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2 CHRIST CHURCH, LONDON. Scripture—Genesis 46-50. Special Text—Genesis 47:7, 12, “And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him be fore Pharoah, and Jacob blessed Pharoah.” “And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren and all his father’s household, ac cording to their families.” E IHIS is one of the most thrilling bits of history in connection with the story of I Joseph. In our previous studies we have had our eyes for the most part cen tered upon Joseph and his brethren. Now we fix them upon Joseph, and his father Jacob. If Joseph’s big-heartedness shines in his deal ings with his brethren, no less does his affection shine in his dealings with his father. I want us to fix our minds on the picture of an old patriarch with his sons and their wives and children, and all that they possessed in this world, moving in one long tram along the dusty road from Canaan into Egypt. It is to me a very interesting picture, especially when I re member who this is, this aged patriarch. You observe that he calls a halt at Beersheba, and there, two very important things take place. First, Jacob offers sacrifices, and worships God, and then, as a result of this offering and wor ship, God comes down and gives to him a new covenant. This is found in chapter 46:2-4, “And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said Jacob, Jacob, and he said here am I. And he said, lam God, the God of thy father; fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation. I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again; and Joseph shall put his hands upon thine eyes.” Jacob is there at Beersheba on his way down to Egypt to see his son. He is not quite sure about all. There is evidently a great deal of distrust upon Jacob’s part; he has not yet for gotten about Joseph’s very strange departure, and he has never been altogether satisfied about the story they told him of Joseph. And now, on the way down to Egypt, we can imagine the old patriarch nervous, and trembling with fear; stopping there at Beersheba to worship God, and offer sacrifices. He is fearful of every step that he has taken on that journey. And so God comes to minister to him under these try ing circumstances. After Jacob immediately sends Judah over TEARS AND TRIUMPHS REPORTED FOR THE GOLDEN AGE BY M. I. H.—Copyright Applied For. The Golden Age for June 19, 1913 into Egypt to notify Joseph of his coming, and solicit the assistance of Joseph in settling in Goshen. He finally arrives in Go hen. I have often tried to picture the arrival. The most inter esting part is what takes place immediately after his arrival—the call of the governor upon him; and the governor is no more than his son Joseph. No doubt Jacob has been very anxious all this time to see Joseph, more so than to get food for himself and his family, and after landing in Goshen, surely old Jacob’s heart beat fast as he thought of his son who is now such a big man in Egypt. Joseph rides in his chariot to call upon his father and brethren; and here is the way the greeting is described: ‘‘And he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die. since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.” That is all there is said about it, but that is quite enough; it is enough for those of us who can remember our fathers and mothers. We do not need to have anything else said. When we take into consideration the long separation of years, and the story that Jacob had all these years been trying to persuade himself was not true (for I have no doubt he tried of times to per suade himself that that story was not true, about Joseph’s being killed by the wild beasts) but all the time fearful it might be true —when we take all this into consideration— no Avonder there was weeping when they met. This pet ted son of his, after all the, trying circum stances, is prime minister and governor of Egypt, riding in a chariot! It is enough to make old Jacob say: “Now, I am ready to die.” Then we pass on to the presentation to Phar oah. First, his brethren are presented. He dees not present them all, only five. Ido not know why he does not present them all, but perhaps this was enough; doubtless he selected the best looking ones of the bunch, the finest, the heart iest and best built of the crowd. Ido not know about that. I know this, there is no resent ment on the part of Jcseph. We find him tak ing these brothers who had sold him into Egypt, and broken his father’s heart, and presenting them at court, as his brothers, not ashamed of them at all! His presentation of his father is interesting, very interesting to me. Here is what is said o fit: “And Joseph brought in his father Ja cob, and set him before Pharoah, and Jacob blessed Pharoah. (Now just you fancy it. There is his chariot; here is Pharoah the king; and here is Joseph, and cld Jacob), “And Pharoah said unto Jacob, How old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharoah, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years ; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and I have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” In other words, he says to Pharoah, “lam not as old as I look to be. There are some circumstances operating in my life that account for my aged look. I have not kept up my manhood, and vigor, and strength like my fathers before me, because I have gone through a lot of trouble.” Then we come to Joseph’s final provision for his father. “And 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 Pharoah had commanded.” He gave them the best they had in Egypt,” and Joseph nourished his father and his brethren, and all of his father’s household with bread, according to their families.” Then let us pass rapidly to the consideration of the life and death of Jacob in Egypt. He lived in Egypt 17 years, we are told, and his last request of Joseph—how full of pathos and feeling, and patriotism and statesmanship it is! And the time drew night that Israel must die; and he called his son Joseph and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, my hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not I pray thee in Egypt.” Then Jacob calls his two sons of Joseph, Manassah and Ephriam, and gives them his blessing, and makes the final address to his sons, gives directions for his burial and dies. And Jcseph takes his body and carries it to Mach pelah, where Abraham was buried, and buries his old father over in the old burial ground. And Pharoah sends a detachment of officers in honor of Joseph, along with his old father. The story closes with a simple, brief account of the death of Joseph. We would have spent chap ters on the description of the death of Joseph, the man who had done so well in Egypt; a man who stocd out, as he did, as the one conspicu ous character in all the world. And yet there are only a few words that tell about his death. Here is his last request. “And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.” When at last death came, and called him he is anxious that his body shall be carried over to the old family burial-ground. Then we find his death described: “So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him. and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Following this the Book of Gene sis closes, and we are left to see in Exodus what became of the body cf Joseph—it just says here, that he was put in a coffin in Egyyt. We find that his body was taken finally and placed by his father in Canaan. Practical Summary. 1. True greatness is never satisfied with be ing the only great. Some years ago there was a book written by Mr. Jacob Riis, in America, entitled, “How the Other Side Lives.” It made a great im pression throughout the country, and a copy of the book somehow fell into the hands of the moit distinguished statesman of the country, who read it carefully. After had read it, he called upon Mr. Riis. Mr. Riis was out. His visitor took a pen and wrote: “I have just finished reading your book, and have come to offer help.—T. Roosevelt.” If any man were to ask me in a single sentence the secret of Mr. T Roosevelt’s greatness, I think I would say this. So far as I have been able to observe, the man is ever trying to lift the other fellow up. That is true greatness. The man who is so unselfish as to try to give everybody in this world a better advantage than he has got, is the man that just cannot-be put down. *2. No man is strong enough to live without some other man. 'lhis was true of Pharoah. Pharoah was a great man, and had a great position as head of (Continued on page 14.) SEND $1.50 FOR ONE YEAR’S SUBSCRIP TION TO THE GOLDEN AGE AND A SET OF SILVER TEA SPOONS.