Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife: Why Did He Resist?

by Anita Wood · Published March 31, 2022 · Updated May 6, 2023

Righteousness flows from only one priciple-the fear of God- John Calvin, Joseph and Potiphar's wife

“. . . After a while his master’s wife [Potiphar] took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he refused. ‘With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God'” Genesis 39: 7-9.

This passage come from the familiar account of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife in the book of Genesis. To read the whole account, click here.

For those familiar with the story of Joseph, you know that for all his trials and tribulations, he ended up with wealth, honor and long life. According to Proverbs 3:16 and other scriptures, these are the rewards of wisdom. “Long life is in her[wisdom’s] right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor”. He became wise by fearing God (Proverbs 9:10).

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife: The Fear of God Requires Sacrifice

I don’t think we really prove that we fear God until it requires sacrifice. Abraham had to be willing to give up his son Isaac in order to prove it. “‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son Genesis 22:12‘”

In this situation with Joseph, he had to be willing to give up not only the possible desire he may have had to give in to Potiphar’s wife. (The scriptures don’t provide any evidence of this. But we do know Joseph was a young man without a way to get his normal biologic needs met).

But he also had to give up the anger, resentment and bitterness he must have been tempted to have toward God because of what had happened to him.

He could’ve said “why should I care what God thinks? He has allowed me to suffer unjustly at the hands of my brothers. And now I’m a slave in a foreign country. I’ve been uprooted from my beloved father and family and roots. God has dealt harshly with me, so why should I fear Him?”

It would’ve been easy for him to have this attitude. But like Job, he said in essence, “. . . The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” Job 1:21.

Joseph proved that he feared God by doing what was right and thereby honoring Him. This, despite the fact that it would’ve been easy to be angry and bitter. And to express it by an arrogant attitude and wickedness.

Wise old owl sitting in a window; Joseph and Potiphar's wife. — Photo by Cliff Johnson

Joseph Had Every Reason to Shake His Fist at God

Joseph was an amazing man. He had every reason to shake his fist at God rather than fear Him. To be wise is really to be mature. It means to do the right thing even when the right thing isn’t happening to you. It means to endure or persevere in righteousness in every situation.

And it means to be obedient all the times. When you feel like it and when you don’t. When it’s easy and when it’s hard. And when it seems to yield fruit and when it doesn’t.

Joseph’s choosing to fear God despite the harsh things God had allowed to happen to him was a trial that tested his faith. This testing of his faith was an opportunity for him to endure or persevere in the fear of God and righteousness.

And eventually be made mature by it. And once he was mature “no good thing was withheld from him” (Psalm 84:11).

Trials are Always a Catalyst for Change

This trial was an opportunity to gain strength, endurance and ultimately to become mature or wise. But it was also a temptation to give up on his faith and become wicked. In that event, he probably would’ve gladly given in to Potiphar’s wife.

Temptation or trials are always a catalyst for change. If we yield to them, we give up on our faith in that instance (not necessarily altogether). We become weak and eventually wicked. If we resist them, we gain the strength or endurance that eventually makes us mature or wise.

Adam and Eve, in contrast to Joseph, gave in to temptation. Unlike Joseph, their faith in the character of God wavered. And when the snake spoke a lie about God’s character (you won’t die if you partake of the fruit), they believed it.

The implication of what the snake said was that God was holding out of them and withholding good things from them for no good reason.

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife: Wisdom is the Result of Fearing God

Their faith in the loving nature of God, in who He is wavered. That’s why they gave in to the temptation. Consequently, they didn’t become mature or wise. Wisdom is the result of fearing God. And of continuing to believe God is good despite trying situations. They wanted the rewards of wisdom.

The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (wisdom) promised to give them long life. This is represented by the lust of the flesh (the fruit was good for food).

Proverbs 9:10 against backdrop of sun setting on body of water — Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

It also promised to give them honor which is represented by the boastful pride of life (the fruit was desirable to make one wise). And it promised to give wealth which is represented by the lust of the eye (the fruit was a delight to the eyes).

But they were unwilling to do what was required to become wise. (Continue in obedience to the command not to eat of the tree). And so, they didn’t become wise. And they were not able to partake of the rewards of wisdom, as Joseph was.

We Must Believe God is Good Even When It Doesn’t Look That Way

To prove we fear God, we must be willing to believe God is good, even when it doesn’t look that way. We must resist the temptation to believe the message of our circumstances, our emotions and our mind. And choose to believe the truth instead. If we do this, we will become wise and be blessed with the rewards of wisdom.

Joseph chose to believe God is good and that He loved him even when that faith was severely tested by harsh circumstances. This produced endurance in the belief that God is good.

And it ultimately perfected that faith and made him wise. A wise person is one who believes God is good and consequently fears Him all the time. Regardless of circumstances.

Joseph maintained his belief in the goodness of God, and that He loved him, in spite of his trying circumstances. This produced hope for the future, which in turn produced love for God and people.

“We love because He first loved us”1 John 4:19. Love is wisdom. To read more posts similar to Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife click here: The Prodigal Son: From Give Me to Make Me.

Although many of my posts are intended to motivate Christians to grow up so they can be blessed, that shouldn’t be our main reason for wanting to mature. Ultimately, everything we do as a Christian should be a response to what He’s already done for us.

From Foolish to Wise to Foolish Again

In fact, growing up and becoming wise is only the first step in the Christian experience. Some already come to faith with a measure of this, but many do not. And as we’ve learned, wisdom and maturity bring rich rewards. But that’s not the end of the journey.

Once we’ve done the hard work to become wise and are experiencing the benefits, the next step is to give it up for Christ. In other words, to become a fool for Christ. We then have come full circle. We’ve gone from foolish to wise and back to foolish again. To learn more about this click here: What It Means to be a Fool for Christ.