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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter XLII].</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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[<A HREF="MHC01041.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC01043.HTM">Next</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="Page232"> </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. XLII.</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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We had, in the foregoing chapter, the fulfilling of the dreams which
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Joseph had interpreted: in this and the following chapters we
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have the fulfilling of the dreams which Joseph himself had
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dreamed, that his father's family should do homage to him.
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The story is very largely and particularly related of what passed
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between Joseph and his brethren, not only because it is an entertaining
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story, and probably was much talked of, both among the
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Israelites and among the Egyptians, but because it is very
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instructive, and it gave occasion for the removal of Jacob's
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family into Egypt, on which so many great events afterwards
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depended. We have, in this chapter,
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I. The humble application
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of Jacob's sons to Joseph to buy corn,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
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II. The fright
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Joseph put them into, for their trial,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:7-20">ver. 7-20</A>.
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III. The conviction
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they were now under of their sin concerning Joseph long
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before,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:21-24">ver. 21-24</A>.
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IV. Their return to Canaan with corn, and
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the great distress their good father was in upon hearing the
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account of their expedition,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:25-38">ver. 25</A>,
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&c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge42_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_6"> </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>Jacob Sends to Egypt to Buy Corn.</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 Now when Jacob saw that there
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was corn in Egypt, Jacob said
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unto his sons, Why do ye look one
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upon another?
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2 And he said, Behold,
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I have heard that there is corn
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in Egypt: get you down thither, and
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buy for us from thence; that we may
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live, and not die.
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3 And Joseph's ten
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brethren went down to buy corn in
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Egypt.
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4 But Benjamin, Joseph's
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brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren;
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for he said, Lest peradventure
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mischief befal him.
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5 And the sons
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of Israel came to buy <I>corn</I> among
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those that came: for the famine was
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in the land of Canaan.
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6 And Joseph
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<I>was</I> the governor over the land,
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<I>and</I> he <I>it was</I> that sold to all the people
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of the land: and Joseph's brethren
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came, and bowed down themselves before
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him <I>with</I> their faces to the earth.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Though Jacob's sons were all married, and
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had families of their own, yet, it should
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seem, they were still incorporated in one society,
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under the conduct and presidency of
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their father Jacob. We have here,</P>
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<P>
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I. The orders he gave them to go and buy
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corn in Egypt,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>.
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Observe,
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1. The
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famine was grievous in the land of Canaan.
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It is observable that all the three patriarchs,
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to whom Canaan was the land of promise,
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met with famine in that land, which was not
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only to try their faith, whether they could
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trust God though he should slay them,
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though he should starve them, but to teach
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them to seek the better country, that is, the
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heavenly,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:14-16">Heb. xi. 14-16</A>.
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We have need
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of something to wean us from this world,
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and make us long for a better.
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2. Still,
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when there was famine in Canaan, there was
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corn in Egypt. Thus Providence orders it,
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that one place should be a succour and supply
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to another; for we are all brethren. The
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Egyptians, the seed of accursed Ham, have
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plenty, when God's blessed Israel want:
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thus God, in dispensing common favours,
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often crosses hands. Yet observe, The plenty
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Egypt now had was owing, under God, to
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Joseph's prudence and care: if his brethren
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had not sold him into Egypt, but respected
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him according to his merits, who knows but
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he might have done the same thing for
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Jacob's family which now he had done for
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Pharaoh, and the Egyptians might then have
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come to them to buy corn? but those who
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drive away from among them wise and good
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men know not what they do.
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3. <I>Jacob saw
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that there was corn in Egypt;</I> he saw the
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corn that his neighbours had bought there
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and brought home. It is a spur to exertion
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to see where supplies are to be had, and to
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see others supplied. Shall others get food
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for their souls, and shall we starve while it is
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to be had?
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4. He reproved his sons for
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delaying to provide corn for their families.
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<I>Why do you look one upon another?</I> Note,
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When we are in trouble and want, it is folly
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for us to stand looking upon one another,
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that is, to stand desponding and despairing,
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as if there were no hope, no help,--to stand
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disputing either which shall have the honour
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of going first or which shall have the safety
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of coming last,--to stand deliberating and
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debating what we shall do, and doing nothing,--to
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stand dreaming under a spirit of
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slumber, as if we had nothing to do, and to
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stand delaying, as if we had time at command.
