Genesis 43:6-10: a reflection

6Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly, telling the man that you had another brother?” 7They said, “The man asked directly concerning ourselves, and concerning our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ We just answered his questions. Is there any way we could know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8Judah said to Israel, his father, “Send the boy with me, and we’ll get up and go, so that we may live, and not die, both we, and you, and also our little ones. 9I’ll be collateral for him. From my hand will you require him. If I don’t bring him to you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever; 10for if we hadn’t delayed, surely we would have returned a second time by now.”

Famine presses the family of Jacob, and they must return to Egypt for food, but the ruler there has demanded that they bring their youngest brother, Benjamin. Jacob is anguished; he has already lost Joseph, and he cannot bear to risk Benjamin. Into this deadlock steps Judah with an offer. Send the boy with me, he says; I will be surety for him. If I do not bring him back to you, let me bear the blame before you forever.

Judah pledges himself as the guarantee of his brother's safety. He takes personal responsibility, staking his own standing on Benjamin's return, willing to bear the blame if anything goes wrong. It is a striking act of self-giving from a man who had not always acted well. And it is worth remembering that from Judah's line would come one who did exactly this in full: made himself surety for his brothers, took the blame that was not his, and guaranteed our safe return to the Father at the cost of himself.

Judah shows what it looks like to take responsibility for another, to put yourself on the line for someone else's good. That is a costly and often thankless thing, and our instinct is usually to protect ourselves. But it reflects the heart of Christ, who became our surety before God. Ask whether there is someone for whom you could take responsibility, someone whose burden you could shoulder, and let Judah's pledge, and the greater pledge of the One from his line, move you to that kind of self-giving love.

Lord, Judah offered himself as surety for his brother, willing to bear the blame, and in that I see a shadow of Christ, who became my surety and bore the blame that was mine. Thank you for such a Savior. And where you would have me take responsibility for another, shoulder a burden not my own, give me a portion of that same self-giving love. Amen.