"Desperate HouseWives" of the Bible
#1 - Potiphar's Wife
Intro
The past couple of years the Lord has taken me on a journey of study into the lives of women in the Bible; to go beyond the words written about them and to contemplate their lives. As I mentioned in another post, when I was reading Ruth, the lightbulb went on in my head about how we read in a few moments what spanned a life time, and with hindsight, when these women lived out their walks day by day, just like you and me.
Last year when I still watched a bit of tv, (something I do not do much of any more) one show I liked (most of the time) was "Desperate Housewives." As I was recently pondering the life of Potiphar's wife, it hit me – she was a "Desperate Housewife"! Following are thoughts on her life from that perspective. It really gave me compassion and humility about ‘judging’ other people’s lives. It also got me to thinking about other "desperate” women from the Bible – don’t you know, there are several! So this will be number one in a series. I hope the crazy viewpoint God has given me will cause you to look with new eyes at some old stories and provoke thoughts that will glorify His Name!
May we ALL be absolutely “desperate” for JESUS!
“Desperate Housewife” #1 – Potiphar’s Wife
Life in the 21st Century: trains, planes, automobiles, space shuttles, space stations, satellites, microwave ovens and super-computers. It seems we are worlds apart from some roughly five thousand years ago when Genesis was written and a horse-drawn chariot was a luxurious ride, though we do not quite have the ‘carefree’ life predicted by the "Jetsons" cartoon many moons ago. I mean, we have technologies that are efficient and save time, but look how fast we have filled that time with other things! I don't know about you all, but I still have endless dishes, laundry, housecleaning, and bills to pay (like the story of Sysyphus in Greek mythology: rolling his rock up the hill only to let it fall so he could roll it up the hill again.. and again.. forever - you know what I mean, there you are, folding the dish towel after the last plate is put up in the cupboard, and you turn around to find someone sneaking a bowl and spoon into the sink that was spotless just moments before!). So much for frivolous days on a Caribbean beach, sipping some fruity beverage with an umbrella in it, sand and waves tickling my feet, gentle breeze in my hair, dolphins calling me to come play in the water, watching the sunset with the man of my dreams…
*snaps out of daydream*
Oh! What does this have to do with Potiphar's wife? I'm getting to it…
Okay, maybe the things daydreams are made of are not necessarily all that great in real life (after all, the fantasy is perfect, if you don’t like something, erase and re-do, but reality is a live for the moment kind of thing). Consider "Desperate Housewives." From the outside looking in, most of us women would give it all up to live in a big, beautiful house, with one of these dreamy hunks, and have time and money to do our hearts desires…or would we?
Recently I was pondering Potiphar's wife, (she doesn't even get a name, how sad is that?) and it occurred to me: the "Desperate Housewives" character of Gabrielle is a modern day Potiphar's wife. (At least Gabrielle gets a cool name).
Gabrielle (season 1) is a beautiful woman with a beautiful husband, a wow house, a wow sports car, membership at the country club, credit cards with six figure limits, designer clothes, etc., She was once a model, but her husband would not have his wife working, so Gabby spends her time at the beauty salon (manicures, pedicures, facials, body wraps, new hairdos…), dining at the country club, or shopping for things she already has plenty of. . .
And Gabrielle is bored out of her mind!
Playing poker with her equally "desperate" friends, gossiping about anything and everything everyone else is doing is like the highlight of her week! Nothing satisfies this craving inside which she thinks is to be the center of some man's universe. Despite that things seem pretty steamy with her husband, Carlos, when he is around, evidently he is not around enough: always off at work, entertaining clients, doing what business men do, because Gabrielle has an appetite for more...
Unlike Sysyphus, Carlos has the money to hire someone to roll his rock up the home-front hill, i.e., lawn work and such. So enter into the picture, the beautiful, young gardener. Oh! He looks yummy! and Gabrielle thinks maybe he will satisfy her appetite for something more. . .
