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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter XLVII].</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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[<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="Page250"> </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. XLVII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have instances,
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I. Of Joseph's kindness and
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affection to his relations, presenting his brethren first and then
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his father to Pharaoh
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:1-10">ver. 1-10</A>),
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settling them in Goshen, and
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providing for them there
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:11,12">ver. 11, 12</A>),
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and paying his respects to
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his father when he sent for him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:27-31">ver. 27-31</A>.
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II. Of Joseph's
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justice between prince and people in a very critical affair, selling
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Pharaoh's corn to his subjects with reasonable profits to Pharaoh,
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and yet without any wrong to them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:13-26">ver. 13</A>,
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&c. Thus he
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approved himself wise and good, both in his private and in his
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public capacity.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge47_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_12"> </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>Pharaoh's Generosity; Jacob Presented to Pharaoh.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1706.</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 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh,
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and said, My father and
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my brethren, and their flocks, and
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their herds, and all that they have,
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<A NAME="Page251"> </A>
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are come out of the land of Canaan;
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and, behold, they <I>are</I> in the land of
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Goshen.
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2 And he took some of his
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brethren, <I>even</I> five men, and presented
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them unto Pharaoh.
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3 And Pharaoh
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said unto his brethren, What <I>is</I> your
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occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh,
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Thy servants <I>are</I> shepherds,
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both we, <I>and</I> also our fathers.
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4 They
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said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to
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sojourn in the land are we come; for
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thy servants have no pasture for their
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flocks; for the famine <I>is</I> sore in the
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land of Canaan: now therefore, we
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pray thee, let thy servants dwell in
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the land of Goshen.
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5 And Pharaoh
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spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father
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and thy brethren are come unto
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thee:
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6 The land of Egypt <I>is</I> before
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thee; in the best of the land make
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thy father and brethren to dwell;
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in the land of Goshen let them dwell:
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and if thou knowest <I>any</I> men of activity
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among them, then make them
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rulers over my cattle.
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7 And Joseph
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brought in Jacob his father, and set him
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before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed
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Pharaoh.
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8 And Pharaoh said unto
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Jacob, How old <I>art</I> thou?
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9 And
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Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of
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the years of my pilgrimage <I>are</I> a
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hundred and thirty years: few and
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evil have the days of the years of my
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life been, and have not attained unto
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the days of the years of the life of my
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fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
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10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and
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went out from before Pharaoh.
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11 And Joseph placed his father and his
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brethren, and gave them a possession
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in the land of Egypt, in the best of
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the land, in the land of Rameses, as
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Pharaoh had commanded.
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12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his
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brethren, and all his father's household,
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with bread, according to <I>their</I> families.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is, I. The respect which Joseph, as
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a subject, showed to his prince. Though he
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was his favourite, and prime-minister of
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state, and had had particular orders from
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him to send for his father down to Egypt,
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yet he would not suffer him to settle till he
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had given notice of it to Pharaoh,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Christ, our Joseph, disposes of his followers
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in his kingdom as it is prepared of his Father,
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saying, <I>It is not mine to give,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+20:23">Matt. xx. 23</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. The respect which Joseph, as a brother,
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showed to his brethren, notwithstanding all
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the unkindness he had formerly received
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from them.</P>
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<P>
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1. Though he was a great man, and they
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were comparatively mean and despicable,
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especially in Egypt, yet he owned them.
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Let those that are rich and great in the world
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learn hence not to overlook nor despise their
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poor relations. Every branch of the tree is
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not a top branch; but, because it is a lower
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branch, is it therefore not of the tree? Our
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Lord Jesus, like Joseph here, is not <I>ashamed
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to call us brethren.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. They being strangers and no courtiers,
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he introduced some of them to Pharaoh, <I>to
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kiss his hand,</I> as we say, intending thereby
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to put an honour upon them among the
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Egyptians. Thus Christ presents his brethren
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in the court of heaven, and improves
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his interest for them, though in themselves
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unworthy and <I>an abomination to the Egyptians.</I>
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Being presented to Pharaoh, according
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to the instructions which Joseph had given
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them, they tell him,
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(1.) What was their
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business--that they were shepherds,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Pharaoh asked them (and Joseph knew it
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would be one of his first questions,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+46:33"><I>ch.</I> xlvi. 33</A>),
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<I>What is your occupation?</I> He takes it
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for granted they had something to do, else
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Egypt should be no place for them, no harbour
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for idle vagrants. If they would not
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work, they should not eat of his bread in this
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time of scarcity. Note, All that have a
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place in the world should have an employment
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in it according to their capacity, some
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occupation or other, mental or manual.
