The hand of God is seen throughout this week’s Torah Portion in dramatic ways. In the very first verse of this week’s study we read of the dream of Pharaoh: “Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile” (Gen. 41:1). It was as a result of this dream that Joseph was lifted out of the pit of the prison and elevated to the right hand of Pharaoh. All that Joseph spoke to Pharaoh regarding his dreams came true as seven years of plenty were followed by seven years of famine (Gen. 41:25-32).
The Hand of Providence
It was then during the seven years of famine that Jacob sent his ten sons to buy grain in Egypt: “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die” (Gen. 42:2). Joseph’s brothers then went down to Egypt and bowed down before Joseph. Joseph’s dreams were now also being fulfilled as his brothers bowed down to him with their faces to the ground but his brothers didn’t recognize him (Gen. 42:6-9).
Joseph did not reveal his identity to his brothers at this time but rather he treated them as spies. He put them in confinement for three days and then determined that one of them would remain in confinement while the others were to return and bring their youngest brother, Benjamin, back to Egypt to prove that they were telling the truth. Simon was left in prison while the rest of the brothers returned home. After the brothers returned to the land of Canaan, they explained the situation to their father Jacob but he couldn’t bear to hear it. Joseph was gone, Simeon was gone, and now they wanted to take Benjamin! Jacob literally felt like the world was against him (Gen. 42:36).
Reuben’s Proposal
It was at this time that Reuben spoke up. Reuben was the eldest of all the brothers and therefore had a position of authority. Reuben understood how his father was feeling under the circumstances and wanted to put his father at ease, especially regarding the care of his youngest son Benjamin. Reuben made the following proposal to Jacob: “Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, ‘You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you’” (Gen. 42:37). Reuben offered his own two sons in exchange for Benjamin’s safety.
Jacob was losing his sons one by one and Benjamin was now his was beloved son since losing Joseph. Reuben wanted his father to know that he cared enough about Benjamin’s welfare that he was willing to give two of his own son’s lives as surety for Benjamin’s safe return. Jacob’s response to Reuben could not have been any clearer:
But Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should befall him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.” – Genesis 42:38
Reuben asked his father to trust him and told his father that he could kill his own two sons if he does not bring Benjamin back to him. Jacob answered Reuben’s request with an emphatic No! Why was Jacob so quick to reject Reuben’s proposal?
Family Responsibility
As it was in the days of the Bible so it still is in many cultures today, especially in the Middle East; the firstborn son is honored above the other children and bears great responsibility for the family. Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Whenever Jacob was not present, Reuben was next in line to be responsible for the welfare of the family. This is why Reuben was so upset when he learned that his brothers had sold Joseph into slavey. Reuben knew that as the oldest he alone would be held responsible for Joseph’s life (Gen. 37:29-30).
The first reason that Jacob gave to Reuben for not letting Benjamin go with him was because, as Jacob understood it, Joseph was dead. Reuben had failed to protect Joseph therefore, how could Jacob trust him with Benjamin? To make matters worse, Reuben had failed to protect his brother Simon as well. When the brothers returned from Egypt, Simon was held in prison. Under Reuben’s responsibility two sons of Jacob had gone missing and Jacob was not about to trust him with the son of his favorite wife, his youngest son Benjamin.
Reuben’s Character
If these reasons weren’t enough, Rueben had also done something else to cause his father not to trust him; Reuben had slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah (Gen. 35:22). Reuben had violated a sacred trust between himself and his father by this immoral act and no where in the Bible do we read of Reuben ever confessing his sin, admitting his wrong, or making right with his father.
The failures of Reuben were many and he had proven to his father that he could not be trusted. Reuben’s character was marred by a string of irresponsibility, wrong choices, and poor moral judgement. To further illustrate this point, Reuben had no regard for the lives of his own two sons. Rather than giving his own life as surety for Benjamin’s safe return, Reuben offered the sacrifice of his own two sons. Reuben lacked character as a son to Jacob and as a father to his own sons. There was no way that Jacob could trust Reuben.
The Famine & the Family Dilemma
Even though Jacob had good reason to not trust Reuben, the famine was not going away anytime soon. Jacob and his family were running out of food and Jacob knew that the only place to buy food was in Egypt. The only problem was that the brothers knew that they could not return to Egypt without their younger brother Benjamin.
Judah’s Proposal
When Jacob asked his sons to return to Egypt to buy more grain Judah rose up and spoke to his father. Judah explained to his father that the demand of the ruler of Egypt was clear: “You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you” (Gen. 43:3). Judah and Jacob had a heated debate about this subject but Judah would not relent because he knew that it was a waste of time to return to Egypt without Benjamin. Judah then presented his father with the following proposal:
Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever. For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice. (Gen. 43:8-10)
Judah provided an argument that went way beyond simply saying, “trust me.” Reuben spoke of death, whereas Judah spoke of life. Reuben offered his sons, whereas Judah offered himself as surety. The Hebrew word for “surety” is the Hebrew word “ערבון” – “eh’ra’von.” Judah provided a convincing proposal and it seems that Jacob immediately trusted Judah (Gen. 43:11). Why did Jacob trust Judah?
