Letters to young men, founded on the history of Joseph

LETTER XXI. Virtue crowned with heaven. 263

OUTLINE

OF THE

HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

The first scene in the history of Joseph, as it is preserved in the inspired record, occurred when he was about seventeen years of age, while he yet dwelt with Jacob his father in the land of Canaan, and was occupied with his brethren in the capacity of a shepherd. As he seems to have been a boy of uncommon promise, and was the child of his father's old age, and withal had lost a mother whose memory was most dear to the heart of his surviving parent, it is not strange that Jacob should have regarded him with peculiar affection; nor, considering the weakness of human nature, was it strange that his affection should have betrayed him into an unreasonable and dangerous partiality.

He manifested his preference for him by dressing him up in a showy and perhaps expensive coat — a measure certainly which was but too well fitted to call forth the envy of his brethren.

About this time Joseph had two singular dreams, representing most strikingly his own future ascendancy over his brethren; and these dreams, no doubt in consequence of divine intimation, he communicated to them : and, as might have been expected, they heard him with any thing else than pleasure or patience. Having gone from home to feed their fathers flock, Jacob proposed to Joseph that he should go and make them a visit, and in due time return and report to him concerning th^ir prosperity. Joseph, in the spirit of prompt ouc dience to his father, and with no other feeling than that of good will toward his brethren, fell in at once with the suggestion ; and he set out immediately with a view to find them ; and though he had some little difficulty in ascertaining where they were, in consequence of their having changed their place of sojourn, yet he finally overtook them at Dothan. They saw and recognized him while he was yet at a distance ; and one would have supposed that the sight of a young brother coming directly from their aged father, to inquire concerning their health and prosperity, would have been most grateful to them; and that they would have run to meet him and welcome him by their embraces. But so far from that, the sight of him roused up in their bosoms a spirit of malignity and rancour: the fine coat and the offensive dreams gave them more trouble than ever : since they had got him into their power, they resolved to take vengeance on him in some way ; and their first determination was to despatch him on the spot. In consequence, however, of the proposal of Reuben, whose intention seems to have been to save Joseph's life, and ultimately cause him to be restored to his father, they determined to cast him into a pit in the wilderness, and forthwith fulfilled their purpose ; and then, in consequence of the intercessions of Judah, who seems to have revolted at the idea of leaving him to perish, they resolved to sell him, and actually did sell him, as a slave, to a company of Midianitish merchants who happened to be passing that way.

The question now arose among these wicked brethren, in what manner they should conceal their guilt from their father ; and the conclusion was that they should take Joseph's coat, of which they had robbed him, and dip it in the blood of a kid, and pass it off upon Jacob as evidence that his son had been killed by some wild beast. This cruel purpose they put into execution. And it had the desired effect ; for the moment Jacob saw it, he recognized it as his son's coat, and exclaimed with anguish that an evil beast had devoured him, and no doubt he had been torn in pieces. Immediately he went into mourning for his son, and refused all the consolation which was proffered him, exclaiming in the bitterness of his soul, and in the sublimity of parental tenderness, " I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning."

Meanwhile, the Midianites who had bought Joseph, sold him into Egypt, to Potiphar, the Captain of the king's guard. And Joseph, by his exemplary fidelity, so commended himself to his new master, that he was presently advanced to a station of influence and authority — was made overseer of his house, and was entrusted with the management of all his concerns. In this new station Joseph showed himself at once entirely at home ; and all things went prosperously under his management; and such unlimited confidence did his master place in him, that he scarcely troubled himself even to inquire about his concerns.

But now comes a critical point in the history. While Joseph was acquitting himself in the discharge of his official duties to the entire satisfaction of all concerned, Potiphar's wife formed a base plot for his ruin ; which, though it resulted in a glorious triumph of his innocence, was the means not only of his being thrown out of his station, but of his being thrown into a prison. But here too Joseph immediately became a favourite. He seems to have been destined to be a man of authority, wherever Providence might place him ; for he became to the keeper of the prison what he had previously been to Potiphar — a sort of general agent in the prison — an overseer of all its inmates.

