900 lines
34 KiB
Plaintext
900 lines
34 KiB
Plaintext
|
<HTML>
|
||
|
|
<HEAD>
|
||
|
|
<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter XXXV].</TITLE>
|
||
|
|
<meta name="aesop" content="information">
|
||
|
|
<meta name="description" content=
|
||
|
|
"This site is for those friends and family members who may or may not know Our Lord Jesus Christ, and if not, they may come to know Our Lord through His Prophets."> <meta name="author" content="Brian Duncalfe">
|
||
|
|
<meta name="keywords" content=
|
||
|
|
"Prophecy, Rapture,hope,bible map,bible maps, God, tribulation,Second Coming,Christ,large print bible,commentary,complete">
|
||
|
|
</HEAD>
|
||
|
|
<body background="../sueback.jpg" bgproperties="fixed" >
|
||
|
|
<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
|
||
|
|
on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<HR>
|
||
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
|
||
|
|
<TR>
|
||
|
|
<TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
||
|
|
[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
|
||
|
|
[<A HREF="MHC01034.HTM">Previous</A>]
|
||
|
|
[<A HREF="MHC01036.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
|
||
|
|
<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
||
|
|
Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
|
||
|
|
</TD></TR></TABLE>
|
||
|
|
<HR>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- (Begin Body) -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Page204"> </A>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<CENTER>
|
||
|
|
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
|
||
|
|
<BR>
|
||
|
|
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXV.</FONT>
|
||
|
|
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
|
||
|
|
</CENTER>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<FONT SIZE=-1>
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
In this chapter we have three communions and three funerals.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
I. Three communions between God and Jacob.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
1. God ordered
|
||
|
|
Jacob to Beth-el; and, in obedience to that order, he purged his
|
||
|
|
house of idols, and prepared for that journey,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. Jacob built an altar at Beth-el, to the honour of God that had
|
||
|
|
appeared to him, and in performance of his vow,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:6,7">ver. 6, 7</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
3. God appeared to him again, and confirmed the change of his
|
||
|
|
name and covenant with him
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:9-13">ver. 9-13</A>),
|
||
|
|
of which appearance
|
||
|
|
Jacob made a grateful acknowledgment,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:14,15">ver. 14, 15</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
II. Three funerals.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
1. Deborah's,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:8">ver. 8</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. Rachel's,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:16-20">ver. 16-20</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
3. Isaac's,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:27-29">ver. 27-29</A>.
|
||
|
|
Here is also Reuben's incest
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:22">ver. 22</A>),
|
||
|
|
and an account of Jacob's sons,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:23-26">ver. 23-26</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
</FONT>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_1"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_2"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_3"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_4"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_5"> </A>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
||
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Jacob Summoned to Bethel; Jacob's Journeys towards Bethel.</I></FONT></TD>
|
||
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1732.</TD></TR>
|
||
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
||
|
|
</TABLE>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise,
|
||
|
|
go up to Beth-el, and dwell there:
|
||
|
|
and make there an altar unto God,
|
||
|
|
that appeared unto thee when thou
|
||
|
|
fleddest from the face of Esau thy
|
||
|
|
brother.
|
||
|
|
2 Then Jacob said unto his
|
||
|
|
household, and to all that <I>were</I> with
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Page205"> </A>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
him, Put away the strange gods that
|
||
|
|
<I>are</I> among you, and be
|
||
|
|
clean, and change your garments:
|
||
|
|
3 And let us
|
||
|
|
arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I
|
||
|
|
will make there an altar unto God,
|
||
|
|
who answered me in the day of my
|
||
|
|
distress, and was with me in the way
|
||
|
|
which I went.
|
||
|
|
4 And they gave unto
|
||
|
|
Jacob all the strange gods which <I>were</I>
|
||
|
|
in their hand, and <I>all their</I> earrings
|
||
|
|
which <I>were</I> in their ears; and Jacob
|
||
|
|
hid them under the oak which <I>was</I> by
|
||
|
|
Shechem.
|
||
|
|
5 And they journeyed: and
|
||
|
|
the terror of God was upon the cities
|
||
|
|
that <I>were</I> round about them, and they
|
||
|
|
did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
|
||
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Here,
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
I. God reminds Jacob of his vow at
|
||
|
|
Beth-el, and sends him thither to perform it,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
|
||
|
|
Jacob had said in the day of his distress,
|
||
|
|
<I>If I come again in peace, this stone shall
|
||
|
|
be God's house,</I>
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:22"><I>ch.</I> xxviii. 22</A>.
