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CHAPTER XLIX.

3 Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency This chapter is a prophecy: the likest to it we have yet met with, was that of Noah, of dignity, and the excellency of power.

ch. 9. 25, &c. Jacob is here upon his death-bed, making his will: he put it off till now, because dying men's words are apt to make deep impressions, and to be remembered long: what he said here, he could not say when he would, but as the Spirit gave him utterance, who chose this time, that divine strength might be perfected in his weakness. The twelve sons of Jacob were, in their day, men of renown, but the twelve tribes of Israel, which descended and were denominated from them, were much more renowned; we find their names upon the gates of the new Jerusalem, Rev. 21. 12, in the prospect of which, their dying father says something remarkable of each son, or of the tribe that bore his name. Here is, 1. The preface, v. 1, 2. II. The prediction concerning each tribe, v. 3-28. III. The charge repeated concerning his burial, v. 29-32. IV. His death, v. 33.

ND Jacob called unto his sons, and said,

4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it; he went up to my couch.

5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in

A Gather yourselves together, that I may tell their self will they digged sewa

you that which shall befall you in the last days.

2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

a Deut. 33. 1, &c. b Num. 24. 14. Deut. 4. 30. 21. 17. ⚫ do not thou. e c. 35. 22. Deut. 5. 21.

tiles above the Jews; the Gentile numerous than those of the Jews. grace becomes more illustrious.

c Is. 2. 2. Jer. 23. 20. d Deut. † or, my couch is gone. converts were much more See Gal. 4. 27. Thus free

II. The particular tokens of his favour to Joseph. 1. He left with him the promise of their return out of Egypt, as a sacred trust; (v. 21,) I die, but God shall be with you, and bring you again. Accordingly, Joseph, when he died, left it with his brethren, ch. 50. 24. This assurance was given them, and carefully preserved among them, that they might neither love Egypt too much when it favoured them, nor fear it too much when it frowned upon them. These words of Jacob furnish us with comfort in reference to the death of our friends; they die. But, (1.) God shall be with us, and his gracious presence is sufficient to make up the loss. They leave us, but he will never fail us. (2.) He will bring us to the land of our fathers, the heavenly Canaan, whither our godly fathers are gone before us. If God be with us while we stay behind in this world, and will receive us shortly to be with them that are gone before to a better world, we ought not to sorrow as those that have no hope. 2. He bestowed one portion upon him above his brethren, v. 22. The lands bequeathed are described to be those which he took out of the hand of the Amorite, with his sword, and with his bow. He purchased them first, (Josh. 24. 32,) and it seems, was afterward disseized of them by the Amorites, but retook them by the sword, repelling force by force, and recovering his right by violence, when he could not otherwise recover it. These lands he settled upon Joseph; mention is made of this grant, John 4. 5. Pursuant to it, this parcel of ground was given to the tribe of Ephraim, as their right, and the lot was never cast upon it; and in it Joseph's bones were buried, which perhaps Jacob had an eye to, as much as to any thing, in this settlement. Note, It may sometimes be both just and prudent to give some children portions above the rest; but a grave is that which we can most count upon as our own in this earth.

NOTES TO CHAPTER XLIX.

V. 1-4. Here is,

I. The preface to the prophecy, in which,

7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

gc. 34.25-29.

:

