I Confess
By Terance Clark January 11, 2025 5 Minute Read
Week 12
This Weeks Passage: Genesis 47:28 – 50:26
The name Judah means “to thank” or what we’ve commonly come to know as “praise”. The fourth brother that became the leader of the tribes through king David somehow broke away from his sinful choices and lifestyle to become the leader that the brothers could look up to. How does one become a leader? I think there is more detail in the final story of the book of Genesis.
The name Judah also has another meaning “to confess” which is the core of “to repent”. As I mentioned last week Judah is the first person in the bible to confess or repent. There is a Jewish principle that is often repeated and it goes like this, “Where penitents stand even the perfectly righteous cannot stand” and Isaiah 57:19 is the proof text which reads “Peace, peace, to those far and near”. The belief is that the one who repents is greater than the one who is righteous. We discover that although Joseph was righteous and had a double inheritance through his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh it was actually through Judah and his inheritance that Israel is known and flourished. Peace, Peace to those first to the one who is far away that is the one needing repentance before the one who is near which is considered the righteous person.
“Saul made excuses for the things he did wrong
whereas David repented.“
Both kings Saul and David sinned, and both were confronted, but Saul made excuses for the things he did wrong, whereas David repented once he was confronted. In the lives of Jacobs twelve sons, they were more than a handful, and in the conclusion of Jacobs life he takes time to confront each one of them and speak a word into their future destinies. The first three sons are all rebuked, but Judah the one that had repented is exalted. Interestingly, the tribe of Levi repents later and is made the priestly tribe.
God is Not Looking for Perfect People
So what is it that I’m trying to say this week? This story shows us that God is not looking for perfect people who do everything right and have done everything in life right. No, He is looking for people who recognize their wrong choices and decisions. Who can be honest about their own failures, but have chosen to learn from their mistakes and start afresh. These are the ones who have learned to confess, to say, others have been more righteous than I, but I humbly accept responsibility for my actions and choose to do life differently from this day forward. According to this weeks story, these people are exalted higher than those who have done righteously, for they have done something that even the righteous cannot do, and that is they have changed. They have allowed the spirit of God to take control of their lives and change who they once were.
As we finish the book of Genesis this week, I hope you are encouraged and inspired to know that God is interested in reconciling our failures and fixing our relational challenges. He cares about our families and healing our pain. As we begin this new year, there will be challenges and pain, as well as victories and celebrations. Only God knows what the future holds, but we do know that we look up to people who are not afraid to confess when they are wrong, and it’s never too late to change. Many of us have chosen to confess and change. Don’t worry about what others think, just keep moving forward in progress, and never forget that God exalts the humble, and the humble are happy to be changed.