When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, “The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we have never been spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’ Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.’”
As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.” Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” But he said, “My son shall not go down with you,
Comment: It would have been interesting to have been a fly on the wall and heard all that went on when the nine sons and the their entourage knocked on the door of the tent and met their father. I guess that there would have been a lot of oriental kissing and hugging, oh-ing and ah-ing, before they sat down and told the old father the whole story. Then all the bags were opened, Apparently they had communally lived out of one of the son’s supply on the journey and staggered they saw that all their payments had been restored! Dare they return to Egypt? What would happen to Simeon in the Egyptian prison? The thought of Benjamin being taken away throws the father into a fit. I suspect that there will need to be another hard think when they eat it all, unless the famine has broken.
Prayer: When I cannot see a way ahead, thank You that You promise to go before me.
As I read it! 