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Let it never be said, "We left that
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to be done to-morrow which we could as
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well have done to-day."
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5. He quickened
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them to go to Egypt: <I>Get you down thither.</I>
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Masters of families must not only pray for
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daily bread for their families, and food convenient,
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<A NAME="Page233"> </A>
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but must lay out themselves with
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care and industry to provide it.</P>
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<P>
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II. Their obedience to these orders,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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They <I>went down to buy corn;</I> they did not
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send their servants, but very prudently went
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themselves, to lay out their own money.
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Let none think themselves too great nor too
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good to take pains. Masters of families
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should see with their own eyes, and take
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heed of leaving too much to servants. Only
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Benjamin went not with them, for he was
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his father's darling. To Egypt they came,
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among others, and, having a considerable
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cargo of corn to buy, they were brought before
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Joseph himself, who probably expected
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they would come; and, according to the
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laws of courtesy, <I>they bowed down themselves
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before him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Now their empty sheaves
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did obeisance to his full one. Compare this
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with
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+60:14,Re+3:9">Isa. lx. 14 and Rev. iii. 9</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge42_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_20"> </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>Joseph Speaks Roughly to His Brethren.</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>7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and
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he knew them, but made himself
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strange unto them, and spake roughly
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unto them; and he said unto them,
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Whence come ye? And they said,
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From the land of Canaan to buy food.
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8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but
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they knew not him.
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9 And Joseph
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remembered the dreams which he
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dreamed of them, and said unto them,
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Ye <I>are</I> spies; to see the nakedness of
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the land ye are come.
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10 And they
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said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to
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buy food are thy servants come.
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11 We <I>are</I> all one man's sons; we <I>are</I>
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true <I>men,</I> thy servants are no spies.
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12 And he said unto them, Nay, but
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to see the nakedness of the land ye
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are come.
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13 And they said, Thy
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servants <I>are</I> twelve brethren, the sons
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of one man in the land of Canaan;
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and, behold, the youngest <I>is</I> this day
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with our father, and one <I>is</I> not.
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14 And Joseph said unto them, That <I>is
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it</I> that I spake unto you, saying, Ye
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<I>are</I> spies:
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15 Hereby ye shall be
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proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye
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shall not go forth hence, except your
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youngest brother come hither.
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16 Send one of you, and let him fetch
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your brother, and ye shall be kept in
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prison, that your words may be proved,
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whether <I>there be any</I> truth in you: or
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else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye
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<I>are</I> spies.
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17 And he put them all
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together into ward three days.
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18 And Joseph said unto them the third
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day, This do, and live; <I>for</I> I fear
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God:
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19 If ye <I>be</I> true <I>men,</I> let one of
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your brethren be bound in the house
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of your prison: go ye, carry corn for
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the famine of your houses:
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20 But
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bring your youngest brother unto me;
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so shall your words be verified, and
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ye shall not die. And they did so.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We may well wonder that Joseph, during
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the twenty years that he had now been in
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Egypt, especially during the last seven years
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that he had been in power there, never sent
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to his father to acquaint him with his circumstances;
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nay, it is strange that he who
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so often <I>went throughout all the land of
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Egypt</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+41:45,46"><I>ch.</I> xli. 45, 46</A>)
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never made an excursion
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to Canaan, to visit his aged father,
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when he was in the borders of Egypt, that
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lay next to Canaan. Perhaps it would not
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have been above three or four days' journey
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for him in his chariot. It is a probable conjecture
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that his whole management of himself
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in this affair was by special direction
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from Heaven, that the purpose of God concerning
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Jacob and his family might be
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accomplished. When Joseph's brethren
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came, he knew them by many a satisfactory
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token, but they knew not him, little thinking
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to find him there,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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He <I>remembered the
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dreams</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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but they had forgotten them.
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The laying up of God's oracles in our hearts
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will be of excellent use to us in all our conduct.