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Those that need not work for their bread
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must yet have something to do, to keep them
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from idleness. Again, Magistrates should
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enquire into the occupation of their subjects,
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as those that have the care of the public
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welfare; for idle people are as drones in the
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hive, unprofitable burdens of the commonwealth.
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(2.) What was their business in
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Egypt--to sojourn in the land
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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not to
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settle there for ever, only to sojourn there
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for a time, while the famine so prevailed in
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Canaan, which lay high, that it was not
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habitable for shepherds, the grass being
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burnt up much more than in Egypt, which
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lay low, and where the corn chiefly failed,
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while there was tolerably good pasture.</P>
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<P>
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3. He obtained for them a grant of a settlement
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in the land of Goshen,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>.
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This
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was an instance of Pharaoh's gratitude to
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Joseph; because he had been such a blessing
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to him and his kingdom, he would be kind
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to his relations, purely for his sake. He offered
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them preferment as shepherds over his
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cattle, provided they were men of activity;
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for it is the man who is diligent in his business
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that shall stand before kings. And,
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whatever our profession or employment is,
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we should aim to be excellent in it, and
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to prove ourselves ingenious and industrious.</P>
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<P>
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III. The respect Joseph, as a son, showed
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to his father.</P>
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<P>
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1. He presented him to Pharaoh,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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And here,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) Pharaoh asks Jacob a common question:
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<I>How old art thou?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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A question
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usually put to old men, for it is natural to us
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to admire old age and to reverence it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+19:32">Lev. xix. 32</A>),
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as it is very unnatural and unbecoming
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to despise it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+3:5">Isa. iii. 5</A>.
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Jacob's
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countenance, no doubt, showed him to be
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very old, for he had been a man of labour
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and sorrow; in Egypt people were not so
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long-lived as in Canaan, and therefore Pharaoh
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looks upon Jacob with wonder; he was
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as a show in his court. When we are reflecting
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upon ourselves, this should come
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into the account, "How old are we?"</P>
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<P>
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(2.) Jacob gives Pharaoh an uncommon
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answer,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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He speaks as becomes a patriarch,
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with an air of seriousness, for the instruction
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of Pharaoh. Though our speech
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be not always of grace, yet it must thus be
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always with grace. Observe here,
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[1.] He
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calls his life <I>a pilgrimage,</I> looking upon himself
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as a stranger in this world, and a traveller
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towards another world: this earth his inn,
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not his home. To this the apostle refers
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:13">Heb. xi. 13</A>),
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<I>They confessed that they were
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strangers and pilgrims.</I> He not only reckoned
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himself a pilgrim now that he was in Egypt,
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a strange country in which he never was before;
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but his life, even in the land of his nativity,
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was a pilgrimage, and those who so
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reckon it can the better bear the inconvenience
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of banishment from their native soil;
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they are but pilgrims still, and so they were
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always.
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[2.] He reckons his life by <I>days;</I>
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for, even so, it is soon reckoned, and we are
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not sure of the continuance of it for a day to
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an end, but may be turned out of this tabernacle
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at less than an hour's warning. Let
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us therefore number our days
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+90:12">Ps. xc. 12</A>),
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and measure them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+39:4">Ps. xxxix. 4</A>.
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[3.] The
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character he gives of them is, <I>First,</I> That
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they were few. Though he had now lived
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130 years, they seemed to him but a few days,
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in comparison with the days of eternity, the
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eternal God, and the eternal state, in which a
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thousand years (longer than ever any man
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lived) are but as one day. <I>Secondly,</I> That
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they were evil. This is true concerning man
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in general, <I>he is of few days, and full of
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trouble</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+14:1">Job xiv. 1</A>);
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and, since his days are
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evil, it is well they are few. Jacob's life, particularly,
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had been made up of evil days;
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and the pleasantest days of his life were yet
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before him. <I>Thirdly,</I> That they were short
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of the days of his fathers, not so many, not
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so pleasant, as their days. Old age came
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sooner upon him than it had done upon
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some of his ancestors. As the young man
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should not be proud of his strength or beauty,
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so the old man should not be proud of his
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age, and the crown of his hoary hairs, though
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others justly reverence it; for those who are
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accounted very old attain not to the years of
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the patriarchs. The hoary head is a crown
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of glory only when it is found in the way of
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righteousness.</P>
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<P>
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(3.) Jacob both addresses himself to Pharaoh
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and takes leave of him with a blessing
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>Jacob blessed Pharaoh,</I> and again,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>,
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which was not only an act of civility (he paid
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him respect and returned him thanks for his
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kindness), but an act of piety--he prayed for
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him, as one having the authority of a prophet
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and a patriarch. Though in worldly wealth
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Pharaoh was the greater, yet, in interest with
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God, Jacob was the greater; he was God's
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anointed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+105:15">Ps. cv. 15</A>.
