Part 5 (1/2)

But the captain of the guard wasn't the only Egyptian impressed by Joseph. His wife had taken special note as well. She made her desire plain enough by inviting Joseph to share her bed. The young slave must have surprised his wealthy mistress with his quick rebuff: ”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 G.o.d?”

From then on, Joseph did his best to avoid her. But with little else to occupy her time and attention, Potiphar's wife simply waited for her next opportunity, which came when Joseph entered the house one day to attend to his duties. Alone with him, she caught hold of his cloak, whispering once again, ”Come to bed with me!” But Joseph could not be persuaded and instead fled from her, leaving his would-be seducer alone with her l.u.s.t, furiously clutching his cloak in her hands.

She wasted no time accusing him of attempted rape. When her husband heard the news, he was outraged, quickly consigning his favorite servant to prison.

The story of Joseph and how G.o.d 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 Potiphar'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? Compared with Joseph, the story's protagonist, Potiphar's wife was a hollow woman whose soul was steadily decaying through the corrosive power of l.u.s.t and hate. Surrounded by luxury, she was spiritually impoverished. Empty of G.o.d, she was full of herself.

Tuesday HER LIFE AND TIMES.

EGYPTIAN LIFE.

In the ancient world, Egypt was considered the world's breadbasket. The Nile River regularly overflowed its banks, depositing rich soil and moisture along the river valley-a perfect place for abundant crops to grow. But fertile ground in Egypt could be found only as far as the Nile reached, a division so p.r.o.nounced one could literally stand with one foot on rich soil and the other in sand.

Whenever famine struck other parts of the Near East, the starving inhabitants would hurry to Egypt for food: ”Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe” (Genesis 12:10). ”When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, 'Why do you just keep looking at each other?' He continued, 'I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die' ” (Genesis 42:1- 2).

In addition to serving as the world's breadbasket, Egypt was the site of many impressive building projects. Some of the pharaohs constructed enormous tombs in which they and their families were to be ushered into the afterlife. Egyptians believed that their bodies were the eternal houses for their souls; therefore they became adept at mummification, preserving the bodies of the dead so thoroughly that some are intact today.

Egypt's building projects were completed at tremendous human cost. Egyptian pharaohs forced the Hebrews into slavery, using them to complete their temples and tombs. Most likely the Hebrew oppression took place during the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt under the Pharaoh Rameses. Officials during that time have left behind their notations of the numbers of bricks made each day as well as their complaints at the scarcity of straw for the bricks.

Temples and tombs were filled with furniture of ebony and ivory, elegant vases, and copper tools, as well as gold jewelry and ornaments. Artisans etched beautifully drawn scenes of daily life on the walls of tombs to provide comfort for the one buried there.

As the wife of a high-ranking Egyptian official, Potiphar's wife likely led a life of relative ease and prosperity. According to the story in Genesis 39, Potiphar's household and business matters prospered because of Joseph's influence, and ”the blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field” (Genesis 39:5).

The story of seduction and desire is as old as history. Scripture doesn't record ifJoseph found Potiphar's wife attractive and desirable. That detail could be considered superfluous since he rejected her because he ”could not do such a wicked thing and sin against G.o.d.” The jaded, older Egyptian woman and her desires provide a stunning backdrop for Joseph's purity, making Joseph and his choice to walk in a righteous manner all the clearer and more attractive.

Wednesday HER LEGACY IN SCRIPTURE.

Read Genesis 39:1 - 23.

1. Imagine the life you think Potiphar's wife might have led. What might drive a woman to be so consumed with l.u.s.t that she'd attempt such an open seduction?

2. What might Joseph's life have been like if he'd given in to Potiphar's wife?

3. What legacy has sin or a rejection of sin left in your life?

4. Why do you think Potiphar's wife made up the story she told her husband? What does her lie tell you about her as a person?

5. Temptation is a fact of life - even Jesus was tempted. What temptations do you face? How do you deal with them?

Thursday HER PROMISE.

