Temptation. We have all faced it. The desire to do something we know we are not supposed to do. It comes from our own internal sin nature and Satan loves to tempt us to disobey the commands and instructions of God.
Let’s examine two examples in the Bible:
1Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
Eve failed to run from temptation. She stayed with the conversation with Satan as he tempted her with lies and deception to disobey God’s warning. She should have left the area, but instead we see in verse 6 she studies the source of the temptation… the tree. She admires the fruit. Finally, she fails and eats the fruit. Then she tries and succeeds to bring Adam into the sin and rebellion with her. For a short while, very short… she likely felt good about her sin and enjoyed the fruit. Then there was lasting accountability and consequences for the act of rebellion and Adam and Eve were separated from God and Eden.
6So he [Potiphar] left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” 8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. 9“There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” 10As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. 11Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. 12She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. 13When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed. 15“When he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.” 16So she left his garment beside her until his master came home. 17Then she spoke to him with these words, “The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me; 18and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”
Joseph repeatedly looked to God’s commands to confirm his rejection of the seduction of Potiphar’s wife. Even when he was trapped by her wickedness, he ran. Surely he was tempted by the offer… but he chose the obedience to God over short term pleasure. He suffered consequences including being lied about and put in prison… accused of the very thing he chose rightly not to do! But his relationship and standing with God remained strong. God had very important plans for Joseph including saving all of Egypt and his own family.
You can not judge the outcome of your decisions based on short term happiness but rather against the unchanging compass which is God’s word. Your choices will be judged based on obeying or rebelling against God’s commands. As Eve discovered, the temptations of sin (son = failing to follow God’s commands) are strong, but the pleasures do not last. The consequences in harming our relationship with God are real. Adam and Eve hid from God in their shame. Then they had to leave Eden. Joseph suffered after doing the right thing, but was used mightily by God later and was blessed indeed for his righteousness.
When you face temptation, ask the Holy Spirit for help and then remove yourself from temptation as Joseph did. Do not study and consider it closely like Eve.. Satan will try to help you rationalize why it is ok to do what you know is wrong. Perhaps in simple terms… if as child knows they are not to have a cookie before dinner, they do themselves a favor by leaving the room, rather than remaining there, staring at the cookie jar. The solution is the same even if the problem is more “adult”. If someone is tempted toward adultery or stealing… get away from the situation and source of temptation immediately. Then turn to God in prayer and ask His help.
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