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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, XXVIII].</TITLE>
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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="MHC01027.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC01029.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<HR>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page169"> </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. XXVIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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We have here,
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I. Jacob parting with his parents, to go to Padan-aram;
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the charge his father gave him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>),
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the blessing he sent him away with
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>),
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his obedience to the orders
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given him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:5,10">ver. 5, 10</A>),
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and the influence this had upon Esau,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:6-9">ver. 6-9</A>.
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II. Jacob meeting with God, and his communion
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with him by the way. And there,
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1. His vision of the ladder,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:11,12">ver. 11, 12</A>.
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2. The gracious promises God made him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:13-15">ver. 13-15</A>.
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3. The impression this made upon him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:16-19">ver. 16-19</A>.
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4. The vow he
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made to God, up on this occasion,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:20-22">ver. 20</A>,
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&c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge28_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_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>Jacob Dismissed with a Blessing.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1760.</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 Isaac called Jacob, and
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blessed him, and charged him,
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and said unto him, Thou shalt not take
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a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
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2 Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house
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of Bethuel thy mother's father; and
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take thee a wife from thence of the
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daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.
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3 And God Almighty bless
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thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply
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thee, that thou mayest be a multitude
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of people;
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4 And give thee
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the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and
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to thy seed with thee; that thou
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mayest inherit the land wherein thou
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art a stranger, which God gave unto
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Abraham.
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5 And Isaac sent away
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Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram
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unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian,
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the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's
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and Esau's mother.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Jacob had no sooner obtained the blessing
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than immediately he was forced to flee from
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his country; and, as it if were not enough
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that he was a stranger and sojourner there,
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he must go to be more so, and no better than
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an exile, in another country. Now <I>Jacob fled
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into Syria,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+12:12">Hos. xii. 12</A>.
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He was blessed
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with plenty of corn and wine, and yet he went
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away poor, was blessed with government, and
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yet went out to service, a hard service. This
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was,
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1. Perhaps to correct him for his dealing
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fraudulently with his father. The blessing
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shall be confirmed to him, and yet he shall
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smart for the indirect course he took to obtain
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it. While there is such an alloy as there
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is of sin in our duties, we must expect an
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alloy of trouble in our comforts. However,
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2. It was to teach us that those who inherit
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the blessing must expect persecution; those
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who have peace in Christ shall have tribulation
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in the world,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+16:33">John xvi. 33</A>.
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Being told of this before, we must not think it strange,
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and, being assured of a recompence hereafter,
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we must not think it hard. We may observe,
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likewise, that God's providences often seem
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to contradict his promises, and to go cross to
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them; and yet, when the mystery of God
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shall be finished, we shall see that all was for
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the best, and that cross providences did but
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render the promises and the accomplishment
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of them the more illustrious. Now Jacob is
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here dismissed by his father,</P>
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<P>
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I. With a solemn charge: <I>He blessed him,
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and charged him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>.
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Note, Those that
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have the blessing must keep the charge annexed
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to it, and not think to separate what
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God has joined. The charge is like that in
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+6:14">2 Cor. vi. 14</A>,
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<I>Be not unequally yoked with
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unbelievers;</I> and all that inherit the promises
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of the remission of sins, and the gift of the
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Holy Ghost, must keep this charge, which
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follows those promises, <I>Save yourselves from
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this untoward generation,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+2:38-40">Acts ii. 38-40</A>.
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Those that are entitled to peculiar favours
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must be a peculiar people. If Jacob be an
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heir of promise, he must <I>not take a wife of
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the daughters of Canaan;</I> those that profess
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religion should not marry those that are irreligious.</P>
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<P>
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II. With a solemn blessing,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>.
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He had before blessed him unwittingly; now he
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does it designedly, for the greater encouragement
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of Jacob in that melancholy condition
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to which he was now removing. This blessing
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is more express and full than the former;
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it is an entail of the blessing of Abraham,
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that blessing which was poured on the head
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of Abraham like the anointing oil, thence to
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run down to his chosen seed, as the skirts of
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his garments. It is a gospel blessing, the
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blessing of church-privileges, that is the
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blessing of Abraham, which upon the
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Gentiles through faith,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:14">Gal. iii. 14</A>.