About this time, two of the king's officers — his chief butler and chief baker, committed some offence by which they incurred his displeasure ; arid he issued a mandate for their being cast into prison ; and the captain of the guard put them specially into Joseph's custody. These two men had each a troublesome dream, which Joseph took it upon himself to interpret : the interpreta

12 OUTLINE OP THE

tion of the butler's dream was. that he should be almost immediately restored :: .5 forom

he king's service; bu: :ha: :: n.e :ok-:'s was. that within about the same period, he should fall a victim to the king's resentment And in each case the interpretation turned out to be true to the letter; the "inner was restored to do the honours of :he kind's table: the baker was hung 1 to grace the festivities :: the king's birth lay. Joseph, however, still remain: He

had indeed requested the butler, who., he relieved his anxiety by interpreting his ireari n/cede

with the king in his behatij when he shonld be restored :: favour; but he tamed tut :: be a poor ungrateful creature, who though: nothing of Joseph s, and probably tared nol who might be in bondage, provided only he could himself have his Kberty,

Not long after this, the lung himself had two strange dreams. whirh he '■ inter-

pret as nis 0071:01s had been :: interpret theirs ; and n 101s to the bntlei that he had once

been placed in a similar predicament; and he remembers how he was relieved nun his anxiety: and now. for the first time not for Joseph's

HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

sake, but for the king's sake, he mentions Joseph's name to Pharaoh; or rather speaks of him u tig Hebrew, who had given a true

interpretation of two dreams at least, and for aught he knew, might do the same of two more ; and this intimation was sufficient to induce the king to send for him. Joseph, accordingly, as soon as he could change his raiment, came forth from his dungeon, and stood in the royal presence ; and after an introduction which did great credit to Joseph's piety, the king related to him his two dreams : at the same time declaring that none of his magicians were able to interpret them. E.;: Joseph immediately gave an interpretation: ed the king that they pointed to seven yr.rs of plenty, which were to be succeeded by seven years of famine ; and advised him to make provision, during the season of abundance, for the time of need. Pharaoh putting full confidence in Joseph's interpretation, and perceiving the uncommon wisdom which he evinced, forthwith appointed him ruler over all the land of Egypt, and erased him to move in the splendour becoming the highest official distinction.

And now Pharaoh's dream began to be fulfilled

14 ouTLiNr or the

in accordance with Joseph's interpretation. For the first seven years, the fields yielded an unprecedented abundance ; and Joseph busied hi in laying up corn for the publick benefit ; and the amount which he accumulated is said to have been "as the sand of the sea, :; But then came the seven years of famine ; and the people every where were crying out for bread ; and Joseph threw open his store houses, and dealt on according to their needs.

But it was not in Egypt only, but in the surrounding countries, that the famine prevailed; and Jacob and his family were likely to suffer in common with the rest of their countrymen. Hence Jacob, having heard that there was corn in Egypt, proposed to his sons to go down thither and procure a supply ; and forthwith they all set off, with the exception of Benjamin, the youngest child and the darling of his father, whom he was unwilling to trust upon such an expedition : and the reason that he gave for his unwillingness — u lest mischief might befal him in the way," — would seem to convey a touching allusion to the fate of his beloved Joseph. Having arrived in Egypt, they went first to present themselves before the governour ; and on approaching him, " they bowed themselves with their faces to the earth;" and then, though they suspected it not — then began to be fulfilled the famous dream, for -which they had hated their brother, and finally sold him into bondage. Joseph the governour w r as so unlike Joseph the slave ; Joseph in a palace was so different from Joseph in a pit, that it was not strange, especially as they had been separated from him for years, that they did not recognize him ; though, as the change in them was much less, he immediately knew them to be his brethren; — yes, the very brethren who had deliberately cast him into a pit to die, and had taken him out of it only to be sold into perpetual servitude. Joseph's heart must have been full at the discovery; but still he commanded himself, and stood up before them with perfect dignity.

