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UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 00022094626 
 
THE FALL OF MAX. 
 
 Sunday Afterno 
 
SUNDAY AFTERNOONS 
 
 IN THE NURSERY 
 
 OR, 
 
 FAMILIAR NARRATIVES FROM THE 
 BOOK OF GENESIS. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF "MINISTERING CHILDREN," ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 ROBERT CAETEE & BROTHERS, 
 
 530 Broadway. 
 
 1S59. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/sundayafternoonsOOchar 
 
ttfxtt. 
 
 N this little work the simplest narration of the early his- 
 tory of the Sacred Scriptures has been attempted, com- 
 bined with a brief explanation and application for the 
 use of children. The exquisite simplicity of the sacred 
 narratives renders their, transposition into other words 
 a difficult and thankless experiment. A selection of 
 circumstances, we know, may be usefully made for very 
 young children, who cannot follow the endless variety of the 
 inspired details ; but in proportion as these details increase in 
 tenderness and in minuteness, — as, for instance, in the history 
 of Joseph, — so does it become increasingly impossible and hope- 
 less to change the garb of language in which the Divine Spirit 
 has expressed them. "We desire to attain simplicity, — but it 
 may be this is best secured when we trust infinite Truth to its 
 own form of expression. We believe that holy Scripture is 
 able to make the child wise unto salvation ; while, then, we 
 endeavor to explain and apply, we may be thankful still to 
 leave the Divine Word to make its own direct appeal to the 
 
Jy PREFACE. 
 
 heart: "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and 
 they are life." We desire that the child's interest may be so 
 awakened and sustained, as that he may return again and again 
 to dwell upon the sacred record, in order that divine truth 
 may be written and engraven on his mind ; if we wish epitomes 
 of holy Scripture to aid in this, may it not be best attained 
 by preserving the style which alone possesses, in every age and 
 in every clime, "the dew of its youth?" 
 
 St. Olave's Rectory. 
 
€ n t tn t s . 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I. — The Gardex of Edex, 7 
 
 II. — The Fall op Max, 13 
 
 III. — Adam axd Eve Drivex from Edex, . . . .19 
 
 IT. — Caix axd Abel, 24 
 
 Y.— The Ark, 31 
 
 YL— The Flood, 36 
 
 YII— The Rainbow. 43 
 
 TIH — The Tower of Babel, 48 
 
 IX. — Abraham axd nis Sox Isaac, 55 
 
 X. — Jacob's Blessixg, . G3 
 
 XI. — Jacob's Dream, 75 
 
 XII. — Jacob with his Uxcle Labax 82 
 
 XIII. — Jacob's Retdrx, 89 
 
 XIY— Joseph, 100 
 
 XT— Joseph, 110 
 
 XYI. — JosEpn ix Egypt, 119 
 
 XTII. — Joseph axd Pharaoh, 131 
 
 XYIII. — Joseph axd his Brethrex, 142 
 
 XIX. — Joseph axd his Father, 1G2 
 
I. 
 
 ffjje ©itrtrnt of (Eimt, 
 
 N the beginning God created the Heaven 
 and the Earth. 
 
 And God said, Let there be light ; and 
 c #&) there was light. And God called the light 
 ^ Day ; and the darkness He called Night. 
 It was the first day of the week when God 
 made the light. 
 
 God made the blue sky above our heads, and 
 called the blue sky Heaven. It was the second 
 day of the week when God made the blue sky. 
 
 God made the waters to flow together from off 
 the dry land ; and called the dry land Earth, and 
 the gathering together of the waters He called 
 Seas. God made the Earth to bring forth grass, 
 and herbs, and fruit-trees. And God saw that it 
 was good. It was the third day of the week when 
 
8 THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 
 
 God made the dry land, and the Sea, the grass, the 
 herbs, and the trees. 
 
 God made the sun and the moon ; and set the 
 sun and the moon in the Heavens ; the sun to give 
 light by Day ; and the moon to give light by 
 Night. He made the stars also ; and God saw that 
 it was good. It was the fourth day of the week 
 when God made the sun and the moon and the 
 stars. 
 
 God made every fish ; and every bird ; the fish 
 to swim in the water, and the birds to fly in the 
 open air under the blue Heaven. And God gave 
 His blessing to the fish and to the birds ; and 
 He commanded the fish to fill the Sea, and the 
 birds to multiply upon the land : and God saw that 
 it was good. You can hear a great many sounds 
 in the World now. You can make sounds, you 
 laugh and speak; but once there was no noise in 
 this great World, no sound except the sweet song 
 of the birds among the trees, and the splash of the 
 happy fish playing in the water. The fishes and 
 the birds were the first living creatures which God 
 made on the earth. It was the fifth day of the 
 week when God made the fishes and the birds. 
 
T II E G A R DEN OF EDEN. 
 
 God made all the cattle of the fields ; and all the 
 beasts; and every creeping thing that creepeth 
 upon the ground : and God saw that it was good. 
 When God had made all this beautiful World, and 
 the fishes, and the birds, and the cattle, and the 
 beasts, and the creeping things, God said, Let us 
 make man in our Image, after our Likeness. And 
 God created man of the dust of the ground, and 
 breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and 
 Man became a living soul. And God blessed man, 
 and gave the beautiful World to him, and gave 
 him power over every moving thing. God gave 
 the herbs of the ground, and the fruit of the 
 trees, to be man's food. God gave the green herbs 
 also to be food to the beasts of the field, and the 
 birds of the air, and to everything that creepeth 
 on the ground. And God saw all that He had 
 made, and behold it was very good. It was the 
 sixth day when God made the cattle, and the 
 beasts, and the creeping things ; and when God 
 made man to rule over them all : Thus the Hea- 
 vens and the Earth were finished. 
 
 God made the World and every living creature 
 in six days, and rested on the seventh day from all 
 
10 THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 
 
 His work which He had made. And God blessed 
 the seventh day, and made it a Holy Day, because 
 on the seventh day God rested from all His work, 
 which He had created and made. 
 
 God made also a home for man on Earth : this 
 home was a Garden, more beautiful than all the 
 World beside. In this Garden the Lord God made 
 to grow every tree that is good for food, and 
 pleasant to the sight. In the midst of the Garden 
 grew the Tree of Life. And a great river flowed 
 through the Garden to water it. The name of the 
 Garden was Eden. And the Lord God took the 
 man, and put him into the Garden of Eden ; the 
 Man was not to be idle ; he was to take care of the 
 trees, and fruit, and the flowers. And the Lord 
 God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of 
 the Garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the Tree 
 of Knowledge of Good and Evil, thou shalt not eat 
 of it, for, in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt 
 surely die. The man might eat the fruit of all the 
 trees but one : there was only one tree which God 
 commanded him not to touch : it was called the 
 Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. 
 
 God called the man, Adam. Adam was alone in 
 
T HE GARDEN OF EDEN. 11 
 
 the beautiful Garden, lie had no friend and com- 
 panion on earth. And God said it was not good 
 for man to be alone, and He would make a com- 
 panion and helper for him. Then the Lord God 
 brought every beast of the earth, and every bird of 
 the air to Adam, to see what he would call them, 
 and Adam gave names to all the living creatures; 
 but there was no companion found for him. And 
 the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon 
 Adam, and took one of his ribs, and closed up the 
 flesh instead thereof, and the rib which the Lord 
 God had taken from Adam, made He a woman, and 
 brought her unto Adam. And Adam called her 
 name Eve. 
 
 Adam and Eve lived together in the Garden of 
 Eden. They were the obedient children of the 
 Lord God, therefore they were happy. There was 
 no trouble in the World then, because there was no 
 disobedience. Adam and Eve were obedient to 
 God, therefore the creatures were all obedient to 
 them. The lion and the tiger were as gentle as the 
 faithful dog. The little lamb was not afraid to lie 
 down to sleep close by the side of the wolf. The 
 bee and the wasp had no angry sting. Eve listened 
 
12 THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 
 
 to the sweet songs of the birds among the trees, 
 and when she went up to them they did not fly 
 away in fear, as they will now if they hear your 
 step, or see you coming near. There were no 
 weeds in the Garden of Eden ; no sharp thorns and 
 prickling thistles there ; the flowers grew up with- 
 out being planted, and their sweetness filled the 
 air. The ripe fruit hung from the trees, and God 
 gave all to Adam and Eve, all except one tree, the 
 Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They 
 might not touch that tree, for God had commanded 
 them not to touch it. They had no need even to 
 look at that tree, for there were more trees beside 
 that one, than we could even remember to name. 
 Every sight was beautiful, and every sound was full 
 of peace and joy, because every thing was very 
 Good. 
 
 How excellent are thy ivorks ! in wisdom hast 
 thou made them all. — Psalm civ. 24. 
 
II. 
 
 C&e fall of llaii. 
 
 s^) OU have heard of the wicked Tempter, that 
 evil spirit called Satan. He was once a 
 holy, happy angel in Heaven ; but he re- 
 belled against God, and he was cast out 
 from Heaven, and all the disobedient an- 
 gels, who had been rebellious, with him; no 
 evil thing can find any place in Heaven. Satan 
 still continued a wicked Tempter. He saw how 
 happy Adam and Eve were in the beautiful Garden 
 of Eden, and he thought he would try and persuade 
 them to be disobedient, that he might make them 
 as miserable as himself. God knew what Satan 
 thought to do, and God permitted it, to try whether 
 Adam and Eve would remember His Commandment 
 to do it, or whether they would listen to the wicked 
 Tempter, and be disobedient. Satan came into the 
 Garden, and he hid himself in a serpent, that he 
 
14 THE FALL OF MAN. 
 
 might the more easily persuade Eve to listen to 
 him. Then he talked to Eve, and tempted, her to 
 disobey the command, of God. Eve did not run 
 away ; she did not refuse to hear. No ; she talked 
 with the Tempter ; she knew his words were 
 wicked, because they tempted her to disobey God, 
 and yet she listened. At last she looked at the for- 
 bidden fruit, and when she looked, she longed for 
 it ; and then she put forth her hand and took of the 
 fruit, and did eat, and she gave also to her husband 
 with her, and he did eat. They turned from the 
 holy Commandment delivered to them, and became 
 disobedient. Now they were guilty sinners before 
 God, instead of being His holy, happy, obedient 
 children. 
 
 When the cool evening came, they heard the 
 voice of the Lord God walking in the Garden ; and 
 Adam and his wife hid themselves from the pres- 
 ence of the Lord anions the trees in the Garden. 
 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said 
 unto him, Where art thou ? And Adam said, I 
 heard Thy voice in the Garden, and I was afraid. 
 Adam knew that he was guilty, his heart trembled 
 with fear, and he was afraid of God's judgments. 
 
THE FALL OF MAN. 15 
 
 Satan was full of cruel triumph — lie thought lie had 
 made Adam and Eve as miserable as himself — lie 
 thought he had destroyed the works of God. But 
 Satan did not know the power of God's love. Sa- 
 tan knew the power of God's anger, for it had made 
 him foil as swift as lightning from Heaven ; but 
 he did not know that God's love was as strong as 
 His anger. God's anger had driven the wicked 
 Tempter down from Heaven ; but God's love would 
 raise and lift up poor " broken-hearted" sinners to 
 that blessed and holy Heaven from which Satan 
 had been driven away for ever. 
 
 Adam and Eve stood guilty and afraid before 
 God, and the Tempter stood with them. God 
 talked with Adam and Eve. He asked them what 
 they had done, and He suffered them to tell him all 
 that their fear led them to say. But God did not 
 talk with the wicked Tempter ; God spoke to him, 
 but it was in dreadful punishment, and Satan could 
 not answer. The Curse of God fell first upon the 
 Tempter. God spoke it with His own lips, dread- 
 ful to hear, but oh how dreadful to bear, and to 
 bear for ever ! Then the curse of God fell on the 
 beautiful Earth. God had made it " very good," 
 
16 THE FALL OF MAN. 
 
 because it was the home of His obedient children ; 
 but now they had become disobedient and unholy, 
 and they could no longer have the same peaceful 
 dwelling-place. God said to Adam, Cursed is the 
 ground for thy sake. The sweet flowers died be- 
 neath their Creator's Curse, and thorns and thistles 
 grew up in their place. The beasts no longer ate 
 the grass and herbs, they grew wild and fierce ; 
 they would no longer obey man, but roamed away, 
 and devoured one another. The birds grew wild 
 and full of fear ; afraid of man, and afraid of one 
 another. The whole creation groaned beneath the 
 Corse of God for man's sin. 
 
 The Tempter had been the first to feel God's 
 Curse. It had fallen next upon the Earth, because 
 of man's sin. And now Adam and Eve could only 
 expect that it must come down upon them, for 
 theirs had been the act of disobedience. But even 
 while they stood before God, trembling and afraid, 
 God took their Sin and their Curse, and laid them 
 on His own beloved Son. We learn this from two 
 things the Bible tells us. First, God told the wo- 
 man that her seed should bruise the serpent's head. 
 Now, the serpent's, or Satan's head, was bruised, 
 
TILE FALL OF MAN. 17 
 
 long after, by Jesus, the seed of the woman. Again, 
 God made for Adam and his wife, coat 5 of skins, — 
 so that some beasts must have been killed. And 
 soon after, we read, that Abel, Adam's son, offered 
 unto God the firstlings of his flock. Thus we see 
 that God taught Adam to sacrifice a lamb, looking 
 forward to Jesus, the Lamb of God, who should 
 take away the sin of the world. The blessed Jesus 
 became the Lamb, or sacrifice of God, willingly. 
 He bore man's Sin, and God's Curse, in His own 
 Body on the Cro=s. He died for our sins, and rose 
 again for our justification. The Lord Jesus takes 
 away the sins of all who go to Him ; therefore all 
 such will never feel the Curse of God. Adam and 
 Eve looked up to Him, and He took away their 
 sin, and bore the Curse for them. If you ask Him, 
 He will take away all your sin, and then you will 
 feel the Blessing, and not the Curse of God. He 
 never refused to bear the sins of any poor sinner. 
 who went to Him, for God gave Him to be the 
 Saviour of all those who put their trust in Him. 
 But those who will not go to the Lord Jesus, must 
 bear their own sins ; and then, when they stand 
 before God, in their sins, God's dreadful Curse will 
 
IQ THE FALL OF MAN. 
 
 fall upon them for ever, and no blessed Saviour 
 near When you do wrong, you must tell your 
 Saviour about it, and ask Him to take your sins 
 away. In Heaven there will be no more Curse, 
 because there will be no more sin. 
 
 The blood of Jesus Christ, GocVs Son, cleanseth 
 us from all sin. — 1 John, i. 7. 
 
ADAM AND EVE DRIVEN FROM EDEN. 
 
 Sunday Afternoons. 
 
Ill 
 
 strain ani (Bbc JJrilmt from (£hn. 
 
 OD laid man's Sin and man's Curse on His 
 own beloved Son ; but Adam and Eve must 
 leave their beautiful home in Eden. God 
 had made it for His obedient children ; it 
 was no place for Sinners. God forgave 
 their sin, for His dear Son's sake, who bore 
 the Curse for them ; but they had now to learn 
 what Sin is — they had rebelled against God, and all 
 creation would now rebel against them. They had 
 listened to the Tempter, and now the same Tempter 
 would always be near to tempt them again, and 
 they must learn by their Saviour's help to resist 
 him, tliey must learn how to make the Tempter 
 flee from them by prayer to God against him ; they 
 must learn to overcome evil ; and, above all, they 
 must learn that they had now no power in themselves 
 
20 ADAM AND EVE 
 
 to help themselves, but that only in God's beloved 
 Son had they righteousness and strength. 
 
 Adam and Eve were driven out from Eden, 
 and an Angel with a flaming sword kept the way 
 against all return. They wandered forth into the 
 lonely world, there to labor and toil for their daily 
 bread. The beautiful trees no longer hung with 
 ripe fruit over their heads ; thorns and thistles 
 grew up around them, instead of plants for food. 
 They could not look down, or around, or above 
 them, without being reminded of their sin. Storms 
 gathered in the sky, instead of the refreshing dew 
 from the Lord, which used to water Eden. They 
 heard, for the first time, the angry roar of the wild 
 beasts ; and the fierce cry of the hungry bird of 
 prey, and they watched it pursue some little gentle 
 bird of song, which was afraid to fly to them for 
 protection ; and as they stood and saw it die, they 
 could only feel that but for their sin it had never 
 known terror or death. The serpent crawled along 
 the ground ; and the Tempter was always near to 
 persuade them to fresh acts of sin. And now they 
 began to feel weariness and pain, reminding them 
 that God had said their bodies must decay and die, 
 
DRIVEN FROM E I) E X . 21 
 
 nncl return to the dust from which they were taken. 
 A heart within them, whose own holiness was lost ; 
 a body hastening to the grave ; a world around 
 them whose peace was gone ; all bore witness to 
 them of the guilt of their disobedience. But they 
 were not left comfortless ; there was one still small 
 voice which whispered in their hearts of a Saviour, 
 of Forgiveness, of Heaven : this was the voice of 
 the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. And they thought 
 of the promise which God had given them, that a 
 Child should be born into their lost world, who 
 should bruise the head of their great enemy Satan, 
 so that he should one day be stripped for ever of 
 his power to tempt and to deceive. And sometimes 
 in the evening time, when Adam and Eve were 
 tired with the labor of the day, and sat down to 
 rest in the cool shade ; and when the heavens 
 looked calm and blue as they used to do in Eden, 
 and they saw the sweet lilies of the field still spring- 
 ing up, though among the thorns ; and some little 
 bird, in the trees above their heads, would begin 
 it i evening song of praise to its great Creator — the 
 flowers of the field and the little bird Avould be 
 messengers of peace to them, witnesses to the love 
 
22 ADAM AND EVE 
 
 of God, who in judgment had remembered mercy, 
 and had left these tokens of His love and blessing 
 to cheer them in their way to Heaven ; and they 
 must have wept, not for their lost Eden, but for 
 grief that they had sinned against a God of love, 
 and for thankfulness and joy that God had found a 
 way of escape for them ; a way by which they 
 might pass from sin and death to His own holy 
 Heaven, even through the blood of His beloved 
 Son. 
 
 Adam and Eve had to learn many sorrowful les- 
 sons, but they were all needful lessons, teaching 
 them their danger and their weakness. They 
 thought before, that they could listen to evil with- 
 out being led into it ; but now they found there 
 was no safety away from their Heavenly Keeper's 
 side. Do you know why the little child takes such 
 tight hold of our finger when it tries to walk ? It 
 is because it knows that it will fall down if it does 
 not hold fast ; and this was the truth that Adam 
 and Eve learned. They had been walking alone, 
 and they fell, and they could never have risen 
 up again, if God had not sent them a Mighty 
 Helper, even His own beloved Son. The Lord 
 
DRIVEN FROM EDEN. 23 
 
 Jesus lifted them up again, and they took hold of 
 His hand, a'ld lie led then safely through life, and 
 through death, up to His Father's bright kingdom 
 in Heaven, and they are safe there now for ever. 
 The law of God is written in their hearts, and none 
 of their steps can tlide. 
 
 If you walk by yourself, you will not only fall 
 into disobedience, but you will have no Saviour 
 with you to wash you from your sin. You must 
 go to the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, and ask Him 
 to hold you up, to teach you, by His Holy Spirit, 
 to wash you in His precious blood, and to lead you 
 to Heaven : then you also will be safe for ever. 
 
 Jesus said, Suffer Utile children, and forbid them 
 not, to come unto me ; for of such is the Kingdom 
 of Heaven. — Matt. xix. 14. 
 
IV. 
 
 Cain iini %iiU 
 
 &* 
 
 Im? 
 
 FTER Adam and Eve had been sent away 
 from the Garden of Eden, God gave them 
 a son, and they called his name Cain ; and 
 after this, another son, and they called his 
 name Abel. When Cain and Abel were in- 
 fants, their mother carried them in her arms ; 
 and as they grew older, they played together at her 
 side. When the boys grew up, Cain worked in the 
 fields with his father, and Abel took care of the 
 sheep and lambs. The lion and the wolf were wild 
 and fierce now, and Abel had to watch over his 
 sheep, to keep them safe from the hungry beasts. 
 Abel would love to hear his mother tell him about 
 Eden, where the beasts of prey were as gentle as 
 his own lamb^. He must often have wished that 
 he could go back with his father and mother t% 
 

 / I 
 
 CAIX AND ABEL. 
 
 Sunday Afternoons. 
 
CAIN AND ABEL. 25 
 
 Eden, ami lead his sheep and lambs to feed in its 
 green pastures, and to lie down by its still waters, 
 safe from the wild beasts of prey. But his parents 
 taught him that he might one day go to a place 
 happier far than Eden, even to the Kingdom of 
 Heaven, where God their Heavenly Father dwelt. 
 And no lion would be there, nor any ravenous 
 beast enter therein ; but God's redeemed would 
 walk there, with everlasting joy upon their heads ; 
 there they would obtain joy and gladness, and sor- 
 row and sighing would flee away. They told him 
 of God's puomise, and Abel believed to the saving 
 of his soul. Cain heard his parents' instruction as 
 well as Abel, but he did not attend to their words, 
 nor lay up their commandments with him. A wise 
 son heareth his father's instructions ; but a scorner 
 heareth not rebuke. 
 
 When Adam and Eve were in Eden, they wor- 
 shipped God as the pure and holy children of God ; 
 but now they were no longer pure and holy ; they 
 had opened their hearts to sin, and they had no 
 power to get it out again. God will not even look 
 upon sin ; nothing that is defiled with sin can ap- 
 pear before Him; therefore, Adam and Eve, and 
 
 3 
 
26 CAIN AND ABEL. 
 
 every one upon this earth, must have been for ever 
 shut out from the presence of God, if God had not 
 made a way for sinners to come near unto Him, 
 even through the blood of His beloved Son. Who- 
 ever goes to God through the blood of the Lord 
 Jesus, has all his sin washed away by that precious 
 blood, and can then stand before the Holy, heart- 
 searching God without spot. The little infant en- 
 ters Heaven through the blood of Jesus. The holy 
 minister enters Heaven through the blood of Jesus. 
 You are a sinful child, but God will receive you as 
 His own dear child, if you go to Him through the 
 blood of the Lord Jesus. God gave to Adam and 
 Eve a promise of this blessed Saviour, but the Lord 
 Jesus did not come into the world to suffer death 
 till many years had passed away ; therefore God 
 taught Adam a way by which to show forth the 
 death of the Lord Jesus, and his hope in Him. 
 Adam was taught by God to take a lamb from the 
 fold, then to build up a square pile of large stones, 
 called an Altar, and to kill the lamb, and when the 
 blood of the lamb had been shed, then to offer up 
 the lamb by fire on the altar, as a sacrifice to God. 
 When Adam did this, he showed that he looked to 
 
C A I N A N D A B E L . 27 
 
 the blood of the Lord Jesus, as the only way by 
 which lie could draw near to God. 
 
