am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. 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. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way. And they came unto 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; but when he saw the waggons which Joseph had sent to carry him, his spirit revived, and Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die. And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac." By this he acknowledged God in his way, and God directed his steps. He spake to him in visions of the night, renews the covenant with him, and encourages him to remove his family, which he did. "And all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten. And Joseph nourished his father and his brethren, and all his father's household with bread, according to their families. And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: but I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head"-worshipping God, as it is explained Heb. xi. 21. In his last sickness he is visited by Joseph and his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, upon each of whom he pronounced his blessing, saying, "In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh." Soon after this "Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, and hear,

ye sons of Jacob, and hearken unto Israel your father: that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.' This he did, by pronouncing a blessing, and giving a prediction concerning each tribe; and having made an end of commanding his sons in regard to his funeral, "He gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people." At the command of Joseph, the physicians embalmed his father: and when forty days of mourning were fulfilled for him, his sons did unto him according as he had commanded them. "And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen and it was a very great company. And they buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace."

In glancing over the life of this great, good, and venerable patriarch, we find that he was not without his faults and failings his ups and downs in life were trying and varied; his own account of which is the briefest and the best that can be given :-" Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.'

Job's testimony concerning mankind in general agrees well with this" Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble, He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.”

EXERCISES.

Who was the mother of Esau and Jacob? To whom did Esau sell his birthright? For how much? By what stratagem, or trick, did Jacob obtain the blessing of his father? Did he incur the deadly hatred of his brother? To whom did his mother send him, to be out of harm's way? Where did he first see Rachel? How long did he serve with his uncle Laban? Where did he go when he left him? Did he find favour in the sight of his brother? Where did Rachel die? What did she call her new-born son? Why did Jacob love Joseph more than all his children? Of what did Joseph dream? Did his brethren love him on account of his dreams? How did they treat him? To whom did they sell him? What did they do with his coat? For what sin was Jacob thus deceived? To whom was Joseph sold the second time? At whose instigation was he cast into prison? Did the Lord still continue to shew him mercy? Into whose hands were all the prisoners committed? How did Joseph interpret the dreams of the butler and the baker? Upon what occasion did the butler at last remember Joseph? What was his interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams? What did Joseph propose to do during the seven years of plenty? To what station was he exalted? Was the famine only in the land of Egypt? How many of Jacob's sons went down to buy corn? Did

Joseph know his brethren? What method did he take to prove their words? Was Jacob willing that Benjamin should go into Egypt? How did Joseph treat them when they came? What was the last trial he put upon them? What did he cause to be done before that he made himself known to his brethren? How was old Jacob affected when he was told that Joseph was yet alive? Where did Joseph place his father and his brethren? How old was Jacob when he died?

CHAPTER V.

FROM THE DEATH OF JACOB TO THE DEATH OF JOSEPH,
A. M. 2315-2369.

Character of Joseph- His Death.

In the last chapter we had not only Jacob and his times, but with them we had also the wonderful events of the life of his son Joseph, from the time that he was seventeen years of age until the death of his father, at which time he was fifty-six years of age; after which he lived fifty-four years.

Regarding these last fifty-four years of his life, all that is stated by the sacred historian is to be found in Gen. L. 14-26. -"And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren and all that went up with him to bury his father. And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: And Joseph lived an hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's

And

knees. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt."

It has been truly stated, "That the history of Joseph is a succession of scenes, constituting the finest prose drama in the world. If ever drama possessed all the constituents of that species of composition-unity of plot, a beginning, middle, and end; vicissitude of interest, variety of character, pathos of feeling, elegance of costume, and simplicity of language-it is this."* Through all these changing scenes, Joseph looked beyond all second causes, and in them recognized and acknowledged the hand of the Almighty. "No human character exhibited in the records of Scripture, is more remarkable and instructive than that of this patriarch. He is one whom we behold tried in all the vicissitudes of fortune, from the condition of a slave, rising to be ruler of the land of Egypt; and in every station acquiring, by his virtue and wisdom, favour with God and man. When overseer of Potiphar's house, his fidelity was proved by strong temptations, which he honourably resisted. When thrown into prison by the artifice of a false woman, his integrity and prudence soon rendered him conspicuous, even in that dark mansion. When called into the presence of Pharaoh, the wise and extensive plan which he formed for saving the kingdom from the miseries of impending famine, justly raised him to a high station, wherein his abilities were eminently displayed in the public service. But in his whole history there is no circumstance so striking and interesting as his behaviour to his brethren, who had sold him into slavery. The moment he made himself known to them, that moment was the most critical one of his life, and the most decisive of his character: the first words which his swelling heart allowed him to pronounce, are the most suitable to such an affecting situation which were ever uttered. —I AM JOSEPH; DOTH MY FATHER YET LIVE? What could he, what ought he, in that impassioned moment, to have said more? This is the voice of nature herself, speaking her own language. 'His brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.' No painter could seize a more striking moment for displaying the characteristical features of the human heart, than what is here presented. Never was there a situation of

*Gilfillan.

ye

more tender and virtuous joy on the one hand; nor, on the other, of more overwhelming confusion and conscious guilt. The apology which he made for their former cruelty is uncommon and very remarkable. First, as a discovery of his cordial forgiveness of his brethren; and secondly, as an instance of his dutiful attention to the providence of God. 'Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance,' &c. This was in truth no excuse for their crime. It were an impious conclusion, that because God extracts good from our evil, we are not answerable for the evil which we perpetrate. What Joseph wished, was to divert the attention of his brethren from the remembrance of a crime which was now wringing their hearts with anguish; nor was this merely a transient emotion, owing to the first burst of affection on discovering himself unto them. The same disposition is manifested towards them in the last incident that is recorded in the life of this eminent personage, than whom you will find few more distinguished by an assemblage of virtues; in the lowest adversity, patient and faithful; in the highest prosperity, beneficent and generous; dutiful and affectionate as a son; kind and forgiving as a brother; accomplished as a statesman; wise and provident as a ruler of the land. a character, you behold human nature possessing its highest honours. The sentiments which it inspires tend to ennoble our minds; to prevent them from imbibing the spirit of those hard, interested, and self-seeking men with whom the world abounds. Cruelty would have rendered Joseph unhappy within himself, as well as odious to others; and his name would have perished among the crowd of those contemptible statesmen whose actions stain the annals of history. Whereas now his character stands among the foremost in the ranks of spotless fame. His memory is blessed to all generations. His example continues to edify the world; and he himself shines in the celestial regions as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever.

In such

"When he saw his death approaching, he comforted those of his brethren who survived him with the assurance of their return to Canaan, and charged them to keep him unburied till that glorious day would arrive when they should be settled in the land of promise."* Thus Joseph, by faith in the doctrine of the resurrection, and the promise of Canaan, gave commandment concerning his bones.-Heb. xi. 22. Which command was fulfilled many years after; for which see Josh. xxiv. 32.

*The Rev. Dr Hugh Blair.