Read Genesis 44 – Changed hearts, changed lives.
Joseph puts his brothers to the test once more. He instructs his house manager to fill each man’s bag with grain, and the money they came with, and place his silver cup in the youngest man’s bag. After they left, the manager was to chase after them with accusations of stealing from Joseph.
Judah offered that the man with the cup would die and the rest of them would be slaves, :9. The manager countered that only the man with the cup would be his slave; the rest were to go free, :10. But when the cup was found in Benjamin’s belongings, all the brothers returned to Joseph.
As the matter was being discussed, God’s Word says, “Then Judah stepped forward,” :18 What a changed life Judah displays. If you recall in Chapter 37, it was Judah who proposed selling Joseph to the slave traders. Then in Chapter 38, Judah was the one who wronged Tamar by banishing her to her father’s house and not arranging that she marry his son, Shelah. And it was Judah who fathered twins through Tamar… but now, Judah is offering his own life in protection of his father and baby brother. Judah explains that his fathers life is bound up in Benjamin, :30, and he does so with love not jealousy. Judah is a changed man.
Beloved, who you were does not determine who you are. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1 With Jesus, you are set free from your old self and given new life. Delight in it and make the very most of it! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Judy in the Sky 