 Cain and Abel were born with sinful heart?, be- 
 cause they were the children of sinful parents. 
 When they were young, they stood by the altar 
 their father built, and he offered up a sacrifice for 
 them and for himself: but when they grew older, 
 they must each of them show that they felt their 
 own sin, and believed the promise of God, by offer- 
 ing up a lamb each for himself. But Cain did not 
 feel his sin, he did not think upon the promise God 
 had given ; he thought he could go to the Holy 
 Lord God without the blood of Christ : he took 
 some fruit in his hand as an offering to the Lord ; 
 but the Lord would not accept him nor his offering. 
 Abel felt his sin — Abel went through the blood of 
 the Lord Jesus to God, he believed the promise of 
 God, he obeyed the Command of God. He went to 
 the flock, and took from it a lamb, the firstling of 
 the flock, and he offered it up a sacrifice to God ; 
 and the Lord accepted Abel and his offering. 
 
 When Cain saw that his brother was accepted by 
 God, and that he was not ; instead of following his 
 brother's good example, he was angry, and his 
 
28 CAIN AND ABEL. 
 
 countenance fell ; lie looked gloomy and sullen. 
 There was no Bible then, therefore God in mercy 
 talked with Cain, and asked him why his counte- 
 nance was fallen ; and encouraged him now to do 
 well, as Abel had done, and that then he also should 
 be accepted. But Cain had opened his heart to the 
 wicked Tempter, and he would not listen to the 
 holy words of God's mercy. 
 
 Cain would not listen to the words of God, he 
 would not go to the blood of Jesus ; therefore sin 
 grew stronger and stronger within him, till Satan 
 the wicked Tempter filled his heart, and when he 
 was in the field with Abel his brother, he rose up 
 against him and killed him. Abel fell dead upon 
 the ground, killed by his brother's hand ; his blood 
 was spilt upon the earth, but his happy spirit, 
 washed in the blood of Jesus, rose up to God, and 
 stood holy and without blame before Him in love. 
 Happy Abel ! he was the first to enter Heaven ; he 
 found the blood of Jesus a safe and blessed way 
 straight to the throne of God. God has made 
 Abel to speak to us in the Bible, and to teach us 
 that the only way to God is through the blood of 
 Jesus Christ, wj[iich cleanseth from all sin. 
 
CAIN AND ABEL. 29 
 
 Then the Lord God spoke again to Cain, but it 
 was in wrath, and not in mercy now. The Curse 
 of God came down on Cain. That dreadful Curse 
 which God had lifted up from sinful man, and laid 
 on His own beloved Son, Cain pulled back again 
 upon his guilty head. And Cain went out from the 
 presence of the Lord. " The wicked is driven 
 away in his wickedness ; but the righteous hath 
 hope in his death." 
 
 Cain had rooted up the thorns and thistles from 
 the ground all his life ; but he had not rooted up 
 the evil tempers from his heart. You can root up 
 weeds from the garden, you could root up thistles 
 from the field ; but if you do nothing more than 
 this, you are only doing what Cain did. Cain did 
 nothing in his own heart ; he let evil thoughts grow 
 there, till they proved his destruction. When a 
 disobedient thought rises in your heart, or a 
 thought of pride, or an unkind thought, Oh ! go at 
 once to your Saviour, speak in your heart to Him, 
 and ask Him to wash you in His precious blood, 
 and to take the sinful thought away. If you are 
 washed in the blood of the Lord Jesus, you will be 
 
30 CAIN AND ABEL. 
 
 like the blessed Abel, whose hope was in his Sa- 
 viour, and who is now with God in Heaven. 
 
 These are they which came out of great tribida- 
 tio?t, and have washed their robes and made them 
 ivhite in the Blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are 
 before the throne of God. — Rev. vii. 14, 15. 
 
NOAH LEAVING THE AUK. 
 
 Sunday AfiemooiiB. 
 
€ 1] z 
 
 v. 
 
 o 
 
 Qvfrtfl ^-^ E vie ^ an< ^ anguish must have filled the 
 fpJJuljjp hearts of Adam and Eve when they stood 
 !^,vjM. mourning over their dead son, killed by 
 
 ¥his brother's hand! All God's commands 
 are for our good ; but Adam and Eve had 
 •^ believed Satan's lie, they would eat of the 
 Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, which 
 God had told them not to touch — and they found 
 that all the knowledge it could give them, was the 
 knowledge of how all good may be lost, and the 
 knowledge of how all evil may be brought upon us. 
 Abel lay dead before them, he could not speak to 
 them, nor hear their voice, nor feel their love and 
 sorrow ; they must bury him out of their sight : and 
 Cain had fled away with the dreadful Curse of God 
 upon him, that curse which they dreaded more 
 
32 THE ARK. 
 
 than death. But God's sweet mercy was with them 
 still. Abel was washed in his Saviour's blood ; he 
 was the first of "The holy army of Martyrs," slain 
 for the word of God, and the testimony which he 
 held ; and he was gone to wear the white robe, and 
 to rest in his Saviour's presence, till all the number 
 of God's faithful people shall be gathered from 
 the Earth; then Abel, in his grave, will hear his 
 Saviour's call, and his dead body will arise, and 
 come forth, made like unto his Saviour's glorious 
 body, to dwell with Christ in Heaven for ever. 
 
 After the death of the blessed Abel, God gave 
 Adam and Eve another son, and his mother called 
 him Seth, for she said God had given her another 
 son instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And she 
 was right — Seth was the child of God's mercy and 
 grace. The Virgin Mary, the mother of our Lord 
 and Saviour, was one of the daughters of Seth : all 
 the people who dwell upon the earth now are the 
 children of Seth ; but they are not all the children 
 of God's mercy, as Seth was. You are the child of 
 Seth. God grant that you, like Seth, may be a 
 child of God's mercy and grace to a sinful world! 
 
 Adam lived nearly eight hundred years after 
 
THE ARK. 33 
 
 God had given him Seth to be his son ; then Adam 
 died ; washed in his Saviour's blood, he entered 
 into the presence of the Lord. The blessing of 
 God rested on the children of Seth, and he lived to 
 see a son born as his descendant, who left this 
 world without dying : his name was Enoch : he 
 walked with God in holy obedience and love : he 
 walked with God three hundred years upon Earth, 
 and then he was not, for God took him. Enoch's 
 hope was in his Saviour ; he went to God through 
 the blood of the Lord Jesus, and he did not taste of 
 death, for God took him. 
 
 Soon after Enoch went to God, another blessed 
 child was born of the family of Seth and of the 
 family of Enoch ; and when the child's father saw 
 his infant son, he called him Noah ; for he said, 
 this same child shall comfort us concerning our 
 work and the toil of our hands ; because of the 
 ground which the Lord hath cursed. 
 
 Noah grew up to be a man ; and Noah walked 
 with God. Noah not only knew the Lord himself, 
 but he tried to teach others the knowledge of God. 
 Noah was a preacher of righteousness. But Noah 
 stood alone in the world, as the only servant of 
 
34 THE ARK. 
 
 God ; he was the only one who was found walking 
 in the steps of righteous Abel ; every one, except 
 Noah, had turned to follow the example of wicked 
 Cain ; they were all walking in disobedience to 
 God, and the Earth was filled with violence. 
 
 And God saw that the wickedness of man was 
 great in the Earth. And it repented the Lord that 
 He had made man on the Earth ; and it grieved 
 Him at His heart. And the Lord said, I will de- 
 stroy man whom I have created, from the face of 
 the Earth ; both man and beast and the creeping 
 thing, and the fowls of the air ; for it repenteth me 
 that I have made them. But Noah found grace in 
 the eyes of the Lord. And God said unto Noah, 
 The end of all flesh is come before me ; for the 
 Earth is filled with violence ; and behold, I will 
 destroy them with the Earth. Make thee an ark 
 of Gopher-wood : rooms shalt thou make in the 
 ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with 
 pitch. Behold, I, even I do bring a flood of waters 
 upon the Earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the 
 breath of life, from under Heaven ; and every thing 
 that is in the Earth shall die. But with thee will I 
 establish my covenant: and thou shalt come into 
 
THE ARK. 35 
 
 the ark : thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy 
 sons 1 wives, with thee. Of fowls, and of cattle, and 
 of creeping things of the Earth, two of every sort 
 shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And 
 take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, thou 
 shalt gather it to thee ; and it shall be for food for 
 thee and for them. Thus did Noah, according to 
 all that God commanded him, so did he. 
 
 You see an old man sitting on a stone : that is 
 Noah : he is five hundred years old : he is building 
 the ark, as God commanded him. He tells the 
 people about the flood of waters that is coming to 
 destroy the world : they do not believe his words ; 
 but they are willing to build the ark, because they 
 will have payment for the work. God has sent 
 them a long time of warning; all the time that 
 great ark is building, all that time God is waiting, 
 and Noah preaching ; but they will not believe, till 
 the flood comes and takes them all away. 
 
 He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, 
 shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without rem- 
 edy. — Proverbs, xxix. 1. 
 
VI. 
 
 Clje Jflooft. 
 
 OU see what has come to pass. God has 
 fulfilled His holy word. Hath He said, and 
 shall He not do it ? Or hath He spoken, 
 and shall He not make it good? Noah 
 went on preaching to the people, and build- 
 ing the ark, until all was finished, as God 
 had commanded him'. And the Lord said unto Noah, 
 Come thou and all thy house into the ark ; for thee 
 have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 
 Noah had preached, but no one had repented: there 
 was not found one, except Noah and his family, to 
 believe and obey the word of the Lord. Men and 
 women, and children, refused to obey the word of 
 the God who made them ; they refused to return 
 from their evil ways. But the wild beasts of the 
 field, and the cattle, and the creeping things of the 
 
THE FLOOD. 37 
 
 ground, and the free birds of the air, were all obe- 
 dient to their Makers will. When the ark was 
 ready, the fierce tiger, and the stately elephant ; the 
 beautiful horse, and the patient ass ; the bull, and 
 the dog ; the wolf, and the little lamb : all came 
 walking in peace together — because God had com- 
 manded that they should come and stay with Noah 
 in the Ark. Then came all the creeping things of 
 the ground — The little industrious ant, the cater- 
 pillar with its horn, the rosy lady-bird and busy- 
 bee, the shining beetle, and little mouse, the prickly 
 hedge-hog, and the tortoise with its heavy shell — 
 the cat and the dog would not hurt them now, be- 
 cause God had commanded them all to come. Then 
 came the bird of every wing — the royal eagle who 
 can look at the dazzling sun, the peacock with his 
 starry tail, the kite with his piercing eye, and the 
 little lark without fear in his presence ; the hungry 
 vulture flew gently along, the yellow canary, the 
 faithful robin red-breast, the raven, and the dove — 
 all flew to the great ark, and entered in. God has 
 said, Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth his ap- 
 pointed times; and the turtle, and the crane, # and 
 the swallow, observe the time of their coming ; 
 
38 THE FLOOD. 
 
 but my people know not the judgment of the 
 Lord. 
 
 Noah, and his wife, and his three sons, and his 
 son's wives ; and the beasts, and the cattle, and the 
 creeping things, and the birds of the air — all went 
 into the ark on one and the same day. They all 
 went in to Noah, as God had commanded ; and the 
 Lord shut Noah in. The disobedient people must 
 have stood around, and wondered greatly at the 
 sight they saw that day ; but their wonder was soon 
 changed to terror ; for the fountains of the great 
 deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven 
 were opened, and the water began to flow over the 
 dry land. The flood was come, as God had said. 
 The Ark rode safe upon the rushing waters ; and 
 as they rose higher and higher, they lifted it up, 
 and bore it, steady and still, the only precious thing 
 in all the drowning world. The wretched people 
 looked at it, but it was too late even to hope to 
 enter in ; for God had shut the door, and when He 
 shutteth none can open. The water covered the 
 houses ; the people climbed up on the hills and 
 mountains, but the water came after them there : it 
 came and swept them all away ; it swept the ser- 
 
THE FLOOD. 39 
 
 pent from the rock, the men from the trees, the 
 children from the ground. God had sent the flood 
 to destroy all, and it did not leave one behind. 
 Noah only remained alive, and they that were with 
 him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon 
 the earth an hundred and fifty days. 
 
 And God remembered Noah, and every living 
 thing that was with him in the ark : and God made 
 a wind to pass over the Earth ; and restrained the 
 rain ; and stopped the fountains of the deep, and 
 the windows of Heaven. And the waters became 
 less and less, till the tops of the mountains were 
 seen ; and the ark rested on the mountains of Ara- 
 rat. And it came to pass, at the end of forty days, 
 that Xoah opened the window of the ark, and sent 
 forth a Raven out of the ark. There were no other 
 birds in all the sky, and no green trees in which to 
 shelter ; but the Raven did not mind about this ; 
 he did not love the ark where he had been kept so 
 safe ; he did not love Noah, whose kind hand had 
 fed him, therefore he would not return ; he chose 
 rather to fly to and fro, until the waters were dried 
 up from off the Earth. Then Noah sent forth a 
 Dove from the ark : but the Dove found no rest for 
 
40 THE FLOOD. 
 
 the sole of her foot ; she felt afraid to fly alone over 
 the wide waters. So she flew back to the ark, to 
 her rest again. And Noah put forth his hand, and 
 took her in unto him into the ark. Noah waited 
 seven days, and then he sent the Dove forth out of 
 the ark again. Now the waters were almost gone, 
 the trees could be seen, and the Dove could find 
 many a tempting resting-place, but still she did not 
 stay. She went to an olive-tree, and plucked off 
 one of its leaves with her beak, and flew back with 
 it to the ark, through the evening sky — just as the 
 wild bird flies to its nest in the wood ; and lo, in 
 her mouth the olive-leaf which she had plucked off. 
 Then Noah knew that the waters were abated from 
 off the Earth. And Noah stayed another seven 
 days, and sent forth the Dove, which returned not 
 again unto him any more. She did not return now, 
 because the waters were gone, and God would now 
 bring Noah out of the ark. And Noah removed 
 the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, 
 the face of the ground was dry. Noah had been 
 many months shut up in the ark, and he must have 
 longed to tread again on the dry Earth, after the 
 dreadful wonders God had wrought ; but he waited 
 
THE FLOOD. 41 
 
 till God should bid him go. And God spake unto 
 Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy 
 wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee ; 
 and bring forth with thee every living thing that is 
 with thee. And Noah went forth out of the ark, 
 and all that were with him. 
 
 You are not a little bird in the ark, with Noah 
 for your keeper : but you are a little child in the 
 ark of Christ's church, with the Lord Jesus for your 
 Keeper. Will you then be like the Raven ? Or 
 will you try to be like the Dove ? If you wander 
 away from your Saviour, if you do not love to go to 
 Him, then you will be like the Raven, who wan- 
 dered away and never came back to his keeper's 
 hand again. But if you love your Saviour, if you 
 do not like to forget Him, if you love to go to Him, 
 and to ask Him to keep you near Him, safe from all 
 evil, and to feed you, and watch over you day and 
 night, then you will be like the Dove. The Dove 
 is a gentle, loving bird, and therefore our Saviour 
 calls His children His Doves, and says that their 
 voice is sweet to Him. He loves to hear them pray 
 to Him. When the Holy Spirit came down on the 
 Lord Jesus, in the sight of men, it descended upon 
 
42 THE FLOOD. 
 
 Him like a Dove — You must ask your Saviour to 
 give you His Holy Spirit, and then you will be not 
 only like the Dove, but like your blessed Saviour, 
 meek and lowly in heart, gentle, and fall of love to 
 God and man. 
 
 The Lord is thy Keeper. — Psalm cxxi. 5. 
 
Sunday Afternoons. 
 
 T HE EALNBO W 
 
 [NOAH'! SACRIFICE] 
 
VII. 
 
 €\z ^ainbolv. 
 
 >HE first thing that Noah did when he left 
 the ark and stood upon the dry land, -was 
 to build an altar, and offer up a sacrifice to 
 God. Noah did this to show that he knew 
 it was only for his Saviour's sake that the 
 world was given back to him, and that he 
 had been kept alive to dwell on it. Noah offered 
 up a sacrifice to set forth the death of the Lord 
 Jesus, for the salvation of the world : he took pos- 
 session of all the earth in his Saviour's Name. That 
 sacrifice was sweet to God, because it set before 
 Him His beloved Son. And the Lord said in His 
 heart, that He would not again curse the ground 
 any more for man's sake : neither would lie any 
 more smite every living thing as He had done : but 
 that while the earth remained, seed-time and har- 
 
44 THE KAINBOW. 
 
 vest, and cold and heat, summer and winter, and 
 day and night, should not cease. This was because 
 the first thing Noah did was to look up for God's 
 blessing on the Earth, for the sake of the Lord 
 Jesus. 
 
 And God blessed Noah and his sons. And He 
 gave them the living creatures to be their food : 
 but the blood of the animals God told them that 
 they must not eat. And then it was that God com- 
 manded that whoever killed another, should himself 
 be put to death : because man was made in the 
 image of God. 
 
 And God gave to Noah a promise, and to every 
 living creature that went with Noah out of the ark. 
 This was the promise — That there should not any 
 more be a flood to destroy the Earth. And God 
 set His beautiful bow in the cloud, that when we 
 are afraid of the dark sky, we may look up to see 
 the promise of God. The Rainbow is God's pro- 
 mise written in the sky. It comes in the heavy, 
 black cloud, and every body looks up to see it. 
 God made His bow to comfort Noah, and to comfort 
 us, at the sight of the dark cloud. When we see it 
 we remember God's faithful promise, that He will 
 
TIIE RAINBOW. 45 
 
 not any more drown the world by a flood. Some- 
 times the rain comes down very fast, and the waters 
 rise very high, but we do not feel afraid that the 
 world will be drowned, because we have seen God's 
 bow in the sky. The little child, and the old man 
 who cannot read the Holy Bible, may look up into 
 the sky, and see God's promise there. God said, it 
 should come to pass when He brought a cloud over 
 the Earth, that the bow should be in the cloud ; and 
 He would look upon it, and remember his covenant 
 with Noah, and with every living creature ; that 
 the waters should no more become a flood to de- 
 stroy all flesh. 
 
 Do you think that we can learn any thing more 
 by looking up at the Bow in the cloud ? If you 
 look up when the Rainbow comes, you will see that 
 it crosses a dark, black cloud ; that dark, black 
 cloud between us and the blue sky, is like our black 
 sins between us and Heaven. God's bow set in the 
 cloud, teaches us that sin deserves death. But if 
 you look you will see that the bow is turned up to 
 Heaven, so that if an arrow could be shot from it, 
 the arrow would go up into Heaven : this reminds 
 us that God has turned His bow away from the sin- 
 
46 THE RAINBOW. 
 
 neiyand pointed it to Heaven against His own be- 
 loved Son. When the apostle St. John saw into 
 Heaven, he saw the blessed Jesus as a Lamb that 
 had been slain ; in His hands, and in His side and 
 feet, were the marks where He was wounded unto 
 death for our sins ; and he was clothed in a vesture 
 dipped in His own blood. If you love the Lord 
 Jesus, you will never feel God's arrow of eternal 
 death — you will be safe in Jesus for ever. But the 
 Bible says, that if we will not turn to our Saviour, 
 God has bent His bow and made it ready against us. 
 Will you try to think of these things when you 
 see God's bow set in the cloud ? — The black cloud 
 which shuts out the blue sky, reminds us of our 
 black sins, which, if they are left upon us, will shut 
 us out of Heaven. God's bow set in the black 
 cloud reminds us that sin calls for eternal death 
 upon the sinner. But the bow pointed against 
 Heaven reminds us that the Lord Jesus died for us. 
 And when you see how beautiful the bow of God is, 
 remember that it is only the death of the Lord Jesus 
 which could make the bow of God to be beautiful 
 to us. If we are washed in our Saviour's blood, we 
 need only love and not fear even the bow of God. 
 
THE RAINBOW. 47 
 
 There was a little Welsh girl of only five years 
 old ; she could not read, and her parents and 
 friends did not know the Lord ; but a servant of 
 God took notice of the little girl, and he told her 
 about her Saviour. After a little time the child 
 was taken ill, and when she was dying, she repeated 
 a verse of a hymn which that servant of God had 
 taught her. And this was what she said : — 
 
 " 'How sweet the name of Jesus sounds 
 In a, believer's ear ; 
 It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, 
 And drives away his fear. ' 
 
 — " Mother ! it has driven away all my fear." And 
 when she had said these words, she died, and went 
 to her Saviour's arms. And there is an old man 
 who says he learned to know the love of the Lord 
 Jesus from that little child. 
 
 Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by 
 Thy blood.— Rev. v. 9. 
 
VIII. 
 
 %\t Coluu" of lahL 
 
 'HE flood had passed away from the earth, 
 and year after year went on, till there were 
 a great many people again in the world. 
 God shewed them favor, yet would they not 
 learn righteousness : in the land which Noah 
 had taken possession of for them in his Sa- 
 viour's Name, they dealt unjustly, and would not 
 behold the Majesty of the Lord. Noah was still 
 alive, to teach them the good and the right way ; 
 but they despised all his counsel, they would none 
 of his reproof. They all dwelt together in a flat 
 and open country, called a plain. The wide earth 
 lay around them, and they saw the Heavens above 
 their head. And they said one to another, Let us 
 make brick, and let us build us a city, and a tower, 
 whose top may reach unto Heaven ; and let us make 
 
THE TOWER OF BABEL. 49 
 
 us a name, lest we bo scattered abroad upon the 
 face of the whole earth. 
 
 Why did the people wish to build a tower to 
 reach up unto Heaven ? We cannot tell all the 
 thoughts that were in their hearts about it ; but 
 we know that they were not right thoughts, be- 
 cause God was angry with them, and punished 
 them. 
 
