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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC01025.HTM">Previous</A>]
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page158"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXVI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have,
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I. Isaac in adversity, by reason of a famine
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in the land, which,
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1. Obliges him to change his quarters,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:1">ver. 1</A>.
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But,
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2. God visits him with direction and comfort,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:2-5">ver. 2-5</A>.
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3. He foolishly denies his wife, being in distress and is reproved
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for it by Abimelech,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:6-11">ver. 6-11</A>.
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II. Isaac in prosperity, by the
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blessing of God upon him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:12-14">ver. 12-14</A>.
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And,
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1. The Philistines
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were envious at him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:14-17">ver. 14-17</A>.
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2. He continued industrious
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in his business,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:18-23">ver. 18-23</A>.
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3. God appeared to him, and encouraged
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him, and he devoutly acknowledged God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:24,25">ver. 24, 25</A>.
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4. The Philistines, at length, made court to him, and made a
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covenant with him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:26-33">ver. 26-33</A>.
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5. The disagreeable marriage of
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his son Esau was an alloy to the comfort of his prosperity,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:34,35">ver. 34, 35</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge26_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Removal of Isaac to Gerar.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1804.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And there was a famine in the
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land, beside the first famine that
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was in the days of Abraham. And
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Isaac went unto Abimelech king of
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the Philistines unto Gerar.
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2 And
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> appeared unto him, and
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said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell
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in the land which I shall tell thee of:
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3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be
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with thee, and will bless thee; for unto
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thee, and unto thy seed, I will give
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all these countries, and I will perform
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the oath which I sware unto Abraham
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thy father;
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4 And I will make thy
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seed to multiply as the stars of heaven,
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and will give unto thy seed all these
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countries; and in thy seed shall all
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the nations of the earth be blessed;
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5 Because that Abraham obeyed my
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voice, and kept my charge, my commandments,
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my statutes, and my laws.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. God tried Isaac by his providence.
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Isaac had been trained up in a believing dependence
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upon the divine grant of the land
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of Canaan to him and his heirs; yet now
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there is <I>a famine in the land,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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What shall he think of the promise when the promised
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land will not find him bread? Is such
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a grant worth accepting, upon such terms,
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and after so long a time? Yes, Isaac will
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still cleave to the covenant; and the less
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valuable Canaan in itself seems to be the
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better he is taught to value it,
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1. As a
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token of God's everlasting kindness to him;
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and,
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2. As a type of heaven's everlasting
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blessedness. Note, The intrinsic worth of
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God's promises cannot be lessened in a believer's
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eye by any cross providences.</P>
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<P>
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II. He directed him under this trial by
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his word. Isaac finds himself straitened by
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the scarcity of provisions. Somewhere he
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must go for supply; it should seem, he set
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out for Egypt, whither his father went in the
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like strait, but he takes Gerar in his way,
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full of thoughts, no doubt, which way he had
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best steer his course, till God graciously appeared
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to him, and determined him, abundantly
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to his satisfaction.
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1. God bade him
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stay where he was, and <I>not go down into
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Egypt: Sojourn in this land,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
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There was a famine in Jacob's days, and God bade
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him <I>go down into Egypt</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+46:3,4"><I>ch.</I> xlvi. 3, 4</A>),
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a famine in <I>Isaac's</I> days, and God bade him
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<I>not to go down,</I> a famine in Abraham's days,
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and God left him to his liberty, directing him
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neither way. This variety in the divine procedure
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(considering that Egypt was always a
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place of trial and exercise to God's people)
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some ground upon the different characters
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of these three patriarchs. Abraham was a
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man of very high attainments, and intimate
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communion with God; and to him all places
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and conditions were alike. Isaac was a very
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good man, but not cut out for hardship;
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therefore he is forbidden to go to Egypt.
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Jacob was inured to difficulties, strong and
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patient; and therefore he must go down
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into Egypt, that <I>the trial of his faith might
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be to praise, and honour, and glory.</I> Thus
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God proportions his people's trials to their
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strength.
