GENESIS 37:34;
38:7
"And they took him, and cast
him into a pit: and the pit was empty. . . Er. . .was
wicked . . .and the LORD slew him."
I can’t help but compare these two
young men--Joseph and Er. We all know the account of
Joseph and his coat of many colors. It was covered with
the blood of a dead animal. That was the ruse the
brothers used to deceive their father, to make him think
his beloved son was dead.
Er was Judah’s first born. Er was
wicked. We don’t know what the wickedness was but it was
severe enough for God to kill him. We reflect on the
sudden deaths of men in Scripture like Hophni and
Phinehas, Eli’s sons, or Uzza, the man who wrongfully
touched the ark. Er’s father, Judah, was one of Jacob’s
sons by Leah. He was her fourth born--a half brother of
Joseph.
It would be from Judah’s line that
the Lord Jesus would come. It was Judah’s idea to sell
his young brother to the Ishmeelites as they passed by
the well in which they had thrown Joseph. It was better
than killing him. Joseph lived. Er died. That was the
end of him.
Joseph was as good as dead to his
father. But it was not the end of him. He was noble and
upright. It was not his time to die. I’m sure all that
imprisonment knocked out his cockiness and braggadocio
that had surfaced when he explained his teen-age dreams
to his family.
But in God’s time, those dreams
proved to be true and Joseph was vindicated. His father,
Jacob, had the joy. before he died, to hold and kiss his
lost son again. But, Judah never could hold his son
again.
Death has a way of separating fathers
and sons. It also is a leveling agent. Naked we came
into the world and naked we go out. The only part of a
person that lives on is his soul and spirit. It either
lives in eternal Hell or eternal bliss. What do you
think the end was of these two brothers? (ysw)
"PERHAPS YOU HAVE THOUGHT THAT YOUR
DOCTOR WAS KEEPING YOU WELL. Or perhaps, you thought
your church was, or your husband, of even yourself! BUT
NO! Psalm 121:3,5 says "THE LORD IS THY KEEPER! He will
not suffer thy foot to be moved!"
Never for a moment will He cease to
hold you fast!
He never slumbers nor loses His hold!
He keepeth thee through the day’s
heat and evening chill!
He will keep thy "goings" and
"comings" now and every more. (GGS)
And Sarah heard it in the tent door,
which was behind him. And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And
he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will
certainly return unto thee according to the time of
life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. (Genesis 18:10)
Under God's Care,
Yvonne S. Waite
