Genesis 39:11, commentary and pictures

Joseph went into the house to do his work when none of the other men of the house were within, left suddenly alone and unwatched with the woman who had been tempting him in a danger not of his own choosing. The moment brought a fierce assault upon his morals to transgress God's law, betray the trust of the master who had entrusted all to him, and sin against God. He met it by prompt, resolute flight without stopping to reason, kept pure by the love and fear of God and by a living faith realizing God's presence, strengthened not by his own finite power but by God's present help and grace. Because he would not be corrupted he was falsely accused and cast into prison as innocent, choosing to suffer rather than sin, yet Providence overruled the enemy's devices and in His own time honored and exalted him from prison to power. He stands as a representative pattern of integrity, chastity and moral purity for youth and workers to imitate when alone, unwatched and strongly tempted, showing that upright character is formed by diligent daily effort and faithfulness in that which is least.

Words and Setting

The moment came when Joseph entered his master's house to attend to his regular work and found himself entirely alone, with none of the other men of the house inside. It was the setting of his temptation, where his refusal to hide his worship and to entertain forbidden thoughts kept him true amid surrounding idolatry. In that solitude he held control over his passions, an example that calls for preparing mind and body to discharge duty rightly. His standing firm to principle there remained unshaken despite inducements and threats.

It was a sudden and decisive crisis with no human restraint or witness present. He was left alone with the woman who had already been tempting him, caught in a dangerous position he had not chosen for himself. The danger was moral and severe, demanding an immediate refusal to take even the first step into transgression, without pausing to reason or argue.

The wider surroundings deepened the peril, for he was a stranger and a slave in Egypt, encompassed by sights and sounds of vice and by the allurements of heathen worship, wealth, culture, and royal pomp. He had passed through a great reversal from a tenderly cherished child in his father's home in Canaan to bondage, then to confidant and companion and man of affairs. That elevation set him on a lofty height where fierce temptations assail those in high places of success and honor while leaving the lowly untouched, as the tempest uproots the tree on the mountaintop but leaves unharmed the flower of the valley. Even amid the corruption of a heathen court he was upheld to stand, not by finite human strength but by divine strength.

God may place a person in a position of danger in order to meet a test, as Joseph was called to withstand temptation in his master's house. Yet no one should force himself into dangerous positions of his own will. Nor should duty for which one is fitted be abandoned to avoid the trial.

Nature of Temptation

The moment was a fierce assault upon morals to lead aside from the path of right, to transgress God's law, to prove untrue to the master who had entrusted all he had, to betray that trust and to sin against God. The pressure came from one of influence most likely to lead astray, working by inducements and threats, yet commitment to righteousness remained firm. Refusal to abuse the master's confidence held even though the master might never learn the fact.

It was a corrupting snare of the kind to which all are exposed, needing strong and trustworthy defenses. It came as undue attachment and unlawful love, as an unwise association and entanglement from which very few come out triumphant. That association throws itself across the road to life and drags down to perdition.

He met it by prompt and firm resistance and resolute flight in a decisive moment, remaining faithful in a dangerous position not of his own choosing. He turned from the first step of transgression without stopping for a moment to reason or argue with conscience, for lingering invites overthrow. He did not plead a state of feeling upon him that he could not break away from, did not cherish and strengthen evil because he loved it better than truth, purity and righteousness, and did not tamely give himself to an evil way as though he had no free moral agency. He studied God's word prayerfully and fully, took hold of the divine help promised, and wrenched himself from hurtful and dangerous association.

Secret of Resistance

The love and fear of God kept Joseph pure and untarnished when he was alone in the house and his virtue was put to the test. The fear of God was the shield covering the heart that made him faithful and just and true, giving him strength to refuse to betray his master's trust or sin against God even though refusal brought false accusation and imprisonment. He scorned the thought of yielding for fear of sullying his purity, exclaiming against doing this great wickedness and sinning against God, and his steadfast religious principle held firm while the Lord was with him and he remained true. Such uprightness of heart and loyalty to God produce a character true to principle and making the very best use of God-given powers, joining cultivation of the mind with cultivation of uprightness and loyalty, and keeping fidelity to God's will the same in the king's court as in prison even at the cost of temporal loss rather than sin.

That keeping power was a living faith in God's presence and help, a constant faith realizing His presence and help at all times. It was reverence for God joined with love of truth and righteousness, and a constant dread of incurring the displeasure of the God whom he reverenced and loved, the fruit of real faith in God and in His gracious goodness and presence cultivated by prayer. His unwavering fidelity came from needing Jesus more in difficulty, hiding in Him, holding the hand of Christ, and guarding against presumption. He was bound as by a golden chain of truth to the throne of God and could not be turned aside from integrity, valuing the favor of God above the favor and praise of princes and determining to honor God above every human power.

The strength by which he stood was not his own finite strength but God's strength, for God gave him grace to stand amid the corruption of a heathen court. God was a present help and His Spirit a shield, and His grace was strength to resist even the severest temptations, so that God loved him and spread His shield over him. His righteousness and virtuous character came from God and reflected the mind of Christ, and God watched his conduct as He judges each person according to deeds, remaining faithful when alone in the house and strengthened by reverence for God to preserve his integrity even when falsely accused and deprived of freedom.