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2. He promised to be <I>with him,
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and bless him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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As we may go any where
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with comfort when God's blessing goes with
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us, so we may stay any where contentedly
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if that blessing rest upon us.
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3. He renewed
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the covenant with him, which had so often
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been made with Abraham, repeating and
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ratifying the promises of the land of Canaan,
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a numerous issue, and the Messiah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>.
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Note, Those that must live by faith have
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need often to review, and repeat to themselves,
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the promises they are to live upon,
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especially when they are called to any instance
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of suffering or self-denial.
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4. He recommended to him the good example of his
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father's obedience, as that which had preserved
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the entail of the covenant in his family
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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"<I>Abraham obeyed my voice;</I> do thou
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do so too, and the promise shall be sure to
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thee." Abraham's obedience is here celebrated,
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to his honour; for by it he obtained
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a good report both with God and men. A
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great variety of words is here used to express
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the divine will, to which Abraham was obedient
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(<I>my voice, my charge, my commandments,
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my statutes, and my laws</I>), which may intimate
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that Abraham's obedience was universal; he
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obeyed the original laws of nature, the revealed
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laws of divine worship, particularly
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that of circumcision, and all the extraordinary
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precepts God gave him, as that of quitting
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his country, and that (which some think is
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more especially referred to) of the offering
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up of his son, which Isaac himself had reason
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enough to remember. Note, Those only
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shall have the benefit and comfort of God's
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covenant with their godly parents that tread
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in the steps of their obedience.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge26_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Isaac's Denial of His Wife.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1840.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:
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7 And the men of the place asked <I>him</I>
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of his wife; and he said, She <I>is</I> my
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sister: for he feared to say, <I>She is</I> my
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wife; lest, <I>said he,</I> the men of the
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place should kill me for Rebekah;
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<A NAME="Page159"> </A>
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because she <I>was</I> fair to look upon.
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8 And it came to pass, when he had been
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there a long time, that Abimelech king
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of the Philistines looked out at a window,
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and saw, and, behold, Isaac <I>was</I>
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sporting with Rebekah his wife.
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9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said,
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Behold, of a surety she <I>is</I> thy wife:
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and how saidst thou, She <I>is</I> my sister?
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And Isaac said unto him, Because I
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said, Lest I die for her.
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10 And
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Abimelech said, What <I>is</I> this thou hast
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done unto us? one of the people might
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lightly have lien with thy wife, and
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thou shouldest have brought guiltiness
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upon us.
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11 And Abimelech
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charged all <I>his</I> people, saying, He that
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toucheth this man or his wife shall
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surely be put to death.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Isaac had now laid aside all thoughts of
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going to Egypt, and, in obedience to the
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heavenly vision, sets up his staff in Gerar,
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the country in which he was born
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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yet there he enters into temptation, the same
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temptation that his good father had been
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once and again surprised and overcome by,
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namely, to deny his wife, and to give out
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that she was his sister. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. How he sinned,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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Because his wife
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was handsome, he fancied the Philistines
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would find some way or other to take him
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off, that some of them might marry her; and
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therefore she must pass for his sister. It is
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an unaccountable thing that both these great
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and good men should be guilty of so strange
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a piece of dissimulation, by which they so
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much exposed both their own and their wives'
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reputation. But we see,
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1. That very good
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men have sometimes been guilty of very
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great faults and follies. Let those therefore
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that stand take heed lest they fall, and those
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that have fallen not despair of being helped
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up again.
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2. That there is an aptness in us
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to imitate even the weaknesses and infirmities
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of those we have a value for. We
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have need therefore to keep our foot, lest,
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while we aim to tread in the steps of good
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men, we sometimes tread in their by-steps.</P>
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<P>
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II. How he was detected, and the cheat
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discovered, by the king himself. Abimelech
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(not the same that was in Abraham's days,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+20:1-18"><I>ch.</I> 20</A>,
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for this was nearly 100 years after
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that, but this was the common name of the
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Philistine kings, as Cæsar of the Roman
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emperors) saw Isaac more familiar and
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pleasant with Rebekah than he knew he
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would be with his sister
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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he saw him
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sporting with her, or <I>laughing;</I> it is the
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same word with that from which Isaac had
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his name. He was <I>rejoicing with the wife of
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his youth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+5:18">Prov. v. 18</A>.