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It is a
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blessing from God Almighty, by which name
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God appeared to the patriarchs,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+6:3">Exod. vi. 3</A>.
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Those are blessed indeed whom God Almighty
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blesses; for he commands and effects the
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blessing. Two great promises Abraham was
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blessed with, and Isaac here entails them both
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upon Jacob.</P>
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<A NAME="Page170"> </A>
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<P>
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1. The promise of heirs: <I>God make thee
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fruitful, and multiply thee,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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(1.) Through
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his loins should descend from Abraham that
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people who should be numerous as the stars
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of heaven, and the sand of the sea, and
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who should increase more than the rest of
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the nations, so as to be <I>an assembly of people,</I>
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as the margin reads it. And never was such
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a multitude of people so often gathered into
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one assembly as the tribes of Israel were in
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the wilderness, and afterwards.
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(2.) Through
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his loins should descend from Abraham that
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person in whom all the families of the earth
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should be blessed, and to whom the gathering
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of the people should be. Jacob had in him
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a multitude of people indeed, for all things
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in heaven and earth are united in Christ
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:10">Eph. i. 10</A>),
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all centre in him, that corn of
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wheat, which falling to the ground, produced
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much fruit,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+12:24">John xii. 24</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. The promise of an inheritance for those
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heirs: <I>That thou mayest inherit the land of thy
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sojournings,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Canaan was hereby entailed
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upon the seed of Jacob, exclusive of
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the seed of Esau. Isaac was now sending
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Jacob away into a distant country, to settle
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there for some time; and, lest this should
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look like disinheriting him, he here confirms
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the settlement of it upon him, that he might
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be assured that the discontinuance of his
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possession should be no defeasance of his
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right. Observe, He is here told that he
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should inherit the land wherein he sojourned.
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Those that are sojourners now shall be heirs
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for ever: and, even now, those do most inherit
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the earth (though they do not inherit
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most of it) that are most like strangers in it.
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Those have the best enjoyment of present
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things that sit most loose to them. This promise
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looks as high as heaven, of which Canaan
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was a type. This was the better country,
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which Jacob, with the other patriarchs, had in
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his eye, when he confessed himself a stranger
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and pilgrim upon the earth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:13">Heb. xi. 13</A>.</P>
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<P>
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Jacob, having taken leave of his father, was
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hastened away with all speed, lest his brother
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should find an opportunity to do him a
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mischief, and away he went to Padan-aram,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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How unlike was his taking a wife
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thence to his father's! Isaac had servants
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and camels sent to fetch his; Jacob must go
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himself, go alone, and go afoot, to fetch his:
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he must go too in a fright from his father's
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house, not knowing when he might return.
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Note, If God, in his providence, disable us,
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we must be content, though we cannot keep
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up the state and grandeur of our ancestors.
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We should be more in care to maintain their
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piety than to maintain their dignity, and to
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be as good as they were than to be as great.
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Rebekah is here called <I>Jacob's and Esau's
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mother.</I> Jacob is named first, not only because
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he had always been his mother's darling,
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but because he was now make his father's
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heir, and Esau was, in this sense, set aside.
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Note, The time will come when piety will
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have precedency, whatever it has now.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge28_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_9"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 When Esau saw that Isaac had
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blessed Jacob, and sent him away to
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Padan-aram, to take him a wife from
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thence; and that as he blessed him he
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gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt
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not take a wife of the daughters of
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Canaan;
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7 And that Jacob obeyed
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his father and his mother, and was
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gone to Padan-aram;
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8 And Esau
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seeing that the daughters of Canaan
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pleased not Isaac his father;
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9 Then
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went Esau unto Ishmael, and took
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unto the wives which he had Mahalath
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the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's
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son, the sister of Nebajoth, to
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be his wife.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This passage concerning Esau comes in in
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the midst of Jacob's story, either,
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1. To show
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the influence of a good example. Esau,
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though the greater man, now begins to think
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Jacob the better man, and disdains not to
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take him for his pattern in this particular instance
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of marrying with a daughter of Abraham.
