mh_parser/vol_split/1 - Genesis/Chapter 35.xml

<div2 id="Gen.xxxvi" n="xxxvi" next="Gen.xxxvii" prev="Gen.xxxv" progress="23.87%" title="Chapter XXXV">
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<h2 id="Gen.xxxvi-p0.1">G E N E S I S</h2>
<h3 id="Gen.xxxvi-p0.2">CHAP. XXXV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Gen.xxxvi-p1">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, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.1-Gen.35.5" parsed="|Gen|35|1|35|5" passage="Ge 35:1-5">ver. 1-5</scripRef>. 2. Jacob built an altar at
Beth-el, to the honour of God that had appeared to him, and in
performance of his vow, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.6-Gen.35.7" parsed="|Gen|35|6|35|7" passage="Ge 35:6,7">ver. 6,
7</scripRef>. 3. God appeared to him again, and confirmed the
change of his name and covenant with him (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.9-Gen.35.13" parsed="|Gen|35|9|35|13" passage="Ge 35:9-13">ver. 9-13</scripRef>), of which appearance Jacob made
a grateful acknowledgment, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.14-Gen.35.15" parsed="|Gen|35|14|35|15" passage="Ge 35:14,15">ver. 14,
15</scripRef>. II. Three funerals. 1. Deborah's, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.8" parsed="|Gen|35|8|0|0" passage="Ge 35:8">ver. 8</scripRef>. 2. Rachel's, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.16-Gen.35.20" parsed="|Gen|35|16|35|20" passage="Ge 35:16-20">ver. 16-20</scripRef>. 3. Isaac's, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.27-Gen.35.29" parsed="|Gen|35|27|35|29" passage="Ge 35:27-29">ver. 27-29</scripRef>. Here is also Reuben's incest
(<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.22" parsed="|Gen|35|22|0|0" passage="Ge 35:22">ver. 22</scripRef>), and an account
of Jacob's sons, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.23-Gen.35.26" parsed="|Gen|35|23|35|26" passage="Ge 35:23-26">ver.
23-26</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35" parsed="|Gen|35|0|0|0" passage="Ge 35" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.11" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.1-Gen.35.5" parsed="|Gen|35|1|35|5" passage="Ge 35:1-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.35.1-Gen.35.5">
<h4 id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.12">Jacob Summoned to Bethel; Jacob's Journeys
towards Bethel. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xxxvi-p1.13">b. c.</span> 1732.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.xxxvi-p2">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

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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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxxvi-p3">Here, I. God reminds Jacob of his vow at
Beth-el, and sends him thither to perform it, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.1" parsed="|Gen|35|1|0|0" passage="Ge 35:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. Jacob had said in the day of his
distress, <i>If I come again in peace, this stone shall be God's
house,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.28.22" parsed="|Gen|28|22|0|0" passage="Ge 28:22"><i>ch.</i> xxviii.
22</scripRef>. 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> (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.33.19-Gen.33.20" parsed="|Gen|33|19|33|20" passage="Ge 33:19,20"><i>ch.</i> xxxiii.
19, 20</scripRef>); 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 (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.34.1-Gen.34.31" parsed="|Gen|34|1|34|31" passage="Ge 34:1-31"><i>ch.</i> xxxiv.</scripRef>), 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 (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.4" parsed="|Eccl|5|4|0|0" passage="Ec 5:4">Eccles. v. 4</scripRef>), 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, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.27.4" parsed="|Ps|27|4|0|0" passage="Ps 27:4">Ps. xxvii.
4</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p3.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.66.13-Ps.66.14" parsed="|Ps|66|13|66|14" passage="Ps 66:13,14">Ps. lxvi. 13,
14</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxxvi-p4">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, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.2-Gen.35.3" parsed="|Gen|35|2|35|3" passage="Ge 35:2,3"><i>v.</i> 2, 3</scripRef>. 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> <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.16-Isa.1.18" parsed="|Isa|1|16|1|18" passage="Isa 1:16-18">Isa. i.
16-18</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Josh.24.15" parsed="|Josh|24|15|0|0" passage="Jos 24:15">Josh. xxiv. 15</scripRef>. Observe the commands he
gives his household, like Abraham, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.18.19" parsed="|Gen|18|19|0|0" passage="Ge 18:19"><i>ch.</i> xviii. 19</scripRef>. (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, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.3" parsed="|Gen|35|3|0|0" passage="Ge 35:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. Note,
Masters of families, when they go up to the house of God, should
bring their families with them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxxvi-p5">III. His family surrendered all they had
that was idolatrous or superstitious, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.4" parsed="|Gen|35|4|0|0" passage="Ge 35:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. 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> (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.14.8" parsed="|Hos|14|8|0|0" passage="Ho 14:8">Hos. xiv. 8</scripRef>), or
that people that said to their idols, <i>Get you hence,</i>
<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.30.22" parsed="|Isa|30|22|0|0" passage="Isa 30:22">Isa. xxx. 22</scripRef>. Jacob took
care to bury their

