Judah's Plea

Joseph has lulled his brothers into a false sense of security. Having invited them to a feast he is now about to give them another test – even more severe and determinate than the previous one. How would they respond? Would they pass the test? Judah steps forward and not only passes the test, but goes beyond. In a passionate plea – the longest speech of the book of Genesis, he offers himself as a substitute for Benjamin’s life – a shadow of the greater work of substitution that would be done by his greater descendent, Jesus Christ.