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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page212"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXVII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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At this chapter begins the story of Joseph, who, in every subsequent
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chapter but one to the end of this book, makes the greatest
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figure. He was Jacob's eldest son by his beloved wife Rachel,
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born, as many eminent men were, of a mother that had been
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long barren. His story is so remarkably divided between his
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humiliation and his exaltation that we cannot avoid seeing
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something of Christ in it, who was first humbled and then
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exalted, and, in many instances, so as to answer the type of
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Joseph. It also shows the lot of Christians, who must through
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many tribulations enter into the kingdom. In this chapter we
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have,
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I. The malice his brethren bore against him. They hated
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him,
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1. Because he informed his father of their wickedness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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2. Because his father loved him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>.
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3. Because he
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dreamed of his dominion over them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:5-11">ver. 5-11</A>.
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II. The mischiefs
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his brethren designed and did to him.
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1. The kind visit
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he made them gave an opportunity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:12-17">ver. 12-17</A>.
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2. They designed
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to slay him, but determined to starve him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:18-24">ver. 18-24</A>.
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3. They changed their purpose, and sold him for a slave,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:25-28">ver. 25-28</A>.
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4. They made their father believe that he was torn in
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pieces,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:29-35">ver. 29-35</A>.
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5. He was sold into Egypt to Potiphar,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:36">ver. 36</A>.
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And all this was working together for good.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge37_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The History of Joseph.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1729.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And Jacob dwelt in the land
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wherein his father was a stranger,
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in the land of Canaan.
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2 These <I>are</I>
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the generations of Jacob. Joseph,
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<I>being</I> seventeen years old, was feeding
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the flock with his brethren; and the
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lad <I>was</I> with the sons of Bilhah, and
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with the sons of Zilpah, his father's
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wives: and Joseph brought unto his
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father their evil report.
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3 Now Israel
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loved Joseph more than all his children,
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because he <I>was</I> the son of his old
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age: and he made him a coat of <I>many</I>
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colours.
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4 And when his brethren saw
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that their father loved him more than
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all his brethren, they hated him, and
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could not speak peaceably unto him.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Moses has no more to say of the Edomites,
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unless as they happen to fall in Israel's way;
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but now applies himself closely to the story
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of Jacob's family: <I>These are the generations
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of Jacob.</I> His is not a bare barren genealogy
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as that of Esau
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+36:1"><I>ch.</I> xxxvi. 1</A>),
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but a memorable useful history. Here is,
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1. Jacob a
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sojourner with his father Isaac, who has yet
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living,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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We shall never be at home, till
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we come to heaven.
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2. Joseph, a shepherd,
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<I>feeding the flock with his brethren,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Though he was his father's darling, yet he
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was not brought up in idleness or delicacy.
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Those do not truly love their children that
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do not inure them to business, and labour,
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and mortification. The fondling of children
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is with good reason commonly called the spoiling
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of them. Those that are trained up
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to do nothing are likely to be good for nothing.
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3. Joseph beloved by his father
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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partly for his dear mother's sake that was
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dead, and partly for his own sake, because he
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was the greatest comfort of his old age; probably
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he waited on him, and was more observant
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of him than the rest of his sons; he
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was the <I>son of the ancient</I> so some; that is,
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when he was a child, he was as grave and
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discreet as if he had been an old man, a child,
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but not childish. Jacob proclaimed his affection
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to him by dressing him finer than the
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rest of his children: He <I>made him a coat of divers
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colours,</I> which probably was significant of
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further honors intended him. Note, Though
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those children are happy that have that in
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them which justly recommends them to their
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parents' particular love, yet it is the prudence
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of parents not to make a difference between
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one child and another, unless there be a great
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and manifest cause given for it by the children's
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dutifulness or undutifulness; paternal
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government must be impartial, and managed
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with a steady hand.