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And a patriarch's blessing
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was not a thing to be despised, no, not
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by a potent prince. Darius valued the prayers
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of the church for himself and for his sons,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ezr+6:10">Ezra vi. 10</A>.
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Pharaoh kindly received Jacob,
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and, whether in the name of a prophet or no,
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thus he had a prophet's reward, which sufficiently
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recompensed him, not only for his
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courteous converse with him, but for all the
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other kindnesses he showed to him and his.</P>
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<P>
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2. He provided well for him and his, <I>placed
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him in Goshen</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
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<I>nourished him</I> and all
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his with food convenient for them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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This bespeaks, not only Joseph a good man,
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who took this tender care of his poor relations,
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but God a good God, who raised him
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up for this purpose, and put him into a capacity
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of doing it, as Esther came to the
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kingdom for such a time as this. What God
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here did for Jacob he has, in effect, promised
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to do for all his, that serve him and trust in
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him.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:19">Ps. xxxvii. 19</A>,
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<I>In the days of famine
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they shall be satisfied.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Ge47_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge47_26"> </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>Distressed Occasioned by the Famine.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1706.</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>13 And <I>there was</I> no bread in all
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the land; for the famine <I>was</I> very sore,
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so that the land of Egypt and <I>all</I> the
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land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
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14 And Joseph gathered
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up all the money that was found in
|
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the land of Egypt, and in the land of
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Canaan, for the corn which they
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bought: and Joseph brought the
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money into Pharaoh's house.
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15 And
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when money failed in the land of
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Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all
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the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and
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said, Give us bread: for why should
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we die in thy presence? for the money
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faileth.
|
|
16 And Joseph said, Give
|
|
your cattle; and I will give you for
|
|
your cattle, if money fail.
|
|
17 And they
|
|
brought their cattle unto Joseph: and
|
|
Joseph gave them bread <I>in exchange</I>
|
|
for horses, and for the flocks, and for
|
|
the cattle of the herds, and for the
|
|
asses: and he fed them with bread
|
|
for all their cattle for that year.
|
|
18 When that year was ended, they came
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page253"> </A>
|
|
|
|
unto him the second year, and said
|
|
unto him, We will not hide <I>it</I> from
|
|
my lord, how that our money is spent;
|
|
my lord also hath our herds of cattle;
|
|
there is not ought left in the sight
|
|
of my lord, but our bodies, and our
|
|
lands:
|
|
19 Wherefore shall we die
|
|
before thine eyes, both we and our
|
|
land? buy us and our land for bread,
|
|
and we and our land will be servants
|
|
unto Pharaoh: and give <I>us</I> seed, that
|
|
we may live, and not die, that the land
|
|
be not desolate.
|
|
20 And Joseph
|
|
bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh;
|
|
for the Egyptians sold every
|
|
man his field, because the famine prevailed
|
|
over them: so the land became
|
|
Pharaoh's.
|
|
21 And as for the people,
|
|
he removed them to cities from <I>one</I>
|
|
end of the borders of Egypt even to
|
|
the <I>other</I> end thereof.
|
|
22 Only the
|
|
land of the priests bought he not; for
|
|
the priests had a portion <I>assigned
|
|
them</I> of Pharaoh, and did eat their
|
|
portion which Pharaoh gave them:
|
|
wherefore they sold not their lands.
|
|
23 Then Joseph said unto the people,
|
|
Behold, I have bought you this day
|
|
and your land for Pharaoh: lo, <I>here
|
|
is</I> seed for you, and ye shall sow the
|
|
land.
|
|
24 And it shall come to pass
|
|
in the increase, that ye shall give the
|
|
fifth <I>part</I> unto Pharaoh, and four parts
|
|
shall be your own, for seed of the field,
|
|
and for your food, and for them of
|
|
your households, and for food for your
|
|
little ones.
|
|
25 And they said, Thou
|
|
hast saved our lives: let us find grace
|
|
in the sight of my lord, and we will
|
|
be Pharaoh's servants.