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Joseph had an eye to his dreams,
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which he knew to be divine, in his carriage
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towards his brethren, and aimed at the accomplishment
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of them and the bringing of
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his brethren to repentance for their former
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sins; and both these points were gained.</P>
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<P>
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I. He showed himself very rigorous and
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harsh with them. The very manner of his
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speaking, considering the post he was in, was
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enough to frighten them; for <I>he spoke
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roughly to them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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He charged them
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with bad designs against the government
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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treated them as dangerous persons,
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saying, <I>You are spies,</I> and protesting <I>by the
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life of Pharaoh</I> that they were so,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
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Some make this an oath, others make it no
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more than a vehement asseveration, like that,
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<I>as thy soul liveth;</I> however it was more than
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yea, yea, and nay, nay, and therefore came of
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evil. Note, Bad words are soon learned by
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converse with those that use them, but not
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so soon unlearned. Joseph, by being much
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at court, got the courtier's oath, <I>By the life
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of Pharaoh,</I> perhaps designing hereby to
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confirm his brethren in their belief that he
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was an Egyptian, and not an Israelite. They
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knew this was not the language of a son of
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Abraham. When Peter would prove himself
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no disciple of Christ, he cursed and swore.
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Now why was Joseph thus hard upon his
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brethren? We may be sure it was not from
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a spirit of revenge, that he might now
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trample upon those who had formerly
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trampled upon him; he was not a man of
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<A NAME="Page234"> </A>
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that temper. But,
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1. It was to enrich his
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own dreams, and complete the accomplishment
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of them.
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2. It was to bring them to
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repentance.
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3. It was to get out of them
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an account of the state of their family, which
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he longed to know: they would have discovered
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him if he had asked as a friend,
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therefore he asks as a judge. Not seeing his
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brother Benjamin with them, perhaps he
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began to suspect that they had made away
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with him too, and therefore gives them occasion
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to speak of their father and brother.
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Note, God in his providence sometimes
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seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks
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roughly to those for whom yet he has great
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mercy in store.</P>
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<P>
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II. They, hereupon, were very submissive.
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They spoke to him with all the respect imaginable:
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<I>Nay, my lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>)--a
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great change since they said, <I>Behold, this dreamer comes.</I>
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They very modestly deny the charge: <I>We
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are no spies.</I> They tell him their business,
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that they came to buy food, a justifiable
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errand, and the same that many strangers
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came to Egypt upon at this time. They
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undertake to give a particular account of
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themselves and their family
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
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and this
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was what they wanted.</P>
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<P>
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III. He clapped them all up in prison for
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three days,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
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Thus God deals with the
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souls he designs for special comfort and
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honour; he first humbles them, and terrifies
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them, and brings them under a spirit of
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bondage, and then binds up their wounds by
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the Spirit of adoption.</P>
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<P>
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IV. He concluded with them, at last, that
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one of them should be left as a hostage, and
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the rest should go home and fetch Benjamin.
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It was a very encouraging word he said to
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them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
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<I>I fear God;</I> as if he had said,
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"You may assure yourselves I will do you
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no wrong; I dare not, for I know that, high
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as I am, there is one higher than I." Note,
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With those that fear God we have reason to
|
|
expect fair dealing. The fear of God will be
|
|
a check upon those that are in power, to restrain
|
|
them from abusing their power to oppression
|
|
and tyranny. Those that have no
|
|
one else to stand in awe of ought to stand in
|
|
awe of their own consciences. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+5:15">Neh. v. 15</A>,
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<I>So did not I, because of the fear of God.</I></P>
|
|
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<A NAME="Ge42_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge42_28"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Reflections of Joseph's Brethren.</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>21 And they said one to another,
|
|
We <I>are</I> verily guilty concerning our
|
|
brother, in that we saw the anguish
|
|
of his soul, when he besought us, and
|
|
we would not hear; therefore is this
|
|
distress come upon us.
|
|
22 And Reuben
|
|
answered them, saying, Spake I
|
|
not unto you, saying, Do not sin
|
|
against the child; and ye would not
|
|
hear? therefore, behold, also his blood
|
|
is required.
