But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. – Genesis 42:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 27, 2015): Genesis 42

Eighteenth Century author John Allston once wrote that “The only thing you take with you when you’re gone is what you leave behind.” Admittedly, on tough Monday mornings after Weekend services that just didn’t go quite as planned, it is a question that plagues me. Exactly what is it that we believe we are leaving behind when we are gone? Or maybe more importantly, what exactly should we doing to ensure that our legacy is what we want it to be. And are our actions really carrying us in the right direction. Incidentally, the title of the final Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode was entitled “What You Leave Behind” – most likely an allusion to the Allston quote.

A related thought to the Allston quote is found in the idea that “you can’t take it with you, but you can read about it in the lives of others.” But the question that bothers us is “exactly who are these others who will reflect me.” The answer: our children. Whether we approve of the idea or not, our children often reflect exactly who it is that we are. During a recent meltdown that happened in my presence I was forced to realize how well an adult child was reflecting her mother – and not in a good way. If I closed my eyes I could almost see and hear her mom saying the exact same words now being spoken by the daughter. Which brings us to another disturbing thought, what our kids pick up from us and reflect to others is often not the good, but rather it is the bad. Maybe this is why many family trees seem to experience the harsh reality of the degenerations.

What Jacob was going to leave behind would be seen in the legacy of how his children would live their lives. This was the beginning of a great nation. And there is no indication that he did not love all of his children, but two sons were extremely special. After the marriage of Jacob to Leah, I really believe that Jacob came to love Leah more than he probably ever thought that he would. But unfortunately that didn’t change the fact that the first one to steal his heart by that well as she was watering her sheep was Rachel. And while he loved all of his sons, the two sons that Rachel gave to him occupied the highest place in his heart – Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel had died giving birth to Benjamin, and Jacob believed that Joseph had been killed by wild animals. And so Benjamin was his treasure – he was the image that Jacob intended to leave behind.

And so as the family adventure continued, Benjamin was effectively kept under glass. He was as protected from the outside world as his father could possibly make him. He was the child of Jacob’s legacy, and the only surviving remembrance of a wife that Jacob had worked fourteen years in order to marry. Because Rachel had been priceless to Jacob, there was no way that Benjamin could be anything else.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 43

Personal Note: Happy 56^th Anniversary to my Dad and Mom. May Cheri and I be an appropriate Legacy to the way that you have lived your lives!