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The elder children should give to the
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younger an example of tractableness and
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obedience; it is bad if they do not: but it
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is some alleviation if they take the example
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of it from them, as Esau here did from Jacob.
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Or,
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2. To show the folly of an after-wit.
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Esau did well, but he did it when it was too
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late, He <I>saw that the daughters of Canaan
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pleased not his father,</I> and he might have seen
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that long ago if he had consulted his father's
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judgment as much as he did his palate. And
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how did he now mend the matter? Why,
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truly, so as to make bad worse.
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(1.) He married a daughter of Ishmael, the son
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of the bond-woman, who was cast out, and was
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not to inherit with Isaac and his seed, thus
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joining with a family which God had rejected,
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and seeking to strengthen his own pretensions
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by the aid of another pretender.
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(2.) He took a third wife, while, for aught that
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appears, his other two were neither dead nor
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divorced.
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(3.) He did it only to please his
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father, not to please God. Now that Jacob
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was sent into a far country Esau would be
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all in all at home, and he hoped so to humour
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his father as to prevail with him to make a
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new will, and entail the promise upon him,
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revoking the settlement lately made upon Jacob.
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And thus,
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[1.] He was wise when it
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was too late, like Israel that would venture
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when the decree had gone forth against them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+14:40">Num. xiv. 40</A>),
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and the foolish virgins,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+25:11">Matt. xxv. 11</A>.
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[2.] He rested in a partial reformation,
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and thought, by pleasing his parents
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in one thing, to atone for all his other miscarriages.
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It is not said that when he saw
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how obedient Jacob was, and how willing to
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please his parents, he repented of his malicious
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design against him: no, it appeared
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afterwards that he persisted in that, and
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<A NAME="Page171"> </A>
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retained his malice. Note, Carnal hearts are
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apt to think themselves as good as they
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should be, because perhaps, in some one particular
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instance, they are not so bad as they
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have been. Thus Micah retains his idols,
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but thinks himself happy in having a Levite
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to be his priest,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+17:13">Judg. xvii. 13</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Ge28_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge28_15"> </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>Jacob's Vision at Bethel.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1760.</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>10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba,
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and went toward Haran.
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11 And he lighted upon a certain place,
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and tarried there all night, because
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the sun was set; and he took of the
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stones of that place, and put <I>them for</I>
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his pillows, and lay down in that place
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to sleep.
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12 And he dreamed, and
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behold a ladder set up on the earth,
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and the top of it reached to heaven:
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and behold the angels of God ascending
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and descending on it.
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13 And,
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behold, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> stood above it, and
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said, I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of Abraham
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thy father, and the God of Isaac: the
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land whereon thou liest, to thee will
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I give it, and to thy seed;
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14 And
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thy seed shall be as the dust of the
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earth, and thou shalt spread abroad
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to the west, and to the east, and to
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the north, and to the south: and in
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thee and in thy seed shall all the families
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of the earth be blessed.
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15 And,
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behold, I <I>am</I> with thee, and will keep
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thee in all <I>places</I> whither thou goest,
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and will bring thee again into this land;
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for I will not leave thee, until I have
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done <I>that</I> which I have spoken to
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thee of.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here Jacob upon his journey towards
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Syria, in a very desolate condition,
|
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like one that was sent to seek his fortune;
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|
but we find that, though he was alone, yet he
|
|
was not alone, for <I>the Father was with him,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+16:32">John xvi. 32</A>.
|
|
If what is here recorded happened
|
|
(as it should seem it did) the first
|
|
night, he had made a long day's journey
|
|
from Beersheba to Bethel, above forty miles.
