Gen. 42:36-43:1336And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me. 37And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. 38And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. 1And the famine was sore in the land. 2And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. 3And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. 4If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: 5But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. 6And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? 7And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? 8And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. 9I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: 10For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time. 11And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: 12And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: 13Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: (Genesis 42:36‑43:13)
One thing was noticeably lacking in Jacob at this time. His feeble faith saw no trace of the hand of God in these circumstances. Occupied with his grief he failed to turn to Him, who has said: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” Psa. 50: 15. How much easier this time of trial would have been had he been listening to that voice, but, overwhelmed as he looked back over the years, he complained: “Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.” v. 36. How different the language of faith which can say, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.”
Reuben, aware that another trip must be made if they were to remain alive, sought in vain to persuade the father to send Benjamin with them, even pledging his two sons as surety. Jacob’s reply was, “My son shall not go down with you.”
But the famine persisted; the food from Egypt was consumed; the hunger of the people was great; and Jacob once more called on his sons to “Go again, buy us a little food.” Chap. 43:1. The loving, faithful hand of God was overruling all for His people’s good until they should come into His blessing through His own way. His was the government that kept the famine “sore in the land.” His the love that withheld all things of nature that would otherwise have satisfied them. The father, reminded that it would be useless to return unless Benjamin accompanied them, I still refused to yield. Judah the plainly told him: “If thou wilt not send him, we will not go down.” v. 5
Recalling that “Whatsoever things, were written aforetime were written for our learning” (Rom. 15:44For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)), we have previously seen that Benjamin presents a type of the true Redeemer of Israel, to whom that nation must look in the coming time of tribulation if they are to be delivered out of distress. It is therefore of special interest that Jacob’s sons are now found insisting that they will not again ask for help unless Benjamin is with them. It is interesting to see this develop; first Reuben approaching the father and now Judah coming forth, saying: “I will be surety for him.” v. 9.
Under the circumstances Jacob was compelled to yield, although not yet sensing that God was over the entire scene. He was still (when left to himself) the old Jacob, scheming and devising ways of his own to pacify the one who had “made himself strange unto them.” His instructions were: “Take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts and almonds: And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks.” vv. 11,12. How far short this fell in estimating the heart of “the governor of the land.” He had not asked for their presents. Was not all the wealth of Egypt at his disposal? No, his longing was to see his beloved Benjamin, to have his brethren restored to him, and to be reunited with his father. But there were lessons still to be learned before Joseph could reveal himself to them.
ML 08/06/1967