Early on in teaching our Faith Formation class this year, my husband and I realized how little our kids knew of our history as God’s people. Doing our best to work with the Holy Spirit in picking out the most imperative stories, we do a candle-lit reading from the Bible after we get through some of their textbook each week. It just so happened that last week we read about Joseph being sold into Egypt by his brothers, making our family tree include Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and now Jacob’s twelve sons.
So, I read today’s readings ‘ironically’ before the next class when I would draw the next line of generations on the board. Wait a minute… Jesus is descended from Judah? Isn’t he the one who had relations with a prostitute who ended up being his daughter-in-law? Sure, he was the one who ‘stuck up’ for Joseph against his other brothers, but he still settled for selling him as a slave. Nah, let us not kill him, let us just give him to the Egyptians and make some money off of him. Okay, Judah.
Joseph
If any of the kids had asked me which of the twelve our story was going to continue with, I would have assumed Joseph. He is definitely the most well-known character throughout the last chapters of Genesis. Joseph is the one that gets the Israelites into Egypt, and, at least from my perspective, he seems the most morally upright of the brothers. He refuses to be seduced by Pharaoh’s wife and is put in prison for it, he saves many people from famine with his dreams, and he completely forgives all his brothers when they try to ruin his life. Not only that, but Joseph is obviously Jacob’s favorite. Remember the special coat that got him into a mess with his brothers in the first place? And, if you read a little further on in this reading from Genesis, it seems like Jacob gives Joseph THE patriarchal blessing (Genesis 49: 24-26). Check it out. It is intense.
Soooooo… Why Judah? This was my prayer as I kept reading and rereading this chapter of Genesis and this genealogy of Matthew’s. Lord, why was Judah and not Joseph Your ancestor? Joseph is clearly the better option.
It is Who Judah Was Chosen
Well, I did not have any kind of epiphany. No vision or ecstasy revealed it to me. I even tried Googling it (like Google could know the mind of God. Silly Maggie.). AI told me, ‘Jesus was descended from Judah and not Joseph because God chose Judah’s line to be the lineage of the Messiah.’ Ooooooh. So that is it! Thanks, AI (sarcasm dripping).
Well, actually, maybe AIs onto something. Judah was in God’s mind from the beginning of time. He knew exactly who he was going to be and Who He was going to bring from his lineage. He also knew all the great, wonderful things he would do, all the sins he would commit, and even which of his actions would be reported in the Bible and which would not. Regardless of it all God ‘chose’ Judah. Really though, He did not ‘choose’ him in the sense that He evaluated his works and deemed him worthy for the honor of having the Son of God come from his seed. This was a part of who Judah always was. Asking, ‘Why Judah and not Joseph?’ is essentially asking the same thing as “Why Judas and not Nicodemus?’ or ‘Why was John the only apostle who wasn’t martyred and not Peter?’ The answer feels somewhat circular, but it is because that is who God created them to be.
God’s Plans Cannot be Thwarted
This is not just about Judah and Joseph. When I asked this question, I realized I was asking something deeper about God’s plan, His favor, and where I fit in it all. By this answer, He means we, I, cannot thwart God’s plan. No matter how badly I feel like I have messed up everything, the opportunity to be who I was made to be remains. In fact, if I lean into His Compassionate Heart with confidence, His Mercy will have no choice but to bring about something even better because I have sinned. Just look at Perez, Judah’s son, who was born of a prostitute relation. He too would be an ancestor of the Messiah!
Further, we, I, cannot merit God’s favor. No matter how perfect Joseph was, he was not going to be the predecessor. Not even Jacob’s blessing, other people’s favor, could alter God’s plan. My job is to figure out who God made me to be and to rejoice in that. Because even if Joseph was not the descendant, he still worked wonders for the people of Israel. Even if God has not given me X role, He has given me Y, and you better believe it is going to be sweet.
So, why, Lord, was it Judah and not Joseph? Because that is a part of who Judah is and it is not a part of who Joseph is. Does not matter Judah’s sin or Joseph’s merits. Doesn’t matter man’s favor. For, “The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his legs, while tribute is brought to him, and he receives the people’s homage.” (Genesis 49:10).