|
|
23 And they knew not
|
|
that Joseph understood <I>them;</I> for he
|
|
spake unto them by an interpreter.
|
|
24 And he turned himself about from
|
|
them, and wept; and returned to them
|
|
again, and communed with them, and
|
|
took from them Simeon, and bound
|
|
him before their eyes.
|
|
25 Then Joseph
|
|
commanded to fill their sacks
|
|
with corn, and to restore every man's
|
|
money into his sack, and to give them
|
|
provision for the way: and thus did
|
|
he unto them.
|
|
26 And they laded
|
|
their asses with the corn, and departed
|
|
thence.
|
|
27 And as one of them opened
|
|
his sack to give his ass provender in
|
|
the inn, he espied his money; for, behold,
|
|
it <I>was</I> in his sack's mouth.
|
|
28 And he said unto his brethren, My
|
|
money is restored; and, lo, <I>it is</I> even
|
|
in my sack: and their heart failed
|
|
<I>them,</I> and they were afraid, saying one
|
|
to another, What <I>is</I> this <I>that</I> God
|
|
hath done unto us?
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The penitent reflection Joseph's
|
|
brethren made upon the wrong they had formerly
|
|
done to him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
They talked the
|
|
matter over in the Hebrew tongue, not suspecting
|
|
that Joseph, whom they took for a
|
|
native of Egypt, understood them, much less
|
|
that he was the person they spoke of.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. They remembered with regret the barbarous
|
|
cruelty wherewith they persecuted
|
|
him: <I>We are verily guilty concerning our
|
|
brother.</I> We do not read that they said this
|
|
during their three days' imprisonment; but
|
|
now, when the matter had come to some
|
|
issue and they saw themselves still embarrassed,
|
|
now they began to relent. Perhaps
|
|
Joseph's mention of <I>the fear of God</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>)
|
|
put them upon consideration and extorted
|
|
this reflection. Now see here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The office
|
|
of conscience; it is a remembrancer, to bring
|
|
to mind things long since said and done, to
|
|
show us wherein we have erred, though it
|
|
was long ago, as the reflection here mentioned
|
|
was above twenty years after the sin
|
|
was committed. As time will not wear out
|
|
the guilt of sin, so it will not blot out the
|
|
records of conscience; when the guilt of this
|
|
sin of Joseph's brethren was fresh they made
|
|
light of it, and sat down to eat bread; but
|
|
now, long afterwards, their consciences reminded
|
|
them of it.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The benefit of
|
|
affliction; they often prove the happy and
|
|
effectual means of awakening conscience, and
|
|
bringing sin to our remembrance,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+13:26">Job xiii. 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
(3.) The evil of guilt concerning our
|
|
brethren; of all their sins, it was this that
|
|
conscience now reproached them for. Whenever
|
|
we think we have wrong done us, we
|
|
ought to remember the wrong we have done
|
|
to others,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:21,22">Eccl. vii. 21, 22</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Reuben alone remembered, with comfort,
|
|
that he had been an advocate for his
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page235"> </A>
|
|
|
|
brother, and had done what he could to prevent
|
|
the mischief they did him
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
|
|
<I>Spoke I not unto you, saying, Do not sin
|
|
against the child?</I> Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) It is an aggravation
|
|
of any sin that it was committed
|
|
against admonitions.
|
|
|
|
(2.) When we come
|
|
to share with others in their calamities, it
|
|
will be a comfort to us if we have the testimony
|
|
of our consciences for us that we
|
|
did not share with them in their iniquities,
|
|
but, in our places, witnessed against them.
|
|
This shall be our rejoicing in the day of evil,
|
|
and shall take out the sting.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Joseph's tenderness towards them
|
|
upon this occasion. He retired from them
|
|
to weep,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
Though his reason directed
|
|
that he should still carry himself as a stranger
|
|
to them, because they were not as yet humbled
|
|
enough, yet natural affection could not
|
|
but work, for he was a man of a tender
|
|
spirit. This represents the tender mercies of
|
|
our God towards repenting sinners. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+31:20">Jer. xxxi. 20</A>,
|
|
<I>Since I spoke against him I do
|
|
earnestly remember him still.</I> See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+10:16">Judg. x. 16</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The imprisonment of Simeon,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
He chose him for the hostage probably because
|
|
he remembered him to have been his
|
|
most bitter enemy, or because he observed
|
|
him now to be least humbled and concerned;
|
|
he bound him <I>before their eyes</I> to affect them
|
|
all; or perhaps it is intimated that, though
|
|
he bound him with some severity before
|
|
them, yet afterwards, when they were gone,
|
|
he took off his bonds.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The dismission of the rest of them.
