"Slandered"

"It came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused... she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her... She caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, that she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in a Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice" (Genesis 39:7-8; 12-14).

False accusation is a keenly painful thing, and in Joseph's case led to the immediate loss of great power and position, as well as imprisonment.

Years ago, I attended a traffic school because of a minor violation. The officer who conducted the class opened his comments by acknowledging that he was aware that some people in the class might be innocent of the infractions that led to their receiving a ticket. "For those of you who are not guilty of the violation for which you were cited, I am sorry." He paused for a moment, and then said, "However, remember those times you didn't stop at a red-light, or you sped, or you broke the traffic laws in some manner without being caught and cited. The officer smiled and concluded, "This one's for all those times!"

Only one person has lived an entire lifetime with no infractions against the law of God. Only one has therefore been falsely accused in the absolute sense.


"Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously" (I Peter 2:22-23).

No one has ever known the pain of slander as did the Lord Jesus Christ. He experienced accusation in the context of sinless perfection. We experience it in light of the truth that while we may be innocent in the specifics of whatever wrong is leveled against us, we have often been worthy of condemnation that was not received. This does not justify slander, of course, but it does mean that false accusation must be handled in the same manner as did our Lord. We must commit ourselves to Him that judges righteously, and who will plead our cause perfectly as we trust and submit to Him.

Our Heavenly Father may allow us to feel the actual dark fruits of slander, as did Joseph, and as did the Lord Jesus. This will not be easy, and again, will be keenly painful. However, let us remember the exaltation of both Joseph and our Savior. One became ruler, under Pharaoh, of all Egypt. The other became the Lord, under God the Father, of the entire universe. "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 14:11). In His perfect time and way, God will raise us up from the dark places to which false accusation brings us, and we shall rejoice that He allowed us to know at least a small portion of "the fellowship of Christ's suffering" (Philippians 3:10). It is an honored thing to walk in such holy footsteps, and bitter tears of shame and bewilderment will be replaced by joyful tears of exultation when some day we fully realize that the blessing of God is presently known in both affirmation and accusation...


"It is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake."
(Philippians 1:28-29)

"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
(Matthew 5:11-12)