GENESIS 39
11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12 she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” 16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”
– Genesis 39:11-18
GENESIS 39 POTIPHAR’S WIFE ACCUSES JOSEPH
A poem inspired by these verses by ILMA
It angered Potiphar’s wife that Joseph wouldn’t sleep with her
So, she grabbed Joseph to force him to lie with her, but Joseph fled
When he avoided her in haste, he left his garment which she used against him
His mistress’ used that to lie to her husband and avenge Joseph’s rejection
This caused Potiphar to believe his wife instead of hearing Joseph out
Lies and deception continued to prevail in that Egyptian household.
In this account, we witness the work of the devil using Potiphar’s wife as a host of demonic spirits. She has been obsessed with lust over Joseph. She would do anything to get him to lie with her and when Joseph was able to resist her over and over again, she got so mad and got back at him. This is a manipulation tactic of the devil. Lies and twisting the truth were clearly the strategies used here against Joseph. It destroyed his master’s trust in him and eroded that good relationship they had through that slander and malice that the mistress did.
REFLECTION
- How is slander and malice clearly a tactic of the enemy?
- How can we be aware of the devil’s sly strategies to tempt us to sin?
