“I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.” Genesis 43:9
“For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.'” Genesis 44:32
As a writer and a reader these two passages speak such tremendous volumes it’s not even funny! As I writer I see character arc or a change of heart. As a reader I see an older brother that has spent years regretting the things he did to Joseph and isn’t about to make the same mistake twice. As a daughter of God Almighty I see a God who lost the first Adam and isn’t about to let anyone else slip through His fingers again.
In Judah’s act of brotherly loyalty I see Jesus stepping up to the throne of God and saying to our Father, “I will be a pledge of their safety. From MY hand you shall require them.” And He did. It cost Jesus both His hands and both His feet and a stab in the gut. He paid our price of admission into the throne room of God. Who are we not to appreciate that sacrifice by USING that ticket and entering routinely into the presence of Love itself. Through the Grace of the cross our Father’s head has been lifted from sorrow and wrath to Love and acceptance and JOY UNENDING because His children can come back home now. Hallelujah my friend, your price of admission has been paid. So let’s enter into His courts with thanksgiving today! Let’s praise Him with everything we have inside us and allow Him to come and fill in the gaping holes the world has created within us. He is our strength and our solace. In Jesus name, we will never be the same.
Tamar Knochel 