Travel back in time. Potiphar was the captain of the guard for Pharaoh. It must have been a demanding position. He too, had money to buy slaves to do the chores at home while he was off about Pharaoh's business (which was probably a lot). It would not be "proper" for his wife to lift a finger in work of any kind. She probably had slaves at her beck and call to give her manicures and pedicures, facials, fix her hair, and bring her finely scented oils, etc. She might have had a social life with other women of her 'stature' (I'm thinking poker was out though). And Potiphar's wife had this desire she mistook to be the center of some man's universe too. Enter into the picture the new beautiful, young slave to manage the household. Joseph must have seemed yummy to Mrs. Potiphar's appetite for something more. Perhaps she had seduced other slaves before him. (Perhaps they were too afraid to say no – or didn't want to say no). When I was younger, I thought maybe she was some old woman, who might not have been attractive or desirable, but you know what? A woman in such a position was probably a prize – and more likely than not, quite beautiful and desirable. Even tempting. Like Gabrielle. So when Joseph said "no" she must have thought him shy or coy or stupid. And we know the story: she grabbed a piece of his garment and then made a false accusation that landed the handsome and innocent lad in prison. Were it not for the favor he had previously found, I wonder if he might have been executed. (Again, my guess is this was not the Mrs. first side-dish, so maybe Potiphar just "dealt" with "things"). They say there is no fury like that of a scorned woman. Joseph probably would have agreed in his distress in prison for 2+ years. Hopefully it would not have changed his mind in his actions; he seemed to grasp that God was a bigger fury, which was good for him, because God used this man of integrity in a mighty way in His perfect timing. I am also guessing Mrs. Potiphar sought out other delights when her husband was busy with his duties after this incident. (Unless she found the love of God was the love for which she so desperately yearned).
So, we only read a few sentences about her, and think of her as some horrible person who falsely accused our hero in the story and had him thrown in jail, when my guess is, she was a bored and "desperate" housewife, just trying to fill the empty void of her soul with earthly things that never satisfy, and the mess, well… things have changed a lot in a few thousand years, and at the same time, things haven't changed very much at all!
#1 - Potiphar's Wife
Intro
The past couple of years the Lord has taken me on a journey of study into the lives of women in the Bible; to go beyond the words written about them and to contemplate their lives. As I mentioned in another post, when I was reading Ruth, the lightbulb went on in my head about how we read in a few moments what spanned a life time, and with hindsight, when these women lived out their walks day by day, just like you and me.
Last year when I still watched a bit of tv, (something I do not do much of any more) one show I liked (most of the time) was "Desperate Housewives." As I was recently pondering the life of Potiphar's wife, it hit me – she was a "Desperate Housewife"! Following are thoughts on her life from that perspective. It really gave me compassion and humility about ‘judging’ other people’s lives. It also got me to thinking about other "desperate” women from the Bible – don’t you know, there are several! So this will be number one in a series. I hope the crazy viewpoint God has given me will cause you to look with new eyes at some old stories and provoke thoughts that will glorify His Name!
May we ALL be absolutely “desperate” for JESUS!
“Desperate Housewife” #1 – Potiphar’s Wife
Life in the 21st Century: trains, planes, automobiles, space shuttles, space stations, satellites, microwave ovens and super-computers. It seems we are worlds apart from some roughly five thousand years ago when Genesis was written and a horse-drawn chariot was a luxurious ride, though we do not quite have the ‘carefree’ life predicted by the "Jetsons" cartoon many moons ago. I mean, we have technologies that are efficient and save time, but look how fast we have filled that time with other things! I don't know about you all, but I still have endless dishes, laundry, housecleaning, and bills to pay (like the story of Sysyphus in Greek mythology: rolling his rock up the hill only to let it fall so he could roll it up the hill again.. and again.. forever - you know what I mean, there you are, folding the dish towel after the last plate is put up in the cupboard, and you turn around to find someone sneaking a bowl and spoon into the sink that was spotless just moments before!). So much for frivolous days on a Caribbean beach, sipping some fruity beverage with an umbrella in it, sand and waves tickling my feet, gentle breeze in my hair, dolphins calling me to come play in the water, watching the sunset with the man of my dreams…
*snaps out of daydream*
Oh! What does this have to do with Potiphar's wife? I'm getting to it…
Okay, maybe the things daydreams are made of are not necessarily all that great in real life (after all, the fantasy is perfect, if you don’t like something, erase and re-do, but reality is a live for the moment kind of thing). Consider "Desperate Housewives." From the outside looking in, most of us women would give it all up to live in a big, beautiful house, with one of these dreamy hunks, and have time and money to do our hearts desires…or would we?
