And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and said, “lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Genesis 39: 7-9, NKJV.
Our Father which art in heaven, may we love you so much, that we will determine to follow You wherever You lead. This is our prayer in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
For the past three days we have been developing this topic. We have seen, unfortunately, more instances of people doing things their way, than allowing God to lead them. Today we have a refreshing turn of events in the life of Joseph, Jacob’s son. How reassuring to us parents, that our children do not have to be victims of our mistakes. Praise God!
In today’s religious world we hear a lot about the “generational curse.” I have not done any research on this topic, so I do not consider myself an authority on the subject. But as a humble student of the Word, I want to submit very briefly, for your consideration, the story of Joseph who was a prime candidate to be another statistic of a “generational curse.” However, because of His godly decisions, he proved that when the gift of “free choice,” is used as God intended, no one need live under any curse!
Joseph is the son of Jacob, the grandson of Isaac, and the great-grandson of Abraham. All three of these members of his genealogical tree have been involved in one act of deceit or another. We mentioned that for generations, members of this family had made decisions that had greatly affected the home circle, and had ruined relationships. We saw that played out in the household of Isaac and Rebekah. We also caught a glimpse of it in the lives of Abraham and Sarah. Yet today, Joseph emerges out of all of this, to exemplify the value of free choice, guided by God, in making right decisions. Hallelujah!
I have often heard people say; “If only I did not have free choice.” But to say that there is something wrong with free choice is to blame God and free ourselves of responsibility for the decisions we make. It is like Adam who said to God: “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3: 12). The woman offered him the fruit that God had told him not to eat. But it was he who chose to obey the woman and disobey God. That same free choice could have produced different results. He could have chosen not to eat of the fruit.
I believe it boils down to the answer to this question: Who is leading your life? Your free choice will be used to please the one you choose as your master. When Joseph saw himself face to face with the temptation of laying with Potiphar’s wife he could have made many excuses why he should do it. In that moment of decision His strength to resist temptation came from the One who was leading him. The One he had chosen to follow. Listen to his response: How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” This was free choice exercised under the guidance of God. If you are willing – God is able to lead you all the way – with no regrets!