He was firmly established in principle and had determined to obey God, having purposed in his heart to remain true to God and set his will on the Lord's side so as to remain undefiled by corrupt surroundings. His firmness, purity of motive, and trust were the fruit of early training and choosing duty over inclination, holding the claims of duty above pleasure and inclination when left alone with temptation and no human restraint. That integrity, simple trust, and nobility had been cultivated by a pure and simple life, by communion with God through His works and contemplation of the grand truths entrusted to the inheritors of faith, and by faithful attention to duty in every station from the lowliest to the most exalted, which trained every power for highest service. His adherence to principle in the ordinary transactions of life had disciplined his mind to loyalty to duty and habits of fidelity and truth so that he did not waver between right and wrong, and his faithfulness in that which is least had given him strength to be faithful in greater matters.

He carried his religion everywhere with the same sacred regard for God's will in the house, in the prisoner's cell, next to the throne, in the king's court and in the palace, honoring God in prosperity and adversity without compromise and accepting temporal loss rather than sin. His godliness stood the test because it had a living root to sustain it and a well-spring from which it drew nourishment through prayer, and because the deep work of truth wrought in his heart made him love truth and righteousness with a moral taste that was not depraved. Instead of being bent and molded by circumstances he shaped his surroundings, keeping his heart fixed upon heavenly things and his eye single to the glory of God with a lofty regard for God's will wherever he went and in whatever situation he was placed. So he bore alike the test of adversity and of prosperity with the same fidelity manifest in the prisoner's cell and in the palace, showing that true religion has all-pervading power and gives tone to all a man does and says.

In that setting he exercised control over his passions, strictly guarding and controlling the lower passions and appetites rather than allowing them to govern. Those who claim wisdom must govern their appetites and passions rather than trust their own strength, turning away from the first step of transgression and drawing nigh to God. By so doing they prepare mind and body to discharge duty rightly and to do one's duties rightly in life.

Suffering and Vindication

Because he would not be corrupted, the woman who had sought to lead him astray hated him, falsely accused him of a foul wrong, and had him cast into prison, so that he suffered as innocent despite his righteousness, maligned and persecuted for preserving his virtue and integrity. The testing of his courage and uprightness in Egypt thus ended in unjust accusation and imprisonment, though his firmness, purity of motive and trust were the fruit of choosing duty over inclination. His rejection and unjust suffering for righteousness illustrate the rejection and suffering of Christ.

He chose to suffer rather than sin, accepting temporal loss instead of transgression and gaining the most precious victory of victory over self. By suffering for virtue and integrity rather than yielding, he placed his reputation and interest in God's hands. The Lord remembers His faithful people in the trying hour and does not leave them to perish, for they are as the apple of His eye and the purchase of His blood. Providence overrules all the enemy's devices for good, turns misfortune into blessing, and in His own time guards, honors and exalts the sufferer as much higher as wicked revenge had debased him, bringing him from prison to power, prosperity and honor. His temptation, adversity, hardship and the scenes of the gloomy prison were designed to give him the experience that prepared him and finally raised him to an exalted position, and because of faithful integrity he was signally honored before men, with God's shield spread over him. Even his suffering for doing right, when maligned and treated as a criminal, was followed by victories prepared for him.

His experience proves that God's appointed witnesses may for truth's sake expose themselves to reproach and persecution. Those who closely connect with God may not be prosperous in the things of this life but may often be sorely tried and afflicted. God leads His children through trial to perfect trust, giving peace in Christ amid tribulation in the world, for it is through much tribulation that they enter the kingdom of God.

Pattern for Believers

Joseph stands as a representative man and a pattern of integrity, chastity, truthfulness and moral purity worthy of imitation. He is set forth as a model for youth, for students, for workers and for canvassers to follow when alone, unwatched, strongly tempted, or entrusted with a special position in the world. His life in Egypt shows a youth tried and proved who stood firm to principle under strong temptation. That firm standing teaches how to remain unspotted and hold principle when assailed.

Such upright character is of greater worth than the gold of Ophir. It is formed not by inheritance, accident or purchase but by diligent daily effort, persevering use of God-given opportunities and powers, and cultivating the mind together with uprightness of heart. Forming a character that will stand the test of the judgment is very serious business. Each person is responsible for the character built and decides his own eternal destiny in the present probationary time, which no teacher can decide for him, for this is the only opportunity to stand the proving of God and there is no second probation to come.

True religion has all-pervading power and gives tone to everything a man does and says. There is therefore no need to go out of the world to be a Christian, for religion with all its sanctifying influences can be carried into all that is done and said. By keeping the heart fixed upon heavenly things, duty belonging to the situation where God has placed a person can be well discharged and the spell of unwise association broken. Joseph carried his religion with him wherever he went, with lofty regard for God's will alike in the prisoner's cell and standing next to the throne, honoring God in prosperity and adversity without compromise of faith.

Following him means fleeing fornication at once, turning from the first step of transgression without stopping to reason or argue, because lingering invites overthrow. It means strictly guarding and controlling the lower passions and appetites rather than letting them govern or trusting one's own wisdom and strength to discharge life's duties. It means drawing nigh to God to prepare mind and body to discharge duty rightly, as those joined to the Lord in the covenant of grace are one spirit with Christ. It means openly displaying true colors without shame, confessing faith in words, habits and practices, speaking choice words, living a consistent pious course, enthroning Christ in the soul temple and laying all talents without reserve in His service, valuing God's favor above the favor and praise of princes and refusing any earthly mandate that detracts from His honor. Canvassers in particular are to copy his chastity that stands firm even with no one watching and under direct urging to sin, joined with meekness like Moses and temperance like Daniel as the natural result of kindness of heart and copying Christ, and then power will attend them wherever they go.

The same integrity and principle are required now. Giving the heart to God, letting nothing stand in the way of duty even at the cost of business loss, and meeting crosses to obey God hold firm under temptation as Joseph, established in principle and determined to obey, resisted the great temptation brought upon him.