Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
Genesis 39 – Someone May Be Counting On You Tomorrow Because of Today
Unlike before when Sarah and Rebekah were endangered by a male foreigner, this time it is a man endangered by a female foreigner. Satan flips the script. Or is it somehow God showing all are vulnerable yet still empowered for higher purposes?
This time the male protagonist is Joseph. The female antagonist is unnamed, but known as Potiphar’s wife. She’s in power via her husband. What harm would it do for Joseph to give in to her seductions?
The answer is, more than Joseph could know.
What is known to Joseph is the harm to his soul, by sinning against God. That’s one reason to remain faithful spiritually.
What is also known to Joseph is the harm done to his master. That’s a second reason to remain faithful pragmatically.
“No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?”” (CSB’17 Genesis 39:9)
What is unknown at this time is that if Joseph gives into temptation, succumbs to sexual powers, social, and economic pressure, then a whole nation that does not yet exist might perish. Humanly, how could Joseph know?
Personally, I believe Potiphar had reason to believe his wife lied which is why Joseph is imprisoned instead of killed. That, or God again is intervening unseen.
However, if Joseph had been guilty, and executed for adultery, then Joseph could not have been used by God to save his family from famine years later. That use by God is the last narrative in Genesis. That salvation leads to a great nation being redeemed from slavery.
Here we learn two valuable reasons to live godly lives:
1) What we do know now is how God wants us to live in the present for our future.
2) What we don’t know now is how God will use our present for others in the future.
“You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result — the survival of many people.” (CSB’17 Genesis 50:20)
Don’t throw away a future you can see and a future can’t see because of present pleasure or pain. God may be using you for something you can’t even imagine. Someone may be counting on you tomorrow because of today.
Comments