|
||
|
|
God had performed
|
||
|
|
his part of the bargain, and had given
|
||
|
|
Jacob more than bread to eat and raiment to
|
||
|
|
put on--he had got an estate, and had become
|
||
|
|
two bands; but, it should seem, he had forgotten
|
||
|
|
his vow, or at least had too long deferred
|
||
|
|
the performance of it. Seven or eight
|
||
|
|
years it was now since he came to Canaan;
|
||
|
|
he had purchased ground there, and had built
|
||
|
|
an altar in remembrance of God's last appearance
|
||
|
|
to him when he called him <I>Israel</I>
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+33:19,20"><I>ch.</I> xxxiii. 19, 20</A>);
|
||
|
|
but still Beth-el is forgotten.
|
||
|
|
Note, Time is apt to wear out the
|
||
|
|
sense of mercies and the impressions made
|
||
|
|
upon us by them; it should not be so, but
|
||
|
|
so it is. God had exercised Jacob with a
|
||
|
|
very sore affliction in his family
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:1-31"><I>ch.</I> xxxiv.</A>),
|
||
|
|
to see if this would bring his vow to his
|
||
|
|
remembrance, and put him upon the performance
|
||
|
|
of it, but it had not this effect;
|
||
|
|
therefore God comes himself and puts him
|
||
|
|
in mind of it: <I>Arise, go to Beth-el.</I> Note,
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
1. As many as God loves he will remind of neglected
|
||
|
|
duties, one way or other, by conscience
|
||
|
|
or by providences.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. When we have
|
||
|
|
vowed a vow to God, it is best not to defer
|
||
|
|
the payment of it
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+5:4">Eccles. v. 4</A>),
|
||
|
|
yet better late than never. God bade him go to Beth-el
|
||
|
|
and dwell there, that is, not only go himself,
|
||
|
|
but take his family with him, that they might
|
||
|
|
join with him in his devotions. Note, In
|
||
|
|
Beth-el, the house of God, we should desire
|
||
|
|
to dwell,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+27:4">Ps. xxvii. 4</A>.
|
||
|
|
That should be our
|
||
|
|
home, not our inn. God reminds him not
|
||
|
|
expressly of his vow, but of the occasion of
|
||
|
|
it: <I>When thou fleddest from the face of Esau.</I>
|
||
|
|
Note, The remembrance of former afflictions
|
||
|
|
should bring to mind the workings of our
|
||
|
|
souls under them,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+66:13,14">Ps. lxvi. 13, 14</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
II. Jacob commands his household to prepare
|
||
|
|
for this solemnity; not only for the
|
||
|
|
journey and remove, but for the religious
|
||
|
|
services that were to be performed,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
|
||
|
|
Note, 1. Before solemn ordinances, there
|
||
|
|
must be solemn preparation. <I>Wash you,
|
||
|
|
make you clean,</I> and then <I>come, and let us
|
||
|
|
reason together,</I>
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:16-18">Isa. i. 16-18</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. Masters
|
||
|
|
of families should use their authority for the
|
||
|
|
promoting of religion in their families. Not
|
||
|
|
only we, but our houses also, should serve
|
||
|
|
the Lord,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+24:15">Josh. xxiv. 15</A>.
|
||
|
|
Observe the commands
|
||
|
|
he gives his household, like Abraham,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+18:19"><I>ch.</I> xviii. 19</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(1.) They must <I>put away the
|
||
|
|
strange gods.</I> Strange gods in Jacob's family!
|
||
|
|
Strange things indeed! Could such
|
||
|
|
a family, that was taught the good knowledge
|
||
|
|
of the Lord, admit them? Could such a
|
||
|
|
master, to whom God had appeared twice,
|
||
|
|
and oftener, connive at them? Doubtless this
|
||
|
|
was his infirmity. Note, Those that are good
|
||
|
|
themselves cannot always have those about
|
||
|
|
them so good as they should be. In those
|
||
|
|
families where there is a face of religion, and
|
||
|
|
an altar to God, yet many times there is much
|
||
|
|
amiss, and more strange gods than one would
|
||
|
|
suspect. In Jacob's family, Rachel had her
|
||
|
|
<I>teraphim,</I> which, it is to be feared, she
|
||
|
|
secretly made some superstitious use of. The
|
||
|
|
captives of Shechem brought their gods along
|
||
|
|
with them, and perhaps Jacob's sons took
|
||
|
|
some with the plunder. However they came
|
||
|
|
by them, now they must <I>put them away.</I>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(2.) They must be clean, and <I>change their garments;</I>
|
||
|
|
they must observe a due decorum,
|
||
|
|
and make the best appearance they could.
|
||
|
|
Simeon and Levi had their hands full of
|
||
|
|
blood, it concerned them particularly to wash,
|
||
|
|
and to put off their garments that were so
|
||
|
|
stained. These were but ceremonies, signifying
|
||
|
|
the purification and change of the heart.