 The people said, Let us build a tower, whose top 
 may reach unto Heaven. They had all heard of 
 the dreadful flood, which had destroyed every liv- 
 ing thing that was left on the earth, and perhaps 
 they thought that they would build a tower up to 
 Heaven, that they might escape if another flood 
 came. But if this was their thought, it shewed 
 that they did not believe God's promise written in 
 the sky : they looked up to Heaven, but they were 
 none the wiser or the better for that look. The 
 word of God cannot be broken, He keepeth His 
 promise for ever, but disobedient sinners cannot 
 trust God's faithful word, therefore it brings no 
 comfort to them. If another flood of waters could 
 have come, it would soon have washed away the 
 high tower, as easily as the sea washes away the 
 
 4 
 
50 THE TOWER OF BABEL. 
 
 little heaps of stones which children build upon the 
 sand. 
 
 They saw the beautiful Heavens over their heads ; 
 the sun by day rising and setting, the moon and 
 glittering stars by night ; and perhaps they thought 
 they should like to be able to climb up nearer to 
 Heaven, and the dwelling-place of God. They 
 knew the Holy Angels came down from Heaven to 
 Earth ; and God Himself had often talked with sin- 
 ful man ; they knew the blessed Enoch had been 
 taken to Heaven without dying ; and they would 
 like to make themselves a way to get nearer to that 
 world above. foolish people and unwise ! Was 
 not Noah, the preacher of righteousness, still among 
 them ? And had not he taught them that the only 
 way to get nearer to Heaven was to walk humbly 
 Avith God. They might climb up to the clouds, but 
 they would be no nearer to God in His Holy Habi- 
 tation. But if they knelt down upon the ground, 
 with lowly, contrite hearts, and prayed to God in 
 the name of His dear Son, Heaven would come 
 down to them, even the Lord Jesus Christ, into 
 their hearts, the hope of glory. Then the peace of 
 God would make a heaven above them; and the 
 
THE TOWER OF BABEL. 51 
 
 love of God would make a heaven within them ; and 
 the blessing of God would make a heaven around 
 them — till the day when Heaven itself should open 
 before them, and they should enter it for ever. 
 Yes, they had heard, but they did not believe, they 
 would not obey : they went on frowardly, in the 
 way of their own hearts, until God came down to 
 punish their vain imaginations. Though hand join 
 in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished. 
 
 The people had said, Let us make us a name. 
 They did not think upon that Holy Name the Lord 
 God ; they did not think how they might honor 
 that great and terrible Name ; they did not fear be- 
 fore it, and therefore they could not love it : they 
 did not think how they might get that glorious 
 Name written on their hearts, to be their honor and 
 their joy in all the earth : they did not think of 
 this ; their foolish hearts were so darkened, that 
 they only thought how they could make a name for 
 themselves. They sought honor one from another, 
 and not the honor that cometh from God only. The 
 Lord hath said, Them that honor me, I will honor ; 
 and they that despise me, shall be lightly esteemed 
 — And so it came to pass with those who tried to 
 
52 THE TOWER OF BABEL. 
 
 make themselves a name, by building a tower unto 
 Heaven. 
 
 God came down to see the city and the tower, 
 which the children of men builded. It was a great 
 work, and they were all laboring at it. What was 
 it, do you think, that God did to stop them ? He 
 did not shake it down with an earthquake. He did 
 not shiver it with lightning from Heaven. He did 
 not speak to the people. No ; God had given them 
 a preacher of righteousness in His servant Noah, and 
 they would not obey. God was not come to teach 
 them now, but to punish them. He punished them, 
 but it was in mercy still. All that God did was to 
 change the sound of the words the people spoke, 
 so that their words no longer had the same sound: 
 this seems a little thing — only a little sound, and 
 yet it put an end to all the great work, the city 
 and the tower ; and it caused the very thing the 
 people feared, it scattered them over the face of the 
 earth ; for they could not only no longer work to- 
 gether, but they could not bear to dwell together, 
 because they could not understand one another's 
 words. The Bible says, The fear of the wicked, it 
 shall come upon him. So they left off to build the 
 
T II E TOWER OF BAB E L . 53 
 
 tower, and its name was called Babel, which means 
 Confusion. The people tried to make themselves 
 a name, and God made their name of shame to 
 be remembered to this day ; and to this day we sec 
 and hear words of strange lano-uaires whose sound 
 we cannot understand — God's punishment upon pre- 
 sumptuous man. 
 
 In God's blessed Kingdom of Heaven there will 
 be no more a strange language ; all will speak the 
 same holy words of truth and love. God w r ill never 
 be angry there, because no thought of evil can ever 
 enter there : the death of the Lord Jesus keeps 
 every saint in Heaven, and every angel, safe for 
 ever. And no one thinks about their own name 
 there, for the Holy Name of God is written on every 
 forehead, and that is the greatest honor the highest 
 saint can know. And there they all dwell together, 
 never to be scattered away, and the Saviour dwells 
 with them. 
 
 When you look up to Heaven, perhaps you 
 sometimes think that you should like to go there. 
 You cannot go there by yourself, but if you are the 
 child of your Father in Heaven, He will one day 
 send for you. He sent a Chariot of Fire for one of 
 
54 THE TOWER OF BABEL. 
 
 His holy servants. He sent angels to cany the 
 blessed spirit of a poor beggar to His presence 
 above. And the Lord Jesus says to every one who 
 loves Him, I will come again, and receive you unto 
 myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 
 
 O send out Thy Light and Thy Truth : let them 
 lead me y let them bring me to Thy Holy Hill, and to 
 Thy Tabernacle. — Psalm xliii. 3. 
 
ABRAHAM AND ISAAC. 
 
 Sunday Afternoons. 
 
IX. 
 
 ^braljam ant) bis Son fsaar. 
 
 hi HEN the world of ungodly sinners was de- 
 jj $ stroyed by the flood, you heard that there 
 Jj^^V was one man who walked with God — even 
 ^P£P righteous Noah. And when God punished 
 { ^) sinful men for their pride in building the 
 *^ tower of Babel, there was one man who 
 found acceptance with God — his name was Abra- 
 ham. Whatever God said — Abraham believed. 
 And whatever God commanded — Abraham obeyed. 
 Therefore Abraham was called the friend of God, 
 because Re trusted in the Lord with all his heart, 
 and leaned not to his own understanding. 
 
 God commanded Abraham to leave his country, 
 and his friends, and his father's house ; and Abra- 
 ham did so : he went out, not knowing whither he 
 went, \ ut God knew, and that satisfied Abraham. 
 
56 ABRAHAM AND HIS SON ISAAC. 
 
 God had given a promise to Abraham, that he 
 should be the father of a multitude of people, as 
 many as the stars in the sky ; but Abraham grew to 
 be an old man, and had no child. Did Abraham 
 think that God would not keep his promise ? No. 
 Abraham still believed ; and whatever God com- 
 manded, Abraham obeyed. 
 
 God has never failed them that put their trust in 
 Him. God had promised Abraham that he should 
 be the father of a multitude of people. And at last, 
 when Abraham was a hundred years old, and Sarah, 
 Abraham's wife, was ninety years old, God gave 
 them a son, their only child, God's gift to them in 
 their old age. And so it came to pass that Abra- 
 ham became the father of God's people, the Jews : 
 and of Abraham, as concerning his human body, 
 Jesus Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for 
 ever. And not only so, but every man, woman, and 
 little child, who believes and obeys the word of 
 God, is called by God the child of faithful Abraham. 
 If you are obedient to the word of the Lord, you 
 are the child of Abraham. And every one in all 
 the world who loves and obeys God's holy word is 
 the child of Abraham. And so it has come to pass 
 
ABRAHAM AND HIS SON ISAAC. 57 
 
 that the children of faithful Abraham are more in 
 number than the stars : and God has made the name 
 of Abraham the friend of God to be remembered in 
 all the Earth. 
 
 Abraham went to God, like Abel and like Noah, 
 through the blood of the Lord Jesus. Abraham 
 often built up an altar, and offered up a sacrifice to 
 God ; by which he shewed that he felt himself to 
 be a sinner, and that he looked to the Saviour God 
 had promised. 
 
 One day God called Abraham, and told him to 
 offer up a sacrifice. This sacrifice was not to be a 
 lamb from the fold, it was not to be a young kid 
 from the goats, it was not to be a turtle-dove — no ; 
 it was to be Abraham's own child, his son, his only 
 son, whom he loved : that blessed child whom God 
 had given him. Abraham was to take him away to 
 a mountain a long way off, which God would tell 
 him of, and there he was to offer him up for a 
 burnt-offering to God. Did Abraham murmur and 
 complain ? Did he wait only a little while, that he 
 might look on his precious child a little longer ? 
 No. There was one thought in Abraham's heart, 
 stronger than any other, and that thought was 
 
58 ABRAHAM AND HIS SON ISAAC. 
 
 obedience. Sacrifice is nothing without obedience. 
 Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice : and to 
 hearken than the fat of lambs. God loveth a cheer- 
 ful giver. And Abraham knew in his heart that 
 God had promised to give His only Son to die for 
 his sin, and for the sins of the whole world, and 
 should Abraham keep back his child when God re- 
 quired the gift ? No. God had given him Isaac, 
 and Abraham knew that God could give him Isaac 
 back again, even from the dead : he knew that the 
 promise of God could not be broken : and whatever 
 God commanded, that Abraham would do. The 
 Lord hath said, He that loveth father or mother, son 
 or daughter, more than me, is not worthy of me. 
 
 Abraham rose up early in the morning, and clave 
 the wood for the burnt-offering, and saddled his ass, 
 and took two of his servants with him, and Isaac his 
 son, and rose up and went unto the place of which 
 God had told him. Three days they travelled on 
 their way. Isaac did not know what his father was 
 going to do with him, — his father had not told him, 
 but his father knew. Abraham's heart must have 
 ached as he looked upon his child, and heard his 
 voice speaking to him. No doubt his father talked 
 
ABRAHAM AND HIS SON ISAAC. 59 
 
 to him of holy things, of the fear and love of God — 
 to strengthen the heart of his child when he should 
 have to tell him he must die. 
 
 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his 
 eyes, and saw the place of which God had told him, 
 afar off. And Abraham said unto his servants, 
 Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will 
 go yonder, and worship, and come again to you. 
 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, 
 and laid it upon Isaac his son : and Abraham took 
 the fire in his hand, and a knife, and they went both 
 of them together. Isaac had often seen his father 
 offer up a lamb for a burnt-offering to God, so he 
 was not surprised ; he knew what the wood and the 
 fire and the knife were for, but he wondered how 
 his father could find a lamb on the mountain-top. 
 So as they walked together up the mountain-side, 
 he said — My father. And his father said — Here am 
 I, my son. And Isaac said — Behold the fire and the 
 wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering ? 
 And Abraham said — My son, God will provide Him- 
 self a lamb for a burnt-offering. So they went both 
 of them together. When they reached the moun- 
 tain-top, Isaac helped his father to build the altar 
 
60 ABBAIIAM AND HIS SON ISAAC. 
 
 of stones, and to lay the wood in order on the altar ; 
 and then his father told him that he was the offer- 
 ing God required. Abraham was obedient to God, 
 and Isaac was obedient to his father Abraham, in 
 all things. Isaac loved his father, and he loved his 
 mother, and he had all things to make life happy ; 
 but he was ready to meet God's holy will, and to 
 die by his father's hand. happy child, who loved 
 the will of God more than he loved his life ! 
 happy father, who had such a child to render back 
 to God ! 
 
 Then Abraham bound Isaac his son, and laid him 
 on the altar, upon the wood ; and Abraham stretch- 
 ed forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his 
 son. But the Angel of the Lord called unto him 
 out of Heaven, and said — Abraham, Abraham ! And 
 Abraham said — Here am I. And God said to 
 Abraham — Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither 
 do thou any thing unto him ; for now I know that 
 thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy 
 son, thine only son, from me. And Abraham 
 looked, and saw behind him a ram caught in a 
 thicket by his horns. And Abraham went, and 
 took the ram, and oifered him up for a burnt-offer- 
 
ABRAHAM AND II I S SON ISAAC. 61 
 
 ing in the stead of his son. And the angel of the 
 Lord called to Abraham the second time out of 
 heaven, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the 
 Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and 
 hast not withheld thy son, thine only son ; that in 
 blessing I will bless thee ; and in multiplying I 
 will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, 
 and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and 
 thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies ; and 
 in thy seed shall all the nations of the Earth be 
 blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice. Then 
 Abraham rose up with Isaac his son, and returned 
 to Isaac's mother, satisfied with God's favor, and 
 full of the Blessing of the Lord. 
 
 Isaac bound and laid upon the altar, was to show 
 forth God's only and beloved Son, bound and laid 
 upon the cross. God would not suffer Isaac to be 
 slain ; but God did not spare His own beloved Son, 
 but offered Him up for us all. 
 
 Would it make you happy to think that you, like 
 holy Abraham, could be the friend of the Lord God 
 Almighty, even of that gentle Lord and Saviour, who 
 took little children up in His arms, and blessed 
 them ? If so, I will tell you that, young as you 
 
62 ABRAHAM AND HIS SON ISAAC. 
 
 are, you may be the friend of Abraham's God ; for 
 He has said, that every one who does whatever He 
 commands shall be His friend. Ask your Saviour to 
 give you His Holy Spirit, that you may learn to 
 know, and love, and do His holy will, and then you 
 will not only be His child, but He will call you His 
 friend. 
 
 Ye are my friends, if ye do ivliatsoever I command 
 you. — John, xv. 14. 
 
JACOB'S BLESSING 
 
 Sunday Afternoons. 
 
X. 
 
 fa cob's Dieting. 
 
 SAAC lived with his father and his mother. 
 P And when Isaac was nearly forty years old, 
 his mother died ; his father mourned and 
 wept for her, and laid her in the grave. The 
 grave in which he laid her was a cave, in a 
 piece of ground which Abraham bought for 
 a burying-place ; for Abraham dwelt as a stranger 
 in the land to which God had called him. Abraham 
 had no home in that land ; he lived in tents which 
 he moved from one place to another : but God had 
 promised to give the whole of that land to him and 
 to his children. And Abraham believed God, and 
 dwelt as a stranger in the land of Canaan, which, in 
 years to come, his children would possess as their 
 own land. 
 
 When Isaac was sixty years old, God gave him 
 
64 Jacob's blessing. 
 
 two sons. Esau was the name of the eldest, and 
 Jacob was the name of the youngest. When Esau 
 grew old enough, he became a hunter ; but Jacob 
 lived in tents, and watched over the cattle. Esau 
 would go out to hunt in the fields ; then he would 
 bring his father pleasant food which he had pre- 
 pared for him. Isaac loved his son Esau, because 
 Esau thought about the food he liked, and prepared 
 it for him, and carried it to him : but Rebekah, 
 Isaac's wife, loved Jacob, who dwelt quietly in a tent 
 near his mother. 
 
 One day Esau came from his hunting, faint with 
 hunger, and he went into Jacob's tent. Jacob was 
 preparing a dish of pottage. And Esau said to 
 Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red 
 pottage, for I am faint. It would have been only 
 kind in Jacob to feed his hungry brother, but Jacob 
 did not then know the love of God, and his heart 
 was selfish. He would not give his brother food 
 unless his brother gave him his birthright. Esau's 
 birthright was his place as the eldest son in his 
 father's family ; and with that birthright, the Bless- 
 ing that God had given to Abraham and to Isaac 
 would be received. The birthright and the Bless- 
 
Jacob's blessing. 65 
 
 ing would belong to the same person. Therefore 
 Esau ought to have valued the birthright more than 
 his life, because the Blessing that was given with it 
 was for Heaven as well as for Earth. But Esau 
 thought more about his hunger than he did about 
 that Blessing ; and he sold his birthright to his 
 brother Jacob for a little pottage. Thus Esau de- 
 spised his birthright. 
 
 Before Esau was born, and before Jacob was 
 born, God told their mother that the birthright 
 would belong to the youngest, and not to the eld- 
 est. It was right in Jacob to value the birthright, 
 but he ought to have waited till God gave it to him, 
 and not have taken it from his hungry brother for 
 a little food. Jacob had many an hour of distress 
 afterwards to remind him of this wrong act. 
 
 "And it came to pass when Isaac was old, and 
 his eyes were dim so that he could not see, that he 
 called Esau, his eldest son, and said unto him, My 
 son, and Esau said unto him, Behold, here am I. 
 And Isaac said unto his son Esau, Behold now, I 
 am old, I know not the day of my death. Now 
 therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver 
 and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me 
 
 5 
 
66 Jacob's blessing. 
 
 some venison, and make me savory meat, such as I 
 love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, that my 
 soul may bless thee before I die." Isaac loved his 
 eldest son Esau, and he thought to give him the 
 Blessing. Isaac forgot what God had said before 
 He gave his children to him : and he forgot that 
 Esau had despised his birthright, and sold it to 
 Jacob for a little food. When the servants of God 
 forget God's holy will, sorrow is sure to follow, and 
 so it was now. 
 
 Rebekak, Isaac's wife, heard when Isaac spake to 
 Esau. She knew that God had said the Blessing 
 should be Jacob's. Did she then go to Isaac, her 
 blind and aged husband, and remind him? No, 
 she did not do this. Did she go to the Lord, and 
 ask of Him to do the thing that He had said should 
 be done ? No, she did not go to the Lord. She let 
 Satan, the wicked tempter, come to help her to try 
 and get the Blessing for her son Jacob whom she 
 loved. But does Satan help any one to get the 
 Blessing of the Lord ? Satan would keep that 
 Blessing away if he could, but he knew he could 
 not do that. God had promised it, and it would 
 surely come : but Satan tempted Jacob's mother to 
 
 
Jacob's blessing. 67 
 
 try to gain that Blessing in a sinful way, and by 
 this means to put a thorn in that Blessing, which 
 pierced her heart and the heart of Jacob, all the 
 days of their life on Earth. 
 
 When Esau was gone to the field to hunt for 
 venison, and to bring it for his father, Rebekah 
 called Jacob her younger son, and told him that his 
 father had sent his brother Esau to hunt for veni- 
 son, and that then his father would give the Bless- 
 ing to Esau. And she told Jacob to go to the flock, 
 and bring her two kids of the goats, and she would 
 make savory meat, and he should take it to his 
 father, and get the Blessing before Esau came back 
 from his hunting. " And Jacob said to Rebekah 
 his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, 
 and I am a smooth man : my father perhaps will 
 feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver, and 
 I shall bring a curse upon me and not a blessing. 
 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy 
 curse, my son, only obey my voice, and go fetch me 
 them. And Jacob went, and fetched the kids, and 
 brought them to his mother ; and his mother made 
 savory meat, such as his father loved. And she 
 took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which 
 
68 Jacob's blessing. 
 
 were with her in the house, and she put them upon 
 Jacob her youngest son. And she put the skins of 
 the kids upon Jacob's hands, and upon his neck. 
 And she gave the savory meat and the bread which 
 she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 
 And Jacob came unto his father, and said, My fa- 
 ther ; and his father said, Here am I, who art thou, 
 my son ?" Now Isaac was blind, and could not see 
 who it was that stood before him. "And Jacob 
 said unto his father, I am Esau thy first-born ; I 
 have done according as thou badest me ; arise, I 
 pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul 
 may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How 
 is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son ? 
 And Jacob said, Because the Lord thy God brought 
 it to me. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, 
 I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether 
 thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went 
 near unto Isaac his father, and he felt him, and said, 
 The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the 
 hands of Esau. And his father discerned him not, 
 because his hands were hairy, as the hands of his 
 brother Esau. So he blessed him." 
 
ESAUS BLESSING. 69 
 
 "And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made 
 an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce 
 gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that 
 Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And 
 he also had made savory meat, and brought it unto 
 his father; and said, Let my father arise, and eat 
 of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. 
 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou ? 
 And he said, I am thy son, thy first-born, Esau. 
 Then Isaac trembled very exceedingly." Isaac 
 knew now that Jacob had deceived him. He 
 thought of Jacob's lie, and he thought of his own 
 forgetfulness of the word that God had spoken — 
 which had tempted Jacob to deceive him. Happy 
 are they who remember God's commandments to do 
 them ! Isaac, old and blind, trembled with a great 
 trembling ; and said, " Who ? where is he that hath 
 taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten 
 of all before thou earnest, and have blessed him? 
 Yea, and he shall be blessed." Isaac had departed 
 from the word of the Lord ; Rebekah had tempted 
 her son Jacob to deceive his blind and aged father; 
 Jacob had told a lie — the sin was theirs, and they 
 must feel the correction of the Lord. But the 
 
70 ESAU'S BLESSING. 
 
 Blessing was God's Blessing, the Blessing which He 
 had given to faithful Abraham, and to Isaac who 
 had bowed his head to die at God's command ; and 
 God had given it to Jacob by promise, therefore it 
 would be fulfilled : but Jacob must be made to feel 
 the evil of his sin all the days of his life. 
 
 " When Esau heard the words of his father, he 
 cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry ; and 
 said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, my 
 father ! And his father said, Thy brother came 
 with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing. 
 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one 
 blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, 
 my father ! And Esau lifted up his voice and 
 wept." When Esau was hungry and sold his birth- 
 right to Jacob, he did not think about the Blessing ; 
 but now he finds the Blessing gone, and gone for 
 ever, to his brother to whom he sold his birthright, 
 he weeps aloud ; he seeks it bitterly with tears, but 
 it was too late. When he despised his birthright, 
 and sold it for pottage, he despised the Blessing 
 that was to be given with it ; and now both were 
 gone, and his father had confirmed the act, for he 
 had said of Jacob, " Yea, and he shall be blessed." 
 
ESAU'S BLESSING. 71 
 
 Isaac gave Esau a blessing, but it was not the 
 Blessing which God had promised. No ; that Bless- 
 ing could not be given to one who could despise 
 and sell it. That was a heavenly Blessing, a Bless- 
 ing to last for ever and ever ; but the blessing 
 which Isaac gave to Esau was an earthly blessing. 
 When Isaac blessed Jacob he blessed him in the 
 Name of God ; but he did not name that holy 
 Name when he blessed Esau. When Isaac blessed 
 Jacob, he spoke of Heaven first, for God Himself 
 would be the portion of Jacob ; his Blessing Avas to 
 be the Lord from Heaven : but when Isaac blessed 
 Esau, he put Earth first, because Esau's blessing- 
 was of the Earth, earthly. In Jacob's blessing there 
 was folded up a blessing for every one who blessed 
 him or his children the Jews ; but, in Esau's, no 
 mention was made of any blessing upon others for 
 his sake, — no mention was made of his being any 
 blessing in the Earth. 
 