|
|
They came for corn, and corn they had; and
|
|
not only so, but every man had his money
|
|
restored in his sack's mouth. Thus Christ,
|
|
our Joseph, gives out supplies without money
|
|
and without price. Therefore the poor are
|
|
invited to buy,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+3:17,18">Rev. iii. 17, 18</A>.
|
|
This put
|
|
them into great consternation
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>):
|
|
<I>Their
|
|
heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying
|
|
one to another, What is this that God hath
|
|
done to us?</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. It was really a merciful event; for I
|
|
hope they had no wrong done to them when
|
|
they had their money given them back, but
|
|
a kindness; yet they were thus terrified by
|
|
it. Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Guilty consciences are apt to
|
|
take good providences in a bad sense, and to
|
|
put wrong constructions even upon those
|
|
things that make for them. They flee when
|
|
none pursues.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Wealth sometimes brings
|
|
as much care along with it as want does, and
|
|
more too. If they had been robbed of their
|
|
money, they could not have been worse
|
|
frightened than they were now when they
|
|
found their money in their sacks. Thus he
|
|
whose ground brought forth plentifully said,
|
|
<I>What shall I do?</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+12:17">Luke xii. 17</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Yet in their circumstances it was very
|
|
amazing. They knew that the Egyptians
|
|
abhorred a Hebrew
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+43:32"><I>ch.</I> xliii. 32</A>),
|
|
and therefore,
|
|
since they could not expect to receive
|
|
any kindness from them, they concluded
|
|
that this was done with a design to pick a
|
|
quarrel with them, and the rather because
|
|
the man, the lord of the land, had charged
|
|
them as spies. Their own consciences also
|
|
were awake, and their sins set in order before
|
|
them; and this put them into confusion.
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) When men's spirits are
|
|
sinking every thing helps to sink them.
|
|
|
|
(2.) When the events of Providence concerning
|
|
us are surprising it is good to enquire what
|
|
it is that God has done and is doing with us,
|
|
and to consider the operation of his hands.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge42_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge42_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge42_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge42_32"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge42_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge42_34"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge42_35"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge42_36"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge42_37"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge42_38"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Report Made to Jacob.</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>29 And they came unto Jacob their
|
|
father unto the land of Canaan, and
|
|
told him all that befell unto them;
|
|
saying,
|
|
30 The man, <I>who is</I> the lord
|
|
of the land, spake roughly to us, and
|
|
took us for spies of the country.
|
|
31 And we said unto him, We <I>are</I> true
|
|
<I>men;</I> we are no spies:
|
|
32 We <I>be</I>
|
|
twelve brethren, sons of our father;
|
|
one <I>is</I> not, and the youngest <I>is</I> this
|
|
day with our father in the land of Canaan.
|
|
33 And the man, the lord of
|
|
the country, said unto us, Hereby
|
|
shall I know that ye <I>are</I> true <I>men;</I>
|
|
leave one of your brethren <I>here</I> with
|
|
me, and take <I>food for</I> the famine of
|
|
your households, and be gone:
|
|
34 And bring your youngest brother unto
|
|
me: then shall I know that ye <I>are</I> no
|
|
spies, but <I>that</I> ye <I>are</I> true <I>men: so</I>
|
|
will I deliver you your brother, and
|
|
ye shall traffic in the land.
|
|
35 And
|
|
it came to pass as they emptied their
|
|
sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle
|
|
of money <I>was</I> in his sack: and when
|
|
<I>both</I> they and their father saw the
|
|
bundles of money, they were afraid.