|
||
|
|
What are clean clothes, and new clothes,
|
||
|
|
without a clean heart, and a new heart? Dr.
|
||
|
|
Lightfoot, by their <I>being clean,</I> or <I>washing</I>
|
||
|
|
themselves, understands Jacob's admission
|
||
|
|
of the proselytes of Shechem and Syria into
|
||
|
|
his religion by baptism, because circumcision
|
||
|
|
had become odious.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
3. They must go with
|
||
|
|
him to Beth-el,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
|
||
|
|
Note, Masters of families,
|
||
|
|
when they go up to the house of God,
|
||
|
|
should bring their families with them.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
III. His family surrendered all they had
|
||
|
|
that was idolatrous or superstitious,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
|
||
|
|
Perhaps, if Jacob had called for them sooner,
|
||
|
|
they would sooner have parted with them,
|
||
|
|
being convicted by their own consciences of
|
||
|
|
the vanity of them. Note, Sometimes attempts
|
||
|
|
for reformation succeed better than
|
||
|
|
one could have expected, and people are not
|
||
|
|
so obstinate against them as we feared. Jacob's
|
||
|
|
servants, and even the retainers of his
|
||
|
|
family, gave him all the strange gods, and
|
||
|
|
the ear-rings they wore, either as charms or
|
||
|
|
to the honour of their gods; they parted with
|
||
|
|
all. Note, Reformation is not sincere if it
|
||
|
|
be not universal. We hope they parted with
|
||
|
|
them cheerfully, and without reluctance, as
|
||
|
|
Ephraim did, when he said, <I>What have I to
|
||
|
|
do any more with idols?</I>
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+14:8">Hos. xiv. 8</A>),
|
||
|
|
or that
|
||
|
|
people that said to their idols, <I>Get you hence,</I>
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+30:22">Isa. xxx. 22</A>.
|
||
|
|
Jacob took care to bury their
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Page206"> </A>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
images, we may suppose in some place unknown
|
||
|
|
to them, that they might not afterwards
|
||
|
|
find them and return to them. Note,
|
||
|
|
We must be wholly separated from our sins,
|
||
|
|
as we are from those that are dead and buried
|
||
|
|
out of our sight, cast them <I>to the moles and
|
||
|
|
the bats,</I>
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:20">Isa. ii. 20</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
IV. He removes without molestation from Shechem to Bethel,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
|
||
|
|
<I>The terror of God
|
||
|
|
was upon the cities.</I> Though the Canaanites
|
||
|
|
were much exasperated against the sons of
|
||
|
|
Jacob for their barbarous usage of the Shechemites,
|
||
|
|
yet they were so restrained by a
|
||
|
|
divine power that they could not take this
|
||
|
|
fair opportunity, which now offered itself,
|
||
|
|
when they were upon their march, to avenge
|
||
|
|
their neighbours' quarrel. Note, The way
|
||
|
|
of duty is the way of safety. While there
|
||
|
|
was sin in Jacob's house, he was afraid of his
|
||
|
|
neighbours; but now that the strange gods
|
||
|
|
were put away, and they were all going together
|
||
|
|
to Bethel, his neighbours were afraid
|
||
|
|
of him. When we are about God's work, we
|
||
|
|
are under special protection. God is with us,
|
||
|
|
while we are with him; and, if he be for us,
|
||
|
|
who can be against us? See
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+34:24">Exod. xxxiv. 24</A>,
|
||
|
|
<I>No man shall desire thy land, when thou goest
|
||
|
|
up to appear before the Lord.</I> God governs
|
||
|
|
the world more by secret terrors on men's
|
||
|
|
minds than we are aware of.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_6"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_7"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_8"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_9"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_10"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_11"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_12"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_13"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_14"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_15"> </A>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
||
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Jacob's Arrival at Bethel.</I></FONT></TD>
|
||
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1732.</TD></TR>
|
||
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
||
|
|
</TABLE>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>6 So Jacob came to Luz, which <I>is</I>
|
||
|
|
in the land of Canaan, that <I>is,</I> Beth-el,
|
||
|
|
he and all the people that <I>were</I> with
|
||
|
|
him.
|
||
|
|
7 And he built there an altar,
|
||
|
|
and called the place El-Beth-el: because
|
||
|
|
there God appeared unto him,
|
||
|
|
when he fled from the face of his brother.
|
||
|
|
8 But Deborah Rebekah's nurse
|
||
|
|
died, and she was buried beneath
|
||
|
|
Beth-el under an oak: and the name
|
||
|
|
of it was called Allon-bachuth.
|
||
|
|
9 And God appeared unto Jacob again,
|
||
|
|
when he came out of Padan-aram, and
|
||
|
|
blessed him.