|
|
26 And Joseph
|
|
made it a law over the land of
|
|
Egypt unto this day, <I>that</I> Pharaoh
|
|
should have the fifth <I>part;</I> except the
|
|
land of the priests only, <I>which</I> became
|
|
not Pharaoh's.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Care being taken of Jacob and his family,
|
|
the preservation of which was especially designed
|
|
by Providence in Joseph's advancement,
|
|
an account is now given of the saving
|
|
of the kingdom of Egypt too from ruin; for
|
|
God is King of nations as well as King of
|
|
saints, and provideth food for all flesh. Joseph
|
|
now returns to the management of that
|
|
great trust which Pharaoh had lodged in his
|
|
hand. It would have been pleasing enough
|
|
to him to have gone and lived with his father
|
|
and brethren in Goshen; but his employment
|
|
would not permit it. When he had
|
|
seen his father, and seen him well settled, he
|
|
applied himself as closely as ever to the execution
|
|
of his office. Note, Even natural
|
|
affection must give way to necessary business.
|
|
Parents and children must be content to be
|
|
absent one from another, when it is necessary,
|
|
on either side, for the service of God or their
|
|
generation. In Joseph's transactions with
|
|
the Egyptians observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The great extremity that Egypt, and the
|
|
parts adjacent, were reduced to by the famine.
|
|
There was no bread, and they <I>fainted</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
they were ready to die,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:15,19"><I>v.</I> 15, 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. See
|
|
here what a dependence we have upon God's
|
|
providence. If its usual favours are suspended
|
|
but for a while, we die, we perish, we
|
|
all perish. All our wealth would not keep
|
|
us from starving if the rain of heaven were
|
|
but withheld for two or three years. See
|
|
how much we lie at God's mercy, and let us
|
|
keep ourselves always in his love.
|
|
|
|
2. See
|
|
how much we smart by our own improvidence.
|
|
If all the Egyptians had done for
|
|
themselves in the seven years of plenty as
|
|
Joseph did for Pharaoh, they had not been
|
|
now in these straits; but they regarded not
|
|
the warning they had of the years of famine,
|
|
concluding that to-morrow shall be as this
|
|
day, next year as this, and much more abundant.
|
|
Note, Because man knows not his
|
|
time (his time of gathering when he has it)
|
|
therefore his misery is great upon him when
|
|
the spending time comes,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+8:6,7">Eccl. viii. 6, 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. See how early God put a difference between
|
|
the Egyptians and the Israelites, as
|
|
afterwards in the plagues,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+8:22,9:4,10:23">Exod. viii. 22; ix. 4, 26; x. 23</A>.
|
|
Jacob and his family,
|
|
though strangers, were plentifully fed on free
|
|
cost, while the Egyptians were dying for
|
|
want. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+65:13">Isa. lxv. 13</A>,
|
|
<I>My servants shall
|
|
eat, but you shall be hungry. Happy art thou,
|
|
O Israel.</I> Whoever wants, God's children
|
|
shall not,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+34:10">Ps. xxxiv. 10</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The price they had come up to, for
|
|
their supply, in this exigency.
|
|
|
|
1. They parted
|
|
with all their money which they had hoarded
|
|
up,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
Silver and gold would not feed
|
|
them, they must have corn. All the money
|
|
of the kingdom was by this means brought
|
|
into the exchequer.
|
|
|
|
2. When the money
|
|
failed, they parted with all their cattle, those
|
|
for labour, as the horses and asses, and those
|
|
for food, as the flocks and the herds,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
By this it should seem that we may better
|
|
live upon bread without flesh than upon flesh
|
|
without bread. We may suppose they parted
|
|
the more easily with their cattle because they
|
|
had little or no grass for them; and now
|
|
Pharaoh saw in reality what he had before
|
|
seen in vision, nothing but lean kine.
|
|
|
|
3. When they had sold their stocks off their land,
|
|
it was easy to persuade themselves (rather than
|
|
starve) to sell their land too; for what good
|
|
would that do them, when they had neither
|
|
corn to sow it nor cattle to eat of it? They
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page253"> </A>
|
|
|
|
therefore sold that next, for a further supply
|
|
of corn.
