Day 38 – Joseph & Potiphar’s Wife

• You may have noticed we’ve once again skipped a chapter of Genesis. Chapter 38 is another, rather sordid, tale of more sexual sin in the family which, like any chapter we pass over, you’re welcome to read, but I suggest keeping your focus on the story of Joseph for now.
• The story of Joseph moves at quite a pace. Today we see how Joseph acted – and how God responded – as Joseph entered the house of Potiphar, the captain of the guard. Today’s passages all relate to the topic of sexual temptation. Will Joseph make wise choices, or not?
• As you read chapter 39, think about how God was orchestrating events. Can you see God at work in this passage? The author makes multiple references to this to ensure we don’t miss it. What sort of things happen to bring Joseph from a slave trader’s wagon to a powerful position in a statesman’s house?
• Can you look back on a difficult time in the past and see now that God was working through it, even though you couldn’t see it at the time? It’s often a lot easier to see in hindsight.
• How did Potiphar’s wife try to lure Joseph? Did Joseph react in a wise way?
• How did you feel when you read about Potiphar’s wife framing Joseph for something he didn’t do?
• You might think that it’s easy to think of God orchestrating events when things go well – but things don’t seem to be going so well now, are they? Joseph has acted honourably, and yet he ends up being thrown in prison. But God is still working behind the scenes – as we’ll see tomorrow.
• Today we had a long second reading from the book of Proverbs. Proverbs was (largely) written by King Solomon, often named as the wisest man who ever lived. We’ll read about him properly in a few months. He wrote some superb words about godly living, although didn’t always live by his words in his own life.
• What similarities can you see between the woman in the haunting words of Proverbs 7 and Potiphar’s wife?
• What seductive words does the woman use to try and trap the person she’s seeking to attract? It might be hard to consider how you would react to such temptation, as you’re still quite young, but you could consider whether her words might seem easy or difficult to ignore.
• How does it say we should avoid sexual temptation? What, in the blunt words of Proverbs 7:27, does it lead to?
• Who owns our body, according to the words in 1 Corinthians? How do we glorify God with our bodies in this practical way?

Be honest with yourself – how do you do when it comes to “fleeing” from sexual temptations? If passages like this make you a little uneasy, or lead to instant feelings of guilt, then face up to those feelings. Perhaps you could write down in your journal the challenges you face in this regard. You don’t have to show them to anyone.

Maybe this is not an issue for you. If so, that’s great – work hard at keeping it that way!

If this is an issue for you, however, think about your struggles this year so far, then spend some time thinking about how you can begin to “flee” from them. Is today the day to turn away from these things for good? Pray about your temptations and for God’s strength to help you when you feel weak. Perhaps you could write a note to yourself reminding yourself to honour God with your body.

You can speak to one of your parents, a leader, or another adult you trust, if you’d like, about your prayer so they can encourage you from time to time. You don’t have to share anything that you aren’t comfortable with sharing, of course, but it’s wise to have support and encouragement in this area of our lives.