|
||
|
|
10 And God said unto
|
||
|
|
him, Thy name <I>is</I> Jacob: thy name
|
||
|
|
shall not be called any more Jacob,
|
||
|
|
but Israel shall be thy name: and he
|
||
|
|
called his name Israel.
|
||
|
|
11 And God
|
||
|
|
said unto him, I <I>am</I> God Almighty:
|
||
|
|
be fruitful and multiply; a nation and
|
||
|
|
a company of nations shall be of thee,
|
||
|
|
and kings shall come out of thy loins;
|
||
|
|
12 And the land which I gave Abraham
|
||
|
|
and Isaac, to thee I will give it,
|
||
|
|
and to thy seed after thee will I give
|
||
|
|
the land.
|
||
|
|
13 And God went up from
|
||
|
|
him in the place where he talked with
|
||
|
|
him.
|
||
|
|
14 And Jacob set up a pillar
|
||
|
|
in the place where he talked with him,
|
||
|
|
<I>even</I> a pillar of stone: and he poured
|
||
|
|
a drink offering thereon, and he poured
|
||
|
|
oil thereon.
|
||
|
|
15 And Jacob called the
|
||
|
|
name of the place where God spake
|
||
|
|
with him, Beth-el.
|
||
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Jacob and his retinue having safely arrived
|
||
|
|
at Beth-el, we are here told what passed there.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
I. There he built an altar
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
|
||
|
|
and no
|
||
|
|
doubt offered sacrifice upon it, perhaps the
|
||
|
|
tenth of his cattle, according to his vow, <I>I
|
||
|
|
will give the tenth unto thee.</I> With these sacrifices
|
||
|
|
he joined praises for former mercies,
|
||
|
|
particularly that which the sight of the place
|
||
|
|
brought afresh to his remembrance; and he
|
||
|
|
added prayers for the continuance of God's
|
||
|
|
favour to him and his family. And he called
|
||
|
|
the place (that is, <I>the altar</I>) <I>El-beth-el, the
|
||
|
|
God of Bethel.</I> As, when he made a thankful
|
||
|
|
acknowledgment of the honour God had
|
||
|
|
lately done him in calling him <I>Israel,</I> he worshipped
|
||
|
|
God by the name of <I>El-elohe Israel;</I>
|
||
|
|
so, now that he was making a grateful recognition
|
||
|
|
of God's former favour to him at
|
||
|
|
Bethel, he worships God by the name of <I>El-beth-el,
|
||
|
|
the God of Beth-el,</I> because there God
|
||
|
|
appeared to him. Note, The comfort which
|
||
|
|
the saints have in holy ordinances is not so
|
||
|
|
much from <I>Bethel, the house of God,</I> as from
|
||
|
|
<I>El-beth-el, the God of the house.</I> The ordinances
|
||
|
|
are but empty things if we do not meet
|
||
|
|
with God in them.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
II. There he buried Deborah, Rebekah's
|
||
|
|
nurse,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
||
|
|
We have reason to think that
|
||
|
|
Jacob, after he came to Canaan, while his
|
||
|
|
family dwelt near Shechem, went himself (it
|
||
|
|
is likely, often) to visit his father Isaac at
|
||
|
|
Hebron. Rebekah probably was dead, but
|
||
|
|
her old nurse (of whom mention is made
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+24:59"><I>ch.</I> xxiv. 59</A>)
|
||
|
|
survived her, and Jacob took
|
||
|
|
her to his family, to be a companion to his
|
||
|
|
wives, her country-women, and an instructor
|
||
|
|
to his children; while they were at Bethel,
|
||
|
|
she died, and died lamented, so much lamented
|
||
|
|
that the oak under which she was
|
||
|
|
buried was called <I>Allon-bachuth, the oak of
|
||
|
|
weeping.</I> Note, 1. Old servants in a family,
|
||
|
|
that have in their time been faithful and useful,
|
||
|
|
ought to be respected. Honour was
|
||
|
|
done to this nurse, at her death, by Jacob's
|
||
|
|
family, though she was not related to them,
|
||
|
|
and though she was aged. Former services,
|
||
|
|
in such a case, must be remembered.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. We
|
||
|
|
do not know where death may meet us; perhaps
|
||
|
|
at Beth-el, the house of God. Therefore
|
||
|
|
let us be always ready.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
3. Family-afflictions
|
||
|
|
may come even when family-reformation
|
||
|
|
and religion are on foot. Therefore
|
||
|
|
rejoice with trembling.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
III. There God appeared to him
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
|
||
|
|
to own his altar, to answer to the name by which
|
||
|
|
he had called him, <I>The God of Beth-el</I>
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
|
||
|
|
and to comfort him under his affliction,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
||
|
|
Note, God will appear to those in a way of
|
||
|
|
grace that attend on him in a way of duty.
