Joseph and Judah

Often in the scriptures we learn by seeing contrasts in the stories or people.  For example, in the Book of Mormon in Alma 46 we learn of Captain Moroni and his faithfulness to the Lord as he rallied his people around the cause of truth.  Then in the next chapter we read of the treachery and wickedness of Amalickiah, and it’s easy to see how different these two leaders were.  The contrast helps us see better what kind of person we want to strive to become personally.  In the Pearl of Great Price we see the great contrast between the righteousness of the city of Enoch (Moses 7) and the wickedness of the rest of the people in the days of Noah (Moses 8).  In the city of Enoch “they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18).  On the other hand, in the days of Noah “the wickedness of men had become great in the earth; and every man was lifted up in the imagination of the thoughts of his heart, being only evil continually” (Moses 8:22).  In the City of Enoch they were so unified that there weren’t even any poor in their society, whereas among the wicked it was each man or women for themselves. 

            Another place in the scriptures where we have a powerful contrast between stories is in Genesis 38-39.  In Genesis 38 we have the rather repulsive story of the immorality of Judah.  Judah’s daughter-in-law Tamar was mistaken for a harlot, and Judah committed the evil act with her without knowing who she really was.  In contrast to that, in the next chapter we have the story of Judah’s brother Joseph who was at Potiphar’s house.  When Potiphar’s wife tried to commit adultery with him, he responded, “There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9)   Unlike Judah, Joseph was firm in his conviction to keep the commandments that God had given him.  Both Joseph and Judah had received the same upbringing by their father Jacob, but clearly the importance of keeping the law of chastity was lost on Judah who committed such egregious sins.  The contrast between the two stories helps us see what kind of person we want to come and how devoted we will be to keeping the commandments of the Lord.  Will we be like Joseph who was willing to run from all of the comforts of life he had in order to stay pure, or will our acts be filled with wickedness like Judah?  Joseph was pure and openly resisted temptation even when it came to him “day by day,” but Judah secretly sought to break God’s commandments and then as a hypocrite tried to cover them up and even punish Tamar for his own heinous act (Genesis 39:10).  The writer of Genesis surely wanted us to see these the contrast of these two stories that were placed side by side so we could commit ourselves to be more like Joseph in purity and faithfulness.