Sacrifices

 

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. (Genesis 22:8)

 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.” (Genesis 42:37) 

Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die.  I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. (Genesis 43:8-9)

 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”  (John 10:17-18) 

Listening to someone read gives a different experience. You hear things that, if you read them your mind would likely not notice. I’m nearly done with Genesis, and the passages from the forty-second and forty-third chapters caught my attention. The backstory is that some of Israel’s sons sold Joseph into slavery. In Egypt, after many heartaches, he became the second most powerful man in that country. A famine struck and Israel sent his sons to buy grain in Egypt. They didn’t recognize Joseph, but he told them he would not sell anything more to them unless they brought the youngest son, Benjamin, with them. And then he secretly had their money put in their feed bags. Joseph imprisoned one brother. So it looked like they had lost another brother, couldn’t get more food unless they sacrificed another and that they were guilty of theft. What a predicament for them.

Before we finish looking at that story, however, let’s step back to an earlier sacrifice. Abraham took Isaac to Mount Moriah to sacrifice him in obedience to God’s command. When Isaac realizes things aren’t quite right and asks about it, Abraham says that God would provide the lamb. God had provided the lamb when He gave Isaac to Abraham and Sarah, and He provides a ram in the thicket.

Returning to the situation with Joseph and his brothers, the first one to offer a sacrifice is Reuben. He’ll sacrifice his two sons if anything happened to Benjamin. Nice guy. Sort of like Lot offering his daughters to the nasty folks living in Sodom. Israel doesn’t appear to think too highly of the offer, and after a few more minutes of complaining on his part, Judah steps up to the plate. If Benjamin does not return, he (Judah) will accept responsibility. He’ll sacrifice himself. In the course of time, Benjamin is threatened, and Judah does offer to sacrifice himself.

And there is the other sacrifice – when Jesus does what His ancestor (Judah) offered to do, and so much more. I probably should write more about this – but I’m halfway through the first leg of a two-leg trip, and I’m tired.