will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

20. "And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.

21. "And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him ; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.

22. "And it came to pass when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him.

23. "And they took him, and cast him into a pit and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

24. "And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

25. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

26. "Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, and our flesh : and his brethren were content.

27. Then there passed by Midianites, merchant-men; and they drew and lifted up

Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

28. "And Reuben returned unto the pit ; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit and he rent his clothes.

29. "And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not: and I, whither shall I go?

30. And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood:

31. "And they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found; know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.

32. "And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

33. "And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

34. "And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

35. "And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.”

Repeat the substance of this lesson. Was it right or wrong for Joseph's brothers to hate him? Will such kind of feelings make a person happy or unhappy? Does

God always know when we have such feelings towards one another? Does he approve or disapprove of such feelings? What does the Bible say of this? "Thou

shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart." Lev. xix. 17. "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer." 1 John iii. 15. What is the kind of hatred that Joseph's brothers felt for him called? See 10. Does envy make us happy or unhappy? Is it wise, then, or foolish, to cherish it? What does the Bible say of envy? "A sound heart is the life of the flesh, but envy the rottenness of the bones." Prov. xiv. 30. Why did the brothers contrive to slay Joseph ? Do envy and hatred lead to good or to bad actions? What is the crime of slaying a person called? What does the Bible say of it? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder." Matt. xix. 18. Was Joseph killed? What did his brothers do with him? Was this right or wrong? What does the Bible say of this crime? that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death." Exod. xxi. 16. What was the cause of all these crimes?

See 3.

He

LESSON XX.

Remorse and Forgiveness.

1. You have read, in the last chapter, how Joseph was thrown into a pit, and afterwards sold to a company of merchants going into Egypt.

2. Joseph passed through a great many interesting adventures in that country. You will find a full account of them in the book of Genesis, from the thirty-ninth chapter to the end of the book.

3. I shall only mention here, that he was raised, by his wisdom, to be the chief man in

the country under king Pharaoh, and that he was the means of saving the people in a dreadful famine, which lasted seven years.

4. This famine was not confined to Egypt. It extended to the neighboring countries. The brothers of Joseph went several times to buy corn in Egypt. But they did not know Joseph. The following is the account which the Bible gives of his making himself known to them:

5. "Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me and there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his breth

ren.

6. "And he wept aloud; and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.

7. "And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.

8. "And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you and they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

9. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life.

10. "For these two years hath the famine been in the land; and yet there are five years,

in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

11. "And God sent me before you, to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

12. "So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

13. "Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt; come down unto me, tarry not:

14. "And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast :

15. “And there will I nourish thee, (for yet there are five years of famine,) lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

16. "And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.

17. "And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen: and ye shall haste, and bring down my father hither.

18. "And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.