Genesis 44:18-34
Relax, Read and Reflect
Prayer-Lord, Open my heart and open my mind and help me learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
18-20 Judah came forward. He said, "Please, master; can I say just one thing to you? Don't get angry. Don't think I'm presumptuous—you're the same as Pharaoh as far as I'm concerned. You, master, asked us, 'Do you have a father and a brother?' And we answered honestly, 'We have a father who is old and a younger brother who was born to him in his old age. His brother is dead and he is the only son left from that mother. And his father loves him more than anything.'
21-22 "Then you told us, 'Bring him down here so I can see him.' We told you, master, that it was impossible: 'The boy can't leave his father; if he leaves, his father will die.'
23 "And then you said, 'If your youngest brother doesn't come with you, you won't be allowed to see me.'
24-26 "When we returned to our father, we told him everything you said to us. So when our father said, 'Go back and buy some more food,' we told him flatly, 'We can't. The only way we can go back is if our youngest brother is with us. We aren't allowed to even see the man if our youngest brother doesn't come with us.'
27-29 "Your servant, my father, told us, 'You know very well that my wife gave me two sons. One turned up missing. I concluded that he'd been ripped to pieces. I've never seen him since. If you now go and take this one and something bad happens to him, you'll put my old gray, grieving head in the grave for sure.'
30-32 "And now, can't you see that if I show up before your servant, my father, without the boy, this son with whom his life is so bound up, the moment he realizes the boy is gone, he'll die on the spot. He'll die of grief and we, your servants who are standing here before you, will have killed him. And that's not all. I got my father to release the boy to show him to you by promising, 'If I don't bring him back, I'll stand condemned before you, Father, all my life.'
33-34 "So let me stay here as your slave, not this boy. Let the boy go back with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? Oh, don't make me go back and watch my father die in grief!"
Were these the same brothers that wanted to kill their brother, but instead decided to sell him into slavery? Why the change? Particularly Judah. He had gone along with the plot and then lied to his father to protect his and his remaining brothers hides. Now he felt the need to speak out to try and protect his little brother Benjamin. Just doing this to an important man like Joseph could have caused Judah to be killed him self. He courageously offered to take Benjamin’s punishment so that his little brother could go home to their father.
Joseph had tested his brothers to see if they had changed, it appeared they had. There are times that we must stand up for what is right, Judah must have felt this was one of those times. He showed love and courage, and that would be rewarded. Remember, David, and then Christ, came from the line of Judah-not Joseph.
Prayer- Lord, Give us the strength to stand up for what is right, and the wisdom to know what that is. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Prayer-Lord, Open my heart and open my mind and help me learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
18-20 Judah came forward. He said, "Please, master; can I say just one thing to you? Don't get angry. Don't think I'm presumptuous—you're the same as Pharaoh as far as I'm concerned. You, master, asked us, 'Do you have a father and a brother?' And we answered honestly, 'We have a father who is old and a younger brother who was born to him in his old age. His brother is dead and he is the only son left from that mother. And his father loves him more than anything.'
21-22 "Then you told us, 'Bring him down here so I can see him.' We told you, master, that it was impossible: 'The boy can't leave his father; if he leaves, his father will die.'
23 "And then you said, 'If your youngest brother doesn't come with you, you won't be allowed to see me.'
24-26 "When we returned to our father, we told him everything you said to us. So when our father said, 'Go back and buy some more food,' we told him flatly, 'We can't. The only way we can go back is if our youngest brother is with us. We aren't allowed to even see the man if our youngest brother doesn't come with us.'
27-29 "Your servant, my father, told us, 'You know very well that my wife gave me two sons. One turned up missing. I concluded that he'd been ripped to pieces. I've never seen him since. If you now go and take this one and something bad happens to him, you'll put my old gray, grieving head in the grave for sure.'
30-32 "And now, can't you see that if I show up before your servant, my father, without the boy, this son with whom his life is so bound up, the moment he realizes the boy is gone, he'll die on the spot. He'll die of grief and we, your servants who are standing here before you, will have killed him. And that's not all. I got my father to release the boy to show him to you by promising, 'If I don't bring him back, I'll stand condemned before you, Father, all my life.'
33-34 "So let me stay here as your slave, not this boy. Let the boy go back with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? Oh, don't make me go back and watch my father die in grief!"
Were these the same brothers that wanted to kill their brother, but instead decided to sell him into slavery? Why the change? Particularly Judah. He had gone along with the plot and then lied to his father to protect his and his remaining brothers hides. Now he felt the need to speak out to try and protect his little brother Benjamin. Just doing this to an important man like Joseph could have caused Judah to be killed him self. He courageously offered to take Benjamin’s punishment so that his little brother could go home to their father.
Joseph had tested his brothers to see if they had changed, it appeared they had. There are times that we must stand up for what is right, Judah must have felt this was one of those times. He showed love and courage, and that would be rewarded. Remember, David, and then Christ, came from the line of Judah-not Joseph.
Prayer- Lord, Give us the strength to stand up for what is right, and the wisdom to know what that is. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
posted by Steve Killam TMTL | 5:55 AM
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