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30 - Commentary on The Book of Genesis · Commentary on The Book of Genesis

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Chapter twenty seven. In this chapter we return to the typical story of the
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struggle between Esau and Jacob. Esau have profanely sold the birthright to Jacob,
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but Esau hopes he shall be never the poor nor Jacob the richer for that
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bargain, while he preserves his interest in his father's affections and so secures the
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blessing. Here therefore we find how he was justly punished for his contempt of
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the birthright of which he foolishly deprived himself, with the loss of the blessing
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of which Jacob fraudulently deprives him. Thus this story is explained Hebrews Chapter twelve,
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Verses sixteen and seventeen. Because he sold the birthright when he would have
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inherited the blessing, he was rejected for those who make light of the name
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and profession of religion and throw them away for a trifle, thereby forfeit the
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powers and privileges of it. We have here Roman I Isaac's purpose to entail
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the blessing upon Esau Verses one to five, Roman two, Rebecca's plot to
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procure it for Jacob Verses six to seventeen. Roman three, Jacob's successful management
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of the plot and his obtaining the blessing Verses eighteen to twenty nine, Roman
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four. Esau's resentment of this in which one his great importunity with his father
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to obtain a blessing Verses thirty to forty two. His great enmity to his
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brother for defrauding him of the first blessing Verse forty one, et cetera.
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Rebecca's contrivance BC. Seventeen sixty, Verses one to five. And it came
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to pass that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim so that
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he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said,
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unto him, my son. And he said, unto him, behold here
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am I? And he said, behold now I am old. I know
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not the day of my death. Now therefore, take I pray THEE thy
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weapons, thy quiver, and thy bow, and go out to the field
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and take me some venison, and make me savory meat such as I love,
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and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may
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bless THEE before I die. And Rebecca heard when Isaac spake unto Esau his
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son, and Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to
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bring it here is Roman I Isaac's designed to make his will and to declare
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Esau his heir. The promise of the Messiah and the land of Canaan was
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a great trust first committed to Abraham, inclusive and typical of spiritual and eternal
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blessings. This by divine direction he transmitted to Isaac. Isaac, being now
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old and not knowing or not understanding, or not duly, considering the divine
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oracle concerning his two sons, that the elder should serve the younger, resolves
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to entail all the honor and power that were wrapped up in the promise upon
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Esau, his eldest son. In this he was governed more by natural affection
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and the common method of settlements than he ought to have been if he knew,
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as it is probable he did, the intimations God had given of his
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mind in the matter. Note we are very apt to take our measures rather
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from our own reason than from divine revelation, and thereby often miss our way.
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We think the wise and learned, the mighty and noble should inherit the
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promise. But God sees not as man sees. See for Samuel, chapter
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sixteen, Verses six and seven. Roman too, the directions he gave to
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Esau pursue it to this design, he calls to him verse one. For
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Esau, though married, had not yet removed, and though he had greatly
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grieved his parents by his marriage, yet they had not expelled him. But
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it seems were pretty well reconciled to him and made the best fit. Note
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parents that are justly offended at their children, yet must not be implacable towards
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them. One He tells him upon what considerations he resolved to do this now
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Verse two. I am old, and therefore must die shortly. Yet I
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know not the day of my death, nor when I must die. I
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will therefore do at this time which must be done at some time. Note
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sub one. Old people should be reminded, by the growing infirmities of age
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to do quickly and with all the little might they have, what their hand
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finds to do. See Joshua, Chapter thirteen, Verse one. So two,
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the consideration of the uncertainty of the time of our departure out of the
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world, about which God has wisely kept us in the dark, should quicken
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us to do the work of the day in its day. The heart and
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the house should both be set and kept in order. Because at such an
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hour as we think, think not the son of man comes. Because we
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know not the day of our death, we are concerned to mind the business
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of life. Two, He bids him to get things ready for the solemnity
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of executing his last will and testament, by which he designed to make him
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his heir Verses three and four. Esau must go a hunting and bring some
