Holy Assets
Holy Assets
Have you ever read through the genealogy of Jesus and said, "I've read about these people; how could they be holy assets? Why are they included in Jesus' family tree?" There are truly some interesting characters in our Savior's lineage.
One in particular that caught my attention was Judah. Jacob and Leah's son, Isaac's grandson, Abraham's great-grandson.
A bit of a background on Judah. His father was tricked into marrying his mother, Leah, by his father-in-law, Laben. Leah was not loved by her husband, Jacob, but her sister Rachel, whom Jacob later married was adored. Then there became a war on who could give Jacob children. Final tally, Leah 6, Rachel 2, and between their maid servants 4 more sons for a grand total of 12 sons.
Some years later, Judah and nine of his 12 brothers had the idea to sell their half-brother Joseph (who was Jacob's favorite) as a slave to the Ishmaelites because he and his brothers were jealous of his status with their father. Later, Judah slept with his son's widow, thinking she was a prostitute, and she became pregnant with his child, which turned out to be twins. One of these twins and not his legitimate son by his wife was part of Jesus' genealogy.
The next chapter is Judah's life finds him in Egypt looking for food for their huge family during a severe famine. Well, guess who was in charge? Unbeknownst to any of his 10 brothers, Joseph, whom God had blessed was second in command over the entire country of Egypt. Crazy story right, but true!
Because Joseph didn't want to reveal himself to his brothers yet, he sent them home with food for his father and his full brother Benjamin, who had taken over the favorite child title. However, Joseph made one request: If they wanted more food Benjamin would have to be with them on the next trip.
When the eleven brothers returned to Egypt, including Benjamin, Joseph devised a plan that would reveal a heart change in Judah. Knowing Benjamin's relationship with their father, Joseph formulated a situation where Benjamin looked guilty of a crime and needed to pay the price. Of the ten other brothers, who stepped up to the plate to protect Benjamin? Yep, Judah!
This story is found in Genesis chapters 27 through 50. Lots of reading, but what a chronicle of God Almighty and His love and grace that far exceeds all human understanding!!!
Great-Grandma Lipke; Grandma "Peppy"; Mom
So here's my take aways from Judah's inclusion in our Messiah's genealogy:
- Go Leah!!! Jacob was tricked into marrying her when he truly loved her sister Rachel. And yet the God Who saw her heart ache, her pain, He redeemed her! HER child is the reason we have the Lion of Judah! Praise God that He sees our injustices and covers them with immeasurable love!
- Did Judah make mistakes? Yes, yes he did. But, God, our Righteousness, used Judah in spite of his faults. Did God give Judah an "Atta Boy" for his sins, NO, but praise His Holy Name, He did give him a sweet helping of grace! Father, thank You for Your precious gift of grace that uses me in spite of my MANY failures! That's seriously a bit overwhelming to comprehend isn't it?
- Judah's heart changed. Because God didn't give up on him, Judah accepted his dad's shortcomings of favoring two of his brothers and became the man God intended him to be! Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!
- This might be the most difficult ~ there are Judah's all around us ~ and if I want to be painfully honest, I am Judah. But here's what we do, we look at others whose sins are "worse" than ours (in our eyes only, mind you!!!!) and file them under JUDAH - Justifiably Unable to be Deemed A Holy asset! We don't welcome them into our churches. We look at them with disgust, maybe not in our facial expressions, but in our hearts (others may not see, but the God Who created my heart does!) We write them off as unusable by God, and let's ask ~ who gave us that authority ~ I can tell you WHO didn't! God doesn't expect us to love the sin, but He does command us to love the sinner - of which I am included Romans 3:23
When we hear the title "Lion of Judah", may our hearts be softened and realize no matter our wounds, our failures, or others' mistakes ALL of us are indeed holy assets ~ ONLY through a God Whose love is so fierce He won't let us be anything but.
Praise God for the birth of the Lion of Judah!
Thank you for pointing out the MANY lessons to be learned from these Old Testament stories. God is Sovereign and has a perfect plan. Our job is to daily seek His will.