 You see there are two blessings, a heavenly bless- 
 ing, and an earthly blessing. Every one in this 
 great world is seeking after one of these blessings. 
 Some people are doing all they can to gain as much 
 pleasure as possible ; some are seeking after honor ; 
 
72 ESAU's BLESSING. 
 
 some after money : all these things are earthly, they 
 are Esau's blessing ; and if we have not the Hea- 
 venly blessing, even the Lord for our portion, they 
 will do us no good, but only add to our sorrow in 
 the end. The greater number of people are seek- 
 ing after Esau's blessing. Like Esau, they despise 
 the Heavenly blessing ; it is offered to them in the 
 Bible, but they turn away from it ; they sell the hope 
 of ever receiving it, for some present gain or plea- 
 sure, just as Esau did. And then the day will come 
 when they will find it is gone, they will find they 
 have lost it for ever ; then they will seek it bitterly 
 with tears, as Esau did, but it will be too late : like 
 Esau, they cannot then find any place of repentance. 
 But there are a few people in the world who are 
 seeking the Heavenly blessing ; they cannot be 
 satisfied unless they can have the Lord for their 
 portion, and Heaven for their home, and the bless- 
 ing of God upon them at all times. They want to 
 have the Blessing God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and 
 Jacob ; they kneel down and pray for it in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus ; they seek it in the Holy 
 Bible ; they go to the house of God, the house of 
 prayer, and seek it there ; they watch over their 
 
ESAU'S BLESSING. 73 
 
 own thoughts and words and actions, lost they 
 should sin against God and lose it. And they will 
 find it. They will receive the blessing of the Lord, 
 for He has said, "Ask, and it shall be given you — 
 Seek, and ye shall find." 
 
 It is the same with children as with men and 
 women ; they also are seeking one of these bless- 
 ings. Which blessing are you seeking ? If you 
 think only about earthly things, you are only seek- 
 ing Esau's blessing. Earthly things will soon pass 
 away, and then- you will have nothing left ; no por- 
 tion in God, no home in Heaven ; nothing but that 
 dreadful place, where lost sinners dwell for ever. 
 But if you think of heavenly things also, if you pray 
 for the blessing of God to be given you, for your 
 Saviour's sake ; if you love to read of it, or to hear 
 of it, and if you try to please your Father in Hea- 
 ven, that He may bless you in all you do ; then the 
 Blessing that God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and 
 Jacob, will be your blessing. The Bible tells us 
 we must seek it to-day. It says, " Now is the ac- 
 cepted time." To-morrow may be too late. If 
 you have the earthly blessing only, Death will take 
 it all away ; but if you have the heavenly blessing, 
 
74 ESAU'S BLESSING. 
 
 nothing can take it away ; for the heavenly blessing 
 is the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our 
 Lord ; and if you have that love, nothing can sepa- 
 rate you from it, for whom the Lord Jesus loveth, 
 He loveth unto the end. 
 
 I love them that love me : and those that seek me 
 early shall find me. — Proverbs, viii. 17. 
 
JACOB'S DREAM. 
 
 Sunday AfteroooDfi. 
 
XI. 
 
 faco&'s § ream. 
 
 )SAU hated Jacob because of the Blessing 
 "wherewith his father blessed him. And 
 Esau said in his heart, The days of mourn- 
 ing for my father are at hand, then will I 
 slay my brother Jacob." Esau had de- 
 spised and sold his birthright ; but he for- 
 own sin, and thought only of Jacob's. 
 When we think most of our own sins, our heart 
 grows humble and tender : but when we forget our 
 own sins and think of the sins of others, then our 
 heart becomes proud and hard. Esau forgot his 
 own sin, and thought only of Jacob's, till he said in 
 his heart, "I will kill my brother." dreadful 
 words ! Satan first tempted Esau to despise the 
 blessing of the Lord, and to sell his birthright, and 
 
76 Jacob's dream. 
 
 Esau listened to the Tempter : and now Satan fills 
 his heart, as he did the heart of Cain, to kill his 
 brother ! Esau had listened to the Tempter before, 
 and now he listens again : he did not watch, he did 
 not pray, and therefore he entered into the dread- 
 ful temptation : he said, " I will kill my brother !" 
 But Jacob's life was bound up in the promise of 
 God, and therefore no one on earth or in hell could 
 take it away. Jacob was to be the father of the 
 nation of the Jews, of whom the Lord Jesus Christ 
 was to come ; therefore none could touch his life to 
 take it away. But Jacob had sinned against God, 
 and before man, and he must now begin to taste the 
 bitter fruit that sin is sure to yield. He must flee 
 away from his home, from his father's presence and 
 his mother's love, because of his angry brother's 
 fury. He must learn, by long experience, that sin 
 is an evil and bitter thing. God's faithful promise 
 could not fail. Jacob had believed, and loved, and 
 longed for that promise, as his fathers, Isaac and 
 Abraham, had done ; but Jacob had sinned in the 
 way he obtained it, and God would visit his trans- 
 gression with the rod of affliction, and his iniquity 
 with stripes ; but God would not take His loving- 
 
Jacob's dream. 77 
 
 kindness from him, nor suffer His faithful promise 
 to fail. 
 
 Esau's dreadful words -were told to bis mother 
 Rebekah. Rebekah had tempted her son Jacob to 
 tell a lie, and now she was the first to feel the bitter 
 punishment. She had only two children, and the 
 eldest was going to'kill the youngest; and this was 
 the consequence of her sin. It was too late then 
 to undo that sin : she could take it to her Saviour, 
 and He could wash away its guilt from her, but she 
 must feel the sorrow it must bring all her life on 
 earth. When Rebekah heard the words that her 
 eldest son Esau had spoken, she sent and called 
 Jacob her youngest son, and said unto him, " Be- 
 hold, thy brother, Esau, as touching thee, doth 
 comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. Now, 
 therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee 
 thou to Laban, my brother, to Haran ; and tarry 
 with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn 
 away, until thy brother's anger turn away from 
 thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to 
 him : then I will send and fetch thee from thence. 
 Why should I be deprived of you both in one 
 day?" 
 
78 JACOB S DREAM. 
 
 So Jacob left Lis mother, for fear of his brother's 
 anger, and he never saw her face again on earth. 
 When he came back to his father's house, many 
 years after, his mother was gone, and her body lay 
 sleeping in death, in the cave where Abraham, and 
 where Sarah the mother of Isaac, were laid. Sin 
 separates parents from children, and brother from 
 brother. The Holy Spirit of truth and love makes 
 all to be of one mind : but where envying and strife 
 is, there is confusion and every evil work. 
 
 Jacob left his home alone, with a staff in his 
 hand ; he travelled all day, and when night came, 
 no place of rest was near. Jacob's sin had de- 
 prived him of all that he loved and valued on earth. 
 His father, mother, brother, home, servants, flocks, 
 and herds, all were lost to him now ; and he was 
 going alone, to a strange land, to those whom he 
 had never seen. One thing was left to Jacob, and 
 only one, but that one thing was more than all be- 
 side : it was the Blessing of his father's God ; that 
 Blessing which Jacob had believed, and loved, and 
 longed for ; it had come at last, though his own sin 
 had made it come with bitterness. But Jacob loved 
 the Blessing still, and with that Blessing laid up in 
 
Jacob's dream. 79 
 
 his heart, he lay down to sleep on the bare ground, 
 with a stone for his pillow, and the heavens over 
 his head. 
 
 The Bible says of a father's commandment — and 
 how much more of a father's blessing, " When thou 
 goest, it shall lead thee ; when thou sleepest, it shall 
 keep thee ; and when thou awakest, it shall talk 
 with thee." And so it was with Jacob. He laid 
 down to sleep alone, with nothing but his father's 
 blessing : and in his sleep he dreamed, and, " be- 
 hold, a ladder set up on the Earth, and the top of 
 it reached to Heaven : and, behold, the angels of 
 God ascending and descending on it. And, be- 
 hold, the Lord stood above it, and said to Jacob, I 
 am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the 
 God of Isaac : the land whereon thou liest, to thee 
 will I give it, and to thy seed ; and in thee and in 
 thy seed shall all the families of the Earth be 
 blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will 
 keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will 
 bring thee again into this land ; for I will not leave 
 thee until I have done that which I have spoken to 
 thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and 
 he said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I 
 
80 Jacob's dream. 
 
 knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How 
 dreadful is this place ! This is none other but the 
 house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven." 
 
 God punished the men who tried to build a 
 tower of their own to Heaven, but He showed 
 Jacob a ladder which reached all the way. We 
 cannot make a way of our own to Heaven ; but 
 God has made a way in his great mercy, and He 
 can show it to us. The ladder which God showed 
 to Jacob meant the Lord Jesus Christ — He is the 
 way to Heaven. There was no way for a sinnee to 
 enter Heaven, therefore the blessed Jesus, in His 
 tender love, came down from Heaven, and died 
 upon the cross to put away sin ; and when He had 
 overcome the sharpness of death, He rose up from 
 His grave, and ascended to Heaven, and opened 
 the gate to all who are washed from their sins in 
 His precious blood. The Lord Jesus is the only 
 way to Heaven, He is the Ladder by which the 
 poor sinner may climb up to Heaven and enter in. 
 And because Jesus has opened the gate, and made 
 a way from Heaven to Earth, the holy angels come 
 down, and watch over all those whom the Lord 
 Jesus loves, as Jacob saw in his dream. 
 
Jacob's dream. 81 
 
 You could not climb a ladder all the way from 
 Earth to Heaven, but the ladder means your 
 Saviour : if you go to your Saviour's feet, and pray 
 to Him, He will take you in His arms, and give 
 His angels charge concerning you, and they will 
 carry you safe to the kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 Jesus saith unto Mm, I am the Way, and the 
 Truth, and the Life : no man cometh unto the Father 
 hut by Me. — John, xiv. 6. 
 
 6 
 
XII. 
 
 facob to it § |ts Incle jJTaian. 
 
 & 
 
 AC OB rose up from that blessed sleep early 
 in the morning. He was rich and happy 
 now ; rich in his poverty, because God had 
 &3 blessed him ; happy in his banishment, because 
 God was with him. And Jacob vowed a holy 
 vow unto the Lord, that he would be the ser- 
 vant of the Lord : and he asked four things of God ; 
 he asked God to grant them to him, because if the 
 Lord would be his God, he would not any more 
 look to himself, or to man, but to God only ; and 
 he would receive every thing from the Lord his 
 God. 
 
 Jacob asked four things of God. What would 
 you think those four things would be ? 
 
 The first words he said were, " If God will be 
 with me," Jacob had left all he knew and loved on 
 
,T A C O B WITH HIS UNCLE LABAN. 83 
 
 Earth, and ho had lain clown to sleep a lonely wan- 
 derer, without a home, but the Lord had come to 
 him. In the night, when deep sleep had Mien upon 
 him, he had heard the words of God, and seen the 
 vision of the Almighty. He thought that he was left 
 alone, forsaken of all ; but he found that he was 
 not alone, for God was with him. The ladder 
 Jacob saw reached all the way from the ground 
 where he lay up to Heaven, and the Lord God 
 stood above it ; by this Jacob was shewn how he 
 might come near to Him, even by the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who came from Heaven to Earth to save 
 sinners. And Jacob found how blessed a thing it 
 was to have a Father in Heaven, to whom he could 
 speak at all times, and who would be his Guardian 
 and his Guide for ever. And there God had bless- 
 ed him ; God made no mention of Jacob's sin ; 
 Jacob would think of and mourn for that all his 
 life; God only gave him the Blessing he had so long- 
 loved and desired, and added no sorrow to it. It 
 was the very Blessing God had given to Abraham 
 and to Isaac, and words of peace added to it which 
 were not given before. No wonder Jacob asked 
 that God would be always with him. Would you 
 
84 JACOB WITH HIS UNCLE LABAN. 
 
 not like to have God always with you ? If you ask 
 Him to be with you He will hear your prayer, and 
 He will be with you, and will not leave you. God 
 invites you to ask Him. He says to you, Wilt thou 
 not from this time cry unto me, "My Father, Thou 
 art the Guide of my youth ?" Jer. iii. 4. 
 
 The second request that Jacob made was, that 
 God would keep him in the w r ay that he went. 
 Jacob had learned to know that he could not keep 
 himself. He had been walking by himself, trusting 
 to his own strength and his own wisdom, and he 
 had found that his own strength was weakness, and 
 his own wisdom folly ; he had fallen into temptation 
 and a snare ; he had sinned against God and man, 
 and he had lost the comfort of all his earthly pos- 
 sessions. Now he prayed that God would keep 
 him, and his prayer was heard — God did keep him 
 all his life long, and redeemed him from all evil. 
 And God will keep you, if you ask Him, and if you 
 follow His holy will and commandment. He says 
 He "will gather His lambs in His arms, and carry 
 them in his bosom." 
 
 The third thing that Jacob asked was, that God 
 would give him bread to eat, and raiment to put 
 
JACU 15 W I T II II IS U N O LB L A B A X . 85 
 
 on. He did not ask to have his servants and his 
 flocks and his tents given back to him — No, he 
 had left all those to his brother. He had re- 
 ceived the blessing of God, and he thought that 
 the best of all possessions. He only asked for 
 bread to eat and raiment to put on. The Bible 
 tells us that, having food and raiment, we are to 
 be therewith content. Your Heavenly Father 
 teaches you to ask Him, as Jacob did, for your 
 daily bread : do you not say, " Give us this day 
 our daily bread ?" 
 
 The fourth request that Jacob made was, that he 
 might come again to his father's house in peace. 
 Jacob had felt the love of God, but he did not for- 
 get his father and his mother : he prayed that he 
 might return to his father's house, not to die by his 
 angry brother's hand, but in peace. And God 
 granted him all that he asked. You have not 
 had to flee away from your father's house in fear ; 
 but you have a sinful heart, and if your sin be not 
 taken away you cannot enter your Heavenly 
 Father's house above the sky. The Lord Jesus 
 says to those whom He has washed from their 
 sins : " In my Father's house are many mansions 
 
86 JACOB WITH HIS UNCLE LABAN. 
 
 — I go to prepare a place for you." The Lord 
 Jesus took away Jacob's sin ; you must ask Him 
 to take away your sin, and then, when you die, 
 you will go in peace to your Father's house in 
 Heaven. 
 
 " Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into 
 the land of the people of the East. And there he 
 served his uncle Laban, his mother's brother." 
 Jacob stayed there twenty years. He was often re- 
 minded of his own sin by the trouble he met with ; 
 for his uncle deceived him many times, and then 
 Jacob must have remembered again with fresh sor- 
 row how he had deceived his aged father. But 
 God was with Jacob, and kept him and prospered 
 him, so that Jacob became a rich man. He had 
 twelve children, eleven sons and one daughter. 
 " And it came to pass when Jacob's eleventh son, 
 whose name was Joseph, was born, that Jacob said 
 to his uncle Laban, Send me away, that I may go 
 to mine own place, and to my country ; for thou 
 knowest my service which I have done thee. And 
 Laban said, I pray thee, if I have found favor in 
 thine eyes, stay with me ; for I have learned by ex- 
 perience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy 
 
JACOB WITH HIS UNCLE LAB AN. 87 
 
 sake." So Jacob Btayed, but his uncle deceived 
 him, and changed his wages ten times. Only the 
 Lord was with Jacob, and blessed him, and there- 
 fore he increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, 
 and maid-servants, and men-servants, and camels, 
 and asses. 
 
 Jacob stayed till Joseph, his youngest son, was 
 six years old ; Jacob had then been twenty years 
 with his uncle, away from his father's house, and he 
 longed sore to return. And the Lord said uuto 
 him, " Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to 
 thy kindred, and I will be with thee. And the 
 angel of God spake unto Jacob in a dream, saying, 
 I am the God of Bethel, where thou vowedst a vow 
 unto me. Now, arise, get thee out from this land, 
 and return unto the land of thy kindred." Jacob 
 feared to tell Laban what God had said to him, for 
 Laban no longer looked kindly upon him as before. 
 And Laban went to shear his sheep. Then Jacob 
 rose up, and set his children upon camels, and car- 
 ried away all that he had, for to go to Isaac his 
 father in the land of Canaan." You see, Jacob is 
 walking by the ass on which Rachel his wife is 
 
00 JACOB WITH HIS UNCLE LABAN. 
 
 riding. The servants are taking down the tents 
 which Jacob lived in with his family, and the 
 camels are waiting to bear them away. 
 
 The blessing of the Lord, it mdketh rich; and 
 He addeth no sorrow with it. — Proverbs, x. 22. 
 
^4 V^ 
 
 THE RECONCILIATION OF JACOB AND ESAU 
 
 Sunday Afternoons 
 
XIII. 
 
 fctcoITs Return. 
 
 ND it was told Laban on the third day 
 after, that Jacob was fled. And Laban 
 took his brethren with him, and pursued 
 after Jacob seven days' journey, and they 
 overtook him in the mount of Gilead." 
 Jacob could not travel fast, because he had 
 young children, and much cattle with him ; so he 
 could not escape. He must have felt afraid when 
 he saw his unkind uncle coming in sight, and the 
 men that were with him. But Jacob had prayed 
 that God would be with him, and would keep him 
 in the way that he went, and would bring him 
 again to his father's house in peace ; and God had 
 not forgotten Jacob's prayer. God had granted 
 him that which he had asked, and therefore no one 
 could hurt him. Jacob was as safe in the lonely 
 
90 Jacob's return. 
 
 mountain path with his angry uncle near, as if he 
 had been in his father's house. " Happy is he that 
 hath the God of Jacob for his help ; whose hope is 
 in the Lord his God." 
 
 God came to Laban in a dream by night, and 
 said unto him, " Take heed that thou speak not to 
 Jacob either good or bad. Then Laban overtook 
 Jacob. And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou 
 done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me ? 
 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt, but 
 the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, 
 saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to 
 Jacob either good or bad." Then Jacob reminded 
 his uncle of how he had served him, and of the 
 treatment which he had received at his hands. 
 " And Jacob said, Except the God of my father, the 
 God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been 
 with me, surely thou hadst sent me away empty. 
 God hath seen my affliction and the labor of my 
 hands, and rebuked thee yesternight. Then Laban 
 made a covenant with Jacob ; and they raised a 
 heap of stones. And Jacob offered sacrifice upon 
 the mount. And early in the morning, Laban, Ja- 
 cob's uncle, rose up, and kissed Jacob's children, 
 
Jacob's return. 91 
 
 and departed, and returned to his place." The 
 Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of 
 temptations; and to reserve the unjust to the day 
 of judgment to be punished. 
 
 " And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of 
 God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, 
 This is God's host." Jacob had seen the holy an- 
 gels twenty years before, in his dream by night, 
 when he lay on the bare ground ; he had seen them 
 comins: down from Heaven in the name of the 
 Lord Jesus, on messages of love to those whose 
 sins were pardoned, and to little children — " for of 
 such is the kingdom of heaven." And he had seen 
 the holy angels whose work was done, returning 
 back again in the name of Jesus — the only name to 
 which the gate of Heaven opens from this sinful 
 Earth. Jacob had seen this twenty years before ; 
 therefore he was not afraid when the angels met 
 him on his journey, it comforted his heart to see 
 them ; and he called them God's host. Jacob had 
 no soldiers with him to fight against his enemies, 
 therefore God shewed to him the angel-host which 
 He had sent to guard him, that Jacob might trust 
 and not be afraid. "The angel of the Lord en- 
 
92 Jacob's return. 
 
 canipeth round about them that fear Him, and de- 
 livereth them." 
 
 Jacob had been delivered from one danger, and 
 now he began to think of another. He was enter- 
 ing the land of Canaan, where his father and his 
 brother dwelt ; but how shall he meet Esau his 
 brother ? Can he hope that twenty years of sepa- 
 ration will have softened his brother's anger ? Ja- 
 cob was afraid to hope, because he knew that time 
 alone only makes the stony heart grow harder. 
 But the angels were with Jacob, and would not 
 they take care of him ? Yes, the angels were with 
 Jacob, but Jacob knew the angels could not put 
 away his sin ; he had sinned against Esau his 
 brother twenty years before, by telling a lie in his 
 name ; and the holy angels could not come between 
 him and his sin. What then did Jacob do ? He 
 took the humble sinner's place. The Bible says, 
 "A soft answer turneth away wrath." Jacob sent 
 a lowly message to Esau his brother. He sent mes- 
 sengers to Esau his brother, and commanded them, 
 saying, " Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau, 
 Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with 
 Laban, and stayed there until now. And I have 
 
Jacob's return. 93 
 
 oxen, and asses, flocks, and men-servants, and wo- 
 men-servants, and I have sent to tell my lord, that 
 I may find grace in thy sight." Esau had sold the 
 birthright to Jacob, but Jacob gives back the honor 
 to Esau ; he calls Esau lord, and he calls himself 
 Esau's servant. "Better it is to be an humble 
 spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with 
 the proud." 
 
 But the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, 
 " We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh 
 to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. 
 Then Jacob was greatly afraid, and distressed : and 
 he divided the people that was with him, and the 
 flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two 
 bands ; and said, If Esau come to the one company, 
 and smite it, then the other company which is left 
 shall escape." Jacob was for peace, but when he 
 speaks, he finds his brother is for war. The dan- 
 ger is come, it is drawing near. What will Jacob 
 do ? He has no armed men with him : will he flee 
 away from Esau, as he did before, and hide his help- 
 less children from his brother's fury ? No ; it is 
 true he has no might against this great company 
 that cometh against him ; neither knows he what to 
 
94 Jacob's return, 
 
 do ; but his eyes are upon the Lord. God had bid 
 him return, and had promised to deal well with 
 him ; and Jacob will go forward, whoever may rise 
 up against him. " They that trust in the Lord shall 
 be as Mount Zion; which cannot be removed, but 
 abideth for ever." Jacob could not fight; he was 
 a peaceful shepherd, leading his sheep and his 
 lambs to a resting-place : Jacob would not flee ; 
 but there was one thing Jacob could and would do, 
 and that one thing was better than all other things 
 — "Jacob prayed unto the Lord his God, and said, 
 God of my father Abraham, and God of my 
 father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return 
 unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will 
 deal well with thee : I am not worthy of the least 
 of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou 
 hast shewed unto thy servant : for with my staff I 
 passed over this Jordan; and now I am become 
 two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the 
 hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau : for I 
 fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the 
 mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will 
 surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand 
 of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multi- 
 
Jacob's return. 95 
 
 tilde." This was Jacob's prayer unto the Lord his 
 God. 
 