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venison which his father will eat of, and then bless him. In this
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he designed not so much the refreshment of his own spirits, that he might
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give the blessing in a lively manner, as it is commonly taken, but
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rather the receiving of a fresh instance of his son's filial duty and affection to
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him before he bestowed this favor upon him. Perhaps Esau, since he had
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married, had brought his venison to his wives, and seldom to his father,
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as formerly Chapter twenty five, Verse twenty eight, And therefore Isaac,
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before he would bless him, would have him show this piece of respect to
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him. Note it is fit, if the less be blessed of the greater,
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that the greater should be served and honored by the less he says that
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my soul may bless THEE before I die. Note sub one, prayer is
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the work of the soul and not of the lips. Only as the soul
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must be employed in blessing God Psalm one hundred three, verse one. So
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it must be in blessing ourselves and others. The blessing will not come to
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the heart if it does not come from the heart. So two, the
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work of life must be done before we die, for it cannot be done
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afterwards. Ecclesiastes, chapter nine, verse ten. And it is very desirable,
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when we come to die, to have nothing else to do but to
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die. Isaac lived above forty years after this. Let none therefore think that
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they shall die the sooner for making their wills and getting ready for death Verses
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six to seventeen. And Rebecca spake unto Jacob hers son, saying, behold,
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I heard thy father speak unto Esau, thy brother, saying bring me
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venison and make me savory meat that I may eat and bless THEE before the
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Lord before my death. Now, therefore, my son, obey my voice
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according to that which I command THEE. Go now to the flock and fetch
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me from thence two good kids of the goats, and I will make them
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savory meat for thy father, such as he loveth and thou shalt bring it
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to thy father, that he may eat and that he may bless thee before
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his death. And Jacob said to Rebecca his mother, behold, Esau,
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my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. My
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father, per adventure, will feel me, and I shall seem to him
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as a deceiver, and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not
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a blessing. And his mother said, unto him, upon me, be
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thy curse, my son, only obey my voice, and go fetch me
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them. And he went and fetched and brought them to his mother. And
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his mother made savory meat such as his father loved. And Rebecca took goodly
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raiment of her eldest son, Esau, which were with her in the house,
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and put them upon Jacob, her younger son. And she put the
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skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands and upon the smooth of
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his neck. And she gave the savory meat and the bread which she had
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prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. Rebecca is here contriving to
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procure for Jacob the blessing which was designed for Esau. And here Roman I
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the end was good, for she was directed in this intention by the oracle
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of God by which she had been governed in dispensing her affections. God had
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said it should be so that the elder should serve the younger. And therefore
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Rebecca resolves that it shall be so, and cannot bear to see her husband
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designing to thwart the oracle of God. But Roman, too the means were
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bad and no way justifiable. If it was not a wrong to Esa to
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deprive him of the blessing, he himself having forfeited it by selling the birthright,
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yet it was a wrong to Isaac, taking advantage of his infirmity to
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impose upon him. It was a wrong to Jacob, too, whom she
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taught to deceive by putting a lie into his mouth, or at least by
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putting one into his right hand. It would likewise expose him to endless scruples
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about the blessing if he should obtain it thus fraudulently, whether it would stand
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him or his in any stead, especially if his father should revoke it upon
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the discovery of the cheat and plead as he might that it was nulled by
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an heir persone, a mistake of the person. He himself also was aware
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of the danger lest verse twelve. If he should miss of the blessing,
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as he might probably have done, he should bring upon himself his father's curse,
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which he dreaded above anything. Besides, he laid himself open to that
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divine curse which is pronounced upon him that causeth the blind to wander out of
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the way. Deuteronomy, chapter twenty seven, verse eighteen. If Rebecca,
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when she heard Isaac promise the blessing to Esau, had gone at his return
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from hunting to Isaac, and with humility and sereniousness, put him in remembrance
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of that which God had said concerning their sons. If she further had shown
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him how Esau had forfeited the blessing, both by selling his birthright and by
