Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city. Genesis 44:13
It would have been very easy for the brothers to look at each other and say, “The best thing we can do here is to give up Benjamin. It’s his life against all ten of ours. The cup is in his sack. He can join Joseph as a slave in Egypt.”
If the brothers gave up Benjamin, they could have their own freedom. They could go back to the old man and tell him that his dearly loved son has been taken to Egypt. They didn’t even need to lie. They could tell the truth: “The man in Egypt made Benjamin a slave, and there was nothing we could do about it!”
When the cup was found, the brothers were put right back in the same position they had been in with Joseph. Would they grieve the heart of the father? Would they give up the dearly loved son?
Verse 13 is a great moment in the brother’s story: “Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.” There is evidence of transformation right there! “We cannot go back to the father and add sorrow to his sorrow, and we cannot give up Benjamin, his dearly loved son.”
Have you recently found yourself in the position of having to make a difficult decision, a costly decision to do the right thing? Do you see any evidence of transformation (or change) in your life?