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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> <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.2.20" parsed="|Isa|2|20|0|0" passage="Isa 2:20">Isa. ii. 20</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxxvi-p6">IV. He removes without molestation from
Shechem to Bethel, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.5" parsed="|Gen|35|5|0|0" passage="Ge 35:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>. <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 <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.24" parsed="|Exod|34|24|0|0" passage="Ex 34:24">Exod. xxxiv. 24</scripRef>, <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>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.xxxvi-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.6-Gen.35.15" parsed="|Gen|35|6|35|15" passage="Ge 35:6-15" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.35.6-Gen.35.15">
<h4 id="Gen.xxxvi-p6.4">Jacob's Arrival at Bethel. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xxxvi-p6.5">b. c.</span> 1732.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.xxxvi-p7">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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxxvi-p8">Jacob and his retinue having safely arrived
at Beth-el, we are here told what passed there.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxxvi-p9">I. There he built an altar (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.7" parsed="|Gen|35|7|0|0" passage="Ge 35:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), 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 class="indent" id="Gen.xxxvi-p10">II. There he buried Deborah, Rebekah's
nurse, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.8" parsed="|Gen|35|8|0|0" passage="Ge 35:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. 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 <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.24.59" parsed="|Gen|24|59|0|0" passage="Ge 24:59"><i>ch.</i> xxiv. 59</scripRef>) 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 class="indent" id="Gen.xxxvi-p11">III. There God appeared to him (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.9" parsed="|Gen|35|9|0|0" passage="Ge 35:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), to own his altar, to
answer to the name by which he had called him, <i>The God of
Beth-el</i> (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.7" parsed="|Gen|35|7|0|0" passage="Ge 35:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>),
and to comfort him under his affliction, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.8" parsed="|Gen|35|8|0|0" passage="Ge 35:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.10" parsed="|Gen|35|10|0|0" passage="Ge 35:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. It was done before by the angel
that wrestled with him (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.32.28" parsed="|Gen|32|28|0|0" passage="Ge 32:28"><i>ch.</i>
xxxii. 28</scripRef>), 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> (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.11" parsed="|Gen|35|11|0|0" passage="Ge 35:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), able to make good the
promise in due time, and to support thee and provide for thee in
the meantime. 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 (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.12" parsed="|Gen|35|12|0|0" passage="Ge 35:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>),
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, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p11.8" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.13" parsed="|Gen|35|13|0|0" passage="Ge 35:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. 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 class="indent" id="Gen.xxxvi-p12">IV. There Jacob erected a memorial of this,
<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.14" parsed="|Gen|35|14|0|0" passage="Ge 35:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. 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 (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.15" parsed="|Gen|35|15|0|0" passage="Ge 35:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), <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>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.xxxvi-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.16-Gen.35.20" parsed="|Gen|35|16|35|20" passage="Ge 35:16-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.35.16-Gen.35.20">
<h4 id="Gen.xxxvi-p12.4">Death of Rachel. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xxxvi-p12.5">b. c.</span> 1732.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.xxxvi-p13">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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxxvi-p14">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, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.3.16" parsed="|Gen|3|16|0|0" passage="Ge 3:16"><i>ch.</i> iii.
16</scripRef>. Note, Human life begins with sorrow, and the roses
of its joy are surrounded with thorns. 3. The midwife encouraged
her, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.17" parsed="|Gen|35|17|0|0" passage="Ge 35:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. 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

<pb id="Gen.xxxvi-Page_208" n="208"/>

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 (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.10.2" parsed="|1Sam|10|2|0|0" passage="1Sa 10:2">1 Sam. x.
2</scripRef>), 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 (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.14" parsed="|Gen|35|14|0|0" passage="Ge 35:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>), 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 (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Hos.12.4" parsed="|Hos|12|4|0|0" passage="Ho 12:4">Hos. xii.
4</scripRef>), <i>There he spoke with us.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.xxxvi-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.21-Gen.35.29" parsed="|Gen|35|21|35|29" passage="Ge 35:21-29" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.35.21-Gen.35.29">
<h4 id="Gen.xxxvi-p14.7">The Disgrace of Reuben. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.xxxvi-p14.8">b. c.</span> 1716.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.xxxvi-p15">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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.xxxvi-p16">Here is, 1. Jacob's removal, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.21" parsed="|Gen|35|21|0|0" passage="Ge 35:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. 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> (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.21-Gen.35.22" parsed="|Gen|35|21|35|22" passage="Ge 35:21,22"><i>v.</i> 21, 22</scripRef>), 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 (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.22" parsed="|Gen|35|22|0|0" passage="Ge 35:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>), that very sin which
the apostle says (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.5.1" parsed="|1Cor|5|1|0|0" passage="1Co 5:1">1 Cor v.
1</scripRef>) 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,
<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.49.4" parsed="|Gen|49|4|0|0" passage="Ge 49:4"><i>ch.</i> xlix. 4</scripRef>. 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

<pb id="Gen.xxxvi-Page_209" n="209"/>

enumerated, even to the end of the Bible, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p16.6" osisRef="Bible:Rev.7.4 Bible:Rev.21.12" parsed="|Rev|7|4|0|0;|Rev|21|12|0|0" passage="Re 7:4,21:12">Rev. vii. 4; xxi. 12</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p16.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.27" parsed="|Gen|35|27|0|0" passage="Ge 35:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>. 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, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p16.8" osisRef="Bible:Gen.27.22" parsed="|Gen|27|22|0|0" passage="Ge 27:22"><i>ch.</i> xxvii.
2</scripRef>. 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 (<scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p16.9" osisRef="Bible:Gen.35.29" parsed="|Gen|35|29|0|0" passage="Ge 35:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>), to show how wonderfully God
had changed Esau's mind since he vowed his brother's murder
immediately after his father's death, <scripRef id="Gen.xxxvi-p16.10" osisRef="Bible:Gen.27.41" parsed="|Gen|27|41|0|0" passage="Ge 27:41"><i>ch.</i> xxvii. 41</scripRef>. 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>
</div></div2>