Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1901-10-26
TIE SUNDAY SCHOOL,
Lesson In the international Series Tan
October "a, 1sO1-JOseph anas
His Brethren.
Prepared by H. C. Lenington.1
THE LESSON TEXT.
fCenesis 5:1-11.)

-
before all them that stood by him; and
he cried. Cause every man to go out from
me. And there stood no man with him.
while Joseph made himself known unto
his brethren.
2. And he wept aloud; and the Egyptians
and the house of Pharoah heard.
Z And Joseph said unto his brethren,
am Joseph; doth my father yet I've? Ana
his brethren could not answer him; for
they were troubled at his presence.
4. And Joseph said unto his brethren,-
Come near to me, pray you. And they
came near. And he said, 1 am Joseph, your
brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5. Now therefore be not grieved, nor an
| cry with yourselves, that We sold me htther;.
| life.
6. For these two years hath the famine
been In the land; and yet there are hve
years, In the which there shall neither be
| caring nor harvest.
2. And God sent me before you to pre-
serve you posterity in the earth, and to
save your lives by great deliverance.
5. So now it was not you that seut me
hither, but God; and he hath made me
| father to Pharaoh, and lord of ali his
house, and ruler throughout all the lapd
| of Egypt.
8. Haste We, 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;
| 10. And thou shalt dwell in the land of
| Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me.
| thou, and thy children. and thy children's
| children, and thy iocks, and thy herds, and
| all that thou hast:
| IL. And there will nourish thee: for yet
there are five years of famine; lest thou,
and thy household, and all that thou hast
| come to poverty.
GOLDEN TEXTILE not overcome OF
| evil, but overcome evil with yOoGS.-
Rom. 1921.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
The story of the meeting betweeR
| Joseph and his brothers in Egypt ia
one of the quaintest in all Bible his,
tory. It has a mingling of humor an6
pathos that is truly unique. We see in
it also the fulfillment of his boyhoOd
dreams of authority. 1t inaugurates,
too, the story of the Israelites in the
land of Egypt. So it is not merely
story with a moral; the incident leaves
| its impression on all subsequent jew
ish history and literature. 1t was a
seemingly small thing-the coming OF
Jacob and his wife and children into
Egypt, but it entailed series of events
of gigantic import in the historyof the
world.
The pathos creeps out in the at
tempts of Joseph at different timen
| to keep back the tears and keep fir oIh
| revealing himself to his brothers
There is vein of humor in the impris-
onment of Simeon to ensure the safe
return of the rest, and in the mysteri-
GUS returning of the money with which
the men had paid for their corn.
A curious thing in the working of
the human mind is shown when he
asks them to return with Benjamin,
their youngest brother, how they are
reminded (Gen. 42:21-22) of their
crime against Joseph in whose pres
ence they at that moment were, I'M
known to themselves.
Altogether it was a piece of the ut
most good-natured revenge, and its
ike it would be hard to duplicate. Jo-
seph quietly worked upon their super
stitions, on their guilty consciences,
then finally made himself known to
them. For the whole story read in
Genesis, Chapters 40, 43, A and As.
The lesson maybe made to turn upon
two points. The first is the sweet re-
venge that may be had by returning
good for evil. The story can very read
lily be imagined that would have been
written had Joseph returned evil for
evil. His brothers were absolutely in
his power, their very lives were in his
hands. In this connection also it may
be noted that in these years he had
learned the wisdom of humility. He
said nothing to remind them that he
had dreamed of his future asce ndancy;
he did nothing to keep them in mind of
their dependence upon him.
The other lesson is that of the provi-
dence of God. To Joseph God was al
ways very real. Everything was due
to God, God was in everything, ruling
and overruling in accordance with
Divine plans for the good of His chill
dren if only they would serve Him. 1t
was God (Gen. 45:7) who sent Joseph
into Egypt for the purpose of saving
their elves by great deliverance." 1t
was God who had given him his position
of prominence in Egypt. Tt is a lesson
that would make the lot of every man,
woman and child easier to-day if it
were needed. God rules, and all things
work together for good to those who
love God and seek to DO His command
ments. If God governs the affairs of
men, why should man worry about the
outcome of his little plans? The pur-
poses of God will be worked out no
matter what we do, and all will he we'll
with us if we will but work In accord
with His evident purpose. If your lot
| is hard, it is for the best, make the
most of it.
righteousness shall finally tri-
umph. Truth may be in a dungeon and
iniquity upon the throne for time.
but not always. Joseph may be sold
as slave and subsequently impris.
oned, but one day he will come to his
proper place. One of the most reason
able arguments for the future life is
found in that sense of justice within
US which declares that the wrongs that
are not righted in this life viii be IL
! the life to eome."-Pelonbet.
cTTIIED ABROAD