Introduction
This chapter contains the full confession of guilt of the brothers, pronounced by Judah. God brings the brothers, through the wisdom given to Joseph, as it were back to the field of Dothan, where they threw Joseph into the pit and sold him (Gen 37:17-24). At the time, Joseph’s cries of fear did not work out anything (cf. Gen 42:21). What will they do with Benjamin, who is loved by his father (verse 20)? Will they sacrifice him too?
1 - 13 The Cup in Benjamin’s Sack
1 Then he commanded his house steward, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 2 Put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph had told [him]. 3 As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys. 4 They had [just] gone out of the city, [and] were not far off, when Joseph said to his house steward, “Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5 Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.’” 6 So he overtook them and spoke these words to them. 7 They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing. 8 Behold, the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? 9 With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.” 10 So he said, “Now let it also be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and [the rest of] you shall be innocent.” 11 Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. 12 He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they tore their clothes, and when each man loaded his donkey, they returned to the city.
Again, the brothers receive an abundant measure of grain, while they also receive the money back with them. Throughout their trial the LORD remains the Same in showing His grace.
The cup must be put into Benjamin’s sack. He is the only one of the brothers who is innocent of Joseph’s rejection, but all the guilt is imputed to him. This is also what happened to the Lord Jesus. The Just has suffered for the unjust (1Pet 3:18). The brothers (and we) must learn that.
We can see the house steward as a picture of the Holy Spirit. He does everything Joseph says. He follows the brothers and ‘discovers’ the cup in Benjamin’s sack. Because of this, the brothers come into great dismay. They have no more excuses. This is what the Holy Spirit always wants to bring a soul to: a confession without excuse.
As for the cup, they are indeed innocent. For their consciences however, this has no meaning. Judah does not even mention it. Once conscience is awakened and convinced of sin, it only deals with the real question of guilt. They tear their clothes, as Jacob once did when they brought him the hypocritical news of Joseph’s death (Gen 37:32-34).
14 - 17 Confession before Joseph
14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed practice divination?” 16 So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s slaves, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been found.” 17 But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
When they come back to Joseph, this time they don’t only bow, but they fall to the ground before him. The brothers acknowledge the righteousness of God. They say that He brought their guilt to light, by which they perhaps mean the evil they did to Joseph. They experience what happens to them now, as the righteous reckoning of God. No more rebuttal comes from their lips. All they can do is offer themselves as slaves, together with Benjamin. The brothers show solidarity with Benjamin.
But Joseph continues to test their mind. He leads them further and further toward the goal, which is a complete confession and restoration of fellowship with him. Joseph knows they are innocent as far as the cup is concerned, but have they also confessed the past? Therefore, he has put them in a situation similar to that of the past. What will they do now? Will they leave their brother in slavery, knowing he is innocent? Will they deceive their father Jacob again with an invented story, now with regard to Benjamin? Then it turns out that grace has done its work in their hearts.
18 - 34 Judah Pleads for His Father
18 Then Judah approached him, and said, “Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh. 19 My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ 20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a little child of [his] old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’ 21 Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes on him.’ 22 But we said to my lord, ‘The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ 23 You said to your servants, however, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 24 Thus it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 Our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’ 26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27 Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons; 28 and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn in pieces,” and I have not seen him since. 29 If you take this one also from me, and harm befalls him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’ 30 Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life, 31 when he sees that the lad is not [with us], he will die. Thus your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow. 32 For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him [back] to you, then let me bear the blame before my father forever.’ 33 Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. 34 For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me—for fear that I see the evil that would overtake my father?”
In this section we listen to a heart-moving plea of Judah. Joseph has achieved the goal. He notices how Judah has changed. There is nothing left of insensitivity toward his father, as it was in the announcement of Joseph’s rejection. His plea also expresses his love for Benjamin, the son of the old age of Jacob. He has learned to empathize with the feelings of his father and his youngest brother.
This is also important in the relationships between believers. It is especially important with regard to the relationship between the Father and the Son, that we get a sense of what the Father felt when His Son was suffering, both from the side of men and from the side of God. Are we not too often insensitive to this?
This change in the heart of Judah only God has been able to bring about. Judah does not plead to be released, but to get Benjamin back with his father. There is also no strong defense to prove Benjamin’s innocence. He does not seek words of justification, but appeals to Joseph’s compassion. Judah does not argue to exonerate Benjamin, but asks for mercy (Job 9:15).
There is nothing left in Judah’s feelings about his father that indicates that he wants to cheat on his father, as was the case with Joseph in the past. Judah has been the driving force behind the rejection of Joseph. His personal life is also reprehensible (Gen 38:1-26). Here we hear the confession that God has brought their crime to light (verse 16).
He describes in an impressive way Jacob’s love for Benjamin and how hard it was to get Benjamin along. He expresses the grief that Jacob will have when Benjamin does not return – fourteen times he calls the name ‘father’; twelve times he speaks about his ‘brother’. Finally, he offers himself to be a slave instead of Benjamin.
Here Judah represents the whole people. As a tribe Judah is most responsible for the rejection of the Messiah. They are, as the returnees from Babylon, at the time of the public service of Lord Jesus in the land.