Joseph and Judah

Jacob continued, on in his life to have many struggles, as we all face.

He had undergone a rough journey of transformation of character, and now has learned to trust God, rather than rely on his own intellect and craftiness.

We will read how he experienced many troubles within his family, most likely because of his own issues of favoritism of a specific child, which seems to be a family characteristic.

Recall that his father Isaac favored Esau, and his mother, Rebekah favored Jacob.

After the death of Rachel, Jacob had to deal with his family’s dysfunction, related to his favoritism of his son, Joseph.
Towards the end of Jacob’s life, his three eldest sons (Simeon, Levi, Genesis 34:25-29 and Reuben, Genesis 35:22 ) did not receive Jacob’s final fatherly blessing (Genesis 49:3-4).
Pearl: In time, Judah received Jacob’s Paternal Blessing, as if he had been the eldest son. Judah also would become the son of Jacob who is the direct lineage to David and Jesus.

Therefore, Judah’s role is prominent among the children of Israel, as he becomes part of God’s Master Plan for redeeming humanity through Jesus.
Through Judah and his wife Tamar, Jesus the Messiah who fulfilled God’s promises, will eventually be born generations later.

To fully understand Judah and Tamar, we must explore the story of Judah’s younger brother Joseph, which explains how and why the Israelites sojourned to Egypt.
Joseph’s story describes how God is always at work, sometimes only in the background with His mysterious use of humanity’s evil and noble deeds.

As the story of Jacob’s descendants unfolds, starting with Joseph, we will see how God provides all the necessary details, which are needed to get us closer to the culmination of His Master Plan.