"And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him (Gen. 50:15).

"But this Man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood" (Heb. 7:24).

The story recorded in Genesis, chap. 50, affords a glimpse into some of the closing scenes of the life of Joseph. Some years had passed since the joyous reconciliation between Joseph and his brethren had been effected. For many months they had been the recipients of the bounteous provision of their brother's table; the happy family had been reunited in a harmony that had surpassed their highest thoughts. They had been brought into most unusual favor with the king of Egypt, and the key to the most luxurious provision hung at Joseph's "belt.

But now a crisis arrives:Jacob, their aged father dies.

The body has scarcely been interred before the faces of Joseph's brethren are clouded with anxiety. Suspicious glances are cast toward the governor. Their memories carry them back to that black day when they plotted his death at Dothan. They recall the conspiracy, the pit, the shameful selling to the Ishmaelites, and their hypocritical report to their father. Surely their brother will now seek vengeance upon them for their base actings. And so a messenger is sent to him begging, in their behalf, forgiveness. "And Joseph wept when they spake unto him." Can we wonder at his feeling of disappointment? His brethren had not really known him. They entirely misunderstood their benefactor, and had never learned the unchanging character of the governor's grace.

Do we not see in the conduct of these sons of Jacob but a reflection of ourselves? Are there not times when we lose sight of the fact that He, as the true Joseph, is unchanging in His favor? A period of time, short or long, has passed since we heard His voice, "Thy sins be forgiven thee; go in peace," and constantly since that happy day we have been the objects of His unspeakable love-care. But in spite of the bounty of His table are there not times when the subtle question as to His future benevolence grips the heart and chills the spirit? Under stress, have we not all joined with the disciples on Galilee's lake and said, "Master, carest Thou not that we perish!" But must this not bring a tinge of disappointment to the sensitive heart of our divine Lord? His deep love displayed at Calvary knows no change. Our acceptance with the Father is eternal. He was, is, and ever shall be for us. God has placed Him in charge of all His "corn," and we, like Mephibosheth of old, occupy a place at the King's table.

Again, Joseph's brethren thought their brother's kindness to be dependent on circumstances. Jacob's death, they reckoned, would bring a change in his attitude. Their eyes were -upon Jacob; their faith was not in Joseph at all!

An unexpected crisis enters our life. It may be sickness, financial reverses, or some other such test. Like the men of the narrative, unbelief declares that our Joseph's affections will cool. Paul might have so reasoned at his last trial before Nero, "the Lion." "No man stood with me," he writes in his last letter to Timothy, "but all men forsook me. Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me." He had learned, through long experience, that the grace and love of Christ, his All-in-All, was unchanging in its character.

Let us remember that our circumstances, whatever they be, are controlled by the dictates of changeless love. Let us seek to look at them through Him, and not at Him through them. C. Ernest Tatham