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marrying strange wives, it is probable that Isaac would have been prevailed upon knowingly
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and wittingly to confer the blessing upon Jacob, and needed not thus to have
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been cheated into it. This would have been honorable and laudable, and would
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have looked well in the history. But God left her to herself to take
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this indirect course, that he might have the glory of bringing good out of
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evil, and of serving his own purposes by the sins and follies of men,
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And that we might have the satisfaction of knowing that though there is so
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much wickedness and deceit in the world, God governs it according to his will,
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to his own praise. See Job chapter twelve, verse sixteen. With
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him our strength and wisdom. The deceived and the deceiver are his. Isaac
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had lost the sense of seeing, which in this case could not have been
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imposed upon Providence, Having so admirably well ordered the difference of features that no
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two faces are exactly alike, Conversation and commerce could scarcely be maintained if there
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were not such a variety. Therefore, she endeavors to deceive one his sense
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of tasting by dressing some choice pieces of kid, seasoning them, serving them
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up so as to make him believe they were venison. This is no hard
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matter to do. See the folly of those that are nice and curious in
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their appetite and take pride in humoring it. It is easy to impose upon
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them with that which they pretend to despise and dislike so little. Perhaps does
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it differ from that to which they give decided preference. Solomon tells us that
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dainties are deceitful meat, for it is possible for us to be deceived by
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them in more ways than one. Proverbs, chapter twenty three, verse thirty
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two two. His sense of feeling and smelling, she put Esau's clothes upon
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Jacob, his best clothes, which it might be supposed Esau would put on
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in token of joy and respect to his father when he was to receive the
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blessing. Isaac knew these by the stuff, shape, and smell, to
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be Esau's. If we would obtain a blessing from our heavenly father, we
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must come for it in the garments of our elder brother, clothed with his
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righteousness, who is the first born among many brethren. Lest the smoothness and
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softness of Jacob's hands and necks should betray him, she covered them, and
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probably part of his face, with the skins of the kids that were newly
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killed Verse sixteen. Esau was rough, indeed, when nothing less than these
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would serve to make Jacob like him. Those that affect to seem rough and
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rugged in their carriage, put the beast upon the man, and really shame
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themselves by thus disguising themselves. And lastly, it was a very rash word
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which Rebecca spoke when Jacob objected to the danger of a curse. Upon me,
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be thy curse, my son verse thirteen. Christ Indeed, who is
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mighty to save, because mighty to bear, has said upon me be the
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curse. Only obey my voice. He has borne the burden of the curse,
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the curse of the law, for all those that will take upon them
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the yoke of the command, the command of the Gospel. But it is
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too daring for any creature to say, upon me be the curse, unless
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it be that curse causeless of which we are sure shall not come. Proverbs,
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Chapter twenty six, verse two, The fraud of Jacob b. C.
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Seventeen sixty, Verses eighteen to twenty nine. And he came unto his
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father and said, my father, And he said, here am I who
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art thou my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esa,
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thy first born. I have done according as thou badest me. Arise,
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I pray thee sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may
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bless me. And Isaac said, unto his son, how is it that
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thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, because
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the Lord thy God brought it to me. And Isaac said, unto Jacob,
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come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee my son,
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whether thou be my very son Esa or not. And Jacob went near,
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unto Isaac's father, and he felt him and said, the voice is
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Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned
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him not because his hands were hairy as his brother ESA's hands. So he
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blessed him, and he said, art thou my very son, Esa,
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And he said I am, And he said, bring it near to me,
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and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless
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thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat,
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and he brought him wine and he drank, and his father Isaac said,
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unto him, come near now and kiss me, my son. And he
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came near and kissed him, and he smelled the smell of his raiment and
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blest him and said, see the smell of my son is the smell of
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a field. Which the Lord hath blessed. Therefore, God give THEE thedo
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of heaven and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine.
