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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter XLIV].</TITLE>
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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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<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
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<TR>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC01043.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC01045.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<HR>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page240"> </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. XLIV.</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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Joseph, having entertained his brethren, dismissed them; but here
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we have them brought back in a greater fright than any they
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had been in yet. Observe,
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I. What method he took both to
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humble them further and also to try their affection to his brother
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Benjamin, by which he would be able to judge of the sincerity of
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their repentance for what they had done against himself, of which
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he was desirous to be satisfied before he manifested his reconciliation
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to them. This he contrived to do by bringing Benjamin
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into distress,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:1-17">ver. 1-17</A>.
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II. The good success of the experiment;
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he found them all heartily concerned, and Judah particularly,
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both for the safety of Benjamin and for the comfort of
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their aged father,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:18-34">ver. 18</A>,
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&c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge44_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_17"> </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>Joseph's Policy.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1707.</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 he commanded the steward
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of his house, saying, Fill the
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men's sacks <I>with</I> food, as much as
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they can carry, and put every man's
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money in his sack's mouth.
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2 And
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put my cup, the silver cup, in the
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sack's mouth of the youngest, and his
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corn money. And he did according
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to the word that Joseph had spoken.
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3 As soon as the morning was light,
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the men were sent away, they and
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their asses.
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4 <I>And</I> when they were
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gone out of the city, <I>and</I> not <I>yet</I> far
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off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up,
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follow after the men; and when thou
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dost overtake them, say unto them,
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Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for
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good?
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5 <I>Is</I> not this <I>it</I> in which my
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lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he
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divineth? ye have done evil in so
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doing.
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6 And he overtook them, and
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he spake unto them these same words.
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7 And they said unto him, Wherefore
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saith my lord these words? God
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forbid that thy servants should do according
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to this thing:
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8 Behold, the
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money, which we found in our sacks'
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mouths, we brought again unto thee
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out of the land of Canaan: how then
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should we steal out of thy lord's house
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silver or gold?
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9 With whomsoever
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of thy servants it be found, both let
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him die, and we also will be my lord's
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bondmen.
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10 And he said, Now also
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<I>let</I> it <I>be</I> according unto your words:
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he with whom it is found shall be my
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servant; and ye shall be blameless.
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11 Then they speedily took down
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every man his sack to the ground, and
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opened every man his sack.
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12 And
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he searched, <I>and</I> began at the eldest,
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and left at the youngest: and the cup
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was found in Benjamin's sack.
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13 Then they rent their clothes, and laded
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every man his ass, and returned to the
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city.
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14 And Judah and his brethren
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came to Joseph's house; for he <I>was</I>
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yet there: and they fell before him
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on the ground.
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15 And Joseph said
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unto them, What deed <I>is</I> this that ye have
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done? wot ye not that such a
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man as I can certainly divine?
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16 And Judah said, What shall we say
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unto my lord? what shall we speak?
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or how shall we clear ourselves? God
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hath found out the iniquity of thy
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servants: behold, we <I>are</I> my lord's
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servants, both we, and <I>he</I> also with
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whom the cup is found.
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17 And he
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said, God forbid that I should do so:
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<I>but</I> the man in whose hand the cup is
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found, he shall be my servant; and
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as for you, get you up in peace unto
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your father.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Joseph heaps further kindnesses upon his
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brethren, fills their sacks, returns their
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money, and sends them away full of gladness;
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but he also exercises them with further
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trials. Our God thus humbles those
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whom he loves and loads with benefits.
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Joseph ordered his steward to put a fine
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silver cup which he had (and which, it is
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likely, was used at his table when they dined
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with him) into Benjamin's sack's mouth,
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that it might seem as if he had stolen it
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from the table, and put it here himself, after
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his corn was delivered to him. If Benjamin
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had stolen it, it had been the basest piece of
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dishonesty and ingratitude that could be
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<A NAME="Page241"> </A>
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and if Joseph, by ordering it to be there,
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had designed really to take advantage against
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him, it had been in him most horrid cruelty
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and oppression; but it proved, in the issue,
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that there was no harm done, nor any designed,
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on either side. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. How the pretended criminals were pursued
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and arrested, on suspicion of having
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stolen a silver cup. The steward charged
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them with ingratitude--rewarding evil for
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good; and with folly, in taking away a cup
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of daily use, and which therefore would soon
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be missed, and diligent search made for it;
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for so it may be read: <I>Is not this it in which
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my lord drinketh</I> (as having a particular fondness
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for it), <I>and for which he would search
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thoroughly?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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Or, "By which, leaving
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it carelessly at your table, he would make
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trial whether you were honest men or no."</P>
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<P>
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II. How they pleaded for themselves.