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It becomes those in
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that relation to be pleasant with one another,
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as those that are pleased with one another.
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Nowhere may a man more allow himself to be
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innocently merry than with his own wife and
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children. Abimelech charged him with the
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fraud
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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showed him how frivolous his
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excuse was and what might have been the
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bad consequences of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
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and then, to
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convince him how groundless and unjust his
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jealousy of them was, took him and his family
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under his particular protection, forbidding
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any injury to be done to him or his wife
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upon pain of death,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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Note,
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1. A lying
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tongue is but for a moment. Truth is the
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daughter of time; and, in time, it will out.
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2. One sin is often the inlet to many, and
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therefore the beginnings of sin ought to be
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avoided.
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3. The sins of professors shame
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them before those that are without.
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4. God
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can make those that are incensed against his
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people, though there may be some colour of
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cause for it, to know that it is at their peril
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if they do them any hurt. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+105:14,15">Ps. cv. 14, 15</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge26_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge26_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Isaac's Removal to Beersheba.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1804.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>12 Then Isaac sowed in that land,
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and received in the same year an hundredfold:
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and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> blessed him:
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13 And the man waxed great, and
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went forward, and grew until he became
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very great:
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14 For he had possession
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of flocks, and possession of
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herds, and great store of servants:
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and the Philistines envied him.
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15 For all the wells which his father's
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servants had digged in the days of
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Abraham his father, the Philistines
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had stopped them, and filled them
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with earth.
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16 And Abimelech said
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unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art
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much mightier than we.
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17 And Isaac
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departed thence, and pitched his tent
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in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
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18 And Isaac digged again the wells
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of water, which they had digged in the
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days of Abraham his father; for the
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Philistines had stopped them after the
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death of Abraham: and he called their
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names after the names by which his father
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had called them.
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19 And Isaac's
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servants digged in the valley, and
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found there a well of springing water.
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20 And the herdmen of Gerar did
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strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying,
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The water <I>is</I> ours: and he called the
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name of the well Esek; because they
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strove with him.
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21 And they digged
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another well, and strove for that also:
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and he called the name of it Sitnah.
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22 And he removed from thence, and
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digged another well; and for that they
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strove not: and he called the name
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of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page160"> </A>
|
|
|
|
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath made room for us, and
|
|
we shall be fruitful in the land.
|
|
23 And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.
|
|
24 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> appeared
|
|
unto him the same night, and said, I
|
|
<I>am</I> the God of Abraham thy father:
|
|
fear not, for I <I>am</I> with thee, and will
|
|
bless thee, and multiply thy seed for
|
|
my servant Abraham's sake.
|
|
25 And
|
|
he builded an altar there, and called
|
|
upon the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and
|
|
pitched his tent there: and there
|
|
Isaac's servants digged a well.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here we have,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The tokens of God's good-will to Isaac.
|
|
He <I>blessed him,</I> and prospered him, and made
|
|
all that he had to thrive under his hands.
|
|
|
|
1. His corn multiplied strangely,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
He had no land of his own, but took land of
|
|
the Philistines, and sowed it; and (be it observed
|
|
for the encouragement of poor tenants,
|
|
that occupy other people's lands, and are
|
|
honest and industrious) God blessed him
|
|
with a great increase. He reaped <I>a hundred
|
|
fold;</I> and there seems to be an emphasis laid
|
|
upon the time: it was that <I>same year</I> when
|
|
there was a famine in the land; while others
|
|
scarcely reaped at all, he reaped thus plentifully.
