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?