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They solemnly protested their innocence,
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and detestation of so base a thing
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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urged it as an instance of their honesty that
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they had brought their money back
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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and offered to submit to the severest punishment
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if they should be found guilty,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.</P>
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<P>
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III. How the theft was fastened upon
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Benjamin. In his sack the cup was found
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to whom Joseph had been particularly kind.
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Benjamin, no doubt, was ready to deny,
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upon oath, the taking of the cup, and we
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may suppose him as little liable to suspicion
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as any of them; but it is in vain to confront
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such notorious evidence: the cup is found
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in his custody; they dare not arraign
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Joseph's justice, nor so much as suggest
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that perhaps he that had put their money
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in their sacks' mouths had put the cup there;
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but they throw themselves upon Joseph's
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mercy. And,</P>
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<P>
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IV. Here is their humble submission,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
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1. They acknowledge the righteousness of
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God: <I>God hath found out the iniquity of thy
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servants,</I> perhaps referring to the injury they
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had formerly done to Joseph, for which they
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thought God was now reckoning with them.
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Note, Even in those afflictions wherein we
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apprehend ourselves wronged by men yet
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we must own that God is righteous, and
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finds out our iniquity.
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2. They surrender
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themselves prisoners to Joseph: <I>We are my
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lord's servants.</I> Now Joseph's dreams were
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accomplished to the utmost. Their bowing
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so often, and doing homage, might be looked
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upon but as a compliment, and no more than
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what other strangers did; but the construction
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they themselves, in their pride, had put
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upon his dreams was, <I>Shalt though have dominion
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over us?</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:8"><I>ch.</I> xxxvii. 8</A>),
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and in this
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sense it is now at length fulfilled,; they own
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themselves his vassals. Since they did invidiously
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so understand it, so it shall be fulfilled
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in them.</P>
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<P>
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V. Joseph, with an air of justice, gives
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sentence that Benjamin only should be kept
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in bondage, and the rest should be dismissed;
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for why should any suffer but the guilty?
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Perhaps Joseph intended hereby to try Benjamin's
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temper, whether he could bear such
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a hardship as this with the calmness and
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composure of mind that became a wise and
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good man: in short, whether he was indeed
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his own brother, in <I>spirit</I> as well as <I>blood;</I>
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for Joseph himself had been falsely accused,
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and had suffered hard things in consequence,
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and yet kept possession of his own soul.
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However, it is plain he intended hereby to
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try the affection of his brethren to Benjamin
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and to their father. If they had gone away
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contentedly, and left Benjamin in bonds, no
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doubt Joseph would soon have released and
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promoted him, and sent notice to Jacob,
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and would have left the rest of his brethren
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justly to suffer for their hard-heartedness;
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but they proved to be better affected to Benjamin
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than he feared. Note, We cannot
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judge what men are by what they have been
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formerly, nor what they will do by what they
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have done: age and experience may make
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men wiser and better. Those that had sold
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Joseph would not now abandon Benjamin.
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The worst may mend in time.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge44_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_28"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_29"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_30"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_31"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_32"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_33"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge44_34"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Judah's Appeal on Behalf of Benjamin.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1707.</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>18 Then Judah came near unto him,
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and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant,
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I pray thee, speak a word in my
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lord's ears, and let not thine anger
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burn against thy servant: for thou
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<I>art</I> even as Pharaoh.
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19 My lord
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asked his servants, saying, Have ye a
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father, or a brother?
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20 And we said
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unto my lord, We have a father, an
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old man, and a child of his old age, a
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little one; and his brother is dead, and
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he alone is left of his mother, and his
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father loveth him.
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21 And thou saidst
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unto thy servants, Bring him down
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unto me, that I may set mine eyes
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upon him.
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22 And we said unto my
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lord, The lad cannot leave his father:
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for <I>if</I> he should leave his father, <I>his
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father</I> would die.
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23 And thou
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saidst unto thy servants, Except your
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youngest brother come down with you,
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ye shall see my face no more.
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24 And
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it came to pass when we came up unto
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thy servant my father, we told him
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the words of my lord.
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25 And our
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father said, Go again, <I>and</I> buy us a
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little food.
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26 And we said, We cannot
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go down: if our youngest brother
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be with us, then will we go down: for
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we may not see the man's face, except
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our youngest brother <I>be</I> with us.