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4. Joseph hated by his
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brethren,
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(1.) Because his father loved him;
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when parents make a difference, children soon
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take notice of it, and it often occasions feuds
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and quarrels in families.
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(2.) Because he
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<I>brought to his father their evil report.</I> Jacob's
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sons did that, when they were from under
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his eye, which they durst not have done if
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they had been at home with him; but Joseph
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gave his father an account of their bad carriage,
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that he might reprove and restrain
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them; not as a malicious tale-bearer, to sow
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discord, but as a faithful brother, who, when
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he durst not admonish them himself, represented
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their faults to one that had authority
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to admonish them. Note,
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[1.] It is common
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for friendly monitors to be looked upon as
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enemies. Those that hate to be reformed hate
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those that would reform them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+9:8">Prov. ix. 8</A>.
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[2.] It is common for those that are beloved
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of God to be hated by the world; whom
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Heaven blesses, hell curses. To those to
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whom God speaks comfortably wicked men
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will not speak peaceably. It is said here of
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Joseph, <I>the lad was with the sons of Bilhah;</I>
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some read it, and he was <I>servant to them,</I>
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they made him their drudge.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge37_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_11"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>5 And Joseph dreamed a dream,
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and he told <I>it</I> his brethren: and they
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hated him yet the more.
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6 And he
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said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this
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dream which I have dreamed:
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7 For,
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behold, we <I>were</I> binding sheaves in
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the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and
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also stood upright; and, behold, your
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sheaves stood round about, and made
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obeisance to my sheaf.
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8 And his
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brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed
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reign over us? or shalt thou indeed
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have dominion over us? And
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they hated him yet the more for his
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dreams, and for his words.
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9 And he
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dreamed yet another dream, and told
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it his brethren, and said, Behold, I
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have dreamed a dream more; and, behold,
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the sun and the moon and the
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eleven stars made obeisance to me.
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10 And he told <I>it</I> to his father, and
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<A NAME="Page213"> </A>
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to his brethren: and his father rebuked
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him, and said unto him, What
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<I>is</I> this dream that thou hast dreamed?
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Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren
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indeed come to bow down ourselves
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to thee to the earth?
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11 And
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his brethren envied him; but his father
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observed the saying.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. Joseph relates the prophetical
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dreams he had,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:6,7,9,10"><I>v.</I> 6, 7, 9, 10</A>.
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Though he was now very young (about seventeen
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years old), yet he was pious and devout, and
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well-inclined, and this fitted him for God's
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gracious discoveries of himself to him. Joseph
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had a great deal of trouble before him,
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and therefore God gave him betimes this
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prospect of his advancement, to support and
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comfort him under the long and grievous
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troubles with which he was to be exercised.
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Thus Christ had a <I>joy set before him,</I> and so
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have Christians. Note, God has ways of
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preparing his people beforehand for the
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trials which they cannot foresee, but which
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he has an eye to in the comforts with which
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he furnishes them. His dreams were,
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1. That his brethren's sheaves all bowed to his,
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intimating upon what occasion they should
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be brought to do homage to him, namely, in
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seeking to him for corn; their empty sheaves
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should bow to his full one.
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2. That the sun,
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and moon, and eleven stars, did obeisance to
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him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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Joseph was more of a prophet
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than a politician, else he would have kept
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this to himself, when he could not but know
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that his brethren did already hate him and
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that this would but the more exasperate them.
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But, if he told it in his simplicity, yet God
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directed it for the mortification of his brethren.
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Observe, Joseph dreamed of his preferment,
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but he did not dream of his imprisonment.
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Thus many young people, when they are setting
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out in the world, think of nothing but prosperity
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and pleasure, and never dream of trouble.</P>
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<P>
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II. His brethren take it very ill, and are
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more and more enraged against him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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<I>Shalt thou indeed reign over us?</I> See here,
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1. How truly they interpreted his dream,
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that he should reign over them. Those become
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the expositors of his dream who were
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enemies to the accomplishment of it, as in
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Gideon's story
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+7:13,14">Judg. vii. 13, 14</A>);
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they perceived
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that he spoke of them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+21:45">Matt. xxi. 45</A>.
