The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-06-12
WEEKLY SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
The Brotherly Love Of Judah
By HIGHT {. MOORE

beloved Benjamin had been DE-
manded in the company of pur-
chaserS on the present journey.
But these were only straws in the
path of the storm now to arise.
And think of the entertainment
of these brothers in the palace, of
their fair purchase to meet the
need at home, of their early start
with glad hears on the return
Journey, of their overtaking and
arrangement by Joseph's steward,
of the finding Of the cup in Ben
jamin's sack, of the utter con-
sternation and bewilderment of
the company, of their immediate
return to the palace, and of fac
ing their royal accuser! What
must have been their anguish Of
soul! Yet is not gold tried by
the fire? And where else can
Self-sacrifice shine except in some
furnace of affliction?
A sublime brotherliness was
shown. And now PROSTATE Judah
exhibits a character which his
royal brother had not seen before.
He who suggested the sale Of
Joseph to the lshmaelites has
grown in heart since that regret
table day. Here he falls and
pleads for Benjamin who, for all
he knew, was guilty of the appar-
ent crime laid against him. Judah
and the others could, when over
taken, have slain Benjamin for
theft or deserted him to his fate
in Egypt. On the contrary, see
how they came back, an unbroken
circle to face their offended lord.
See the humility, the helplessness,
the confession of that old inquity
that had long haunted them. Hear
Sobbing judah, standing honestly
by his agreement and standing un-
selfishly by Benjamin, make his
plea for his aged father, for his
youngest brother, for his other
brethren, offering himself as
bondman in their stead. What
pathos there was in his interces-
sion; and yet it was inter-pene-
trated with brothliness like a dark
room shot through with shafts of
light.
A sublime efficiency was at
tanned. Is self-sacrifice without
effect? Can the ministry of in
tercession be unavailing? Follow
the story a little further. In a
moment Joseph's heart burst with
compassion for his breathren. He
now knew that the stony hearts
which sent him into servitude had
been changed. He had heard of
his fathers unceasing sorrow for
him during these years. He saw
before him his own mothers son,
conscious of innocence but rent
with anguish under the charge of
crime. He felt upon his heart
strings the hot yearning of penit-
ent and pleading suppliants And
the sacrificial offer Of Judah STIR
red his soul to it's depths until
calm could come alone in self-re-
violation and reconciliation.
A sublime virtue was display
ed. Review this stirring incident
and see if self-sacrifice is not the
output and flower of many other
virtues. 1t is not a codl, isolated,
calculating trait; it must be fos-
tered and propelled by other prac-
es. So we find the former faults
and vices of Judah vanish in the
presence of this royal deed.
Think of his honesty and fair
dealing; of his loyalty to his word
to Jacob in Canaan, to the stew
ard by the wayside, and to Joseph
in the palace: of the transparency
that welcomed examination; and
the restitution spirit which carri-
ed him back to reckon with his
royal accuser; of his confession
of past inouity; of his humility,
and love, and patience, and the
evident faith that somehow all
would turn out for the best. How
far he had Travelled on the better
road since the sale of Joseph at
Dothanl Nor can any one scale
the summit of self-abnegation ex-
cept by the upreaching foothills
of contributing graces.
A sublime example was fore
cast. We are moved by the story
of Judah's sacrificial spirit. Yet
It was but a finger.board point
ing onward to the infinitely great
err self-sacrifice of him who gave
his life a ransom for many I'D Did q.