PRINPICLE VERSES PREFERENCE
GENESIS 29:7-21
WRONG FOCUS: PREFERENCE
V.39:7. "And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon
Joseph; and she said, Lie with me."
A. Temptation is all around us. It comes from unexpected sources.
1. When temptation surfaces, you have a choice.
a. You can choose Principle; the Word of God.
b. Or, you can choose Preference; the way of the world.
B. Joseph's master's wife had lust in her eyes for him.
1. She desired a sexual relationship with Joseph.
2. She yielded to her lust to commit adultery.
3. She chose Preference over Principle.
C. Preference will always lead you to the wrong decision
1. Preference disregards moral values.
2. We must be careful what we watch, and keep our focus on the Lord.
RIGHT FOCUS: PRINCIPLE
V.39:8. "But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not
what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand."
A. Joseph presented with an immoral temptation, chose Principle over Preference.
1. Principle enforces uncompromising trust.
2. Principle enforces personal responsibility.
3. Principle enforces performance of duty.
B. Joseph had a duty to protect his master's property.
1. His master's property included his master's wife.
2. Joseph said no and closed the door on temptation.
V.39:9. "There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing
from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness,
and sin against God?"
A. Joseph recognized his blessed state.
1. Joseph explained his position to his master's wife.
a. The request of his master's wife was wrong.
b. The request of his master's wife was a sin against God.
2. Joseph chose Principle and rejected his master's wife request.
B. We have a duty to God to follow his commands.
1. It is God's commands that will steer us away from sinful behavior.
PASSION DRIVEN BY LUST
V. 39:10. "And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not
unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her."
A. Satan is persistent and will not quit.
1. Just because you stand on God's Word does not stop the temptation of Satan.
2. You have to resolve to do right.
3. You have to resolve to resist the temptation to do wrong.
4. We have to choose each day to follow God.
5. Each day can bring new temptations.
B. Lust of the flesh destroys relationships.
1. Lust of the flesh destroys marriages.
2. Lust of the flesh destroys reputations
3. Lust of the flesh destroys lives.
V.39:11. "And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his
business; and there was none of the men of the house there within."
A. Satan constantly seeks an opportunity to steal, kill and destroy.
1. Even when your mind is set on right, Satan is more set on destroying you.
2. We must realize that what is done in the dark will come to light.
3. The prime opportunity to do wrong is when no one is looking.
B. In the line of your business you are vulnerable to attack.
1. There will always be someone, who will want to distract you from you job.
2. There will always be someone, who will try to direct you in the world's way .
C. In order to fight the temptations of the world, you have to put on the full armor of
Christ. Eph 6:12
1. Temptation comes in our daily walk.
2. We must stand on God's Word.
3. We must admit no thought of a surrender.
V.39:12. "And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his
garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out."
A. Don't let Satan catch you in his trap.
1. Satan is persistent and creative in his approach to get you in his trap.
2. When you recognize Satan; flee.
B. No matter where you go, there is evidence that you have been there,
1. Always make sure your behavior is godly.
2. If your behavior is godly, the only way someone can say something negative is to
lie.
3. If you are obedient to God, the truth will eventually be made known.
C. Joseph refused to get involved in his master's wife evil scheme and fled the scene.
1. Joseph chose Principle over Preference.
2. Not to harm his master's wife when she grabbed his coat, he left without it.
3. It is better to lose some stuff, than to lose your life.
4. To get away from Satan, you might have to leave some stuff behind.
HUMAN PRIDE SHATTERED BY REJECTION
V.39:13. " And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand,
and was fled forth."
A. You must be careful what you leave behind.
1. The enemy will use anything he can against you.
2. Some will use your principles against you.
3. Desperate people will do desperate things.
LIES DRIVEN BY ANGER
V. 39:14 "That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See,
he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me,
and I cried with a loud voice"
A. Impurity and falsehood are tied together.
1. The root of the wife's problem was her uncontrolled lust.
2. Her lust magnified her sinful attitude.
3. Because of her sinful attitude, her behavior was sinful.
4. She became possessive then desperate.
a. She set herself up to be rejected.
B. Being rejected, her pride was shattered.
1. She became angry.
2. She became vindictive.
a. Her desire was to destroy the object of her lust.
3. To be vindictive, you need an audience.
a. She called the men of the house;
i . To tell her story
ii. To propagate her lie
iii. To make herself credible
iv. To discredit the object of her lust.
