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22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it 'Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. 23 And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am 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 LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.

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 LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even 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 art now the blessed of the LORD.

sojourning here below. According to our state, when it comes, will be our eternal doom. Our great business, therefore, is so to live, that when we are called to depart this life, we may enter upon that inheritance which "fadeth not away." (1 Peter i. 4.)

Everything we meet with in our pilgrimage should remind us of the necessity of preparing for our latter end. Isaac had buried his father and mother. We may hope that the loss of such beloved relatives would spur him on to follow in their steps, that so he might meet them again. But he had other trials. To have such a son as Esau, a despiser of the birthright blessing, must have been a sore distress to his parents. Besides this, he was now visited with famine; and even in the land of promise he was distressed for bread. We must not expect all things to go on smoothly; trials of some kind or other will constantly occur: but they are all designed for good; they tend to increase our desire for that rest which "remaineth to the people of God." (Heb. iv. 9.)

There is danger lest, in a time of difficulty or trial, we take a false step, distrust the Lord, and put ourselves in the way of sin or temptation. In all such cases, the first duty

30 And he made them a feast, and they is to seek the Lord. Ask direction at his 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 10 Shebah: therefore the

name of the city is " Beer-sheba unto this day. 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 Is a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

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hands; put yourselves under his guidance; and above all things, seek his saving and sanctifying blessing. If the Lord be with you, and bless you, as he promised to be with and bless Isaac, you can neither want a friend, nor be destitute of a helper or deliverer.

You will, however, have need of faith. Especially should you guard against those falls which others have suffered. Isaac was a

believer, but there were times when he distrusted the Lord, and fell into sin. Why should he fear the men of the place? Could any one hurt him, or his wife, without divine permission? He was wrong in saying his wife was his sister; and he was corrected for his fault, though the Lord did not take away his mercy from him. He was still blessed, both in the labour of his hands, and in his own soul. Yet it shews the wicked spirit of the place, when even a godly man was tempted to depart from the truth, in order to escape an apprehended violence. But nothing can ever justify falsehood, or extenuate sin.

Might not Isaac's subsequent trials have all arisen from this cause, and been intended to correct him for this fault? Surely the strife and contention which his servants had with the men of the place might have taught him this lesson; and it was a great mercy when the rulers of the country felt more disposed to cultivate his society than to widen the breach, because the Lord had blessed him.

And may you not often read your sin in your correction or punishment? Do not most of your trials spring from your own iniquity, in some way or other committed? Do not all your mercies and deliverances come from the Lord? Learn, then, to be humbled for your sin; ask for mercy and forgiveness; pray for grace to be more watchful in your ways; beseech the Lord to keep you from all evil. Thus commit the safety of your soul to him in well doing. Serve the Lord in your generation, and look "for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." (Jude 21.)

CHAPTER XXVII.

1 Isaac sendeth Esau for venison. 6 Rebekah instructeth Jacob to obtain the blessing. 15 Jacob under the person of Esau obtaineth it. 30 Esau bringeth venison. 33 Isaac trembleth. 31 Esau complaineth, and by importunity obtaineth a blessing. 41 He threateneth Jacob. 42 Rebekah disappointeth it.

ND it came to pass, that when Isaac was

could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:

3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and 'take me some venison;

4 And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

6¶ And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.

8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.

15 And Rebekah took 'goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:

16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands so he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.

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26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:

28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

30 ¶ And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.

32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.

33 And Isaac 'trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.

34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

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35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.

36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I 7sustained him and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

41 ¶ And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;

44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away;

45 Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?

46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

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THIS chapter must be read with all possible care and attention. It gives a relation of the manner in which Isaac, when advanced in years, and not knowing how soon he might die, gave his solemn blessing to his two sons, Esau and Jacob. That there is much that is sinful thus recorded, there can be no doubt. That God was pleased to overrule the whole to the furtherance of his own will, is also clear. That the sin thus committed was punished, though pardoned, and that the goodness thus manifested was utterly unmerited, all must see and confess, who read this extraordinary history with understanding and attention.