|
|
See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+65:13">Isa. lxv. 13</A>,
|
|
<I>My servants shall
|
|
eat, but you shall be hungry,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:19">Ps. xxxvii. 19</A>,
|
|
<I>In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. His cattle also increased,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
And then,
|
|
|
|
3. He had <I>great store of servants,</I>
|
|
whom he employed and maintained. Note,
|
|
<I>As goods are increased those are increased
|
|
that eat them,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+5:11">Eccl. v. 11</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The tokens of the Philistines' ill-will to
|
|
him. They <I>envied him,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
It is an
|
|
instance,
|
|
|
|
1. Of the vanity of the world that
|
|
the more men have of it the more they are
|
|
envied, and exposed to censure and injury.
|
|
<I>Who can stand before envy?</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+27:4">Prov. xxvii. 4</A>.
|
|
See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+4:4">Eccl. iv. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. Of the corruption of
|
|
nature; for that is a bad principle indeed
|
|
which makes men <I>grieve at the good of others,</I>
|
|
as if it must needs be ill with me because it is
|
|
well with my neighbor.
|
|
|
|
(1.) They had already
|
|
shown their ill-will to his family, by stopping
|
|
up the wells which his father had digged,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
This was spitefully done. Because
|
|
they had not flocks of their own to water at
|
|
these wells, they would not leave them for
|
|
the use of others; so absurd a thing is
|
|
malice. And it was perfidiously done, contrary
|
|
to the covenant of friendship they had
|
|
made with Abraham,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+21:31,32"><I>ch.</I> xxi. 31, 32</A>.
|
|
No bonds will hold ill-nature.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They expelled
|
|
him out of their country,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:16,17"><I>v.</I> 16, 17</A>.
|
|
The king
|
|
of Gerar began to look upon him with a
|
|
jealous eye. Isaac's house was like a court,
|
|
and his riches and retinue eclipsed Abimelech's;
|
|
and therefore he must go further off.
|
|
They were weary of his neighbourhood,
|
|
because they saw that the Lord blessed him;
|
|
whereas, for that reason, they should the
|
|
rather have courted his stay, that they also
|
|
might be blessed for his sake. Isaac does
|
|
not insist upon the bargain he had made with
|
|
them for the lands he held, nor upon his occupying
|
|
and improving them, nor does he offer
|
|
to contest with them by force, though he had
|
|
become very great, but very peaceably departs
|
|
thence further from the royal city, and perhaps
|
|
to a part of the country less fruitful.
|
|
Note, We should deny ourselves both in our
|
|
rights and in our conveniences, rather than
|
|
quarrel: a wise and a good man will rather
|
|
retire into obscurity, like Isaac here into a
|
|
valley, than sit high to be the butt of envy
|
|
and ill-will.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. His constancy and continuance in his
|
|
business still.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He kept up his husbandry, and continued
|
|
industrious to find wells of water, and
|
|
to fit them for his use,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>,
|
|
&c. Though he
|
|
had grown very rich, yet he was as solicitous
|
|
as ever about the state of his flocks, and still
|
|
looked well to his herds; when men grow
|
|
great, they must take heed of thinking
|
|
themselves too big and too high for their
|
|
business. Though he was driven from the
|
|
conveniences he had had, and could not follow
|
|
his husbandry with the same ease and advantage
|
|
as before, yet he set himself to make
|
|
the best of the country he had come into,
|
|
which it is every man's prudence to do.
|
|
Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He opened the wells that his father
|
|
had digged
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
|
|
and out of respect to his
|
|
father called them by the same names that
|
|
he had given them. Note, In our searches
|
|
after truth, that fountain of living water, it is
|
|
good to make use of the discoveries of former
|
|
ages, which have been clouded by the corruptions
|
|
of later times. Enquire for the old
|
|
way, the wells which our fathers digged,
|
|
which the adversaries of truth have stopped
|
|
up: <I>Ask thy elders, and they shall teach thee.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) His servants dug new wells,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
Note, Though we must use the light of former
|
|
ages, it does not therefore follow that we
|
|
must rest in it, and make no advances. We
|
|
must still be building upon their foundation,
|
|
<I>running to and fro, that knowledge may be increased,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+12:4">Dan. xii. 4</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(3.) In digging his wells he met with
|
|
much opposition,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:20,21"><I>v.</I> 20, 21</A>.