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The event exactly answered to this interpretation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:6"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 6</A>,
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&c.
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2. How scornfully
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they resented it: "<I>Shalt thou,</I> who are but
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one, <I>reign over us,</I> who are many? Thou,
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who are the youngest, over us who are
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older?" Note, The reign and dominion of
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Jesus Christ, our Joseph, have been, and
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are, despised and striven against by a carnal
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and unbelieving world, who cannot endure
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to think that this man should reign over
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them. The dominion also of the upright, in
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the morning of the resurrection, is thought
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of with the utmost disdain.</P>
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<P>
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III. His father gives him a gentle rebuke
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for it, yet observes the saying,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:10,11"><I>v.</I> 10, 11</A>.
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Probably he checked him for it, to lessen the
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offence which his brethren would be apt to
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take at it; yet he took notice of it more than
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he seemed to do: he insinuated that it was
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but an idle dream, because his mother was
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brought in, who had been dead some time
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since; whereas <I>the sun, moon, and eleven
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stars,</I> signify no more than the whole family
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that should have a dependence upon him,
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and be glad to be beholden to him. Note,
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The faith of God's people in God's promises
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is often sorely shaken by their misunderstanding
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the promises and then suggesting
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the improbabilities that attend the performance;
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but God is doing his own work, and
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will do it, whether we understand him aright
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or no. Jacob, like Mary
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+2:51">Luke ii. 51</A>),
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kept
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these things in his heart, and no doubt remembered
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them long afterwards, when the
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event answered to the prediction.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge37_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge37_22"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>12 And his brethren went to feed
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their father's flock in Shechem.
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13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not
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thy brethren feed <I>the flock</I> in Shechem?
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come, and I will send thee unto them.
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And he said to him, Here <I>am I.</I>
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14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee,
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see whether it be well with thy brethren,
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and well with the flocks; and
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bring me word again. So he sent him
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out of the vale of Hebron, and he
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came to Shechem.
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15 And a certain
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man found him, and, behold, <I>he was</I>
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wandering in the field: and the man
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asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
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16 And he said, I seek my brethren:
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tell me, I pray thee, where they feed
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<I>their flocks.</I>
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17 And the man said,
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They are departed hence; for I heard
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them say, Let us go to Dothan. And
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Joseph went after his brethren, and
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found them in Dothan.
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18 And when
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they saw him afar off, even before he
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came near unto them, they conspired
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against him to slay him.
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19 And they
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said one to another, Behold, this
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dreamer cometh.
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20 Come now therefore,
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and let us slay him, and cast him
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into some pit, and we will say, Some
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evil beast hath devoured him: and we
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shall see what will become of his
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dreams.
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21 And Reuben heard <I>it,</I>
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and he delivered him out of their
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hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
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22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed
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no blood, <I>but</I> cast him into this pit
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<A NAME="Page214"> </A>
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that <I>is</I> in the wilderness, and lay no
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hand upon him; that he might rid
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him out of their hands, to deliver him
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to his father again.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
|
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I. The kind visit which Joseph,
|
|
in obedience to his father's command, made
|
|
to his brethren, who were feeding the flock
|
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at Shechem, many miles off. Some suggest
|
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that they went thither on purpose, expecting
|
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that Joseph would be sent to see them, and
|
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that then they should have an opportunity
|
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to do him a mischief. However, Joseph and
|
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his father had both of them more of the innocence
|
|
of the dove than of the wisdom of
|
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the serpent, else he had never come thus into
|
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the hands of those that hated him: but God
|
|
designed it all for good. See in Joseph
|
|
an instance,
|
|
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1. Of dutifulness to his father.
