THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NESS sible that brothers could be so cruel, but they planned to kill Joseph so he would be out of the way. The oldest brother Reuben begged them not to kill him, but to put him down into a pit and leave him. (Describe pit.) Reu ben meant to come back later and take Joseph out and let him go hack to his father. So when Joseph came near his brothers, they treated him roughly, took off his coat, and put him down into the deep pit. There was no water in the pit so Joseph did not drown, so you see God watched over Joseph for He had some more work for him to do. Then these cruel brothers sat down to eat their dinner and paid no attention to poor Joseph down in the pit, crying for them to take him out. While they were eating they heard the jingling of bells, and looking up saw a lot of camels coming on which were seated men and women. These people had lots of spices and were going down into a country called Egypt to sell the spices. Now Judah another of the brothers did not want Joseph to die in the pit, so he said to sell him to these people with the camels. When these men said they would buy Joseph as a slave to be owned just as a dog or horse, Joseph was drawn up out of the pit, and soon the men put him on one of the camels, and they started off for Egypt, carrying poor Joseph to a far off country where the people did not worship God. O it was such a wicked thing to sell their brother, but it was better than killing him. Then they did another very cruel thing. They killed a sheep and dipped the beautiful co&t in the blood„ and when they reached home, they showed the coat to their father, telling him they had found it, and what do you think the dear old father thought? Of course he thought some wild beast had killed Joseph. You see the brothers told a lie, for they did not find the coat, but took it away from Joseph. The dear old father was very sad and
1071 cried, but the wicked brothers never told the father the truth. Next Sunday we will hear what happened to Joseph in Egypt. Closing Prayer. Help us to love one another', and to always speak the truth. WHAT WE GIVE GOD Some years ago, a clergyman in the Middle West brought together what he called a “ contribution-box museum.” It was a motley array of more or less worthless coins which had been gleaned from the collection plates of scores of churches, and represented what certain unknown persons had given as their freewill offering to God. All the coins were of small denomination, and all were defaced— punched, worn, battered, bent, blackened, or scorched. Not one of them could have been passed over the counter at their face value. Why were these bits of money given? In all likelihood, some of them came out of the pockets of thoughtless, fun- loving boys, who secretly chuckled over the surprise of gravefaced church officials when the contents of the plates should be counted. Other givers were grown men, no doubt, who felt a cer tain obligation to put in something, and who knew that the discredited dime or quarter would “ pass” here without question. It was worth what it was worth, and it rattled as con vincingly on the plate as a coin new and bright from the mint. Taken as a whole, the psychology of the contribution-box museum is rather disheartening. It reflects a phase of petty meanness which we find it diffi cult to excuse. And how short-sighted it is, too! Surely God’s eyes can detect a clipped coin more quickly than can ours, and what is given, or whether anything is given, is, in the last analy sis, a matter between the giver and God.-—The Wellspring.
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