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Hillbilly
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Date Posted: 18:48:50 06/11/12 Mon
Genesis 44:14-34 And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. 15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? 16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. 17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. 18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. 19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? 20 And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. 21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. 22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die. 23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. 24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. 26 And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us. 27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: 28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since: 29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. 30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life; 31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. 32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever. 33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. 34 For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.
Through the pages of the Bible there are a few great men who exhibit a willingness to suffer for others. The Apostle Paul was one: "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:" (Rom. 9:3) Moses was another: "Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin --; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written." The Apostles sacrificed their personal lives for the sake of Jesus. The prophets of old gave up much of their freedom for the sake of the word of God. This is a great attribute in the eyes of God.
As cream comes to the top of fresh milk Judah comes to the forefront in this exchange. He is definitely the one speaking for all. It was Judah who convinced his father to let Benjamin return with them and it was Judah who told his father he would be surety for him. Reuben had offered his two sons and Jacob had said no. Judah offered himself and Jacob relented. "I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:" (43:9) Judah, the progenitor of David and Jesus offers himself. We see in Judah what God looks for in His servants. A willingness to give self for others.
Judah's willingness to become a slave to this "Egyptian" showed a character that was lacking in the others. This was not a light action on Judah's part. It carried a heavy price as it meant he would never see his family again. It meant giving up his freedom.
This is a great picture of the atonement. Jesus offered himself a ransom. Jesus' ransom carried the price of death while Judah would bear the blame for the rest of his life. Judah was willing to give up his home and family. Jesus gave up His heavenly home with the Father and all the host of heaven.
What God saw in Judah was a picture of His Son's willingness to be that ransom and for it God chose Judah to be the direct ancestor to Jesus. Jesus is called the "Lion of the tribe of Juda" in Revelation 5:5. The prophecy to Judah from Jacob was: Genesis 49:8-10 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. 9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (a name for Jesus) come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. All the Kings of Israel were to come from Judah.
We are shown in Matthew that Jesus came to be a ransom for "many". Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Judah, offering himself for his brother, is a great pointer to what Jesus would become.
In the narrative as it is laid out for us we see the great love that Judah had for his Father. He knew that it would kill his father if he lost Benjamin. The love for his father, his brother and his sense of duty bound Judah to the life of a slave that his brother could go free.
Jesus' great love for His Father in Heaven and the sense of duty toward His fallen creation bound Jesus to the duty to redeem fallen man by His sacrifice. Due to that sacrifice we can go free while He paid the ultimate price. "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." (2Cor. 9:15)
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