43:1 Jacob and his sons had no relief from the famine. They could not see God’s overall plan of sending them to Egypt to be reunited with Joseph and fed from Egypt’s storehouses. If you are praying for relief from suffering or pressure and God is not bringing it as quickly as you would like, remember that God may be leading you to special treasures.
43:9 Judah accepted full responsibility for Benjamin’s safety. He did not know what that might mean for him, but he was determined to do his duty. In the end, Judah’s stirring words caused Joseph to break down with emotion and reveal himself to his brothers (44:18-34). Accepting responsibilities is difficult, but it builds character and confidence, earns others’ respect, and motivates us to complete our work. When you have been given an assignment to complete or a responsibility to fulfill, commit yourself to seeing it through.
43:11 These gifts of balm, honey, spices, myrrh, nuts, and almonds were highly valuable specialty items not common in Egypt. Because of the famine, they were even more rare.
43:12 Joseph’s brothers arrived home from Egypt only to find in their grain sacks the money they had used to pay for the grain (42:35). Some months later, when it was time to return to Egypt for more food, Jacob instructed them to take extra money so they could pay for the previous purchase as well as for additional grain. Jacob did not try to get away with anything. He was a man of integrity who paid for what he bought, whether he had to or not. We should follow his example and guard our integrity. A reputation for honesty is worth far more than the money we might gain by compromising it.
43:23 How did the money get into the sacks? Most likely, Joseph instructed his household manager to replace the money and then explain it with this response. Note that the household manager credited their God, not some Egyptian deity.
43:32 Joseph ate by himself because he was following the laws of the Egyptians’ caste system. Egyptians considered themselves highly intelligent and sophisticated. They looked upon shepherds and nomads as uncultured and even vulgar. As a Hebrew, Joseph could not eat with Egyptians even though he outranked them. As foreigners and shepherds, his brothers were lower in rank than any Egyptian citizens, so they had to eat separately, too.