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Let people serve THEE, and nations bow down to THEE. Be Lord
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over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to THEE. Cursed
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be everyone that curseth THEE, and blessed be he that blesseth THEE. Observe
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here Roman I the art and assurance with which Jacob managed this intrigue. Who
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would have thought that this plain man could have played his part so well in
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a design of this nature, his mother having put him in the way of
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it and encouraged him in it, he dexterously applied himself to those methods which
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he had never accustomed himself to, but had always conceived an abhorrence of.
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Note. Lying is soon learnt. The Psalma speaks of those who, as
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soon as they are born, speak lies. Psalm fifty eight, verse three.
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Jeremiah, Chapter nine, verse five. I wonder how honest Jacob could
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so readily turn his tongue to say verse nineteen, I am esau thy first
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born. Nor do I see how the endeavor of some to bring him off
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with that equivocation, I am made thy first born, namely by purchase?
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Does him any service? For when his father asked him verse twenty four,
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art thou my very son, Esau, he said, I am. How
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could he say, I have done as thou badest me when he had received
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no command from his father, but was doing as his mother bade him.
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How could he say, eat of my venison when he knew it came not
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from the field but from the fold. But especially I wonder how he could
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have the assurance to farther it upon God and to use his name in the
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cheat verse twenty The Lord thy God brought it to me? Is this,
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Jacob? Is this Israel? Indeed without guile? It is certainly written not
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for our imitation, but for our admonition. Let him that thinks he stands
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take heed lest he fall. Good men have sometimes failed in the exercise of
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those graces for which they have been most eminent. Roumin two the success of
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this management, Jacob, with some difficulty, gained his point and obtained the
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blessing one. Isaac was at first dissatisfied, and would have discovered the fraud
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if he could have trusted his own ears, for the voice was Jacob's voice
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verse twenty two. Providence has ordered a strange variety of voices as well as
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faces, which is also of use to prevent our being imposed upon. And
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the voice is a thing not easily disguised nor counterfeited. This may be alluded
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to to illustrate the character of a hypocrite. His voice is Jacob's voice,
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but his hands are esaus. He speaks the language of a saint, but
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does the works of a sinner. But the judgment will be as here by
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the hands. Two. At length he yielded to the power of the cheat
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because the hands were hairy verse twenty three, not considering how easy it was
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to counterfeit that circumstance. And now Jacob carries it on, dexterously, sets
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his venison before his father, and waits at table, very officiously, till
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dinner is done and the blessing comes to be pronounced in the close of this
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solemn feast. That which in some small degree extenuates the crime of Rebecca and
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Jacob is that the fraud was intended not so much to hasten the fulfilling as
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to prevent the thwarting of the oracle of God. The blessing was just going
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to be put on the wrong head, and they thought it was time to
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bestir themselves. Now let us see how Isaac gave Jacob his blessing Verses twenty
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six to twenty nine. Sub One. He embraced him in token of a
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particular affection to him. Those that are blessed of God are kissed with the
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kisses of His mouth, and they do, by love and loyalty kiss the
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son Psalm two, verse twelve. So two he praised him. He smelt
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the smell of his raiment, and said, See, the smell of my
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son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed, that
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is like that of the most fragrant flowers and spices. It appeared that God
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had blessed him, and therefore Isaac would bless him. So three he prayed
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for him, and therein prophesied concerning him. It is the duty of parents
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to pray for their children and to bless them in the name of the Lord,
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and thus, as well as by their baptism, to do what they
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can to preserve and perpetuate the entail of the Covenant in their families. But
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This was an extraordinary blessing, and providence so ordered it, that Isac should
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bestow it upon Jacob ignorantly and by mistake that it might appear he was beholden
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to God for it, and not to Isaac. Three things Jacob is here
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blessed with one plenty verse twenty eight, heaven and earth, concurring to make
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him rich. Two power verse twenty nine, particularly dominion over his brethren,
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namely Esau in his posterity. Three prevalency with God, and a great interest
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in Heaven. Cursed be every one that curseth Thee, and blessed be he
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that blesseth Thee. Let God be a friend to all thy friends and an
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enemy to all thy enemies. More is certainly comprised in this blessing that appears
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prima facie at first sight. It must amount to an entail of the promise
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of the Messiah and of the Church. This was in the patriarchal dialect thee
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blessing. Something spiritual, doubtless is included in it. First, that from
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him should come the Messiah, who should have a sovereign dominion on earth.