|
|
Though he was his father's darling, yet he
|
|
was made, and was willing to be, his father's
|
|
servant. How readily does he wait his father's
|
|
orders! <I>Here I am,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
Note, Those
|
|
children that are best beloved by their parents
|
|
should be most obedient to their parents; and
|
|
then their love is well-bestowed and well-returned.
|
|
|
|
2. Of kindness to his brethren.
|
|
Though he knew they hated him and envied
|
|
him, yet he made no objections against his
|
|
father's commands, either from the distance
|
|
of the place or the danger of the journey, but
|
|
cheerfully embraced the opportunity of showing
|
|
his respect to his brethren. Note, It is
|
|
a very good lesson, though it is learnt with
|
|
difficulty and rarely practised, <I>to love those
|
|
that hate us;</I> if our relations do not their
|
|
duty to us, yet we must not be wanting in
|
|
our duty to them. This is thank-worthy.
|
|
Joseph was sent by his father to Shechem,
|
|
to see whether his brethren were well there,
|
|
and whether the country had not risen upon
|
|
them and destroyed them, in revenge of their
|
|
barbarous murder of the Shechemites some
|
|
years before. But Joseph, not finding them
|
|
there, went to Dothan, which showed that he
|
|
undertook this journey, not only in obedience
|
|
to his father (for then he might have returned
|
|
when he missed them at Shechem, having
|
|
done what his father told him), but out of
|
|
love to his brethren, and therefore he sought
|
|
diligently till he found them. Thus let
|
|
brotherly love continue, and let us give proofs
|
|
of it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The bloody and malicious plot of his
|
|
brethren against him, who rendered good for
|
|
evil, and, for his love, were his adversaries.
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. How deliberate they were in the
|
|
contrivance of this mischief: when they <I>saw
|
|
him afar off, they conspired against him,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
It was not in a heat, or upon a sudden provocation,
|
|
that they thought to slay him, but
|
|
from malice prepense, and in cold blood.
|
|
Note, Whosoever hateth his brother is a
|
|
murderer; for he will be one if he have an
|
|
opportunity,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:15">1 John iii. 15</A>.
|
|
Malice is a
|
|
most mischievous thing, and is in danger of
|
|
making bloody work where it is harboured and
|
|
indulged. The more there is of a project and
|
|
contrivance in a sin the worse it is; it is bad
|
|
to do evil, but worse to devise it.
|
|
|
|
2. How
|
|
cruel they were in their design; nothing less
|
|
than his blood would satisfy them: <I>Come,
|
|
and let us slay him,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
Note, The old
|
|
enmity hunts for the precious life. It is
|
|
the <I>blood-thirsty</I> that <I>hate the upright</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+29:10">Prov. xxix. 10</A>),
|
|
and it is the blood of the saints
|
|
that the harlot is drunk with.
|
|
|
|
3. How scornfully
|
|
they reproached him for his dreams
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
<I>This dreamer cometh;</I> and
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
|
|
<I>We shall see what will become of his dreams.</I>
|
|
This shows what it was that fretted and enraged
|
|
them. They could not endure to think
|
|
of doing homage to him; this was what they
|
|
were plotting to prevent by the murder of
|
|
him. Note, Men that fret and rage at God's
|
|
counsels are impiously aiming to defeat them;
|
|
but they imagine a vain thing,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1-3">Ps. ii. 1-3</A>.
|
|
God's counsels will stand.
|
|
|
|
4. How they
|
|
agreed to keep one another's counsel, and to
|
|
cover the murder with a lie: <I>We will say,
|
|
Some evil beast hath devoured him;</I> whereas
|
|
in thus consulting to devour him they proved
|
|
themselves worse than the most evil beasts;
|
|
for evil beasts prey not on those of their own
|
|
kind, but they were tearing a piece of themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Reuben's project to deliver him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>.