|
||
|
|
Here,
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
1. He confirmed the change of his
|
||
|
|
name,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
||
|
|
It was done before by the
|
||
|
|
angel that wrestled with him
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+32:28"><I>ch.</I> xxxii. 28</A>),
|
||
|
|
and here it was ratified by the divine Majesty,
|
||
|
|
or <I>Shechinah,</I> that appeared to him. There
|
||
|
|
it was to encourage him against the fear of
|
||
|
|
Esau, here against the fear of the Canaanites.
|
||
|
|
Who can be too hard for Israel, a prince with
|
||
|
|
God? It is below those who are thus dignified
|
||
|
|
to droop and despond.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. He renewed
|
||
|
|
and ratified the covenant with him, by the
|
||
|
|
name <I>El-shaddai. I am God Almighty, God
|
||
|
|
all-sufficient</I>
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
||
|
|
able to make good the
|
||
|
|
promise in due time, and to support thee and
|
||
|
|
provide for thee in the mean time. Two
|
||
|
|
things are promised him which we have met
|
||
|
|
with often before:--
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(1.) That he should be
|
||
|
|
the father of a great nation, great in number--<I>a
|
||
|
|
company of nations shall be of thee</I> (every
|
||
|
|
tribe of Israel was a nation, and all the
|
||
|
|
twelve a company of nations), great in honour
|
||
|
|
and power--<I>kings shall come out of thy loins.</I>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(2.) That he should be the master of a good
|
||
|
|
land
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
||
|
|
described by the grantees, Abraham
|
||
|
|
and Isaac, to whom it was promised,
|
||
|
|
not by the occupants, the Canaanites in whose
|
||
|
|
possession it now was. The land that was
|
||
|
|
given to Abraham and Isaac is here entailed
|
||
|
|
on Jacob and his seed. He shall not have
|
||
|
|
children without an estate, which is often the
|
||
|
|
case of the poor, nor an estate without children,
|
||
|
|
which is often the grief of the rich; but
|
||
|
|
both. These two promises had a spiritual
|
||
|
|
signification, of which we may suppose Jacob
|
||
|
|
himself had some notion, though not so clear
|
||
|
|
and distinct as we now have; for, without doubt,
|
||
|
|
Christ is the promised seed, and heaven is the
|
||
|
|
promised land; the former is the foundation,
|
||
|
|
and the latter the top-stone, of all God's
|
||
|
|
favours.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
3. He then went up from him, or
|
||
|
|
<I>from over him,</I> in some visible display of glory,
|
||
|
|
which had hovered over him while he talked
|
||
|
|
with him,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
||
|
|
Note, The sweetest communions
|
||
|
|
the saints have with God in this
|
||
|
|
world are short and transient, and soon have
|
||
|
|
an end. Our vision of God in heaven will
|
||
|
|
be everlasting; there we shall be ever with
|
||
|
|
the Lord; it is not so here.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
IV. There Jacob erected a memorial of
|
||
|
|
this,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
1. He set up a pillar. When he
|
||
|
|
was going to Padan-aram, he set up for a pillar
|
||
|
|
that stone on which he had laid his head.
|
||
|
|
This was agreeable enough to his low condition
|
||
|
|
and his hasty flight; but now he took
|
||
|
|
time to erect one more stately, more distinguishable
|
||
|
|
and durable, probably placing that
|
||
|
|
stone in it. In token of his intending it for
|
||
|
|
a sacred memorial of his communion with
|
||
|
|
God, he poured oil and the other ingredients
|
||
|
|
of a drink-offering upon it. His vow was,
|
||
|
|
<I>This stone shall be God's house,</I> that is, shall
|
||
|
|
be set up for his honour, as houses to the
|
||
|
|
praise of their builders; and here he performs
|
||
|
|
it, transferring it to God by anointing
|
||
|
|
it.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. He confirmed the name he had formerly
|
||
|
|
given to the place
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
||
|
|
<I>Beth-el, the
|
||
|
|
house of God.</I> Yet this very place afterwards
|
||
|
|
lost the honour of its name, and became
|
||
|
|
<I>Beth-aven, a house of iniquity;</I> for here it
|
||
|
|
was that Jeroboam set up one of his calves.
|
||
|
|
It is impossible for the best man to entail
|
||
|
|
upon a place so much as the profession and
|
||
|
|
form of religion.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_16"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_17"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_18"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_19"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_20"> </A>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
||
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Death of Rachel.</I></FONT></TD>
|
||
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1732.</TD></TR>
|
||
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
||
|
|
</TABLE>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 And they journeyed from Beth-el;
|
||
|
|
and there was but a little way to
|
||
|
|
come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed,
|
||
|
|
and she had hard labour.
