But Joseph’s master’s wife tried to entice the young man to transgress the law of God. He had remained pure of the corruption filling that heathen land, but this temptation, so sudden, so strong, so seductive—how should he deal with it?
Joseph knew very well what refusing would bring. On the one hand were concealment, favor, and rewards; on the other, disgrace, imprisonment, perhaps death. His whole future life depended on the decision of the moment. Would Joseph be true to God? With inexpressible anxiety, angels looked on the scene.
Joseph’s answer reveals the power of religious principle. He would not betray the confidence of his master on earth, and, whatever the consequences, he would be true to his Master in heaven. Joseph’s first thought was of God. “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” he said.
Young people should always remember that wherever they are and whatever they do, they are in the presence of God. No part of our conduct escapes God’s notice. We cannot hide our ways from the Most High. To every deed there is an unseen witness. Every act, every word, every thought is as distinctly noted as though there were only one person in the whole world.
Joseph suffered for his integrity. His tempter took revenge by causing him to be put into prison. If Potiphar had believed his wife’s charge against Joseph, the young Hebrew would have lost his life, but the modesty and uprightness that had characterized his conduct were proof of his innocence, yet to save the reputation of his master’s house, he was sent to disgrace and bondage.
At first Joseph was treated harshly by his jailers. The psalmist says, “They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him” (Psalm 105:18, 19).
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