|
|
36 And Jacob their father said unto
|
|
them, Me have ye bereaved <I>of my
|
|
children:</I> Joseph <I>is</I> not, and Simeon
|
|
<I>is</I> not, and ye will take Benjamin
|
|
<I>away:</I> all these things are against me.
|
|
37 And Reuben spake unto his father,
|
|
saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring
|
|
him not to thee: deliver him into my
|
|
hand, and I will bring him to thee
|
|
again.
|
|
38 And he said, My son shall
|
|
not go down with you; for his brother
|
|
is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief
|
|
befal him by the way in the
|
|
which ye go, then shall ye bring down
|
|
my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
1. The report which Jacob's sons
|
|
made to their father of the great distress
|
|
they had been in in Egypt; how they had
|
|
been suspected, and threatened, and obliged
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page236"> </A>
|
|
|
|
to leave Simeon a prisoner there, till they
|
|
should bring Benjamin with them thither.
|
|
Who would have thought of this when they
|
|
left home? When we go abroad we should
|
|
consider how many sad accidents, that we
|
|
little think of, may befal us before we return
|
|
home. <I>We know not what a day may bring
|
|
forth;</I> we ought therefore to be always ready
|
|
for the worst.
|
|
|
|
2. The deep impression this
|
|
made upon the good man. The very bundles
|
|
of money which Joseph returned, in kindness
|
|
to his father, frightened him
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:35"><I>v.</I> 35</A>);
|
|
for he
|
|
concluded it was done with some mischievous
|
|
design, or perhaps suspected his own sons
|
|
to have committed some offence, and so to
|
|
have run themselves into a <I>præmunire--a
|
|
penalty,</I> which is intimated in what he says
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:36"><I>v.</I> 36</A>):
|
|
<I>Me have you bereaved.</I> He seems to
|
|
lay the fault upon them; knowing their characters,
|
|
he feared they had provoked the
|
|
Egyptians, and perhaps forcibly, or fraudulently,
|
|
brought home their money. Jacob is
|
|
here much out of temper.
|
|
|
|
(1.) He has very
|
|
melancholy apprehensions concerning the
|
|
present state of his family: <I>Joseph is not,
|
|
and Simeon is not;</I> whereas Joseph was in
|
|
honour and Simeon in the way to it. Note,
|
|
We often perplex ourselves with our own
|
|
mistakes, even in matters of fact. True
|
|
griefs may arise from false intelligence and
|
|
suppositions,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+13:31">2 Sam. xiii. 31</A>.
|
|
Jacob gives
|
|
up Joseph for gone, and Simeon and Benjamin
|
|
as being in danger; and he concludes,
|
|
<I>All these things are against me.</I> It proved
|
|
otherwise, that all these were for him, were
|
|
working together for his good and the good
|
|
of his family: yet here he thinks them all
|
|
against him. Note, Through our ignorance
|
|
and mistake, and the weakness of our faith,
|
|
we often apprehend that to be against us
|
|
which is really for us. We are afflicted in
|
|
body, estate, name, and relations; and we
|
|
think all these things are against us, whereas
|
|
these are really working for us the weight of
|
|
glory.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He is at present resolved that
|
|
Benjamin shall not go down. Reuben will
|
|
undertake to bring him back in safety
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+42:37"><I>v.</I> 37</A>),
|
|
not so much as putting in, <I>If the Lord will,</I>
|
|
nor expecting the common disasters of travellers;
|
|
but he foolishly bids Jacob slay his
|
|
two sons (which, it is likely, he was very
|
|
proud of) if he brought him not back; as if
|
|
the death of two grandsons could satisfy
|
|
Jacob for the death of a son. No, Jacob's
|
|
present thoughts are, <I>My son shall not go
|
|
down with you.</I> He plainly intimates a distrust
|
|
of them, remembering that he never
|
|
saw Joseph since he had been with them;
|
|
therefore, "Benjamin shall not go with you,
|
|
by the way in which you go, for <I>you will bring
|
|
down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.</I>"
|
|
Note, It is bad with a family when children
|
|
conduct themselves so ill that their parents
|
|
know not how to trust them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
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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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