“Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood, come let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and let not our hand be upon him for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers listened to him.”
– Genesis 37:26–27
So Genesis 37:26–27 come in the middle of the story about how Joseph is, well at this point, being threatened with his life by his brothers. Most of them want to kill him and leave him there. But Judah is the one who speaks up. And it’s interesting because at all kinds of different points throughout Joseph’s story from Genesis 37 to 50, Judah plays a key role at different parts. Now, it’s not that Judah’s idea was great here. I mean, yes, he kept his brother from dying, but he was proposing selling his brother into slavery. That’s obviously sin. It’s wrong. It was evil. So that that’s a given.
Always see the Bible in the context of a bigger story of redemption in Jesus Christ. The story of your life is intended to point people to the story of God’s love in Jesus.
But it’s interesting, how in the details of Joseph’s story, we see Judah actually playing a key part in Joseph staying alive and the ultimate resolution of Joseph’s story in Genesis 50, which we won’t dive into now, but it’s important for us to realize at this point that the details of this story are not accidental.
Like nothing in the Bible is accidental because as we continue to read through the story of Joseph, when we get to the blessing of Jacob’s sons, it’s Judah who is going to receive a promise through Jacob from God that through his line will come a king. It’s the promise that ultimately leads to King David and ultimately leads in the New Testament to King Jesus who is from the line of Judah. He has called the lion of Judah based on promises we’re going to see later in the book of Genesis.
Genesis 37:26–27 Wants Us To See The Bible As A Bigger Story
And so this is where it’s helpful as we read through the Bible and we just pay attention to details and realize, wait, none of this is accidental. All of this is pointing to a bigger story. So every story in scripture is ultimately pointing to a bigger story, the story of how God, in His mercy, sends his son Jesus through the kingly line of David to bring salvation to you and me.
So always see the Bible in the context of that bigger story and for that matter, always see your life in the context of that bigger story. It is hugely important to realize as you read through the Bible, that these stories are all about ultimately one story. And your story is ultimately about one story. The story of your life is intended to point people to the story of God’s love in Jesus. The story of your life today is intended to point people to God’s love in Jesus.
This Verse Praises God For His Story Of Redemption
And so I want to encourage you today to view your life that way and let’s pray accordingly. Realizing every single detail and our life ultimately is intended to point, to tie to, exalt the love of God in Christ. So let’s pray accordingly. God, we praise you for your sovereignty over all of history, for your working through every detail to weave a story of redemption to weave a way for us to be saved from our sins and reconciled to you through Jesus.
Jesus, we praise you. You are the center of history. Everything in history revolves around you and everything in our lives revolves around you. So may it be so today. Be the center of our lives. Be the center of our thoughts and our affections in everything we do as we go to work, as we spend time with family, as we are alone with our thoughts, as we make decisions.
Genesis 37:26–27 Uses Our Lives To Point Others Towards God
God in everything we do is we think about our finances. Just in everything. Be the center. Drive us, help us today to point people to you with our lives. Use us to speak about the Gospel, to speak about your love, oh God in Christ. Oh, God. May our lives today ultimately point to the story of Jesus, ultimately revolve around the story of Jesus and when it is all said and done, we breathe our last breath, may our time on earth have pointed ultimately to Jesus in the way we lived and the way we loved and the way we led our families, the way we worked and the way we loved your church. God in every way use our lives. We pray today and each day to point to the supremacy of Jesus and your love in Christ. In his 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.
