II. JOSEPH'S CONVERSATION with his BRETHREN. "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life, for these two years hath the famine been in the land, and there are yet five years in which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance, so now, it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father and say unto him, thus saith thy son Joseph: God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: and there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty: and behold, your eyes see, and the of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto eyes you. yon. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen, and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them; and after that his brethren talked with him." How kind was this conduct. raging were his words. reprove his brethren, to How end encou His design was to make them remem ber their sin in such a mauner as to be truly sorry for it, and to shew by their repentance that they were not disposed to repeat the crime, in acting in the same manner towards Benjamin. He now beheld their terror and confusion, and therefore that they might not sink under the weight of their guilt and des pair of mercy from him, he told them to draw near and not to be afraid, that they were not to be grieved or angry with themselves, that God had sent Joseph to Egypt, and that this was done in order to preserve their lives. Though God hath brought good out of evil, yet it by no means excused their sin, and therefore it was their du ty to humble themselves before God and repent. This was said to comfort them and relieve the anguish of their minds. Thus they were not only led to hope and seek pardon from God, but by the kind and affectionate manner in which Joseph had embraced them all, they were assured of his forgiveness. He had given them the kiss of peace and reconciliation, and now they were able to converse with each other. III. PHARAOH'S KINDNESS to JOSEPH'S BRETHREN. "And the fame ther of was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come; and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, say unto thy brethren, this do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you into the land of Canaan, and take your father and your household, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ve shall eat of the fat of the land. Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you waggons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father and come. Also regard not your stuffs, for for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours." How kind and generous was this conduct of Pharaoh. This shews how much he loved Joseph, and what an high character he had with all ranks. Pharaoh and his servants were pleased that they had now some opportunity of slewing their gratitude to Joseph's family. Pharaoh offers them the best produce of the land, even the good of all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh's commands were obeyed, and Joseph gave them provisions for the way. "To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner, ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way, so he sent his brethren away and they departed: And he said unto them, see that ye fall not out by the way." How kind was Joseph to send such a present to his aged father. His father had sent him a present of the best fraits of the land of Canaan, and now Joseph sends him ten asses laden laden with the good things of Egypt. How kind to his brethren, and especially to Benjamin. How necessary was the caution which he gave them, "not to fall out by the way." Not to reproach each other with their unkindness towards him, but to forget all and forgive each other even as he had forgiven them. Joseph laid his commands upon them, and they would now think it their duty to obey one who had shewed them such kindness and affection. IV. The REPORT they made to their FATHER on their RETURN, "And they went up out of Egypt and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, and told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is Governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not." He thought the news too good and too wonderful to be true. "And they told him the words of Joseph which he had said unto them: and when he saw the waggons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived." The good news he had heard was now confirmed by the arri val |