|
|
Note, God can raise up friends for his
|
|
people, even among their enemies; for he
|
|
has all hearts in his hands. Reuben, of all
|
|
the brothers, had most reason to be jealous
|
|
of Joseph, for he was the first-born, and so
|
|
entitled to those distinguishing favours which
|
|
Jacob was conferring on Joseph; yet he proves
|
|
his best friend. Reuben's temper seems to
|
|
have been soft and effeminate, which had betrayed
|
|
him to the sin of uncleanness; while
|
|
the temper of the next two brothers, Simeon
|
|
and Levi, was fierce, which betrayed them to
|
|
the sin of murder, a sin which Reuben startled
|
|
at the thought of. Note, Our natural constitution
|
|
should be guarded against those
|
|
sins to which it is most inclinable, and improved
|
|
(as Reuben's here) against those sins
|
|
to which it is most averse. Reuben made a
|
|
proposal which they thought would effectually
|
|
answer their intention of destroying Joseph,
|
|
and yet which he designed should
|
|
answer his intention of rescuing Joseph out
|
|
of their hands and restoring him to his father,
|
|
probably hoping thereby to recover his
|
|
father's favour, which he had lately lost; but
|
|
God overruled all to serve his own purpose
|
|
of making Joseph an instrument to save
|
|
much people alive. Joseph was here a type
|
|
of Christ. Though he was the beloved Son
|
|
of his Father, and hated by a wicked world,
|
|
yet the Father sent him out of his bosom to
|
|
visit us in great humility and love. He came
|
|
from heaven to earth, to seek and save us;
|
|
yet then malicious plots were laid against him.
|
|
He came to his own, and his own not only received
|
|
him not, but consulted against him: <I>This
|
|
is the heir, come let us kill him; Crucify him,
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page215"> </A>
|
|
|
|
crucify him.</I> This he submitted to, in pursuance
|
|
of his design to redeem and save us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_30"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>23 And it came to pass, when Joseph
|
|
was come unto his brethren, that
|
|
they stript Joseph out of his coat, <I>his</I>
|
|
coat of <I>many</I> colours that <I>was</I> on him;
|
|
24 And they took him, and cast him
|
|
into a pit: and the pit <I>was</I> empty,
|
|
<I>there was</I> no water in it.
|
|
25 And
|
|
they sat down to eat bread: and they
|
|
lifted up their eyes and looked, and,
|
|
behold, a company of Ishmeelites came
|
|
from Gilead with their camels bearing
|
|
spicery and balm and myrrh, going to
|
|
carry <I>it</I> down to Egypt.
|
|
26 And Judah
|
|
said unto his brethren, What
|
|
profit <I>is it</I> if we slay our brother, and
|
|
conceal his blood?
|
|
27 Come, and let
|
|
us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and
|
|
let not our hand be upon him; for he
|
|
<I>is</I> our brother <I>and</I> our flesh. And his
|
|
brethren were content.
|
|
28 Then there
|
|
passed by Midianites merchantmen;
|
|
and they drew and lifted up Joseph
|
|
out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the
|
|
Ishmeelites for twenty <I>pieces</I> of silver:
|
|
and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
|
|
29 And Reuben returned unto the
|
|
pit; and, behold, Joseph <I>was</I> not in
|
|
the pit; and he rent his clothes.
|
|
30 And he returned unto his brethren,
|
|
and said, The child <I>is</I> not; and I,
|
|
whither shall I go?
