Substitute

The famine that God had foretold to Joseph through Pharaoh’s dream was, not only upon the land of Egypt, but also was spreading to the rest of the Middle East making its way to Canaan where Jacob and his 11 sons were living. We are starting to see how all things work out for the good to those who love God and are called to His purpose. As the famine hits the land of Canaan Jacob (Israel) sends ten of his sons to Egypt to buy grain. As they arrive in Egypt they are directed to the man who is in charge of grain distribution who turns out to be their brother Joseph who they had sold into slavery years before.

They all bow down in front of their brother, who they do not recognize, then upon lifting their faces from the ground begin to make their request to buy grain. Joseph recognizes his brothers and treats them harshly, accusing them of being foreign spies who were just there gathering information about the land. He binds Simeon and puts him into prison and requires the remaining brothers return to Canaan and bring back their youngest brother Benjamin to prove that they are not spies.

When they return, Joseph now commands his stewards to secretly put his cup into the sack of the youngest brother Benjamin. As they are leaving Egypt on their return trip to Canaan, Joseph’s servants over take them and inspect each brother’s sack until the cup is discovered in Benjamin’s sack. Joseph pretends to be furious and requires that the man responsible will become his slave. There is a moment in every man’s life when he has an opportunity to shine. Now, its Judah’s turn to step up to the plate and takes a good hard swing at a home run for his brother Benjamin.

The situation looks hopeless to all the brothers and they know their father Jacob will surely grieve and die if Benjamin is not returned to him. Remember, Jacob loved his wife Rachel and the two sons she brought into the world were very precious to him. He already has been told and believes that Joseph was torn to pieces by wild animals and so, if Benjamin was lost, it would just be too much for the elderly patriarch to handle. If this scene were performed in a theatre then, at this moment, the house lights would begin to dim and a spot light would find its way to focus and illuminate Judah as he begins one of the most beloved monologues in the bible.

In Genesis 44:33-34 Judah speaks “Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?” As the spotlight fades and the house lights come back up we realize Judah has just stated he is willing to take the place of his brother and pay his debt in full. Judah is willing to give up his own life so that his brother may continue to live.

At this point in the story, we can look back and link Genesis chapter 38 into the chain. Remember chapter 38 looked really out of place in Joseph’s story, sticking out like a sore thumb. The chapter told a story about Judah becoming Tamar’s “kinsman redeemer” or goel, basically the family’s savior. Now, here before his all his brothers, Judah willingly lays down his own life for his brother Benjamin. Much in the very same way our Lord Jesus became our substitute. In the gospel of John 15:13 Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends”. So here in the book of Genesis, Judah becomes a prophetic illustration of how one day God’s own beloved Son, Jesus, would willingly lay down His own life to become our substitute sacrifice.

If this were the only place we found such an interesting parallel that would be one thing but, the fact is, the entire bible is full of these types of illustrations that point to the coming Messiah. Leviticus 16:6-10 describes the Day of Atonement, where the scapegoat is set free.   The Passover feast is another one of those parallels where a substitution lamb was killed in place of the first born male. Jesus died on the cross during the “Last Passover” and became our Passover Lamb, our sacrifice and our substitute.