5. Units & Structure - Exegeting Genesis 39 Vv 6-9

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Exegeting Genesis 39 vv 6-9 Joseph is tempted by his master‘s wife The exegetical task is now complete The homiletical business of expounding and applying the message now begins.

Genesis 39:6-9 – The Text

1. Involve Others

So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he eat. Now Joseph was well built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “come to bed with me!” But he refused. He told her, “With me in charge, 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?”

In situations of temptation bring in the rightfully concerned parties: Spouse / Fiancée – Master – God

Step 1 - What are the units of thought in this passage?

Application Lessons in resisting temptation not only for (negatively)  Resisting Seducers outside of marriage but also for (positively)  Maintaining Healthy Relationships inside and outside of Marriage

2. Be Accountable Never do, say, or think anything which you would not wish the rightfully concerned parties to know about 3. Rehearse Biblical Reasons for righteous behaviour Why the wrong behaviour is wicked and offends God as well as wronging others Additional Note on dealing with sexual temptation The passage context concerns why the righteous Joseph was thrown into prison. The immediate context includes two additional examples of how to deal with sexual temptation  Avoid being alone with a person of the opposite sex  Run away from those who would tempt you to sin

Without altering the wording, divide the text into separate units of thought and list each new idea on a separate line as you come to it in your reading of the passage The Units of Thought So he left in Joseph’s care [1st idea] everything he had; [2nd idea] with Joseph in charge, [3rd idea, etc] he did not concern himself with anything except the food he eat. Now Joseph was well built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “come to bed with me!” But he refused. he told her, “With me in charge, 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?” Step2 - What is the shape of the passage’s structure?

Shift the position of each idea in such a way as to show the relationship of each idea in the total structure 2 Example of “Shaping” the Text’s Structure So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

[3 statements about how Joseph’s master left matters to Joseph]

[“he” x 2: aspects of the master’s arrangement put positively & aspects of that arrangement put negatively] “Shaping” the Text’s Structure Positioning the text to show how the passage is constructed is the most difficult part of the task of exposing the message of the passage. It is also the most subjective part as there is usually no one way of arranging the sentences, clauses and phrases that make up the whole. What matters is that you discover for yourself how the various parts relate to each other – and how to show this depends on what arrangement makes the content clearer for you.

For this particular study of the passage we will use the following arrangement of the text Note: It is not the only possible way to shape the structure of the passage. The Shape of the Text Structure So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “come to bed with me!” But he refused. he told her, “With me in charge, 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?” 7

It is wise to have reasons against particular temptations Not to betray his master‘s confidence in him Not to spoil his relationship with his master Not to spoil the intimacy between husband & wife Not to sin against God Summary of Teaching about Foiling Temptation

 People can be particularly subject to temptation who are  In positions of prominence  In positions of great trust  Blessed with good looks  Familiarity with people at work can create situations of temptation  The first step in dealing with temptation is to say “No!“  It is wise mentally to bring a third party into the situation (Joseph refers to his master)  It is tactful, rather than denouncing the tempter, to defend one‘s own integrity & others’ interests  There are God-made boundaries in human affairs: to cross them results in wronging others as well as seriously sinning against God  Succumbing to sexual temptation destroys relationships as it betrays trust  It is wise to have reasons against particular temptations  Not to betray his master‘s confidence in him  Not to spoil his relationship with his master  Not to spoil the intimacy between husband and wife  Not to sin against God

Step 8 What is the main lesson that this passage teaches? What is the heart-beat of the passage? The Heart-Beat Suggestion A Saying “No!“ to temptation is easier if you can also say “Why Not“! (Integrity in the face of temptation involves having good reasons for not complying)

Suggestion B

No-one is greater in this house than I am.

When facing sexual temptation bring into the situation an affected third party (Integrity in the face of temptation involves having in mind the consequences for others) 6 ___________________________________________________________________ d)

he told her, “With me in charge, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; His master’s confidence

 It is wise to bring a third party into the situation (either physically or, as when Joseph talked about his master, mentally) ___________________________________________________________________ e)

My master has withheld nothing from me except you, His master’s intimacy because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Responsibility towards God

 Rather than denouncing the tempter, it is tactful to defend one‘s own integrity and the interests of others. f)

 There are God-made boundaries in human affairs: to cross them results in wronging others as well as seriously sinning against God ____________________________________________________________________ g)

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.

His master’s trust His master’s generosity His master’s confidence His master’s intimacy

Succumbing to sexual temptation always destroys relationships because it betrays trust _________________________________________________________________ h)

Everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.

His master’s trust

His master’s confidence My master has withheld nothing from me except you, His master’s intimacy because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Responsibility towards God 3 Step 3 What is happening? • Who are the people involved? Look for the personal nouns and underline with bold letters, or write them in capital letters, so that they stand out The Persons So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “come to bed with me!” But he refused. he told her, “With me in charge, 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?” Step 4 What is happening? • What are these persons doing? Look now for the verbs and put them in italics, or underline them with a different colour The Action So he left in Joseph’s care

everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he eat. Now Joseph was well built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “come to bed with me!”

because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Responsibility towards God Step 6 What is the over-all subject of this passage? Over-all Subject Sexual Temptation: Answering a Tempter to Sexual Sin How to deal with sexual enticement

4 But he refused. he told her, “With me in charge, 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?” Step 5 What is each section about? What are the topics? Note them as headings on the right The Topics So he left in Joseph’s care Household responsibilities everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he eat. Now Joseph was well built Endowment and enticement and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “come to bed with me!” But he refused. Refusal / rebuttal he told her, “With me in charge, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; Everything he owns His master’s trust he has entrusted to my care. No-one is greater in this house than I am. His master’s generosity My master has withheld nothing from me except you,

His master’s confidence His master’s intimacy

5 Step 7 [An important one!] What does the passage say about the over-all subject? Note the limited scope of this question

  

The question is not asking for everything that the passage may teach (i.e. About this and other topics also) The question is not asking for everything that is taught in the Bible about the subject The question is not asking about  how to deal with temptation itself, e.g.  by avoiding it (see v.10b: never alone with the tempter!) or  by running away from it (see v.12) but about  how to answer the one who is tempting

The Teaching about the over-all subject a)

So he left in Joseph’s care Household responsibilities everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he eat. Now Joseph was well built Attraction and temptation and handsome.

 People can be particularly subject to temptation who are  In positions of prominence  In positions of great trust  Blessed with good looks ___________________________________________________________________ b)

and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “come to bed with me!”

 Familiarity with people at work can create situations of temptation ___________________________________________________________________ c)

But he refused.

The first step in dealing with temptation is to say “No!”

Refusal / rebuttal