Holly Bible - KJV with Concise Commentaries by Z Selam - HTML preview
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of the journey, but cheerfully embraced the opportunity of showing his respect to his brethren.
Note, It is a very good lesson, though it is learnt with difficulty and rarely practised, to love those that hate us; if our relations do not their duty to us, yet we must not be wanting in our duty to them. This is thank-worthy. Joseph was sent by his father to Shechem, to see whether his brethren were well there, and whether the country had not risen upon them and destroyed them, in revenge of their barbarous murder of the Shechemites some years before. But Joseph, not finding them there, went to Dothan, which showed that he undertook this journey, not only in obedience to his father (for then he might have returned when he missed them at Shechem, having done what his father told him), but out of love to his brethren, and therefore he sought diligently till he found them. Thus let brotherly love continue, and let us give proofs of it.
14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy
brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in
the field: and the man asked him, saying, what seekest thou?
16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they
feed their flocks.
17 And the man said, they are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let
us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto
them, they conspired against him to slay him.
The bloody and malicious plot of his brethren against him, who rendered good for evil, and, for his love, were his adversaries. Observe, how deliberate they were in the contrivance of this mischief: when they saw him afar off, they conspired against him, Ge 37:18. It was not in a heat, or upon a sudden provocation, that they thought to slay him, but from malice prepense, and in cold blood. Note, Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; for he will be one if he have an