Joseph then secretly put their money that they paid for the corn with back into their sacks and sent them away.
Genesis 42:27-28- And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth. And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?
Isn't it funny how they blame God when stuff started to go wrong. They didn't say, "Yes, we deserve this because of what we did to Joseph." Nope, they start saying that God was treating them unfairly. They went home to tell their dad the bad news.
Genesis 42:29-34- And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying, The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies: We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone: And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.
They boys told Jacob how the ruler was mean and thought they were spies. They said that Simeon was in prison and that he wouldn't let him go unless they brought Benjamin back with them.
Genesis 42:34-36- And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And 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.
Jacob was so upset. First, he lost Joseph. Now, he's lost Simeon. And there's a chance that he could lose Benjamin!
Genesis 42:37- And 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.
Reuben thought he would offer his own sons lives in the place of Benjamin. But, he knew that his dad wouldn't kill his own grandchildren. Jacob couldn't trust that Reuben would bring Benjamin back.
Genesis 42:38 -And 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.
Jacob said "no" and they lived for a little bit off the corn that the boys brought back from Egypt. But then, the corn ran out.
Genesis 43:1-5- And the famine was sore in the land. And 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. And 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. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: But 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.
Jacob wanted the boys to go buy more corn in Egypt. But, Judah reminded him that Benjamin would have to go with them.
Genesis 43:8-10- And 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. I 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: For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.
Judah promised his father that he would accept responsibility for Benjamin. This set Judah apart from his brethren because he didn't pass the blame or the consequences on to other people. Jacob knew that Judah would do as he promised.
Genesis 43:11-14- And 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: And 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: Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
Jacob knew that if he didn't send Benjamin, his entire family would starve. The cattle would starve. And no one would be able to survive.
Jacob, in his typical scheming fashion, told the boys to bring a present and also take double the money. He was hoping that his scheming would help keep his sons safe. It's surprising that after all this time, Jacob still couldn't just trust that God would keep him safe.
