RUN, DON’T WALK

“But she kept pressing him, day after day. Nevertheless, he didn’t listen to her; he refused to sleep with her of even be with her.”
Genesis 39:10

Potifar and his wife took notice of Yosef. Yosef was a well built man. When Potifar’s wife confronted him and gave her offer of a one night fling, he refused (Gen 39:7-8). She, however, was resilient. Day after day she kept coming to Yosef with her offer, and day after day he kept saying no. The desire and lust for what she could not have continued to grow toward Yosef. But it was this lust that continued also to feed. In one of his fictional novels, Thom Lemmons gives a solid definition as to just what lust is and how it continues to feed on us in its ways of deception.

“Sometimes I think lust is the only sin. Lust for a woman will make a man betray his wife, his friend, maybe even his clan. Lust for land will make him lie and murder. Lust for indulgence will make a woman sow cankers in her husband’s soul. Lust for advancement and ease will make a man forget his god. There is a little god in each of our hearts that tells us we ought to have whatever it is we want. The voice of that god is very hard to ignore, even for the most righteous. It is hard to ignore because it is always telling us the thing we most want to hear.”

What Potifar’s wife most wanted to hear was “Yes”, but what she kept hearing from Yosef was “No”. Seeing she was constantly being denied, she tried another more forceful approach. With the house fully empty, she waited for Yosef. Catching him in her trap, and catching him by the cloak, she offered again, “Come to bed with me.” No matter how many times she approached Yosef, his answer was always the same. Leaving his cloak behind, he left her once again.
A leech makes a special type of saliva which allows them to drink quickly and painlessly. As they spread this saliva over the area where they will feast, they also spread an anesthetic which stops any pain. This anesthetic then keeps the host from feeling the bite. It is common for leeches to be connected to a person for hours before they are ever noticed or realized. But a second agent is also found in the saliva, one called anticoagulant. This agent prevents the blood from clotting, which in turn becomes like a flowing waterfall of blood for the leech to drink freely from. Once filled, the leech will drop off and be filled for months.
When I think of this portion of Yosef’s life where daily he was hounded by Potifar’s wife, I think of how she was in essence, a leech. She came to him with her saliva of anesthesia working to convince him that no one would ever know. She also came to him with her anticoagulant in the offering more and more and more, just like the waterfall of blood. But Yosef came with one item she was not expecting. He came with Adonai on His side. In one of her attempts Yosef replied to her advance saying, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against Adonai?” (Gen 39:9)
On this final advance made on Yosef by Potifar’s wife, Yosef stood his ground, said “No!,” and ran out. He didn’t care about his cloak, he only cared about getting out. When Potifar returned home, she lied to her husband and Yosef was placed in prison. But even with all that had happened already, from the bitterness of his brothers, to his being sold into slavery, to now being placed in prison for additional lies against him, Yosef saw Adonai’s hand.

Genesis 39:7-23