Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1901-10-05
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson In the international Series ter
October 8, 1sO1JOseDE Sold
Into Egypt.
Prepared by H. C. Lenington.1
THE LESSON TEXT.

THE LESSON TEXT.
Genesis s7:2S-SS)
n And It came to pass, when Joseph Wa
come unto his brethren. that they stTipt
Joseph out OF his coat his coat of many col
ors that was on him;
"a. And they took him. and cast hiTp into
8 pit; and the pit was empty, there was
no water in it.
Is. And they sat down to eat bread; an6
/ they lifted up their eyes and looked ana
behold, a company of 1shmaelites cams
from Gilead with their camels bearing
| spicery and balm and myrrh, going 10
carry it down to Egypt.
| % And Judah said unto his brethrens
What profit is it if we slay our brother, and
conceal his blood?
q. Come and let US sell him to the Ish-
maeHtes, and let not our hand be upon hims
| for he is our brother and our flesh An0
| his brethren were content.
| g Then there passed by Midianites mer~
| chantmen; and they drew epd lifted up %
seph out OF the pit, and sold Joseph to the
| tshmaelites for % pieces of silver; and
| they brought Joseph into Egypt.
q. And Reuben returned unto the pit;
and, behold. Joseph was not in the git;
and he rent his clothes.
| 80. And he returned unto his brethren,
and said. The child is not; and I, whithex
shall I go?
81. And they took Joseph's coat. and
killed kid of the goats, and dipped the
coat in the blood:
50. And they sent the coat of many coloes.
| and they brought it to their father; and
said, This have we found; know now
whether 1t be thy sons coat or no.
49, And he knew it. and said, 1t is my
sons coat; evil beast hath devORretE
him; Joseph is without doubt rent hs
pieces.
GOLDEN TExT.-The patriarchsr
moved with envy, sold Joseph into
EEyptj but God was with him.-Acts
7:9.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
Thus far in our study of the OH
Testament we have covered three great
epochs in the history of the world:
~ First, we had the story of creation
and of the fall of man. (2l Second,
came the increasing wickedness OF
mankind, followed by their almost to-
tai annihiliation in the flood, and a
fresh beginning for the race in the
family of Noah. (3) Third, we came
to the time of Abraham, which Old
patriarch heard the voice of God and
tried to follow its leadings. His faith
fulness (and his faith) brought the
specific covenant of God for the chosen
people of which he was to be the ia
Their. We see further the establish
ment and partial fulfllment of ths
covenant in the large family of Jacob,
whose name was changed to Israel
thus giving his descendants the name
of Israelites.
To come down to the present lesson,
we properly cover in its study the en-
tire thirty-seventh chapter of Genesis,
of which the following is brief an
alysis:
}es9q9y % Rf 5obfS 4eas BrothersXs
Brothers Conspire to xiii HimVs 1S-2O
Bgt IS R sod to s4 fsRmd ai s
And Reported to His Father as % -.
Sold to Potiphar, in Egypt. Verse So
Jealousy of Joseph's Brothers.
Joseph's brothers were jealous be-
cause their father "'loved Joseph more
than all his children" Joseph was the
child of Jacobs old age, and this fact
explains the great love of his father
for him. The love was shown in many
ways probably, but most conspicuous
Iy by the gift of the coat of many COLI
ors. =
Joseph'g Two Dreams.-What ADDED
to the hatred of the brothers was DO
seph's childish imprudence in imme-
diately detailing to them any fancied
or real preferment. This is well illus
trated in the case of his two dreams,
dreams which had a real and vital sig
nifcance for him, but which he would
have better kept to himself for his own
inspira ton. Both dreams foretold
time when, in position of authority,
he should command the reverence and
respect not only of his brothers, but
of his father and mother also. Jacob
rebuked him, but father-like remem.
bered them, nourishing the hope that
this best-beloved son should indeed
make a marked success in life.
The Conspiracy to Kill Him.-ThG
jealousy of Joseph's brothers wan
deeper than Jacob ever imagined, else
} Jacob would never have sent him with
} a. message to them off in the distant
pas lures whittier the flock bad been
led. Here shey had him in their power,
''this dreamer" who boosted of making
them some time bow down before him.
Little did they dream that they by
their hatred were working out the
: fuIfllment of those very dreams. 1t
!, is the universal history that even
mans base passions can be made to
work to the glory of God.
Reuben Saves Him.-Reuben was thB
eldest brother, hence responsible to
his father for the deeds of the others
and the safety of the youngest son.
Moreover, his age and experience had
; given him more kindly disposition,
but his plan to save Joseph by hiding
him in pit failed. for during tenn
porary absence the other brothers sold
him to caravan of Ishmaelites.
Reported to His Father as Dead
The chief cruelty was not to the boy
thus sold into slavery, but to the aged
father who had loved him. This is an
other lesson to be gotten from this
story: the results of human passions
are seldom those which are intended
They had indeed gotten rid (tempO.
rarily) of their brother, but they had
sorely wounded their father.