Genesis 44
Today’s chapter can be viewed as a strange juxtaposition of chapter 37.
Do you still remember what happened in that chapter? Does Joseph being sold ring any bells? Well, this time, we once again see how the sons of Jacob treat their youngest but what a vast difference (approximately) twenty years make!
If we remember what we read in chapter 37, we would know that in that chapter, they cold-heartedly planned to kill Joseph and in the end sold him as a slave to Egypt despite his pleas. Yet, we see in today’s chapter (as well as the previous few chapters) that these brothers truly have changed in the period they were apart from Joseph so much so that they all turned back and were not willing to abandon their youngest even though he seemed to have done something to deserve it.
What can we learn from this incident?
Bible Passage: Genesis 44
People can change; for better or for worse
Well-known science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov, is the one many quote today when talking about the fast-paced society we live in today for he was the one who said ‘the only constant is change’. Granted he was talking about the world in general but undeniably, man is also something that changes constantly.
The underlying implication to this seemingly straightforward fact is something for us to ponder however.
If people can change, that means that we must not be too quick to come to any conclusion about anyone. More importantly, it means we should not be giving up on people too quickly and labelling them as ‘beyond help’. If the brothers of Joseph who had once wanted to kill him could change so much, let’s consider and think if the people we are trying to help are really so beyond hope.
It also tells us that we too are constantly changing. In fact, we should be changing for the Bible also tells us that we should be renewed day by day. But we must always ask ourselves, are we changing for the better or for the worse? Let us always be conscious of the changes we are going through and let these changes be guided by God.
Changing for the better requires conscious effort
Even as we acknowledge that people can and do change, it is also a sad fact that more often than not, people change for the worse rather than for the better. This is not surprising for changing for the worse is easy, sometimes even enjoyable, while changing for the better can be near impossible. To quote what one sister said at a Bible study recently – 江山易改，本性难移 (the leopard cannot change its spots).
So it is often that we hear people say things like ‘I can’t help it, I’m just so weak.’
However, bear in mind that the spirit of God who can turn the wilderness into a forest, the Word of God that can turn dry bones into an exceedingly great army and He who can replace a heart of stone with a heart of flesh can also change us.
Joseph’s brothers too must have seen the error of their ways and changed through conscious effort.
Question is, do we wallow in our weaknesses and misery or do we make the effort to identify our problems and ask God to help us change?
Change is shown through actions
This leads to the important point that a change for the better is seen through actions; it is something observable. We cannot just wait for this change to come upon us; we have to make it happen.
We see how the actions of Joseph’s brothers showed their change as well as a desire to behave differently from before. Although they did acknowledge that Jacob loved Benjamin more, they no longer hated him because of it but instead protected him fiercely. This would not have happened overnight but must have been achieved through some struggles.
When we say that we want to change, we have to do things that help us to change for the better and not repeat what we have been doing then wailing that ‘I’m still feeling so down!’ or ‘why am I still like that?’
The power of God can change anyone but only if one uses it to do so.
Do you want this change?
3 Comments
appleofHiseye
Looking back, as a little child, I remember I used to be a violent and agressive. I would beat up my brothers or yell at them, and we would constantly fight, unlike Joseph. I would constantly put myself down because I wasn’t like everyone else, but Joseph accepted the things done to him. A disobedient little lazy child I was but I wanted to be someone, someone for the worse, a child of the world but Joseph put his trust in God, and he was a child of God.
Change is almost impossible with man, but nothing is impossible with God. Thanks to aquillofGod’s sharing, today’s passage about Joseph and his brothers has been most enlightening. If it wasn’t for His precious Holy Spirit, I wouldn’t change for the better. No matter how weak I am, relying on His Spirit gives me the strength that I never had. His Spirit helps me change, if I am willing to submit, if I heed His voice through knowing His words.
Nobody is beyond help if they are willing to change for the better. If only we identify our weakness, pray to God to help us and consciously be aware of it every moment, praying in our hearts. And every time we conquer it, we gain victory, we can rejoice with God that we are not slaves to sin or desire, to weakness or bad habits. Then we will realise that God’s way are higher than ours, and He is a merciful God and He loved us first, and Joseph knew that. Joseph is a good brother, someone who relies on God and constantly consciously changes to be who he is and do what he does. He knows his purpose in God’s plan and he loves his brothers.
PS
Judah suggested selling Joseph to the Midianites in Gen 37:25.
In Gen 38 Judah departed from his brothers and learnt a lesson of righteousness from his daughter-in-law.
Gen 42:37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”
(Don’t understand why Reuben could think that Israel would be appeased by killing his own grandsons.)
Gen 43:8-9 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame forever.”
(Who said the words recorded in Gen 44:9?)
Gen 44:14 So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house… Judah, not Reuben, led the way. It was also Judah who pleaded with Joseph to let him replace Benjamin in Gen 44:18-34.
May be through all the hardships and heartbreaks (guilt too) in his life, Judah learnt that as an elder brother, he was to watch out for and protect his families, even with his life.
It seemed that Judah had changed for the better most. His actions spoke for him.
David and Lord Jesus came from the lineage of Judah right? May be bec he was the most teachable.
belovedofthelord
When Obama was campaigning, his catchphrase was “Yes, We Can”. And people loved him for that, for the expected change in policy-making, the promise of a new way of seeing the future of America.
When he was inaugurated as the 44th president of the USA, the popular catchphrase that went around was “Change Has Come”.
And a year on, one might say that he is doing well as the new president.
While we may not become presidents, the status promised to us by God is of a far superior grade. We are the children of God. To be sure about it, “Change Has Come” happened to us at the time of Baptism. And today, by the grace of God, He gives us strength and His Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is through Him that we say “Yes We Can”.
There are times when we falter in our Christian walk. And it is such occasions that test our faith. Perhaps these are the moments that we ought to raise our heads to God, in prayer and in repentance.
Just like Joseph’s brothers, the acknowledgement of our mistakes, along with a willingness to rely on God, will be strong push factors that propel us to changing our lives anew.