Welcome to a reading of John Calvin's Commentary on Genesis. This Reformation MP3 audio resource is a production of Stillwater's Revival Books. Many free Reformation resources, as well as our complete online catalogue containing classic and contemporary Puritan and Reformed books, the Puritan hard drive, digital downloads, MP3s, DVDs, and much more at great discounts, are on the web at www.PuritanDownloads.com. Also, please consider praying out upon the important truths found in the following quotation by Charles Spurgeon. As the Apostle says to Timothy, so also he says to everyone, give yourself to reading. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves that he has no brains of his own. You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all like literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the puritanic writers and expositions of the Bible. The best way for you to spend your leisure is to be either reading or praying. And now to SWRB's reading of Calvin's commentary on Genesis, which we hope you find to be a great blessing, and which we pray draws you nearer to the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Him. John 14, verse 6. I'm reading from page 547. but the God of your father. Why does he not also acknowledge God as his own God, unless Satan had so fascinated his mind already that he chose rather to wander in darkness than to turn to the light presented before him? Willingly or unwillingly he is compelled to yield to the God of Abraham, and yet he defrauds him of the glory which is due by retaining those fictitious deities by which he had been deceived. We see, then, that the ungodly, even when they have had proof of the power of God, yet do not entirely submit themselves to his authority. Wherefore, when God manifests himself to us, we must also seek from heaven the spirit of meekness, which shall bend and subdue us to obedience unto himself. Wherefore hast thou stolen my goods? The second head of accusation which is alleged against Jacob is, that he had not departed through love to his country, nor for any just and probable cause, but that in fact he was implicated in an act of robbery, a heavy and disgraceful charge, of which Jacob was far from being guilty. But we learn, hence, that no one can live so innocently in the world, but he must sometimes bear undeserved reproach and marks of infamy. Whenever this may happen to us, let that precious promise sustain us, that the Lord in His own time will bring forth our innocence as the morning light. Psalm 37, verse 6. For by this artifice Satan attempts to seduce us from the practice of well-doing, when, without any fault of ours, we are traduced by false calumnies. And since the world is ungrateful, it often makes the very worst return for acts of kindness. Some, indeed, are found who, with heroic magnanimity, despise unfavourable reports, because they esteem the testimony of a good conscience more highly than depraved popular opinion. But it behoves the faithful to look to God, that their conscience may never fail. We see that Laban calls his goods teraphim, not because he thought the deity was enclosed within them, but because he worshipped these images in honour of the gods, or rather because when he was about to pay homage to God, he turned himself to those images At this day, by the sole difference of a word, the pappers think they skillfully effect their escape, because they do not attribute to idols the name of gods. But the subterfuge is frivolous, since in reality they are altogether alike, for they pour forth before pictures of statues whatever honour they acknowledge to be due to the one god. To the ancient idolaters the pretext of not wanting that by the metonym they styled those images gods, which were formed for the sake of representing God. And Jacob answered. He briefly refutes each head of the accusation with respect to his secret departure. He modestly excuses himself as having been afraid that he might be deprived of his wives. in this way he takes part of the blame to himself, deeming it sufficient to exonerate himself from the malice of which he was thought to be guilty. He does not dispute, as a casuist, whether it was lawful to depart by stealth, but leaves it undetermined whether or not his fear was culpable. And all the children of God learn to imitate this modesty, Lest, through an immoderate desire to vindicate their own reputation, they should rush into contentions, just as we have seen many raise tragic scenes out of nothing, because they will not endure that any censure over trifling should be passed upon them. Jacob therefore was content with this excuse, that he had done nothing wickedly. His defence on the other charge follows. in which Jacob chose his confidence by adjudicating the person to death with whom the thing stolen should be found. He speaks, indeed, from his heart, but if the truth had been discovered, he must of necessity have been ashamed of his rashness. Therefore, though he was not conscious of guilt, he yet singled, through excessive haste, in not having diligently inquired before he pronounced concerning a doubtful matter. He ought to have called both his wives and his children, and to have inquired of each how the affair stood. He was indeed persuaded that his family were so well conducted that no suspicion of theft had ever entered into his mind, but he ought not to so have relied upon his own discipline as to be free from fear when a crime is alleged against his family. Therefore let us learn to suspend our judgment in matters of which we are ignorant, lest we should repent too late of our temerity. We may add, that since it happened, that the pollution which he might have exterminated immediately continued still longer in the family of Jacob. That Rachel had stolen them Moses relates the manner in which Rachel had concealed her theft, namely by sitting on the idols and pretending the custom of women as her excuse. It is a question whether she did this through shame or pertinacity. It was disgraceful to be caught in the act of theft. She also dreaded the severe sentence of her husband. Yet to me it appears probable that fear did not so much influence her as the obstinate love of idolatry. For we know how greatly superstition infatuates the mind. Therefore, as if she had obtained an incomparable treasure, she thinks that she must attempt anything rather than allow herself to be deprived of it. Moreover, she chooses rather to incur the