Reuben returned to the pit, but Joseph was not there. In alarm and self-reproach he rent his garments, and sought his brothers, exclaiming, “The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?” Genesis 37:30. Upon learning the fate of Joseph, and that it would now be impossible to recover him, Reuben was induced to unite with the rest in the attempt to conceal their guilt. Having killed a kid, they dipped Joseph’s coat in its blood, and took it to their father, telling him that they had found it in the fields, and that they feared it was their brother’s. “Know now,” they said, “whether it be thy son’s coat or no.”(Genesis 37:32) They had looked forward to this scene with dread, but they were not prepared for the heart-rending anguish, the utter abandonment of grief, which they were compelled to witness. “It is my son’s coat,” said Jacob; “an evil beast hath devoured him. Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.” Genesis 37:33. Vainly his sons and daughters attempted to comfort him. He “rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.” Genesis 37:34. Time seemed to bring no alleviation of his grief. “I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning,”(Genesis 37:35) was his despairing cry. The young men, terrified at what they had done, yet dreading their father’s reproaches, still hid in their own hearts the knowledge of their guilt, which even to themselves seemed very great. (PP 212.1) MC VC