16 Feb. Joseph is accused of sexual misconduct
“Now Joseph was well built and handsome. After some time the wife of Joseph’s master began to desire Joseph, and one day she said to him, ‘Have sexual relations with me.’"
“But Joseph refused and said to her, ‘My master trusts me with everything in his house. He has put me in charge of everything he owns. There is no one in his house greater than I. He has not kept anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How can I do such an evil thing? It is a sin against God.’”
“The woman talked to Joseph every day, but he refused to have sexual relations with her or even spend time with her.”
“One day Joseph went into the house to do his work as usual and was the only man in the house at that time. His master’s wife grabbed his coat and said to him, ‘Come and have sexual relations with me.’ But Joseph left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house.”
“When she saw that Joseph had left his coat in her hands and had run outside, she called to the servants in her house and said, ‘Look! This Hebrew slave was brought here to shame us. He came in and tried to have sex with me, but I screamed. My scream scared him and he ran away, but he left his coat with me.’…”
“When Joseph’s master heard what his wife said Joseph had done, he became very angry. So Potiphar arrested Joseph and put him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were put. And Joseph stayed there in the prison.”
“But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him kindness and caused the prison warden to like Joseph. The prison warden chose Joseph to take care of all the prisoners, and he was responsible for whatever was done in the prison.”
(Genesis 39:6-22)
Joseph worked hard as the chief steward in Potiphar’s household, and was well thought of – until Potiphar’s wife made unjust sexual allegations against him and Joseph ended up in prison for nine years.
But God had not abandoned Joseph, and the prison warden looked favourably upon him. He recognised that Joseph was honest and reliable, and in due course he placed Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners.
Joseph (like us) may not have realised it at the time, but God was working things out so that Joseph would be in the right place at just the right time for him to come to the attention of the pharaoh himself.
The photo shows the entrance to Luxor Temple in Egypt.
You can read more of Joseph’s story @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/biblejourney2/24-the-journeys-of-isaac-jacob-joseph/joseph-becomes-vizier-of-egypt/