Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 1.djvu/183

Rh him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. 43. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 44. And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away; 45. Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? 46. And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

Here is,

I. The malice Esau bore to Jacob upon account of the blessing which he had obtained, v. 41. Thus he went in the way of Cain, who slew his brother, because he had gained that acceptance with God which he had rendered himself unworthy of. Esau's hatred of Jacob was, 1. A causeless hatred; he hated him for no other reason, but because his father blessed him, and God loved him.* Note, The happiness of saints is the envy of sinners. Whom Heaven blesses, Hell curses. 2. It was a cruel hatred; nothing less would satisfy him than to slay his brother. It is the blood of the saints that persecutors thirst after. I will slay my brother: how could he say that word, without horror? How could he call him brother, and yet vow his death? Note, The rage of persecutors will not be tied up by any bonds, no not the strongest and most sacred. 3. It was a hatred that calculated on gratifying its rage; he expected his father would soon die, and then titles must be tried, and interests contested, between the brothers, which would give him a fair opportunity of revenge. He thinks it not enough to live by his sword himself, (v. 40.) unless his brother die by it. He is loath to grieve his father while he lives, and therefore puts off the intended murder till his death, not caring how much he then grieved his surviving mother. Note, (1.) Those are bad children to whom their good parents are a burthen, and who, upon any account, long for the days of mourning for them. (2.) Bad men are long held in by external restraints from doing the mischief they would do, and so their wicked purposes come to naught. (3.) Those who think to defeat God's purposes, will undoubtedly be disappointed themselves. Esau aimed to prevent Jacob, or his seed from having the dominion, by taking away his life before he was married: but who can disannul what God has spoken. Men may fret at God's counsels, but cannot change them.

II. The method Rebekah took to prevent the mischief.

1. She gave Jacob warning of his danger, and advised him to withdraw for a while, and shift for his own safety. She tells him what she heard of Esau's design, that he comforted himself with the hope of an opportunity to kill his brother, v. 42. Would one think that such a bloody barbarous thought as this could be a comfort to a man? If Esau could have kept his design to himself, his mother had not suspected it; but men's impudence in sin is often their infatuation; and they cannot accomplish their wickedness, because their rage is too violent to be concealed, and a bird of the air carries the voice. Observe here, (1.) What Rebekah feared; lest she should be deprived of them both in one day; (v. 45.) deprived not only of the murdered, but of the murderer, who either by the magistrate, or by the immediate hand of God, would be sacrificed to justice; which she herself must acquiesce in, and not obstruct; or, if not so, yet thenceforward she would be deprived of all joy and comfort in him. Those that are lost to virtue, are in a manner lost to all their friends. With what pleasure can a child be looked upon, that can be looked upon as no other than a child of the Devil? (2.) What Rebekah hoped. That if Jacob for a while kept out of sight, the affront which his brother resented so fiercely, would by degrees go out of mind. The strength of passions is weakened and taken off by the distances both of time and place. She promised herself, that his brother's anger would turn away. Note, Yielding pacifies great offences; and even those that have a good cause and God on their side, must yet use that with other prudent expedients for their own preservation.

2. She possessed Isaac with an apprehension of the necessity of Jacob's going among her relations, upon another account, which was to get him a wife, v. 46. She would not tell him of Esau's wicked design against the life of Jacob, lest it should trouble him; but prudently took another way to gain her point. Isaac was as uneasy as she was, at Esau's being unequally yoked with Hittites; and therefore with a very good colour of reason, she moves to have Jacob married to one that was better principled. Note, One miscarriage should serve as a warning to prevent another; those are careless indeed, that stumble twice at the same stone. Yet Rebekah seems to have expressed herself somewhat too warmly in the matter, when she said, What good will my life do me, if Jacob marry a Canaanite? For thanks be to God, all our comfort is not lodged in one hand; we may do the work of life, and enjoy the comforts of life, though every thing do not fall out to our mind, and though our relations be not in all respects agreeable to us. Perhaps Rebekah spoke with this concern, because she saw it necessary, for the quickening of Isaac, to give speedy orders in this matter. Observe, though Jacob was himself very towardly and well-fixed in his religion, yet he has need to be put out of the way of temptation. Even he was in danger, both of following the bad example of his brother, and of being drawn into a snare by it. We must not presume too far upon the wisdom and resolution, no not of those children that are most hopeful and promising; but care must be taken to keep them out of harm's way.

CHAP. XXVIII. We have here, I. Jacob parting with his parents, to go to Padan-aram; the charge his father gave him, v. 1, 2. the blessing he sent him away with, v. 3, 4. his obedience to the orders given him, v. 5..7. and the influence this had upon Esau, v. 6..9. II. Jacob meeting with God, and his communion with him by the way. And there, 1. His vision of the ladder, v. 11, 12. 2. The gracious promises God made him, v. 13..15. 3. The impression this made upon him, v. 16..19. 4. The vow he made to God, upon this occasion, v. 20..22.

ND Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2. Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother. 3. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply