Genesis 37:26-27
Then Judah said to his brothers, “What
profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell
him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our
brother, our own flesh.”
Judah's two concerns here are that killing
their brother won't really benefit them and that their premeditated murder
would cost them something. His solution? If we sell him, we can now profit to
the tune of 20 pieces of silver. And we can avoid accruing a moral debt of
bloodguilt by letting someone else deal with him. Problem = solved! God used
Judah's bloodless logic to protect Joseph's life and in turn God was going to use these
events to save the lives of these treasonous brothers.
I think this is a great illustration of the difference between worldly guilt and true repentance. Worldly guilt is still so self-centered. Thank God he puts even our broken, self-centered consciences to work for our ultimate good!
ReplyDeleteAll Judah was hoping to get out of the deal was some silver and relief from an annoying brother. What he got was the salvation of his life and a two-thousand-year legacy culminating in the birth of Christ from his lineage. Um. Thank God for, well, God.