fc. 29. 33, 34. tor, their swords are weapons of violence.
A Ps. 26. 9. Prov. 1. 15, 16. § or, houghed ozen. i Josh. 21. 8.
it was pardoned; yet it was a necessary piece of justice, in
detestation of the villany, and for warning to others, to put this
mark of disgrace upon him. Now according to the method of
degrading, 1. Jacob here puts upon him the ornaments of the
birth-right, (v. 3,) that he and all his brethren might see what he
had forfeited, and, in that, might see the evil of the sin as the
first-born, he was his father's joy, almost his pride, being the
beginning of his strength. How welcome he was to his parents
his name bespeaks, Reuben, See a son. To him belonged the
excellency of dignity, above his brethren, and some power
over them. Christ Jesus is the first-born among many brethren,
and to him, of right, belong the most excellent power and
dignity: his church also, through him, is a church of the first-
born. 2. He then strips him of these ornaments, (v. 4,) lifts
him up, that he may cast him down, by that one word, "Thou
shalt not excel; a being thou shalt have as a tribe, but not an
excellency :" no judge, prophet, or prince is found of that tribe,
nor any person of renown, only Dathan and Abiram, who were
noted for their impious rebellion against Moses. That tribe,
as not aiming to excel, meanly chose a settlement on the other
side Jordan. Reuben himself seems to have lost all that in-
fluence upon his brethren, which his birth-right entitled him
to; for when he spake unto them, they would not hear, ch. 42.22.
Those that have not understanding and spirit to support the
honours and privileges of their birth, will soon lose them, and
retain only the name of them. The character fastened upon
Reuben, for which he is laid under this mark of infamy, is,
that he was unstable as water. (1.) His virtue was unstable;
he had not the government of himself and his own appetites:
sometimes he would be very regular and orderly, but at other
times he deviated into the wildest courses. Note, Instability
is the ruin of men's excellency. Men do not thrive, because
they do not fix. (2.) His honour consequently was unstable;
it departed from him, vanished into smoke, and became as
water spilt upon the ground. Note, Those that throw away
their virtue, must not expect to save their reputation. Jacob
charges him particularly with the sin for which he was thus
disgraced; Thou wentest up to thy father's bed. It was forty
remembered against him. Note, As time will not of itself
wear off the guilt of any sin from the conscience, so there are
some sins whose stains it will not wipe off from the good name,
especially seventh-commandment sins. Reuben's sin left an
indelible mark of infamy upon his family; a dishonour that
was a wound not to be healed without a scar, Prov. 6. 32, 33.
Let us never do evil, and then we need not fear being told of it.
V. 5-7. These were next in age to Reuben, and they also
had been a grief and shame to Jacob, when they treacherously
and barbarously destroyed the Shechemites, which he here
remembers against them. Children should be afraid of incurring
their parents' just displeasure, lest they fare the worse for it
long afterward, and, when they would inherit the blessing, be
rejected.

1. The congregation is called together; (v. 2,) Gather your-years ago that he had been guilty of this sin, yet now it is selves together, let them all be sent for from their several employments, to see their father die, and to hear his dying words. It was a comfort to Jacob, now that he was dying, to see all his children about him, and none missing, though he had sometimes thought himself bereaved. It was of use to them, to attend him in his last moments, that they might learn of him how to die, as well as how to live: what he said to each, he said in the hearing of all the rest; for we may profit by the reproofs, counsels, and comforts, that are principally intended for others. His calling upon them once and again, to gather together, intimated both a precept to them to unite in love, to keep together, not to mingle with the Egyptians, not to forsake the assembling of themselves together, and a prediction that they should not be separated from each other, as Abraham's sons and Isaac's were, but should be incorporated, and all make one people. 2. A general idea is given of the intended discourse, (v. 1,) That I may tell you that which shall be fall you, (not your persons, but your posterity,) in the last days; this prediction would be of use to those that came after them, for the confirming of their faith, and the guiding of their way, on their return to Canaan, and their settlement there. We cannot tell our children what shall befall them or their families in this world; but we can tell them, from the word of God, what will befall them in the last day of all, according as they conduct themselves in this world. 3. Attention is demanded; (v. 2,) "Hearken to Israel your father; let Israel, that has prevailed with God, prevail with you." Note, Children must diligently hearken to what their godly parents say, particularly when they are dying; Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, which carries with it both authority and affection, Prov. 4. 1.

II. The prophecy concerning Reuben; he begins with him, (v. 3, 4,) he was the first-born; but by committing uncleanness with his father's wife, to the great reproach of the family which he ought to have been an ornament to, he forfeited the prerogatives of the birth-right; and his dying father here solemnly degrades him, though he does not disown or disinherit him: he shall have all the privileges of a son, but not of a first-born. We have reason to think Reuben had repented of his sin, and

Observe,

I. The character of Simeon and Levi; they were brethren in disposition; but, unlike their father, they were passionate and revengeful, fierce and uncontrollable; their swords, which should have been only weapons of defence, were (as the margin reads it, v. 5) weapons of violence, to do wrong to others, not to save themselves from wrong. Note, It is no new thing for the temper of children to differ very much from that of their parents; we need not think it strange, it was so in Jacob's family. It is not in the power of parents, no, not by education, to form the dispositions of their children; Jacob bred his sons to every thing that was mild and quiet, and yet they proved to be thus furious.

II. A proof of this is the murder of the Shechemites, which Jacob deeply resented at the time, (ch. 34. 30,) and still continued to resent. They slew a man, Shechem himself, and many others; and, to effect that, they digged down a wall, broke the houses, to plunder them, and murder the inhabitants. Note, The best governors cannot always restrain those under their charge from committing the worst villanies. And when two in a family are mischievous, they commonly make one another so much the worse, and it were wisdom to part them. Simeon and Levi, it is probable, were most active in the wrong done to Joseph, which some think Jacob has here some reference

GENESIS.

8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies thy father's children shall bow down 'before thee.

9 Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10 The sceptre "shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him rshall the gathering of the people be.

