“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, ³¹it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave. ³²For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.’ ”

– Genesis 44:30-32 (NKJV)

“ “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, (here we find confirmation that for all intents and purposes Jacob has pronounced a type of curse upon himself, one that is binding as far as we, the reader, can tell, by the stipulants here established; or is there something deeper here at play – a deep inner knowing of a Love-bond so profound, it is binding unto death, as seen perhaps also in the death of precious Jewess Anne Frank not long after that of her sister) it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. (Despite Judah’s humble approach – acknowledging that it is upon the basis of Joseph’s mercy alone that he is even awarded an opportunity to speak – Joseph is now confronted in no uncertain terms with the fact that if he perseveres in selfishly retaining Benjamin unto himself, he cannot do so without simultaneously also injuring his father, and that in the worst possible way . . . It is also interesting to note that God can directly address his Children, through anyone, any circumstance or any sign that in that moment, by definition, becomes a vessel for delivering Truth – be it of an objective factual nature as we see here or also in terms of ultimate spiritual certitudes, however it may have bearing upon the Child in question.) So your servants will (notice how Judah subtly alludes to the fact that the brothers themselves would have to bear the brunt of the blame before their father, as he Joseph, is to Jacob but a nameless, faceless, albeit sovereign, ruler from a foreign land at present) bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave. (A rather interesting image is conjured for the reader in this “expression” – for lack of a better word – as it literally delineates a picture of a man toppling over, even forcibly dragged down from on high: from an upright posture of glorying in the Wisdom gleaned from a long life – as embodied by “the gray hair “ – unto a lowly posture, so low in fact as to be sunken down beneath the earth unto the grave.) For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.'” (Here the aforementioned subtle allusion is now confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt and also in a far more binding degree than Joseph might have previously realised. Joseph is now effectively confronted with a new temptation: if he still harbours any bitterness, resentment or unforgiveness toward the brothers, this divulging of information might very well entice a taste for vengeance still nurtured and not yet yielded unto God in Perfect Obedience. We know that by placing the cup in Benjamin’s sack and setting all these events in motion, Joseph is already trespassing on enemy territory; motivated by fear [of losing Benjamin] and selfishness as opposed to Love [for God and all His People involved] and Perfect Trust in Him [to return Benjamin unto him in His Perfect Timing and according to His Perfect Will], makes it that much easier for him to be tempted by enemy allies to stray even further. The temptation I speak of of course is that the full wrath of their father [which the brothers managed to sidestep the first time when they effectively took Joseph from him by deceitfully making it seem as if he had been mauled by a wild animal – most probably also causing poor Jacob to blame himself for sending young Joseph out that day in the first place] that that wrath would now finally be poured out onto them in their now taking Benjamin from him also. This is perhaps always the inherent temptation at play when it comes to our enemies: when given the choice, will we be motivated by Love for our enemies as The Lord instructs us to and Trust Him concerning all matters pertaining to vengeance, or will we be motivated by fear [which ultimately translates into hatred when the consequences are considered]: fear of what our enemies will continue to do to us or those we love if they’re not brought to task – a condition where we are effectively seeking the pouring out of Our Heavenly Father’s wrath upon them i.e. their final condemnation, which is of course a far more horrifying, devastating reality than any angry, injured person realises at the point of temptation. The much greater and more far-reaching implications in the chronicle being writ here of course – horrifying and devastating in its own right, effectively much more so than in any other – is the fact that any condemnation of Judah would directly affect The Only Begotten Son of God, Our Beloved Lord Jesus, as He is born of the line of Judah [see also the strategic use of the word “forever “  by the Inspired Writer of the Book of Genesis suggesting this important implication]. These are the grand and ultimate considerations calculated and acted upon by enemy forces when we are tempted that we wee little humans – however much Loved and esteemed by God –bound in time and ignorant of the long-term implications, often fail to understand. It is also one of the primary reasons why God was so exceedingly grieved by David’s actions concerning Bathsheba – calling it hatred against God, for it effectively had the potential to muddy the waters of the Line of Jesus through Solomon by something as inherently un-Christlike, covenant-breaking and severe as adultery and murder!)