C. To discredit Joseph:
1. First, she questioned her husbands decision to put Joseph in charge.
2. Second, she put down Joseph by calling him a Hebrew.
a. She consider her Egyptian heritage better than a Hebrew servant.
b. Her suggestion was that Hebrews had no moral values.
3. Third, she suggested that Joseph intended to rape her.
4. Fourth, she claimed that her loud crying stopped Joseph from raping her.
V.39:15. "And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he
left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out."
A. If you tell one lie, you have to tell another to support the first.
A. Where ever you go, you leave evidence that you have been there.
1. You need to be careful what you leave behind.
2. You need to be careful that the evidence supports godly behavior.
B. The right evidence can be made to look wrong.
1. Joseph left his garment, which supported his being in the right place and on the job.
2. His master's wife used his garment to support her lie.
3. She described her sinful behavior, as if it was the behavior of Joseph.
VENDICTIVE BEHAVIOR DRIVEN BY PRIDE
V.39:16. " And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home."
A. Satan is persistent in his intentions to steal, kill and destroy.
1. Having convinced the workers of her lie, she made plans to convince her husband to
destroy Joseph.
2. She held on to Joseph's garment as evidence to support her lie.
a. The garment supported her claim that Joseph had been near her.
b. The garment did not support the claim of attempted rape.
3. The wife being dear to her husband would be more believable than a servant.
a. Knowing this, the wife played on the husband's emotions to protect her.
V.39:17. " And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew
servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me."
A. The more the wife tells her lie the more comfortable she is in the lie.
1. We must be careful not to lie less we forget that the truth exists.
2. We have to be careful not to lie because we can come to a conclusion that there is
justification for the lie.
B. Notice she does not call Joseph by his name, but a Hebrew.
1. This makes it less personal and more reasonable to continue the lie.
a. She dehumanized Joseph.
b. In her eyes, he is a servant and not worthy of equal rights of the Egyptians.
c. In her eyes, he may be seen as a "thing" and not a man.
2. We need to be careful not to see ourselves as more important than others.
a. We need to be careful not to use derogatory terms when referring to another
human being.
b. We are all equal in God's eyes.
V.39:18. " And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment
with me, and fled out."
A. With her husband she repeats the same details of her lie to deceive him.
1. She lied about lifting up her voice.
2. She lied about crying out.
3. She lied about Joseph leaving his garment, because she pull it off him.
4 .The only truth is that Joseph fled.
B. People will always twist the truth to make themselves creditable.
1. People will twist the truth to discredit others.
2. A dishonest person is full of lies.
V.39:19. " And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she
spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was
kindled."
A. When you are intimate with someone, you know what will upset them.
1. The master's wife knew that her lies would upset him, therefore he was an easy
target to be deceive.
2. The master's wife knew what actions her husband would take, therefore she would
get the revenge that she sought.
B. In all of our relationships, we must be careful what we say, so that others are not
misled.
1. We need to be careful that our conversation encourages others.
2. We need to be careful that our conversation is not hurtful, but uplifting.
HER REVENGE
V. 39:20. "And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the
king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison."
A. What we say about someone can cause another person to do harm to him(her).
1. Joseph was unjustly accused, unjustly judged and denied his freedom.
2. We have the duty to God to be just to others because God has shown us mercy
and forgiven us for our sins.
3. We have a duty to tell the truth, regardless of our personal beliefs.
B. When one side of a story is presented, people don't always seek the other side.
1. Your words have the power to harm another person.
2. Your words have the power to influence others to act.
3. Your words have the power to deceive and mislead others.
3. We must be careful to speak of others with grace, because God holds us
accountable.
JOSEPH'S VENDICATION
V.39:21. " But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour
in the sight of the keeper of the prison."
A. When you serve God, you can expect to be mistreated from time to time.
1. God is always aware of your situation and allows things to happen for His Glory.
B. When you serve God, He will cause others to bless you in adverse situations.
1. No matter what you are going through, God is in control.
2. Trials and tribulation are designed to strengthen our faith and prepare us for greater
service.
3. Therefore, we must praise God in all our circumstances; good or bad.
4. God uses the good and the bad to benefit us.
One final comment:
God loves us so much that He controls every event of our lives to bring about His
perfection in us for His Glory.
Amen.
Rev. M. Mitchell
Lessons are posted on Face Book and my Blog, http://GoodNewsRevMitc.blogspot.com
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