Genesis 45:16-28; 46; 47:1-12; 5016And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. 17And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; 18And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. 19Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. 21And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. 22To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. 23And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way. 24So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way. 25And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, 26And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not. 27And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: 28And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die. (Genesis 45:16‑28)
1Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. 2And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. 3And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. 4They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. 5And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: 6The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. 7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? 9And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. 10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 11And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families. (Genesis 47:1‑12)
BEFORE Joseph told his brothers who he was, he had sent the servants out of the room; yet he had sobbed so loud that the servants had heard, and soon they knew the reason why Joseph had sent them out. The servants were glad to hear that Joseph had found his brothers. Joseph had not told the people of Egypt of his brothers' wickedness.
Pharaoh, the king, heard of the brothers being found; and he, too, was glad, for he loved Joseph.
He called Joseph, and said to him, "Your brothers must come and live near you, and you must send for your old father, and for all the little children; and they shall have the best food in all the land to eat. We will give them houses, fields, and gardens, and they shall live together. We must send wagons to bring the little children, their mothers, and your old father; but they need not bring their things, for we will give them everything they want.”
You see how kind the king was.
Joseph got wagons with some beasts to draw them, and he gave his brothers some food to eat as they traveled home. He also made them some handsome presents, for Joseph was very rich. He gave them each two suits of clothes; but to Benjamin he gave five suits of clothes, besides a great deal of money. He sent a present to his father; ten asses that carried all kinds of good things; and ten asses more that carried a great deal of bread and meat for his father to eat by the way.
When all things were ready, Joseph told his brothers to go to Canaan, and to come back quickly. He gave them one piece of advice before they went. "Take care," he said, "that you do not quarrel by the way.”
They must have had a pleasant journey.
Old Jacob had been longing to see them, much fearing lest Benjamin should not come back safely. At last they came, and he saw that not one was missing.
They told him quickly the joyful news. "Joseph is alive; and he is the great lord that sells corn in the land of Egypt.”
Perhaps you think Jacob was delighted; but no—he would not believe them.
"No," said he, "my son has long been dead.”
"But we have seen him," said they
"It cannot be true," said Jacob.
Then the brothers had told him what Joseph had said. "He desires us all to come and live with him, and he sends for you.”
Still Jacob could not believe them.
"Only come and see the wagons he has sent, and then you will believe us," said they.
So they took old Jacob to see the wagons, and when he saw them he did believe; and then he was glad.
"It is enough," said old Jacob. "Joseph, my son, is yet alive; I will go and see him before I die.”
The brothers told their wives and their children that they must leave Canaan, and take a long journey. They got into the wagons, and set out. Jacob was lame and old, and he rode in a wagon, but the brothers were strong enough to walk. And they took their sheep, and cows, and goats, and camels, and asses with them, and all their things. They had to travel a very long way. No doubt the little children were much pleased, for children are fond of making journeys.
At last they all came into the land of Egypt.
Long before they came to Joseph's house, they saw a fine chariot coming towards them. It was Joseph's. It stopped, and Joseph got out of it.
Old Jacob stepped out of his wagon. His hair was gray, his legs were weak, and he could hardly walk. Joseph was a fine and glorious lord. He ran to meet his father, and threw his arms around his neck; and then he wept for a long while.
The last time Joseph had kissed his father was when he was a boy dressed in his pretty coat, and was going to look for his brothers to see how they did. How many sad days had Jacob spent since that time in thinking of him! And now at last he had found him again.
The brothers did not feel envious now, when they saw Jacob and Joseph folded in each other's arms.
"Now," said old Jacob, "let me die, since I have seen your face, Joseph, once more.”
Then Joseph said to his father and brothers, "I will go and tell Pharaoh that you are come.”
So Joseph went to Pharaoh the king, and said, "My father, and brothers, and their flocks, and all that they have, are come.”
And then he brought five of his brothers, and showed them to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to them, "What is your employment?”
We are shepherds; but there is no grass in Canaan for our sheep. Will you give us some fields where we can feed them?”
Pharaoh said that he would give them a great many fields, and that they might live there all together, with their children and their flocks.
Joseph wished them to live all together, because the people in Egypt worshipped idols.
Joseph wished the king to see his dear old father; so he brought him in to the king. The king treated him with great respect, because Jacob was a very old man. Even kings should pay respect to old men, Should not children pay great respect to an old man? When they see a gray-headed old man, they should be ready to wait upon him, and do what he bids them.
