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she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me." But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house.(Genesis 39:12 – ESV)
Sometimes we will never be validated, justified, or recognized as being right by anyone but God. The scriptures depict many righteous men and women being falsely accused. Sometimes they are vindicated, and sometimes, from an earthly perspective, they are not.
Consider Joseph. Potiphar’s wife had accused him, but he was an innocent man. Yet, she had his garment, and he had probably been seen running away. She was royalty, he was a slave – it would be her word against his. So there was a claim by a more credible person of reputation, there was the physical evidence, and perhaps other personal witnesses to his fleeing the scene of the supposed crime. By all appearances, it would seem Joseph was guilty.
We always talk of how Joseph was vindicated, how he rose to fame and power, how he got out of the pit, out of the prison, and into Pharaoh’s highest courts. He was vindicated before his father and his brothers. However, we may have forgotten that Potiphar never saw him as right. There may be people who you will never look right to, no matter what you do with your life. Sometimes, you might have to let the garment go.
People saw him run away and saw she had the garment. You may say, “Well Joseph got out of that prison”. Yes but it was from the hand of Pharaoh, not Potiphar. It was likely that Potiphar held the charge against Joseph his whole life, but Joseph had to let the garment go and let God take care of it. He went to prison just like he went into the pit, an innocent man. God got him out, yet he wasn’t vindicated in the way he might have wanted to be had he wanted to hold onto the garment. God may not redress the matter now but He will judge the matter and deal with it righteously in the final analysis.
There are some things we cannot control. In the Christian life we may have to let go of friends, family, fame or fortune, if it will ensnare us in sin. Are you holding onto your self respect and worried over the views of others when you are accused wrongly for the sake of Christ? Do you feel that you must be justified and that the garment justifies you and your case? Are you concerned that God might allow you to look bad and get fired or lose your reputation?
This is not a license to not care about what others think at all. Yes, we are indeed to avoid all appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22), but sometimes it is out of our control, and God is proving whether we will flee from sin or try and hold onto the garment of our own self vindication. Sometimes, it is best just to let the garment go.
19 comments:
I love this post.
I heard a story about a busdriver in his twenties who came around a curve, pulling up to a bus stop where there was an elderly man looking at him, shaking his head. The bus driver was filled with emotion. Why was this guy shaing his head? What did he do wrong? Was it his driving? Was He speeding? Was it that he was so young? Did he look funny? The driver never got to ask the man what his problem was, and for the next forty years it ate at him. He was self conscious of everything he did and worried he would be found offensive to someone else.
One day, now in his mid sixties, he was standing at a busstop waiting for the #5 bus as the #3 came around the corner. He blankly looked at the driver of the bus and shook his head no, to say "I'm waiting for a different bus". It then hit him that after all those years of being eaten up with worry and grief, that was all the man forty years previous was doing.
My point behind this was...
How many garments do we create for ourselves, without anyone elses help?
Good illustration, Chris...make sure you are saving those for later, know what I mean?
great post JD - it helps with some things I'm going through at work to be reminded that it may not have anything to do with me even though I'm the one with "mud" on my face - lessons in humility come hard for me!
Me too, sister, me too...I'll be praying for you...
Thanks JD. Good thoughts. My pressure comes from those who are Catholic.
They simply think I'm over doing this religious thing.
I shared the gospel at Christmas, and was mocked, because Christmas is all about the baby Jesus. Easter and Good Friday are about the Cross and resurrection, so don't offend me at Christmas with the Cross.
This doesn't compare to Joseph, but it really hit me, and made me feel low.
I wonder if Satan isn't also behind these kinds of attacks, to cause us to be discouraged?
What is it that you say from time to time? If we knew how seldom people were actually thinking about us we wouldn't be so concerned about it. Well, something like that anyway. Great illistration Chris.
I wonder if Satan isn't also behind these kinds of attacks, to cause us to be discouraged?
Yes, Don, I would think so, that God would allow our enemy to test our mettle as it were, to prove to us that we can let the garment go, while still holding onto our armor (Ephesians 6:10-18)!
Amen! Great post and great comments.
Not to derail this fine discussion, but truthfully, my wife ought to know, as I have had to tell her to "let the garment go" several times in the department stores!
:-)
What? A personal attack in a public forum? I'm shocked! Especially since there was no mention of shoes. But then, that's another story altogether.
:P
So Joseph just "let go and let God," eh? Hmm. I think you've been in the sun too long.
Just messin' with you. Thanks for reminding us of our true audience.
Ladies and gentlemen, the great Gummby has spoken...he he he...anyways, thanks for stoppng by, friend...
I never thought about it before, about Potiphar. And to him it was truth because of the evidence. That's a really interesting twist to put to that story. I wonder how things were, body language, facial expressions, polite speech, etc, if they ever chanced to meet in public or at Egyptian cocktail parties. Hm.
big ha ha about the shopping. But I agree with Mom, it doesn't cover shoes...or accesssories (horrified gasp from the men). :D
4-16-08
Joseph is one of my favorite Bible heroes because of things like this.
J.D., I think your speculation is entirely possible, but I sometimes wonder about Potiphar. Could it be that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Yeah, Joe. I know your reputation and that the missus has her flaws, but what can I do? In the end, she's my wife, and you're (just) a slave. Sorry Joe; my hands are tied. That's just speculation, but I don't think it takes anything away from the fact that Joseph trusted God and not his circumstances.
By the way, that banter between you and Mrs. EvenSo was cute. :-)
I would agree, Craver, that your scenario is also quite possible, and as you said, the point remains...
Oh, and btw, I have to repost this every once in a while to make sure she is still letting go...
;-)
It's interesting how this post means something completely different now than it did before. It was just the time for us to hear this. It clarifies a lot we are going through right now.
No one else's approval or opinion matters except for His.
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