Genesis 44:33  Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.

A good question to ask when pondering a passage of Scripture, especially a story, is, "where do I see myself in this?"  In reading the story of Joseph and his brothers I tend to identify with Joseph, who had to suffer in order to grow into the destiny God revealed in that dream he had as a young man.  But maybe I should be thinking about the brothers who chafed under their father's obvious favoritism and were sick of Joseph and his self-glorifying dreams.  Maybe I am one of the brothers, whose destiny is to honor and serve other and show them respect?  The Scriptures make it clear that our greatest ambition is to be a servant (cf. Matthew 20:26-28). 

Here,in this verse, is a moment of truth.  Judah, who led the brothers to sell Joseph as a slave (after Reuben, talked him out of murder), now bows before Joseph and offers himself as a slave to free Joseph's little brother, Benjamin.  Joseph needed to grow in order to fit the role he saw for himself in the dream, and so did Judah.  Is being the one who receives the honor (Joseph) really better than being one of those who gives honor (Judah and his brothers bowing before Joseph)?  Even the authority given to Joseph was for the benefit of others, including the brothers who hated him.