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The Temptress - The Word About Women

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The Ministry of Motherhood

  • Feb 25, 2021

The Ministry of Motherhood

Women’s Work

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Women’s Work

The Truth About Mary Magdalene

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The Truth About Mary Magdalene

The Good News Girls

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The Good News Girls

Compassion for Women

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Compassion for Women

Distracted with Much Serving

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Distracted with Much Serving

No Throwing Stones

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No Throwing Stones

She Was a Sinner

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She Was a Sinner

The Eternal Thirst Quencher

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The Eternal Thirst Quencher

The Laws of Love

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The Laws of Love

Follow Him

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Follow Him

Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You

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Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You

In His Service

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In His Service

Share in Their Joy

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Share in Their Joy

Highly Favored One

  • Jan 7, 2021

Highly Favored One

The Value of a Woman

  • Jan 5, 2021

The Value of a Woman

See You in 2021

  • Nov 20, 2020

See You in 2021

In God’s Hands

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In God’s Hands

A Disposable Woman?

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A Disposable Woman?

A Bearer of Bad News

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A Bearer of Bad News

A Wicked Queen Mother vs A Godly Princess

  • Nov 10, 2020

A Wicked Queen Mother vs A Godly Princess

A Heart for Hospitality

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A Heart for Hospitality

The Willing Widow

  • Nov 4, 2020

The Willing Widow

A Wretched Woman

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A Wretched Woman

Wicked Women

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Wicked Women

Missed Opportunity

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Missed Opportunity

How To Spot A Mother

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How To Spot A Mother

A Wicked Thing

  • Oct 23, 2020

A Wicked Thing

Grace in the Genealogy

  • Oct 21, 2020

Grace in the Genealogy

Victim or Adulteress?

  • Oct 19, 2020

Victim or Adulteress?

A Relationship Ruined By Resentment

  • Oct 16, 2020

A Relationship Ruined By Resentment

Beauty, Brains, and a Blessing

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Beauty, Brains, and a Blessing

Giving Back To God

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Giving Back To God

Crimes Against Women

  • Oct 9, 2020

Crimes Against Women

When Women Are His Weakness

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When Women Are His Weakness

Raising A Leader

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Raising A Leader

A Redeemer

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A Redeemer

A Dedicated Daughter-in-Law

  • Sep 30, 2020

A Dedicated Daughter-in-Law

A Woman With a Weapon

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A Woman With a Weapon

The Leader of a Nation

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The Leader of a Nation

The Faith of an Outsider

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The Faith of an Outsider

The Daughters of Zelophehad

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The Daughters of Zelophehad

The Prophetess

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The Prophetess

A River Rescue

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A River Rescue

The Temptress

  • Sep 14, 2020

The Temptress

The Double Standard

  • Sep 11, 2020

The Double Standard

A Daughter Defiled

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A Daughter Defiled

Stolen Statues

  • Sep 7, 2020

Stolen Statues

The Unloved Wife

  • Sep 4, 2020

The Unloved Wife

A Meddling Matriarch

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A Meddling Matriarch

Beyond Redemption?

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Beyond Redemption?

A Salty Warning

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A Salty Warning

Oppressed Yet Blessed

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Oppressed Yet Blessed

The Mother of a Nation

  • Aug 24, 2020

The Mother of a Nation

The God Who Sees

  • Aug 21, 2020

The God Who Sees

Beautiful but Barren

  • Aug 19, 2020

Beautiful but Barren

Past Messages
benz@backtothebible.org
BenSep 14, 2020 1:00 pm GMT

The Temptress


One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he ran out of the house.


Genesis 39:11-15


For context, read all of chapter 39

 

Last week, we read about how Tamar acted like a prostitute but was called righteous and was honored as a mother in the genealogy of Jesus. Today, we read about Potiphar’s wife. She was also deceitful and tempted a man but she is not honored as being righteous. What’s the difference? Her motive.

 

Remember that Joseph was in her house because he had been sold into slavery by his own brothers to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. But God did not abandon him while he was in Egypt. He was blessed with great success and Potiphar put him in charge of his entire household. Verses 6 and 7 tell us that Joseph caught Potiphar’s wife’s eye. It says he was “well-built and handsome”. So, she continually badgered him about going to bed with her. What was her motive? Lust. Pure and simple.

 

To Joseph’s credit, he acted with great integrity and denied her advances several times. In verse 9, he told her, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” He didn’t succumb to sexual temptation as easily as his brother, Judah. He was concerned with obeying God.

 

But Potiphar’s wife continued to persist until one day, she reached out to grab him. Joseph wisely fled from her. Unfortunately, he left his cloak in her hand giving her all the “proof” she needed. No doubt angry that he continued to spurn her advances, and perhaps even humiliated by the rejection, she seeks revenge by accusing him of trying to rape her. Potiphar throws Joseph in prison even though he is innocent of any crime.

 

Potiphar’s wife’s actions cannot be justified by any good intention. She saw Joseph, she wanted Joseph, and she tried to take Joseph. Tamar’s motivation was to fulfill her family duty by providing her late husband with an heir.

 

Contrast the outcomes of the two stories of Potiphar’s wife and Tamar. Potiphar’s wife unjustly destroyed a man’s reputation so that a man who was obedient to the Lord ended up in jail. Tamar’s actions convicted a man who was not seeking to obey the LORD and he ended up being featured in the lineage of the Messiah. When Judah saw what he had driven Tamar to do, he was finally able to see his own sin clearly. We do not know if Judah repented and sought God’s forgiveness after his encounter with Tamar. But in Genesis 44:14-34, we see a changed man in Judah. One who is protective of his family and willing to humbly accept responsibility.

 

The WORD about women in the story of Potiphar’s wife reminds us women that we can succumb to sexual temptation as easily as any man. We need to take temptation seriously and flee from it. The WORD also shows us how reporting false accusations can destroy a godly man’s life. Sisters, let’s vow to always treat our brothers in Christ with fairness and respect.

 

Reflect

How can we flee from sexual temptation in today’s culture? What can we do to show love and respect to our brothers in Christ?

 

Pray

Father, lead me not into temptation. Help me be a woman that honors you. Amen.

We look forward to your comments and questions below!

If you want to share this Bible reading plan with friends and family, here is the link:
https://bttb.org/word-about-women

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Sue
a year ago
I honestly believe you have to make a choice of your will ahead of time, that you will not go down that path....then when & if the situation arises you can stand on that decision.
Also knowing that you are honering God and you sin is against him firstly, so He is your motivation to say no....plus counting the cost.

That tenacity of Joseph is awesome....every woman wants to know if there was a woman hounding their husband, that he would respond the same way as Joseph.
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