With a view to try them and prove them, he charged them first with being spies, who had> come to make their observations upon the nakedness of the land ; and he assumed towards them a stern and forbidding manner. But they replied to him with great simplicity — u Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not." w Well then/' says Joseph. (; thus shall your sincerity be tested — let one of your number go and bring that youngest brother down hither, while the rest of you remain in prison : and the failure to bring him shall be the proof that you are spies." Then Joseph put them all into prison together, and they remained there three days : and at the end of that time, he so far varied his purpose, as to require one of them to be bound in prison as a hostage, and to permit the rest to go and carry corn to their families : charging them again to bring their youngest brother back as a proof that they were not spies. And now conscience began to bring up before them the image of their poor brother whom they had sold as a slave : and they had a most sorrowful conference with each other on the subject, directly in the presence of Joseph, who. they took for granted, did not understand them, while yet he really did understand every word : and lie was even obliged to turn away from them to conceal his tears. But immediately he got command of himself again, and resumed his conversation with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

Previous to their setting off on their journey home 3 Joseph gave directions not only that each man's sack should be filled with corn, but thai each man's money should be put into his sack ; and that provision should be furnished them ade quate to their journey. After having proceeded a short distance, one of them having occasion to open his sack, discovered that his money had been restored : and this became a new source of anxiety to them ; and while they were unable to conjecture the true explanation of it, their consciences were ready to construe it into an indication of evil. In this state of depression they reached home ; and a most sorrowful story they had to tell to their aged father — the gloomiest part of which was, that they had entered into a covenant with the governour of Egypt, which required that his be* loved Benjamin should be taken from him. Jacob's feelings instantly rose against this suggestion, and he gave vent to them in that memorable exclamation — "Me ye have bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me !' J 2

But though Jacob, at first, utterly refused to yield to the importunity of his sons to let Benjamin go, yet, when the corn which they had brought up from Egypt was exhausted, and the famine waxed more and more severe, he finally consented, though with great reluctance, to withdraw his objections ; and having charged them to take valuable presents to the governour, with a view to propitiate him, he commended them all to the protection and mercy of God ; at the same time expressing his submission to the divine will in this remarkable language — " If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."

The brethren, with Benjamin of their number, now went down into Egypt ; and when, on their arrival, Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them, he gave orders to the ruler of his house to bring them all home to dinner. But, instead of considering this as a favour and an honour, they saw in it the signs of alarming evil ; they remembered the mysterious affair of the money being found in their sacks ; and they suspected that the invitation to dinner would turn out to be a summons to a state of bondage. As they met the steward on their approach to the house, they began immediately to explain their own conduct, and assured him that the affair of the money was all a mystery to them, and that they had not only brought it all .. but had brought other money, with a view to make still further purchases : upon which the steward instantly put to flight all their appre- :nSj and brought out Simeon, with whom no doubt they mus: have had a most agreeable meeting.

At length Joseph returned : and they met him with the present, and bowed in his presence to do him honour : and he inquired concerning the health of their father, and obtained from them the information he wished. But when he saw his brother Benjamin — his own mother's son. it was more than he could bear : his fraternal sensibilities, for the time, got the better of him ; and he retired into his chamber and remained there, till the first gush of feeling was over. Then he came out of his chamber and ordered dinner to be served ; and, greatly to the astonishment of his guests, he arranged them at the table according to their respective ages, and gave to Benjamin a portion larger by five times than to any of the rest. He himself sat down to a different table, as the Egyptians were not permitted to eat with the Hebrews ;

but the history informs us that " they drank and were merry together."

But Joseph had not yet sufficiently proved his brethren. He therefore commanded his steward, as they were about to depart, to fill the men's sacks with food, and to put every man's money into the mouth of his sack, and to put his own silver cup into the sack of the youngest ; and the command was faithfully obeyed. Soon after they had taken their departure, the steward, by Joseph's direction, proceeded in great haste after them, and overtook them, and charged them with having in their possession the cup from which the governoui drank, and by means of which he conducted his divinations. Astonished at the charge, and conscious of their own innocence in the matter, they challenged an examination of their sacks, declaring, at the same time, that if it were found upon any one of them, he should die, and the rest should go into bondage. To their utter consternation, the cup was found in Benjamin's sack; and as soon as the discovery was made, they rent their clothes, and returned with heavy hearts to the city. And then they prostrated themselves before Joseph; and Judah, who spake in behalf of the whole company, acknowledged that God had found out their iniquity, and that they were all fairly committed to a state of bondage. But Joseph said, tt God forbid that I should do so : but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant ; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father." Then Judah expostulated with the goyernour, and went over with the story of his father's anxieties and sorrows — how reluctant his father had been to part with Benjamin, and how he had pledged himself that his darling child should return to him in safety; and finally, he asked it as a privilege that he might remain in bondage in place of his younger brother, lest his aged father should go down to the grave under the weight of his afflictions.

