In a world that often normalizes sexual immorality, staying pure can feel like an impossible challenge, especially for new Christians navigating their faith. However, the story of Joseph in Genesis offers a timeless example of integrity, self-control, and unwavering devotion to God. Despite being faced with intense temptation, Joseph chose to honor God rather than give in to sin, proving that sexual purity is possible even in the most difficult circumstances. His triumph serves as a powerful guide for believers today, reminding us that with faith, wisdom, and reliance on God’s strength, we too can overcome temptation and live a life that glorifies Him.
Joseph, the son of Jacob’s old age was a young man who was as loved as he was hated. While his father doted on him, his half-brothers hated him with an intensity that culminated with them selling him into slavery. Joseph escaped with his life because the original plan was to kill him.
God also loved Joseph. While still a young man, God revealed his destiny, which Joseph in his naiveté disclosed to his family, including his envious half brothers. When they realized he was destined for greatness, their hatred intensified.
Joseph found himself a slave in a strange land, among a strange people, with strange gods. But Joseph clung to his own culture and to Yahweh – the God he served while at home. He prospered in his master’s house and Potiphar enjoyed blessings because of Joseph’s presence and his management over everything that was entrusted to him.
However, Genesis 39 tells us that Potiphar’s wife cast her eyes on the handsome Jewish young man, and she desired him and sought to seduce him. When Joseph repeatedly rebuffed her advances, she accused him of trying to seduce her and had him thrown in prison. Joseph was incarcerated for a crime that he did not commit, but he kept his integrity.
What are the lessons to be learned from Joseph’s story? Why did Joseph not fall into sexual sin in a sexually free society and with a woman who could have made things easy for his sexual indulgence?
Joseph knew who he was and the Sexual Code he was to live by.
He knew that to engage with Potiphar’s wife would be to sin against his God. Centuries before Moses received the law, Joseph recognized that adultery breached God’s ordained order of sexual conduct.
He recognized this sin for what is, a “great wickedness”. Potiphar’s wife was ready to give herself to him, but she was not his to take. She was another man’s wife. He would have sinned against her, her husband, His God and even himself. Because sex is not just a physical act but deeply spiritual one.
Joseph understood the severity of the sin and the impact it would have on his relationship with his God. There was another man in scripture that was not as astute as Joseph, the monarch David.
David saw Bathsheba bathing herself on the roof of her home and even though he had many wives, he succumbed to his lustful desires and had her brought to him. The price for his sin of adultery and later of murder was high. He spent the rest of his life in regret.
Resisting temptation is our responsibility. Scripture tells us to: Shun the very appearance of evil (1 Thess. 5:22) Moreover, it assures us that 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.(1 Cor. 10:13).
How we choose to respond to temptation is our choice. God’s requirement may be difficult and unpopular but if we are to maintain our relationship with to him, we must live by his precepts. We do not get to choose what we will obey and what we won’t.
Sexual sin begins in the heart.
Jesus says in Matt.15:19-20: 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts,
false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man. . .
The Mind responds to what it is fed. It responds to what we place before our eyes, what we listen to, the thoughts that we entertain and the desires we indulge. This is the battle field where the enemy works most actively. James 1:13 says: 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Potiphar’s wife might very well have been an attractive woman, but Joseph refused to see her as anything other than his master’s wife. He could have slept with her, and no one would have been wiser. But Joseph knew that he was under the all-seeing eyes of his God. We must hide the word of God in our hearts that we do not sin against God (Psalm 119: 11).
We must also recognize the subtility of the enemy.
There’s usually safety in numbers. Mrs. Potiphar waited until there was no one else around. If there were others around, Joseph was safe. This tells us that we should avoid putting ourselves in situations where we are alone with members of the opposite sex, especially if there is an attraction and worse if it’s a mutual attraction.
This includes visiting bedrooms or apartments where it could be easy to indulge in forbidden sexual encounters. It means being careful in what we watch in the privacy of our homes and what we listen to as music. These things seep into the subconscious.
When it comes to sexual temptation the best response is the flee.
When Potiphar’s wife cornered Joseph, he did not yield to her. The Bible says he fled. Joseph was not too proud to realize that he was no match for this devious, manipulative woman. He ran. This is what the Bible advises us to do.
“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18)
As Christians we must hold our bodies as sacred. The Bible tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirt who came to live within us when we came to Christ. The Bible tells us that a sexual act is more than just a physical act but deeply spiritual.
Joseph escaped Mrs. Potiphar’s clutches, but he paid a very heavy price. And yet we are constantly remined that God was with him and that he blessed everything that Joseph did. God restored to him the years that he lost in prison for his righteous stance. We must submit ourselves daily to the leading and the covering of the Spirit of God if we are to live holy lives. We must be committed to what we believe.
If the fight against sexual sin is a subject about which you want to find additional information and encouragement, you may find it here.
In a world where temptation is everywhere, Joseph’s story stands as a powerful testament to the strength found in faith and obedience to God. His unwavering commitment to sexual purity, even in the face of great pressure, serves as an inspiring guide for new Christians striving to honor God with their bodies and hearts. Like Joseph, we are called to flee from sin, trust in God’s plan, and remain steadfast in our convictions. Though challenges will come, God rewards those who remain faithful. By leaning on His strength, staying rooted in His Word, and seeking accountability, we can walk in purity and experience the blessings of a life devoted to Him.