Friday Follow-up Versus
Genesis 44:18-34
18 Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me 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 on my father.”
Pondering Point
Picking up on Monday's devotion, we see Judah willing to give up his life for the sake of another.
This act, one of selfless sacrifice, is what moves Joseph to end the ruse and reveal himself to his brothers.
Joseph is often commended for his willingness to forgive his brothers, but it is Judah who mirrors a Jesus-like attitude of sacrifice. This is the same Judah, forefather to the Messiah, from whose line Jesus (the Lion of Judah) arises.
In Jesus, his descendant, we see the ultimate sacrifice to enable His brothers and sisters to return home to their Father -- their heavenly Father.
Prayer
Thank you my brother Jesus for loving us as brothers and sisters and for putting your life on the line for ours. I look forward to sharing a home with You and my heavenly Father. Amen.
Micro-Group Moment:
Considering the life of St. Paul as a case for participating in Micro-Groups
Acts 13:1-5
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit
said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work to
which I have called them.”
So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
~ Luke
The Apostle Paul's spiritual life has some unique aspects to it. His coming to know Jesus as Lord did not come through the ministry of the Twelve or subsequent disciples. It happened through a direct conversation with Jesus. More intriguing is that this conversation occurred AFTER Jesus went back to heaven (read about it in Acts 9).
Paul’s life offers a different perspective on MGs (Micro-Groups) and Christian faith. The Holy Spirit initiates this MG for Paul. Although brought up in a Jewish home built around God, Paul’s rejection and persecution of Jesus put him at odds with Jesus and God the Father (and, in his admission, outside of the church of God, See Galatians 1:13-17).
Nor did he have the benefit of a God-centered marriage, since he remained single through life. But God got His man – and used non-family members to further his life of grace, faith and service.
Paul’s life story highlights the need to have people in our corner spiritually in the face of life’s battles, especially spiritual battles. We need people who will go to bat for us like Barnabas (Acts 90:26-27), people who will defend us like Peter (2 Peter 3:15-16), people like James, the brother of Jesus and the Apostle John who offer the hand of fellowship when others seek to discredit us (Galatians 2:9).
Prayer
Father God, continue to bring people into my life who have my back spiritually and who will stand with me in times of trouble. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.