HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 408
G EN ES IS 3 9
“Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has acted like
a prostitute. And now, because of this, she’s
pregnant.”
“Bring her out, and let her be burned!” Judah
demanded.
25 But as they were taking her out to kill her,
she sent this message to her father-in-law: “The
man who owns these things made me pregnant.
Look closely. Whose seal and cord and walking
stick are these?”
26 Judah recognized them immediately and
said, “She is more righteous than I am, because
I didn’t arrange for her to marry my son Shelah.”
And Judah never slept with Tamar again.
27 When the time came for Tamar to give birth,
it was discovered that she was carrying twins.
28 While she was in labor, one of the babies
reached out his hand. The midwife grabbed it
and tied a scarlet string around the child’s wrist,
announcing, “This one came out first.” 29 But
then he pulled back his hand, and out came his
brother! “What!” the midwife exclaimed. “How
did you break out first?” So he was named Perez.* 30 Then the baby with the scarlet string on
his wrist was born, and he was named Zerah.*
Joseph in Potiphar’s House
When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the
Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by
Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded
in everything he did as he served in the home of
his Egyptian master. 3 Potiphar noticed this and
39
• Temptation
G E NE S IS 3 9 :1 2
Our modern world has largely given up
the fight against temptation. Nowhere
is this capitulation demonstrated more
clearly than in the arena of sexuality.
In fact, self-control in this area is often
portrayed as prudery or repression. The
story of a handsome and virile young
man who refuses the advances of a
powerful woman would never sell today.
But the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s
wife teaches volumes about temptation,
sin, and purity. Joseph refuses her
amorous approach, not because he has
no desire, but because he recognizes that
accepting it would be sin—against her,
her husband (his master), his own body,
and God. When his polite decline does
not dissuade her, Joseph flees. The best
strategy is to avoid any situation that
tempts us.
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realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving
him success in everything he did. 4 This pleased
Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal
attendant. He put him in charge of his entire
household and everything he owned. 5 From
the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began
to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake.
All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his
crops and livestock flourished. 6 So Potiphar
gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph
there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except
what kind of food to eat!
Joseph was a very handsome and well-built
young man, 7 and Potiphar’s wife soon began
to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with
me,” she demanded.
8 But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my
master trusts me with everything in his entire
household. 9 No one here has more authority
than I do. He has held back nothing from me
except you, because you are his wife. How could
I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin
against God.”
10 She kept putting pressure on Joseph day
after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and
he kept out of her way as much as possible.
11 One day, however, no one else was around
when he went in to do his work. 12 She came and
grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come
on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away,
but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from
the house.
13 When she saw that she was holding his
cloak and he had fled, 14 she called out to her
servants. Soon all the men came running.
“Look!” she said. “My husband has brought
this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He
came into my room to rape me, but I screamed.
15 When he heard me scream, he ran outside and
got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.”
16 She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home. 17 Then she told him her
story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into
our house tried to come in and fool around with
me,” she said. 18 “But when I screamed, he ran
outside, leaving his cloak with me!”
Joseph Put in Prison
19 Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s
story about how Joseph had treated her. 20 So
he took Joseph and threw him into the prison
where the king’s prisoners were held, and there
he remained. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph
in the prison and showed him his faithful love.
And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the
prison warden. 22 Before long, the warden put
Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and
38:29 Perez means “breaking out.” 38:30 Zerah means
“scarlet” or “brightness.”