The Story of Joseph and His Brethren/Part 1/Chapter 1
PART I.
CHAPTER I.
THE history of Joseph is one of the most beautiful and instructive stories that occur in the Bible, or that are to be found in any other book. The character of Joseph is the most perfect of any that we read of in the Old Testament,—and perhaps is only surpassed by that of our blessed Lord Himself, whose history that of Joseph resembles as well as represents. Moses was meek, David was generous, Solomon was wise, but each of them had some fault that dimmed the lustre of his virtues. Joseph had all these good qualities, but no one fault is charged against him. We must not, indeed, suppose that he was faultless; but we may conclude that he was freer from faults than most other men, when we find that not one is charged in the Bible history against him. God, we may presume, has been pleased to record the history of this beautiful character in His Holy Book, for the purpose of showing to His children in all ages so lovely an example for their imitation. Joseph is especially worthy of imitation by the young; for they will learn from him how they ought to act at home and in the world, in adversity and prosperity, in humble and exalted stations. It is most important for the young to learn and practise home virtues, their duties to their parents, and to their brothers and sisters; for home duties and affections are the beginning and the foundation of all others. The young must love and obey their parents before they can love and obey the Lord, as their Father in heaven; and they must love and be kind to their brothers and sisters before they can love and do good to their neighbour. Nay, young people love God in loving their parents, for God has commanded them to honour their father and mother, which means to love and obey them; and they love their neighbour in loving their brothers and sisters, because the command to love their neighbour as themselves includes love to their brothers and sisters. And what God requires us to do as a duty, and as a means to make others happy, He intends to be the means of making ourselves happy. Indeed, there is no way of being happy but by doing what will contribute to the happiness of others. The happiness of home depends upon every one of the family trying to make home happy, by acts of goodness and kindness to all who belong to it. This requires every one to be orderly, good tempered, serviceable, unselfish, sincere, forbearing, forgiving, and kind. Obedience to father and mother is the very first thing on which the welfare and happiness of a family depends, and that which is above all things necessary to make a happy home.
I am here assuming that parents are such as to render them worthy of the honour and duty of their children. Not that children before their proper age are to decide for themselves how far they are bound to render homage and obedience to their parents. But the kind and measure of honour which parents receive from their children must be in a great measure determined by their own general character, and their conduct towards their children. This is a result that cannot be entirely prevented. One of the great blessings of pure religion is that it makes both parents and children, who are desirous to learn, worthy examples of parental and filial love. And my young readers have reason to thank their Divine Lord and Heavenly Father for blessing them with parents, who strive to do every thing that God requires to make them worthy of their children's love, and to make their children so good, that love for their parents will be a delight as well as a duty.
If we attend carefully to Joseph's history we may learn much that will be useful to us in this and all other respects. For I may remark, further, that all persons, young and old, high and low, rich and poor, may gain wisdom by studying Joseph's history and character. The child and the man, the son and the servant, the captive in the dungeon and the king on the throne, may all study Joseph's history with advantage. Kings may learn of him how to rule; for it was when Joseph was next to Pharaoh on the throne, and was ruler over all the land of Egypt, that he showed how wise and good a governor he was. By his prudence and care he provided the means of saving the people of Egypt, and those of many other countries, from great suffering, and even from starvation, during a famine which lasted without intermission for the long period of seven years. It was then, also, when in the height of his glory, that he behaved with so much tenderness and manifested such forgiving love to his brethren, from whom he had received nothing but hatred and injury.
Jacob had, as you know, twelve sons. Joseph and Benjamin were the two youngest. They were the sons of the same mother. For Jacob, you are aware, had two wives, one named Leah and the other Rachel. Rachel was the younger and more beautiful daughter of Laban whom Jacob loved first and loved most. He desired to have Rachel, and Rachel only; but it was the custom in those days, and in the country where Laban lived, that the elder daughter must be married before the younger. Jacob, therefore, had to take Leah for a wife before he could obtain Rachel. For very many years after their marriage Rachel had no children. The Lord, we are told, withheld children from her, but gave sons to Leah. After ten sons and one daughter had been born to Jacob by Leah and the handmaids, then we read—"God remembered Rachel, and she conceived and bare a son, and she called his name Joseph." (Gen. xxx. 22.) Some time after the birth of Joseph Rachel had another son, whom his father named Benjamin. (Gen. xxxv. 16-18).
