Were Esau and Jacob reconciled?

The return of Jacob was attended with the most imminent danger. Esau, whose deadly resentment he had excited by the irreparable injury he had inflicted, was now at the head of a formidable band of warriors; and though the country which he inhabited was far distant from the line of Jacob's march, yet that patriarch knew that he had every thing to fear from the animosity of his brother. Jacob prudently resolved to pacify where he could not resist; he sent a magnificent present to Esau; and when the brothers met, Esau at the head of his troops, and Jacob surrounded by his family, fraternal affection obliterated the desire of vengeance, Esau peaceably returned to Seir, and Jacob arrived before the gates of Shechem.

By what was this reconciliation preceded?

This happy reconciliation was immediately preceded by one of the most memorable occurrences in the whole life of Jacob. He had remained behind his family and attendants, no doubt for devotional purposes, he was alone in the silence of the night, when a mysterious stranger appeared, who wrestled with him until the dawning of the day. Who this stranger was, we are at no loss to discover. An inspired writer who flourished many hundred years after Jacob had been gathered to the dust of his fathers has told us, that Jacob "by his strength had power with God: yea, that he had power over the angel, and prevailed.' Hos. xii. 3-5. And the same writer, alluding to the same person who thus contended with Jacob, immediately adds, that it was "the Lord of Hosts who spake with him in Bethel." The patriarch himself had the same conviction, for he said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." It was the illustrious Mediator, in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and who justly claims and receives the adoration which is due to Jehovah alone, who appeared to his servant, to continue the manifestation of his grace, and to carry on that all-comprehensive design of mercy, which he ultimately accomplished by the sacrifice of the cross. Although this meeting with the Holy Angel of the Lord, was no doubt intended

primarily to give to Jacob an assurance of divine protection, in the danger to which he was then exposed from the apprehended resentment of Esau, yet this purpose was only subsidiary to an ultimate, and a far more important and interesting object. A blessing was given to Jacob in answer to the importunity of prayer; and in commemoration of so extraordinary an event, his name was changed to Israel, i. e. "he who prevails with God." In this significant transaction there was a palpable reference to the spiritual blessings which were to be bestowed on millions of the human race, through the merits of the Redeemer, in answer to sincere and fervent prayer.

SECTION V.

THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH.

NAME some of the domestic afflictions of Jacob. The high and honourable station which Jacob occupied in the favour of God, did not exempt him from the severest domestic calamities. The chastity of his daughter was violated by the son of the prince of Shechem; two of his sons, Simeon and Levi, avenged the outrage by the treacherous slaughter of the male inhabitants of the city, and by the sale of the remainder for slaves; Reuben and Judah also dishonoured themselves by incestuous pollution; Rachel too died in giving birth to a son. In rebellion against the Providence of God, she had said, "Give me children, or I die;" her request was granted, and the birth of her second son involved her own dissolution. The venerable Isaac soon followed her to the grave, and was delivered by the friendly hand of death from the burden of a hundred and four score years.

What was the number of the sons of Jacob?

A. C. 1716.

At the death of his father, Jacob saw himself surrounded with twelve sons, the paternal representatives of the twelve tribes into which the Israelites were afterwards divided, and thus already beheld the rudi

ments of a great and powerful nation. The promises of God were now on the verge of fulfilment by a train of providential interpositions, the most remarkable that ever excited the attention or admiration of

man."

Give a summary of the history of the exaltation of Joseph to the government of Egypt.

Forgetting that parental partiality had been the means of expelling him from the house of his father, and of endangering his life by arousing the animosity of his brother, Jacob loved his son Joseph beyond all the rest of his children, and took a pleasure and a pride in seeing him attired in a dress of unwonted gaiety and splendour. The envy and hatred of his brethren were excited; and when Joseph had related two dreams in which the produce of the field and the luminaries of heaven were made to attest his future superiority over all the members of his family, they formed the murderous resolution of hurrying him to a premature grave. An opportunity soon offered for the execution of their sanguinary design. Unmoved by his youth, by his beauty, by his tears, they were about to leave him in a pit to perish of hunger and thirst, or to be devoured by wild beats, when a company of Arabian merchants appeared, and they instantly resolved to avoid the guilt of fratriA. C. 1728. cide, and yet to deliver themselves from the detested presence of their brother, by selling him to the passengers as a slave. The bargain was soon concluded, Joseph was carried as a bondsman into Egypt, and his unhappy father, imposed upon by a fabricated story of his death, expressed his determination to go down with his son in mourning to the sepulchre. Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh; he repelled with heroic constancy the licentious overtures of his abandoned mistress; with the artful malignity of a disappointed, wicked woman, she charged him with a nefarious attempt upon her chastity; the accusation was credited, and Joseph was thrown into prison. But the same sagacity and prudence which he had already exemplified, again procured him friends. For it must not be forgotten, that the mental qualifications of this devoted

