tween this blessing and the former? In that he was thinking of one person and blessing another: in this he understands what he is about. Then his mind was straitened by carnal attachment: now it is enlarged by faith. The rich promises of Abraham's covenant seem there to have been almost forgotten; but here they are exexpressly named, and dwelt upon with delight. Of what importance is it for our minds to be kept one with God's mind; and what a difference it makes in the discharge of duty! We may pray, or preach, after a manner, while it is otherwise; and God may preserve us from uttering gross error: but what we deliver will be miserably flat and defective, in comparison of what it is when a right spirit is renewed within us. Ver. 5-9. The departure of Jacob was attended by many painful and humiliating circumstances, as well it might; for these are the necessary consequences of sin. The parting scene to Isaac was tender; but Jacob and his mother must have felt something more than tenderness. As to Esau, it is not likely that he was present. He was near enough however to eye his motions, and by some means to make himself acquainted with every thing that passed. Probably he expected more supplanting schemes were forming, and longed for the time when a fair opportunity should offer for his being revenged on the supplanter. But when he found that his father had blessed him, and charged him not to take a wife of the daughters of Canaan, and that he had obeyed his voice, and was gone to Padan-aram, it seems to have wrought in a way that we should scarcely have expected. Finding himself left in the possession of all the substance of the family, and Jacob out of his way, he thinks he has now only to please his father, and notwithstanding the loss of this birthright, and blessing, all will be his. And now, to accomplish his end, he carefully notices the means by which Jacob succeeded in pleasing his parents. One great advantage which he had gained over him, as he perceived by his father's charge, was in reference to marriage. He had obeyed the voice of his father and his mother, and was gone to take a wife from the family of Bethuel. I will take another wife then,' said Esau to himself, if that will please them; and as they seem attached to their relations, it shall be from among them. Moreover, as Jacob, who is his mother's favourite, intends to marry into her family, I, who am my father's, will marry into his.' See what awkward work is made when men go about to please others, and promote their worldly interests, by imitating that in which they have no delight. Ignorance and error mark every step they take. Esau was in no need of a wife, for he had two already; nor did his parents desire him to add to the number; nor would they be gratified by his connexion with the apostate family of Ishmael; nor was it principally on account of Bethuel's being a relation that Abraham's family took wives from his. In short, he is out in all his calculations; nor can he discover the principles which influence those who fear the Lord. Thus have we often seen men try to imitate religious people, for the sake of gaining esteem, or in some way promoting their selfish ends but instead of succeeding, they have commonly made bad worse. That which to a right mind is as plain as the most public highway, to a mind perverted shall appear full of difficulties. The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. But to return Ver. 10, 11. The line of promise being now fully ascertained, Jacob becomes the hero of the tale. He was now about seventyseven years old; and though his brother Esau had two wives, yet he was single. The posterity of Ishmael and Esau increased much faster than those of Isaac and Jacob. It seemed to be the design of God that the promise should be slow in its operations, in order to try the faith of his servants. Setting out from his father's house at Beersheba, we find Jacob journeying towards Haran, a distance of about five hundred miles. Without a servant to attend him, or a beast to carry him, or any other accommodation, except, as he afterwards informs us, a staff to walk with, he pursues his solitary way. Having travelled one whole day, the sun being set, he alighted on a certain place, where he took up his abode for the night. The place was called Luz, and is said to have been a city. (ver. 19.) Jacob, however, does not seem to have entered it: but, for some reason, chose to sleep in the open air in its suburbs. Sleeping abroad is a custom very common in the East, and less dangerous than in colder climates. The stones which he used for a pillow might preserve VOL. V. 31 him from the damp of the ground; but, we should think, must have contributed but little to rest his weary body. Ver. 12-15. During the night he had a very extraordinary dream, almost every particular of which is introduced by the sacred writer with the interjection, Behold! He dreamed, and behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold, Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am Jehovah, God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thre will I give it, and to thy seed. 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. 