|
||
|
|
17 And it came to pass, when she was in
|
||
|
|
hard labour, that the midwife said
|
||
|
|
unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have
|
||
|
|
this son also.
|
||
|
|
18 And it came to pass,
|
||
|
|
as her soul was in departing, (for she
|
||
|
|
died) that she called his name Ben-oni:
|
||
|
|
but his father called him Benjamin.
|
||
|
|
19 And Rachel died, and was buried
|
||
|
|
in the way to Ephrath, which <I>is</I> Beth-lehem.
|
||
|
|
20 And Jacob set a pillar
|
||
|
|
upon her grave: that <I>is</I> the pillar of
|
||
|
|
Rachel's grave unto this day.
|
||
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
We have here the story of the death of
|
||
|
|
Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
1. She
|
||
|
|
fell in travail by the way, not able to reach to
|
||
|
|
Bethlehem, the next town, though they were
|
||
|
|
near it; so suddenly does pain sometimes
|
||
|
|
come upon a woman in travail, which she
|
||
|
|
cannot escape, or put off. We may suppose
|
||
|
|
Jacob had soon a tent up, convenient enough
|
||
|
|
for her reception.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. Her pains were violent.
|
||
|
|
She had hard labour, harder than usual: this
|
||
|
|
was the effect of sin,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+3:16"><I>ch.</I> iii. 16</A>.
|
||
|
|
Note, Human
|
||
|
|
life begins with sorrow, and the roses of
|
||
|
|
its joy are surrounded with thorns.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
3. The midwife encouraged her,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
||
|
|
No doubt she
|
||
|
|
had her midwife with her, ready at hand, yet
|
||
|
|
that would not secure her. Rachel had said,
|
||
|
|
when she bore Joseph, <I>God shall add another
|
||
|
|
son,</I> which now the midwife remembers, and
|
||
|
|
tells her her words were made good. Yet
|
||
|
|
this did not avail to keep up her spirits; unless
|
||
|
|
God command away fear, no one else
|
||
|
|
can. He only says as one having authority,
|
||
|
|
<I>Fear not.</I> We are apt, in extreme perils, to
|
||
|
|
comfort ourselves and our friends with the
|
||
|
|
hopes of a temporal deliverance, in which we
|
||
|
|
may be disappointed; we had better found
|
||
|
|
our comforts on that which cannot fail us,
|
||
|
|
the hope of eternal life.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
4. Her travail was
|
||
|
|
to the life of the child, but to her own death.
|
||
|
|
Note, Though the pains and perils of childbearing
|
||
|
|
were introduced by sin, yet they
|
||
|
|
have sometimes been fatal to very holy
|
||
|
|
women, who, though not saved in childbearing,
|
||
|
|
are saved through it with an everlasting
|
||
|
|
salvation. Rachel had passionately
|
||
|
|
said, <I>Give me children, or else I die;</I> and now
|
||
|
|
that she had children (for this was her second)
|
||
|
|
she died. Her dying is here called <I>the
|
||
|
|
departing of her soul.</I> Note, The death of
|
||
|
|
the body is but the departure of the soul to
|
||
|
|
the world of spirits.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
5. Her dying lips called
|
||
|
|
her new-born son <I>Ben-oni, The son of my sorrow.</I>
|
||
|
|
And many a son, not born in such
|
||
|
|
hard labour, yet proves the son of his
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Page208"> </A>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
parent's sorrow, and the heaviness of her that
|
||
|
|
bore him. Children are enough the sorrow
|
||
|
|
of their poor mothers in the breeding, bearing,
|
||
|
|
and nursing of them; they should therefore,
|
||
|
|
when they grow up, study to be their
|
||
|
|
joy, and so, if possible, to make them some
|
||
|
|
amends. But Jacob, because he would not
|
||
|
|
renew the sorrowful remembrance of the
|
||
|
|
mother's death every time he called his son
|
||
|
|
by his name, changed his name, and called
|
||
|
|
him <I>Benjamin, The son of my right hand;</I>
|
||
|
|
that is, "very dear to me, set on my right
|
||
|
|
hand for a blessing, the support of my age,
|
||
|
|
like the staff in my right hand."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
6. Jacob
|
||
|
|
buried her near the place where she died.
|
||
|
|
As she died in child-bed, it was convenient
|
||
|
|
to bury her quickly; and therefore he did
|
||
|
|
not bring her to the burying-place of his family.
|
||
|
|
If the soul be at rest after death, it
|
||
|
|
matters little where the body lies. In the
|
||
|
|
place where the tree falls, there let it be.