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It was that top branch of his family which people should serve and nations bow
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down to see numbers Chapter twenty four, verse nineteen. Out of Jacob shall
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come he that shall have dominion the star and scepter, verse seventeen. Jacob's
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dominion over Esau was to be only typical of this Chapter forty nine, verse
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ten. Secondly, that from him should come the Church, which should be
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particularly owned and favored by Heaven. It was part of the blessing of Abraham
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when he was first called to be the father of the faithful Chapter twelve,
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verse three. I will bless those that bless thee. Therefore, when Isaac
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afterwards confirmed the blessing to Jacob, he called it the blessing of Abraham Chapter
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twenty eight, verse four. Balem explains this too Numbers Chapter twenty nine,
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verse nine. Note it is the best and most desirable blessing to stand in
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relation to Christ and his Church, and to be interested in Christ's power and
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the Church's favors. The blessing pronounced on Jacob and Esau Thesey seventeen sixty,
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verses thirty two, forty, and it came to pass as soon as Isaac
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had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out
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from the presence of Isaac's father. That Esa his brother came in from his
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hunting, and he also had made savory meat and brought it unto his father,
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and said, unto his father, let my father arise and eat of
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his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac's father said,
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unto him, who art thou? And he said, I am thy
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son, thy first born Esau. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly and said,
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who where is he? That hath taken venison and brought it me? And
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I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him yea,
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and he shall be blessed. And when Esau heard the words of his father,
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he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said, unto
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his father, bless me even me also on my father, and he said,
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thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing. And
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he said, is not he rightly named Jacob? For he hath supplanted me
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these two times he took away my birthright. And behold now he has taken
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away my blessing. And he said, hast thou not reserved a blessing for
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me. And Isaac answered and said, unto Esau, behold, I have
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made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for
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servants, and with corn and wine I have sustained him. And what shall
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I do now unto thee my son. And Esau said, unto his father,
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hast thou but one blessing? My father bless me even me also on
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my father. And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. And Isaac,
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his father, answered and said, unto him, behold, thy dwelling shall
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be the fatness of the earth and of the dew of heaven from above.
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And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother. And
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it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion that thou shalt break
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his yoke from off thy neck. Here is roman Ie, the covenant blessing
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denied to Esau. He that made so light of the birthright, would now
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have inherited the blessing. But he was rejected and found no place of repentance
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in his father, though he saught it carefully with tears. Hebrews chapter twelve
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or seventeen. Observe one how carefully he sought it. He prepared the savory
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meat as his father had directed him, and then begged the blessing which his
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father had encouraged him to expect verse thirty one. When he understood that Jacob
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had obtained it surreptitiously, he cried with a great and exceedingly bitter cry verse
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thirty four. No man could have laid the disappointment more to heart than he
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did. He made his father's tent to ring with his grief, and again
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verse thirty eight, lifted up his voice and wept. Note the day is
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coming when those that now make light of the blessings of the Covenant and sell
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their title to them for a thing of naught will in vain be importunate for
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them. Those that will not so much as ask and seek now will knock
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shortly and cry, Lord Lord, slights of Christ will then be humble suitors
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to him. Two. How he was rejected, Isaac, when first made
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sensible of the imposition that had been practiced upon him, trembled exceedingly Verse thirty
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three. Those that follow the choice of their own affections rather than the dictates
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of the divine will involve themselves in such perplexities as these. But he soon
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recovers himself and ratifies the blessing he had given to Jacob. I have blessed
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him, and he shall be blessed. He might, upon very plausible grounds,
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have recalled it. But now at last his sensible that he was in
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an error when he designed it for Esau, either himself recollecting the divine oracle,
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or rather having found himself more than ordinarily filled with the Holy Ghost.