|
|
Those that open
|
|
the fountains of truth must expect contradiction.
|
|
The first two wells which they dug
|
|
were called <I>Esek</I> and <I>Sitnah, contention</I> and
|
|
<I>hatred.</I> See here,
|
|
|
|
[1.] What is the nature of
|
|
worldly things; they are make-bates and
|
|
occasions of strife.
|
|
|
|
[2.] What is often the
|
|
lot even of the most quiet and peaceable men
|
|
in this world; those that avoid striving yet
|
|
cannot avoid being striven with,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+120:7">Ps. cxx. 7</A>.
|
|
In this sense, Jeremiah was a <I>man of contention</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+15:10">Jer. xv. 10</A>),
|
|
and Christ himself, though
|
|
he is the prince of peace.
|
|
|
|
[3.] What a
|
|
mercy it is to have plenty of water, to have it
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page161"> </A>
|
|
|
|
without striving for it. The more common
|
|
this mercy is the more reason we have to be
|
|
thankful for it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(4.) At length he removed to a quiet
|
|
settlement, cleaving to his peaceable principle,
|
|
rather to fly than fight, and unwilling to
|
|
dwell with those that hated peace,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+120:6">Ps. cxx. 6</A>.
|
|
He preferred quietness to victory. <I>He dug
|
|
a well, and for this they strove not,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
Note, Those that follow peace, sooner or
|
|
later, shall find peace; those that study to be
|
|
quiet seldom fail of being so. How unlike
|
|
was Isaac to his brother Ishmael, who, right
|
|
or wrong, would hold what he had, against
|
|
all the world!
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+16:12"><I>ch.</I> xvi. 12</A>.
|
|
And which of
|
|
these would we be found the followers of?
|
|
This well they called <I>Rehoboth, enlargements,</I>
|
|
room enough: in the two former wells we
|
|
may see what the earth is, <I>straitness</I> and
|
|
<I>strife;</I> men cannot thrive, for the throng of
|
|
their neighbours. This well shows us what
|
|
heaven is; it is <I>enlargement</I> and <I>peace,</I> room
|
|
enough there, for there are many mansions.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. He continued firm to his religion, and
|
|
kept up his communion with God.
|
|
|
|
(1.) God
|
|
graciously appeared to him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
When the Philistines expelled him, forced him to
|
|
remove from place to place, and gave him continual
|
|
molestation, then God visited him, and
|
|
gave him fresh assurances of his favour. Note,
|
|
When men are found false and unkind, we
|
|
may comfort ourselves that God is faithful
|
|
and gracious; and his time to show himself so
|
|
is when we are most disappointed in our expectations
|
|
from men. When Isaac had come to Beer-sheba
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>)
|
|
it is probable that it
|
|
troubled him to think of his unsettled condition,
|
|
and that he could not be suffered to stay
|
|
long in a place; and, in the multitude of these
|
|
thoughts within him, that same night that
|
|
he came weary and uneasy to Beer-sheba
|
|
God brought him his comforts to delight his
|
|
soul. Probably he was apprehensive that
|
|
the Philistines would not let him rest there:
|
|
<I>Fear not,</I> says God to him, <I>I am with thee,
|
|
and will bless thee.</I> Those may remove
|
|
with comfort that are sure of God's presence
|
|
with them wherever they go.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He was
|
|
not wanting in his returns of duty to God;
|
|
for <I>there he built an altar, and called upon the
|
|
name of the Lord,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Wherever
|
|
we go, we must take our religion along
|
|
with us. Probably Isaac's altars and his
|
|
religious worship gave offence to the Philistines,
|
|
and provoked them to be the more
|
|
troublesome to him; yet he kept up his duty,
|
|
whatever ill-will he might be exposed to by
|
|
it.
