But Judah said to him, "The man warned us solemnly, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.' – Genesis 43:3

Today's Scripture Reading (October 24, 2024): Genesis 43

When I was an older teen, I was on a road trip when I received a traffic ticket. I had made an illegal U-turn; that is probably why, almost fifty years later, I am still nervous about executing a U-turn. The problem was that I wasn't in my home province. I was visiting a vacation town in a neighboring province and camping with some friends. So, I had the ticket, but I was unsure what to do about it. I returned home and sent the money to pay the fine by mail. This was long before the internet and e-transfer or online payment.

I wrote the check and then trusted the check to the Canadian Postal Service. The cheque was cashed at the other end of the process, and I thought that would be the end of the story. So, I was surprised when my mom, I was still in High School and living at home, brought me an official-looking letter from the province where I had received the ticket. I went to my room, opened the envelope, and was informed that a warrant had been issued for my arrest for not paying the fine. Now, I was confused and didn't know what to do.

My next move was to go to the local Police Station for advice. I showed them the cheque written to pay the fine, and I remember the officer smiling, which helped a lot at that moment, and then asked when I was planning on returning to that province. I replied that I had no plans to return at the moment. The officer gave me this advice. Before you return to that province, check with us to see if an active warrant has been issued for your arrest. If there is, we will figure out what to do then.

The next time I visited the neighboring province was to visit my fiancée a few years later. I went back to the Police Station, told my story one more time, and found out that there was no warrant out for my arrest. And so, I was free to go back and visit my bride-to-be.

The famine in Canaan was long, and the food the brothers had brought back from Egypt wasn't enough. So, the obvious decision was to return to Egypt to purchase more food. But how could they do that? The evidence was that Jacob's sons had stolen food on their first visit to Egypt. They would be wanted in Egypt as thieves. But even more importantly, the man, Joseph, had told them not to return without bringing Benjamin with them. If this trip were to be successful, they would have to bring more money as well as their youngest brother.

Otherwise, the brothers would join Simeon in an Egyptian prison and never see the light of day again.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 44