displeasure of her father and her husband than to relinquish the object of her superstition. To her stratagem she also adds lying words, so that she deserves manifold censure. And Jacob was wrath, and chode with Laban, Jacob again acts amiss, in contending with Laban about a matter not sufficiently known, and in wrongfully fastening on him the charge of calumny. But although he supposed all his family to be free from blame, yet he was deceived by his own negligence. He acts indeed with moderation, because in expostulating with Laban he does not use reproaches, but in this he is not to be excused that he undertakes a cause in his whole family when they were not exempt from blame. If anyone should make the objection to this statement that Jacob was constrained by fear because Laban had brought with him a great band of companions, the circumstances themselves show that his mind was thus influenced by moderation rather than by fear, for he boldly resists. and shows no sign of fear, only abstains from the insolence of evil speaking. He then adds that he had just cause of accusation against Laban, not because he wished to rise in the spirit of recrimination against his father-in-law, but because it was right that the kindred and associates of Laban should be made witnesses of all that had passed, in order that, by the protracted, patient endurance of Jacob, his integrity might be the more manifest. Jacob also called to mind not only that he had been a faithful keeper of the flock, but also that his labour had been rendered prosperous by the blessing of God. He adds, besides, that he had been held accountable for all losses. In this he insinuates against Laban the charge of great injustice. For it was not the duty of Jacob voluntarily to inflame the avarice and rapacity of his father-in-law by attempting to soothe him, but he yielded by constraint to his injuries. When he says that sleep departed from his eyes, he not only intimates that he passed sleepless nights, but that he had so contended against nature itself as to defraud himself of necessary repose. Verse 42 Jacob here ascribes it to the favour of God that he was not about to return home entirely empty, whereby he not only aggravates the sin of Laban, but meets an objection which might seem at variance with his complaints. He therefore denies that he has been made rich by the kindness of his father-in-law, but testifies that he has been favourably regarded by the Lord, as if he had said, I owe it not to thee that thou hast not further injured me, but God, who is propitious to me, has withstood thee. Now, since God is not the defender of unfaithfulness, nor is want to help the wicked, the integrity of Jacob may be ascertained from the fact that God interposed as his vindicator. It is also to be observed that by expressly distinguishing the God of Abraham from all fictitious gods, he declares that there is no other true God, by which he at the same time proves himself to be a truly pious worshipper. The expression, the fear of Isaac, is to be taken passively for the God whom Isaac revered, just as, on account of the reverence due to him, he is called the fear and dread of his people. A similar expression occurs immediately after in the same chapter. Now the pious, while they fear God, are by no means horror-struck at His presence, like the reprobates, but trembling at His judgment, they walk circumspectly before Him. God has seen my affliction and the labour of my hands. This was spoken from a pious feeling that God would bring help to him when afflicted, if he should conduct himself with fidelity and honesty. Therefore, in order that the Lord may sustain us with his favour, let us learn to discharge our duty rightly, let us not flee from our proper work, and let us not refuse to purchase peace by submitting to many inconveniences. Further, if they from whom we have deserved well treat us severely and unjustly, let us bear our cross in hope and in silence, until the Lord shall succour us, for he never will forsake us, as the Scripture testifies. But Jacob distinctly presses his father-in-law with his own confession, for why had God rebuked him, unless because he was persecuting an innocent man in defiance of justice and equity, for as I have lately intimated, it is abhorrent to the nature of God to favour evil and unjust causes. Verse 43 These daughters are my daughters. Laban begins now to speak in a manner very different from before. He sees that he has no farther ground of contention, therefore being convinced He bears all strife, and glides into placid and amicable discourse. Why, he asks, should I be hostile to thee, when all things between us are common? Shall I rage against my own bowels? For both thy wives and thy children are my own blood. Wherefore, I ought to be affected towards you, as if all were part of myself. He now answers like an honourable man. Whence, then, has this humanity so suddenly sprung up? in the breast of him who lately had been hurried onward, without any respect to right or wrong, to ruin Jacob, unless it were that he knew Jacob to have acted towards him with fidelity, and to have been at length compelled by necessity to adopt the design of departing by stealth. And this was an indication that he was not absolutely desperate, for we may find many persons of such abandoned impudence that though overcome and silenced by arguments, they do not yet cease to rush headlong in insane rebellion. From this passage we infer that although avarice and other sinful affections take away judgment and soundness of mind, there yet remains a knowledge of truth engraven on the souls of men, which, being stirred up, emits scintillations, to prevent the universal triumph of depravity. If anyone before had said, What does thou laven? what brutality is this to rage against thine own bowels? the remonstrance would not have been heard, for he burned with headstrong fury. But now he voluntarily suggests this to himself, and proclaims what he would have been unwilling to hear from another. It appears, then, that the light of justice, which now breaks forth, had been smothered in his mind. In short, it is self-love alone which blinds us, because we all judge aright where personal interests are not concerned. If, however, it should so happen that we are for a time in perplexity, we must still seek to obey the dictates of reason and justice. But if anyone hardens himself in wickedness, the interior and hidden knowledge of which I