“And Judah said to Israel his father, ‘Send the boy with me and we will arise and go that we may live and not die. Both we and you and also our little ones, 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 43:8–9
And the reason I read Genesis 43:8–9 about Judah speaking to his father, Israel or Jacob saying, “Send the boy with me,” and the boy that is being referenced here is Benjamin. So, to summarize, Joseph had encountered his brothers who did not have Benjamin with them when they originally came to get grain from him in Egypt. And Joseph said, “Go back home, and when you come back bring your other brother,” and he was referring to Benjamin.
The Lord works in even the smallest situations.
And so when they went back, Jacob said, “No, I don’t want to send Benjamin.” And even now in Genesis 43:8–9, he’s resistant to sending Benjamin. But Judah steps up and says, “We don’t have a choice. We must go with him. We told this master,” who they didn’t know was Joseph, “that we would bring Benjamin with us.” And so Judah is the one who steps in and commits to make sure that Benjamin is cared for and brought back to his father.
God Working in the Details
And the reason I point that out is because, in many ways, this is a story about Joseph and Jacob, and even Benjamin in a special way here. But at key points in this story, Judah steps in, and there’s a reason for that. Because when we get to Genesis 49 and Jacob is blessing his sons, he will bless Judah in a special way, in a way that would eventually lead to the line of King David, in a way that would eventually lead to the line of King Jesus. It’s through Judah’s line, not Joseph’s line, but Judah’s line that Jesus would eventually come.
I guess, in reading Genesis 43:8–9, I just want to point out that no detail in these stories is lost. No detail is unimportant, that God is sovereign even in the details. And I just want you to think about that in your life and my life today. Yes, God is working in major ways and in major events and in major things that happen in our lives, in the lives of others around us, and major things that happen in the world.
Genesis 43:8–9 Thanks God for Working in even the Smallest Things
But God is also working in the minute details, the things that you may not notice, the things that others may not ever see, like to realize that God is sovereign over it all, that God is working in it all, even the smallest things. And just think about how that gives meaning to every moment in your life, to realize every moment you experience today, every moment you experienced tomorrow matters, God sees it, that God is working in it, that God is sovereign over it, and God deserves glory through it, through every moment.
So, God, we pray that you would give us this perspective on every detail of our lives, for every minute, every second, every thought, every fleeting desire, every word we speak or write, or type, every text we send, everything we post on social media, every conversation we have, every quiet moment we have, God, you are Lord of it all. You are sovereign over it all. You are working in it all, and you deserve glory through it all.
Genesis 43:8–9 Thanks God for Putting Meaning into Every Moment
So help us to take captive every thought, every moment in this way, to obey you, to honor and glorify you, in every detail in our lives. And God, as different details unfold in our lives, we will trust that in all of it you are doing what we’ve prayed over and over again as we’ve walked through Genesis, that you were working together for our good and you are working for others’ good, and you’re working for the spread of your grace and your Gospel, and you are working for your glory.
God, thank you for the meaning you infuse into every moment. So help us to live with that mentality. We pray, help us not to waste any moment that you entrust to us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