young man were most extraordinary; and it was his genius, as well as his amiable temper and personal beauty, which obtained for him the distinguished affection of his father. It is said that Jacob loved Joseph because he was 66 the son of his old age." This is not strictly correct, for both Zebulun and Benjamin were born after Joseph. Some critics would render the phrase "son of old age," by son, i. e. disciple of elders, alluding to genius, penetration, and knowledge beyond his years. Justin says that the envy of his brethren was excited by his superior wit, and therefore they sold him for a slave. These qualifications he displayed in his prison, and he was preeminently blessed by the providence of God; the keeper committed all his affairs into his hands; two of the officers of the royal palace were incarcerated with him; he interpreted their dreams, and the events which he foretold came literally to pass; one of the officers was executed, and the other was restored to the favour of his prince. Two years afterwards, Pharaoh had two dreams which evidently referred to the state of his kingdom. Seven cattle, robust and comely, came up from the Nile; seven others, lean and miserable, followed them and devoured them. Seven ears of corn, full and good, grew upon one stem; seven thin and blasted ones came after them, and devoured them. In vain the Egyptian magicians endeavoured to interpret these significant visions, and to allay the anxiety of the king. Then the liberated officer remembered Joseph; his name was mentioned; the Hebrew stranger was brought before the throne; his prediction, from the the royal dreams, of seven years of superabundant plenty, to be followed by seven years of unprecedented famine, recommended itself to the understanding of the king; and when the prudent advice was given, to lay up a fifth part of the national produce in the years of abundance, to provide for the necessities of the subsequent period of destitution, and the appointment of some prudent man to regulate the resources of the kingdom with this great object constantly in view, Pharaoh and his court instantly concluded, that the person who had suggested the proposition, was the best capacitated for its execution; and at thirty years of age, the outcast, the slave, the reputed criminal,

was elevated to the sole administration of one of the most potent and opulent monarchies in the world. The most exalted honours were heaped upon him; the royal signet was put upon his hand; arrayed in splendid robes, he rode in the second chariot in the kingdom; proclamation was made, that the most lowly homage should be offered to his person; he was designated by a name expressive of wisdom and penetration (Žaphnath-Paaneah, a revealer of secret things) a noble bride was given to him; and, with authority inferior only to that of the king, he conducted with equal prudence and vigour his heaventaught plan to meet the anticipated emergency, and to save a whole population from ruin. During the seven years of plenty, his exertions were incessant ; and when the time of famine commenced, his prudent distribution of the immense stores he had collected, alleviated the pressure of that dreadful evil, which, but for his vigilance and care, would have involved Egypt in national destruction.

How was Joseph restored to his father?

The horrors of the famine were not confined to Egypt, its desolations extended to surrounding countries, and at length to the land of Canaan. Jacob, having heard that corn was to be bought in Egypt, sent ten of his sons to procure the necessary supply, and Benjamin alone remained with his father. The brothers arrived in Egypt; they repaired to Joseph; they were admitted to his presence, and they were instantly known to him; though in the splendid prince they saw surrounded with almost regal splendour, they did not recognize the object of their former jealousy and detestation. Joseph affected astonishment at their appearance and history; he accused them of sustaining the despicable character of spies; they attempted to justify themselves from so unexpected an accusation, by asserting that they were the sons of one father, that they had left a younger brother at home, and that another had been numbered with the dead. Joseph however affected incredulity, and he commanded Simeon to be bound and retained as a hostage, while the rest returned to bring back their younger brother, and thus to prove the truth of their story. When