Joel M Bradshaw

8Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.–Psalm 25

I love the Joseph story in Genesis for many reasons. And my favorite new reason is the story arc of Judah. Judah started off as the villain, but ended up not as the villain. And for those of you who have read those chapters in Genesis, you might have remembered chapter 38. That chapter took a break from Joseph to tell the story of Judah and Tamar. But in that chapter, proud Judah went from ordering Tamar to be burned to proclaiming her righteousness. He had been humbled and broken.

So we are therefore not surprised when Judah’s story changed. He didn’t remain the villain anymore, but sacrificial. A true leader who did what was right. Judah illustrates the sinner that is instructed by God and the humble who is both led and taught by God.

I like the fact that God instructs sinners. For some of us, a person does something wrong and gets on our bad side or on that ‘list’ that we make. Once they are there, forget about them! If God didn’t instruct sinners, there would be no hope for anyone! Even though we have all sinned against others and against God, he still instructs us regarding his path and his way.

But that instruction requires humility. The humble one doesn’t remain a sinner, but repentant. Repentance is a changing of the mind, the will. Turning from yourself and to God. Sin obviously matters, but with God humility matters more. That was Judah’s story. That’s my story. Is it yours?–JMB