While you may be familiar with Joseph's story in the book of Genesis, you may not be entirely familiar with some of the timelines associated with his brothers. There is a fair amount of the "meanwhile, back at the ranch" syndrome going on in the novel we read in the first book of the Bible.
Let's start with what we know. Joseph is the 11th of 12 sons born to Jacob, the patriarch of the Old Testament and father of the 12 tribes of Israel. He is a dreamer and God has revealed grand plans for his future through those dreams. Big brothers do not respond well to these kinds of revelations from little brothers. Joseph's ten older brothers are no exception. In fact, as you may recall, they dump the poor teen into a hole and sell him as a slave to a foreign caravan passing by. Then they dip his coat in goat's blood, tear it up, and tell their father that a wild animal ate him. Nice.
Two of Joseph's brothers stand out in this scenario of brotherly angst: Reuben and Judah. Reuben (the biological firstborn) tries to save him, and Judah (4th in birth order) comes up with the plan to save themselves the trouble of actually killing him and make a little money while they're at it. (I'm picturing the "light bulb moment" now. An ambling line of camels passes by and Judah's eyes light up. "Hey! I have an idea!" he cries.) So Joseph ends up in the service of the head of Egypt's military; Jacob is bereft when he learns of the death of his favorite son. End of chapter.
We follow Joseph's story right along as he is the main character of chapters 37 through the end of Genesis (chapter 50), complete with dreamscapes, famines, scenes of mistaken identity, plots of intrigue, and emotional reconciliation. It really is compelling reading.
In fact, there are some real life or death scenarios and it's Judah who really steps up when the family is in dire straits because of the famine. He goes from being the "evil plan" brother to the "I'll take responsibility" brother. Look at this passage of Judah's passionate pleas to his father and to Joseph (whom he doesn't yet recognize) when lives are on the line.
8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy [Benjamin] along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. 9 I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. 10 As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice." (Genesis 43:8-10)
27 "Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons.28 One of them went away from me, and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces." And I have not seen him since. 29 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.'
30 "So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy's life, 31 sees that the boy isn't there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. 32 Your servant guaranteed the boy's safety to my father. I said, 'If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!'
33 "Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord's slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come upon my father." (Genesis 44:27-34)
Where did this Judah come from? A brother who has overcome resentment of his younger brother and shows compassion for a grieving father? A man who is willing to exchange his own life for the lives of his brothers instead of selling a brother's life? Might I suggest he came from Chapter 38?
In a classic cutaway scene, we find chapter 38. A summary of Judah's life while Joseph is serving the Egyptian aristocracy and sitting in a dank prison cell. Judah marries and has three sons, the oldest of which gets married to a woman named Tamar. After the death of Judah's firstborn son, Tamar is given to his younger brother. When he also dies, Judah tells his daughter-in-law to wait for the youngest son to grow up and then she can marry him. The rest of the story is rather unsavory and not the kind of story we teach in kids' Sunday School classes, but it's an important chapter in Judah's life.
Perhaps a crucial chapter.
Because Chapter 38 is where Judah hits rock bottom. He experiences the death of not one, but two children. He acts in shameful ways. His integrity is cracked. And I would suggest that he came to a point where he recognized in himself a man he never wanted to become. That changes a person.
When we walk through tragedy, when we choose sinful paths that hurt others, and when we assess our lives soberly and don't like what we see, we are changed. That's how it should be. God uses those experiences to develop our character and to instill empathy and compassion for those around us.
Just like He did in Judah.
Judah could concoct a plan to eradicate his little brother's boasting without a trace of guilt because he hadn't suffered the loss of a child yet. How could he understand how consuming the grief of a parent is who has lost a child when he was consumed with his own jealousy and resentment? How could he grasp someone else's pain when he hadn't experienced his own? All that changed in Chapter 38. And it made him the man who inspired Joseph to reveal himself and begin the restoration process between siblings.
God will use any and all circumstances in our lives - good and bad - for His glory and His purposes. Our most shameful seasons as well as our proudest accomplishments. They are threads in His perfect tapestry for His kingdom. And when they drive us deeper into our relationship with Him, we gain insight and perspective from our Creator. That's what the transformation process is all about. We are becoming what we were always meant to be: reflections of Christ in the world.
Exchanging ashes for beauty, as the prophet Isaiah said. Working all things together for the good of those who love God, as Paul wrote to the Romans. Becoming instruments of reconciliation instead of destruction. No experience wasted. No lesson unlearned. Embracing all of my life, including my disasters, my weaknesses, my humiliating experiences, as well as my victories, my blessings, and my gifts to learn and be a holy influence in the lives of those God brings into my life.
To make the most of the Chapter 38s in my life.
• Read Genesis 38. What parts of Judah's story can you relate to? What response does the story elicit in you?
• Where have you seen God change you over the years of your life?
• What painful experiences has God brought you through that you could use to comfort or teach others? Pray about those opportunities.
No comments:
Post a Comment