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When he gave the blessing to Jacob, he perceived that God did as it
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were, say amen to it. Now. Sub One, Jacob was hereby
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confirmed in his possession of the blessing, and abundantly satisfied of the validity of
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it, though he obtained it fraudulently. Hence too he had reason to hope
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that God graciously overlooked and pardoned his misconduct. Sub two. Isaac hereby acquiesced
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in the will of God, though it contradicted his own expectations and affection.
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He had a mind to give Esau the blessing, But when he perceived the
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will of God was otherwise, he submitted, And this he did by faith.
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He restept eleven Verse twenty, as Abraham before him, when he had
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solicited for Ishmael. May not God do what he will with his own sub
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three. Esa hereby was cut off from the expectation of that special blessing which
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he thought to have preserved to himself when he sold his birthright. We by
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this instance are taught one that it is not of him that willeth, nor
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of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Romes chapter nine,
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verse sixteen. The apostle seems to allude to this story. Esau had
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a good will to the blessing and ran for it, but God that showed
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mercy designed it for Jacob, that the purpose of God according to election might
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stand verse eleven. The Jews, like Esau, hunted after the Law of
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righteousness verse thirty one, yet misst of the blessing of righteousness because they sought
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it by the works of the law verse thirty two, while the Gentiles,
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who like Jacob, sought it by faith in the oracle of God, obtained
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it by force with that violence which the Kingdom of Heaven suffers. See Matthew
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chapter eleven, verse twelve two. That those who undervalue their spiritual birthright and
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can afford to sell it for a morsel of meat, forfeit spiritual blessings,
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And it is just with God to deny them those favors. They were careless
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of those that will part with their wisdom and grace, with their faith and
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good conscience, for the honors, wealth, or pleasures of this world.
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However they may pretend a zeal for the blessing, have already judged themselves unworthy
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of it, and so shall their doom be. Three that those who lift
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up hands in wrath lift them up in vain. Esa, instead of repenting
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of his own folly, reproached his brother unjustly charged him with taking away the
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birthright which he had fairly sold to him, verse thirty six, and conceived
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malice against him for what he had now done Verse forty one. Those are
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not likely to speed in prayer who turn those resentments upon their brethren, which
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they should turn upon themselves, and lay the blame of their miscarriages upon others,
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when they should take shame to themselves. Four That those who seek not
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till it is too late will be rejected. This was the ruin of Esa.
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He did not come in time, as there is an accepted time,
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a time when God will be found. So there is a time when he
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will not answer those that call upon him, because they neglected the appointed season
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see Proverbs, chapter one, verse twenty eight. The time of God's patience
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and our probation will not last always. The day of grace will come to
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an end, and the door will be shot. Then many that now despise
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the blessing will seek it carefully, for then they will know how to value
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it, and will see themselves undone forever undone without it. But to no
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purpose Luke chapter thirteen, verses twenty five to twenty seven, Oh that we
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would therefore in this day know the things that belong to our peace. Roman
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too, here is a common blessing bestowed upon Esau one. This he desired
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bless me. Also verse thirty four. Hast thou not reserved a blessing for
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me? Verse thirty six. Note said one the worst of men know how
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to wish well to themselves, and even those who profanely sell their birthright seem
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piously to desire the blessing. Faint desires of happiness without a right choice of
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the end and a right use of the means, deceive many into their own
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ruin multitudes go to Hell with their mouths full of good wishes. The desire
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of the slothful and unbelieving kills them. Many will seek to enter in as
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Esa, who shall not be able because they do not strive Luke, Chapter
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thirteen, ver. Twenty four, s two. It is the folly of
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most men that they are willing to take up with any good some four verse
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six. As Esa here, who desire but a second rate blessing, a
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blessing separated from the birthright. Profane hearts think any blessing as good as that
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from God's oracle. Hast thou but one, as if he had said,
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I will take up with any though I have not the blessing of the Church.