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27 And thy servant my father said
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unto us, Ye know that my wife bare
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me two <I>sons:</I>
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28 And the one went
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<A NAME="Page242"> </A>
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out from me, and I said, Surely he is
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torn in pieces; and I saw him not
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since:
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29 And if ye take this also
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from me, and mischief befall him, ye
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shall bring down my gray hairs with
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sorrow to the grave.
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30 Now therefore
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when I come to thy servant my
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father, and the lad <I>be</I> not with us;
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seeing that his life is bound up in the
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lad's life;
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31 It shall come to pass,
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when he seeth that the lad <I>is</I> not <I>with
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us,</I> that he will die: and thy servants
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shall bring down the gray hairs of thy
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servant our father with sorrow to the
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grave.
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32 For thy servant became
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surety for the lad unto my father,
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saying, If I bring him not unto thee,
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then I shall bear the blame to my father
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for ever.
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33 Now therefore, I
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pray thee, let thy servant abide instead
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of the lad a bondman to my
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lord; and let the lad go up with his
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brethren.
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34 For how shall I go up
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to my father, and the lad <I>be</I> not with
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me? lest peradventure I see the evil
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that shall come on my father.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here a most ingenious and pathetic
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speech which Judah made to Joseph
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on Benjamin's behalf, to obtain his discharge
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from the sentence passed upon him. Perhaps
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Judah was a better friend to Benjamin than
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the rest were, and more solicitous to bring
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him off; or he thought himself under greater
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obligations to attempt it than the rest, because
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he had passed his word to his father for his
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safe return; or the rest chose him for their
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spokesman, because he was a man of better
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sense, and better spirit, and had a greater
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command of language than any of them.
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His address, as it is here recorded, is so very
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natural and so expressive of his present feelings
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that we cannot but suppose Moses, who
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wrote it so long after, to have written it under
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the special direction of him that made man's
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mouth.</P>
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<P>
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I. A great deal of unaffected art, and unstudied
|
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unforced rhetoric, there is in this
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speech.
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1. He addresses himself to Joseph
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with a great deal of respect and deference,
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calls him his <I>lord,</I> himself and his brethren
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his <I>servants,</I> begs his patient hearing, and
|
|
ascribes sovereign authority to him: "<I>Thou
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art even as Pharaoh,</I> one whose favour we
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|
desire and whose wrath we dread as we do
|
|
Pharaoh's." Religion does not destroy good
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|
manners, and it is prudence to speak respectfully
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to those at whose mercy we lie: titles
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|
of honour to those that are entitled to them
|
|
are not flattering titles.
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2. He represented
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Benjamin as one well worthy of his compassionate
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consideration
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>);
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he was <I>a little
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one,</I> compared with the rest of them; the
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youngest, not acquainted with the world, nor
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ever inured to hardship, having always been
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brought up tenderly with his father. It
|
|
made the case the more pitiable that he alone
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was left of his mother, and his brother was
|
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dead, namely, <I>Joseph.</I> Little did Judah
|
|
think what a tender point he touched upon
|
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now. Judah knew that Joseph was sold,
|
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and therefore had reason enough to think
|
|
that he was alive; at least he could not be
|
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sure that he was dead: but they had made
|
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their father believe he was dead; and now
|
|
they had told that lie so long that they had
|
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forgotten the truth, and begun to believe
|
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the lie themselves.
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3. He urged it very
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closely that Joseph had himself constrained
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them to bring Benjamin with them, had expressed
|
|
a desire to see him
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
|
|
and had
|
|
forbidden them his presence unless they
|
|
brought Benjamin with them
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:23,26"><I>v.</I> 23, 26</A>),
|
|
all which intimated that he designed him some
|
|
kindness; and must he be brought with so
|
|
much difficulty to the preferment of a perpetual
|
|
slavery? Was he not brought to Egypt, in
|
|
obedience, purely in obedience, to the command
|
|
of Joseph? and would he not show
|
|
him some mercy? Some observe that Jacob's
|
|
sons, in reasoning with their father, had
|
|
said, <I>We will not go down unless Benjamin go
|
|
with us</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+43:5"><I>ch.</I> xliii. 5</A>);
|
|
but that when Judah
|
|
comes to relate the story he expresses it more
|
|
decently: "<I>We cannot go down</I> with any expectation
|
|
to speed well." Indecent words
|
|
spoken in haste to our superiors should be
|
|
recalled and amended.
