Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-12-14
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
JOSEPH FoRa1vDs HIS
BRoTHERS-Genesis. lS.1-1S.
Golden Text-H - forgive
mon their trespassea. your heev-
only Father will also forB1vs
you.-Matthew. 6.1l.
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON.


BY REV. HUGH T. sTEvDNsoN.
It would be dimcult 70 ma more
noble example Of Christian character
| in all history than II presented py
Joseph in this weeks lesson. He had
| mounted to a place Of power IN
Egypt. The years Of plenty had pass
| ed by and tho evil days Of famine
were upon the world. He was feeding
the peoples OF Egypt and the sur
rounding nations. This was . great
and noble work. but did not God have
moro in store for Joseph than mere
| temporal rewards? Pharaoh had &C.
| knowledged his ability. All the re.
| gala Of royalty was now bestowed
upon him. But was God satisfied with
means toward the divine end. Joseph's
success in tho eye of Jehovah con-
sisted of his worthy character and his
service to God and man.
During the twenty-five years spent
F.! in Egypt. God had been preparing
Joseph and testing him At every
point he had come through tho nre
| SUCCESSFULLY. He was sold into bond
age, where he served his master in
1 the name of the true God. He over
came great temptations, preferring
prison to sacrificing his moral prin-
ciples. In prison by reason of his in
| depreciation of the dream of the
kings chief butler, he had hoped to
effect his release. but the butler
/ promptly forgot all about him. This
proved to be fortunate for Joseph. for
otherwise he might not have been
called upon to interpret Pharaoh's
l n hue h fd hfc1
| ton.
But now his opportunity for re-
venge has come. Feeling the pinch Of
the famine, Jacob had sent all of his
Egypt to seek food. The brothers are
ushered into the presence of Joseph.
! the governor. who was personally eu-
pervising the sale of the grain.
Here are these brothers of Joseph.
They had been all that brothers
! should not have been. Petty 5eal-
ousy, ripenIng into unbridled hatred.
had impelled them into crime. Worse
than their treatment Of Joseph was
the sale Of their manhood. They had
given up their honor in word and
deed. For years the sorrow of their
father had been a constant reminder
| of their awful deed. Now they stand
in the presence of the one they had
w'ronged. But Joseph feels no spirit
of vengeance. Nor does he imme-
diately disclose his relationship and
utter words of forgiveness.
First they must be tested to see
whether their hearts have been
changed. The three preceding chap
tiers, Genesis, 42>44. contain in detail
the story of how Joseph sought to
ascertain this fact. He must do more
for his brothers than to let them
escape from an outward penalty. He
! must search their hearts to see
whether now they have the true
filial spirit. Before forgiveness must
come the. knowledge that the broth
ers were repentant and that their
others more noble and loftier in pur-
pose. 1t was not until Judah, speak
ing for the rest, made such an ear
nest plea for Benjamin to be returned
to his father, Jacob, that Joseph
spoke the word. He had then seen
a new light in their faces. born of
their chastened, subdued and pent-
tent spirits, which were now ready
to be freely forgiven and to enter
into the fellowship of brotherly love
All the more credit is due Joseph
because he was in a position to pun
ish severely the wrongs inf1icted
upon him. If they had met upon a
plane of equality, it would have been
much easier to have effected the re-
Cancellation. Now he is ruler and
! they humble suppliants for the neces-
stiles of life. How human Joseph
would have been if he had displayed
his position of superiority and re-
fused food to them, or even have In
f1icted punishment upon them. But
his nobility of character asserted It
self, and he was ready from the hrst
to forgive, but first he htd to test
his brothers to see If they were
worthy of full forgiveness.
This was no scene for the eyes OF
THE members of the royal court. II
was SO personal and intimate that
Joseph clears the room of all except
his brothers: 81 am Joseph; doth my
less, bewildered and amazed. Come
near to me, L pray you. Then, after
they have drawn near, he pours out
his heart to them. He speaks OF the
leadership of God during all the years
of hardship. suffering and prlVation-
4 He makes it plain that he harbors no
enmity He arranges for Jacob and
the family to be brought to Egypt in
order that the circle may be reunited
and that they may be near MN. Inen
he falls upon the neck OF his own
brother. Benjamin, and weeps Those
must have been tears of joy. such
tears as the proud mothers of Amert-
ca will weep upon the manly should-
ers of their returning warrior SONS;
It took rare strength of character TO
forgive such sdeep wrongs as Joseph
had suffered at the hands OF his pretn.
fren. His gentle, trusting nature hao
been abused. A mission OF KINDNESS
had been luIo tiO oS1
his ruin His happy home under tne
care of loving father had been takeh
from him. No weak soul could nave
triumphed over the natural instlncts
TO have requited the wrongs. he
cou1d have ignored his brothers. he
could have punished. But Joseph
character called for reconclilatio"
and the resumption Of brotheriy reia-
tions. And it was no simple easy
process. Real forgiveness goes 1ur
ther than merely letting one OF from
imst deserts. further than merely re-
1o;ttinp the penalty. An easy PARDON
nften does a deep wrong unconscious
IInless there is the sense OF un-
wyorthiness. the one who has oone
wrone can not be truly forgiven whlch
met mean the restoration or right re
tions. That explains the Tragedy "
: the hardened criminal. The sense OF
. the viIeness of his misdeed mas peer
snnnianted by the fear OF punishment
forgiveness is today greae tnSeI
national question It Is eVloen. .na -
both in America and abroad eneFe 10
much confusion as 70 Whas 70 vu,
Christian duty toward Germany;
On, Wnu1d have Germany received
. so the bosom of the family OF ma
tiona as if sf1e had never raped Bel
lam or committed murder upon tne
SSiab seas. Others would cast Ger
rnsnv out of the human family as n
nmtcast forever. Which is the Cnrls-
, t;an view. meeting the full require
nents of the Scripture? 4
. ii' Tr ~ the first place. the wfonged ma
lions must have the spirit OF forgive
, .io' II would not be Christian to
: meet hatred with hatred; the whole