|
|
Providence brought him to a convenient
|
|
place, probably shaded with trees, to rest
|
|
himself in that night; and there he had,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. A hard lodging
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
the <I>stones for
|
|
his pillows,</I> and the heavens for his canopy
|
|
and curtains. As the usage then was, perhaps
|
|
this was not so bad as it seems how to
|
|
us; but we should think,
|
|
|
|
1. He lay very
|
|
cold, the cold ground for his bed, and, which
|
|
one would suppose made the matter worse,
|
|
a cold stone for his pillow, and in the cold
|
|
air.
|
|
|
|
2. Very uneasy. If his bones were
|
|
sore with his day's journey, his night's rest
|
|
would but make them sorer.
|
|
|
|
3. Very much
|
|
exposed. He forgot that he was fleeing for
|
|
his life; or had his brother, in his rage,
|
|
pursued, or sent a murderer after him, here
|
|
he lay ready to be sacrificed, and destitute of
|
|
shelter and defence. We cannot think it was
|
|
by reason of his poverty that he was so ill
|
|
accommodated, but,
|
|
|
|
(1.) It was owing to the
|
|
plainness and simplicity of those times, when
|
|
men did not take so much state, and consult
|
|
their ease so much, as in these later times of
|
|
softness and effeminacy.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Jacob had been
|
|
particularly used to hardships, as a plain man
|
|
dwelling in tents; and, designing now to go
|
|
to service, he was the more willing to inure
|
|
himself to them; and, as it proved, it was
|
|
well,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+31:40"><I>ch.</I> xxxi. 40</A>.
|
|
|
|
(3.) His comfort in the
|
|
divine blessing, and his confidence in the divine
|
|
protection, made him easy, even when
|
|
he lay thus exposed; being sure that his God
|
|
made him to dwell in safety, he could lie
|
|
down and sleep upon a stone.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. In his hard lodging he had a pleasant
|
|
dream. Any Israelite indeed would be willing
|
|
to take up with Jacob's pillow, provided
|
|
he might but have Jacob's dream. Then,
|
|
and there, he <I>heard the words of God, and
|
|
saw the visions of the Almighty.</I> It was the
|
|
best night's sleep he ever had in his
|
|
life. Note, God's time to visit his people with his
|
|
comforts is when they are most destitute of
|
|
other comforts, and other comforters; when
|
|
afflictions in the way of duty (as these were)
|
|
do abound, then shall consolations so much
|
|
the more abound. Now observe here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The encouraging vision Jacob saw,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
He saw a ladder which reached from earth to
|
|
heaven, the angels ascending and descending
|
|
upon it, and God himself at the head of it.
|
|
Now this represents the two things that are
|
|
very comfortable to good people at all times,
|
|
and in all conditions:--
|
|
|
|
(1.) The providence of
|
|
God, by which there is a constant correspondence
|
|
kept up between heaven and earth. The
|
|
counsels of heaven are executed on earth,
|
|
and the actions and affairs of this earth are
|
|
all known in heaven
|
|
are executed on earth,
|
|
and the actions and affairs of this earth are
|
|
all known in heaven and judged there. Providence
|
|
does its work gradually, and by steps.
|
|
Angels are employed as ministering spirits,
|
|
to serve all the purposes and designs of Providence,
|
|
and the wisdom of God is at the
|
|
upper end of the ladder, directing all the motions
|
|
of second causes to the glory of the
|
|
first Cause. The angels are active spirits,
|
|
continually ascending and descending; they
|
|
rest not, day nor night, from service, according
|
|
to the posts assigned them. They ascend,
|
|
to give account of what they have done, and
|
|
to receive orders; and then descend, to execute
|
|
the orders they have received. Thus
|
|
we should always abound in the work of the
|
|
Lord, that we may do it as the angels do it,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+103:20,21">Ps. ciii. 20, 21</A>.
|
|
This vision gave very seasonable
|
|
comfort to Jacob, letting him know
|
|
that he had both a good guide and a good
|
|
guard, in his going out and coming in,--that,
|
|
though he was made to wander from his father's
|
|
house, yet still he was the care of a
|
|
kind Providence, and the charge of the holy
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page172"> </A>
|
|
|
|
angels. This is comfort enough, though we
|
|
should not admit the notion which some have,
|
|
that the tutelar angels of Canaan were ascending,
|
|
having guarded Jacob out of their land,
|
|
and the angels of Syria descending to take
|
|
him into their custody. Jacob was now the
|
|
type and representative of the whole church,
|
|
with the guardianship of which the angels are
|
|
entrusted.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The mediation of Christ.
