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Joseph and His Brothers
147
“Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.
The archers have bitterly grieved him,
Shot at him and hated him.
But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the mighty God of Jacob ... .
The blessings of your father
Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his
brothers.”
Jacob was a man of deep affection; his love for his sons was
strong and tender. He had forgiven all of them, and he loved them to
the last. His fatherly tenderness would have found expression only
in words of encouragement and hope, but the power of God rested
on him. Under the influence of Inspiration he was led to declare the
truth, however painful.
Jacob’s last years brought an evening of tranquility and rest after
a troubled and weary day. Dark clouds had gathered above his
path, yet his sun set clear, and the radiance of heaven lighted up his
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parting hours. Says the Scripture, “At evening time it shall ... be
light” (
Zechariah 14:7
). “Mark the blameless man, and observe the
upright; for the future of that man is peace” (
Psalm 37:37
).
Inspiration faithfully records the faults of good people who were
distinguished by the favor of God. This has given the infidel oppor-
tunities to scoff at the Bible, but it is one of the strongest evidences
of the truth of Scripture that it does not gloss over the facts or sup-
press the sins of its chief characters. If the Bible had been written
by uninspired persons, it would surely have presented its honored
characters in a more flattering light.
Seeing where others struggled through discouragements like
our own, where they fell when tempted as we have done and yet
took heart again and conquered through the grace of God, we are
encouraged in our quest for righteousness. Though sometimes they