Genesis 42: 37, 38: “And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.”
Joseph’s brothers were in the process of learning to behave responsibly. Reuben was the oldest brother who had tried to save Joseph before he was sold as a slave. Here he takes responsibility and offers to leave his two sons as hostages so that the family can be saved when they go to get more food. Slowly but surely, the family was rehabilitated after their very bad start to life. It is amazing what God will do in someone’s life if they are willing to accept that He is God and controls everything. This is similar to John Mark. He went on the first missionary journey with Barnabas and Paul but pulled out when the left Cyrus and went to Asia (see Acts 13: 13). Later, when Barnabas wanted to take him on the second missionary journey Paul didn’t want to take him and this resulted in a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, so much so that they separated and went to different places forming two missionary teams rather than one. However, much later, just before Paul was martyred for his faith, Paul and Mark had been reconciled and Paul said that Mark was profitable for him in the ministry (2 Tim 4: 11). It is never too late to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved for He can always work miracles in your life.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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