 After this he sent a present to Esau his brother ; 
 five droves of cattle ; and a servant with every 
 drove. First, two hundred goats; then, two hun- 
 dred sheep ; then thirty camels, with their colts ; 
 next forty cows, and ten bulls ; then twenty asses, 
 and ten foals. One drove followed another, with a 
 space between each ; and Jacob commanded each 
 servant to say to Esau, " These be thy servant Ja- 
 cob's ; it is a present unto my lord Esau ; and be- 
 hold also he is behind us. So went the present 
 over before him." And he arose up that night, and 
 sent all his family over the little brook of water that 
 lay before them ; and he sent over all that he had. 
 And Jacob was left alone. 
 
 You remember once before when Jacob was 
 alone on his journey, and it was night. You re- 
 member all that he then saw and heard. Twenty 
 years had passed away, and now Jacob was travel- 
 ling back the same road, it was the night again, and 
 Jacob was left alone. But he was not alone now 
 because there was no one to bear him company. 
 No ; he had left them all, because he loved to be 
 
96 Jacob's dream. 
 
 alone with God. Did he see again that wondrous 
 ladder, let down from the open sky, and the Lord 
 God standing above it ? No ; Jacob had learned 
 the lesson that Heavenly ladder was meant to teach 
 him, he had come to God by the Saviour, the Lord 
 Jesus, and now he did not need to have the ladder 
 shewn to him again. Did he see the angels of 
 God coming down from Heaven to help him ? No ; 
 Jacob had seen the holy angels, they had met him 
 on his way, and he had known them to be God's 
 mighty host : but Jacob could not be satisfied with 
 only angels near him ; he thought upon his sin, and 
 he wanted his Saviour — nothing else could satisfy 
 him ; he had turned from the angels to God in ear- 
 nest prayer. Was Jacob left long alone ? No : 
 there wrestled a Man with him till the breaking of 
 the day ; and that Man was his Saviour, the Lord 
 from Heaven. And when the morning light dawned 
 in the eastern sky, He said to Jacob, Let me go, for 
 the day breaketh. But Jacob held his Saviour fast, 
 and said, " I will not let thee go, except thou bless 
 me. And he said unto Jacob, What is thy name ? 
 And he said Jacob. And the Lord said unto him, 
 Thy name shall be no more called Jacob, but Israel 
 
Jacob's return. 97 
 
 (a Prince of God), for as a Prince hast thou power 
 with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And 
 the Lord blessed hirn there. And Jacob said, I 
 have seen God face to face, and my life is pre- 
 served." 
 
 " Then Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and 
 behold Esau came, and with him four hundred men. 
 And Jacob passed on before, and bowed himself to 
 the ground seven times, until he came near to his 
 brother." But all was peace now. God had soft- 
 ened Esau's heart ; and he ran to meet Jacob, and 
 embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, 
 and they wept, " When a man's ways please the 
 Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace 
 with him." 
 
 " And Esau lifted up his eyes, and saw the wo- 
 men and the children ; and said, Who are those 
 with thee ? And Jacob said, The children which 
 God hath graciously given unto thy servant." Then 
 Jacob's family came near, and bowed before their 
 Uncle Esau. That child who holds his mothers 
 hand is Jacob's youngest son Joseph ; he is looking 
 on with wonder while his father meets the strange, 
 rou^h man whom he had never seen before. Esau 
 
98 
 
 JACOBS RETURN. 
 
 did not like to take the present that Jacob sent 
 him : he said, " I have enough, my brother, keep 
 that thou hast unto thyself." But Jacob urged him 
 to receive it, and he took it. Esau would have 
 stayed with Jacob, to protect him as he travelled ; 
 or he would have left some of his four hundred men 
 to guard him. But Jacob better loved to have the 
 holy angels' gentle care : so he said, " What need- 
 eth it ?" And Esau returned to his home. 
 
 Jacob travelled on his way, and came to Shechem, 
 in the land of Canaan ; and there he bought a piece 
 of ground ; it was only a small piece, but it was all 
 that Jacob possessed of that land which was one day 
 to belong entirely to his children's children. Jacob 
 bought it to build an altar there, and offer a sacri- 
 fice to God. Joseph, that child who holds his 
 mother's hand, the beloved child of his father Jacob, 
 and the favored child of God, stood by the altar 
 that his father built to worship God. And there, 
 where that altar stood, four hundred years after- 
 wards, the many thousands of Israel laid the 
 honored bones of Joseph, to rest till his Saviour's 
 voice shall call him from his grave. And there, 
 
Jacob's return. 09 
 
 fourteen hundred years later, the blessed Jesus sate, 
 wearied with his journey, to rest on Jacob's well. 
 John, iv. 5, 6. 
 
 It is not the will of your Father in Heaven 
 that one of these little ones should perish. — Matthew, 
 xviii. 14. 
 
XIV. 
 
 ACOB had now been some time in the land 
 of Canaan, and yet he had not reached his 
 father's house ; he had not reached that 
 home he had longed so much to see again. 
 He was not afraid of Esau now : why then 
 did he not return ? Perhaps it was his 
 mother he had longed so much to see, and now he 
 heard that she was gone to her rest. Jacob would 
 hear from Esau his brother, that his mother was no 
 more on earth ; and from that time he seems to 
 have lingered on his journey, as though he could 
 not, for a little while, bear to return to the home 
 where he had thought that she would be. Debo- 
 rah, his mother's nurse, had come to him : we do 
 not know when she came ; she must have been a 
 very aged woman, but she did not mind the fatigue 
 
JOSEPH. 101 
 
 of travelling, that she might go to Jacob — the son 
 whom her departed mistress loved so well, and 
 whom she had nursed. She would hear of Jacob's 
 arrival in the land of Canaan, from Esau, and she 
 left her masters house to go to the tents of Jacob, 
 and to see the children whom God had given him. 
 She would tell Jacob about his mother, and how his 
 mother had thought of him, and how she had died 
 in peace, and been laid by holy Abraham and by 
 Sarah's side. Jacob loved his nurse, and his chil- 
 dren learned very soon to love her also. I dare 
 say Joseph was her favorite child, because he was 
 the youngest, and he was the child of his father's 
 love, for he was not rebellious as his elder brothers 
 were ; he was an obedient and a gentle child. 
 
 "And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to 
 Bethel, and dwell there ; and make an altar unto 
 God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest 
 from the face of Esau thy brother. Then Jacob said 
 unto his family, Let us arise, and go up to Bethel ; 
 and I will make there an altar unto God, who an- 
 swered me in the day of my distress, and was with 
 me in the way which I went." You remember that 
 the first thing 1 Jacob asked was, that God would 
 
102 JOSEPH. 
 
 be with him ; and now that so many years have 
 passed away, this is what Jacob still thinks most 
 about. He does not say that he will build an altar 
 to God who had kept him, or who had given him 
 more than bread to eat and raiment to put on, or 
 who now led him back in peace to his father's 
 house. No ; God had done all these things for him, 
 but that which he thinks most of now, is that which 
 he cared for more than all — God being with Mm. 
 " So Jacob came to Bethel, he and all the people 
 that were with him. And he built there an altar, 
 because God appeared to him when he fled from 
 the face of his brother." 
 
 But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died ; and she 
 was buried beneath Bethel, under an oak ; and the 
 name of it was called, The oak of weeping. Jacob 
 was far away when they laid his mother in the 
 grave, but he wept at the grave of his nurse, and 
 his children wept : so many tears were shed, that 
 they called the oak under which they laid her, The 
 oak of weeping. Young Joseph wept by his father's 
 side. Perhaps it was the first sorrow he had ever 
 known. Deborah was very old, and had not been 
 long with Jacob's family, yet see Iioav they loved 
 
JOSEPH. 103 
 
 her. She was a servant, and yet they loved her as 
 a friend. She was old and feeble, and wanted them 
 to wait on her, yet how they loved her. This 
 teaches ns that it does not depend upon what we 
 can do for others, but upon what we are in our own 
 spirit and disposition, whether we have much, or 
 only a little of the love of others. No doubt the 
 aged Deborah was a servant of the Lord, and God 
 had given her to see the prayers she had offered up 
 for Jacob all answered; and she could say, " Lord, 
 now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." And 
 those she loved the best on earth laid her to her 
 rest. She was laid in holy ground, the very place 
 where Jacob laid down to sleep the first night he 
 had left his home, and where he saw the ladder 
 from Heaven to Earth, and where the Lord had 
 blessed him, and where he had given himself to 
 God. And now he was come back safe to the same 
 place to worship God, a rich man, and all his chil- 
 dren around him : there Deborah died, and in that 
 holy ground she . sleeps till the resurrection of the 
 dead. 
 
 "And God appeared unto Jacob again, and 
 blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name 
 
104 JOSEPH. 
 
 is Jacob ; thy name shall not be called any more 
 Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name ; and God called 
 his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am 
 God Almighty : the land which I gave Abraham 
 and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed 
 after thee will I give the land. And God went up 
 from him, in the place where He talked with him. 
 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God 
 talked with him : even a pillar of stone. And Ja- 
 cob called the name of the place where God spake 
 with him, Bethel." This was the place where God 
 had first given His blessing to Jacob, and now He 
 blessed him again. Jacob always kept the love of 
 God's blessing warm within his heart, and therefore 
 it was given him again and again. The more that 
 we love, and long, and pray for the blessing of 
 God, the more shall we receive of it : that blessing 
 never comes down upon a thoughtless heart. When 
 Jacob first saw the Lord God, it was above the lad- 
 der, up in Heaven ; but now that Jacob had learned 
 to go to God by his Saviour, God came down to 
 earth, and talked with Jacob. God did not forget 
 how Jacob had overcome Him by prayer — God 
 calls him not Jacob, but Israel, that name which 
 
JOSEPH. 105 
 
 means a Prince, because as a Prince he had power 
 with God, and had prevailed. Now you will know 
 tliat Israel is the high and holy name which God 
 gave to Jacob- 
 
 And they journeyed from Bethel. And God 
 gave Jacob another son, and Jacob called his name 
 Benjamin ; but Benjamin's mother died ; and Ben- 
 jamin was left, a little helpless infant, to his father's 
 tender care, and to his young brother Joseph's love. 
 Rachel was Benjamin's mother's name, and she 
 died ; and Jacob mourned for his beloved wife ; 
 and Joseph stood again at his father's side by the 
 grave to weep — and now it was his mothers grave. 
 And Jacob set a pillar on the grave, and there it 
 stood for hundreds of years, long after Jacob, and 
 Rachel, and Joseph had met again in their Saviour's 
 presence above. 
 
 " And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto 
 Mamre, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac 
 sojourned. And the days of Isaac were an hundred 
 and eighty years. And Isaac died, and was gather- 
 ed unto his people ; being old and full of days ; and 
 his sons Esau and Jacob buried him," by Abraham 
 his father's side. 
 
106 JOSEPH. 
 
 " And Esau took all the persons of his house, and 
 his cattle, and all his substance which he had got in 
 the land of Canaan ; and went into the country 
 from the face of his brother Jacob ; for their riches 
 were more than that they might dwell together ; 
 and the land wherein they were strangers could not 
 bear them, because of their cattle. Thus Esau 
 dwelt in Mount Seir. And Jacob dwelt in the 
 land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land 
 of Canaan," which was the land that God gave to 
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by promise. 
 
 Jacob had now lost from earth his mother, who 
 had loved him so tenderly ; Deborah his faithful 
 nurse ; .Rachel his beloved wife ; and Isaac his 
 father : four times he had mourned for the dead ; 
 and Joseph*, his precious child, had been his earthly 
 comfort. Jacob had ten sons older than Joseph, 
 but they were his sorrow and not his comfort : they 
 were disobedient to God, unthankful, unholy : but 
 Joseph was the child of God's Heavenly grace ; as 
 Jacob's father Isaac had been — who in his early 
 years gave himself up to die at God's command. 
 You remember that God had given Jacob the name 
 of Israel now. No wonder that Israel loved Joseph 
 
JOSEPH. 107 
 
 more than all his children, for he was the son and 
 the comfort of his old age. And his father made 
 him a coat of many colors. Bat when his brothers 
 saw that his father loved him more than he loved 
 them, they hated him, and could not speak peace- 
 ably unto hirn. 
 
 One night when Joseph was sleeping upon his 
 bed, he dreamed a dream : he thought he was at 
 work with his brothers in the harvest-fields, binding 
 up the corn in sheaves. And he thought that his 
 sheaf arose and stood upright, and that his brothers' 
 sheaves stood around it, and bowed down to it. 
 And he told his brothers the dream which he had 
 dreamed. But they said to him, " Shalt thou in- 
 deed reign over us ? or shalt thou indeed have do- 
 minion over us ? And they hated him yet the 
 more, for his dreams and for his words. And he 
 dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his 
 brothers, and said. Behold, I have dreamed a dream 
 more ; and behold the sun, and the moon, and the 
 eleven stars bowed down to me. And he told the 
 dream to his father, and to his brothers ; and his 
 father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this 
 dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I, and thy 
 
108 JOSEPH. 
 
 mother, and thy brothers, indeed come to bow 
 down ourselves to thee to the earth ? And his 
 brothers envied him ; but his father observed the 
 saying." These dreams were from no pride of Jo- 
 seph's heart ; they were from God. You see he 
 stands among his brothers, and tells the dream to 
 them ; but like wicked Cain, they hate their gentle 
 brother, though he is but a child to them : but he 
 who has the love of God, need fear no evil, though 
 all the world should frown upon him. When the 
 blessed Jesus was a child, younger than Joseph, he 
 stood alone among the elders of his own people the 
 Jews — it was in the same land of Canaan, and among 
 the descendants of Jacob's sons, the Children of Is- 
 rael. He stood alone in the midst of old and learn- 
 ed men, and they wondered at His words ; but, like 
 Joseph's brothers, they Avould not follow His ex- 
 ample, they would not learn of the beloved Son of 
 God, who was meek and lowly in heart, and there- 
 fore they could not find rest unto their souls. Young 
 as the Holy Jesus then was, he could have taught 
 the Jews to love and know His Father in Heaven, 
 if they would have learned of Him, but they would 
 not. And Joseph's brothers might have learned 
 
JOSEPH. 109 
 
 the happy lesson of obedience from Him, but they 
 would not. The Bible says, " The way of a fool is 
 right in his own eyes ; but he that hearkeneth 
 unto counsel is wise." Would you be like Joseph, 
 the child whom God and his father loved ? or like 
 his hard-hearted and envious brothers, who sinned 
 against God and their father ? If you would be 
 like Joseph, you must try to set a good example to 
 others, both by your actions and your words. You 
 must be a child of obedience, truth, and love. Ask 
 of God to give you the Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus 
 that you may be so. And if you would not be like 
 Joseph's hardened brothers, you must not turn 
 away from the good example, and the words of 
 counsel set before you, but must try to follow them : 
 then you will be a follower of the Holy Jesus, and 
 the child of your Father in Heaven. 
 
 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his 
 work be pure, and whether it be right. — Proverbs, 
 xx. 11. 
 
XV. 
 
 ND Joseph's brothers went to feed their 
 
 pfffl father's flock in Shechem. And Israel 
 
 fS\^ said unto his son Joseph, Do not thy 
 
 \=^k brothers feed the flock in Shechem? Come, 
 
 qj and I will send thee unto them. And Jo- 
 
 seph said to his father, Here am I. And 
 
 his filth er said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether 
 
 it be well with thy brothers, and well with the 
 
 flocks; and bring me word again." Joseph knew 
 
 his brothers' feeling against him, he knew that they 
 
 could not even speak peaceably to him ; he knew 
 
 also how his father loved him, and that he would 
 
 not like to expose him tetany trouble; but he did 
 
 not say a word against his father's command. When 
 
 his father called him to go alone to his envious and 
 
 cruel brothers, he made answer directly, " Here am 
 
JOSEPH. Ill 
 
 I." Shall I toll you what it was that made Joseph 
 so obedient? It was because God had sent down 
 into Joseph's heart the Spirit of Christ, even the 
 Holy Spirit, and this made Joseph like His Saviour; 
 for the Lord Jesus was obedient in all things to 
 His Heavenly Father's will ; He was the beloved 
 Son of God ; but when His Heavenly Father sent 
 him into this world to become the brother of sinful 
 men, to suffer and to die by their wicked hands, He 
 said directly, " Lo I come." Joseph said, " Here 
 am I." And the Lord Jesus said, " Lo I come." 
 You see the same Holy Spirit of obedience dwelt in 
 both — Joseph had the Spirit of God's beloved Son : 
 and so had the blessed Isaac, who lay down upon 
 the altar to die : and so had Abraham, who took 
 the knife to slay his son, his only son, whom he 
 loved, at God's command : and so has every child 
 and servant of God — we may know them by this, 
 from the oldest to the youngest — they have learned 
 
 OBEDIENCE. 
 
 So Israel sent Joseph his son out of the vale of 
 Hebron, and he came to Shechem. But his brothers 
 were not there. Did Joseph then return to his 
 father and tell him that he had been, and they were 
 
112 JOSEPH. 
 
 not there ? No ; he was bsnt upon obedience to 
 his father's will, and he would seek them till he 
 found them. " And a certain man found him, and, 
 behold, he was wandering in the field ; and the 
 man asked him, saying, What seekest thou ? And 
 he said, I seek my brothers : tell me, I pray thee, 
 where they feed their flocks. And the man said, 
 They are departed hence ; for I heard them say, 
 Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his 
 brothers, and found them in Dothan. And when 
 they saw him afar off, even before he came near 
 unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. 
 And they said one to another, Behold, this Dreamer 
 cometh. Come now, therefore, and let us slay him, 
 and cast him into some pit ; and we will say, Some 
 evil beast hath devoured him ; and we shall see 
 what will become of his dreams. And Reuben, Jo- 
 seph's eldest brother, said unto them, Shed no 
 blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wil- 
 derness, and lay no hand upon him ; that he might 
 rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his 
 father again." Joseph must have been faint with 
 fatigue, hunger, and thirst, after walking so far to 
 find his brothers ; and now at last he saw them with 
 
JOSEPH. 113 
 
 their flocks and their tents ; but there was no wel- 
 come, no rest, no food for Joseph. There was no 
 love, no pity in the hard hearts of his brothers. 
 Their aged father had sent his beloved son to see 
 how they were, but they ask no questions about 
 their father : they conspire together against their 
 innocent brother, and all their thoughts are to take 
 away his life ; all except Reuben, — he keeps them 
 back from shedding Joseph's blood. 
 
 "And it came to pass when Joseph was come 
 unto his brothers, that they stripped Joseph out of 
 his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him : 
 and they took him and cast him into a pit : and the 
 pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they 
 sat down to eat bread." The wilderness was a place 
 dreary enough for Jacob's beloved child to be left 
 in alone, but this would not satisfy his cruel bro- 
 thers, they cast him into a deep pit ; perhajjs he 
 might have found his way out of the wilderness 
 home to his father, but he could not get out of the 
 pit : the burning sun would beat upon him there, 
 and there was no water to quench his thirst. He 
 entreated his brothers not to cast him in, and they 
 saw the anguish of his soul when he besought them, 
 
114 JOSEPH. 
 
 but they would not hear : they turned away from 
 his piercing cry, and sat down to eat bread. see 
 how Satan had hardened their hearts, they could see 
 their young brother's anguish, they could leave him 
 to die of hunger and thirst, and then sit down them- 
 selves to eat and to drink ! Israel could not hear 
 Joseph's cry, he had no thought of what was done, 
 he could not see the pit in the wilderness, and his 
 darling child at the bottom of it, stripped of his 
 many-colored coat. There was no earthly helper 
 near. But there was one Eye that saw ; one Ear 
 that heard ; even God his Saviour, even the Lord 
 Jesus, the beloved Son of God, who was one day 
 Himself to be left alone in the waste, howling wil- 
 derness. Joseph could look up, even from that 
 deep pit, to his Father in Heaven : and God looked 
 down upon him in tender pity and love. Joseph's 
 cruel brothers had him far away from his earthly 
 father : but they could not separate him from his 
 Father in Heaven. God heard the voice of Joseph 
 out of the deep pit. He heard his sighs, He heard 
 the faintest breath he drew. 
 
 " His brothers sat down to eat bread : and they 
 lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a com- 
 
JOSHPH. 115 
 
 pany of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their 
 camels bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh, going 
 to carry it down to Egypt. And Judali said unto 
 his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, 
 and conceal his blood ? Come, and let us sell him, 
 and let not our hand be upon him : for he is our 
 brother, and our flesh. And his brethren were 
 content." It was God who kept these cruel bro- 
 thers from their wicked purpose. He would not 
 suffer Joseph's life to be taken from the earth. 
 " And they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the 
 pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty 
 pieces of silver : so Joseph was taken into Egypt." 
 lleuben was not there when Joseph was sold for a 
 slave ; perhaps he w T as gone to find some means by 
 which he could get Joseph back to his father : but 
 when he returned to the pit, behold Joseph was not 
 in the pit ; and he rent his clothes in his distress. 
 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, " The 
 child is not, and I, whither shall I go ?" 
 
 And they took Joseph's coat, his coat of many 
 colors that his father gave him, and they killed a 
 kid and dipped the coat in the blood. " And they 
 sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to 
 
116 JOSEPH. 
 
 their father ; and said, This have we found : know 
 now whether it be thy son's coat or no. And Israel 
 knew it, and said, It is my son's coat ; an evil beast 
 hath devoured him : Joseph is without doubt rent 
 in pieces. And Jacob rent his clothes, and put 
 sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son 
 many days. And all his sons and all his daughters 
 rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be com- 
 forted : and he said, For I will go down into the 
 grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father 
 wept for him." 
 
