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may eat, and bless thee before the LORD, in his presence, and 8 by his authority, before my death. Now therefore, my son, 9 obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 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 fa10 ther, such as he loveth: And thou shalt bring [it] to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his 11 death, according as God hath promised. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother [is] a hairy 12 man, and I [am] a smooth man: My father peradventure

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will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I 13 shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him, Upon me [be] thy curse, my son : 14 only obey my voice, and go fetch me [them.*] 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: some say, the sacerdotal garments; probably they were some rich perfumed garments that were made 16 for Esau, as the eldest son. 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.

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And he came unto his father, and said, My father and 19 he said, Here [am] I; who [art] thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I [am] Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me; (this was a downright lie, and cannot be vindicated :) arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of And Isaac said unto 20 my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

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. Strange that he should introduce the name of God; 21 but one lie generally draws on another. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, 22 whether thou [be] my very son Esau or not. 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 And he said, 24 his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.

[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 26 him wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac said unto

⚫ Her design was undoubtedly good, being under the direction of a divine oracle, (ch. xxv. 23.) but she took a wrong method to accomplish it: it was imposing upon Isaac, it was teaching Jacob to lie, and might have brought a curse upon him, had the cheat been discovered. She ought to have informed Isaac of her appréhension of the design of the oracle, and prayed God to direct him right in the matter.

him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son this was a mark of that special favour and affection wherewith he be27 stowed the blessing. 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 28 of a field which the LORD hath blessed : Therefore God give thee, or, he will give thee, (it is both a prayer and a promise) of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: these temporal blessings were more frequently promised and bestowed under the Old Testa29 ment, and were types of spiritual blessings: 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, hereby confirming to him the right of the firstborn: cursed [be] every one that curseth thee, and blessed [be] he that blesseth thee.

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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 31 in from his hunting. And he also had dressed his venison and made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's ven32 ison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac his father said 33 unto him, Who [art] thou? and he said, I [am] thy son, thy firstborn Esau. 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] however I might wish the contrary, I find my mind so much under a divine impulse, that I must confirm what I have done, and he shall be blessed; God will ratify and establish it.

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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: but he found no place for repentance in Isaac, though he sought it earnestly 35 with tears. And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing; that which by birthright belongs to thee, and which I had fully resolved to bestow upon 36 thee. And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? that is, a supplanter; for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright, (a false accusation, for he himself despised it, and sold it,) and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, hast thou not reserved a blessing 37 for me? 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 sustained him and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? I have 38 no other blessing comparatively, to bestow upon thee. And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing my 39 father? bless me, [even] me also, O my father. And Esau

lifted up his voice, and wept. 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; in a country competently fruitful, and refreshed with convenient dews 40 and showers. And by thy sword shalt thou live, by violence, rapine, and war, and shalt serve thy brother ;t and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, not over the Israelites, for we never read of this; but, when thou shalt gain strength it shall come to pass that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.‡

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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, according to the course of nature; (yet he lived forty four years after) then will I slay my brother Jacob.

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 with thoughts of revenge, [purposing] to kill thee, and by that cruel means he hopes to recover his birthright again. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou 44 to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, (which proved to be above twenty years, ch. xxxi. 38.) 45 until thy brother's fury turn away; 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? one by murder, the other by the hand of justice, or by some remarkable 46 stroke of divine vengeance. 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? Therefore let us send him to fetch a wife from his own kindred, as Abraham did. This was a plausible excuse for sending him away: and Isaac fell in with the proposal, as is related in the next chapter.

Mount Seir was such a place, Joshua xxiv. 4.

+ This was fulfilled in the time of David. See 2 Sam. viii. 14.

This was done in the days of Joram, as we read, 2 Kings viii. 16, 20, 22. when the Edomites rebelled and threw off the yoke.

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REFLECTIONS.

1. HERE is but little reason to wish for a very advanced age. Isaac's life was a burden to him, though, no doubt, he enjoyed the pleasures of meditation and devotion. He lived above forty years after he was almost blind. It often happens in advanced age for those that look out of the windows to be darkened. Let young persons, therefore, be admonished to remember their Creator in the days of their youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when they shall say, we have no pleasure in them. Improve the benefit of sight in reading God's word, treasure it up in your mind, and thereby get wisdom and understanding. Let aged christians set their house in order, like Isaac v. 2. make their wills, and settle their affairs. This thought, we know not the day of our death, should quicken us all, that whatever our hands find to do, we may do it with all our might; for time is uncertain, and the Son of man may come at an hour when we think not. Let us thank God for a better world, where we shall no more labour under the infirmities of age, and where the eyes that see shall no more be dim. Isa. xxxii. 3.

2. See the wisdom of God in carrying on his own gracious purposes. He can overrule the misguided passions of men to perfect his own schemes, as in the case of Isaac, who, contrary to his partial affection for Esau, was led to confer, and afterward to confirm the blessing on Jacob. The means by which it was obtained on the part of Jacob cannot be vindicated. This however is no objection against the credibility of the fact itself, which was undoubtedly under the divine direction, for it is said, By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come Heb. xi. 20.

3. How unaccountably does God dispose of his favours! This is Paul's reflection from this story; Rom. xi. 16. It is not of him that willeth, or of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Esau was willing, and ran; but God knew him to be a profane man, and gave the blessing to Jacob. In all this he doeth according to his own will, and acts with unerring wisdom even when his dispensations are darkest: this is a good reason why we should submit to his determinations; there are many devices in the heart of man, but the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.

4. Let us be careful not to despise the blessing, lest it be too late to obtain it. This is another reflection of Paul's in Heb. xii. 16, 17, for (speaking of profane Esau, he says) ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. Those who sacrifice their interest in God, their religion and conscience, for worldly things, judge themselves unworthy of spiritual blessings, and shall never possess them. Esau wept when it was too late, and so will sinners hereafter; they will cry with an exceeding bitter cry, but there is no blessing for them;

they will know how to value it when it is too late. Today, therefore, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; but seek the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near.

5. Let us guard against those malignant passions that are so ready to rise in our breasts. What a horrid figure does Esau make! what a strange composition of hatred to his brother, and affection to his aged father! It was not on a sudden passion only, but rank malice in his heart; he hoped for his father's death, like a wicked son; and this only kept him from imbruing his hand immediately in his brother's blood. Let us keep a guard upon our souls, and rule our own spirits; and learn to be content and easy under the disappointments of life. If others prosper more than we, it is God's appointment; and it is highly wicked to quarrel with him. We learn from the whole, that those who despise and undervalue spiritual blessings, lay a foundation for bitter disappointment, remorse, and vexation. Look diligently, therefore, lest any fail of the grace of God.

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CHAP. XXVIII.

Gives an account of Jacob's journey, vision, and vow.

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ND Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, purposedly, and designedly; in faith he now confirmed that blessing to him, which before he had given him unknowingly; and hereby God confirms Jacob's faith against doubts and fears, and com forts him against future troubles that might befal him; and Isaac charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a 2 wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's 3 brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of 4 people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that is, the land of Canaan, a numerous offspring, and that the Messiah may spring from thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art at present a stran ger, not being yet possessed of it; but which God gave unto Abraham. Thus God confirms the settlement to him exclusive 5 of Esau. And Isaac sent away Jacob alone, that Esau might not suspect him: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

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When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou 7 shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; And that VOL. I.

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