have spoken will yet remain engraven in his mind and will suffice for his condemnation. Verse 44. Let us make a covenant, I and thou. Laban here acts as men conscious of guilt I want to do. they wish to guard themselves against revenge. And this kind of trepidation and anxiety is the just reward of evil deeds. Besides, wicked men always judge of others from their own disposition, whence it happens that they have fears on all sides. Moses before relates a somewhat similar example when Abimelech made a covenant with Isaac. Wherefore we must take the greater care if we desire to possess tranquil minds, that we act sincerely and without injury towards our neighbours. Meanwhile, Moses shows how placable Jacob was, and how easily he permitted himself to be conciliated. He had endured very many and grievous wrongs, and now, forgetting all, he freely stretches out the hand of kindness, and so far is he from being pertinacious in defending his own right. he in a manner anticipates Laban himself, being the first to take a stone and set it up for a pillar. And truly it becomes the children of God, not only with alacrity to embrace peace, but even ardently to search for it, as we are commanded in Psalm 34, verse 14. As to the heap of stones, it was always a practice to use some ceremony which might confirm the compact on both sides. On this occasion a heap of stones is raised, in order that the memory of the covenant might be transmitted to posterity. That Jacob took part in this was a proof, as we have said, of a mind disposed to peace. He freely complained indeed when it was right to do so, but when the season of pacification arrived, he showed that he cherished no rancour. Moses, in relating afterwards that he did eat there upon the heap, does not observe the order of the history, for on both sides the conditions of the covenant were agreed upon and declared before the feast was celebrated. But this vigorous speech, as we have before seen, was sufficiently in use. And Laban called it. Each in his own language gives a name of the same signification to the heap. Once it appears that Laban used the Syrian tongue, though born of the race of Heber. But is it not wonderful that he, dwelling among Syrians, should have accustomed himself to the language as well as to the manners of the Syrians? And a little before, he is twice called a Syrian, as if Moses would describe him as degenerate and alienated from the Hebrews. But this seems by no means accordant with the previous history, where we read that the daughters of Laban gave Hebrew names to their sons. Yet the solution is not difficult, for since the affinity between these languages was great, the inflection of one word into another was easy. Besides, if the wives of Jacob were tractable, it is not surprising that they should have learned his language. And beyond doubt, He would himself make a point of this matter, seeing he knew that his family was separated from the rest of the nations. Moses, in using the name of Galid, does it proleptically. For since he was writing for his own times, he does not scruple to give it the generally received name. Moreover, we hence infer that ceremonies and rites ought to refer to that which those who use them mutually agree upon. which rule also ought to be applied to the sacraments, because if the word by which God enters into covenant with us be taken away, useless and dead figures will alone remain. 49 The Lord watch between me and thee. Laban commits to the judgment of God for vengeance whatever offence either of them should be guilty of against the other in his absence, as if he would say, Though the knowledge of the injury should not reach me, because I shall be far distant, yet the Lord, who is everywhere present, will behold it, which sentiment he more clearly expresses afterwards when he says, No one is with us. God will be witness between me and thee. By which words he means that God will be a severe avenger of every wickedness, though there should be no judge upon earth to decide the cause. And certainly if there were any religion flourishing within us, the presence of God would influence us far more than the observation of men. But it arises from the brutal stupidity of our flesh, that we reverence men only, as if we might mock God with impunity. when we are not convicted by the testimony of men. If then this common feeling of nature dictated to Laban that the frauds which were hidden from men would come into judgment for God, we who enjoy the light of the Gospel should indeed be ashamed to seek a covet for our fallacies. Hence also we gather the legitimate use of an oath, which the Apostle declares in his epistle to the Hebrews, namely that men order to put an end to their controversies, resort to the judgment of God. If thou shalt take other wives besides my daughters, Laban declares that it would be a specious of perfidity if Jacob should take to himself any other wives. But he had himself compelled Jacob to the act of polygamy, For whence was it that the holy man had more wives than one, except that Leah had been craftily substituted in the place of Rachel? But he now, from a pure sentiment of nature, condemns the fault of which, blinded by avarice, he had wickedly been the author. And certainly, when the bond of marriage is broken, than which none other men is more sacred, the whole of society sinks into Therefore, those fanatical men who at this day delight to defend polygamy have no need of any judge than Laban. Verse 53. The God of Abraham. It is indeed rightly and properly done that Laban should adjure Jacob by the name of God. For this is a confirmation of covenants, to appeal to God on both sides that he may not suffer perfidity to pass unpunished. But he sinfully blends idols with the true God, between whom there is nothing in common. Thus truly men involved in superstitions are accustomed to confound promiscuously sacred things with profane, and the figments of men with the true God. He is compelled to give some honour to the God of Abraham, yet he lies plunged in his own idolatrous pollution. and that his religion may not appear the worst, he gives it the colour of antiquity, for in calling him the god of his father, he boasts that this god was handed down to him from his ancestors. Meanwhile Jacob does not swear superstitiously, for Moses expressly declares that he is swear only by the fear of Isaac, whence we learn that he did not assent to the preposterous form of oath dictated by