 But Joseph was not in the grave — Joseph had 
 been taken from the pit wherein was no water : but 
 Israel his father did not know this. He only saw 
 the coat of many colors dipped in blood : he knew it 
 was Joseph's coat, he thought it must be Joseph's 
 blood : he thought some evil beast had robbed him 
 of his child : he could not think that his own chil- 
 dren could be more cruel than the beasts of prey. 
 Do you remember that when Israel was a son him- 
 self, he had taken the skin of a kid to deceive his 
 father Isaac ? And now that he is old and feeble, 
 his sons deceive him with the blood of a kid : they 
 make their father think that the blood of a kid is 
 
JOSEPH. 117 
 
 Joseph's blood, as be had made his father Isaac 
 think that the skin of a kid was Esau's skin. Cod 
 punishes his children in this world : but those who 
 are not His children will have to bear their punish- 
 ment far away from God for ever and ever. 
 
 God called Abraham to part with Isaac his only 
 son, by a death of blood ; but when the last mo- 
 ment came, God spared him to his father unhurt, 
 and full of blessing from above. God called Israel 
 to give up Joseph, he mourned and wept for him, 
 for he thought him dead by violence and blood; 
 but at last God restored him unhurt, and full of the 
 blessing of the Lord : for " like as a father piticth 
 his children, so the Lord piticth them that fear 
 Him." But God did not spare His own beloved 
 Son, but delivered Him up for us all. The Lord 
 Jesus took our nature upon Him, and became man's 
 Brother. He left His home in Heaven, and came 
 to visit us, to bring us His father's message of peace 
 and love. He was weary, and hungry, and thirsty, 
 for our sakes ; but we felt no pity. He was de- 
 spised and rejected of men, full of sorrow and grief, 
 and we hid as it were our faces from Ilim. Men, 
 His brethren, hated Him ; and when they saw Him, 
 
118 JOSEPH. 
 
 they said, Come, let us kill Him. They sold Him 
 for thirty pieces of silver. And they stripped His 
 raiment off from Him ; His coat which had no seam 
 in it, woven from the top throughout. And they 
 shed His precious blood — His vesture is dipped in 
 His own blood. His life was taken from the earth. 
 He was laid in the grave's dark pit ; and tasted 
 death for every man. Pie was Joseph's God and 
 Saviour ; by His death Joseph found everlasting 
 life, and so will all who love His name. In all that 
 Jacob's beloved son suffered we see, as in a picture, 
 a faint likeness to the far greater sufferings, even 
 unto death, of the Lord Jesus, God's beloved Son, 
 for us and for our salvation. 
 
 As for Thee also, by the blood of Thy covenant, I 
 have sent forth Thy prisoners out of the pit wherein 
 is no water. — Zechariah, ix. 11. 
 

JOSEPH SOLD INTO EGYPT. 
 
 Sunday Afternoons 
 
XVI. 
 
 |osfj)!] in <tjj.|t 
 
 ND the Midianites sold Joseph into Egypt, 
 unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and 
 captain of the guard. Joseph was now in a 
 N^r^p strange country ; there was not a face, not 
 £^ a voice he knew in all the land ; no one to 
 *& pity, no one to care for the friendless slave. 
 How often Joseph must have wept when he thought 
 upon his home, his aged father, and his young bro- 
 ther Benjamin ! He had lost them, and they had 
 lost him. Would it break his father's heart, would 
 his father die because he would not return again ? 
 Joseph might think that perhaps he would, and they 
 would lay him in the grave, and he would never 
 see his father again ! His cruel brothers would be 
 sure not to tell their father what they had done, 
 therefore his father must think him dead, and would 
 
120 JOSEPH IN EGYPT. 
 
 not know where to look for him. Little Benjamin 
 would cry for him, but perhaps he would soon for- 
 get him ; and then there would be no one in all the 
 world who loved him : and he only a poor slave. 
 It would have been a little comfort if he might but 
 have had the coat his father made him, that he 
 might wrap it round him, and look at it, and think 
 of his father's love : but his brothers had taken all 
 away from him, even the garment that covered 
 him. Joseph, do not grieve for that coat of 
 many colors ! The loss of it only makes you more 
 like your Saviour, God's beloved Son. His Hea- 
 venly Father clothed Him in the brightness of His 
 glory : that was the robe of many rays the blessed 
 Jesus wore when He dwelt in His Father's house, 
 but He left it behind, when He came to suffer and 
 to die for sinners. He did not keep a single token 
 of His Heavenly Father's love ; and you, happy and 
 honored Joseph, are to show your Saviour forth to 
 all the world till the end of time. 
 
 Joseph did not know that he was bearing his 
 Saviour's image in his sorrow : he had not this 
 thought to comfort him. Did he then mourn and 
 and weep, and turn away from all the strange men 
 
JOSEPH IN EGYPT. 121 
 
 around him ? No ; Joseph was the child of his 
 Father in Heaven, and he rose up in his heavy sor- 
 row, and went about his master's business, and la- 
 bored working with his hands ; and the Lord was 
 with him. And his master saw that the Lord was 
 with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to 
 prosper in his hand. " And Joseph found grace in 
 his master's sight, and he served him : and he made 
 him overseer over his house, and all that he had he 
 put into his hand. And it came to pass, from the 
 time that he made him overseer in his house, and 
 over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the 
 Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake ; and the bless- 
 ing of the Lord was upon all that he had, in the 
 house and in the field. And he left all that he had 
 in Joseph's hand, and he knew not ought he had, 
 save the bread which he did eat." Joseph had been 
 the beloved son in his father's house, but now he 
 learns the obedience of a servant. His God doth 
 instruct him and teach him : and he serves his mas- 
 ter with so much diligence and attention, that he 
 soon becomes the favorite servant, as he had before 
 been the favorite son. The Bible says, " A man's 
 pride shall bring him low ; but honor shall uphold 
 
122 JOSEPH IN EGYPT. 
 
 the humble in spirit." In this also Joseph showed 
 that he had the Spirit of Christ : He who was God 
 over all, blessed for evermore, yet made Himself of 
 no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a 
 servant. We found that Joseph had the Spirit of 
 Christ by his obedience ; therefore no wonder that 
 we find it now by his humility, and readiness to 
 serve. The Lord Jesus has said, " Whosoever will 
 be chief among you, let him be your servant." 
 
 When Joseph was a little child, he must often 
 have stood at his father's knee, and listened while 
 he told him of the journey that he took, alone in 
 the world, when he slept with a stone for his pillow, 
 and the bright stars above his head : how often he 
 must have listened, and thought how terrible to be 
 alone in the great world, with no home and no 
 friend to turn to. But his father would tell him of 
 that wonderful blessing, which was dearer and bet- 
 ter to him than home, and friends, and all that he 
 had in the world; and Joseph would think about that 
 blessing, and his father would teach him to pray 
 for it. 
 
 And now Joseph was alone, like Jacob his father, 
 alone in the world. His cruel brothers had taken 
 
JOSEPH IN EGYPT. 123 
 
 from him every thing except his lii'e, and they only 
 spared that that they might sell him for money. 
 His lather Jacob had been free, but Joseph's liberty 
 "was gone, his brothers sold him for a slave. Jacob 
 had been followed by the prayers of his father 
 Isaac, his mother, and his nurse, but Joseph's bro- 
 thers had taken from him even his father's prayers, 
 for they made Jacob believe that Joseph was dead. 
 When his father Jacob left his home, Isaac called 
 him, and gave him, the second time, that blessing : 
 but Joseph had taken no long farewell of his be- 
 loved father, and received no blessing. He would 
 think of all these things, and he would weep alone ; 
 but he soon found that his father's God was with 
 him, he soon found that the blessing of holy Abra- 
 ham came down upon him, morning and evening, 
 like the dew from Heaven : for God blessed him 
 and made him a blessing. He hath said, " I will 
 never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we 
 may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper, and I will 
 not fear what man shall do unto me." 
 
 There was one enemy who had followed Joseph, 
 and who hoped to have seen him perish, as a help- 
 less slave: this was Satan: but when the Evil Spirit 
 
124 JOSEPH IN EGYPT. 
 
 saw this blessed child of God still nourish like a 
 palm-tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon, under 
 the blessing of his God, he raised a fresh trouble 
 against Joseph, in the hope to destroy him. And 
 Joseph's master was angry with him, and put him in 
 prison, but Joseph had done no wrong. Joseph 
 was taken from his tender father's arms before, and 
 sold for a slave : and now he fell from his master's 
 favor, down into the deep, dark dungeon : and yet 
 he had done no wrong. They hurt his feet with 
 heavy fetters : he was laid in iron. It was a sud- 
 den fall, from being head of all his master's house, 
 into one of Egypt's vile dungeons : but Satan could 
 not cast the child of God where God was not : God 
 was in the dungeon with Joseph, underneath him 
 were his Heavenly Father's everlasting arms, and 
 over him God's banner of love. 
 
 " Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, 
 whose Hope the Lord is : for He shall be as a tree 
 planted by the waters, and shall not see when heat 
 cometh, but her leaf shall be green ; and shall not 
 be careful in the year of drought, neither shall 
 cease from yielding fruit." Joseph's trust was in 
 the Lord, therefore he soon began to lift up his 
 
J O S E r II IN EGYPT. 125 
 
 bead. " The Lord was with Joseph, and shewed 
 him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the 
 keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison 
 committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that 
 were in the prison ; and whatsoever they did there, 
 he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison 
 looked not to any thing that was under Joseph's 
 hand, because the Lord was with him, and that 
 which he did, the Lord made it to prosper." When 
 Joseph was in his father's house, he was the favorite 
 child : when he was sold for a slave he was the fa- 
 vorite servant ; and now, in the prison, he is the 
 favorite prisoner ; this was nothing else than the 
 £ - race and blessing of the Lord. Satan had filled 
 the heart of Cain to kill his brother Abel ; and 
 Satan thought to have killed Jacob by the hand of 
 Esau, his brother ; and Joseph by his brethren's 
 hands : but God, who was pleased to take the 
 righteous Abel to Heaven, was pleased to keep 
 Jacob and Joseph on the earth ; therefore Satan 
 could not prevail against them ; he cast them down 
 indeed, but the Lord lifted them up again. The 
 Lord granted them life and favor ; and His visita- 
 tion preserved their spirit. 
 
126 JOSEPH IN EGYPT. 
 
 And it came to pass after these things, that the 
 chief butler and the chief baker of the king of Egypt 
 had offended their lord the king of Egypt. And 
 king Pharaoh was wroth with them, and put them 
 into the prison, where Joseph was bound. And the 
 keeper of the prison charged Joseph with the care 
 of them. And they dreamed a dream, both the 
 butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which 
 were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in 
 unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, 
 and, behold, they were sad. And he asked them, 
 Wherefore look ye so sadly to-day ? — For Joseph 
 knew the heart of a prisoner. And they said unto 
 him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no in- 
 terpretation of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do 
 not interpretations belong to God ? Tell me your 
 dreams, I pray you. "And the chief butler told 
 his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, 
 behold, a vine was before me : and in the vine were 
 three branches : and it budded, and blossomed, and 
 brought forth ripe grapes. And Pharaoh's cup was 
 in my hand, and I took the grapes, and pressed 
 them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup into 
 Pharaoh's hand. And Joseph said unto him, This 
 
JOSEPH IN EGYPT. 127 
 
 is the interpretation of it. The three branches are 
 three days : within three days shall Pharaoh restore 
 thee unto thy place, and thou shalt deliver Pha- 
 raoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner 
 when thou wast his butler. But think on me when 
 it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, 
 I pray thee, unto me ; and make mention of me 
 uuto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: for 
 indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the 
 Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that 
 they should put me into the dungeon." 
 
 " When the chief baker saw that the interpreta- 
 tion was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in 
 my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets 
 on my head : and in the uppermost basket there 
 was all manner of baked meats for Pharaoh ; and 
 the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my 
 head. And Joseph said, This is the interpretation 
 thereof, The three baskets are three days : within 
 three days shall Pharaoh hang thee on a tree ; and 
 the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. And it 
 c.ime to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's 
 birth-day, that he made a feast to all his servants. 
 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership 
 
128 JOSEPH IN EGYPT. 
 
 again ; and lie gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand : 
 but he hanged the chief baker : as Joseph had in- 
 terpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler 
 remember Joseph, but forgat him." 
 
 Joseph reminded the chief butler and baker that 
 interpretations belong unto God ; and so it is, se- 
 cret things belong unto the Lord our God. But it 
 often pleased God, before the Holy Scriptures were 
 finished, to show unto his servants the things which 
 would shortly come to pass. It is not so now, be- 
 cause we have the Holy Bible to teach us to trust 
 in God. 
 
 It came to pass to both these servants of the king, 
 as Joseph had said. Perhaps the chief Butler had 
 been put in prison without cause, and the king was 
 about to find it out, and would set him free. You 
 see how he sits with his hands folded in thankful- 
 ness. But the chief baker covers his head in misery, 
 when he finds that he must die, by his country's 
 laws. — But he had still three days to live, and Jo- 
 seph could tell him of a Saviour whose blood 
 cleanseth from all sin ; and it may have been that 
 the poor wretched man learned from the faithful 
 Joseph to know and love his Saviour, and to look 
 
JOSEPH IN EGYPT. 129 
 
 beyond the grave to that blessed world where par- 
 doned sinners dwell with God for ever, through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 Joseph said to the chief butler, " Think on me 
 when it shall be well with thee." Yet did not the 
 chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him : and 
 Joseph was left in the prison. The Lord Jesus 
 does not so forget those who put their trust in Him. 
 He is gone back to the palace of the King of kings : 
 and there He thinks of every one who prays to 
 Ilini. Once a poor dying thief said to Jesus, 
 " Lord, remember me when thou comest into Thy 
 kingdom." The Lord Jesus was dying on the cross 
 when the poor thief said, "Lord, remember me," 
 but He said, " Verily, I say unto thee, to-day shalt 
 thou be with me in Paradise." Joseph was for- 
 saken and forgotten by man, but his God did not 
 forsake or forget him. It was for Joseph's sake 
 that God had sent those dreams to the prisoners 
 whom Joseph guarded, as you will soon see. " In 
 the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, and His 
 children shall have a place of refuge." The blessed 
 Abel found that place of refuge at once in Heaven ; 
 
 9 
 
130 JOSEPH IN EGYPT. 
 
 but Jacob, and his beloved Joseph, found it first in 
 God upon earth. 
 
 I am poor and needy • yet the Lord tliinketh on 
 me: Thou art my Help and my Deliverer' make 
 no long tarrying, my God. — Psalm xl. 17. 
 
JOSEPH BEFORE PHARAOH 
 
 Sunday Afternoons. 
 
XVII. 
 
 I o s c j Ij a n & U lj a r a o | * 
 
 CS' 
 
 J' HEN the chief butler went back to the pal- 
 ? ace of the king, Joseph thought he had a 
 ^ L friend who would soon find a way to set 
 Y^ him free. But Satan, the Evil Spirit, who 
 qj takes away good thoughts out of our hearts, 
 ^ took out of the chief butler's heart the re- 
 membrance of Joseph. The chief butler knew that 
 Joseph was a servant of the Most High God, the 
 Revealer of secrets : he knew that Joseph had done 
 no wrong : Joseph had served him with gentle 
 kindness, and eased his mind in his distress, yet he 
 made no mention of him ; he did not go to see how 
 he was, or to carry him the least comfort in his sad 
 condition in one of Egypt's dungeons. The chief 
 butler was free, and prosperous, and at eas?, and 
 he forgot the s ffering servant of the Lord who had 
 
132 JOSEPH AND PHARAOH. 
 
 shown him so much kindness. The Bible says, 
 " The desire of a man is his kindness." Be sure 
 when you know of any one in distress, and es- 
 pecially any servant of the Lord, that you do not 
 forget them. If you think about their sorrow and 
 trouble, you will perhaps find that a way will be 
 made for you to be their comforter. Though you 
 are only a child, perhaps you may go and see them ; 
 or perhaps you may send to them ; or, if not, you 
 may tell some one about them who will : and then, 
 what is best of all, you can pray for them — you can 
 ask the Lord Jesus to comfort and help them, and 
 He can reach them if you cannot. The Bible says 
 that we are to remember them that are in bonds, as 
 if we were bound with them ; and very often the 
 chain of trouble and sorrow is heavier to bear than 
 the chain of iron. If you think only about your 
 own concerns, you will be like the chief butler, who 
 forgot the affliction of poor Joseph. Satan rejoices 
 when we forget the sorrows we might have helped 
 to relieve, if only we had remembered them. And 
 Satan rejoiced that the chief butler had forgotten 
 Joseph : he might think that now, after all, Joseph 
 would die in the prison ! Satan might think that 
 
JOSEPH AND PHARAOH. 133 
 
 he had put out the remembrance of him from the 
 earth ; but Satan could not put out the remem- 
 brance of Joseph's name in Heaven — God had 
 graven it upon the palms of His hand ; He would 
 come and save him. 
 
 But months passed away, till years were gone. 
 Joseph had now no hope in man ; he could not 
 look to his home : he could not look to his angry 
 master : he could not look to the chief butler ; he 
 found he was forgotten, like a dead man out of 
 mind : he could only look one way, and that was 
 up to Heaven. Two full years had passed away 
 since he bad told the chief butler his dream, and 
 asked him to think of him. Joseph was in his dun- 
 geon — We do not know what he was doing ; we 
 only know that he was there. Perhaps that very 
 day all earthly hope in his heart was dead : per- 
 haps he had given up hope ; he had waited and 
 watched so long, and no help had come. Was he 
 thinking, that now he should never see his father 
 and his young brother's face again — never walk 
 again in the green fields, beneath the blue sky, and 
 listen to the song of the free birds, and be himself 
 as free as they were ? Perhaps he was praying to 
 
134 JOSEPII AND PHARAOH. 
 
 his Father in Heaven, committing himself unto God 
 who judgeth righteously, and who is the Helper of 
 the friendless. Joseph ! though the blessing 
 tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come ; it 
 will not tarry a single moment beyond the appoint- 
 ed time. Light is sown for the righteous, and 
 gladness for the upright in heart. Yours has been 
 a long night of weeping, but it is all over now, the 
 morning is come, and it brings you joy ! 
 
 Yes, it is the morning, and Joseph in his dun- 
 geon hears the sound of hurrying footsteps. Why 
 such haste in the dismal prison ? they do not use 
 to come so fast when they bring in some poor un- 
 willing captive ; or when they lead a prisoner out 
 to trial, or to death ? They stop at Joseph's dun- 
 geon door — they open it — they call, "Joseph, 
 come quick, Pharaoh the king has sent for you !" 
 Joseph had walked for years with only a prisoner's 
 slow heavy step, but now he must run, — he must 
 run out of that dungeon which he entered with so 
 heavy a heart, never to see it any more : he must 
 throw away his prison-dress, and put on raiment 
 fit to appear before the king ; and he must go in 
 directly, and stand before Pharaoh. 
 
JOSEPH AND T II A It A Oil. 135 
 
 Why tlocs the mighty king of Egypt want Jacob's 
 lost child, and in so great haste'? Because on the 
 last night, when the king was sleeping on his bed, 
 God sent a dream into his mind — a dream which 
 troubled him ; and the king sent for all the wise 
 men of Egypt, and not one could tell him the inter- 
 pi etation. And when the chief butler saw the 
 king's distress, he remembered how he himself had 
 Buffered in the prison from a dream ; and then he 
 thought of Joseph. God reminds the forgetful but- 
 ler, and he confesses his fault : he tells the king of 
 the young Hebrew in the prison, who had told the 
 meaning of his dream, and the chief baker's dream, 
 so truly. While all was prosperous, no one in 
 Egypt thought of Joseph ; but as soon as God 
 sends a dream from Heaven, which troubles the 
 heart of the king, then all the wise men, and the 
 great men, and the captains, and the armies, and 
 the people of the land, are nothing : the dream 
 will not answer to their call : they can not find its 
 secret meaning: the king turns away from them 
 all. Joseph, the lost child, the poor slave, the 
 poor prisoner, must be found : he is the only child 
 of God, and no one else in all the laud will do, for 
 
136 JOSEPH AND PHARAOH. 
 
 the dream is from God, and the secret of the Lord 
 is only with them who fear Him — with them who 
 hope in His mercy. Such honor have all God's 
 saints : they are always called for in the time of 
 trouble and distress. Many a hardened sinner, 
 when trouble has come upon him, has turned to 
 seek the help and the prayers of some young child 
 of God. 
 
 Joseph had never entered the palace of a king : 
 he had been a child in his father's house, then a 
 slave, then a prisoner. Will he be afraid to go and 
 stand before the mighty king, and all the great men 
 of the court ? No, the king's wise men are ashamed, 
 they are dismayed, for they know not the Lord, and 
 therefore they find that no wisdom is in them ; but 
 Joseph will speak of God's testimonies also before 
 kings, and will not be ashamed. Joseph is the 
 child of God the King of kings, and why should 
 he then fear before the face of any man! He is 
 strong in the faith, and fear, and love of his Father 
 in Heaven ; but he has no pride of heart, it is not 
 of himself but of his God he thinks. " Pharaoh said 
 unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is 
 none that can interpret it ; and I have heard say of 
 
JOSEPH AND PHARAOH. 137 
 
 thee that tliou canst understand a dream to inter- 
 pret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It 
 is not in me : God shall give Pharaoh an answer of 
 peace." Was Joseph then quite sure that he could 
 i interpret the dream of the king before he had heard 
 what the dream was? Joseph knew that it was 
 God who had caused him to be brought from the 
 dungeon to stand before Pharaoh ; and he was quite 
 sure that what God had called him to do, He would 
 also enable him to perform. He was strong in faith, 
 giving glory to God. He was the child of Abra- 
 ham, Isaac, and Jacob ; and the Spirit of Christ 
 dwelt within him. 
 