|
||
|
|
No mention is made of the mourning that
|
||
|
|
was at her death, because that might easily
|
||
|
|
be taken for granted. Jacob, no doubt, was
|
||
|
|
a true mourner. Note, Great afflictions
|
||
|
|
sometimes befal us immediately after great
|
||
|
|
comforts. Lest Jacob should be lifted up
|
||
|
|
with the visions of the Almighty with which
|
||
|
|
he was honoured, this was sent as a thorn in
|
||
|
|
the flesh to humble him. Those that enjoy
|
||
|
|
the favours peculiar to the children of God
|
||
|
|
must yet expect the troubles that are common
|
||
|
|
to the children of men. Deborah, who,
|
||
|
|
had she lived, would have been a comfort to
|
||
|
|
Rachel in her extremity, died but a little before.
|
||
|
|
Note, When death comes into a family,
|
||
|
|
it often strikes double. God by it speaks
|
||
|
|
once, yea, twice. The Jewish writers
|
||
|
|
say, "The death of Deborah and Rachel was
|
||
|
|
to expiate the murder of the Shechemites,
|
||
|
|
occasioned by Dinah, a daughter of the family."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
7. Jacob set up a pillar upon her
|
||
|
|
grave, so that it was known, long after, to be
|
||
|
|
Rachel's sepulchre
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+10:2">1 Sam. x. 2</A>),
|
||
|
|
and Providence
|
||
|
|
so ordered it that this place afterwards
|
||
|
|
fell in the lot of Benjamin. Jacob
|
||
|
|
set up a pillar in remembrance of his joys
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
|
||
|
|
and here he sets up one in remembrance
|
||
|
|
of his sorrows; for, as it may be of
|
||
|
|
use to ourselves to keep both in mind, so it
|
||
|
|
may be of use to others to transmit the memorials
|
||
|
|
of both: the church, long afterwards,
|
||
|
|
owned that what God said to Jacob at Bethel,
|
||
|
|
both by his word and by his rod, he intended
|
||
|
|
for their instruction
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+12:4">Hos. xii. 4</A>),
|
||
|
|
<I>There he spoke with us.</I></P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_21"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_22"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_23"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_24"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_25"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_26"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_27"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_28"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Ge35_29"> </A>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
||
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
||
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Disgrace of Reuben.</I></FONT></TD>
|
||
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1716.</TD></TR>
|
||
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
||
|
|
</TABLE>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>21 And Israel journeyed, and spread
|
||
|
|
his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
|
||
|
|
22 And it came to pass, when Israel
|
||
|
|
dwelt in that land, that Reuben went
|
||
|
|
and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine:
|
||
|
|
and Israel heard <I>it.</I> Now the
|
||
|
|
sons of Jacob were twelve:
|
||
|
|
23 The
|
||
|
|
sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn,
|
||
|
|
and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah,
|
||
|
|
and Issachar, and Zebulun:
|
||
|
|
24 The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:
|
||
|
|
25 And the sons of Bilhah,
|
||
|
|
Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
|
||
|
|
26 And the sons of Zilpah,
|
||
|
|
Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher:
|
||
|
|
these <I>are</I> the sons of Jacob, which
|
||
|
|
were born to him in Padan-aram.
|
||
|
|
27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his
|
||
|
|
father unto Mamre, unto the city of
|
||
|
|
Arbah, which <I>is</I> Hebron, where Abraham
|
||
|
|
and Isaac sojourned.
|
||
|
|
28 And
|
||
|
|
the days of Isaac were an hundred and
|
||
|
|
fourscore years.
|
||
|
|
29 And Isaac gave
|
||
|
|
up the ghost, and died, and was gathered
|
||
|
|
unto his people, <I>being</I> old and
|
||
|
|
full of days: and his sons Esau and
|
||
|
|
Jacob buried him.
|
||
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Here is,
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
1. Jacob's removal,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
||
|
|
He also,
|
||
|
|
as his fathers, sojourned in the land of promise
|
||
|
|
as in a strange country, and was not
|
||
|
|
long in a place. Immediately after the story
|
||
|
|
of Rachel's death he is here called <I>Israel</I>
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>),
|
||
|
|
and not often so afterwards: the
|
||
|
|
Jews say, "The historian does him this honour
|
||
|
|
here because he bore that affliction with
|
||
|
|
such admirable patience and submission to
|
||
|
|
Providence." Note, Those are Israels indeed,
|
||
|
|
princes with God, that support the government
|
||
|
|
of their own passions. He that
|
||
|
|
has this rule over his own spirit is better than
|
||
|
|
the mighty. Israel, a prince with God, yet
|
||
|
|
dwells in tents; the city is reserved for him
|
||
|
|
in the other world.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. The sin of Reuben.