The promise of G.o.d is revealed in this story not so much through Potiphar's wife as through Joseph and his response to her. On the surface, if we look at Joseph's situation in this one story, it may appear that he is merely a p.a.w.n in the intrigue of the household of Potiphar. As before, he is rejected and tossed aside. He looks like the fool, the loser. However, G.o.d's continued blessing is on Joseph. Within the context of this one story, it may look as ifJoseph has lost. But in the context of his life, he is nothing but a winner. Indirectly - through Potiphar's wife and her s.e.xual advances toward Joseph - G.o.d reveals his promise to bless those who follow him with uprightness (an old-fas.h.i.+oned word, but a good one!) and integrity.

Promises in Scripture I know, my G.o.d, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.

- i Chronicles 29:17 Blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but who delight in the law of the Lord, and meditate on his law day and night.

-Psalm i:i - 2 Friday HER LEGACY OF PRAYER.

Create in me a pure heart, O G.o.d, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

-Psalm 51:10 Reflect On:'' Genesis 39.

Praise G.o.d: 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 an intimate relations.h.i.+p with himself rather than the empty pleasures this world offers.

Confess: Any tendency toward becoming emotionally or physically involved in an off-limits relations.h.i.+p or any tendency to covet what does not belong to you.

Ask G.o.d: To help you break the habit of fantasizing about relations.h.i.+ps you wish you had.

Lift Your Heart We know what happened to Joseph after he was falsely accused, but we don't know anything about Potiphar's wife. Write a short account from your own imagination, ent.i.tled ”Whatever Became of Potiphar's Wife?” You can give her a happy ending or a sad one, just make sure it's believable. Try to put yourself in the story. You could be Potiphar's wife, her mother, her maid, her little sister, or whatever character you dream up. Does anything hit you as you ponder her story's conclusion?

Lord, I don't want my soul to feed on empty pleasures, to long for what belongs to someone else. Instead, increase my hunger for you and create in me a pure heart, one that you will find irresistibly beautiful.

The Mothers of Moses.

Jochebed.

HER NAME MEANS.

”The Lord Is Glory”

Her Character: Her fierce love for her son, coupled with her faith, enabled her to act heroically in the midst of great oppression.

Her Sorrow: To live in bondage as a slave.

Her Joy: That G.o.d not only preserved the son she surrendered to him but that he restored her child to her.

Key Scriptures: Exodus 2:1 - 10; Hebrews 11:23 Pharaoh's Daughter Her Character: The Jewish people honor men and women whom they designate as ”righteous Gentiles.” These are people who, though nonbelievers, have a.s.sisted G.o.d's people in some significant way. Surely, Pharaoh's daughter should top the list of righteous Gentiles, courageously and compa.s.sionately delivering a child from death, a child who would one day act as Israel's great deliverer.

Her Sorrow: That her adopted son, whom she had taken care of for forty years, had to flee his home in Egypt in order to escape Pharaoh's wrath.

Key Scripture: Exodus 2:1-10.

Monday.

THEIR STORY.

Three hundred years after the death of the patriarch Joseph, a baby boy was born in Egypt, his l.u.s.ty cries m.u.f.fled by a woman's sobs. Jochebed's heart was a tangle of joy and fear. This son, his fingers forming a tiny fist against her breast, was so striking a child she hardly believed he was hers. Tenderly she raised the small hand to her mouth, pressing its warmth to her lips. Her gesture calmed them both. She could feel the stiffness in her back dissolving, her muscles relaxing as she watched the night shadows evaporate in the morning's light.

Slave though she was, she was yet a Levite, a woman who belonged to the G.o.d of Abraham and Sarah, of Isaac and Rebekah, of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah. She knew the stories. She believed the promises. G.o.d was faithful. Hadn't her people already grown as numerous as the sand of the sea, just as he said they would?

In fact, the Israelites were so numerous that the pharaohs feared they might one day welcome an invading army and betray the nation from within. Over time, the Egyptians had tightened their grip, finally enslaving the Israelites, until Pharaoh's paranoia produced an even greater evil-a command to murder each Hebrew male child emerging from the womb. But the Hebrew midwives feared G.o.d more than the king and refused to follow his orders, excusing themselves by claiming that Hebrew women were stronger than Egyptian women, giving birth before the midwives even arrived.