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18 Then Judah came near to him and said: “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh. 19 My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father or a brother?' 20 And we said to my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.' 21 Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.' 22 And we said to my lord, 'The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.' 23 But you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.'" ~ Genesis 44:18-23
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 44 where Jacob's eleven sons are found miraculously standing before their brother Joseph in his house in Egypt. They stood before their brother Joseph whom several of them had sold him into slavery some 22 years earlier. Although Joseph had long ago forgiven his brothers, he was determined to see them right with the Lord and subsequently right with him. To accomplish the task, Joseph had set up his youngest brother Benjamin by having his steward make it appear that he had stolen his silver cup.
In v.18 of today's passage we read, "Then Judah came near to him and said: “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh."
Twenty-two years earlier, Judah had participated in selling Joseph to the Ishmaelite traders from Midian. He, along with the brothers, were being convinced that they had to reap the consequences of what they did so long before. Judah, as the spokesman for all of the brothers, now had the chance to make things right, even if it cost him his own freedom. Judah spoke passionately and eloquently on the behalf of his half brother Benjamin to Joseph.
Scholars have referred to Judah's words here as "one of the masterpieces of Hebrew composition." The short, broken sentences reveal the overwhelming force of Judah’s emotions. He was a broken man as he choked through the words that he carefully chose that day in Joseph's home. Every word found its way to the heart of Joseph as Benjamin stood by speechless like a victim who was about to be sacrificed on the altar.
Judah noted that Joseph was "even like Pharaoh." Pharaoh means "Great House" and that title is a picture of the rule and authority of God from heaven. In Judah's words we are reminded that Joseph was "equal in authority" to Pharaoh. This passage was given by God in His word to reveal to us that our sinful state will never allow us to endure in His presence. This is why we all need a Savior. This is why we all must grapple with the question, "What will do away with our sin?" And, there is only one who qualifies as our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the God-Man, He is one hundred percent God and one hundred percent Man. As the God-Man He overcame sin and death because death could not defeat Him.
In v.19-20 of today's passage we read, "19 My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father or a brother?' 20 And we said to my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.'"
Judah recounted the story of the brothers. His words were a repetition of what had already taken place. Judah recounted these events to Joseph, hoping to provide a proper defense for he and all of his brothers. Jacob had twelve sons from four women. Judah was one of those twelve sons. But in Jacob’s eyes, only one woman ever really mattered and her sons mattered most to Him. Those two sons were Joseph and Benjamin, both born of Rachel. Judah had come to the place of accepting his father’s wrongdoing towards his brothers who were born to Leah. Judah had found acceptance with the pain caused in his life by his dad. It was out of that radical acceptance that he could make his dramatic offer to Joseph on the behalf of his half brother.
It is clear in the Bible that one day soon Israel will stand up for and defend the Servant who once suffered for the forgiveness of mankind's sin. Israel will experience a change of heart which seems impossible in our world today. But first Israel will have to be brought to the place of repentance as Joseph's brothers were here. It will be during the time of the Tribulation or the time of Jacob's Trouble according to Jeremiah 30:7 that one-third of Israel will go from the posture of Jacob to the posture of Israel, from the place of the unbeliever to the place of the believer in the God of the Bible.
In v.21-22 of today's passage we read, "21 Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.' 22 And we said to my lord, 'The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.'"
As is always the case in all of the Bible, everything points us to the Lord Jesus Christ and His relationship with sinful man, especially the people of Israel. In fact, we are told in the book of the Revelation that at the end of the Tribulation one third of the people of Israel will recognize the Lord Jesus for who He is and they will enter into a personal relationship with Him. This will happen at His Second Coming when His feet will come down upon the Mount of Olives. At that time according to the Old Testament prophet Zachariah "They will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."
In v.23 of today's passage we read, "But you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.'"
It was Joseph’s plan to test his brothers through Benjamin just as God will test Israel through the Tribulation period. Without Benjamin, Judah would have been the servant of Egypt. Similarly, without the Lord Jesus we would be the servants of Satan without even knowing it. In fact, we were the servants of Satan before we were born again and it was then that we became the servants of God after we owned up to our sinfulness and cried out to God for forgiveness.
All of this underscores 2 Corinthians 4:6 which reads, "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Benjamin was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the only One who makes it possible for us to see the face of God. Only if we believe that through His death we are forgiven of our sin and granted the status of a child of God.