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Yet let me have some blessing. Two this he had, and let
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him make his best of it Verses thirty nine and forty. Sub one.
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It was a good thing, and better than he deserved. It was promised
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him one that he should have a competent livelihood, the fatness of the earth
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and the dew of heaven. Note those that come short of the blessings of
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the Covenant may yet have a very good share of outward blessings. God gives
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good ground and good weather, to many that reject his covenant and have no
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part nor lot in it two that by degrees he should recover his liberty.
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If Jacob must rule Verse twenty nine. Esau must serve, but he has
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this to comfort him. He shall live by his sword. He shall serve,
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but he shall not starve, And at length, after much skirmishing,
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he shall break the yoke of bondage and wear marks of freedom. This was
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fulfilled Second Kings, Chapter eight, Verses twenty and twenty two, and the
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Edomites revolted sub two. Yet it was far short of Jacob's blessing. For
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him, God had reserved some better thing. One. In Jacob's blessing,
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the due of heaven is put first, as that which he most valued and
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desired and depended upon. In Esau's the fatness of the earth is put first,
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for it was this that he had the first and principle regard to two.
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Esau has these, but Jacob has them from God's hand. God give
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thee to do of heaven Verse twenty eight. It was enough to Esau to
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have the possession, but Jacob desired it by promise, and to have it
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from covenant love. Three. Jacob shall have dominion over his brethren. Hence
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the Israelites often ruled over the Edomites. Esau shall have dominion, that is,
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he shall gain some power and interest, but he shall never have dominion
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over his brother. We never find that the Jews were sold into the hands
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the Edomites, or that they oppressed them. Great difference is that there is
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nothing in Esau's blessing that points at Christ, nothing that brings him or his
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into the Church and Covenant of God, without which the fatness of the earth
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and the plunder of the field will stand him in little stead. Thus Isaac
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by faith blessed them both according as their lot should be. Some observe that
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Jacob was blessed with a kiss verse twenty seven, So was not Esau.
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Jacob's life threatened by Esa b. C. Seventeen sixty Verses forty one,
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two forty six. And Esa hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father
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blessed him. And Esa said in his heart, the days of mourning for
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my father are at hand. Then I will slay my brother Jacob. And
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these words of Esa, his elder son, were told to Rebecca, and
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she sent and called Jacob, her younger son. And said unto him,
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behold, thy brother, Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself purposing
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to kill thee. Now, therefore, my son obey my voice and arise.
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Flee thou to Laban, my brother to Hern, and tarry with him
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a few days until thy brother's fury turn away, Until thy brother's anger turn
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away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him,
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then I will send and fetch thee from thence, why should I be deprived
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also of you? Both in one day? And Rebecca said to Isaac,
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I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heath. If Jacob
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take a wife of the daughters of Heath such as these, which are the
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daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me? Here is
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roman Ie the malice Esau bore to Jacob upon account of the blessing which he
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had obtained Verse forty one. Thus he went in the way of Cain,
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who slew his brother, because he had gained the acceptance of God, of
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which he had rendered himself unworthy. Esau's hatred of Jacob was one a causeless
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hatred. He hated him for no other reason, but because his father blessed
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him, and God love him. Note the happiness of saints is the envy
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of sinners, whom Heaven blesses hell curses. Two. It was a cruel
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hatred. Nothing less would satisfy him than to slay his brother. It is
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the blood of the saints that persecutors thirst after, I will slay my brother.