|
||
|
|
A piece of abominable wickedness it was that
|
||
|
|
he was guilty of
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
|
||
|
|
that very sin which
|
||
|
|
the apostle says
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+5:1">1 Cor v. 1</A>)
|
||
|
|
is not so much
|
||
|
|
as named among the Gentiles, <I>that one should
|
||
|
|
have his father's wife.</I> It is said to have been
|
||
|
|
<I>when Israel dwelt in that land;</I> as if he were
|
||
|
|
then absent from his family, which might be
|
||
|
|
the unhappy occasion of these disorders.
|
||
|
|
Though perhaps Bilhah was the greater criminal,
|
||
|
|
and it is probable was abandoned by
|
||
|
|
Jacob for it, yet Reuben's crime was so provoking
|
||
|
|
that, for it, he lost his birthright and
|
||
|
|
blessing,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+49:4"><I>ch.</I> xlix. 4</A>.
|
||
|
|
The first-born is not
|
||
|
|
always the best, nor the most promising.
|
||
|
|
This was Reuben's sin, but it was Jacob's
|
||
|
|
affliction; and what a sore affliction it was is
|
||
|
|
intimated in a little compass, <I>and Israel heard
|
||
|
|
it.</I> No more is said--that is enough; he
|
||
|
|
heard it with the utmost grief and shame,
|
||
|
|
horror and displeasure. Reuben thought to
|
||
|
|
conceal it, that his father should never hear
|
||
|
|
of it; but those that promise themselves secresy
|
||
|
|
in sin are generally disappointed; a
|
||
|
|
bird of the air carries the voice. 3. A complete
|
||
|
|
list of the sons of Jacob, now that Benjamin
|
||
|
|
the youngest was born. This is the
|
||
|
|
first time we have the names of these heads
|
||
|
|
of the twelve tribes together; afterwards we
|
||
|
|
find them very often spoken of and
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A NAME="Page209"> </A>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
enumerated, even to the end of the Bible,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+7:4,21:12">Rev. vii. 4; xxi. 12</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
4. The visit which Jacob made
|
||
|
|
to his father Isaac at Hebron. We may suppose
|
||
|
|
he had visited him before since his return,
|
||
|
|
for he <I>sorely longed after his father's
|
||
|
|
house;</I> but never, till now, brought his family
|
||
|
|
to settle with him, or near him,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
|
||
|
|
Probably he did this now upon the death of
|
||
|
|
Rebekah, by which Isaac was left solitary,
|
||
|
|
and not disposed to marry again.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
5. The
|
||
|
|
age and death of Isaac are here recorded,
|
||
|
|
though it appears, by computation, that
|
||
|
|
he died not till many years after Joseph was sold
|
||
|
|
into Egypt, and much about the time that
|
||
|
|
he was preferred there. Isaac, a mild quiet
|
||
|
|
man, lived the longest of all the patriarchs,
|
||
|
|
for he was 180 years old; Abraham was but
|
||
|
|
175. Isaac lived about forty years after he
|
||
|
|
had made his will,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+27:22"><I>ch.</I> xxvii. 2</A>.
|
||
|
|
We shall not
|
||
|
|
die an hour the sooner, but abundantly the
|
||
|
|
better, for our timely setting our heart and
|
||
|
|
house in order. Particular notice is taken of
|
||
|
|
the amicable agreement of Esau and Jacob,
|
||
|
|
in solemnizing their father's funeral
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>),
|
||
|
|
to show how wonderfully God had changed
|
||
|
|
Esau's mind since he vowed his brother's
|
||
|
|
murder immediately after his father's death,
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+27:41"><I>ch.</I> xxvii. 41</A>.
|
||
|
|
Note, God has many ways of
|
||
|
|
preventing bad men from doing the mischief
|
||
|
|
they intended; he can either tie their hands
|
||
|
|
or turn their hearts.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<HR>
|
||
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
|
||
|
|
<TR>
|
||
|
|
<TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
||
|
|
[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
|
||
|
|
[<A HREF="MHC01034.HTM">Previous</A>]
|
||
|
|
[<A HREF="MHC01036.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
|
||
|
|
<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
||
|
|
Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
|
||
|
|
</TABLE>
|
||
|
|
<HR>
|
||
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
|
||
|
|
<TR>
|
||
|
|
<TD ALIGN="CENTER" VALIGN="BOTTOM">
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!--Matthew_Henry's_Commentary_on_the_Whole_Bible:_Genesis_XXXV.--><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank"><b>Back to Bibles Net . Com - Online Christian Library </b></a><br>
|
||
|
|
<a href="http://biblesnet.com/download.html" target="_blank"><br>
|
||
|
|
<b>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Free Download</b></a><br>
|
||
|
|
<br>
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://biblesnet.com/contactus.html" target="_blank"><strong>Contact Us </strong></A><br>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
</TD></TR></TABLE>
|
||
|
|
<HR>
|
||
|
|
</BODY>
|
||
|
|
</HTML>
|