Observation: Sold by his own brothers into slavery in Egypt, Joseph endures daily sexual harassment from the wife of his master, Potiphar. After repeatedly refusing to sleep with her, she accuses him of trying to rape her, causing Joseph to be thrown into prison.
Application: You know, people are just the worst sometimes. It can be disheartening. I warn people who want to read the Bible like any other book, starting with Genesis: if you do that, you're going to start out learning a lot more about humankind than you will about God, and you're not going to like it. Genesis features chapter after chapter of people acting cruel, violent, selfish, dishonest, short-sighted and all-around awful. And lest we forget, two thirds of the book centers on Abraham's family, God's chosen people!
I hate that this happened to Joseph. I hate that it rings so true to human behavior, even though thankfully I've never lived through anything similar.
I hate how people misuse power, and how stories like this--of a faked sexual assault--are far too often used today to discredit the scores of genuine cases of sexual assault, many of which go unreported for this very reason.
Mostly I just hate that humans are like this: created in God's image but still capable of such evil. I hate that I see little traces of myself in these characters. But it's part of the unpleasant task of scripture to talk about humans, not as heroes of moral virtue, but as the real, messed-up, self-centred creatures we are. If Genesis pulled punches, we might not remember how deeply we need God.
Prayer: God, I need you every day. And even with you, I make bad choices all the time. Forgive me. Forgive us. Save us, and help us trust in your grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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