|
|
He is this ladder, the foot on earth in his
|
|
human nature, the top in heaven in his divine
|
|
nature: or the former in his humiliation, the
|
|
latter in his exaltation. All the intercourse
|
|
between heaven and earth, since the fall, is
|
|
by this ladder. Christ is the way; all God's
|
|
favours come to us, and all our services go
|
|
to him, by Christ. If God dwell with us,
|
|
and we with him, it is by Christ. We have
|
|
no way of getting to heaven, but by this
|
|
ladder; if we climb up any other way we are
|
|
thieves and robbers. To this vision our Saviour
|
|
alludes when he speaks of the angels
|
|
of God <I>ascending and descending upon the
|
|
son of man</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:51">John i. 51</A>);
|
|
for the kind offices
|
|
the angels do us, and the benefits we receive
|
|
by their ministration, are all owing to Christ,
|
|
who has reconciled things on earth and things
|
|
in heaven
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+1:20">Col. i. 20</A>),
|
|
and made them all
|
|
meet in himself,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:10">Eph. i. 10</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The encouraging words Jacob heard.
|
|
God now brought him into the wilderness,
|
|
and spoke comfortably to him, spoke from
|
|
the head of the ladder; for all the glad tidings
|
|
we receive from heaven come through Jesus
|
|
Christ.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) The former promises made to his father
|
|
were repeated and ratified to him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>.
|
|
In general, God intimated to him that
|
|
he would be the same to him that he had
|
|
been to Abraham and Isaac. Those that
|
|
tread in the steps of their godly parents are
|
|
interested in their covenant and entitled
|
|
to their privileges. Particularly,
|
|
|
|
[1.] The
|
|
land of Canaan is settled upon him, <I>the land
|
|
whereon thou liest;</I> as if by his lying so contentedly
|
|
upon the bare ground he had taken
|
|
livery and seisin of the whole land.
|
|
|
|
[2.] It is
|
|
promised him that his posterity should multiply
|
|
exceedingly as the dust of the earth--that,
|
|
though he seemed now to be plucked off
|
|
as a withered branch, yet he should become
|
|
a flourishing tree, that should send out his
|
|
boughs unto the sea. These were the blessings
|
|
with which his father had blessed him
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>),
|
|
and God here said Amen to them,
|
|
that he might have strong consolation.
|
|
|
|
[3.] It is added that the Messiah should come
|
|
from his loins, in whom all the families of
|
|
the earth should be blessed. Christ is the
|
|
great blessing of the world. All that are
|
|
blessed, whatever family they are of, are
|
|
blessed in him, and none of any family are
|
|
excluded from blessedness in him, but those
|
|
that exclude themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Fresh promises were made him, accommodated
|
|
to his present condition,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
[1.] Jacob was apprehensive of danger from
|
|
his brother Esau; but God promises to keep
|
|
him. Note, Those are safe whom god protects,
|
|
whoever pursues them.
|
|
|
|
[2.] He had
|
|
now a long journey before him, had to travel
|
|
alone, in an unknown road, to an unknown
|
|
country; but, <I>behold, I am with thee,</I> says
|
|
God. Note, Wherever we are, we are safe,
|
|
and may be easy, if we have God's favourable
|
|
presence with us.
|
|
|
|
[3.] He knew not,
|
|
but God foresaw, what hardships he should
|
|
meet with in his uncle's service, and therefore
|
|
promises to preserve him in all places.
|
|
Note, God knows how to give his people
|
|
graces and comforts accommodated to the
|
|
events that shall be, as well as to those that
|
|
are.