his father-in-law, no too many many do, who, in order to gain the favour of the wicked, pretend to be the same religion with them. But when once the only God is made known to us, we wickedly suppress his truth, and lest by his light all the clouds of error are dispersed. Verse 54 And called his brethren to eat bread, In courteously receiving his kindred, by whom he had been ill-treated as his guests, Jacob showed his kindness. Moses also intimates that it was by the special favour of God that, after the most dreadful storm which threatened the holy man with destruction, a placid serenity suddenly shone forth. To the same cause is to be assigned what immediately follows. that Laban departed in a friendly manner. For by this method the Lord openly manifested Himself as the guardian of His servant, seeing that He wonderfully delivered him as a lost sheep out of the jaws of the wolf. And truly, not only was the fury of Laban appeased, but He put on paternal affection, as if He had been changed into a new man. and bless them. The character of the person is here to be noticed, because Laban, who had lapsed from true piety, and was a man of unholy and wicked manners, yet retained the habit of giving his blessing. For we are hereby taught that certain principles of divine knowledge remain in the hearts of the wicked, so that no excuse may be left to them on the ground of ignorance. For the custom of pronouncing a blessing arises hence, that men are certainly persuaded that God alone is the author of all things. For although they may proudly arrogate what they please to themselves, yet when they return to their right mind, they are compelled, whether they will or no, to acknowledge that all good proceeds from God alone. verse 1 and jacob went on his way after jacob had escaped from the hands of his father-in-law that is from present death he meets with his brother whose cruelty was as much or still more to be dreaded for by the threats of his brother he had been driven from his country and now no better prospect lies before him He therefore proceeds with trepidation, as one who goes to the slaughter. Seeing, however, it was scarcely possible but that he should sink oppressed by grief, the Lord affords him timely succour, and prepares him for this conflict, as well as for others, in such a manner that he should stand forth a brave and invincible champion in them all. that he may know himself to be defended by the guardianship of God, angels go forth to meet him, arranged in ranks on both sides. Hebrew interpreters think that the camp of the enemy had been placed on one side, and that the angels, or rather God, stood on the other. But it is much more probable that angels were distributed into two camps on different sides of Jacob, that he might perceive himself to be everywhere surrounded, and fortified by celestial troops, as in Psalm 34, verse 7, it is declared that angels, to preserve the worshippers of God, pitch their tents around them. Yet I am not dissatisfied with the opinion of those who take the dual number simply for the plural, understanding that Jacob was entirely surrounded with an army of angels. Now the use of this vision was twofold. First, since a holy man was very anxious about the future, the Lord designed early to remove this cause of terror from him, or at least to afford him some alleviation, lest he should sink under temptation. Secondly, God designed, when Jacob should have been delivered from his brother, so to fix the memory of the past benefit in his mind that it should never be lost. We know how prone men are to forget the benefits of God, Even while God is stretching out his hand to help them, scarcely one out of a hundred raises his eyes towards heaven. Therefore it was necessary that the invisible protection of God should be placed before the eyes of the holy man, so that in a splendid theatre he might perceive that he had been lately delivered, not by chance, out of the hand of Laban, but that he had the angels of God fighting for him, and might certainly hope that their help should be ready for him against the attempts of his brother, and finally that when the danger was surmounted he might remember the protection he had received from them. This doctrine is of use to us all, that we may learn to mark the invisible presence of God in his manifest favours. Chiefly, however, it was necessary that the holy man should be furnished with new weapons to endure the approaching contest. He did not know whether his brother Esau had changed for the better or the worse, but he would rather incline to the suspicion that the sanguinity man would devise nothing but what was hostile. Therefore the angels appear for the purpose of confirming his faith in future, not less than for that of calling past favours to his remembrance. The number of these angels also encourages him, not a little, For although a single angel would suffice as a guardian for us, yet the Lord acts more liberally towards us. Therefore, they who think that each of us is defended by one angel only, wickedly depreciate the kindness of God. And there is no doubt that the devil, by his crafty device, has endeavoured, in some measure, to diminish our faith. The gratitude of the holy man is noted by Moses. in the fact that he assigns to the place a name, Galid, as a token of perpetual remembrance. 3. And Jacob sent messengers It now happened, by the providence of God, that Esau, having left his father, had gone to Mount Seir of his own accord and had thus departed from the land of promise by which means the possession of it would remain void for the posterity of Jacob, without slaughter among brethren. For it was not to be believed that he had changed his habitation either because he was compelled by his father's command, or because he was willing to be accounted inferior to his brother. I rather conjecture that he had become greatly enriched, and that this induced him to leave his father's house. For we know that profane persons and men of this world, so vehemently pant for present advantages, that when anything offers itself in accordance with their desire, they are hurried towards it with a brutish impetuosity. Esau was imperious and ferocious, he was incensed against his mother, had shaken off all reverence for his father, and knew that he was himself so obnoxious to them both, his wives were engaged in incessant contentions, It seemed to him hard and troublesome to be in the condition of a child in the