If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”
Judah's final argument to his father is not about Benjamin at all — it is about the clock. He says the delay has already cost them a whole round trip of food — so why did a starving household wait so long to move?
The Refusal That Gave Way
Jacob had already said no. What changed his mind was not persuasion but hunger.
F. B. HoleFor the moment Jacob refused to part with Benjamin. But Genesis 43 shows how his stubborn refusal had to give way before the hard logic of facts. They could not get the food they needed unless Jacob let Benjamin go down to Egypt with his brothers.
William Kelly reads the timing of Judah's appeal, and what lay behind the famine:
William KellyThe sons said nothing about the difficulty until the family's need forced Jacob to speak. That gave Judah his chance to plead without being out of place. Feeling would yield to famine. Yet God was in Jacob's thoughts, and to some degree in his sons' thoughts too, compared with the past. But the mercy that never fails would shine through the dark clouds.
The Price of the Delay
L. M. Grant works out what the delay cost:
L. M. GrantJudah, the one who had taken the lead in selling Joseph, adds that if they had not delayed so long, they could have made the second journey and returned by this time.
Why They Held Back
One writer draws out why the brothers waited so long:
The Bible TreasuryBut they will not go to their saviour until they have proved that every other source is empty. Even then they go with great unwillingness. Everything shows that, if they had known who he was, they would rather have gone to the other end of the earth.
The same writer hears something in Jacob's words "buy us a little food," and in the gift of balm and honey:
The Bible TreasuryThe words "buy" and "little" usually go together: anyone who thinks of buying salvation expects only a little of it, and in fact no one on earth can pay for more than a little… The natural sinful heart hates to approach Christ. It will not come until it feels the pangs of hunger and the fear of death. Then, when at last it decides to go to Him, it comes with a total misconception of His nature and purpose. It comes with dread in the heart, and with a gift scraped from famine-stricken ground to appease Him and buy a little instalment of favour — balm to soothe, and honey to sweeten. But how little they know of that great heart, filled with tender and kind compassion towards them!
The Man Who Broke the Deadlock
The brother who offers his own neck for Benjamin is the one who had once sold Joseph.
An Outline of Sound WordsBut his words to his father Jacob, about sending Benjamin to Joseph, show us something in Judah's character that we can admire. He said, "Send the boy with me… I will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him: if I do not bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame forever." What he failed to do for Joseph, he now does for Benjamin. He stands surety for his safety.
F. B. Hole reads the same offer as evidence of a change inside Judah:
F. B. HoleIn the words of Judah, recorded in verses 8 and 9, we find an attitude towards Benjamin that is the exact opposite of his attitude towards Joseph years before. A repentant spirit was beginning to show its fruit.
Surety Defined
Scripture later takes up the word Judah uses and applies it to Christ. Hebrews 7:22 calls Jesus the surety of a better covenant. The ESV translates that word "guarantor."
F. B. HoleIn verse 9 of our chapter we have an excellent illustration of what suretyship involves. If anything breaks down, the blame must lie forever on the surety, and he must answer for all of it. Were there any breakdown in the new covenant, the blame of it would rest upon Christ forever. But, no! Its stability and the security of all its blessings are ensured for eternity.
Summary
- Delay. Judah's arithmetic is the sting of the verse: by now the grain could have fed the family twice over. Only their own hesitation stood in the way.
- Hunger. What argument could not do, an empty sack did. Jacob's refusal gave way to the hard logic of facts: feeling yielded to famine.
- Reluctance. The heart goes to its saviour last, only after every other source runs dry. Even then it comes misreading His nature.
- Surety. The deadlock broke when one man made himself answerable. The brother who led in selling Joseph now pledged his own name for Benjamin — a repentant spirit showing its fruit.
- Guarantee. A surety carries the blame forever. Commentators apply this to Christ, surety of a better covenant, whose blessings stand secure for eternity.