|
|
|
|
[4.] He was now going as an exile into
|
|
a place far distant, but God promises him to
|
|
bring him back again to this land. Note,
|
|
He that preserves his people's going out will
|
|
also take care of their coming in,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+121:8">Ps. cxxi. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
[5.] He seemed to be forsaken of all his
|
|
friends, but God here gives him this assurance,
|
|
<I>I will not leave thee.</I> Note, Whom
|
|
God loves he never leaves. This promise is
|
|
sure to all the seed,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+13:5">Heb. xiii. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
[6.] Providences
|
|
seemed to contradict the promises;
|
|
he is therefore assured of the performance of
|
|
them in their season: All shall <I>be done that I
|
|
have spoken to thee of.</I> Note, Saying and
|
|
doing are not two things with God, whatever
|
|
they are with us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge28_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge28_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge28_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge28_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge28_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge28_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge28_22"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Jacob's Vow.</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>16 And Jacob awaked out of his
|
|
sleep, and he said, Surely the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
|
is in this place; and I knew <I>it</I> not.
|
|
17 And he was afraid, and said, How
|
|
dreadful <I>is</I> this place! this <I>is</I> none
|
|
other but the house of God, and this
|
|
<I>is</I> the gate of heaven.
|
|
18 And Jacob
|
|
rose up early in the morning, and
|
|
took the stone that he had put <I>for</I> his
|
|
pillows, and set it up <I>for</I> a pillar, and
|
|
poured oil upon the top of it.
|
|
19 And
|
|
he called the name of that place
|
|
Beth-el: but the name of that city <I>was
|
|
called</I> Luz at the first.
|
|
20 And Jacob
|
|
vowed a vow, saying, If God will
|
|
be with me, and will keep me in this
|
|
way that I go, and will give me bread
|
|
to eat, and raiment to put on,
|
|
21 So
|
|
that I come again to my father's house
|
|
in peace; then shall the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> be my
|
|
God:
|
|
22 And this stone, which I have
|
|
set <I>for</I> a pillar, shall be God's house:
|
|
and of all that thou shalt give me I
|
|
will surely give the tenth unto thee.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
God manifested himself and his favour to
|
|
Jacob when he was asleep and purely passive;
|
|
for the spirit, like the wind, blows
|
|
when and where he listeth, and God's grace,
|
|
like the dew, tarrieth not for the sons of
|
|
men,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:7">Mic. v. 7</A>.
|
|
But Jacob applied himself
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page173"> </A>
|
|
|
|
to the improvement of the visit God had
|
|
made him when he was awake; and we
|
|
may well think he awaked, as the prophet
|
|
did
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+31:26">Jer. xxxi. 26</A>),
|
|
and behold his sleep was
|
|
sweet to him. Here is much of Jacob's devotion
|
|
on this occasion.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. He expressed a great surprise at the
|
|
tokens he had of God's special presence
|
|
with him in that place: <I>Surely the Lord is
|
|
in this place and I knew it not,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
1. God's manifestations of himself to his
|
|
people carry their own evidence along with
|
|
them. God can give undeniable demonstrations
|
|
of his presence, such as give abundant
|
|
satisfaction to the souls of the faithful that
|
|
God is with them of a truth, satisfaction not
|
|
communicable to others, but convincing to
|
|
themselves.
|
|
|
|
2. We sometimes meet with
|
|
God where we little thought of meeting
|
|
with him. He is where we did not think he
|
|
had been, is found where we asked not for
|
|
him. No place excludes divine visits
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+16:13"><I>ch.</I> xvi. 13</A>,
|
|
<I>here also</I>); wherever we are, in the
|
|
city or in the desert, in the house or in the
|
|
field, in the shop or in the street, we may
|
|
keep up our intercourse with Heaven if it
|
|
be not our own fault.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. It struck an awe upon him
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>):
|
|
<I>He was afraid;</I> so far was he from being
|
|
puffed up, and exalted above measure, with
|
|
the abundance of the revelations
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+12:7">2 Cor. xii. 7</A>),
|
|
that he was afraid. Note, The more we
|
|
see of God the more cause we see for holy
|
|
trembling and blushing before him. Those
|
|
to whom God is pleased to manifest himself
|
|
are thereby laid, and kept, very low in their
|
|
own eyes, and see cause to fear even the
|
|
Lord and his goodness,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+3:5">Hos. iii. 5</A>.
