him what course they had taken. He followed the directions of the kind stranger, and found his brethren feeding their flocks at Dothan, which is near mount Gilboa.

His brethren saw him coming afar off. They were probably upon high ground, and Joseph was conspicuous by the bright colors of his coat. Before he came near, they consulted together, saying,

'Behold, this dreamer cometh. Let us slay him, and cast him into some pit; and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams."

One of Joseph's brethren, Reuben the firstborn, would not consent to the murder of his innocent young brother; and in order to save his life, he said to the others,

"Let us not kill him. Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit in the wilderness."

Reuben designed in his heart, when the party had left the place, to return privately, take Joseph out of the pit, and hasten away with him to his father.

So when Joseph came to his brethren, they stripped him of the beautiful garments in which his father had clothed him, and dragged him to

the pit. He besought them with tears and cries and great anguish of soul, to spare him, but they had no mercy. They cast him into the pit, and all, except Reuben, sat down to their ordinary repast, as if no crime had been committed, and nothing uncommon had occurred.

JOSEPH SOLD INTO EGYPT.

Joseph was left in the pit; but not alone, for God was with him. The Almighty, in whom he had put his trust, would not

leave him to perish in that dark and dismal place. Even then the way was preparing for his escape.

Just at the right moment a company of travelling merchants came in sight. These were Ishmaelites and Midianites, laden with costly gums and spices, which they were bearing from Gilead to Egypt for sale.

Judah, one of the brethren whose heart relented towards Joseph, said to the others, "Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh." To this they agreed. So they drew him out of the pit, and sold him to the merchants for twenty pieces of silver.

Reuben was absent, and knew not that Joseph had been sold. He goes to the pit in order to release him from confinement. He calls, but he receives no answer. "Behold, Joseph was not in the pit."

sorrow, he rushes into the

Overcome with

presence of his

brethren, rending his garment and exclaiming, "The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?" GEN. 37:29, 30.

Reuben was thinking of his aged father. He had hoped to deliver Joseph safe into his hands,

and he could not bear the thought of witnessing the grief of his venerable parent at the loss of his beloved son.

But the other brethren took the beautiful coat of Joseph, dipped it in the blood of a goat, and sent it to Jacob, saying that they had found this garment, and he could see for himself whether it was the one that had belonged to his son or not.

Jacob knew the coat well, and believed that some wild beast of the desert had attacked Joseph, and devoured him. He mourned and lamented many days, and even at last refused to be comforted, saying,

"I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning."

Jacob was at this time one hundred and eight years of age, and Joseph seventeen. Isaac was yet living, but nearly one hundred and eighty years old.

JOSEPH, A TYPE.

Of whom does Joseph, beloved by his father, but hated by his brethren, remind us?

What other transaction resembles the selling of Joseph by his brethren, for twenty pieces of silver?

JOSEPH A SERVANT.

The Midianites carried Joseph to Egypt and sold him to an officer of Pharoah the king, named Potiphar. Joseph, as a servant, was faithful to the duties of his station.

He feared

God, and the blessing of God was with him, making all that he did to prosper in his hand. His master, observing his skill and discretion, made him overseer of his house, and all his estate.

The wife of Potiphar was an artful, corrupt woman, who tried to allure Joseph to become a companion of her wicked ways. But Joseph resisted the temptation, and steadily refused to participate in her guilt, saying,

"How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" What a bright example is here displayed of wisdom and piety. When exposed to great temptations, let us remember Joseph, and say as he did,

"How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"

The wife of Potiphar was an idolater, and not a worshipper of the true God. She was hardened in sin, and to be revenged upon Joseph, accused him falsely to his master. Poti

Bib. Prim.