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.”
Famine has driven Jacob's sons to Egypt and back. Egypt's ruler is holding Simeon, and he demands that they bring Benjamin down. Reuben now tries to break his father's refusal with a startling pledge, and commentators judge his words very differently.
An Offer That Costs the Speaker Nothing
Reuben stakes the lives of his own sons on his promise. One writer notes that the pledge does not survive a few simple questions.
The Bible TreasuryA common mark of the man who cannot make up his mind is his habit of strong speech and big promises. Indeed you can often spot him by that alone. It is good advice never to trust anyone who always speaks in superlatives. Reuben wants his father to send Benjamin with him. He says, "Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you." That sounded very emphatic — kill his own son, and his two sons at that! It is so forceful that it barely leaves room for a few mild questions. Who on earth wanted to kill his two sons? What comfort would this be to their already grieving grandfather? And the sacrifice he offered was not of himself but of someone else. One would also like to know what the two sons themselves thought about it.
A Father's Verdict on His Son
Jacob does not argue with the offer. He turns it down, and the same writer sees that refusal as Jacob's verdict on his son's words.
The Bible TreasuryHis father soon showed what he thought. He says, "My son shall not go down with you." He knew Reuben, "unstable as water." He knew that weak actions balanced his strong words.
A Man Who Feels Deeply and Acts Late
The same writer traces this to a deeper trait, and points back to the day Reuben found Joseph's pit empty.
The Bible TreasuryTwo other features stand out in Reuben's character. One of them is the misery of a mind that cannot decide. It never truly repents, yet it is always full of remorse over its weaknesses or its missed chances. When Reuben returned to the pit and found Joseph gone, "he tore his clothes … and said, The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?"
A Kinder Reading of the Same Words
Commentators differ here. Another writer sees Reuben's words as part of a work going on inside these brothers, and as a real step, not empty noise.
J. G. BellettSo the work goes on in their souls. They had been convicted, and godly sorrow was then producing fear in them. And very soon they showed much more than sorrow and fear. They had returned home and told their father one thing: they dared not hope for a fresh supply from Egypt unless Benjamin went with them. At that, Reuben and Judah at once stepped forward in a spirit of self-sacrifice. "Kill my two sons," says Reuben, "if I do not bring him back to you." "I will be surety for him," says Judah: "from my hand you shall require him."
Why Judah Succeeded Where Reuben Failed
Judah makes a second offer, and the two differ in where the risk falls.
The Bible TreasuryThe contrast in Judah's character is striking everywhere, and nowhere more than here. Judah makes no large offers at the expense of his sons. His offer is far more modest, and at his own risk. "Send the boy with me … I will be surety for him." Jacob trusts him at once and lets Benjamin go. In doing so he again showed that he could read character. Judah nobly kept his pledge: he stood forward in Egypt and offered himself as a substitute for Benjamin.
Sorrow as the Road to Blessing
Jacob sees only losses piling up — Joseph, Simeon, and now the demand for Benjamin. One writer looks past the loss to what those blows were for.
William KellyYet these blows which fell so heavily on his affections were the needed path to blessing and joy for them all. And such is the end of the Lord for all who fear Him, however hard the road. Joseph had known it too, and far more deeply than anyone. In this he was a picture of Christ, faithful among the unfaithful. His brothers and even Jacob were struck for their own faults, which is a very different thing.
Summary
- Big words. Reuben's pledge is loud. But nobody asks what his two sons thought, and it offers Jacob no comfort.
- Small risk. The lives Reuben stakes are not his own. Writers differ: some hear bluster, others hear a first stir of self-sacrifice.
- Known character. Jacob simply says no. He measured Reuben by his actions, not his big words — "unstable as water."
- Real pledge. Judah offers less and risks more, at his own cost. Jacob lets Benjamin go at once. Judah kept his word: he offered himself in Benjamin's place.
- Hidden purpose. The blows Jacob felt as pure loss were the path God was using to bring blessing and joy to them all.