From Selfish to Selfless
We’ve been making our way through the story of Joseph on Sunday morning for many weeks now. Fittingly, we have largely focused on Joseph. However, within the main plot of Joseph’s story lies a significant subplot: the transformation of Judah.
Though Joseph has 11 brothers, we only hear directly from two of them, Reuben and Judah. Of the two, Judah gets the most attention, and what we see and hear from him in Chapters 37 and 38 is despicable. However, Judah’s appeal in Chapter 44 reflects a remarkable turnaround, which changes the trajectory of the entire story. It is in response to what Judah says that Joseph reveals himself and is reconciled to his brothers in Chapter 45.
What was the cause of this change in Judah? Owing to the mastery of how this story is told, we can trace Judah’s transformation by listening to the words the narrator (Moses) gives us from his mouth.
In the opening chapter, we learn that it was Judah who foiled Reuben’s plan to rescue Joseph when he said, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him…” (Genesis 37:26-27). In this, we see Judah as the chief conspirator in the plot that landed Joseph enslaved in Egypt.
After this, we’re given the story of Judah and Tamar. This may feel like an awkward and unnecessary intrusion into the story of Joseph, but it is in this story that we see the pivotal point in Judah’s turnaround. The key moment comes when his daughter-in-law, Tamar, is found to be “pregnant by immortality.” Even though it was Judah who was her partner in that immorality, his harsh and hypocritical response is, “Bring her out, and let her be burned” (Genesis 38:24). Tamar, however, implicates Judah by producing the items he had given her in exchange for her prostitution. Judah immediately realizes his sin and hypocrisy and changes course as he replies, “She is more righteous than I” (Genesis 38:26).
In this scene, the narrator gives us a subtle clue that helps us see the weight that comes crashing down on Judah in this moment. When Tamar brought Judah’s items, she said, “Identify these,” and then Judah “identified them” (Genesis 38:25-26). The language in this exchange is nearly identical to when the brothers brought Joseph’s bloodied robe to their father, saying, “Identify this,” and then Jacob “identified it” (Genesis 37:32-33). By this linguistic connection, we are shown the tumultuous internal upheaval erupting in Judah’s heart. All at once, Judah is reminded of the horror of what he had done years before to his brother and father while facing his atrocious failure in what he had done to Tamar. When Judah says of Tamar, “She is more righteous than I,” we are hearing the repentant heart of a man who has been humbled under the weight of the realization of his sins.
The timeline of Judah’s story corresponds to the timeline of Joseph’s time in Egypt. In other words, Judah’s experience with Tamar would have been fairly recent at the time of his encounter with Joseph. This means that the wound of Judah’s heart broken by his own sin is still fresh when he appeals to Joseph, “Please let [me] remain instead of [Benjamin]” (Genesis 44:33). Judah is a changed man and the contrast between the selfish Judah of Chapters 37 and 38 and the selfless Judah of Chapter 44 could not be more stark.
To what can we attribute this transformation from one who sold his brother to one who offers himself in his brother’s place? Judah’s turn from selfish to selfless is a beautiful subplot that displays the silent hand of a faithful God who patiently works in all things to bring a hopeless sinner from where he was to where he needs to be and then uses him in ways he does not deserve.
Isn’t that your story, too?
~ Andy Barker grew up in Boston, Ma. and relocated to Charlotte in 2008. He currently serves as a Shepherding Elder at LIFE Fellowship. He and his wife Melanie have five children and have attended LIFE Fellowship for over ten years.