family when he was now advancing to old age, for proud men do not regard themselves as free so long as anyone has the prominence over them. Therefore, in order to pass his life free from the authority of others, he chose to live in a state of separation from his father, and allured by this attraction, he disregarded the promised inheritance, and left the place for his brother. I have said that this was done by the divine will. For God himself declares by Malachi that it was by a species of banishment that Esau was led to Mount Seir. Malachi 1, verse 3. For though he departed voluntarily, yet by the secret counsel of God was he deprived of that land which he had earnestly desired. but attracted by the present lust of dominion, he was blinded in his choice, since the land of Syria was mountainous and rugged, destitute of fertility and pleasantness. Moreover, he would appear to himself a great man in giving his own name to the country. Nevertheless, it is probable that Moses called that country the land of Edom by the figure Prolepsis, because it afterwards began to be so called. The question now occurs, whence did Jacob know that his brother dwelt in that region? Though I assert nothing is certain, yet the conjecture is probable that he had been informed of it by his mother, for in the great number of her servants a faithful messenger would not be wanting. And it is easily gathered from the words of Moses that Jacob, before he had entered the land, knew the fact respecting the new residence of his brother. And we know that many things of this kind were omitted by Moses, which may easily suggest themselves to the mind of the reader. Verse 4. Thus shall he speak unto my lord Esau. Moses here relates the anxiety of Jacob to appease his brother. For this suppliant deprecation was extorted only by great and severe torture of mind. It seems, however, to be an observed submission, whereby he cedes to his brother that dominion for which he had contended at the hazard of his life. For if Esau has the primogeniture, what does Jacob reserve for himself? For what end did he bring upon himself such hatred, expose himself to such dangers, and at length endure twenty years of banishment, if he does not refuse to be in subjection to his brother? I answer that though he gives up the temporal dominion, he yields nothing of his right to the secret benediction. He knows that the effect of the divine promise is still suspended, and therefore being content with the hope of a future inheritance, he does not hesitate at present to prefer his brother in honour to himself and to profess himself his brother's servant. Nor was there anything feigned in these words. because he was willing to bear his brother on his shoulders, so that he might not lose his own future right, which was as yet concealed. I have oxen. Jacob does not proclaim his riches for the sake of boasting, but that by this method Esau might be inclined to humanity. for it would have been exceedingly disgraceful, cruelly to drive away one who had been enriched by the favour of God in a distant land. Besides, he cuts off occasion of future emulation, for if he had come empty and famishing, Esau might conceive fresh indignation against him, through fear of the expense which might be entailed on himself. Therefore Jacob declares, that he does not come for the purpose of consuming his father's substance, nor of being made rich by his brother's ruin, as if he had said, Let thy earthly inheritance be secure, thy claim shall not be injured by me, only suffer me to live. By this example we are taught in what way we are to cultivate peace with the wicked. The Lord does not indeed forbid us to defend our own right, so far as adversaries allow, we must rather recede from that right than originate contention by our own fault. And the messengers returned. Esau advances to meet his brother with a feeling of benevolence. But Jacob, reflecting on his cruel ferocity, inflated spirits and savage threats, expects no humanity from him. And the Lord willed that the mind of his servant should be oppressed by this anxiety for a time, although without any real cause, in order the more to excite the fervour of his prayer. For we know what coldness on this point security engenders. Therefore, lest our faith, being stirred up by no stimulants, should become torpid, God often suffers us to fear things which are not terrible in themselves. For although he anticipates our wishes and opposes our evils, he yet conceals his remedies until he has exercised our faith. Meanwhile it is to be noted that the sons of God are never endued with a constancy so steadfast that the infirmity of the flesh does not betray itself in them. For they who fancy that faith is exempt from all fear have no experience of the true nature of faith. For God does not promise that he will be present with us for the purpose of removing the sense of our dangers, but in order that fear may not prevail and overwhelm us in despair. Moreover, our faith is never so firm at every point as to repel wicked doubts and sinful fears in the way that might be wished. Verse 7. And he divided the people Moses relates that Jacob formed his plans according to the existing state of affairs. He divides his family into two parts, and puts his maids in the foremost place, that they may bear the first assault if necessary, but he places his free wives further from the danger. Hence indeed we gather that Jacob was not so overcome with fear as to be unable to arrange his plans. We know that when a panic ceases the mind, it is deprived of discretion, and they who ought to look after their own concerns become stupid and inanimate. Therefore it proceeded from the spirit of faith that Jacob interposed a certain space between the two parts of his family, in order that if any destruction approached, the whole seed of the church might not perish. For by this scheme he offered the half of his family to the slaughter, that at length the promised inheritance might come to the remainder who survived. Oh God and my father Abraham! Having arranged his affairs as the necessity of the occasion suggested, he now retakes himself to prayer. this prayer is evidence that the holy man was not so oppressed with fear as to prevent faith from proving victorious. For he does not, in a hesitating manner, commend himself and his family to God, but trusting both to God's promises and to the benefits already received, he casts his cares and his troubles into his