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Joseph with your life? It is now too late, you could have saved him. We should make no compromise with evil doers; we should act right, and from the first. 2. The Brothers Deceive Jacob. They dyed the coat another “color,” and said, “This we found: Know now whether it is ( “our brother’s coat?” Ah, no) thy son’s coat or not?” Happily, though it was his son’s, and their brother’s coat, it was not his blood. Poor Jacob—yet we remember another father, and another son, and an other quest, “whether thou be my very son Esau, or not” (Gen. 27:21). “The mills of the gods grind slow, but they grind ex ceeding small.” “And Jacob rent his gar ments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days (a terrible grief! see 2 Sam. 18:32, 33), and all his sons (ye hypocrites, no wonder ye were “miserable comforters”) and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, “For I will go down to Sheol (never "grave. Jacob believed in endless existence, his body to the grave, his soul to Sheol, to Joseph in Sheol, whence Jesus has borne them to be with him, Eph. 4:8). Notes.—Are you hated in the way of duty, cast into a pit, forsaken of men, aban doned (?) by God? remember Joseph. “All things for good, are working together, Oh, watch, and trust, and pray.” Are you bereaved, broken-hearted, mourn ing your best beloved, and your hope in life? remember Jacob, and his sad mistake of choosing despair rather than expectant hope, and forgetting the God of Bethel and the host of Mahanaim. “The clouds you so much dread Are big with mercies And shall break with blessings On your head.” I n t e r p r e t s D r e a m s .— Gen. 40. ihty giveth them understanding. —Job. 32 :8.
Joseph! oh that his eyes had been open, as those of another youth at this same Dothan (2 Kings 6„:16, 17), to see the an gels of Bethel (Gen. 28:12) and the hosts of Mahanaim (Gen. 32:1, 2) camping round him (Ps. 34:7) as they do round every child of the covenant (Heb. 1:14). “And they sat down to eat bread,” utterly heartless like the gamblers at the cross, the rulers in the pascal festivities after the crucifixion, and Herod when he had be headed* John (Matt. 27:35; John 18:28; Matt. 14:11). V. J oseph S old . 1. To the Ishmaelites. When men have evil purposes there is always a pit, a kid, or a caravan at hand. To fulfill His good purposes God enlists all things, great or small, and everything happens “in the nick of time” to promote the ends of eternity. “Behold, a caravan.” If Joseph was to be disposed of they might better turn a penny by it. So thought Judah, like his name sake in the New Testament. Judah, how ever, repented “unto life” (Gen. 44:18-34, what a plea!) but Judas never, though Jesus was as forgiving as Joseph. They sold him at a boy’s price ($12.50?), less than a man’s ($20.00?). 2. To Potiphar. The slave dealers no doubt got a good profit, but Potiphar made a great bargain at any price. Now, what will become of the dreamer and his dreams? What could be more hopeless 1. Reuben. He was not present to pre vent the sale. He came, the pit was empty! He piteously" lamented to his brethren, “The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?” He could not bear the thought of answering his broken-hearted old father. But Reuben, why did you not stand by LESSON V.—May 4 .— J o s e p h G olden T e x t : The breath of the Almi than Joseph’s case? VI. J acob ' s G rief .
I. E gypt . the savant. It was the empire of his time, Egypt of Joseph’s day, 3500 years ago, and a highly civilized land. _We learn of has been made familiar to us by the spade its merchant caravans, spicery, slaves, of the archeologist and the study lamp of princes, palaces, prisons; its stewards,
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