Genesis 43:1-15

Now the famine was severe in the land. And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’” Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?” They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”

11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14 May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

15 So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

(ESV)

STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?

  • What is the writer saying?
  • How do I apply this to my life?

💡How to do your quiet time


The famine was severe and it wasn’t long before Jacob’s family had finished the grain they had bought from Egypt. Jacob tells the brothers to go and buy some more food but Judah reminds him that the trip would be completely useless if they didn’t take Benjamin with them. The man (Joseph) had told them they would not see his face again if their brother wasn’t with them. Israel (Jacob) asked why they had treated him so badly as to tell the man that they had another brother. How could they have known that answering his questions about their family would have resulted in a request to bring the brother to Egypt? Judah (the fourth brother and the one who had the idea to sell Joseph) takes personal responsibility for Benjamin. He succeeds in getting his father to release Benjamin where Reuben had failed.

Jacob tells them to take along some of the choice produce of the land as gifts. He sends them with some balm, honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. These delicacies were not easily available in Egypt (Gen 37:25). He also told them to take twice the amount of money so they could return the money found in their sacks in case it was an oversight. Finally Jacob resigns himself to the fact that he might lose a third son but prays that God would grant them mercy and return Simeon and Benjamin.

Jacob’s faith seems to be very feeble at this point. He has resigned himself to the fact that he might lose more children. I wonder if he is even remembering the dreams of his favourite son anymore (Gen 37:11) or perhaps he was plagued by them. But despite Jacob’s feeble faith, God is still doing His mighty work. Our sin and the sin of those around us can place us in very difficult situations, situations that might seem completely hopeless. But God is always working for our good. Stories like these are in the Bible to show us that God is always good and above our situation. When your situation causes you to lose sight of who God is, let stories like this remind you that He is in-fact “God Almighty” who works all things for the good of those who love him (Rom 8:28).