heavenly Father's bosom. have declared before what is the point aimed at in assigning these titles to God, in calling God the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac, and what the terms mean, namely that since men are so far removed from God that they cannot, by their own power, ascend to his throne, he himself comes down to the faithful, God in thus calling himself the God of Abraham and Isaac. graciously invites their son Jacob to himself, for access to the God of his fathers was not difficult to the holy man. Again, since the whole world had sunk under superstition, God would have himself to be distinguished from all idols, in order that he might retain and elect people in his own covenant. Jacob therefore, in expressly addressing God as the God of his fathers, places fully before himself the promises given to him in their person, that he may not pray with a doubtful mind, but may securely rely on his stay, that the heir of the promised blessing will have God propitious towards him. And indeed we must seek the true rule of prayer in the Word of God, that we may not rashly break through to him, but may approach him in the manner in which he has revealed himself to us. This appears more clearly from the adjoining context, where Jacob, recalling the command and promise of God to memory, is supported as by two pillars. Certainly the legitimate method of praying is, that the faithful should answer to God who calls them, And thus there is such a mutual agreement between his word and their vows that no sweeter and more harmonious symphony can be imagined. O Lord, he says, I return at thy command. Thou also didst promise protection to me returning. It is therefore right that thou shouldest become the guide of my journey. This is a holy boldness, when having discharged our duty according to God's calling, we familiarly ask of him whatsoever he has promised, since he, by binding himself gratuitously to us, becomes in a sense voluntarily our debtor. But whoever, relying on no command or promise of God, offers his prayers, does nothing but cast vain and empty words into the air. This passage gives stronger confirmation to what has been said before that Jacob did not falsely pretend to his wives that God had commanded him to return. For if he had then spoken falsely, no ground of hope would now be left to him. But he does not scruple to approach the heavenly tribunal with this confidence, that he shall be protected by the hand of God, under whose auspices he had ventured to return to the land of Canaan. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies. Although this expression sounds harsh to Latin ears, the sense is not obscure. Jacob confesses that greater mercies of God had been heaped upon him than he had dared to hope for, and therefore far be it from him that he should plead anything of dignity or merit for the purpose of obtaining what he asked. He therefore says that he is less than God's favours, because he felt himself to be unworthy of those excellent gifts which the Lord had so liberally bestowed upon him. Moreover, that the design of the holy patriarch may more clearly appear. The craft of Satan is to be observed, for in order to deter us from praying through a sense of our unworthiness, he would suggest to us this thought, who art thou that thou shouldst dare to enter into the presence of God? Jacob early anticipates this objection in declaring beforehand that he is unworthy of God's former and at the same time acknowledges that God is not like men in ever becoming weary to continue and increase his acts of kindness. Meanwhile, Jacob collects materials for confidence from the fact that he has often found God benignant towards him. Therefore, he had a double end in view. First, he wished to counteract the distrust which might steal upon him in consequence of the magnitude of God's gifts, and then he turns those gifts to a different purpose, to assure himself that God would be the same to him that he had hitherto been. He uses two words, mercies and truth, to show that God is inclined by his mere goodness to benefit us, and in this way proves his own faithfulness. This combination of mercy with truth frequently occurs in the to teach us that all good things flow to us through the gratuitous favour of God, but that we are made capable of receiving them when by faith we embrace His promises. For with my staff. Jacob does not enumerate separately the mercies of God, but under one species comprises the rest. namely that whereas he had passed over Jordan, a poor and solitary traveller, he now returns rich and replenished with abundance. The antithesis between a staff and two troops is to be noticed, in which he compares his former solicitude and poverty with his present affluence. After he had declared himself to be bound by so many of God's benefits, that he cannot boast of his own merits, and thus raised his mind to higher expectation, he now mentions his own necessity, as if he would say, O Lord, unless thou choosest to reduce so many excellent gifts to nothing, now is the time for thee to suck a one, and to avert the destruction which, through my brother, is suspended over me. having thus expressed his fear, he adds a clause concerning the blessing promised him, that he may confirm himself in the promises made to him, to slay the mother with the children. I suppose to have been a proverbial saying among the Jews, which means to leave nothing remaining. It is a metaphor taken from birds, when hawks seize the young with their dams and empty the whole nest. Verse 13. And took of that which came to his hand. In endeavouring to appease his brother by presence, he does not act distrustfully, as if he doubted whether he should be safe under the protection of God. This indeed is a fault too common among men, that when they have prayed to God, they turn themselves hither and thither, and contrive vain subterfuges for themselves. whereas the principal advantage of prayer is to wait for the Lord in silence and quietness. But the design of the holy man was not to busy and vex himself, as one discontented with the sole help of God. For though he was certainly persuaded that to have God propitious to him would alone be sufficient, yet he did not omit the use of the means which were in his power, while leaving success in the hand of God. For though by prayer we cast our cares upon God, that we may have peaceful and tranquil minds, yet the security ought not to render us indolent, for the Lord will have all the aids which he affords us applied to use. But the diligence of the pious differs greatly from the restless activity of the world, because the world, relying on its own industry, independently of the blessing of God, does not consider what is right or lawful, Moreover, it is always in trepidation, and by its bustling increases more and more its own disquietude. The pious, however, hoping for the success of their labour, only from the mercy of God, apply their minds in seeking out means, for this sole reason that they may not bury the gifts of God by their own torpor. When they have discharged their duty, they still depend upon the same grace of God. And when nothing remains which they can attempt, they nevertheless are at rest. Verse 14. 