“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. 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 on my father.”
New International Version (NIV)
Have you changed? In what ways? Looking at pictures from twenty years ago we may quickly discern changes in appearance (though pointing them out is not recommended). Changes in character are more difficult to appraise.
After Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, God placed them in the palm of his hand. He had the power of life and death over them as they had once had over him. On their first trip to Egypt, he kept their brother Simeon. Upon their return, his final test of his brothers sought to discern whether they would let their youngest brother be sold into slavery as they allowed Joseph to be sold.
Judah, who has not been an especially sympathetic figure to this point, shines brightly in this moment. He offers to take his brother Benjamin’s place. Judah cares more about Benjamin and his father than he cares for himself. In this way, Judah gives us a glimpse of his future offspring Jesus. Jesus yielded his own life so that we might be restored to our heavenly Father.
We do not have to stay the same. By God’s grace we are being transformed into Christ’s likeness. Those who know us now should readily see that we are not the same people we once were. As one of God’s servants put it: I am not yet who I ought to be, but thank God I am not who I used to be. Is that true of us?
Pray with me:
Father, today, from the start, give us the mind of Christ. Let his thoughts be our thoughts, his words be our words, his actions our actions. May others see Jesus in us we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
This year our Every Day with Jesus readings will follow The Bible Project Read Scripture Plan. Copies of this reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download the app at readscripture.org. Read through the Bible with us in 2019!
Joyfully,
Duane
Copyright 2019. All Rights Reserved.
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