 Then the king told Joseph his dream. In his 
 dream the king thought that he stood upon the 
 bank of a river ; and, behold, seven fat cows fed in 
 a meadow ; and seven other poor lean cows came, 
 and eat up the seven fat cows, and when they had 
 eaten them up they looked as lean and poor as be- 
 fore. After this the king thought that he saw seven 
 ears of corn grow up on one stalk, full ears and 
 good ; and after the seven good ears there grew 
 up seven small thin ears ; and the thin ears of corn 
 eat up the good ears. And Joseph said unto Pha- 
 
138 JOSEPH AND PHARAOH. 
 
 raoh, God hath showed Pharaoh what He is about 
 to do. The seven cows mean seven years ; and the 
 seven ears of corn mean seven years. Behold there 
 come seven years of great plenty, through all the 
 land of Egypt ; and after them, seven years of fam- 
 ine, and the plenty shall be forgotten in the land, 
 by reason of the famine following, for it shall be 
 very grievous. And for that the dream was 
 doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing- 
 is established by God, and God will shortly bring 
 it to pass. Now, therefore, let Pharaoh look out a 
 man discreet and wise, and set him over the land 
 of Egypt. And let him appoint officers over the 
 land, and let them gather the food of those good 
 years that come, and lay up corn, and keep food in 
 the cities. And that food shall be for store to the 
 land against the seven years of famine ; that the 
 land perish not through the famine. 
 
 " And the thing was good in the eyes of Pha- 
 raoh ; and in the eyes of all his servants. And 
 Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a 
 one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is ? 
 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God 
 hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet 
 
JOSEPH AND PHARAOH. 139 
 
 and wise as thou art. Thou shalt be over my house, 
 and according- unto thy word shall all my people be 
 ruled : only in the throne will I be greater than 
 thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have 
 set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh 
 took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon 
 Joseph's hand ; and arrayed him in vestures of fine 
 linen ; and put a gold chain about his neck. And 
 the kins; made him to ride in the second chariot 
 which he had ; and they cried before Joseph, Bow 
 the knee ; and the king made him ruler over all 
 the land of Egypt." 
 
 Joseph had risen in the morning from his dun- 
 geon-bed, a prisoner with no earthly helper, no 
 earthly hope : and before that night he gave thanks 
 to God in a palace of his own, ruler over all the 
 land. He had no friend in Egypt, and such a 
 change would have seemed impossible ; but he had 
 a Friend in Heaven, and what would be impossible 
 with men is possible with God. God only sent a 
 dream from Heaven, which no one but His child 
 could understand ; and by means of that dream 
 Joseph was raised from the dungeon to a throne. 
 " Those that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the 
 
140 JOSEPH AND PHARAOH. 
 
 earth." Do you remember when Joseph was 
 brought into Egypt a helpless slave? Then no one 
 cared for him in all the land ; there was no one to 
 speak to him, no one to look at him, no one to 
 think of him : it was his cruel brothers who made 
 him so desolate : but Joseph's Heavenly Father 
 changed it all. In the morning, Joseph was in the 
 dungeon, and before the sun went down he had a 
 royal chariot of his own ; and wherever he drove, 
 all whom he passed must bow the knee before him. 
 Joseph's name went through all the land, and 
 wherever he came, every eye was turned to look 
 upon him, to look upon and bless him, because God 
 had made him to be the people's deliverer from the 
 coming famine. " The Lord's delight is in them 
 that fear Him, and put their trust in his mercy." 
 
 Joseph had been the favorite with his father, 
 with his master, with his jailor, and now he was 
 the king's favorite. " A good name is rather to be 
 chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather 
 than silver and gold:" but Joseph also found that, 
 by humility and the fear of the Lord, are riches, 
 honor, and life. Light had sprung up for the 
 righteous, and joyful gladness for the true of heart. 
 
JOSEPH AND PHARAOH. 141 
 
 The spirit of many a little child who loved and 
 obeyed the Lord, has been called from a bed of 
 suffering, sometimes from a bed of straw, to stand 
 before the King of kings. And the little child has 
 felt no fear, because the love of God is stronger 
 than death, and His loving-kindness better than 
 life. And the little child has made haste away, to 
 dwell in the presence of the Lord of Hosts, to walk 
 with Christ in white, to see the face of its Father 
 in Heaven, and to receive the crown of everlasting 
 life. 
 
 He that lovetli pureness of heart, for the grace of 
 his lips, the king shall be his friend. — Proverbs 
 xxii. 11. 
 
XVIII. 
 
 Io|f|| itni \}\b |lrftljrciu 
 
 OW Joseph had power to send to the land 
 Jp of Canaan, where Israel his beloved father 
 / ^>Rx dwelt, to find out whether his father was 
 still alive, and to let him know where his 
 lost Joseph was. But Joseph did not do 
 this. It was not the will of God ; and we 
 never hear that Joseph was disobedient to the will 
 of either his earthly or his Heavenly Father. Jo- 
 seph must have longed if only he might know 
 whether his aged father were alive : but he did not 
 send; he waited God's time and way : and blessed 
 are all they that wait for Him ! When Jacob was 
 a young man, he did not wait God's time for the 
 Blessing, and the sinful haste he made brought him 
 trouble and sorrow all his life. Jacob's troubles 
 were like his sin, and they must all have reminded 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN". 
 
 "iuoday Afternoons. 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 143 
 
 him of it. But Joseph always waited patiently for 
 the Lord, therefore his griefs did not grow out of 
 his own sin ; they were like his Saviour's holy sor- 
 rows ; and when we read of Joseph, we always 
 think of the Lord Jesus. The Bible says, "He that 
 believeth will not make haste." Joseph believed ; 
 and therefore he always waited patiently for the 
 Lord. 
 
 What did Joseph do, now that he was made so 
 rich a man ? Did he live in pleasure, after so many 
 years of toil and suffering ? No ; Joseph was never 
 idle : he looked for his rest in Heaven. He was his 
 father's beloved child, and yet he fed his father's 
 flocks. When he was a servant, he had everything 
 under his hand. When he was a prisoner, he had 
 the charge of all the prisoners, and whatever was 
 done in the prison he was the doer of it. And now 
 that he was the lord of all Egypt, he went through- 
 out all the land, and gathered up all the food 
 through the seven years of plenty, and laid up in 
 every city the food of the fields that lay around it. 
 Joseph was always diligent in business, fervent in 
 spirit, serving the Lord. The seven years of plenty 
 passed away one after another ; and before they 
 
144 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 were gone, God gave Joseph two sons ; the name 
 of one was Manasseh, and the name of the other 
 Ephraim ; and the blessing of God came down upon 
 them both, and they both lived to be their father's 
 blessing ; nor were they ever taken from him, till 
 he left them to enter into the rest that remaineth 
 for the people of God in the kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 The seven years of plenty passed away, and the 
 seven years of famine began. When no corn grew 
 in the fields, the hungry people came to the king, 
 and cried to him for bread. " And Pharaoh said 
 unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph, what he 
 saith to you do. And Joseph opened all the store- 
 houses, and sold corn unto all the people of the 
 land : and all countries came into Egypt to Joseph 
 to buy corn, for the famine was over all the face of 
 the earth." Do you know why this dreadful famine 
 was sent into all lands ? No doubt one reason was 
 to punish unthankful men. God had sent them 
 fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with food and 
 gladness, and yet they had not given him praise : 
 they would not learn by God's mercy, and therefore 
 they must feel His displeasure. But this famine 
 over all the earth was also sent by God to cause Jo- 
 
JOSEPH AND niS BRETHREN. 145 
 
 seph's father to send his brethren down into Egypt. 
 There was no corn in the land of Canaan, and no 
 corn in any other land, and therefore they must go 
 down into Egypt for it. God gave his own beloved 
 Son for the sake of sinful men, and therefore we 
 cannot wonder when all the earth had to bear a 
 part in bringing God's purposes to pass for his ser- 
 vant Israel : for the Lord had chosen Jacob to Him- 
 self, and Israel for His peculiar treasure. 
 
 " And Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look 
 one upon another ? Behold, I have heard that 
 there is corn in Egypt : get you down thither, and 
 buy for us, that we may live, and not die. And 
 Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in 
 Egypt." But Jacob would not send Benjamin with 
 his brothers, for his father said, Lest mischief befal 
 him. Did Joseph's brothers think as they went, of 
 the young slave they had sold into Egypt ? did they 
 think that perhaps they should see him toiling there 
 for some hard master ? and were they afraid at the 
 thought ? They little thought that Joseph was the 
 Governor over the land, and that he it was that sold 
 to all the people. "And Joseph's brethren came, 
 and bowed down themselves before him with their 
 
 10 
 
146 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 faces to the earth." Then was fulfilled the first of 
 those two dreams, which God had sent to Joseph 
 while he was in his father's house : the meaning 
 of that dream was, that his brothers would bow 
 down to him, — 'and now it was fulfilled. Did Jo- 
 seph's brothers know him when they saw him ? 
 No, they did not know him ; he had grown up into 
 a man, since they saw him last ; and he sat before 
 them as the Ruler of the land, with servants who 
 waited round him ; and they would hardly venture 
 to look up ; they could not have brave hearts and 
 full of holy courage, as Joseph had when he stood 
 before the king ; for it is only the eye of truth that 
 can look up without fear. They did not know their 
 brother Joseph. 
 
 But Joseph knew them. The last time he saw 
 them was when, with cruel looks, they cast him into 
 the pit to die, when they would not listen to his 
 cry, and only drew him from the pit to sell him for 
 a slave, that they might be richer for his misery ; — 
 not caring whether he lived or died, so that he were 
 carried away from them and their father. How 
 often must Joseph have seen in his thoughts the 
 cruel faces of his brethren ! and now he saw those 
 
JOSEPH AND II I S BRETHB E N . 147 
 
 brothers again. And now the power was his. God 
 had sent a famine, and the famine had forced them 
 to come into Egypt, where they had forced Joseph 
 to go : they were alone now, and friendless in the 
 land, and Joseph had the power to do with them as 
 he pleased. What did Joseph feel? he felt no 
 hatred, no anger, no revenge ; but only forgiveness 
 and tenderness. Did he then tell them who he 
 was, and say that he forgave them ? No ; Joseph 
 desired the real good of his brothers, and he knew 
 there could be no real good for them till they were 
 brought to a sense of their great sin, in first think- 
 ing to murder him their innocent brother, then in 
 selling him for a slave, and in deceiving their aged 
 father. Joseph wanted first to bring them to a 
 sense of their sin. They did not know him ; and he 
 spoke to them in the language of Egypt, which they 
 could not understand, and a man stood at his side 
 to tell them in their own language what Joseph 
 meant. Joseph understood what they said, but he 
 made this mau, who was called an interpreter, tell 
 him in the language of Egypt the words they said 
 to him ; so that they thought Joseph did not under- 
 stand their language. And Joseph spoke roughly 
 
148 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 to thein. He did not mean to speak one rough 
 word to them when he should have told them that 
 he was Joseph ; but now they thought him a 
 stranger, and it was as a stranger he spoke roughly 
 to them. He called them spies, and said they were 
 come to see the barrenness of the land. " And 
 they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food 
 are thy servants come : thy servants are twelve 
 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!" When they said, one is 
 not, they meant Joseph, whom they sold for a slave, 
 and whom they thought they had got rid of for 
 ever. And Joseph put them all in prison for three 
 days. Joseph had felt the prisoner's heavy chain 
 for three years, and his brothers were the cruel 
 cause ; but he let them feel it only three days, and 
 that not to punish them, but to bring them to re- 
 pentance ; and we are sure that he prayed to God 
 all the while, to change their hard and evil hearts. 
 
 " And on the third day, Joseph said to them, 
 This do, and live ; for I fear God. If ye be true 
 men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house 
 of your prison ; and go ye, carry corn for the 
 
JOSE Til AND niS BRETHREN. 140 
 
 famine of your houses : but bring your youngest 
 brother unto me ; so shall your words be verified, 
 and ye shall not die. Then Joseph's brothers said 
 one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our 
 brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when 
 he besought us, and we would not hear ; therefore 
 is this distress come upon us. And Reuben an- 
 swered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, 
 Do not sin against the child ; and ye would not 
 hear ? therefore, behold, his blood is required. 
 And they knew not that Joseph understood them ; 
 for he spake unto them by an interpreter. And 
 when Joseph heard their words, he turned himself 
 about from them, and wept." This is the first time 
 that the Bible tells us that Joseph wept. It tells us 
 of him in the pit, it tells us of him a slave, it tells 
 us of him in the prison, but it says nothing of his 
 tears ; but now the first words he hears his brothers 
 speak that show a sense in them of their great sin, 
 Joseph weeps. 0, in how many things was Joseph 
 like his Saviour ! Once when the Lord Jesus wish- 
 ed to reprove two of his disciples, he took a stran- 
 gers form, that they might not have the grief of 
 hearing words of reproof from their own Lord. 
 
150 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 And the blessed Jesus wept, not for his own sor- 
 rows, but over sinners. 
 
 And Joseph returned to his brothers again, and 
 took from them his brother Simeon, and bound him 
 before their eyes. Then Joseph commanded his 
 steward, that was over his house, to fill his brothers' 
 sacks with corn ; and to put the money that each 
 one had brought, into his sack's mouth ; and to 
 give them provision for the way. And they laded 
 their asses with the corn, and departed. Thus did 
 Joseph unto them. He gave them corn without 
 money, and without price ; and he gave them all 
 they needed for the way : but he kept Simeon. 
 If then they did not return, he would know that 
 they had still the same hard hearts — if they did not 
 return for their brother. But did not Joseph long 
 most of all to see his father ? Why then did he 
 tell them to go and bring his youngest brother ? 
 Joseph did long to see his father. But he had 
 waited God's time long and patiently, without even 
 knowing whether his beloved father were alive ; 
 and he will still wait God's time, even though now 
 it is in his power to send for his father, and if he 
 waits, his father may die. Yet Joseph will wait 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 151 
 
 still. He will first do all he can to change, by 
 God's "race and blessing, his brothers' hearts, lie 
 sends them to fetch Benjamin. He means to try 
 th'jm, and see whether they have the same cruel 
 hatred of his young brother as they had of him. 
 Joseph had been used to patient waiting ; and what 
 he thinks most about is doing the will of his Father 
 in Heaven. 
 
 "And they came unto Jacob their father in the 
 land of Canaan, and told him all that befel unto 
 them, saying, The man, who is the lord of the land, 
 spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the 
 country. And we said unto him, We are true men, 
 we are no spies ; Ave be twelve brethren, sons of 
 our father : one is not, and the youngest is this day 
 with our father in the land of Canaan. And the 
 man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby 
 shall I know that ye are true men : leave one of 
 your brethren here with me, and take food for the 
 famine of your households and be gone ; and bring 
 your youngest brother unto me ; then shall I know 
 that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men. And 
 it came to pass, as they emptied their sacks, that, 
 behold, every man's bundle of money was in his 
 
152 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 sack : and when they and their father saw the bun- 
 dles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their 
 father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my 
 children : Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye 
 will take Benjamin away : all these things are 
 against me. My son shall not go down with you ; 
 for his brother is dead, and he is left alone : if mis- 
 chief befal him in the way by which ye go, then 
 shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to 
 the grave." 
 
 "'And the famine was sore in the land. And it 
 came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn 
 which they had brought out of Egypt, their father 
 said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. 
 And Judah, one of Israel's sons, spake unto his 
 father, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto 
 us, saying, Ye shall not see my face except your 
 brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother 
 with us, we will go down and buy thee food : but 
 if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down : 
 for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, 
 except your brother be with you. And Israel said, 
 Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the 
 man whether ye had a brother ? And they said, 
 
JOSEPn AND HIS BRETHREN. 153 
 
 The man asked us straitly of our state, and of ova 
 kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive ? Have 
 ye another brother? and we told him : could we 
 certainly know that he would say, Bring your 
 brother down ? And Judah said unto Israel his 
 father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and 
 go, that we may live, and not die, both we, and 
 thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for 
 him ; of my hand shalt thou require him : if I bring 
 him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then 
 let me bear the blame for ever : for except we had 
 lingered, surely now we had returned this second 
 time. And their father Israel said unto them, If it 
 must be so now, do this ; take of the best fruits of 
 the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a 
 present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and 
 myrrh, nuts, and almonds : and take double money 
 in your hand : and the money that was brought 
 again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in 
 your hand, peradventure it was an oversight. Take 
 also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man. 
 And God Almighty give you mercy before the 
 man, that he may send away your other brother 
 and Benjamin. And they took that present, and 
 
154 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 they took double money in their hauds, and Ben- 
 jamin ; and rose up, and went down to Egypt." 
 
 Jacob seems to suspect that all had not been 
 right with his sons respecting his beloved Joseph. 
 He tells them that they had taken his children from 
 him. fie is afraid to trust them with Benjamin : 
 but the Bible teaches us to say, " What time I am 
 afraid, I will trust in God." They must all die for 
 the want of food, if Benjamin does not go : so his 
 father offers up a prayer to God for him, and sends 
 him with them. Was Benjamin afraid to go with 
 his brothers ? Perhaps he was afraid : but, like 
 Joseph, he was obedient to his father's will, and 
 his father's prayer strengthened his heart. 
 
 " And they came into Egypt, and stood before 
 Joseph. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with 
 them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these 
 men home, and make ready, for these men shall 
 dine with me at noon. And they came near to the 
 steward of Joseph's house, and they spoke with him 
 at the door of the house, and said, sir, we came 
 indeed down at the first to buy food ; and it came 
 to pass, when we opened our sacks, behold, every 
 man's money was in the mouth of his sack : and we 
 
JOSEPH AN D II I B B R E T II R E N . 155 
 
 have brought it again in our hand. And other 
 money have we brought in our hand to buy food ; 
 we can not tell who put our money in our sacks. 
 And the steward of Joseph's house said, Peace be 
 to you ! fear not. Your God, and the God of your 
 father, hath given you treasure in your sacks : I 
 had your money. And he brought Simeon out to 
 them. And the men were afraid because they 
 were brought into Joseph's house. But the stew- 
 ard of Joseph's house gave them water, and they 
 washed their feet, and he gave their asses proven- 
 der. And they made ready the present against 
 Joseph came at noon. And when Joseph came 
 home, they brought him the present which was in 
 their hand into the house, and bowed themselves 
 to him to the earth. And he asked them of their 
 welfare, and said, Is your father well ; the old man 
 of whom ye spake ? Is he yet alive ? And they 
 answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, 
 he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, 
 and made obeisance." Then was fulfilled the sec- 
 ond dream which God sent to Joseph, for his broth- 
 ers now spoke of their father as Joseph's servant, 
 and bowed down in their father's stead before him. 
 
156 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 "And Joseph lifted up his eyes and saw his brother 
 Benjamin, and said, Is this your younger brother 
 of whom ye spake to me ? And he said, God be 
 gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made 
 haste, and sought where to weep, and he entered 
 into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed 
 his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and 
 said, Set on bread." And they sat down to dine. 
 And Joseph sent food to them from before him, but 
 to Benjamin he sent five times as much as to any 
 of them. And Joseph made them to sit at table 
 according to their ages : and they wondered how 
 the lord of the strange country could tell their 
 ages, one from another. 
 
 And Joseph commanded the steward of his house, 
 saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as 
 they can carry, and put every man's money in his 
 sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in 
 the sack of the youngest. And as soon as the 
 morning was light the men were sent away, they 
 and their asses. And when they were gone out of 
 the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his 
 steward, Up, follow after the men, and when thou 
 dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have 
 
JOSETII AND HIS BRETHREN. 157 
 
 ye rewarded evil for good ? And he overtook 
 them, and spake unto them these same words," and 
 accused them of taking his master's cup. " And 
 they said, God forbid that thy servants should do 
 according to this thing. Then they speedily took 
 down every man his sack, and the cup was found 
 in Benjamin's sack. Then they rent their clothes, 
 and returned every man to the city." And Judah, 
 who had promised his father to take Benjamin 
 home again, and his brethren, came to Joseph's 
 house, and fell before h'im on the ground. " And 
 Joseph said to them, What deed is this ye have 
 done ? And Judah said, What shall we say unto 
 my lord ? what shall we speak ? or how shall we 
 clear ourselves ? God hath found out the iniquity 
 of thy servants : behold, we are my lord's servants, 
 both we and he also with whom the cup is found. 
 And Joseph said, God forbid that I should do so : 
 but he in whose hand the cup is found shall be my 
 servant : and as for you, get you up in peace unto 
 your father." Joseph had done this to try his 
 brothers. Benjamin seemed to be guilty; would 
 they now go back to their father without him ? 
 had they no more feeling for their aged father's 
 
158 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 grief than before ? Joseph would now see wV ether 
 their hard hearts were changed. 
 
 " Then Judah came near unto Joseph, and said, 
 Oh, my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a 
 word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger 
 burn against thy servant : for thou art even as Pha- 
 raoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye 
 a father or a brother? And we said unto my lord, 
 We have a father, an old man, and a child of his 
 old age, a little one ; and his brother is dead, and 
 he alone is left, and his father loveth him. And 
 thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto 
 me. And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot 
 leave his father ; for if he should leave his father, 
 his father would die. And thou saidst unto thy 
 servants, Except your youngest brother be with 
 you, ye shall see my face no more. And it came to 
 pass when Ave came up unto thy servant, my father, 
 we told him the words of my lord. And our father 
 said, Go again, and buy us a little food. And we 
 said, We cannot go down ; but if our youngest 
 brother be with us, then will we go down ; for we 
 may not see the man's face except our youngest 
 brother be with us. And thy servant my father 
 
J S E r II AND HIS BRETHREN. 159 
 
 said unto us, One went out from mo, and I said, 
 Surely he is torn in pieces, and I saw him not since ; 
 and if ye take this also from me, and mischief befal 
 him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow 
 to the grave. Now, therefore, when I come to thy 
 servant my father, and the lad be net with us ; see- 
 ing that his life is bound up in the lad's life ; it 
 shall come to prsss, when he seeth that the lad is not 
 with us, that he will die, and thy servants shall 
 bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father 
 with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became 
 surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring 
 him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to 
 my father for ever. Now, therefore, I pray thee, 
 let thy servant abide instead of the lad, a bondman 
 to my lord ; and let the lad go up with his breth- 
 ren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the 
 lad be not with me ? lest, peradventure, I see the 
 evil that shall come on my father/' 
 
 Then Joseph saw that God had changed his 
 brothers' hearts. He would no longer now be 
 strange or rouoh with them. His heart was full 
 with tenderness and pity, and he could not refrain 
 himself, and he cried, " (Jausc every man to go out 
 
160 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 from rue ; and there stood no man with him while 
 Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And 
 Joseph wept aloud ; and the Egyptians and the 
 house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto 
 his brethren, I am Joseph. Doth my father yet 
 live ?" They had told him that their father was 
 still alive before, when they knew him not, but 
 he wanted to hear it again : they told him as a 
 stranger then ; he wanted to hear it as Joseph 
 now. " But his brethren could not answer him ; 
 for they were troubled at his presence. And Jo- 
 seph said to his brethren, Come near to me, I pray 
 you. And they came near. And he said, I am 
 Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 
 Now, therefore, be not grieved, nor angry with your- 
 selves that ye sold me hither ; for God did send me 
 before you to preserve life. Haste ye, 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. And thou shalt dwell 
 near unto me, and all that thou hast, and I will 
 nourish thee. And, behold, your eyes see, and the 
 eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth 
 that speaketh unto you. And Joseph fell upon his 
 
joskpii a x D ii i s B i; E t n it e n . 1 (51 
 
 brother Benjamin's neck and wept ; and Benjamin 
 
 wept upon his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his 
 brethren, and wept upon them ; and after that his 
 brethren talked with him." 
 