Old Jacob lifted up his hands over Pharaoh's head, and prayed God to show him kindness. This was called blessing him. Jacob blessed Pharaoh, because he had been very good to his dear Joseph. Jacob must have loved Pharaoh very much.
Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How old are you?”
Jacob said, "I am one hundred and thirty years old, but I am not as old as my fathers were; and my life has been full of troubles.”
Then Jacob, blessed Pharaoh again, and went away to the place Pharaoh had given him to live in. There he lived, with all his children round him. Joseph did not live with him, but he often came to see him.
Jacob at last fell sick, and knew that he soon should die. He sent for all his sons, that he might bless them before he died. Jacob had been lame a long while, and now he was almost blind, and very weak, and sick.
When his sons came, he sat upon the bed, and called them one by one, that he might give a blessing to each. After he had blessed them, he said, "I am soon going to die; bury me in the cave in Canaan where Abraham my grandfather is buried, and Isaac my father." He said a great deal more, and at last he gathered up his feet into the bed, and died.
His spirit went to God, and he is still with Him in heaven. His body will rise from the cave at the last day.
Joseph fell upon his father's face when he was dead, and wept upon him, and kissed him. Those gray hairs had not gone down in sorrow to the grave, for God had comforted Jacob before he died.
Joseph took his father's body to Canaan, to put it in the cave where Abraham and Isaac were. All the brothers went with Joseph, and a great many servants, and chariots, and horses. Afterward, they came back to Egypt.
A very sad thought came into the minds of the brothers. They said to each other, "Perhaps Joseph has only been so kind to us to please his father; perhaps he has not really forgiven us; and now perhaps he will punish us." So they sent a servant to Joseph, and told the servant to say to Joseph, "Your father, before he died, told us to beg you to forgive us our great wickedness. So pray forgive us.”
When Joseph heard this message he began to weep. Why did he weep? Because he was sorry that his brothers should think he could be so unkind to them.
Soon his brothers came and fell down before him, and seemed much afraid. Joseph said, "Fear not; it was wrong of you to sell me, yet God made it turn out for good; because, when I was in Egypt I saved the corn, and so you were kept from dying of hunger. I will feed you and your little children." He spoke very kindly to them, and comforted them.
Joseph lived to be a very old man, and at last he died.
This is the history of Joseph. He is now in heaven with his dear Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph forgave his brothers, and Christ has forgiven him; for Joseph committed sins, though they are not written down in the Bible.
You have heard the history of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God loved them all three. Abraham was the grandfather, Isaac the father, and Jacob the son.
God had promised the land of Canaan to the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; that is, to their great-great-grandchildren. God would not forget that promise. But he had made them a better promise than that; he had promised them that Jesus Christ should one day be born into the world, and should save them from their sins. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob often thought of that promise.
At last Christ did come, and now Christ is in heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as Abel, Noah, and Joseph, and all good men, whose sins Christ has forgiven.
Oh, my dear children, may you be with them one day!
Hymn 17
Full twenty years are passed away,
Yet Jacob still laments the day
He lost his dearest one;
Nor evermore can hope to see
That face, of innocence and glee,
Until this life is done.
Though naught can give his spirit ease,
One infant, cherished on his knees,
Has soothed his bitter woe.
To part with him he gave consent—
Now trembles lest some accident
Have laid his darling low.
How vain are all his fond alarms!
Again he clasps him in his arms,
And gazes on his face.
And, hark I he hears a strange report
That Joseph lives, and in a court
Maintains the highest place.
Yet can he not the news believe
Until his aged eyes perceive
The things that Joseph sent.
Then Joseph's words to him are told
He cries, Joseph’s I shall his face behold,
And I shall die content.”
Mothers, and babes, and maidens fair,
A joyful, numerous train, prepare
With Jacob to proceed.
These in the wagons safely ride,
While men; and Striplings, by their side,
The flocks and cattle lead.
Now Canaan's mountains disappear,—
Lo! Joseph's chariot’s drawing near,
Which princely honors deck:
Before his father Joseph bows,
His arm around him fondly throws,
And weeps upon his neck.
Another name sweet Joseph bears,
Another garb indeed he wears,
His heart no change has known;
True piety his youth adorned,
When by his cruel brothers scorned.
And in the pit cast down:
And still his father's God he fears,
His aged father Still reveres,
And Sinful ways abhors:
And by his words and actions shows,
With love his heart still overflows
For God's most holy laws.
Child
In early youth I would begin,
As Joseph did, to flee from sin,
And God’s commands obey:
And though, awhile, I may be sad,
My God at length will made me glad
In heaven's eternal day.