200 she-goats. Hence we perceive the value which Jacob set upon the promise given to him, seeing he does not refuse to make so great a sacrifice of his property. We know that those things which are obtained with great toil and trouble are the more highly esteemed, so that generally they who are enriched by their own labour are proportionally sparing and tenacious. It was, however, no trivial diminution, even of great wealth, to give forty cows, thirty camels with their young, twenty bulls and many asses with their foals, two hundred she-goats and as many sheep with twenty rams, and the same number of he goats. But Jacob freely lays upon himself this tax, that he may obtain a safe return to his own country. Certainly it would not have been difficult to find some nook where he might live with his property entire, and unequally commodious habitations might have been found elsewhere, but that he might not lose the benefit of the promise. He purchases at so great a price from his brother a peaceable abode in the land of Canaan. Therefore, should we be ashamed of our effemacy and tardiness, who wickedly turn aside from the duty of our calling as soon as any loss is to be sustained? With a clear and loud voice, the Lord commands us to do what He pleases, but some, because they find it troublesome to take up their burdens, lying idleness. Pleasures also keep back some, riches or honours impede others. Finally, few follow God, because scarcely one in a hundred will bear to be losers. In putting a space between the messengers, and in sending them at different times from each other, he does it to mitigate by degrees the ferocity of his brother. Whence we infer again that he was not so seized with as to be enabled prudently to order his affairs. And he arose up that night. After he has prayed to the Lord and arranged his plans, he now takes confidence and meets the danger, by which example the faithful are taught that whenever any danger approaches, this order of proceeding is to be observed first, to resort directly to the Lord, secondly, to apply to immediate use whatever means of help may offer themselves, and thirdly, as persons prepared for any event, to proceed with intrepidity whithersoever the Lord commands. So Jacob, that he might not fail in this particular, does not dread the passage which he perceives to be full of hazard, but, as with closed eyes, pursues his course. Therefore, after his example, we must overcome anxiety in intricate affairs, lest we become hindered or retarded in our duty. He remains alone, having sent forward his wives and children, not that he might himself escape if he heard of their destruction, but because solicitude was more suitable for prayer. And there is no doubt that, fearing the extremity of his peril, he was completely carried away with the ardour of supplication to God. They wrestled a man with him. Although this vision was particularly useful to Jacob himself, to teach him beforehand that many conflicts awaited him, and that he might certainly conclude that he should be the conqueror in them all, there is yet not the least doubt that the Lord exhibited in his person a specimen of the temptations common to all his people, which await them, and must be constantly submitted to in this transitory life. Wherefore it is right to keep in view these designs of the vision, which is to represent all the servants of God in this world as restless, because the Lord exercises them with various kinds of conflicts. Moreover it is not said that Satan, or any mortal man wrestled with Jacob, but God himself, to teach us that our faith is tried by him. And whenever we are tempted, our business is truly with him, not only because we fight under his auspices, but because he, as an antagonist, descends into the arena to try our strength. This, though at first sight it seems absurd, experience and reason teaches us to be true. For as all prosperity flows from his goodness, so adversity is either the rod with which he corrects our sins, or the test of our faith and patience. And since there is no kind of temptations by which God does not try his faithful people, the similitude is very suitable, which represents him as coming, hand to hand, to combat with them. Therefore, what was once exhibited under a visible form to our Father Jacob, is daily fulfilled in the individual members of the Church, namely that, in their temptations, it is necessary for them to wrestle with God. He is said indeed to tempt us in a different manner from Satan, but because He alone is the author of our crosses and afflictions, and He alone creates light and darkness as He declared in Isaiah, He is said to tempt us when He makes a trial of our faith. But the question now occurs, who is able to stand against an antagonist? At whose breath alone all flesh perishes and vanishes away? at whose look the mountains melt, at whose word or beck the whole world is shaken to pieces, and therefore to attempt the least contest with him would be insane temerity. But it is easy to untie the knot, for we do not fight against him, except by his own power and with his own weapons, for he having challenged us to this contest at the same time furnishes us with means of resistance, so that he both fights against us and for us. In short, such is his apportioning of it in his conflict, that while he assails us with one hand, he defends us with the other, yea, inasmuch as he supplies us with more strength to resist than he employs in opposing us, We may truly and properly say that he fights against us with his left hand and for us with his right hand. For while he lightly opposes us, he supplies invincible strength whereby we overcome. It is true