Today was a good day, but I am exhausted and spent.

The one part of today’s reading that stood out to me is how strong Judah’s love was for his brother Benjamin and for his father, and he offered himself in his brother’s place.

³⁰ “And now, my lord, I cannot go back to my father without the boy. Our father’s life is bound up in the boy’s life. ³¹ If he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We, your servants, will indeed be responsible for sending that grieving, white-haired man to his grave. ³² My lord, I guaranteed to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.’

³³ “So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. ³⁴ For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the anguish this would cause my father!

Rather than feeling jealous about Jacob’s relationship with his son Benjamin (as they felt toward Joseph when they were all younger), the sons of Jacob did their best to protect their brother Benjamin…even going so far as to offer themselves up as slaves for his sake.

They sold Joseph into slavery because they were jealous of his “favored son” status, but they turned around and risked it all to save their brother Benjamin BECAUSE of his favored son status.  Now that’s irony!