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here the execution of their plot
|
|
against Joseph.
|
|
|
|
1. They stripped him, each
|
|
striving to seize the envied coat of many colours,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
Thus, in imagination, they degraded
|
|
him from the birthright, of which perhaps this
|
|
was the badge, grieving him, affronting their
|
|
father, and making themselves sport, while
|
|
they insulted over him. "Now, Joseph, where
|
|
is the fine coat?" Thus our Lord Jesus was
|
|
stripped of his seamless coat, and thus his
|
|
suffering saints have first been industriously
|
|
divested of their privileges and honours, and
|
|
then made the off-scouring of all things.
|
|
|
|
2. They went about to starve him, throwing him
|
|
into a dry pit, to perish there with hunger
|
|
and cold, so cruel were their tender mercies,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:25"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
Note, Where envy reigns pity is
|
|
banished, and humanity itself is forgotten,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+27:4">Prov. xxvii. 4</A>.
|
|
So full of deadly poison is
|
|
malice that the more barbarous any thing is
|
|
the more grateful it is. Now Joseph begged
|
|
for his life, in <I>the anguish of his soul</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:21"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 21</A>),
|
|
entreated, by all imaginable endearments,
|
|
that they would be content with his coat and
|
|
spare his life. He pleads innocence, relation,
|
|
affection, submission; he weeps and makes
|
|
supplication, but all in vain. Reuben alone
|
|
relents and intercedes for him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:22"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 22</A>.
|
|
But he cannot prevail to save Joseph from
|
|
the horrible pit, in which they resolve he
|
|
shall die by degrees, and be buried alive. Is
|
|
this he to whom his brethren must do
|
|
homage? Note, God's providences often
|
|
seem to contradict his purposes, even when
|
|
they are serving them, and working at a
|
|
distance towards the accomplishment of
|
|
them.
|
|
|
|
3. They slighted him when he was
|
|
in distress, and were not grieved for the
|
|
affliction of Joseph; for when he was pining
|
|
away in the pit, bemoaning his own misery,
|
|
and with a languishing cry calling to them
|
|
for pity, <I>they sat down to eat bread,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) They felt no remorse of conscience for
|
|
the sin; if they had, it would have spoiled
|
|
their appetite for their meat, and the relish
|
|
of it. Note, A great force put upon conscience
|
|
commonly stupefies it, and for the time deprives
|
|
it both of sense and speech. Daring
|
|
sinners are secure ones. But the consciences
|
|
of Joseph's brethren, though asleep now,
|
|
were roused long afterwards,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:21"><I>ch.</I> xlii. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They were now pleased to think how they
|
|
were freed from the fear of their brother's
|
|
dominion over them, and that, on the contrary,
|
|
they had turned the wheel upon him.
|
|
They made merry over him, as the persecutors
|
|
over the two witnesses that had tormented
|
|
them,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+11:10">Rev. xi. 10</A>.
|
|
Note, Those that
|
|
oppose God's counsels may possibly prevail
|
|
so far as to think they have gained their
|
|
point, and yet be deceived.
|
|
|
|
4. They sold
|
|
him. A caravan of merchants very opportunely
|
|
passed by (Providence so ordering it),
|
|
and Judah made the motion that they should
|
|
sell Joseph to them, to be carried far enough
|
|
off into Egypt, where, in all probability, he
|
|
would be lost, and never heard of more.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Judah proposed it in compassion to Joseph
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>):
|
|
"<I>What profit is it if we slay our brother?</I>
|
|
it will be less guilt, and more gain, to
|
|
sell him." Note, When we are tempted to
|
|
sin, we should consider the unprofitableness
|
|
of it. It is what there is nothing to be got
|
|
by.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They acquiesced in it, because
|
|
they thought that if he were sold for a slave
|
|
he would never be a lord, if sold into Egypt
|
|
he would never be their lord; yet all this was
|
|
working towards it. Note, The wrath of
|
|
man shall praise God, and the remainder of
|
|
wrath he will restrain,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:10">Ps. lxxvi. 10</A>.