|
|
He said,
|
|
<I>How dreadful is this place!</I> that is, "The
|
|
appearance of God in this place is never to
|
|
be thought of, but with a holy awe and reverence.
|
|
I shall have a respect for this place,
|
|
and remember it by this token, as long as I
|
|
live:" not that he thought the place itself
|
|
any nearer the divine visions than other
|
|
places; but what he saw there at this time
|
|
was, as it were, <I>the house of God,</I> the residence
|
|
of the divine Majesty, and <I>the gate
|
|
of heaven,</I> that is, the general rendezvous of
|
|
the inhabitants of the upper world, as the
|
|
meetings of a city were in their gates; or
|
|
the angels ascending and descending were
|
|
like travellers passing and re-passing through
|
|
the gates of a city. Note,
|
|
|
|
1. God is in a
|
|
special manner present where his grace is
|
|
revealed and where his covenants are published
|
|
and sealed, as of old by the ministry
|
|
of angels, so now by instituted ordinances,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+28:20">Matt. xxviii. 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. Where God meets us
|
|
with his special presence we ought to meet
|
|
him with the most humble reverence, remembering
|
|
his justice and holiness, and our
|
|
own meanness and vileness.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He took care to preserve the memorial
|
|
of it two ways:
|
|
|
|
1. He set up the stone
|
|
for a pillar
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>);
|
|
not as if he thought the
|
|
visions of his head were any way owing to
|
|
the stone on which it lay, but thus he would
|
|
mark the place against he came back, and
|
|
erect a lasting monument of God's favour to
|
|
him, and because he had not time now to
|
|
build an altar here, as Abraham did in the
|
|
places where God appeared to him,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:7"><I>ch.</I> xii. 7</A>.
|
|
He therefore <I>poured oil on the top of this stone,</I>
|
|
which probably was the ceremony then used
|
|
in dedicating their altars, as an earnest of his
|
|
building an altar when he should have conveniences
|
|
for it, as afterwards he did, in gratitude
|
|
to God for this vision,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+35:7"><I>ch.</I> xxxv. 7</A>.
|
|
Note, Grants of mercy call for returns of
|
|
duty, and the sweet communion we have
|
|
with God ought ever to be remembered.
|
|
|
|
2. He gave a new name to the place,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
It had been called <I>Luz, an almond-tree;</I> but
|
|
he will have it henceforward called <I>Beth-el, the
|
|
house of God.</I> This gracious appearance of
|
|
God to him put a greater honour upon it, and
|
|
made it more remarkable, than all the almond-trees
|
|
that flourished there. This is that
|
|
Beth-el where, long after, it is said, <I>God found
|
|
Jacob, and there</I> (in what he said to him) <I>he
|
|
spoke with us,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+12:4">Hos. xii. 4</A>.
|
|
In process of time,
|
|
this <I>Beth-el, the house of God,</I> became <I>Beth-aven,
|
|
a house of vanity</I> and iniquity, when
|
|
Jeroboam set up one of his calves there.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. He made a solemn vow upon this occasion,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:20-22"><I>v.</I> 20-22</A>.
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By religious vows we
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give glory to God, own our dependence upon
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him, and lay a bond upon our own souls to
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engage and quicken our obedience to him.
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Jacob was now in fear and distress; and it
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|
is seasonable to make vows in times of
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trouble, or when we are in pursuit of any
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special mercy,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jon+1:16,Ps+66:13,14,1Sa+1:11,Nu+21:1-3">Jon. i. 16; Ps. lxvi. 13, 14; 1 Sam. i. 11; Num. xxi. 1-3</A>.
