RE: Judah being the broker re: Benjamin with Jacob and Reuben is a fascinating scene. How people cope and attempt to compensate for their feelings of guilt and shame is interesting.
TE: The Legacy of Reuben is riveting. I just finished reading through Deuteronomy and in the final chapters Moses is talking about the 12 tribes of Israel, and the only thing Moses says about Reuben is, “Let Reuben live, and not die, but let his men be few.” [Deuteronomy 33:6]
RE: What do you make of that? …Also, I am fascinated with how Joseph shrewdly negotiates and rules well beyond average human wisdom.
TE: RE: what Moses (and Jacob) says about Reuben: It sounds like a less extreme version of what Peter says about Judas in Acts 1:20. In the story of Reuben I can see things about his character that remind me of the apostle Peter AND the apostle Judas. The key difference is that Peter embraced the gift of repentance unto life. RE: Joseph’s shrewdness… #Joseph (a.k.a. Zaphenath-Paneah) is The Count of Monte Cristo (A.k.a. Edmond Dantés, a.k.a. Abbé Busoni, a.k.a. Lord Wilmore, a.k.a. Sinbad the Sailor).
RE: Repentance unto life is a KEY thing to embrace! …I think Joseph’s brothers were trying to do a lot of penance – like Judas in a lot of ways – to try to shed their shame and guilt.
TE: I completely completely agree! The brothers opt to stay in a guilty mindset throughout the remainder of the storyline of Genesis. Ironically Joseph is the character emphasizing the futility of wallowing in guilt. That said, I am genuinely curious if Judah was perhaps an exception to this. There is nothing in the storyline of Genesis that says he absolutely was. But I think there is evidence that he might’ve been. In other words, I imagine Judah and Joseph having very guilt-free, honest, transparent, and enjoyable conversations around Joseph’s fire pit during their days together in Egypt!
RE: Can you imagine the brothers conversation with Jacob!? “Oh btw, Joseph is actually alive and here’s what really happened… Israel’s heart going numb is quite the description (intense emotions and layers and layers of details in that phrase “his heart went numb“).
TE: It is a jaw-dropping conversation to imagine! And regarding repentance unto life – – – > Peter sums it up well in Acts 3:19-20, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
RE: The times of refreshing are what we humans don’t realize. That’s what comes with repentance and turning. We tend to think it is shame
TE: *This is why the Samaritans in JOHN 4 are such studmuffins! They get it! They embrace the counterintuitive invitation to come and meet a man who will completely expose their wretchedness! AND – Shockingly! – – – > it leads to tremendous times of refreshing! So much refreshment that they actually beg Jesus to STAY with them longer!!!
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