Judah’s Character
When Judah made a proposal to his father regarding entrusting him with the life of Benjamin it wasn’t based on the lives of Judah’s sons but rather on Judah himself. Judah offered his own life in exchange for Benjamin’s surety. Judah knew what it meant to fully lay down his life for someone else and Jacob knew that he could trust Judah’s character.
Judah was certainly not a perfect man, as none of the patriarchs were, however, he had learned through very real life experiences what it meant to give his word and keep it no matter what the cost. These real life experiences involved his own sons and his daughter-in-law, Tamar.
Keeping One’s Word
The story of Judah and Tamar is an almost unbelievable twist of circumstances that are used for divine purposes. Judah’s son, Er, married Tamar but God struck him down because he was wicked in God’s sight. Judah then gave his next son, Onan, to Tamar to raise up seed in his brother’s name, however, Onan acted wickedly in the sight of God and God took him as well. Judah was then afraid to give his third son to Tamar, fearing that he would die as well. Judah sent Tamar home to be a widow in her father’s house (Gen. 38:1-11).
In time, Tamar realized that Judah would not give his younger son to her as a husband so she disguised herself as a prostitute and Judah lay with her. Tamar asked for a pledge that Judah would give her until he would send her a young goat for payment. Judah gave her his seal and cord as a pledge (Gen. 38:12-19). The Hebrew word used here for “pledge” is “ערבון” – “eh’ra’von,” which means a “pledge” or something given as security.
Judah did not know that he had relations with Tamar but just thought that she was a prostitute. He later tried to send a young goat to her but the “prostitute” was not found. Three months later it was reported to Judah that Tamar had played the prostitute and had become pregnant. Judah was very angry at this news and decided that she should be burned to death (Gen. 38:20-24).
The Power of Confession
When they came to take Tamar away to burn her she sent the cord and seal to Judah and told him that she was pregnant by the man who owned them. Judah then responded with the following words: “Judah recognized them, and said, “She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again” (Gen. 38:26). When Judah was confronted with his own cord and seal he came face to face with his own wrong doing by not giving Tamar to his younger son Shelah. Judah admitted his fault, he acknowledged Tamar’s righteousness, and he let her live.
Through this dramatic and humiliating incident with Tamar, Judah learned several lessons. Judah learned what it meant to lose his own two sons. Life was precious to Judah and he wished to preserve the life of his youngest son. Judah also learned what it meant to give his life for someone else. Judah had given Tamar (the prostitute) his cord and seal as a pledge “ערבון” – “eh’ra’von.” When he was confronted with the truth that he was the father of the child he could have tried to cover up the incident and still have her killed but he chose the path of righteousness instead.
Years later when Judah told his father that he was willing to be surety for Benjamin, Judah said that his own life would be the surety, “ערבון” – “eh’ra’von,” for Benjamin. This word for “surety” is the exact same word for “pledge” in the incident with Tamar. Judah knew that offering his own life as surety for Benjamin had a cost. Judah also knew the pain of losing his own two sons. Judah had learned that life was precious and he knew the love of a father for his only son. Judah had also learned to keep his word even to his own personal loss. Judah’s character had been refined and he had proven himself to be a man of his word. Jacob agreed to trust Judah because he knew that he was willing to lay his own life down for the sake of another.
Judah – The Line of the Messiah
Just as we saw the hand of God at the beginning of this week’s study with Joseph and Pharaoh’s dreams, we can also clearly see the hand of God in the life of Judah and why Judah was ultimately chosen to be the son of Jacob to continue the line of the Messiah. Judah experienced circumstances in life which brought him to a point of being willing to give his own life for the sake of another. In like manner, the Messiah would ultimately give his life for the world.
In this week’s corresponding section from the prophets we read the following verses from the prophet Zechariah:
Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD. “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. – Zechariah 2:10-12
In these few verses from the prophet Zechariah we clearly read one of the hundreds of prophecies which speak of the LORD Himself being sent for the sake of His people. The heart of God is to draw near to His people, to dwell with His people, and to possess us as His very own. This is only possible because God sent His Son to dwell in our midst and to give His life for us so that we can share eternity with Him. The One who is all-powerful gave Himself so that we could be with Him.
Regarding Zechariah 2:10-12, praise the Lord for humbling Himself by sending His Son, Yeshua HaMaschiach, the Son of God and Son of Man, that He would graciously become the propitiation through which we may be restored to right relation with Him and tabernacle with Him forever!
Maranatha, even so, come Lord Jesus!
That He may be glory among every tribe, tongue and nation–the Jew first and then the Gentile.
Sal:-)