I would like to have you look at a few things that fairly shout from this passage. For example, consider the fact, first of all, that Joseph did not make any of the many excuses that we hear today over and over again.
But look what he did do. The first thing he did, which we need to remember whenever we are confronted with temptation, is this: he called sin, sin. That is something unheard of today—at least in the media. On the six o’clock news, the eleven o’clock news, the front page of the newspaper, and everywhere you look, there is news of every kind of evil abomination that is imaginable to the human mind, but never once is it called sin.
I think it is also interesting that Joseph faced this temptation after great blessings. I have found in my life, as many others have, that after the greatest of successes, victories, and blessings, there frequently come the greatest temptations, as was the case in the life of Joseph. Having been lifted up to a position of prominence and power, he faced the greatest temptation that he had faced in his entire life.
When Potiphar heard the words of his wife, his wrath was kindled, and he took Joseph and threw him into prison. Joseph was there for two years. Sometimes the rewards of integrity are, in this life, not pleasant. Oftentimes our rewards are reserved in heaven for us.
There are consequences that Joseph knew not of, and we know not of, which arise out of the temptations that we take. Dear one, the next time Satan assails you with a temptation, remember Joseph and the rewards of integrity.
