_Joseph made himself known unto his brethren_ JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN I. JUDAH’S PATHETIC APPEAL FOR THE RELEASE OF BENJAMIN (Genesis 44:30). In this appeal the following points are made: 1. Jacob’s strong attachment to Benjamin. 2. That Benjamin was the mainstay of Jacob in his advanced age. 3... [ Continue Reading ]
_Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you_ SEPARATION ENDING IN UNION It was by a strange and seemingly circuitous route that these brethren of Joseph were brought near to him. Between Joseph and his brethren there was an immeasurable distance--all the difference between a natur... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves_ THE DUTY OF SELF-FORGIVENESS Is it allowable, in any case, to forgive ourselves? Some of those who have a proper sense of man’s responsibility to his Maker would be inclined at first to say, No. Most of those whose views of man’s responsibility are inad... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith thy son Joseph_ LESSONS 1. Providence may order traitors to be messengers of better news than they intended. 2. Gracious children are speedy to take off grief from their parents’ hearts. 3. God orders those events of mercy to be declared unto His, which they sometimes would not beli... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck_ TEARS OF LOVE This incident is the most unquestionable instance in the Bible of tears of love. No other feeling but love made Joseph weep. I. Tears of love are true evidences--and evidences which can scarce... [ Continue Reading ]
_He kissed all his brethren_ A DAY OF RECONCILIATION A day of reconciliation! A family made one. Brethren coming together again after long separation. It is a beautiful picture. Why should it not be completed, where it needs completion, in our own day amongst ourselves? Ministers sometimes have mi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the flood of the land of Egypt_ PHARAOH’S INVITATION TO JACOB AND HIS SONS I. THIS SPEAKS WELL AS TO HIS DELICATE CONSIDERATION FOR JOSEPH. II. THIS SHOWS THE VALUE HE SET UPON JOSEPH. III. THIS TEACHES US HOW GREAT IS... [ Continue Reading ]
_Provision for the way_ DIVINE PROVISION FOR HUMAN WANTS I. But for the provision Joseph sent them for the way, Jacob and his sons’ sons and daughters could never have crossed the hot desert. But the impossible had been made possible by the command of Pharaoh and the love of Joseph. The journey wa... [ Continue Reading ]
_See that ye fall not out by the way_ GOOD ADVICE TO CHRISTIANS I. THE RELATIONSHIP OF CHRISTIANS. They are brethren. II. THE COURSE OF CHRISTIANS. On their way from Egypt to Canaan, from house of bondage to Father’s house above. III. THE DANGER OF CHRISTIANS. Falling out by the way--disagreeing... [ Continue Reading ]
_When he saw the waggons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived_ PROBABILITY AN AID TO FAITH We see here how probabilities are the handmaids and the helpers of faith. Slight tokens become the aliment, the very food, on which action feeds, strengthens, nurture... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive_ JOSEPH A TYPE OF CHRIST Joseph is a type or figure of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1. Joseph, in his younger days, was distinguished from his brethren by a purity of life which became the more observable in contrast with their dissolute manner... [ Continue Reading ]