WOMAN THIRTEEN

Potiphar’s Wife
The tool of the devil

I. She was the unnamed wife of Potiphar, Captain of the Guard for the Pharaoh. (Gen 39:1-7)

II. She was unfaithful to her husband. (:8-9)
        She tempted Joseph to offend his master and to sin against God.
    A. She tempted him to offend man; specifically, Potiphar his master. (:8-9a)
    B. She tempted him to sin against God. (:9b)

III. She persisted in her temptation of Joseph. (:10-11)
    A. She kept after him continually. (:10)
    B. She picked an opportune time to bring her evil plan to fruition. (:11-12)

 V. Her evil lusts and manipulations came to fruition in the persecution of her innocent victim.
    A. Her lies and manipulation turned those in power against her innocent victim. (:19)
    B. The result of her machinations was the persecution of her innocent victim. (:20)

VI. But God can, and will, frustrate the machinations of the lost against his people. (:21-23)

Summary-

The main lesson we can learn from the life of Potiphar’s wife is that the lost will try to bring down the saved. If they cannot do it by evil temptations, then they will try to do it by evil schemes. If they do not succeed in bringing down their victims by means of temptation, then they will try to shift the blame to their innocent victim in order to save themselves and thus bring about their destruction in that way.

However, probably the most profitable lesson to be learned from her story is that IF we maintain our integrity then God will frustrate their evil schemes. He will not necessarily stop their schemes from coming to fruition, as we see here concerning Potiphar’s wife and her lies and manipulations, but He will see that the final result is not the destruction of His servant; i.e., their scheme may be allowed to come to fruition but the final results are in God’s hands and He will always take care of His servant when they maintain their integrity.

Remember, whether they know it or not, the lost are the children of the devil and he is the one behind their evil schemes. He will use their natural fleshly lusts and if that doesn’t work, then he will use their natural pride or fear of reprisal in order to bring down the innocent. He does not care one way or the other. He will use whatever he has to use in the life or thoughts of the lost in order to get to God’s people. Therefore, remember who the enemy is and that is the devil. Not the lost people but the devil. The lost are mere soldiers in his army but he is the general giving the orders and ordering the battles. Never put yourself in the position of going into their territory without proper safeguards. The old saying is “never give a sucker an even break.” I would turn that around to say, “never give the devil an even break!” If you let down your guard for even a moment you may wind up in Potiphar’s house ALONE with Potiphar’s wife. And if they don’t bring you down with temptation then they will try to shift the blame onto you and try to bring you down with false accusations. The schemes of the devil work through people so be on your guard CONSTANTLY so that you won’t be caught up in their schemes to bring you down.

Sometimes you can’t avoid the trap, just like Joseph couldn’t avoid the trap set by Potiphar’s wife. In such cases, remember that God is able to frustrate their plans and bring you through safely. Also, remember that God is in control and if the trap snaps shut, then realize that God allowed that to happen; and, if you retain your integrity, He will make sure that the end serves His purpose and not the purpose of the devil. They may think they have won- but they really haven’t, God has. Oh, their schemes may succeed alright, if God decides to allow them to, but the final result of those schemes will be what God dictates it will be, not what they planned for it to be.

Finally, we can see from her life that the lost can not even be counted upon to be faithful to their own. As the old saying goes, “There is no honor among thieves,” well, in actuality we can say “There is no honor among the lost.” Oh there may be honor to a certain extent; and that honor may even be evidenced for a long period of time. But, when that honor no longer serves their selfish purposes, then that honor will quickly be set aside as they go about their self-serving schemes. And when they get caught, then they will try to shift the blame on to others. Many times, that “other” may be their own innocent victims. And they will involve those closest to them, even their own husbands as in the case of Potiphar’s wife, in their nefarious plots. This exact thing can be seen in the rampant shattering of the marriage vows by the average person in America today; and, in general, in the untrustworthiness of the average person. The NT tells us to “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,” (II Cor 6:17) and if more Christians would follow this admonition given to us by God, then there would be a lot less children of God falling prey to the devil’s plots as they are carried out by his children, the lost. Instead of listening to God, however, many Christians run with the lost, fellowship with the lost, and then wonder why eventually they either become victimized by the lost ones they run with or, even worse, begin to act like them. The reason is obvious. They willingly went into the house of Potiphar and were easily trapped by temptation or were victims of lies and schemes. Either way, they were trapped by the devil working through whoever is their personal “Potiphar’s wife.”

LESSON THIRTEEN TEST
This test is "open book," which means you may
use your study materials while taking this test.

If you fail this test then you must wait a minimum of one day before you can
retake it.  During that time you are required to go to the textbook and the
Bible, whichever is appropriate, and find the correct answers to every
question missed on the failed test. You may use the copy of the
failed test that was sent to you and refer to it for the correct
answers, which are included on it, to verify that you have
found the correct answers in your study materials.
Once you have found all of the correct answers
and waited the required one day, then you
may retake the test. 

You cannot proceed to the next Lesson until the day after you have
passed this Lesson Test and found all of the correct answers
in the textbook or the Bible, whichever is appropriate, to
all questions missed on this test even though
you received a passing score.