Self-sacrifice

DEVOTION

GENESIS

SELF-SACRIFICE

Gen 44:11-34

11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. 13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city. 14 Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, "What is this you have done? Don't you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?" 16 "What can we say to my lord?" Judah replied. "What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants' guilt. We are now my lord's slaves — we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup." 17 But Joseph said, "Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace." 18 Then Judah went up to him and said: "Please, my lord, let your servant speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, 'Do you have a father or a brother?' 20 And we answered, 'We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.' 21 "Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.' 22 And we said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.' 23 But you told your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.' 24 When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. 25 "Then our father said, 'Go back and buy a little more food.' 26 But we said, 'We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.' 27 "Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One of them went away from me, and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces." And I have not seen him since. 29 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.' 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."

NIV

There is just no way to divide this up as it is a lot of repeat of what we have already been told. We see again the conversation between Judah and his father. We see again the recounting of the conversation between Joseph and the ten brothers about not seeing him unless Benjamin is with them. This is all in the form of Judah trying his best to get Joseph to release Benjamin because that is the pledge he made to his father. Although we have seen that it is as we say, and that words are important, and that we should let our yes be yes and no be no, we also see here that if we say something, if we  do pledge, or promise, that needs to be fulfilled at all costs. Judah was willing to give his own life as a ransom for Benjamin. Yet this could also be seen as a self-motivated offering. But that is unlikely as it does appear he is genuinely concerned about the well-being of his father. All of them were filled with grief when the cup was found in the sack of Benjamin. They knew their words, and the fact the steward had said to let it be as your say. It was their own words which was bringing this disastrous situation upon them. Yet it still was happening because of the plot of Joseph. What is there for us to learn here that we have not already learned? Words? Promises? Vows? Pledges? Perhaps it is self-sacrifice. That is the reason for the whole of scripture, the self-sacrifice of God for his own creation’s disobedience. God sacrificed his one and only son so that we could be restored into full fellowship with him as he intended it to be with Adam. Here we see Judah willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his father. The fathers love for Benjamin was so great, any harm that would befall Benjamin would destroy the father.  So Judah, another son, gives himself a ransom for many. Do we not see Jesus here? It would also be good for us to see how we should live in regards to those whom we love, giving up ourselves for them. Perhaps it would be said better that we should give our "self" for the sake of those we love. That does bring us to the idea that we should love everyone, not just our immediate family. So then do we need to sacrifice ourselves for all others? That might seem be a bit too much, yet that is the truth. We certainly need to do so for those in our close family. Then move on to all others. For the most part we do much of that, yet are there areas we are unwilling to give ourselves up to? Do we hold back any area of our lives, keeping our own desires paramount? The question is: how much are willing to sacrifice? Is it all or just some? If we say we are a follower of Jesus, he gave it all. Should we do any less? Yes, we could expect that from others, to give all for us, but the point is we need to give all for them, as Jesus did for us. Self-sacrifice is our lesson.