 This was forgiveness. Joseph had found, not 
 Benjamin alone, for the hearts of all his brothers 
 now were turned to him — whom before they had 
 hated and sold — he had eleven brothers now with 
 hearts warm with love for him. 
 
 Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, 
 and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith 
 unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times y but, 
 until seventy times seven. — Matthew, xviii. 21, 22. 
 
 n 
 
XIX. 
 
 If 08 eg I| an ft Ijia jjfatjftr* 
 
 ND it was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, 
 Joseph's brethren are come : and it pleased 
 Pharaoh well ; and it pleased Pharoah's ser- 
 vants. Joseph had borne the yoke of afflic- 
 tion in his youth ; he had humbled himself 
 under the mighty hand of God, and now 
 God's hand exalted him : he had been hated and 
 forsaken, and no man cared for his soul ; but now 
 we see him the redeemed of the Lord, sought out, 
 and not forsaken. The nation and kingdom that 
 would not come to Joseph, must now be utterly 
 wasted ; and those that had afflicted him, came 
 bending unto him ; and all that had despised him, 
 bowed themselves down at the soles of his feet. 
 God had brought him into favor with all men. The 
 king had raised him above all his servants — yet 
 
JOSEPH A ND II I S F ATIIER. 1G3 
 
 they love him ; the) 7 did not envy the stranger, 
 taken from the dungeon, and set over them : it 
 pleased them well when they heard that his breth- 
 ren were come. When God giveth quietness, who 
 then can make trouble? Those who hated him be- 
 fore, had felt their own sin, and his forgiveness, and 
 they would love him now. He had seen Benjamin, 
 and he would soon see the face of his beloved 
 father Israel, and dwell with all he loved on earth, 
 till God should take them, one by one, to Heaven. 
 Joseph had sought first the Kingdom of God and 
 his Righteousness, and now all these things were 
 added unto him. Blessed be the Lord, who hath 
 pleasure in the prosperity of his servant ! 
 
 " And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto your 
 brethren, This do ye : lade your beasts, and go, 
 get you into the land of Canaan ; and take your 
 father, and your households, and come unto me; 
 and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt. 
 Now thou art commanded, this do ye : take you 
 waggons out of the land of Egypt, for your little 
 onei, and for your wives, and bring your father, and 
 come. And the children of Israel did so ; and Jo- 
 seph gave them waggons, according to the command- 
 
164 JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 
 
 merit of Pharaon, and he gave them provision for 
 the way. And he gave to each of them changes 
 of raiment ; but to Benjamin he gave three hun- 
 dred pieces of silver and five changes of raiment." 
 Joseph's brothers had taken from him his coat — his 
 coat of many colors that his father gave him — and 
 sent him to Egypt without a coat to cover him : but 
 Joseph gives them changes of raiment : they took 
 from him that which he sorely needed, and for want 
 of which, both his limbs and his heart would ache ; 
 and he in return gives them more than they needed ; 
 for all that they needed they would have brought 
 with them. It was thus that Joseph overcame evil 
 with good. 
 
 Joseph will soon have his beloved father with 
 him, and then he can provide every comfort for 
 him. But Joseph cannot wait for this : from the 
 first moment that his father hears the joyful tidings 
 ■ — " Joseph is yet alive," his father must see and 
 feel in every thing the love of his lost son ; from 
 that first moment Joseph must feed him ; Joseph 
 must bear and carry him ; Joseph must enable him 
 to give to all whom he desires to provide for, from 
 the abundance he has sent him. To his father Jo- 
 
J OBB P II A X I) II I S P A T II E R . 1G5 
 
 scpli sent, not only the waggons to cany him, but 
 ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and 
 ten more asses laden with corn, and bread and 
 meat, for his father by the way. This was how Jo- 
 seph loved his father. Do yon love your father as 
 Joseph did ? Do you show that you do by your 
 obedience to him now, as Joseph did when he was 
 a child ? If you do, then, when you are grown up, 
 you will find good things also to send to your 
 father ; they may be only little things compared to 
 Joseph's gifts, but they will be great things to your 
 father, if they are the gifts of his child's affection. 
 Joseph's mother was in Heaven ; if she had been on 
 earth, what would he not have sent for her ! 
 
 Joseph's brothers went up out of the land of 
 Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Ja- 
 cob their father, and told him, saying, " Joseph is 
 yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of 
 Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed 
 them not. And they told him all the words of Jo- 
 seph, which he said unto them : and when he saw 
 the waggons which Joseph had sent to carry him, 
 the spirit of Jacob their father revived. And Israel 
 said, It is enough ; Joseph my son is yet alive : I 
 
166 JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 
 
 will go and see him before I die." Do you see 
 what it is to be a deceiver ? Jacob's sons had come 
 to him once with a lie : he believed them then, and 
 his heart was almost broken with his grief; bat he 
 had lonu 1 becnm to doubt their words : his heart was 
 worn with thinking how it could have been with his 
 beloved child! And now his sons come to him with 
 glad tidings, with true tidings — but he cannot trust 
 them — it made his heart faint to hear them speak of 
 Joseph ; but when he saw the waggons which Jo- 
 seph had sent, he believed them — he put more trust 
 in the sight of Egypt's waggons, than in the words 
 of his ten sons. see what it is to be a deceiver ! 
 " Let not mercy and truth forsake thee ; bind them 
 about thy neck ; write them upon the table of thine 
 heart. So shalt thou find favor and good under- 
 standing in the sight of God and man." 
 
 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, 
 to go down into Egypt to his son Joseph ; and he 
 came to Beer-sheba, and there he offered sacrifices 
 unto the God of his father Isaac. Israel must 
 needs have been in haste to see his beloved Joseph, 
 but he stops by the way, and builds an altar, and 
 offers sacrifices unto God. Jacob had taken two 
 
J S K I'll AND HIS F A T H E It . 1G7 
 
 long journeys before : the first, when he left his 
 lather's house alone and slept upon the ground, 
 with a stone for his pillow ; then it was he saw the 
 Heavenly ladder, and then that God came first to 
 him, and told him that he was his father's God, 
 and gave him the Blessing that he had so loved and 
 longed for. Jacob's second journey was, when he 
 returned with all that he had to his father's house, 
 and when he was afraid of his brother Esau ; it was 
 then that he saw the angels again, yet still he was 
 afraid ; and he stayed all night alone in prayer ; 
 and then he saw God face to face, and God called 
 him Israel (a Prince), and God blessed him there. 
 And now Israel is taking his third journey, down 
 into Egypt to see his son ; and this will be his last 
 journey : when he leaves Egypt, it will be to be 
 carried by the angels up that shining ladder to 
 the presence of his father's God. Jacob has no 
 fear of danger now ; Egypt's mighty king has sent 
 for him, and he has a great company with him, and 
 he is carried in the waggons of Egypt ; but he 
 thinks about the first lonely journey he took to go 
 into a strange country, and he wants to put God in 
 remembrance of the Promise He gave him then : for 
 
168 JOSEPn AND HIS FATIIEK. 
 
 Jacob cannot be satisfied without the presence and 
 the blessing; of God ; therefore he builds an altar to 
 his father's God, for this was what God had called 
 Himself when He first came to Jacob and blessed 
 him. Did God come again to His servant Israel ? 
 and did he understand the thought of His servant 
 Israel's heart ? yes ; God has said, " Before they 
 call, I will answer ; and while they are yet speak- 
 ing, I will hear :" and He understandeth our 
 thought afar off. God came to His servant Israel, 
 in the night, as at the first ; and He did not call 
 him Israel, — no, the aged Israel was thinking of 
 the time when God first came to him — when his 
 name was only Jacob, and when God said to him, 
 " I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places 
 whither thou goest :" this was what Israel wanted 
 to put God in remembrance of, and God understood 
 the thought of his heart ; and when He came to 
 him, the first word He said was, " Jacob, Jacob." 
 think how glad and thankful the aged Israel 
 must have been now he knew that he should a^ain 
 receive that precious Blessing, that had first come 
 down upon him from his father's God ! " And 
 God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 1G9 
 
 and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. 
 And God said unto him, I am God, the God of thy 
 father : fear not to go down into Egypt ; for I will 
 there make of thee a great nation. I will go down 
 with thee into Egypt ; and I will also surely bring 
 thee up again : and Joseph shall put his hand upon 
 thine eyes." When God said to Jacob, " Joseph 
 shall put his hand upon thine eyes," it was a promise 
 that Joseph should stand by him when he died— 
 when he passed away from Earth to Heaven — and 
 the hand of his beloved child should be the one to 
 close his eyes — those eyes which had seen his Sa- 
 viour face to face, and which will open to behold 
 Ilini again when He stands at the latter day upon 
 the earth. God takes such tender care about the 
 death of those whom He loves, that little children 
 who loved the Lord have felt no fear when they 
 came to die. When Jesus says, Fear not, all fear 
 is gone directly. 
 
 "And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba ; and the 
 sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their 
 little ones and their wives, in the waggons which 
 Pharaoh had sent to carry him." And Israel sent 
 his son Judah before him, unto Joseph. It was 
 
170 JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 
 
 Judah who gave up all for Benjamin's sake, — who 
 gave up his home, his children, his father, to stay 
 and be a bondman, never to be free any more, that 
 Benjamin might return to his father. Must not 
 Israel love Judah ? and must not Benjamin love 
 him? and would not Joseph love him, and welcome 
 him back to Egypt ? Yes, Judah had the praise 
 of all his brethren : he had given himself up to re- 
 deem his brother, and to keep his promise to his 
 father : the heart of his father could safely trust in 
 him, therefore he sent him to prepare his way be- 
 fore him. 
 
 "And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went 
 up to meet Israel his father ; and presented himself 
 unto him : and he fell on his neck, and wept on his 
 father's neck a good while. And Israel said unto 
 Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, 
 because thou art yet alive." But not yet must 
 Israel die ! He was willing to depart to be with 
 his Saviour : he did not want to see the earthly 
 greatness of his beloved child — he had seen his 
 face — and that was enough for him, now that Jo- 
 seph was alive, to worship God, and to inherit the 
 promise God had given : Israel wanted not to linger 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 171 
 
 here. For many a long year his heart had been 
 wandering over the earth in weary thoughts of 
 where his lost child could be ; but now Clod had 
 brought Joseph back to his arms, crowned with the 
 Blessing of the Lord ; and Israel's heart returned 
 unto its rest, and he said, "Now let me die." But 
 he was yet to live many years by his beloved Jo- 
 seph ; and his last days were to be his best days, 
 for there was peace in his house now, and the bless- 
 ing of God upon his children. God Lad looked 
 upon his affliction and his pain, and forgiven all his 
 sin. God had redeemed Israel out of all his trou- 
 bles. 
 
 " Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, 
 My father, and my brethren, and their flocks and 
 their herds, and all that they have, are come out of 
 the land of Canaan ; and behold, they are in the 
 land of Goshen. And Joseph took some of his 
 brethren, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And 
 Pharaoh said unto Joseph's brethren, What is your 
 occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy 
 servants are shepherds, both we, and also our 
 lathers. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, 
 The land of Egypt is before thee : in the best of 
 
172 JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 
 
 the land make thy father and brethren to dwell ; 
 and if thou knowest any men of activity among 
 them, make them rulers over my cattle." 
 
 " And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and 
 set him before Pharaoh ; and Jacob blessed Pha- 
 raoh." 
 
 "And Joseph placed his father and his brethren 
 in the best of the land as Pharaoh had commanded. 
 And Joseph nourished his father and his brethren 
 and all his father's household with bread. And 
 Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country 
 of Goshen ; and they had possessions therein, and 
 grew, and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob 
 lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years : so the 
 whole age of Jacob was an hundred and forty and 
 seven years. And the time drew nigh that Israel 
 must die : and he called his son Joseph, and said 
 unto him, Bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt : but 
 I will lie with my fathers ; and thou shalt carry me 
 out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place. 
 And Joseph said, I will do as thou hast said." 
 
 " And it came to pass, after these things, that one 
 told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick ; and he 
 took with him his two sous, Manasseh and Ephraim. 
 
JOSEPU AND HIS FATHER. 173 
 
 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Jo- 
 seph cometh unto thee : and Israel strengthened 
 himself, and sat upon the bed." And Israel talked 
 with Joseph, and told him that his two sons Eph- 
 raim and Manasseh should be his sons, and should 
 have an inheritance and a name in Israel among 
 the children of Israel. And Jacob talked with his 
 son Joseph, and he made mention of two events in 
 his past life ; he spoke of nothing else that was 
 past, only these two events. Can you think what 
 they were? Yes, you can tell one, The Blessing ! 
 when God first appeared to him, the night after he 
 left his father's house. The other was the death of 
 Rachel, his beloved wife, Joseph's mother. He did 
 not speak of the loss of Joseph, for God had re- 
 stored him to his father again. And Joseph sat 
 before his father, and his two sons, Manasseh and 
 Ephraim, stood between his knees. Now the eyes 
 of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not 
 sec : and he said to Joseph, Who are these ? And 
 Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, 
 whom God hath given me in this place. And his 
 father said, Bring them unto me, and I will bless 
 them: And Joseph brought them near unto his 
 
174 JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 
 
 father ; and his father kissed them, and embraced 
 them. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not 
 thought to see thy face ; and, lo, God hath showed 
 me also thy seed. And Israel stretched out his 
 right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, and 
 his left hand upon Manasseh's head. "And Israel 
 blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my 
 fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God 
 which fed me all my life long unto this day, the 
 Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the 
 lads ; and let my name be named on them, and the 
 name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac ; and let 
 them grow into a multitude in the midst of the 
 earth. And he blessed them that day ; saying, In 
 thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as 
 Ephraim and as Manasseh. And Israel said unto 
 Joseph, Behold, I die ; but God shall be with you, 
 and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 
 Moreover, I have given to thee one portion above 
 thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the 
 Amorite with my sword and with my bow." 
 
 And Jacob called his sons together, and told 
 them what should befal them in days to come : for 
 Jacob was one of the holy prophets, to whom God 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 175 
 
 gave knowledge to foretell things to come : and 
 Israel blessed his sons, each one according to his 
 blessing ■ but it was a fearful thing for sons to hear 
 from a dying father words of holy displeasure, such 
 as were some he spoke. But to Judah he said, 
 " Thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise ; thy 
 hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies : thy 
 father's children shall bow down before thee. Ju- 
 dah is a lion's whelp ; from the prey, my son, thou 
 art gone up, he stooped down, he couched as a lion, 
 and as an old lion ; who shall rouse him up ? The 
 sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver 
 from between his feet, until Siiiloh come, and unto 
 him shall the gathering of the people be : binding 
 his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the 
 choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and 
 his clothes in the blood of grapes." — The descend- 
 ants of Judah were kings in the land of Israel, till 
 Shiloh came. Shiloh is the Lord Jesus Christ, the 
 King of kings : He was the Son and Heir of Judah's 
 royal line: He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah : 
 He is the true, the choice Vine. And it was He 
 who came riding on a colt, the foal of an ass, lowly 
 and having salvation. 
 
176 J S E P PI AND II I S FATHER. 
 
 While Jacob was in the midst of blessing his 
 sons, and they all stood around his bed, he stopped, 
 and looking upward to his God, he said, " I have 
 waited for Thy Salvation, Lord !" When Ja- 
 cob was a young man he had found it hard to wait : 
 he was impatient then, and could not wait for God: 
 but the Lord had taught him, and lie had learned 
 the blessed lesson, and now he could look up to his 
 Heavenly Father, his Heavenly Teacher, and say, 
 " I have waited for Thy salvation, Lord !" And 
 now he was going where no more lessons are 
 needed, for his Saviour would present him faultless 
 before the presence of His Heavenly Father's glory, 
 with exceeding joy. Will you pray that God may 
 teach you patience ? It is a blessed lesson for a 
 little child, or for any one to learn ; for it is to 
 learn to be like the Lord Jesus, who never spoke 
 or acted impatiently. The Lord God is called The 
 God of Patience. Ask of Him to teach you pa- 
 tience, and try in every thing to learn it, that you 
 may be the child of God, following after love, pa- 
 tience, meekness. 
 
 And Israel blessed Joseph, and said, " Joseph is 
 a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 177 
 
 whose branches run over the wall. The archers 
 have sorely grieved him and shot at him, and hated 
 him ; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms 
 of his hands were made strong by the hands of the 
 mighty God of Jacob (from thence is the Shepherd, 
 the Stone of Israel) : By the God of thy fathers, 
 who shall help thee ; and by the Almighty, who 
 shall bless thee with blessings of Heaven above, and 
 blessings of the deep that lieth under. The bless- 
 ings of thy father have prevailed above the bless- 
 ings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bound of 
 the everlasting hills : they shall be on the head of 
 Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that 
 was separate from his brethren." It was thus that 
 his father blessed him. 
 
 " And when Jacob had made an end of command- 
 ing his sons, he departed in peace. And when Jo- 
 seph saw that his father was dead, he fell upon his 
 father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him. 
 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians 
 to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed 
 Israel. And the Egyptians mourned for Israel 
 seventy days. And when the days of his mourning 
 were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, 
 
 12 
 
178 JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 
 
 saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, 
 speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 
 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die : in my 
 grave which I have digged in the land of Canaan, 
 there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me 
 go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will 
 come again. And Pharaoh said, Go up and bury 
 thy father, according as he made thee swear. And 
 Joseph went up to bury his father : and with him 
 went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of 
 his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 
 and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and 
 his father's house. And there went up with him 
 both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great 
 company." And they came beyond the river Jor- 
 dan, which is in the land of Canaan, and there they 
 mourned with a great and very sore lamentation. 
 "And when the inhabitants of the land saw the 
 mourning, they said, This is a grievous mourning 
 to the Egyptians. And his sons did unto him ac- 
 cording as he commanded them. And Joseph re- 
 turned into Egypt, and all that went up with him, 
 after he had buried his father." 
 
 " And when Joseph's brethren saw that their 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 179 
 
 father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure 
 hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which 
 Ave did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto 
 Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he 
 died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive 
 I pray thee now the trespass of thy brethren, and 
 their sin ; for they did unto thee evil. And now, 
 we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants 
 of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when 
 they spake unto him. And his brethren also went 
 and fell down before his face; and they said, Be- 
 hold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto 
 them, Fear not : for am I in the place of God ? 
 But as for you, ye thought evil against me ; but 
 God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is 
 this day, to save much people alive. Now, there- 
 fore, fear ye not : I will nourish you and your little 
 ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly 
 unto them. 11 
 
 Joseph's brothers were afraid : they thought it 
 was only for his father's sake that Joseph had 
 shown them mercy — and he was dead : they did 
 not know that it was for the love of God that Jo- 
 seph had so freely forgiven — and God liveth and 
 
180 JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 
 
 abideth for ever : therefore that which made Jo- 
 seph forgive them at first, would keep his forgive- 
 ness as warm as ever, though his blessed father was 
 laid to sleep the sleep of death, far away in Mamre's 
 cave. When we really feel our sin, we do not think 
 it can be easily forgiven. They sent to Joseph a 
 message from his father — that his father, now in 
 Heaven, prayed him to forgive his brethren : and 
 Joseph wept. Joseph wept — but he wiped away 
 their tears. They called ..themselves the servants 
 of the God of Joseph's father. Their hearts were 
 changed now, they could not have said that, when 
 they sold Joseph for a slave. Joseph had always 
 loved that Great and Holy Name, the Name of God. 
 When he had nothing else to call his own, that 
 Name was his treasure. When he was a servant, 
 he loved and honored it. When he was a prisoner, 
 he directed his fellow-prisoners to God in their dis- 
 tress. When he stood before the king, just come 
 from the dismal dungeon, he gave all the honor 
 and glory to God. When he spoke as a stranger 
 to his cruel brethren, he could not forget the Name 
 of his God : " I fear God," he said. When he had 
 made himself known unto them, it was with the Name 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 181 
 
 of God he comforted them under their fear and dis- 
 tress. When ho sent a message to his father, it 
 was to tell him what God had done. When his 
 father talked to him of his children, Joseph told 
 him they were the children God had given him. 
 And now his brothers come and plead before him 
 in the Name of God, no wonder they prevail above 
 all they asked and thought. The heathen steward 
 of Joseph's house had cast away his idols, for his 
 master's God, and had learned to speak peace in 
 that Holy Name : and now Joseph's brethren have 
 learned to love that blessed Name and service also : 
 they call themselves " the servants of the God of 
 thy father." Joseph had hearkened to God's com- 
 mandments, and now his "peace was as a river, and 
 his righteousness as the waves of the sea." 
 
 " And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's 
 house : and Joseph lived an hundred and ten 
 years :" he lived to see the children of his child- 
 ren's children, even three generations. 
 
 " And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die ; and 
 God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this 
 land, unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to 
 Isaac, and to Jacob. God will surely visit you, 
 
182 JOSEPH AND HIS FATHER. 
 
 and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So 
 Joseph died, and they embalmed him, and put him 
 into a coffin in Egypt." He whom his brethren 
 cast out, and sold away out of the land of Canaan 
 when he was a child, was the only one whom the 
 children of Israel carried with them back into the 
 land of Canaan, and laid him to rest among them 
 there, till the Resurrection of the Just ! 
 
 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly 
 wait for the salvation of the Lord. — Lamentations, 
 iii. 26. 
 
 The God of Israel is He that giveth strength and 
 •power unto His people. Blessed be God ! — Psalm 
 lxviii. 35. 
 
 THE END.