fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction; then he showeth them their work, and their transgressions, that they have exceeded. He openeth also their car to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity. Let us, therefore, patiently bear God's rebukes, and consider wherefore he contendeth with us; and resolve that wherein we have done iniquity, we will do so no more. 4. How ready are we to draw rash conclusions, as Jacob did, who said, All these things are against me, when all were for him, and working together for his good. We are ready to conclude, when we lose our wealth or fame, our health or friends, all this is against us; but God intends it for our good. To judge by passion, or affection, is the way to judge wrong: Jacob's grief darkened his mind, and overwhelmed his faith. We are in great danger of forming a wrong judgment of the divine dispensations, especially of those which are a source of grief and sorrow: Jacob was happily disappointed. Let us learn to judge nothing before the time, but patiently wait till the mystery of Providence is opened; and then we shall see the truth of Paul's observation, that all things work together for good to them that love God, and are the called according to his purpose. CHAP. XLIII. Jacob's sons are forced to go a second time into Egypt; Benjamin goes with them; their conversation with Joseph's steward; and the kind entertainment they received from their brother. 1 2 A ND the famine [was] sore in the land; a still greater scarcity prevailed. 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, just enough for the present, hoping next year to have a plentiful 3 crop. And Judah, who probably had more interest with his father than Reuben or Levi, spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my 4 face, except your brother [be] with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food; 5 But if thou wilt not send [him,] we will not go down, we cannot go, without breach of our promise, nor without danger: 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 7 had yet a brother? And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state and of our kindred, saying, [Is] your father yet alive? have ye [another] brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words; gave him such answers as these questions required; could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me (so called, because he was the youngest, though now above thirty years old) and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both 9 we, and thou, [and] also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him; I will do all I can to secure him, and rather suffer any thing than lose him: If I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me 10 bear the blame for ever, and lie under thy displeasure: For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this sec11 ond time. And their father Israel, when he saw there was no helf, but he must risk an uncertain danger, or be accessary to the certain ruin of his family, consented, and said unto them, If [it must be] so now, do this; take of the best fruits in 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; having found in the case of Esau, that a gift pacifieth anger: 12 And take double money in your hand, as corn may now be grown dearer; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry [it] again in your hand; peradventure it [was] an oversight, either in you, or the receiver of 13 the money, and it must therefore be restored: Take also your 14 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. If I be bereaved [of my children,] I am bereaved; God's will be done; I commit the issue wholly to him. 15 And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph, at the place where he 16 gave audience, or sold corn. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said privately to the ruler of his house, Bring [these] men home, and slay, and make ready; for [these] men shall dine with me at noon. In those hot countries it was necessary to dress their meat immediately after it was killed. 17 And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the 18 men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, because of the money that was returned in the sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen and our ásses. Conscience accused them, and they thought they should be taken up for cheats, and made slaves of; therefore they begin eagerly to make their apology. 19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and 20 they communed with him at the door of the house. And Most probably the Pistachio nuts, which were reckoned a great dainty, and were pecutiar to Judea and syria. : said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy 21 food: And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, [every] man's money [was] in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight and we 22 have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food; we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. To this the steward made a wise 23 and religious answer; And he said, Peace [be] to you, fear not your God and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks; this shows that Joseph had instructed him in the knowledge of God: I had your money, and no harm shall come to you on that account. And as a further proof of his kind design, he, by Joseph's order, brought Simeon out unto 24 them. And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave [them] water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. 25 And they made ready the present against Joseph came at 26 noon for they heard that they should eat bread there. 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. 27 And he asked them of [their] welfare, and said, [Is] your father well, the old man of whom ye spake ? [Is] he yet 28 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. Thus Joseph's dream was repeated29 ly accomplished. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, he observed him more narrowly than at first, and said, [Is] this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. A kind and tender appellation, by which an elder or su30 perior addressed a younger or inferior. And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother and he sought [where] to weep; and he entered into [his] chamber, and wept there. 31 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained him 32 self, and said, Set on bread. And they set on a table for him by himself, as viceroy, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that [is] an abomination unto the Egyptians, because the Hebrews did eat sheep and goats, which the Egyptians worship33 ped, (Exodus viii. 26.) And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth and the men marvelled one at another, that he, who had before used them so roughly, should now treat them so kindly, and place them according to their several ages. This was an extraordinary circumstance, and might well illustrate what he afterward said to them about his divining, if that were $4 the sense of those words. And he took [and sent] messes unto them from before him, dishes from his own table; but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs.* Joseph intended hereby to show Benjamin peculiar affection, and see whether his brethren would envy him on the occasion. And they drank, and were merry with him. So kind and generous a reception, made them for a while forget their hardships and sorrows. 1. WE REFLECTIONS E hence see the extreme force of necessity, and what reason we have to be thankful for the comfortable provisions of life. Jacob's was a rich and wealthy family, but sore famine made him travel far for provisions. The good man put off the evil day, and protracted the time of sending Benjamin as long as possible; but the famine being heavy, he was forced at last to comply. Skin for skin, yea all that a man hath, will he give for his life. Let us bless God that this is not our case; we are fed with the finest of the wheat; God spreads our table, and fills our cup; he giveth us all things richly to enjoy ; and has not broke our staff of bread. Let us then serve him cheerfully in the use of all the good things which he giveth us. 2. We see in the conduct of Jacob an example of the strictest honesty. He sends his sons with the money again, v. 12. he does not boast of the bargain; is not glad of the mistake in his favour; but willing to make restitution; he would not take advantage of the hurry of selling the corn, to escape without paying a mistake is no payment. Let us learn from his example to restore what comes to us by the mistakes of our brethren, and in every instance deal, not only honestly, but honourably, for God sees it. To take advantage of the ignorance of our brethren, or to keep what does not by right belong to us, though we did not come by it fraudulently, are each contrary to strict honesty, and to the rule of doing to others as we would have them do to us. 3. We learn to depend on God for the success of the best concerted measures. Jacob says, Take double money, and a present, and your brother; and then adds, God Almighty give you mercy before the man. He knew that God has access to the hearts of men, and can easily turn them, as he did Esau's; he therefore looked up to him, and followed his sons with many an earnest prayer. Prudence and piety should thus always go together; in all thy ways acknowledge God, and he will direct thy paths. When we * A favourite guest was always distinguished by one of the largest and best. Thus Hower mentions setting a shine before a stranger, in token of respect. want favour and mercy from men, let our eyes be up toward the Lord, for he can influence them which way he pleaseth. 4. Let us resign ourselves and our dearest comforts to God's disposal. Israel's, in v. 14. was not the language of passion or despair, but of sober reason, and humble submission to God; like Esther, If I perish, I perish; I must submit to the providence of God; not dispute his superior will, but compose myself under it. Thus, whatever afflictions come, let us be resigned to them, and bear them patiently. When God takes away our comforts, let our language be, It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth good in his sight. 5. See how suspicious guilt makes men: no sooner were Joseph's brethren brought to his house, than they suspected some ill design, and that he was seeking an occasion of mischief against them, or to roll himself upon them, as the original is; to employ his power and authority to crush them. What an uneasy thing is it to have fear when no man pursueth! The wicked fear where no fear is; every thing appears gloomy and dark; but to the upright there ariseth light in darkness. The best preservative from groundless fear and unreasonable suspicion, is to keep a good con science. 6. We see what a great advantage it is to serve in a religious family. Joseph's steward, by acquaintance with his master, was brought to an acquaintance with the true God, the God of the Hebrews. Masters should teach their servants the knowledge of God, and lead them to fear and reverence him. Servants should choose such families where they may have opportunities of knowing God; and those who are favoured with such opportunities, should carefully improve them; mention the name of God with the highest reverence; and never be ashamed to own their acquaintance with him, and their obligations to him. 7. How necessary is it that the greatest of men should learn and practise the government of their passions, if they desire to appear either with honour or comfort. Joseph prudently withdrew when his affections began to warm, and refrained himself. The heart that is a slave to passion, and has never yet obtained the government of itself, is in a wretched condition. Let us learn to keep our hearts with all diligence, that we may be calm and sedate, and not hurried away by torrents of passion; for he that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. Prov, xxv. 28.. |