|
|
|
|
4. When their land was sold, so
|
|
that they had nothing to live on, they must
|
|
of course sell themselves, that they might
|
|
live purely upon their labour, and hold their
|
|
lands by the base tenure of villanage, at the
|
|
courtesy of the crown. Note, <I>Skin for skin,
|
|
and all that a man hath,</I> even liberty and property
|
|
(those darling twins), <I>will he give for his
|
|
life;</I> for life is sweet. There are few (though
|
|
perhaps there are some) who would even dare
|
|
to die rather than live in slavery, and dependence
|
|
on an arbitrary power. And perhaps
|
|
there are those who, in that case, could
|
|
die by the sword, in a heat, who yet could
|
|
not deliberately die by famine, which is much
|
|
worse,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=La+4:9">Lam. iv. 9</A>.
|
|
Now it was a great mercy
|
|
to the Egyptians that, in this distress, they
|
|
could have corn at any rate; if they had all
|
|
died for hunger, their lands perhaps would
|
|
have escheated to the crown of course, for
|
|
want of heirs; they therefore resolved to make
|
|
the best of bad.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The method which Joseph took to
|
|
accommodate the matter between prince and
|
|
people, so that the prince might have his just
|
|
advantage, and yet the people not be quite
|
|
ruined.
|
|
|
|
1. For their lands, he needed not come
|
|
to any bargain with them while the years of
|
|
famine lasted; but when these were over (for
|
|
God will not contend for ever, nor will he be
|
|
always wroth) he came to an agreement,
|
|
which it seems both sides were pleased with,
|
|
that the people should occupy and enjoy the
|
|
lands, as he thought fit to assign them, and
|
|
should have seed to sow them with out of the
|
|
king's stores, for their own proper use and
|
|
behoof, yielding and paying only a fifth part
|
|
of the yearly profits as a chief rent to the
|
|
crown. This became a standing law,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
And it was a very good bargain to have food
|
|
for their lands, when otherwise they and
|
|
theirs must have starved, and then to have
|
|
their lands again upon such easy terms.
|
|
Note, Those ministers of state are worthy of
|
|
double honour, both for wisdom and integrity,
|
|
that keep the balance even between prince
|
|
and people, so that liberty and property may
|
|
not intrench upon prerogative, nor the prerogative
|
|
bear hard upon liberty and property:
|
|
in the multitude of such counsellors there is
|
|
safety. If afterwards the Egyptians thought
|
|
it hard to pay so great a duty to the king out
|
|
of their lands, they must remember, not only
|
|
how just, but how kind, the first imposing of
|
|
it was. They might thankfully pay a fifth
|
|
where all was due. It is observable how
|
|
faithful Joseph was to him that appointed
|
|
him. He did not put the money into his
|
|
own pocket, nor entail the lands upon his
|
|
own family; but converted both entirely to
|
|
Pharaoh's use; and therefore we do not find
|
|
that his posterity went out of Egypt any
|
|
richer than the rest of their poor brethren.
|
|
Those in public trusts, if they raise great
|
|
estates, must take heed that it be not at the
|
|
expense of a good conscience, which is much
|
|
more valuable.
|
|
|
|
2. For their persons, he removed
|
|
them to cities,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
He transplanted
|
|
them, to show Pharaoh's sovereign power
|
|
over them, and that they might, in time, forget
|
|
their titles to their lands, and be the more
|
|
easily reconciled to their new condition of
|
|
servitude. The Jewish writers say, "He removed
|
|
them thus from their former habitations
|
|
because they reproached his brethren
|
|
as strangers, to silence which reproach they
|
|
were all made, in effect, strangers." See
|
|
what changes a little time may make with a
|
|
people, and how soon God can empty those
|
|
from vessel to vessel who had settled upon
|
|
their lees. How hard soever this seems to
|
|
have been upon them, they themselves were
|
|
at this time sensible of it as a very great
|
|
kindness, and were thankful they were not
|
|
worse used: <I>Thou hast saved our lives,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
Note, There is good reason that the Saviour
|
|
of our lives should be the Master of our lives.
|
|
"Thou hast saved us; do what thou wilt
|
|
with us."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The reservation he made in favour of
|
|
the priests. They were maintained on free
|
|
cost, so that they needed not to sell their
|
|
lands,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
<I>All people will thus walk in the
|
|
name of their God;</I> they will be kind to those
|
|
that attend the public service of their God,
|
|
and that minister to them in holy things; and
|
|
we should, in like manner, honour our God,
|
|
by esteeming his ministers highly in love for
|
|
their work's sake.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge47_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge47_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge47_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge47_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge47_31"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Jacob's Charge Concerning His Burial.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1706.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>27 And Israel dwelt in the land of
|
|
Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and
|
|
they had possessions therein, and
|
|
grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
|
|
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt
|
|
seventeen years: so the whole age of
|
|
Jacob was a hundred forty and seven
|
|
years.