he remains at perfect unity with himself. But the double method in which he deals with us cannot be otherwise expressed. And that in striking us with a human rod, he does not put forth his full strength in the temptation, but that in granting the victory to our faith, he becomes in us stronger than the power by which he opposes us. And although these forms of expression are harsh, yet their harshness will be easily mitigated in practice. For if temptations are contests, and we know that they are not accidental, but are divinely appointed for us, it follows hence that God acts in the character of an antagonist, and on this the rest depends, namely that in the temptation itself he appears to be weak against us, that he may conquer in us. Some restrict this to one kind of temptation only, where God openly, avowedly manifests himself as our adversary, as if armed for our destruction. And truly I confess that this differs from common conflicts and requires, beyond all others, a rare and even heroic strength. Yet I include willingly every kind of conflict in which God exercises the faithful, since in all they have God for an antagonist, although he may not openly proclaim himself hostile unto them. The God here calls him a man, whom a little after he declares to have been God, though Moses here calls him a man, whom a little after he declares to have been God, is a sufficiently usual form of speech. For since God appeared under the form of a man, the name is thence assumed, just as, because of the visible symbol, the spirit is called a dove, and in turn the name of the spirit is transferred to the dove. That this disclosure was not sooner made to the holy man, I understand to be for this reason, because God had resolved to call him, as a soldier, robust and skilful in war, to more severe contests. For as raw recruits are spared, and young oxen are not immediately yoked to the plough, so the Lord more gently exercises his own people, until, having gathered strength, they become more inured to toil. Jacob therefore, having been accustomed to bear sufferings, is now led forth to real war. Perhaps also the Lord had reference to the conflict which was then approaching, but I think Jacob was admonished at his very entrance on the promised land that he was not there to expect a tranquil life for himself, for his return to his own country might seem to be a kind of release, and thus Jacob, like a soldier who had kept his term of service would have given himself up to repose. Wherefore it was highly necessary for him to be taught what his future condition should be. We also are to learn from him that we must fight during the whole course of our life, lest anyone, promising himself rest, should willfully deceive himself. And this admonition is very needful for us, for we see how prone we are to sloth. whence it arises that we shall not only be thinking of a truce in perpetual war, but also of peace in the heat of the conflict, unless the Lord rouse us. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, here is described to us the victory of Jacob, which, however, was not gained without a wound, in saying that the wrestling angel or God, wished to retire from the contest because he saw he should not prevail, Moses speaks after the manner of men, for we know that God, when he descends from his majesty to us, is wont to transfer the properties of human nature to himself. The Lord knew with certainty the event of the contest before he came down to engage in it. He had even already determined what he would do, but his knowledge is here put for the experience of the thing itself. He touched the hollow of his thigh. Though Jacob gains the victory, yet the angel strikes him on the thigh, from which cause he was lame even to the end of his life. And although the vision was by night, yet the Lord designed this mark of it to continue through all his days, that it might thence appear not to have been a vain dream. Moreover, by this sign it is made manifest to all the faithful that they can come forth conquerors in their temptations, only by being injured and wounded in the conflict. For we know that the strength of God is made perfect in our weakness, in order that our exaltation may be joined with humility. For if our own strength remained entire, and there were no injury or dislocation produced, Immediately the flesh would become haughty, and we should forget that we had conquered by the help of God. But the wound received, and the weakness which follows it, compels us to be modest. God concedes the praise of victory to His servant and is ready to depart, as if unequal to him in strength, not because a truce was needed by him, to whom it belongs to grant a truce or peace whenever he pleases, but that Jacob might rejoice over the grace offered to him, a wonderful method of triumphing, where the Lord, to whose power all praise is entirely due, yet chooses that feeble man, shall excel as a conqueror, and thus raises him on high with special eulogy, at the same time commends the invincible perseverance of Jacob, who, having endured a long and severe conflict, still strenuously maintains his ground. And certainly we adopt a proper mode of contending, when we never grow weary, till the Lord recedes of His own accord. We are indeed permitted to ask Him to consider our infirmity, and according to His paternal indulgence, to spare the tender and the weak. we may even groan under our burden, and desire the termination of our contests. Nevertheless, in the meantime, we must beware lest our mind should become relaxed or faint, and rather endeavour, with collected mind and strength, to persist unwearied in the conflict. The reason which the angel assigns, namely that the day breaketh, is to this effect, that Jacob may now know may now that he has divinely taught by the nocturnal vision. Still Waters Revival Books is now located at PuritanDownloads. com. It's your worldwide online Reformation home for the very best in free and discounted classic and contemporary Puritan and Reformed books, mp3s, and videos. For much more information on the Puritans and Reformers, including the best free and discounted classic and contemporary books, MP3s, digital downloads, and videos, please visit Still Waters Revival Books at PuritanDownloads.com. Stillwater's Revival Books also publishes The Puritan Hard Drive, the most powerful and practical Christian study tool ever produced. 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