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Jacob had
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now had a gracious visit from heaven. God
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|
had renewed his covenant with him, and the
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|
covenant is mutual. When God ratifies his
|
|
promises to us, it is proper for us to repeat
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|
our promises to him. Now in this vow observe,
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|
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1. Jacob's faith. God had said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+28:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
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|
<I>I am with thee, and will keep thee.</I> Jacob
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|
takes hold of this, and infers, "<I>Seeing God
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|
will be with me, and will keep me,</I> as he hath
|
|
said, and (which is implied in that promise)
|
|
will provide comfortably for me,--and seeing
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|
he has promised to <I>bring me again to this
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|
land,</I> that is, <I>to the house of my father,</I> whom
|
|
I hope to find alive at my return <I>in peace</I>"
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|
(so unlike was he to Esau who longed for the
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|
days of mourning for his father),--"I depend
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|
upon it." Note, God's promises are to be
|
|
the guide and measure of our desires and
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|
expectations.
|
|
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|
2. Jacob's modesty and great
|
|
moderation in his desires. He will cheerfully
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|
content himself with bread to eat, and raiment
|
|
to put on; and, though God's promise
|
|
had now made him heir to a very great estate,
|
|
yet he indents not for soft clothing and dainty
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|
meat. Agur's wish is his, <I>Feed me with food
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|
convenient for me;</I> and see
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+6:8">1 Tim. vi. 8</A>.
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|
Nature is content with a little, and grace with
|
|
less. Those that have most have, in effect,
|
|
no more for themselves than food and raiment;
|
|
of the overplus they have only either
|
|
the keeping or the giving, not the enjoyment:
|
|
if God give us more, we are bound to be
|
|
thankful, and to use it for him; if he give
|
|
us but this, we are bound to be content,
|
|
and cheerfully to enjoy him in it.
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|
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|
3. Jacob's
|
|
piety, and his regard to God, which appear
|
|
here,
|
|
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|
(1.) In what he desired, that
|
|
God would be with him and keep him.
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|
Note, We need desire no more to make us
|
|
easy and happy, wherever we are, than to
|
|
have God's presence with us and to be under
|
|
his protection. It is comfortable, in a journey,
|
|
to have a guide in an unknown way, a
|
|
guard in a dangerous way, to be well carried,
|
|
well provided for, and to have good company
|
|
in any way; and those that have God with
|
|
them have all this in the best manner.
|
|
|
|
(2.) In what he designed. His resolution is,
|
|
|
|
[1.] In general, to cleave to the Lord, as his God
|
|
in covenant: <I>Then shall the Lord be my God.</I>
|
|
Not as if he would disown him and cast him
|
|
off if he should want food and raiment; no,
|
|
though he slay us, we must cleave to him;
|
|
but "then I will rejoice in him as my God;
|
|
then I will more strongly engage myself to
|
|
abide with him." Note, Every mercy we
|
|
receive from God should be improved as an
|
|
additional obligation upon us to walk closely
|
|
with him as our God.
|
|
|
|
[2.] In particular,
|
|
that he would perform some special acts of
|
|
devotion, in token of his gratitude. <I>First,</I>
|
|
"This pillar shall keep possession here till I
|
|
come back in peace, and then it shall be God's
|
|
house," that is, "an altar shall be erected
|
|
here to the honour of God." <I>Secondly,</I> "The
|
|
house of god shall not be unfurnished, nor
|
|
his altar without a sacrifice: <I>Of all that thou
|
|
shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto
|
|
thee,</I> to be spent either upon God's altars or
|
|
upon his poor," both which are his receivers
|
|
in the world. Probably it was according to
|
|
some general instructions received from
|
|
heaven that Abraham and Jacob offered the
|
|
tenth of their acquisitions to God. Note,
|
|
|
|
1. God must be honoured with our estates, and
|
|
must have his dues out of them. When we
|
|
receive more than ordinary mercy from God
|
|
we should study to give some signal instances
|
|
of gratitude to him.
|
|
|
|
2. The tenth is a very
|
|
fit proportion to be devoted to God and employed
|
|
for him, though, as circumstances
|
|
vary, it may be more or less, as God prospers
|
|
us,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+16:2,2Co+9:7">1 Cor. xvi. 2; 2 Cor. ix. 7</A>.</P>
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