called a Hebrew and so was Joseph.
• Even when Joseph showed extreme character, he could still be lied on and slandered.

 

When all else fails, defamation of character seems to be the tool used against those who refuse to bow to evil ways. Joseph was doing well until he met Potiphar’s wife. Her desire to get what she wanted made her dream up a lie to cover her actions. She may have thought Joseph would tell on her, but she did not know Joseph had extreme character that would not do that.

 

Joseph’s restraint was the right thing to do, yet he found himself in a situation he did not cause. He did not tell Potiphar that his wife was constantly pursuing him, probably because he did not want her to get in trouble. But she had no problem with telling as many people about her lie as possible. Joseph’s character was now being put to test even though he did no wrong.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about Potiphar’s wife’s’ advances toward Joseph?
• Have you ever had your character defamed?
• Can you stand firm in your walk with the LORD even when people are mislabeling you and even slandering you?