In the first place, was not Isaac wrong in placing an undue affection upon such an unworthy son? Can we suppose he could have been ignorant of the divine revelation, respecting these children, made known to his

wife before they were born? Can we conclude that the character of Esau, in his disregard of spiritual blessings, was unknown to his father, even supposing he knew not that he had sold his birthright to his brother? That a father should love his children is, we all know, natural and proper; but that Isaac should love Esau because he did eat of his son's venison (Gen. xxv. 28), was surely a very unworthy motive for such a regard; and that, knowing all these things, he should so far forget himself, under the influence of misguided affection, as to do all in his power to counteract the express purpose of God, and confirm the birthright with all its privileges to one who was unworthy of the distinction, had already bartered it away, and was a profane despiser of spiritual blessings, was surely, in every point of view, unbecoming an aged saint, and a holy man of God.

In the next place, was not Rebekah wrong in seeking to practise such a deception upon her husband, and making Jacob join her in so doing? Did she not know that the birthright was to be Jacob's? Had not God told her the elder should serve the younger? Had not Jacob informed her of the transaction, which had already taken place, between Esau and himself many years before? Ought she not, then, to have told Isaac these things when she overheard his intention? Ought she not to have made it a matter of prayer, and then calmly awaited the issue? That Rebekah loved Jacob, and chiefly on account of his predicted superiority, there can be little doubt. But that would no more justify her in seeking, by unlawful means, to secure the birthright to him, than Isaac could be approved for loving Esau because he "eat of his venison," or for intending to confer on him the birthright, though he knew he was unworthy of the privilege, and had even actually sold it before.

and far more consistent with the character of one who was better taught.

Now, what followed? By each party sin was committed, and all were painfully punished. The distress of Isaac when he perceived what he had done (v. 33); the pain of Rebekah in being obliged to part with Jacob for fear of his brother; the banishment of Jacob to a distant land for a long series of years, where he was subject to great privations and trials, clearly proved they had all sinned against the Lord; and that their sin did surely find them out. In the case of Esau, we see the profane sinner eating of the fruit of his own ways, and filled with his own devices. (Prov. i. 31.) He despised the birthright, and it was gone; he had sold it, and it was lost for What availed his tears? He was vexed, but not humbled; he was grieved, but not penitent. His case is a solemn warning to all those who, for the sake of the world, sell their souls. They see not their danger till they begin to feel the weight of their punishment; the door is shut; and there is no remedy.

ever.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

1 Isaac blesseth Jacob, and sendeth him to Padan-aram. 6 Esau marrieth Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael. 10 The vision of Jacob's ladder. 18 The stone of Beth-el. 20 Jacob's vow.

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In the third place, was Jacob right in yielding to his mother's wishes, and going before his father with a falsehood on his tongue? Should he not rather have gone in openly, and frankly explained the whole matter to his aged parent, and then left it with God to bring to pass his own will? That would have been the plain path of duty,

ND Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

2 Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.

3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.

5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

6 ¶ When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he

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9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

10 ¶ And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba,

and went toward Haran.

11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.

12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 And, behold, I am with thee; and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

16 ¶ And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place;

and I knew it not.

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THE Spirit of God has evinced more care in recording the actions of a humble believer, than to note the deeds or exploits of the mighty and great. The destinies of kingdoms and empires are passed over in silence; while the steps, the journies, and even the resting places of the saints, are remembered with the greatest precision. And what does this teach us? "The Lord ordereth a good man's goings, and maketh his way acceptable to himself." (Ps. xxxvii. 23, Prayerbook version.) In all ages, to the end of time, and throughout all eternity, it will invariably be found that, "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God." (Ps. cxlvi. 5.)

We are here informed of Isaac's renewing the blessing which had been previously condiction, and sending him away to his distant ferred upon Jacob; giving his parting benerelatives in peace. Oh! that in all our journey through this life, we may have Jacob's God and Jacob's blessing for our daily portion. "God Almighty bless thee!" What a prayer! What can the soul desire more, or have more? Think over these wisdom, mercy, and peace; with all that is words: "God Almighty bless thee" with needful for thy body, and requisite for thy soul! All through the journey of life, in the dark passage of death; and in bringing thee safe to the heavenly rest above, "God Almighty bless thee!" Is not this a good prayer for parents to offer for their children; for friends to offer for each other; for each one to offer for himself? "God Almighty bless thee" and me, and all around, for ever and ever!

Esau's conduct, it seems, is much the same. Selfish feeling guides his steps, as it did before he lost the blessing. He learns no wisdom. He has gained nothing by his folly. This is Esau; and such is the graceless sinner still.

Jacob, too, goes on his way; but what a journey was his! Surely he can never forget it so long as he lives. The day wears away;

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