|
|
|
|
[2.] The comforts and encouragements
|
|
God gives us by his word should excite and
|
|
quicken us to every exercise of devotion by
|
|
which God may be honoured and our intercourse
|
|
with heaven maintained.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge26_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge26_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge26_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge26_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge26_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge26_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge26_32"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge26_33"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Isaac's Covenant with Abimelech.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1760.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>26 Then Abimelech went to him
|
|
from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his
|
|
friends, and Phichol the chief captain
|
|
of his army.
|
|
27 And Isaac said unto
|
|
them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing
|
|
ye hate me, and have sent me
|
|
away from you?
|
|
28 And they said, We saw certainly that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> was
|
|
with thee: and we said, Let there be
|
|
now an oath betwixt us, <I>even</I> betwixt
|
|
us and thee, and let us make a covenant
|
|
with thee;
|
|
29 That thou wilt
|
|
do us no hurt, as we have not touched
|
|
thee, and as we have done unto thee
|
|
nothing but good, and have sent thee
|
|
away in peace: thou <I>art</I> now the
|
|
blessed of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
30 And he
|
|
made them a feast, and they did eat
|
|
and drink.
|
|
31 And they rose up betimes
|
|
in the morning, and sware one
|
|
to another: and Isaac sent them away,
|
|
and they departed from him in peace.
|
|
32 And it came to pass the same day,
|
|
that Isaac's servants came, and told
|
|
him concerning the well which they
|
|
had digged, and said unto him, We
|
|
have found water.
|
|
33 And he called
|
|
it Shebah: therefore the name of the
|
|
city <I>is</I> Beer-sheba unto this day.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here the contests that had been
|
|
between Isaac and the Philistines issuing in
|
|
a happy peace and reconciliation.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Abimelech pays a friendly visit to Isaac,
|
|
in token of the respect he had for him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
Note, <I>When a man's ways please the Lord he
|
|
makes even his enemies to be at peace with him,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+16:7">Prov. xvi. 7</A>.
|
|
Kings' hearts are in his hands,
|
|
and when he pleases he can turn them to
|
|
favour his people.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Isaac prudently and cautiously questions
|
|
his sincerity in this visit,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
|
|
Note,
|
|
In settling friendships and correspondences,
|
|
there is need of the wisdom of the serpent,
|
|
as well as the innocence of the dove; nor is
|
|
it any transgression of the law of meekness
|
|
and love plainly to signify our strong perception
|
|
of injuries received, and to stand
|
|
upon our guard in dealing with those that
|
|
have acted unfairly.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Abimelech professes his sincerity, in
|
|
this address to Isaac, and earnestly courts
|
|
his friendship,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:28,29"><I>v.</I> 28, 29</A>.
|
|
Some suggest that
|
|
Abimelech pressed for this league with him
|
|
because he feared lest Isaac, growing rich,
|
|
should, some time or other, avenge himself
|
|
upon them for the injuries he had received.
|
|
However, he professes to do it rather from a
|
|
principle of love.
|
|
|
|
1. He makes the best of
|
|
their behaviour towards him. Isaac complained
|
|
they had <I>hated him, and sent him away.</I> No,
|
|
said Abimelech, <I>we sent thee away in peace.</I>
|
|
They turned him off from the land he held
|
|
of them; but they suffered him to take away
|
|
his stock, and all his effects, with him. Note,
|
|
The lessening of injuries is necessary to the
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page162"> </A>
|
|
|
|
preserving of friendship; for the aggravating
|
|
of them exasperates and widens breaches.
|
|
The unkindness done to us might have been
|
|
worse.
|
|
|
|
2. He acknowledges the token of
|
|
God's favour to him, and makes this the
|
|
ground of their desire to be in league with
|
|
him: <I>The Lord is with thee, and thou art the
|
|
blessed of the Lord.</I> As if he had said, "Be
|
|
persuaded to overlook and pass by the injuries
|
|
offered thee; for God had abundantly
|
|
made up to thee the damage thou receivedst."