|
|
Joseph's
|
|
brethren were wonderfully restrained from
|
|
murdering him, and their selling him was as
|
|
wonderfully turned to God's praise. As
|
|
Joseph was sold by the contrivance of Judah
|
|
for twenty pieces of silver, so was our Lord
|
|
Jesus for thirty, and by one of the same
|
|
name too, <I>Judas.</I> Reuben (it seems) had
|
|
gone away from his brethren, when they sold
|
|
Joseph, intending to come round some other
|
|
way to the pit, and to help Joseph out of it,
|
|
and return him safely to his father. This was
|
|
a kind project, but, if it had taken effect,
|
|
what had become of God's purpose concerning
|
|
his preferment in Egypt? Note, There
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page216"> </A>
|
|
|
|
are many devices in man's heart, many devices
|
|
of the enemies of God's people to destroy
|
|
them and of their friends to help them,
|
|
which perhaps are both disappointed, as
|
|
these were; but the counsel of the Lord,
|
|
that shall stand. Reuben thought himself
|
|
undone, because the child was sold: <I>I, whither
|
|
shall I go?</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>.
|
|
He being the eldest,
|
|
his father would expect from him an account
|
|
of Joseph; but, as it proved, they would all
|
|
have been undone if he had not been sold.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_32"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_34"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_35"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge37_36"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>31 And they took Joseph's coat, and
|
|
killed a kid of the goats, and dipped
|
|
the coat in the blood;
|
|
32 And they
|
|
sent the coat of <I>many</I> colours, and they
|
|
brought <I>it</I> to their father; and said,
|
|
This have we found: know now whether
|
|
it <I>be</I> thy son's coat or no.
|
|
33 And he knew it, and said, <I>It is</I> my
|
|
son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured
|
|
him; Joseph is without doubt rent in
|
|
pieces.
|
|
34 And Jacob rent his clothes,
|
|
and put sackcloth upon his loins, and
|
|
mourned for his son many days.
|
|
35 And all his sons and all his daughters
|
|
rose up to comfort him; but he refused
|
|
to be comforted; and he said,
|
|
For I will go down into the grave
|
|
unto my son mourning. Thus his
|
|
father wept for him.
|
|
36 And the
|
|
Midianites sold him into Egypt unto
|
|
Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, <I>and</I>
|
|
captain of the guard.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Joseph would soon be missed, great
|
|
enquiry would be made for him, and therefore
|
|
his brethren have a further design, to
|
|
make the world believe that Joseph was torn
|
|
in pieces by a wild beast; and this they did,
|
|
|
|
1. To clear themselves, that they might not
|
|
be suspected to have done him any mischief.
|
|
Note, We have all learned of Adam to cover
|
|
our transgression,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+31:33">Job xxxi. 33</A>.
|
|
When the
|
|
devil has taught men to commit one sin, he
|
|
then teaches them to conceal it with another,
|
|
theft and murder with lying and perjury;
|
|
but he that covers his sin shall not prosper
|
|
long. Joseph's brethren kept their own and
|
|
one another's counsel for some time, but
|
|
their villany came to light at last, and it is
|
|
here published to the world, and the remembrance
|
|
of it transmitted to every age.
|
|
|
|
2. To
|
|
grieve their good father. It seems designed
|
|
by them on purpose to be revenged upon him
|
|
for his distinguishing love of Joseph. It was
|
|
contrived on purpose to create the utmost
|
|
vexation to him. They sent him Joseph's
|
|
coat of many colours, with one colour more
|
|
than it had had, a bloody colour,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:32"><I>v.</I> 32</A>.
|
|
They
|
|
pretended they had found it in the fields, and
|
|
Jacob himself must be scornfully asked, <I>Is
|
|
this thy son's coat?</I> Now the badge of his
|
|
honour is the discovery of his fate; and it is
|
|
rashly inferred from the bloody coat that
|
|
<I>Joseph, without doubt, is rent in pieces.</I> Love
|
|
is always apt to fear the worst concerning
|
|
the person beloved; there is a love that
|
|
casteth out fear, but that is a perfect love.