By this time Joseph had sufficiently tested their state of feeling; and more than that — he had become so much dissolved by Judah's speech, that it was impossible for him to suppress his emotions: and now he clears the room of all but his brethren, with a view to reveal to them a most astounding secret. Here is the governour of Egypt standing before these apparently unfortunate men, with something upon his heart that makes him weep.

What he is about to say. they cannot even conjecture; but at length it comes out amidst tears and sobs — li I am Joseph;" and the very first question he asked, was one that showed that the son had not been lost in the governour — "Doth my father yet live ? " No wonder that the revelation overpowered his brethren, and that their lips were sealed, so that they could not answer him. But Joseph endeavoured instantly to quiet their apprehensions, by assuring them that he was their brother still, and by referring to the gracious ends which Providence had accomplished through their instrumentality; and then he directed them to go up to Canaan and bring down their father, and their families, and all that they had, for a residence in Egypt ; that he might have the privilege of ministering to their wants and nourishing them upon the royal bounty. Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck ; and he embraced them all in turn, and wept upon them ; and after these ample pledges of his affection, they gathered confidence to converse with him. The news was immediately communicated to Pharaoh, and he cordially seconded Joseph's wishes ; and the brethren having received valuable presents from Joseph, were forthwith despatched to Canaan, to bring down their father and their respective families to reside in the land of Egypt. It is worthy of remark that, before they set out on their journey, Joseph charged them that they should not fall out by the way — a caution which was very naturally suggested by the experience he had formerly had of their tempers, and which was a delicate way of reminding them of the past, and suggesting matter for reflection and ground for repentance.

Agreeably to Joseph's directions, his brethren proceeded immediately to Canaan ; and it is scarcely necessary to say that they approached their father with far better news and far lighter hearts than when they returned from their former journey. Instead of bringing him the intelligence that Joseph is dead, or that Benjamin must be taken from him, as they had done on former occasions, they come with the grateful tidings that Joseph is alive, and is governour of the whole land of Egypt. At first the good old man fainted ; for the news seemed to him too good to be true. But when he actually saw the waggons

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which Joseph had sent to convey him and his family to their new home, " his spirit revived, and he said — It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive ; I will go and see him before I die."

In pursuance of this resolution, as soon as the necessary arrangements could be made for the journey, the whole family set off for Egypt. And when the news of their approach reached Joseph, he made ready his chariot, and went out as far as Goshen to meet his father. Conceive now, if you can, what a meeting that must have been! Joseph fell upon his father's neck — the father who had loved him so much, and from whom he had been separated so long — and kissed him and wept ; while the father gave utterance to his full heart in such language as this — " Now, let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive." " The coat which I gave thee in thy childhood, was brought to me by thy brethren stained with blood, as an evidence that thou wast dead ; and my heart has a thousand times bled, as my imagination has lingered upon what I supposed might have been thy dying scene; and yet, after all, here thou art, my son, not only alive, but in affluence and honour. God's goodness overwhelms me. It is enough — I am ready to die, O Lord, for I have seen thy salvation."

Joseph immediately informed Pharaoh of the arrival of his family, and then he took five of his brethren, and presented them to him ; and Pharaoh had an interview with them ; after which, he brought up his aged and venerable father, and introduced him to the king ; and Jacob appeared on the occasion with all that simplicity, dignity and piety, which became a prophet and a patriarch : and on retiring from the presence of Pharaoh, he gave him his blessing. Joseph now, w T ith the consent and advice of the king, appointed his father and brethren their residence in the most desirable part of the land of Egypt, and there nourished them with fraternal and filial tenderness, while he proceeded in the execution of his public trust with his accustomed fidelity.

After Jacob had been for some time in his new residence, sustained and cheered by the bounty of his son, intelligence was brought to Joseph that his father was sick ; and straightway he hastened to his bedside, that he might minister to his last wants and receive his parting blessing. After he was dead he manifested the deepest grief at his departure, and, with a gush of sorrow and affection, even embraced his corpse. When the usual period of public mourning had been fulfilled, agreeably to a promise which he had made to his father before his death, he caused his remains to be carried back to Canaan that his final resting place might be with his fathers.

