Genesis 37: 23-28: “And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.”
This passage begins the story of Judah, his corruption and then his rehabilitation. Judah, which means “praise” is an interesting man. He was born into a time of great strife in Jacob’s family. He was the unloved Leah’s fourth child while the loved Rachel was childless. Reuben means “the Lord has looked on my affliction” showing conflict; Simeon means “the Lord has heard” also showing evidence of struggle and conflict. Levi means “attached” Leah longed to have a connection with her husband and believed that this third son would allow this attachment to develop. However, Judah means “praise” for when Judah was born Rebekah gave up the struggle for a time and praised the Lord that she had another son. However, in this episode we find that Judah, the fourth born son followed in the footsteps of his older brothers. Reuben destroyed his birthright, Simeon and Levi proved to be murderous and treacherous and now Judah loved money enough to sell his brother. However, as the story progresses, Judah, like his older brothers, shows more noble characteristics. It is interesting that many people today say that they don’t want to be Christians because they don’t like the way Christians behave but we don’t have to worry about Christians; the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Person who matters and He will rehabilitate any sinner who is willing to believe in Him.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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