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. : We might have been at a loss in ascertaining the meaning of the ladder, if the great medium of communion between heaven and earth had not almost expressly applied it to himself. Hereafter, said Jesus to Nathanael, ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending (that is to heaven) and descending, (that is to the earth) upon the Son of Man. Our Lord's design appears to have been to foretell the glory of gospel times, in which, through ́his mediation, heaven should as it were be opened, and a free intercourse be established between God, angels, and men. But it may be asked, What analogy could there be between this, and that which was revealed to Jacob? I answer, We have seen that the Messiah was not only included in the promises to Abraham, but that he made a principal part of them; and as these promises were now renewed to Jacob, though we had read nothing of his vision of the ladder, yet we should have known that they looked as far forward as to him, and to that dispensation in which all the families of the earth should be blessed in him. As it is, we may conclude that what was seen in vision, was of the same general import as what was heard in the promises which followed. It was giving the patriarch a glimpse of that glory which should be accomplished in his seed. There was something very seasonable in this vision, and in the promises which accompanied it. Jacob had lately acted an unworthy part, and if properly sensible of it, must have been very unhappy. His father, it is true, had blessed him, and of course forgiven him; but till God has done so too, he can enjoy no solid peace. Now such was the present vision; it was the Lord his God saying Amen to his father's blessing. He was taking leave of Canaan, and if he had calculated on human probabilities, he was never likely to return to it, at least during the life-time of Esau but by the gift of the land on which he lay, to him and to his seed, he was taught to expect it, and to consider himself only as a sojourner at Haran. Considering his age too, there seemed but little probability of his having a numerous offspring. If the blessing consisted in this, it seemed much more likely to be fulfilled in his brother than in him: but he was hereby assured that his seed should be as the dust of the earth, spreading abroad in every direction. The thought also of leaving his father's house, and of going among strangers, must needs have affected him. During his solitary walk from Beersheba, he had doubtless been thinking of his lonely condition, and of the difficulties and dangers which he had to encounter. How seasonable then was the promise, Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land. Finally, the present was a new epoch in his life, and as an heir of promise, a kind of commencement of it. In this character he must, like his predecessors, live by faith. Esau's blessing was soon fulfilled; but Jacob's related to things at a great distance, which none but God Almighty could bring to pass. How seasonable then were those precious promises, which furnished at his outset a ground for faith to rest upon! I will not leave thee till I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. Ver. 16-22. Awaking from sleep in the night-time and reflecting on his dream, he was greatly affected, as well he might. Surely, exclaimed he, Jehovah is in this place, and I knew it not ! And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is * Compare ver. 3, 4. with ver. 13, 14. none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven! As if he had said, Surely this is no common dream! God is in it! God is near! I went to sleep as at other times, expecting nothing.; and lo, ere I was aware, God hath visited me!' Feeling himself as in the presence of the Divine Majesty, he trembles; the place seems to be holy ground, the temple of Jehovah, the suburbs of heaven! Whether he slept after this, we are not told: be that as it may, he rose early in the morning; and, deeply impressed with what had passed, resolved to perpetuate the remembrance of it. Taking the stone upon which he had lain, he set it up for a pillar, or monument; and that he might consecrate it to the future service of the Lord, poured oil upon the top of it. This done, he gave the place a new name. Instead of Luz, (probably so called on account of a number of almond or nut trees growing near it,) he called it Bethel—the house of God. : Finally He closed this extraordinary vision by a solemn vow, or dedication of himself to God, 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, so that I come again to my father's house in peace: then shall Jehovah be my God. And this stone which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee.-The terms of this solemn vow were not of Jacob's dictating to the Almighty, but arose out of his own gracious promises; and so furnish a lovely example of the prayer of faith. God had promised to be with him, to keep him, to bring him again into the land, and not to leave him. Jacob takes up the precious words, saying, If God will thus be with me, and keep me, and provide for me, and bring me home in peace, then in return I will I be his for ever. We may pray for things which God hath not promised, in submission to his will as Abraham interceded for Sodom, and Moses for the idolaters at Horeb; but when we ask for that which he hath engaged to bestow, we approach him with much greater encouragement. The order of what he desired is also deserving of notice. It corresponds with our Saviour's rule, to seek things of the greatest importance first. By how much God's favour is better than life, by so much his being with us, |