Potiphar's Wife

Day 1
Potiphar's Wife
We don't even know her name. She is merely presented as the spoiled wife of a prosperous Egyptian official, a miniature Cleopatra, determined to employ her charms to seduce the handsome young Hebrew slave, Joseph. The story of Joseph and how God blessed him even in his prison cell, eventually enabling him to become master of the nation he had entered as a slave, is well-known to us. But we haven't a clue about Potipahr's wife. Whatever became of her? Did her husband suspect her duplicity? Is that why he merely confined Joseph to prison rather than executing him, as he had every right to do? Copared with Joseph, the story's protagonist, Potiphar's wife was a hollow women whose soul was steadily decaying through the corrosive power of lust and hate. Surrounded by luxury, she was spiritually impoverished. Empty of God, she was full of herself.

Genesis 39
Joseph and Potiphar's Wife
1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. 2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"
8 But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger. 20 Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Day 2
Genesis 39:6-7
So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"

1. Like Potiphar's wife, what do you wish you had that you don't have? Is it something you shouldn't have? If it is, ask God to help you root it out of your spirit.

Genesis 39:9
No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?"

2. Where do you suppose Joseph got his knowledge of right and wrong and his ability to reject sin?
3. What legacy has sin or a rejection of sin left in your life?

Genesis 39:10
And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

4. Contrast how these two characters responded to temptation. If temptation of a certain kind keeps coming into your life, how do you respond?

Day 3
Isn't it amazing how God can use a nameless women to teach us His way?

Genesis 39:16-17
She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me.

1. The story of Potiphar's wife told her husband was just that, a story, a piece of fiction. Like Potiphar's wife, have you ever accused someone unjustly? What were the circumstances? How did you deal with the sin involved and correct the wrong?

Day 4
Our lesson here does not come so much from Potiphar's wife, but from Joseph. Here are a few verses that remind us of God's promises to us when we stand up to temptation in our lives:

I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.
1 Chronicles 29:17

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2

Day 5
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. --Psalm 51:10

Praise God because he not only shows us what is right, but he gives us the strength to resist temptation. Offer thanks that he invites us to enjoy and intimate relationship with himself rather than the empty pleasures this world offers. Confess any tendency toward becoming emotionally or physically involved in an off-limits relationship or any tendency to covet what does not belong to you. Ask God to help you break the habit of fantasizing about relationships you wish you had.

Reflect on Genesis 29.

How do you think the story of Potiphar's Wife ends? The Bible never tells us. If you could finish her story what would it be like? If you get the opportunity put your ideas down on paper. Be realistic. Will she repent? Will she turn to God? Is she punished for her mis-deeds? You decide.