|
|
29 And the time drew nigh
|
|
that Israel must die: and he called
|
|
his son Joseph, and said unto him, If
|
|
now I have found grace in thy sight,
|
|
put, I pray thee, thy hand under my
|
|
thigh, and deal kindly and truly with
|
|
me; bury me not, I pray thee, in
|
|
Egypt:
|
|
30 But I will lie with my
|
|
fathers, and thou shalt carry me out
|
|
of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace.
|
|
And he said, I will do as
|
|
thou hast said.
|
|
31 And he said, Swear
|
|
unto me. And he sware unto him. And
|
|
Israel bowed himself upon the bed's
|
|
head.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. The comfort Jacob lived in
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:27,28"><I>v.</I> 27, 28</A>);
|
|
while the Egyptians were impoverished
|
|
in their own land, Jacob was replenished
|
|
in a strange land. He lived
|
|
seventeen years after he came into Egypt,
|
|
far beyond his own expectation. Seventeen
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page255"> </A>
|
|
|
|
years he had nourished Joseph (for so old he
|
|
was when he was sold from him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+37:2"><I>ch.</I> xxxvii. 2</A>),
|
|
and now, by way of requital, seventeen
|
|
years Joseph nourished him. Observe how
|
|
kindly Providence ordered Jacob's affairs,
|
|
that when he was old, and least able to bear
|
|
care or fatigue, he had least occasion for it,
|
|
being well provided for by his son without
|
|
his own forecast. Thus God considers the
|
|
frame of his people.
|
|
|
|
2. The care Jacob died
|
|
in. At last <I>the time drew nigh that Israel
|
|
must die,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
|
|
Israel, a prince with God,
|
|
that had power over the angel and prevailed,
|
|
yet must yield to death. There is no remedy,
|
|
he <I>must die:</I> it is appointed for all men,
|
|
therefore for him; and there is no discharge
|
|
in that war. Joseph supplied him with
|
|
bread, that he might not die by famine; but
|
|
this did not secure him from dying by age or
|
|
sickness. He died by degrees; his candle
|
|
was not blown out, but gradually burnt down
|
|
to the socket, so that he saw, at some distance,
|
|
the time drawing nigh. Note, It is
|
|
an improvable advantage to see the approach
|
|
of death before we feel its arrests, that we
|
|
may be quickened to do what our hand finds
|
|
to do with all our might: however, it is not
|
|
far from any of us. Now Jacob's care, as he
|
|
saw the day approaching, was about his
|
|
burial, not the pomp of it (he was no way
|
|
solicitous about that), but the place of it.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He would be buried in Canaan. This
|
|
he resolved on, not from mere humour, because
|
|
Canaan was the land of his nativity,
|
|
but in faith, because it was the land of promise
|
|
(which he desired thus, as it were, to
|
|
keep possession of, till the time should come
|
|
when his posterity should be masters of it),
|
|
and because it was a type of heaven, that
|
|
better country which he that said these
|
|
things declared plainly that he was in expectation
|
|
of,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:14">Heb. xi. 14</A>.
|
|
He aimed at a good
|
|
land, which would be his rest and bliss on
|
|
the other side death.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He would have
|
|
Joseph sworn to bring him thither to be
|
|
buried
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:29,31"><I>v.</I> 29, 31</A>),
|
|
that Joseph, being under
|
|
such a solemn obligation to do it, might
|
|
have that to answer to the objections which
|
|
otherwise might have been made against it,
|
|
and for the greater satisfaction of Jacob now
|
|
in his dying minutes. Nothing will better
|
|
help to make a death-bed easy than the certain
|
|
prospect of a rest in Canaan after death.
|
|
|
|
(3.) When this was done <I>Israel bowed himself
|
|
upon the bed's head,</I> yielding himself, as
|
|
it were, to the stroke of death ("Now let it
|
|
come, and it shall be welcome"), or worshipping
|
|
God, as it is explained,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:21">Heb. xi. 21</A>,
|
|
giving God thanks for all his favours, and
|
|
particularly for this, that Joseph was ready,
|
|
not only to put his hand upon his eyes to
|
|
close them, but under his thigh to give him
|
|
the satisfaction he desired concerning his
|
|
burial. Thus those that go down to the
|
|
dust should, with humble thankfulness, bow
|
|
before God, the God of their mercies,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+22:29">Ps. xxii. 29</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
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