The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 591

HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 20.-lntended bane an unintentiooal boon. "Ye thought e~·il against me; bnt God meant it unto good." Joseph must have been deeply pained by the mistru,t of his brethren. 'fhcy implied that it was only out of consideration for his father that ho had heon kind to them. Yet Joseph had forgiven them. They could not so easily believe in the forgiveness; just as man now is forgiven by God, but he has the greatest difficulty in believing in the reconciliation. Joseph's brethren sent a mes- senger unto him, probably Benjamin. They who had once sold Joseph as a slave now offer to be his slaves. The offer is to him humiliating. Moreover, it is great pain to him. To a noble soul designing only good to others there is no greater offensiveness than to have his doings viewed with suspicion. Joseph repudiated the mistrust, and refused the offered self-enslavement. lie assures his brctliren of full forgiveness in words which must have been as softest balm to wounded spirits. In a spirit of the highest magnanimity he tries even to make them view with com- placency the result of their wrong-doing. In the text we have the "grand golden key to the whole of his life's history." Notice how- l. INTENDED DANE OFTEN BECOMES UI,INTENT!ONAL BOON. Evil works evil to others, out sometimes good. Intended evil is overruled by God when he has some good object in view. "Man proposes, God disposes." God always knows what the result of certain actions will be. If they are good actions they work in line with his will; if evil, be overrules them. If the horse keeps the road it feels not the rein, but iE it will turn aside, the sharp bit roust draw it back again. Whatever speculation therd may be abont our absolute freeness, we feel that we are free. It is the glory oE God to be able to trust with freedom a being with such great powers for moral evil, like man. He would teach us to use our wills, by giving us full freedom. \Ve fre- quently pain him by our misuse and our abuse of our powers. \Vhat evil we deviso and strive to carry out! The brethren of Joseph even intended murder, and modified it by selling their brother into slavery. They acted more cruelly than some of tlrn roen-stealers of Africa, The latter steal strangers to sell them, but these ten men sold their own brother. They thought they were rid of him. Egypt was a long way off; Joseph was but a weakling, and might soon perish. They would be free from his presence, and could divide their guilty gains. They hardened themselves again8t his tears and entreaties; nnd even in malicious spite were ready to slay the weeping youth because be did not appreciate their considerateness in selling him into slavery instead of killing him outright. It was an evil deed. Those who looked on could see no good to come out of it. There were, however, several great results. 1. He was personally advanced in life, and was able to make the best of it. 2. lie saved thousands o.f people from perishing, and among them his own family. 3. He was the means of bringing Israel into Egypt, where it developed as a people. Its de- liverance gave occasion to the mightiest display of Divine power. 4. He became a type of tho Messiah-rejected of men. Thus we know not the results of any of our acts. God can overrule, to the development of charBCtcr and spiritual power, circum- stances seemingly most opposed to our best interests. God knows what is best. He could break the plans of the evil in pieces. Instead of this he oft confounds the wicked by letting them see that the ends they did not desire have been attained in spite of their opposition, nnd even by the very existence, that the intended bane becomes un unintentional boon. 'rI1us Joseph's brothers found it, and bowed their heads. II. THERE ARE SEVERAL LESSONS TO DE LEARNED FROM THE WAY IN WllICil, BY Goo's 0VERRUI,ING, INTENDED DANE BECOMES A DOON. 1. It is ll dangerous thing to scheme ngai11st others. Especially is it a d11ngerous thi11g when a good ml\n is tho object of the attack. It is likely to be checked 11nd to recoil, " A greater power than we can contradict may thwart our plans," There are 11 thousand che.nces of check or change. l\Ien have so noticed this that even n French moralist suicl, "I do not know what hidden force it is that seems to delight in breaking up human plans just at tho moment when they promise to turn out well." Yea, there is n "hidden force," ever watchful, ever balancing human 11ctions1 ever ordaining, either in this w 1nhl or tho 111ext1 the just meed of praise or blame, or retribution or rcwnn.l. Seo how the scrilit:s  542 THE BOOK OF GENESIS. [cu: r.. 15-26