May the mumbling commence!
To remain faithful to God there is
a price to be paid. Sometimes it’s
high. But, if we are willing to pay that
price, God will bless us wherever we land.
Joseph was learning that in this stage of his life. Read from Peterson’s The Message:
On one of those days he came to the house to do his work
and none of the household servants happened to be there.
She grabbed
him by his cloak,
saying, “Sleep with
me!” He
left his coat in
her hand and ran out of the house. When she realized
that he had left his coat in her hand and run outside, she called to her house servants: “Look – this Hebrew shows up and before you know it he’s trying to seduce us.
He tried to make love to me but I yelled as loud as I
could. With all my yelling and screaming,
he left his coat
with me and ran outside.”
She
kept the coat right there until his master came home. She told him the
same story. She said, “The
Hebrew slave, the
one you brought to us, came after me and tried to use me
for his plaything. When I yelled and screamed, he left his coat
with me and ran outside.”
When
his master heard his wife’s story, telling him, “These are the things
your slave did to
me,” he was furious. Joseph’s master
took him and threw him into jail where the king’s prisoners were locked up. But there in jail God was
still with Joseph: He reached out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer. The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners – he ended up managing the whole
operation. The head jailer gave Joseph
free reign, never even checked on him, because
God was with him; whatever he
did God made sure it worked out
for the best. (Genesis 39:11-23)
Now read the same passage from the NIV translation:
One day he went into the house to attend to his
duties, and none of the household
servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come
to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and
ran out of the house.
When she saw that he had left his
cloak in her hand
and had run
out of the house, she called her household servants. "Look," she said to them, "this
Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with
me, but I
screamed. When
he heard me scream for help, he left his
cloak beside me and
ran out of the house."
She kept his cloak beside her until
his master came home. Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave
you brought us came to me to make sport of me.
But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his
cloak beside me and
ran out of the house."
When his master heard the story his
wife told him,
saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with
anger. Joseph's
master took him and put him in prison, the place
where the king's prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in
the prison, the Lord
was with him;
he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put
Joseph in charge of all those held in the
prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything
under Joseph's care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave
him success in whatever he did. (Genesis 39:11-23)
Though there is much red, there seems to be no
significant differences. Peterson’s
updating appears to be consistent with the heart and soul of this passage. Let’s focus on that heart and soul…
Trying to be true to God by serving his master faithfully,
Joseph paid the price. Potiphar’s wife
set Joseph up. First, she set up a private
meeting with Joseph. She had to know his
duties and when he would be arriving to do them. She made sure that no one else was with
them. And she tried to force herself on
Joseph.
Joseph ran from temptation. We can learn from that. He ran pell-mell and left his cloak behind. Run from temptation!
Fleeing had its price, though. Potiphar’s wife claimed that Joseph was doing
to her what she was actually unsuccessfully trying to do to him. Oh, the irony!
And she knew how to manipulate. When she spoke to the servants, she included
them in Joseph’s alleged sexual aggressiveness.
When she spoke to her husband, she said the attack was personal only to
her.
She wanted to get maximum negative responses
from each different party. She wanted
that so that no investigation would happen.
She knew that any kind of investigation would be bad for her.
So Joseph was demoted from a slave to a prisoner. Still, God was with him. And Joseph prospered and excelled at all he
did. When we faithfully follow the Lord,
we will be successful… though not in the eyes of the world, necessarily.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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