Shortly after the death of Jacob, Joseph's brethren began to fear, that, since their father was out of the way, it might occur to Joseph to take revenge on them for the cruel treatment which he had received at their hands in former years ; and so apprehensive were they of this, that they sent a messenger to him humbly imploring his forgiveness and continued protection. Joseph was deeply affected by the communication, and assured them that they should receive nothing from him but expressions of fraternal kindness. And this promise he ever most sacredly fulfilled. At length the time of his departure drew near ; and having taken an oath of his brethren, that they would carry his bones also up into the land of Egypt, he died at the age of a hundred and ten years, and his body was embalmed after the manner of the Egyptians.

LETTERS

TO

YOUNG MEN

Part I. Sources Of Danger To Young Me3* Letter I

SANGER FROM EXCESSIVE PARENTAL INDULGENCE,

The growing conviction which I have had for years of the importance of those interests which are soon to be devolved upon the young men of the present generation , has, at different times, brought me almost to the determination of addressing to them a short series of letters designed to impress •them with a sense of their obligations, and to aid in the general formation of their character. I have, however, been deterred from executing, or even forming, a definite purpose on this subject, by the consideration that many wise and excellent

30 DANGER FROM EXCESSIVE

men have already written books of counsel to the young, to which they can readily gain access ; and that any attempt which I might make would result in nothing better than a repetition of things which had often been more attractively and more impressively said before. It occurred to me, however, lately, as I was reading the touching and beautiful story of Joseph, that there is much in it that deserves the most attentive consideration, especially of every young man ; and in this thought originated the purpose, which I have now set myself to execute — of endeavouring to render this scripture narrative subservient to the best interests of the young men of the present day. Still, my young friends, I have no expectation of offering any thing to your consideration that is substantially new : the utmost that I can hope is, that I may give increasing effect to the counsels which I shall suggest, by incorporating them with a story, which, in respect to the interest of its incidents and the beauty of its descriptions, is universally acknowledged to be unrivalled even in the sacred scriptures. I have given you an outline of the history, that you may the more readily see how the various points which I shall

PARENTAL INDULGENCE. 31

have occasion to bring out, connect themselves with it ; though I hardly need say that you will do yourselves great injustice, if, instead of being satisfied with any outline, you do not study, till you have rendered perfectly familiar to you, the original record.

You can hardly read this narrative without being struck with the fact, that Joseph was often placed in circumstances of great peril — circumstances strikingly analogous to those in which young men are not unfrequently placed at the present day. Indeed, it is in such a condition as this that the history first presents him to us — in jeopardy from the indiscreet favouritism of his father. It was certainly an unworthy partiality^ which Jacob discovered towards him, in the affair of the coat : it was fitted to excite not only the envy of his brethren but his own pride ; and if it did not produce the latter effect as well as the former, we must attribute it to Joseph's well balanced character, in connection perhaps with a special divine interposition in his behalf. There was, after all, some apology for Jacob in th.ii matter ; for not only was he far advanced in life, but Joseph was evidently distinguished above his

32 DANGER FROM EXCESSIVE

other children, by his intellectual and mora. endowments ; and withal he was the son of his beloved Rachel, who had not been long dead, and whose memory he still cherished with the strongest affection .

Many parents beside Jacob are chargeable with indiscreet preferences in the treatment of their children. I will not dw r ell here upon the evil effect that results to those w r ho, like the sons of the patriarch, regard themselves as wronged out of the place that really belongs to them in the affection of their parents ; but I will advert only to the evil that is likely to accrue to those who are the subjects of an unreasonable partiality • — or rather who are the subjects of excessive indulgence, whether there be any preference manifested in respect to them or not. I say, then, every young man w r ho, either from having no parents, or from having indiscreet parents, is left in the enjoyment of an undue degree of liberty, is in danger — imminent danger, according to the nature or the strength of his ruling passion.

There is danger that a young man, who is suffered to grow up in a great measure uncon-

PARIETAL INDULGENCE. 33

trolled, will form a habit of idleness. We do not find that children, if left to themselves, choose labour: and where they form the habit, it is usually the result of parental instruction, and counsel, and perhaps authority, rather than of their own taste or inclination. You may look all the world over, and you will find, with few exceptions, that young persons who are allowed to do just as they please, show themselves to do very little — at least little to any good purpose : and the consequence is. that, at no .nod, they have a confirmed habit of idleness which renders them little better than cumberers of the ground.