|
|
Now let those that know the heart of a parent
|
|
suppose the agonies of poor Jacob, and put
|
|
their souls into his soul's stead. How
|
|
strongly does he represent to himself the
|
|
direful idea of Joseph's misery! Sleeping or
|
|
waking, he imagines he sees the wild beast
|
|
setting upon Joseph, thinks he hears his
|
|
piteous shrieks when the lion roared against
|
|
him, makes himself tremble and grow chill,
|
|
many a time, when he fancies how the beast
|
|
sucked his blood, tore him limb from limb,
|
|
and left no remains of him, but the coat of
|
|
many colours, to carry the tidings. And no
|
|
doubt it added no little to the grief that he
|
|
had exposed him, by sending him, and sending
|
|
him all alone, on this dangerous journey,
|
|
which proved so fatal to him. This cuts him
|
|
to the heart, and he is ready to look upon
|
|
himself as an accessory to the death of his
|
|
son. Now,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Endeavours were used to
|
|
comfort him. His sons basely pretended to do
|
|
it
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>);
|
|
but miserable hypocritical comforters
|
|
were they all. Had they really desired
|
|
to comfort him, they might easily have done
|
|
it, by telling him the truth, "Joseph is alive,
|
|
he is indeed sold into Egypt, but it will be an
|
|
easy thing to send thither and ransom him."
|
|
This would have <I>loosened his sackcloth, and
|
|
girded him with gladness</I> presently. I wonder
|
|
their countenances did not betray their guilt,
|
|
and with what face they could pretend to
|
|
condole with Jacob on the death of Joseph,
|
|
when they knew he was alive. Note, The
|
|
heart is strangely hardened by the deceitfulness
|
|
of sin. But,
|
|
|
|
(2.) It was all in vain:
|
|
<I>Jacob refused to be comforted,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>.
|
|
He was
|
|
an obstinate mourner, resolved to go down to
|
|
the grave mourning. It was not a sudden
|
|
transport of passion, like that of David,
|
|
<I>Would God I had died for thee, my son, my
|
|
son!</I> But, like Job, he hardened himself in
|
|
sorrow. Note,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Great affection to any
|
|
creature does not prepare for so much the
|
|
greater affliction, when it is either removed
|
|
from us or embittered to us. Inordinate
|
|
love commonly ends in immoderate grief; as
|
|
much as the sway of the pendulum throws
|
|
one way, so much it will throw the other
|
|
way.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Those consult neither the comfort
|
|
of their souls nor the credit of their
|
|
religion that are determined in their sorrow
|
|
upon any occasion whatsoever. We must
|
|
never say, "We will go to our grave mourning,"
|
|
because we know not what joyful days
|
|
Providence may yet reserve for us, and it is
|
|
our wisdom and duty to accommodate ourselves
|
|
to Providence.
|
|
|
|
[3.] We often perplex
|
|
ourselves with imaginary troubles. We fancy
|
|
things worse than they are, and then afflict
|
|
ourselves more than we need. Sometimes
|
|
there needs no more to comfort us than to
|
|
undeceive us: it is good to hope the best.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page217"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The Ishmaelites and Midianites having
|
|
bought Joseph only to make their market
|
|
of him, here we have him sold again (with
|
|
gain enough to the merchants, no doubt) to
|
|
Potiphar,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:36"><I>v.</I> 36</A>.
|
|
Jacob was lamenting the
|
|
loss of his life; had he known all he would
|
|
have lamented, though not so passionately,
|
|
the loss of liberty. Shall Jacob's freeborn
|
|
son exchange the best robe of his family
|
|
for the livery of an Egyptian lord, and all the
|
|
marks of servitude? How soon was the land
|
|
of Egypt made a house of bondage to the
|
|
seed of Jacob! Note, It is the wisdom of
|
|
parents not to bring up their children too
|
|
delicately, because they know not to what
|
|
hardships and mortifications Providence may
|
|
reduce them before they die. Jacob little
|
|
thought that ever his beloved Joseph would
|
|
be thus bought and sold for a servant.</P>
|
|
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|
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