Genesis 42:29 - Meaning and Application

Here is, first, the report Jacob’s sons gave their father about the great trouble they had faced in Egypt. They told him they had been suspected, threatened, and forced to leave Simeon behind as a prisoner until they brought Benjamin back with them. Who would have expected that when they left home? When we go out, we should remember that many sad things, which we do not think of, may happen before we return. We do not know what a day may bring, so we should always be ready for the worst.

Here is, second, the deep effect this news had on their father, Jacob. Even the bundles of money Joseph had returned out of kindness to his father frightened him (Genesis 42:35), because he thought it might hide some bad intent. Or he may have suspected that his own sons had done something wrong and brought trouble on themselves, a kind of legal penalty or trap, as his words suggest in (Genesis 42:36), “Me have you bereaved.” He seems to blame them, because he knew their character. He feared they had angered the Egyptians, and perhaps had brought their money home by force or deceit.

Jacob is here very troubled. First, he has very sad thoughts about the present state of his family. “Joseph is not, and Simeon is not,” although Joseph was honored and Simeon was only in danger of that. We often upset ourselves with our own mistakes, even about facts. Real grief can come from false reports and false assumptions, as in (2 Samuel 13:31). Jacob counts Joseph as lost, and Simeon and Benjamin as endangered. So he says, “All these things are against me.” In fact, the opposite was true. All these things were working for his good, and for the good of his family. Still, because of his ignorance, his mistake, and the weakness of his faith, he thought what was really for him was against him. We suffer in body, property, reputation, and family, and we think all of it is against us. Yet these things are really working for us toward a greater glory.

Second, Jacob is now determined that Benjamin must not go down to Egypt. Reuben offers to bring him back safely (Genesis 42:37), but he does not even say, if the Lord wills, and he does not think about the ordinary dangers travelers face. In a foolish promise, he tells Jacob to kill his two sons, who were likely his pride, if he failed to bring Benjamin back. As if the death of two grandsons could make up for the loss of one son. Jacob’s answer is plain: “My son shall not go down with you.” He clearly does not trust them, remembering that he never saw Joseph again after Joseph had been with them. So Benjamin must not go with them on the same journey, “for you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.” It is a sad thing for a family when children behave so badly that their parents do not know how to trust them.