Genesis 39:10,11
And it came about as she spoke to Joseph day after day, that he did not listen to her to lie beside her, or be with her. Now it happened on day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household were there inside. And she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.
Temptation can come to us suddently. Depending on what it is, it can change the course of a life. Usually for the worse. Joseph would have went to jail eventually, even if he said yes to her. It would have become regular and they would have been caught or Potifar, the husband would have sensed it. This way, he was still clean and just.
Many lessons are in this story. The first one is that Joseph knew he would face this temptation daily. He decided ahead of time what he would do. He wouldn’t listen to her or even be with her. This was not easy to do, because it was at his job. We often have to use forethought. He chose ahead of time not to even engage her in conversation. This reminds me of Eve. The devil engaged her with an easy question. She responded. It got twisted and tempting from there. We might think we’ve got it handled, but we shouldn’t even start. It went badly for Eve and we all are paying for that mistake. The second thing that Joseph did is that he avoided her. That also takes planning. Sometimes we need to take a different route to avoid it. She was tricky. She may have engineering that she was alone.
The last comment is when we are cornered by the situation and the pressure is too great. He ran. That’s perfect. Just get out of there. Don’t stay and pray. Don’t worry about offending them. Run. This is good because once we start to ponder it, we’ve lost. That’s just how temptation is. Our emotions and drives get highjacked. Joseph knew this, so he ran.
Lord, give us wisdom. Give us discernment to see trouble before we’re in it. “Lead us not into temptation.” Thank You!