The Tale of Two Accusations

Recently, accusations of sexual assault against U.S. Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh have dominated the news. Judge Kavanaugh adamantly declares his innocence, while his accuser proclaims his guilt. Some say the accusation is false, while others believe the accuser. Since there is nothing new under the sun, it is helpful to turn to Scripture where we find stories of two men who were accused of rape.

In 2 Samuel 13, we read that Amnon lusted after his sister Tamar. His desires consumed him. The wickedness of his desire was so deep that he raped his own sister. His assault left her broken. She lived as a “desolate” woman, grieving, ashamed, unmarried, and childless. Amnon was guilty. He had committed the crime.

In contrast, we read the story of Joseph and wife of Potiphar. Genesis 39 tells us that Joseph worked in the house of Potiphar, the captain of the guard. Potiphar’s wife was quite taken with the handsome Joseph. She asked him continually to join her in her bed, but he refused. One day she took him by his cloak and insisted that he lie with her. He refused and ran out the door, leaving his cloak in her hands. She was so angry with his refusal that she used his cloak as “evidence” in a false allegation that he had attempted to rape her.  Joseph was innocent. He had not committed the crime despite the so-called “evidence.”

Today, we have women like Tamar and women like Potiphar’s wife, both of whom are broken but in different ways. We need to pray for people like Tamar who have been sexually assaulted. We need to pray that God will mend their broken hearts and restore to wholeness what has been crushed in acts of violence. We also need to pray for those like Potiphar’s wife, who have falsely accused men of crimes they did not commit.

And we must pray for men whose lives are destroyed by false accusations.

We need to pray that God will shine His revealing light on the matter before us today and bring forth truth. We need to pray for all the brokenness involved as well as the restoration of any names that have been smeared. No matter which side of the political aisle we stand, we should pray for God to reveal the truth.