Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-04-05
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON II, SECOND QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, APRIL 8.

xiv, a4-Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
Stcsrns.
I. "And Jncob dwelt in the land wherein
his father was a stranger, in the land of
Canaan" The margin says, I'm the land
of his fathers sojournings." God spoke Of
Abraham as a stranger in tho land, and
Abraham spoke of himself as stranger
| and a sojourner Gen. xvii, s; xiii, -. SO
also David in Chron xxx, Is. Compare
Pet. ii, IL. If we are Christs, we are citi-
zeHs Of heaven phil. iii, 20, Ply, but shall
reign on the earth when the kingdom comes
| (Rev. V, 8, 1o). The principal events in the
intervening chapters since last lesson are
| the reconciliation with Esau, another APP
pearance of God to Jacob and the death
and burial of Isaac, Rachel and Deborah.
9. "These are the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, being II years old, was feeding the
flock with his brethren, and Joseph brought
unto his father their evil report" This is
the tenth time that we have met in this
book the phrase, "Ihese are the genera
| tions, and it is the last time. Joseph and
Benjamin were the younger sons of Jacob,
and both were the children of his beloved
Rachel, who died when benjamin was
born (chapter Xxxv, 1s, 49, 1t would seem
that the conduct Of Josephs brethren was
not commendable and that he brought his
| father word to that effect.
8. Now Israel loved Joseph more than
all his children, because be was the son of
his old age, and he made him coat of
many colors." OF all the sons of Jacob the
| two most honored by Jehovah were Judah
| and Joseph, for from Judah came the Mes
siah, and the birthright was Joseph's q
! Chron. V, q. See in verses "a, 35, of our les
son chapter how great was Jacobs love to
this son, and how he refused to be comfort
cd when he thought him dead.
| 4. And when his brethren saw that their
! father loved him more than all his breth-
rem they hated him and could not speak
| peaceably unto him" Joseph was in many
respects wondrous type of Gods well be-
| loved Son, Jesus, our Saviour. Observe him
| hated and separated from his brethren
| Gen. Xix, %, IS; Deut. xxXiii, 49, and
think of Jesus hated without a cau,e ops.
xXXv, 10; Xix, 4; John XIV. 25). These breth-
rem make us think of the elder brother in
Luke XIV, but the practical part is for us, if
ever hated without cause, to think of Je
sus and rejoice in the privilege of fellow
ship with Him Il Pet. ii, 1920.
3. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he
| told it his brethren, and they hated him yet
| the more" Joseph does not seem as yet to
| have known his brothers hatred and in
| the simplicity of his heart he told them his
| dream. We have already read OF God COM
ing to Abimelech, to Jacob and TO Laban
| in dream Xxx, 3; XXI, H. Pa, and in Job
xxxiii, a. Is, we read that God speaks to
men in dreams and visions, if by any means
| He may turn them from their pride and
| the ruin to which it leads. There is not the
same need for Linn to speak in dreams now
that we have the whole word of God, yet
we would not like to say that he never tells
| anything in dreams any more.
&. And he said unto them, Hear, pray
you, this dream which have dreamed" Il
must have deeply impressed Joseph and
made him anxious to tell it. When we have
the sure word of God concerning all com
ing events, how is it that we are SO little
impressed by it, and therefore so slow TO
speak of it, 1t must be simply unbelief on
our part, or else willful ignorance. for as
surely as Joseph's dreams were in due time
fulfilled SO shall every word of God be full
filled. See lisa. xiv, "a Xvi, 0, 10; Ps. XXxiii,
| 10, II.
| {. For behold, we were binding sheaves
in the field. ana, 10, my sheaf arose, and
also stood upright, and behold, your sheaves
| stood round about and made obesance to
| my sheat" The Significance of the dream
seems simple enough aud the brethren evil
| IDENTIFY understood it, but it seemed very
unlikely TO be fulfilled. The sons of Jacob
We're doubtless familiar with the fact that
| God had spoken to their father and to La
ban in dream, and Joseph probably be-
lieved that God had now spoken to him.
When any word of God takes hold of US as
the very voice Of God to our souls, we are
not apt either to forget or keep still about it..
s. And his brethren said to him, Shalt
thou indeed reign over usi or shalt thou
indeed have dominion over usY And they
hated him yet the more for his dreams and
| for bis words" Their hatred did not affect
the dream nor its fulhllment, but only
| themselves neither has the hatred of the
Jews to their brother Jesus affected the
fulfillment of the sure word of God that He
shall sit on Davids throne and reign over
the house of Jacob forever Elsa. tx, I; Luke
| j, 81, 33), but it has seriously affected them
selves and will until they bow before Him
i'll true penitence Czech. tx, 10; xiii, u.
O. And he dreamed yet another dream,
|
/ have dreamed dream more, and behold
the sun, and the moon, and the II stars
made obesance to me-" Here is the same
revelation with an enlargement including
father and mother The dream being dou-
bled would prove that it was established by
God, and that He would bring it to pass
xii, 32). And we know that it came to pass
When read in nev. XII the record of the
woman clothed with the sun, the moon
under her feet, and on her head crown OF
II stars, associate that vision with this
dream and think that the man child of that
chapter will prove to be a first fruits from
Israel in the time of the great tribulation
which with the church as a first fruits from
all nations and both identified with Christ
will form the complete man child to rule
all nations. In due time we shall see.
10. "And he told it to his father and tC
his brethren and his father rebuked him
and said unto him: What is this dream that
thou hast dreamed2 Shall and thy mother
End thy brethren indeed come to bow down
ourselves to thee to the earthY' His father
{, H.. t,,t. A