Now therefore, I pray you, let your servant remain instead of the youth [to be] a slave to my lord, and let the young man go home with his [half] brothers. – Genesis 44:33, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Years before, motivated by jealous rage, all the brothers of Joseph, save Reuben, desired to kill their youngest sibling. Rescued by Reuben’s plea, Joseph was spared from murder, but while Reuben was away, Judah came up with another plan – sell Joseph into slavery and make a little spending money.

After the brothers deceitfully told Israel that Joseph was dead, great pain followed for the family. Jacob’s soul suffering extended to his whole house, and the sorrow was so acute that Judah left the family to escape it. More poor choices followed for Judah, and before long he experienced firsthand the very pain he had inflicted on his father. In just a few short years, not one, but two, of Judah’s sons had died, and his wife had died as well.

Now, twenty-two years* after Judah persuaded His brothers to sell Joseph, Judah stood before the man he sold into slavery out of envy and greed. But this time, his heart wasn’t puffed up. It was breaking. He stood before Joseph facing a life-defining choice: leave Benjamin in Egypt and watch his father die of sorrow, or give up his freedom in order to save both Benjamin and Israel. Judah made his choice swiftly, opting to deny himself so that others might live.

At that moment, Judah no doubt thought that life as he knew it was over. It was, but not in the way he expected. At the moment of truth, when Judah ceased thinking about himself and thought only of the needs of others, Judah didn’t lose his life; Judah found his life. When life became about others instead of self, God surprised Judah by opening the floodgates of His mercy, provision, peace, and joy. Reconciled to his brother and forgiven for his sin, Judah lived a life of peace and plenty – as did all of Israel – until death took him.

It is at the moment we embrace total self-denial for the benefit of others that God shows Himself most powerful in our lives. When we take steps to take care of others, even to our personal detriment, God will supply us with injections of His grace, His mercy, His provision, and His joy, just when we need them. That is what James 4:6 is all about; God gives grace to the humble. Sadly, God often has to resist us in our pride, as He did Judah, until we finally realize that the empty promises of “looking out for self” lead to despair. If we would just give up our right to ourselves willingly, God wouldn’t have to beat it out of us, and we would save ourselves a lot of heartache.

* Genesis 37:2 and Genesis 41:46 make it clear that Joseph was in Egypt 13 years before becoming Pharaoh’s right-hand man. Genesis 41:48 indicates that Joseph oversaw the 7 years of plenty. Genesis 45:11 indicates that they were two years into the famine when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. 13 + 7 + 2 = 22 years.

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