Page:The Story of Joseph and His Brethren.djvu/27

24 and said that he would go down to the grave unto his son mourning.

It is remarkable that those very sons who had caused him all this sorrow rose up with his other children to comfort him. And it is no less remarkable that Reuben, as well as the other brethren, kept the truth concealed from their father, and never revealed it to him till after Joseph had made himself known to them in Egypt, when on their return home they announced to their father the extraordinary tidings—"Joseph is yet alive, and is governor over all the land of Egypt."

The Ishmaelites who had bought Joseph carried him down to Egypt, and there sold him to Potiphar, an officer, a captain of the guard. Away from his father's house and from all his kindred—away from that home which he loved, he is now not only a stranger but a captive in a strange land. But although he was away from all that he loved and that loved him, there was One who had not forsaken him nor left him. "The Lord was with Joseph." How blessed and comforting is this truth! His cruel brethren could separate him