"Young
man, a thousand miles away from home, can you keep the standards of your mother
and father? One man changed the history of the world by taking into a
foreign country these standards: He was good looking, he had personality; he
was young. Because of his physique and general carriage, he carried
prestige. She was a woman of importance….. She tempted him once - she
tempted him twice - yes, and many more times. Each time he remembered the
teachings of his folk at home. He looked sin in the face and stood like a
rock….. “ (Bishop Marvin O. Ashton, Improvement Era, Vol. XIviii, December, 1945, No. 12)
Joseph's
ultimate test of faith came in the form of a woman. This test of faith
became the crowning glory of proof that he would never stray from his faith and
commitment to live God's laws. Joseph referred to Potiphar's wife's
invitation as 'great wickedness' (Genesis 39:9). The following insight
into Joseph's character helps us have appreciation of his tenacity and ability
to overcome what could have been an overwhelming sense of hopelessness as his
life took a turn for the worse.
Joseph never
failed to recognise that something good always comes out of something bad.
He believed that even his unjust imprisonment was a blessing. The
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs quotes Joseph as saying: "I gave thanks
to the Lord and sang praise in the house of darkness, and how I rejoiced with
cheerful voice, glorifying my God, because through her trumped-up charge I was
set free from this Egyptian woman".
(James H.
Charlesworth, The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Apocalyptic Literature
and Testaments)
Joseph felt
it was better to sit in a dark dungeon for two years then to have succumbed to
sin. How easy it would have been to embrace a sinful life far away from his
family….nobody would have known! But God would have known and this was more
important to Joseph….because God sees all and He knows all. And Joseph knew if
he was faithful to the God of his fathers, he would have the right to hope for
help from Him.
It is
staggering to think of what lay on the line when Joseph was tempted by his
master's wife. Had Joseph succumbed, his destiny, the destiny of his
family and the destiny of his descendants would have all been in peril. Had he
chosen the life of sin, he would never have become the man that he became.
This would have had disastrous effects not only on him but on us too.
Just as Joseph
became a saviour of his family temporally, I am convinced his morally clean
life has had an impact on his progeny and their role in becoming spiritual
saviours to their brethren of Israel and the rest of the Father's children:
"Wherefore
thy brethren (the other tribes of Israel) shall bow down unto thee, from
generation to generation, unto the fruit of thy loins (Ephraim and Manasseh)
for ever; For thou shalt be a light unto my people, to deliver them in the days
of their captivity, from bondage; and to bring salvation unto them, when they
are altogether bowed down under sin". (JST Gen. 48:10-11)
When I consider
Ephraim’s responsibility of salvation, I am convinced that the lives that we
live have an impact on our generation and on the generations to come: “No one
sins in isolation. We cannot say that our actions influence only ourselves for
even if we do something sinful that is completely personal, our individual loss
of spiritual power means a lessening of power for all mankind and contributes
to the withdrawal of the Lord’s Spirit, and that is damaging to all…..” (Old
Testament Student Manual Gensis – 2 Samuel p 243)
But there is
hope…in repentance and a God who can extend mercy to the penitent….
Like a bird in flight
Our sins ascend to Thee;
Rising from the ashes of mortality
They seek Thy mercy to set them free.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Though Your Sins Be As Scarlet by Greg Collins)
No comments:
Post a Comment