Recently I was pondering Potiphar's wife, (she doesn't even get a name, how sad is that?) and it occurred to me: the "Desperate Housewives" character of Gabrielle is a modern day Potiphar's wife. (At least Gabrielle gets a cool name).
Gabrielle (season 1) is a beautiful woman with a beautiful husband, a wow house, a wow sports car, membership at the country club, credit cards with six figure limits, designer clothes, etc., She was once a model, but her husband would not have his wife working, so Gabby spends her time at the beauty salon (manicures, pedicures, facials, body wraps, new hairdos…), dining at the country club, or shopping for things she already has plenty of. . .
And Gabrielle is bored out of her mind!
Playing poker with her equally "desperate" friends, gossiping about anything and everything everyone else is doing is like the highlight of her week! Nothing satisfies this craving inside which she thinks is to be the center of some man's universe. Despite that things seem pretty steamy with her husband, Carlos, when he is around, evidently he is not around enough: always off at work, entertaining clients, doing what business men do, because Gabrielle has an appetite for more...
Unlike Sysyphus, Carlos has the money to hire someone to roll his rock up the home-front hill, i.e., lawn work and such. So enter into the picture, the beautiful, young gardener. Oh! He looks yummy! and Gabrielle thinks maybe he will satisfy her appetite for something more. . .
Travel back in time. Potiphar was the captain of the guard for Pharaoh. It must have been a demanding position. He too, had money to buy slaves to do the chores at home while he was off about Pharaoh's business (which was probably a lot). It would not be "proper" for his wife to lift a finger in work of any kind. She probably had slaves at her beck and call to give her manicures and pedicures, facials, fix her hair, and bring her finely scented oils, etc. She might have had a social life with other women of her 'stature' (I'm thinking poker was out though). And Potiphar's wife had this desire she mistook to be the center of some man's universe too. Enter into the picture the new beautiful, young slave to manage the household. Joseph must have seemed yummy to Mrs. Potiphar's appetite for something more. Perhaps she had seduced other slaves before him. (Perhaps they were too afraid to say no – or didn't want to say no). When I was younger, I thought maybe she was some old woman, who might not have been attractive or desirable, but you know what? A woman in such a position was probably a prize – and more likely than not, quite beautiful and desirable. Even tempting. Like Gabrielle. So when Joseph said "no" she must have thought him shy or coy or stupid. And we know the story: she grabbed a piece of his garment and then made a false accusation that landed the handsome and innocent lad in prison. Were it not for the favor he had previously found, I wonder if he might have been executed. (Again, my guess is this was not the Mrs. first side-dish, so maybe Potiphar just "dealt" with "things"). They say there is no fury like that of a scorned woman. Joseph probably would have agreed in his distress in prison for 2+ years. Hopefully it would not have changed his mind in his actions; he seemed to grasp that God was a bigger fury, which was good for him, because God used this man of integrity in a mighty way in His perfect timing. I am also guessing Mrs. Potiphar sought out other delights when her husband was busy with his duties after this incident. (Unless she found the love of God was the love for which she so desperately yearned).
So, we only read a few sentences about her, and think of her as some horrible person who falsely accused our hero in the story and had him thrown in jail, when my guess is, she was a bored and "desperate" housewife, just trying to fill the empty void of her soul with earthly things that never satisfy, and the mess, well… things have changed a lot in a few thousand years, and at the same time, things haven't changed very much at all!
posted by Shirley @ 11:00 AM
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