|
|
Note, Those whom God blesses and favours
|
|
have reason enough to forgive those who hate
|
|
them, since the worst enemy they have cannot
|
|
do them any real hurt. Or, "For this reason
|
|
we desire thy friendship, because <I>God is with
|
|
thee.</I>" Note, It is good to be in covenant
|
|
and communion with those who are in covenant
|
|
and communion with God,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+1:3">1 John i. 3</A>;
|
|
present address to him was the result of
|
|
mature deliberation: <I>We said, Let there be
|
|
an oath between us.</I> Whatever some of his
|
|
peevish envious subjects might mean otherwise,
|
|
he and his prime-ministers of state,
|
|
whom he had now brought with him, designed
|
|
no other than a cordial friendship.
|
|
Perhaps Abimelech had received, by tradition,
|
|
the warning God gave to his predecessor not
|
|
to hurt Abraham
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+20:7"><I>ch.</I> xx. 7</A>),
|
|
and this made
|
|
him stand in such awe of Isaac, who appeared
|
|
to be as much the favourite of Heaven as
|
|
Abraham was.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. Isaac entertains him and his company,
|
|
and enters into a league of friendship with
|
|
him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:30,31"><I>v.</I> 30, 31</A>.
|
|
Here see how generous the
|
|
good man was,
|
|
|
|
1. In giving: <I>He made them
|
|
a feast,</I> and bade them welcome.
|
|
|
|
(2.) In forgiving.
|
|
He did not insist upon the unkindnesses
|
|
they had done him, but freely entered
|
|
into a covenant of friendship with them, and
|
|
bound himself never to do them any injury.
|
|
Note, Religion teaches us to be neighbourly,
|
|
and, as much as in us lies, to <I>live peaceably
|
|
with all men.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. Providence smiled upon what Isaac
|
|
did; for the same day that he made this
|
|
covenant with Abimelech his servants brought
|
|
him the tidings of a well of water they had
|
|
found,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+26:32,33"><I>v.</I> 32, 33</A>.
|
|
He did not insist upon the
|
|
restitution of the wells which the Philistines
|
|
had unjustly taken from him, lest this should
|
|
break off the treaty, but sat down silent
|
|
under the injury; and, to recompense him
|
|
for this, immediately he is enriched with a
|
|
new well, which, because it suited so well to
|
|
the occurrence of the day, he called by an old
|
|
name, <I>Beer-sheba, The well of the oath.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge26_34"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge26_35"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec5"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Esau's Foolish Marriage.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1760.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>34 And Esau was forty years old
|
|
when he took to wife Judith the daughter
|
|
of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath
|
|
the daughter of Elon the Hittite:
|
|
35 Which were a grief of mind
|
|
unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
1. Esau's foolish marriage--foolish,
|
|
some think, in marrying two wives together,
|
|
for which perhaps he is called a <I>fornicator</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:16">Heb. xii. 16</A>),
|
|
or rather in marrying Canaanites,
|
|
who were strangers to the blessing of
|
|
Abraham, and subject to the curse of Noah,
|
|
for which he is called <I>profane;</I> for hereby he
|
|
intimated that he neither desired the blessing
|
|
nor dreaded the curse of God.
|
|
|
|
2. The grief
|
|
and trouble it created to his tender parents.
|
|
|
|
(1.) It grieved them that he married without
|
|
asking, or at least without taking, their
|
|
advice and consent: see whose steps those
|
|
children tread in who either contemn or contradict
|
|
their parents in disposing of themselves.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It grieved them that he married
|
|
the daughters of Hittites, who had no religion
|
|
among them; for Isaac remembered his
|
|
father's care concerning him, that he should
|
|
by no means marry a Canaanite.
|
|
|
|
(3.) It
|
|
should seem, the wives he married were provoking
|
|
in their conduct towards Isaac and
|
|
Rebekah; those children have little reason
|
|
to expect the blessing of God who do that
|
|
which is a grief of mind to their good parents.</P>
|
|
|
|
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