Genesis 43:1-5 "And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you."
After the brothers returned to Israel, he would not relent and allow the brothers to take Benjamin and return to Egypt. All this time, Simeon was a prisoner. Surely, Israel must have been in constant turmoil. If he did not send his youngest son, Benjamin, then Simeon would remain a prisoner.
While this inner struggle was taking place, the land continued to suffer under a great famine. There was nothing to eat there, and the corn they had brought out of Egypt was about to run out. Their families were again facing starvation. The only place to turn was the place that Israel was trying so hard to avoid.
There came a point when he had to make the decision to send his sons back into Egypt to get just a little food. However, Joseph had made it clear that they would not see his face until they obeyed his command to bring Benjamin with them. If they did not see his face, then they would get no corn. Judah finally told his father that they would not attempt to go back without Benjamin.
Sometimes, we can be like Israel. We will sit in turmoil rather than be obedient to what our Governor (Jesus) has said. We resist until it becomes evident to us that we are going to starve without what He has to give us. Even then, we often attempt to do things our way and get “a little food.”
Dear ones, know this. Our Governor has a storehouse of plenty. He is worthy of our obedience, even when it seems hard to our natural way of thinking. We do not have to settle for a little food when we come obediently to the Lord’s bountiful hand!