We hear nothing more of Joseph after the record of his birth, till we come to the thirty-seventh chapter, where his history begins. We there read, at the third verse, that "Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age." It may seem to you that if this were the only reason for Jacob's greater love for his younger son, Benjamin should have been his best beloved, because he was born several years later than Joseph, when Jacob was still older. But Joseph was Rachel's firstborn, and both Rachel and Jacob had long desired to have children, and this answer to their prayers must have produced in them deep gratitude to the Lord and great joy of heart. Jacob, we may suppose, had long given up all hope of having a child by his best-beloved, Rachel; and when at last a son was born to him in his old age, he regarded the blessing with strong affection as a special gift from God. While Jacob loved Joseph more than all his other children, he loved the others also; for although a father may for some special reason love one of his children more than the rest, he does not, if he be a good man, withhold his love from the others, or neglect his duty towards them. Yet we are to remember that the circumstances are very different now from what they were then. Christian men have only one wife, and therefore there is not the same ground for partiality as there was then—that is, for loving the child of one wife more than the child of another.
Jacob's love for Joseph prompted him to make a distinction in his dress; he made him a coat of many colours. It is considered that this more properly means a coat of several pieces. Yet it is to be assumed that these pieces were of different colours; for it would be difficult to suppose why a coat or garment such as was then worn should be made of many different pieces, unless it was for the purpose of introducing into it a variety of beautiful or attractive colours. But whatever was the precise character of the garment, we know from other parts of the Bible that such garments were worn as a mark of distinction. From the Second Book of Samuel we learn that such garments were worn by the young or virgin daughters of kings. It is said (chap. xiii. 18) that David's daughter, Tamar, "had a garment of divers colours upon her; for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled." This kind of garment was therefore a mark of dignity, and it would seem a badge of youth, and perhaps of purity. These are the only two instances in the Bible of such garments being mentioned, and they both seem to bespeak a father's fondness, and a child's youth and innocence. The coat of many colours, therefore which Israel made for his son Joseph, he no doubt intended to be a token of his love for the son of his old age, and as a sign of the son's superior excellence, his great simplicity and integrity of character.
But if his father loved Joseph best, Joseph seems best to have deserved his father's love. The very first thing mentioned of Joseph, after he had become a young man, shows that he was better than his brethren, or than several of them at least. In Gen. xxxvii. 2, we read that Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren, "and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report." Joseph's brethren were, no doubt, guilty of serious misconduct; and this must have been frequent, if not habitual. Judging from Joseph's character, as it is afterwards displayed, there must have been something very wrong in his brothers' conduct before he reported it to his father; and we may suppose he had spoken to them of their evil deeds before declaring them to Jacob.
It may seem to some young people that Joseph was guilty of tale-telling, and that it would have been more gentle and generous of him to conceal his brothers' faults. But we must look at Joseph's motive. If he had told his brothers' faults from any ill-feeling towards them, or even for the mere love of reporting their misconduct, and bringing them into trouble, there might be cause for blaming him for what he did. Joseph's character forbids us to think that this was the case. He loved his brethren and desired their good; and he must have reported their conduct to his father, to make him aware of their evils, that he might use means for correcting and improving them. A brother may, therefore, show his love for his brethren by reporting their misconduct to his father, knowing that his father loves them, and only desires to know the misconduct of his children, that he may restrain them in their evil courses, and guide them in the path of virtue. Only, young people, in doing what Joseph did, must do it with a good end in view. Those who, like Joseph's brethren, go on in evil, besides doing serious injury to themselves, do serious injury to their parents; and for their parents, as well as for their brethren's sake, grave faults should not be concealed. Any one influenced by Joseph's motives may, therefore, imitate Joseph's example.