Ep8. Expounding Genesis 39 Vv 6-8 Web V.

Exe geting Genesis 39 vv 6-9 Joseph is tempted by his master‘s wife

* PCJB PP Presentation devised and prepared at Gujranwala Theological Seminary may be copied for non-commercial use only February 2007

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PRAY…  For God to speak to you

 For His Spirit to guide your thoughts  For Jesus to be glorified through this study

Genesis 39:6-9

The TEXT

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?”

Analysing The Passage 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?”

How is this passage structured?

Step 1: Listing the IDEAS

a) What are the units of thought? Rearrange the text so as to LIST each new IDEA on a separate line as you come to it in your reading of the passage

List: 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?”

Step 2: Shaping The STRUCTURE

b) What is its shape?

Shift the position of each idea in such a way as to show the relationship of each idea in the total structure

Step 2: Shaping The STRUCTURE By “shaping the structure“ is meant arranging the text of the passage to show visually how the passage has been structured. Note: this refers to the grammatical structure of the translaton, not necessarily that of the original text.

Example of “Shaping” The Text ’ s STRUCTURE So he left in Joseph’s care [ 3 statements about everything he had; how J’s master with Joseph in charge, left matters ] he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. [“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 since there is usually no one way of arranging the sentences, clauses and phrases that make up the whole.

“Shaping” the Text’s Structure What matters is that you discover for yourself how the various parts relate to each other – and how to show this depends on the arrangement of the text that clarifies the content for you.

“Shaping” the Text’s Structure

We will use the following arrangement of the text for our study of the passage Note: It is only one possible way to shape the structure of the passage. .

The 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?”

Step 3

ANALYSIS

What is happening? a) 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?”

ANALYSIS (Cont)

What is happening? b) 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 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?”

ANALYSIS (Cont)

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 ate. Now Joseph was well built GOOD LOOKS and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “come to bed with me!” ENTICEMENT 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 CONFIDENCE My master has withheld nothing from me except you, HIS M’S INTIMACY because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS GOD

Step 4 The Over-All SUBJECT

What is the over-all subject of this passage?

Over-all SUBJECT (Cont)

Sexual Temptation: Answering a tempter to sexual sin How to deal verbally with sexual enticement by a temptress

Over-all Subject (Cont)

Sexual Temptation: Is this too a delicate subject to talk about in public? Note:  God has caused this incident to be recorded in His Word for our learning  Originally God‘s Word was read out in public to a mainly illiterate congregation  Studying the Bible privately is a recent custom

Step 5 The TEACHING [An important one!]

What does the passage say about the over-all subject of responding to sexual temptation?

What does the passage say about this over-all subject? Note 1

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)

What does the passage say about this over-all subject? Note 2

 The question is not asking for everything that is taught in the Bible about the subject

What does the passage say about this over-all subject? Note 3:  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

TEACHING

about the over-all subject: 1 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 ate. Now Joseph was well built ATTRACTION & 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

TEACHING

about the over-all subject: 2 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

TEACHING

about the over-all subject: 3 But he refused.

REFUSAL / REBUTTAL

___________________________________________________

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

TEACHING

about the over-all subject: 4 he told her,

“With me in charge, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house;

______________________________________ It is wise to bring a third party into the situation (either physically or, as when Joseph referred to his master, mentally)

TEACHING

about the over-all subject: 5 My master has withheld nothing from me HIS MASTER’S CONFIDENCE except you, HIS M’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 more tactful to defend  one‘s own integrity

and  the interests of others

TEACHING

about the over-all subject: 6 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?”

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

TEACHING

about the over-all subject: 7 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 CONFIDENCE My master has withheld nothing from me except you, HIS M’S INTIMACY because you are his wife.

__________________________________  Succumbing to sexual temptation  destroys relationships because it  betrays trust

TEACHING

about the over-all subject: 8 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 CONFIDENCE My master has withheld nothing from me except you, HIS M’S INTIMACY because you are his wife.

___________________________________  Faithfulness in other areas of life strengthens our resolve against the temptations of extra-marital affairs

TEACHING about the over-all subject: 9 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 CONFIDENCE My master has withheld nothing from me except you, HIS M’S INTIMACY because you are his wife.

_______________________________________________________________

 It is wise to have reasons prepared beforehand 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

Total TEACHING

about the over-all subject:

 There are God-made boundaries in human affairs that must never be crossed  People can be particularly subject to temptation who are   

      

In positions of prominence In positions of great trust Blessed with good looks

Familarity 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 and the interests of others Succumbing to sexual temptation destroys relationships as it betrays trust Faithfulness in other areas of life strengthens our resolve against the temptations of extra-marital affairs It is wise to have reasons prepared 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

The TEACHING

about the over-all subject

Note: Just as a three-fold cord is not easily broken, so having several ways of resisting temptation strengthens our resolve not to give in. If we rely on one defence alone (e.g. remembering that to give in is sinning) we are more likely to fall into temptation

Step 6

The HEART-BEAT

What is the main lesson that this passage teaches? What is the heart-beat of the passage?

Finding The HEART-BEAT

The main lessons

 God has made boundaries in human affairs which we must never cross  Bring a third party into a situation of temptation  Have reasons for resisting temptation before the temptation arises  Learn to be faithful in all situations

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)

The HEART-BEAT

Suggestion B

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)

Analysis > Application

The exegetical task is now complete The homiletical business of expounding and applying the message can now be undertaken

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

Application

Healthy Relationships Outside of Marriage

1. Involve Others In situations of temptation bring in the rightfully concerned parties: Spouse - Fiancée – Master - God

Application

Healthy Relationships Outside of Marriage

2. Be Accountable Never do, say, or think anything which you would not wish the rightfully concerned parties to know about

Application

Healthy Relationships Outside of Marriage

3. Rehearse Biblical Reasons for righteous behaviour Why the wrong behaviour is wicked and offends God as well as wronging others

Additional Note: 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

Dealing with sexual temptation

 Avoid being alone with a person of the opposite sex  Run away from those who would tempt you to sin

The End