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How could he say that word without horror? How could he call him
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brother and yet vow his death? Note the rage of persecutors will not be
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tied up by any bonds, No, the strongest and most sacred. Three
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It was a politic hatred. He expected his father would soon die, and
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then titles must be tried, an interest contested between the brothers, which would
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give him a fair opportunity for revenge. He thinks it not enough to live
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by his sword himself Verse forty, unless his brother die by it. He
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is loath to grieve his father while he lives, and therefore puts off the
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intended murder till his death, not caring how much he then grieved his surviving
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mother. Note so one, those are bad children to whom their good parents
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are a burden, and who, upon any account, long for the days
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of mourning for them. Sob two bad men are long held in by external
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restraints from doing the mischief they would do, and so their wicked purposes come
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to naught. So three, those who think to defeat God's purposes will undoubtedly
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be disappointed themselves. Esau aimed to prevent Jacob or his seed from having the
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dominion by taking away his life before he was married. But who can disannull
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what God has spoken? Men may fret at God's counsels, but cannot change
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them. Roman too. The method Rebecca took to prevent the mischief. One
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She gave Jacob warning of his danger and advised him to withdraw for a while
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and shift for his own safety. She tells him what she heard of Esau's
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design, that he comforted himself with the hope of an opportunity to kill his
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brother Verse forty two. Would one think that such a bloody, barbarous thought
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as this could be a comfort to a man. If Esa could have kept
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his design to himself, his mother would not have suspected it. But men's
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impudence in sin is often their infatuation, and they cannot accomplish their wickedness because
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their rage is too violent to be concealed, and a bird of the air
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carries the boys. Observe here sab one. What Rebecca feared lest she should
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be deprived of them both in one day Verse forty five, deprived not only
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of the murdered, but of the murderer, who, either by the magistrate
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or by the immediate hand of God, would be sacrificed to justice, which
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she herself must acquiesce in and not obstruct, or if not so yet,
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thenceforward she would be deprived of all joy and comfort in him. Those that
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are lost to virtue are in a manner lost to all their friends with What
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pleasure can a child be looked upon that can be looked upon as no other
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than a child of the devil? Sub? Two? What Rebecca hoped that
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if Jacob for a while kept out of sight, the affront which his brother
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resented so fiercely, would by degrees go out of mind. The strength of
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passions is weakened and taken off by the distances, both of time and place.
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She promised herself that his brother's anger would turn away. Note yielding pacifies
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great offenses, and even those that have a good cause and God on their
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side, must yet use this with other prudent expedients for their own preservation.
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Two, she impressed Isaac with an apprehension of the necessity of Jacob's going among
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her relations upon another account, which was to take a wife verse forty six.
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She would not tell him of Esau's wicked design against the life of Jacob,
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lest it should trouble him, but prudently took another way to gain her
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point. Isaac saw as uneasy as he was to ESA's being unequally yoked with
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Hittites, and therefore with a very good color of reason, she moves to
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have Jacob married to one that was better principled. Note one miscarriage should serve
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as a warning to prevent another. Those are kireless indeed that stumble twice at
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the same stone. Yet Rebecca seems to have expressed herself somewhat too warmly in
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the matter when she said, what good will my life do me? If
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Jacob marry a Canaanite. Thanks be to God, all our comfort is not
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lodged in one hand. We may do the work of life and enjoy the
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comforts of life, though everything do not fall out of our mind, and
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though our relations be not in our respects agreeable to us. Perhaps Rebecca spoke
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with this concern because she saw it necessary for the quickening of Isaac to give
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speedy orders in the matter. Observe, though Jacob was himself very towardly and
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well fixed in his religion, yet he had need to be put out of
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the way of temptation. Even he was in danger, both of following the
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bad example of his brother and of being drawn into a snare by it.
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We must not presume too far upon the wisdom and resolution, No, not
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of those children that are most hopeful and promising, but care must be taken
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to keep them out of harm's way. End of Chapter twenty seven.