Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1906-01-12

night In my dreams | could again hear
our brother pleading with us that we
SEMI him not into Egypt and as ]
WATCHED him disappear there seemed
o come hand out OF Heaven pointing
at lis, and | heard a voice saying: His
blood be upon thee. had thought not
to cell thee, but my lips can no longer
keep back the cry of fear which arises
in my heart"
at Is the accusing voice of God"
they all exclaimed. while apprehension
YEA" deiectedly spoke up judah.
after they mad ridden on in silence for
some time, how can we expect that
God will deal well with us when we
have done so wickedly? Surely our
brother was righteous before us. Oh,
hat we had not dealt with him so
,ruelly!"
at is no use," broke in Levi. bitter
y, ''our sin does follow US. When
think | have quieted my fears, and put
he thing away from my mind forever,
il rises specter-like before me and fills
me with apprehension. All, who can
rid his heart of the stain which sin has
eff"
SUCH was the state OF mind Of She
brothers as they drew near to the
Egyptian city.
In accordance with his instructions
the chief steward at once notified Jo-
seph of the arrival of a company of
men from the east. and the governor.
dressed in his robes Of state, FASTENED
from his home to the great warehouse,
where people came to buy grain.
With deferential air, and furttve, I'M
easy glance they enter the private
audience room, and as they come OPP
posite to where the governor Is seated
they cast themselves down with their
faces to the ground, and wait for him
to speak and bid them rise. But after
the first glance at those ten PROSTATE
forms the governor sees them no more,
but before his eyes there comes the
vision Of the long gone years when as
a boy he slept In the wheat field with
his brothers about him. He sees again
as wildly as on that night the sheaves
of his brothers fall down before his
own sheaf, which remains upright.
and a cry escapes his lips as he again
| looks upon the men before him and he
realizes that God has established their
identity. His first impulse is to throw
aside his robe and raise his brothers
to their feet and fall upon their necks
and kiss them, but something whis-
pers In his heart: Nay, that Is not
Gods way. Unless you can win back
the hearts of your brothers through
true repentance thy kindness will be
to their hurt and thy sorrow" So, re-
straining the yearning OF his heart, he
sternly babe them rise and inquired
Whence come yer"
From the land of Canaan to buy
food"
Nay" sharply replied the governor.
"ye are spies. To see the nakedness
Of the land are ye come"
mot 80, my lord" they cried, trem-
bling and again falling down before
him, I'VE speak truly when we tell thee
that to buy food are thy servants
come. We are IL brethren, the sons
of one man in the land Of Canaan;
and behold, the youngest Is this day
with our father, and one Is not"
Josephs heart leaped within him al
he heard them speak Of himself, whom
they thought dead. They reckoned
him among their number, even though
II brought the conviction Of sin to their
hearts, but he must let God probe still
deeper, and so he exclaimed:
Eye are spies, indeed. Hereby ye
shall be proved BY the life of Phar-
aoh We shall not 90 forth hence, ex-
cept your youngest brother come
hither. Send one of you, and let him
fetch your brother, and We shall be
kept in prison. that your words may
be proved, whether there be any truth
in you; or else by the life Of Pharaoh
surely We are spies"
And Joseph ordered them bound and
cast into prison, where for the space
of three days they were left to the
burden of their own thoughts and
AsfS guilty consciences. Three days
of awful darkness and anguish. Three
days in which God probed deeper and
deeper into their hearts and made
them bitterly repent And on the third
day Joseph came unto them and said
IF 70 be true men, let one Of your
brethren be bound in the prison, while
the others go and carry corn for tho
famine Of your houses. But brint
your youngest brother unto me; 81
shall your words be verified, and "
shall not die"
And having thus spoken. the gov
ernor signified that the interview wal
at an end by dismissing the inter
prefer. and waited while they shoult
choose one Of their number in accord
ance with his word. Then did the!
begin to confess to one another thei
faults, not knowing that Joseph un
derstood them, saying:
I'VE are verify guilty concerning on
, brother, in that We saw the anguisl
of his soul, when he oesought us, an
we would not hear; therefore Is thi
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