|
|
|
|
4. The great argument
|
|
he insisted upon was the insupportable
|
|
grief it would be to his aged father if Benjamin
|
|
should be left behind in servitude:
|
|
<I>His father loveth him,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
This they had
|
|
pleaded against Joseph's insisting on his
|
|
coming down
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
|
|
"<I>If he should leave his
|
|
father, his father would die;</I> much more if
|
|
now he be left behind, never more to return
|
|
to him." This the old man, of whom they
|
|
spoke, had pleaded against his going down:
|
|
<I>If mischief befal him, you shall bring down
|
|
my gray hairs,</I> that crown of glory, <I>with sorrow
|
|
to the grave,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
|
|
This therefore Judah
|
|
presses with a great deal of earnestness:
|
|
"<I>His life is bound up in the lad's life</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>);
|
|
when he sees that the lad is not
|
|
with us, he will faint away, and die immediately
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>),
|
|
or will abandon himself to
|
|
such a degree of sorrow as will, in a few
|
|
days, make an end of him." And, <I>lastly,</I>
|
|
Judah pleads that, for his part, he could
|
|
not bear to see this: <I>Let me not see the evil
|
|
that shall come on my father,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:34"><I>v.</I> 34</A>.
|
|
Note, It
|
|
is the duty of children to be very tender of
|
|
their parents' comfort, and to be afraid of
|
|
every thing that may be an occasion of grief
|
|
to them. Thus the love that descended
|
|
first must again ascend, and something must
|
|
be done towards a recompense for their care.
|
|
|
|
5. Judah, in honour to the justice of Joseph's
|
|
sentence, and to show his sincerity in this
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page243"> </A>
|
|
|
|
plea, offers himself to become a bondsman
|
|
instead of Benjamin,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:33"><I>v.</I> 33</A>.
|
|
Thus the law
|
|
would be satisfied; Joseph would be no
|
|
loser (for we may suppose Judah a more
|
|
able-bodied man than Benjamin, and fitter
|
|
for service); and Jacob would better bear
|
|
the loss of him than of Benjamin. Now, so
|
|
far was he from grieving at his father's particular
|
|
fondness for Benjamin, that he was
|
|
himself willing to be a bondman to indulge it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Now, had Joseph been, as Judah supposed
|
|
him, an utter stranger to the family, yet
|
|
even common humanity could not but be
|
|
wrought upon by such powerful reasonings
|
|
as these; for nothing could be said more
|
|
moving, more tender; it was enough to melt
|
|
a heart of stone. But to Joseph, who was
|
|
nearer akin to Benjamin than Judah himself
|
|
was, and who, at this time, felt a greater
|
|
affection both for him and his aged father
|
|
than Judah did, nothing could be more
|
|
pleasingly nor more happily said. Neither
|
|
Jacob nor Benjamin needed an intercessor
|
|
with Joseph; for he himself loved them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Upon the whole matter let us take
|
|
notice,
|
|
|
|
1. How prudently Judah suppressed
|
|
all mention of the crime that was charged
|
|
upon Benjamin. Had he said any thing by
|
|
way of acknowledgment of it, he would have
|
|
reflected on Benjamin's honesty, and seemed
|
|
too forward to suspect that; had he said
|
|
any thing by way of denial of it, he would
|
|
have reflected on Joseph's justice, and the
|
|
sentence he had passed: therefore he wholly
|
|
waives that head, and appeals to Joseph's
|
|
pity. Compare with this that of Job, in
|
|
humbling himself before God
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+9:15">Job ix. 15</A>),
|
|
<I>Though I were righteous, yet would I not answer;</I>
|
|
I would not argue, but petition; <I>I
|
|
would make supplication to my Judge.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. What good reason dying Jacob had to say,
|
|
<I>Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall
|
|
praise</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+49:8"><I>ch.</I> xlix. 8</A>),
|
|
for he excelled them all
|
|
in boldness, wisdom, eloquence, and especially
|
|
tenderness for their father and family.
|
|
|
|
3. Judah's faithful adherence to Benjamin,
|
|
now in his distress, was recompensed long
|
|
after by the constant adherence of the tribe
|
|
of Benjamin to the tribe of Judah, when all
|
|
the other ten tribes deserted it.
|
|
|
|
4. How
|
|
fitly does the apostle, when he is discoursing
|
|
of the mediation of Christ, observe, that <I>our
|
|
Lord sprang out of Judah</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+7:14">Heb. vii. 14</A>);
|
|
for, like his father Judah, he not only <I>made intercession
|
|
for the transgressors,</I> but he became
|
|
a surety for them, as it follows there
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+44:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
|
|
testifying therein a very tender concern both
|
|
for his father and for his brethren.</P>
|
|
|
|
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