May the mumbling commence!
Do you have the guts to step forward when the time calls for it? It is the selfless act that Judah did for his half-brother Benjamin. That act was richly rewarded (King David and Jesus come from his line). Read from Genesis chapter forty-four:
Then Judah stepped forward and said, "My lord, let me say just this one word to you. Be patient with me for a moment, for I know you could have me killed in an instant, as though you were Pharaoh himself.
You asked us, my lord, if we had a father or a brother. We said, 'Yes, we have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, his youngest son. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him very much.' And you said to us, 'Bring him here so I can see him.' But we said to you, 'My lord, the boy cannot leave his father, for his father would die.' But you told us, 'You may not see me again unless your youngest brother is with you.' So we returned to our father and told him what you had said. And when he said, 'Go back again and buy us a little food,' we replied, 'We can't unless you let our youngest brother go with us. We won't be allowed to see the man in charge of the grain unless our youngest brother is with us.' Then my father said to us, 'You know that my wife had two sons, and that one of them went away and never returned – doubtless torn to pieces by some wild animal. I have never seen him since. If you take away his brother from me, too, and any harm comes to him, you would bring my gray head down to the grave in deep sorrow.'
And now, my lord, I cannot go back to my father without the boy. Our father's life is bound up in the boy's life. When he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We will be responsible for bringing his gray head down to the grave in sorrow. My lord, I made a pledge to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, 'If I don't bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.' Please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I cannot bear to see what this would do to him." (Verses 18-34)
Indeed, Judah steps forward and proves his worth… a second time – for he guaranteed his father that Benjamin would return safely. Judah made good on his pledge to his father at all costs… even imprisonment or slavery. He passed the test that Joseph was giving him with flying colors. And the Lord blessed him and his descendants…
Speaking of blessing, the one who blesses the other is the greater of the two. With that in mind, not only was Joseph second in command in Egypt… but his father Jacob / Israel was first. Jacob blesses Pharaoh… two times. Read from Genesis chapter forty-seven:
Then Joseph brought his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
"How old are you?" Pharaoh asked him.
Jacob replied, "I have lived for 130 hard years, but I am still not nearly as old as many of my ancestors." Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before he left. (Verses 7-10)
Our Lord is mightier than anyone. God can make anyone king that He pleases.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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