Overview of: GenesisToday's Reading:
Gen. 44:1 – 45:28
"Joseph Tests His Brothers"
Focus Verses: Genesis 44:30-34
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."
Insight:
It was Judah's idea to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites (Gen. 37). Joseph must have been amazed at the change he now saw in his brother Judah as he pleaded for Benjamin's release and offered to stay as a slave in his place.
As a young man, Judah had been reckless and uncaring in his treatment of Joseph. Now, as an older man, Judah displayed maturity, selflessness, and true concern for someone else. He had pledged to keep Benjamin safe and he was standing by that commitment.
Response and Action:
I want to mature and change. I want to put the foolish and impulsive mistakes of my youth behind me. I want to grow in character and become a generous, caring person who is genuinely concerned with the wellbeing of others.
O God, by the power and grace of your Holy Spirit help me to grow in character and walk with integrity. Lead, teach, transform, shape and strengthen me that I might delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
New Testament for Today: 1 John 3:16
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
In Context: 1 John 3:11-24
Proverb for Today: Prov. 13:14
"The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death."
Resources:
The Transformation of a Man's Heart
by Stephen W. Smith
