False Accusations

False Accusations

Potiphar’s Wife

Read: Genesis 39:13-20

She rolled over in bed, then sat upright with a gasp. This wasn’t her apartment—how in the world . . . Suddenly it all came rushing back—the fight when her husband left to play poker, her trip to the bar, the guy who kept buying her drinks and offering a sympathetic ear. She’d been mad at Jim, but she sure hadn’t meant to let things go so far. If Jim finds out, he’ll leave me in a second, she realized. She moaned. Her panic eased as an idea came to her mind. Reaching for the phone, she pushed 911.

When Joseph refused her sexual advances, Potiphar’s wife probably reacted with anger, humiliation, and perhaps a little shame. Indignation that a Hebrew teenager had rebuffed her advances was soon replaced by worry as to how her husband would react if he heard about her conduct. She decided to accuse Joseph of attempted rape in order to cover up her own sinful behavior. His leaving the cloak in his hurry to get away from her made the accusation easier. She used the evidence of his innocence to accuse him of a crime.

When we’re in danger of having our wrongdoing exposed, we have a choice as to how we will react. We can admit our fault, accept the consequences, and learn from the mistake, or we can try to avoid being caught. Unfortunately, some of us use false accusations against other people to cover up our own shame. Doing this increases our guilt and hurts the innocent. Whether we’re the one making a false accusation or the one being wrongly blamed, we can be sure that God sees the truth. He will judge the guilty and vindicate the innocent in his time.

[The Lord said,] “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.”

Deuteronomy 5:20