1 Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” 3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, `You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 “If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 “But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, `You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.'” 6 Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” 7 But they said, “The man questioned particularly about us and our relatives, saying, `Is your father still alive? Have you anotherbrother?’ So we answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, `Bring your brother down’?”8 Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. 9 “I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever. 10 “For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
It was no huge surprise to see Reuben trying to help his family at his own expense. He was the one who originally tried to save Joseph from slavery. But now Judah shows how his heart has changed by offering his own life in exchange for Benjamin’s. He was showing the change that Joseph was looking for, and that was necessary to convince Jacob to send his youngest son into harm’s way. Your integrity does not show so much in the good times, but usually only when times get tough.