11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's
colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments
in wine,' and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

kc. 29.35. Ps. 76, 1. 1 Chr. 5. 2. Rev. 3. 9.
n Num. 24. 17. o Ps. 60. 7. Is. 33. 22. p Deut. 28. 57.
m Num. 23. 24. Rev. 5. 5.
g Is. 11. 1-5. Ez. 21.
to; for in their anger they would have slain that man.
serve what a mischievous thing self-will is in young people:
Ob-
Simeon and Levi would not be advised by their aged and
experienced father; no, they would be governed by their own
passion, rather than by his prudence. Young people would
better consult their own interest, if they would less indulge
their own will.

III. Jacob's protestation against this barbarous act of theirs,
O my soul, come not thou into their secret. Hereby he professes
not only his abhorrence of such practices in general, but his
innocence particularly in that matter. Perhaps he had been
suspected as, under hand, aiding and abetting; he therefore
thus solemnly expresses his detestation of the fact, that he
might not die under that suspicion. Note, 1. Our soul is our
honour; by its powers and faculties we are distinguished from,
and dignified above, the beasts that perish. 2. We ought, from
our hearts, to detest and abhor all society and confederacy with
bloody and mischievous men.
coming into their secret, or knowing the depths of Satan.
We must not be ambitious of
IV. His abhorrence of those brutish lusts that led them to
this wickedness; Cursed be their anger. He does not curse
their persons, but their lusts. Note, 1. Anger is the cause and
original of a great deal of sin, and exposes us to the curse of
God, and his judgment, Matt. 5. 22. 2. We ought always, in
the expressions of our zeal, carefully to distinguish between the
sinner and the sin, so as not to love or bless the sin for the sake
of the person, nor to hate or curse the person for the sake of
the sin.

V. A token of displeasure which he foretells their posterity should lie under for this; I will divide them: The Levites were scattered throughout all the tribes, and Simeon's lot lay not together, and was so strait, that many of the tribe were forced to disperse themselves in quest of settlements and subsistence. This curse was afterwards turned into a blessing to the Levites; but the Simeonites, for Zimri's sin, (Num. 25. 14,) had it bound on. Note, Shameful dispersions are the just punishment of sinful unions and confederacies.

V. 8-12. Glorious things are here said of Judah. The mention of the crimes of the three eldest of his sons had not so put the dying patriarch out of humour, but that he had a blessing ready for Judah, to whom blessings belonged. Judah's name signifies praise, in allusion to which, he says, Thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise, v. 8. God was praised for him, (ch. 29. 35,) praised by him, and praised in him; and therefore his brethren shall praise him. Note, Those that are to God for a praise, shall be the praise of their brethren. It is prophesied,

1. That the tribe of Judah should be victorious and successful in war! Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies. This was fulfilled in David, Ps. 18. 40.

2. That it should be superior to the rest of the tribes; not only in itself more numerous and illustrious, but having a dominion over them; Thy father's children shall bow down before thee: Judah was the lawgiver, Ps. 60. 7. That tribe led the van through the wilderness, and in the conquest of Canaan, Judg. 1. 2. The prerogatives of the birth-right which Reuben had forfeited, the excellency of dignity and power, were thus conferred upon Judah. Observe, "Thy brethren shall bow down before thee, and yet shall praise thee, reckoning themselves happy in having so wise and bold a commander." Note, Honour and power are then a blessing to those that have them, when they are not grudged and envied, but praised and applauded, and cheerfully submitted to.

3. That it should be a strong and courageous tribe, and so qualified for command and conquest; (v. 9,) Judah is a lion's whelp. The lion is the king of beasts, the terror of the forest when he roars; when he seizes his prey, none can resist him; when he goes up from the prey, none dares pursue him to revenge it. By this it is foretold that the tribe of Judah should become very formidable, and should not only obtain great victories, but should peaceably and quietly enjoy what was got by those victories; that they should make war, not for the sake of war, but for the sake of peace. Judah is compared, not to a lion rampant, always tearing, always raging, always ranging; but to a lion couchant, enjoying the satisfaction of his power and success, without creating vexation to others: this is to be truly great. ( 160 )

Jacob blesses his Sons.

white with milk.
12 His "eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth

13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea;
border shall be unto Zidon.
and he shall be for an haven of ships: and his

tween two burdens:
14 Issachar is a strong ass, couching down be-

that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to
15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land
bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

16 Dan "shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

in the path, that biteth the horse-heels, so that his 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder rider shall fall backward.

Cant. 5. 10-16.

27. John 12. 32. 11. 52. v Josh. 19. 10. to Judg. 13. 2, &c. & Matt. 21. 2. Is. 63.1-3. arrow-snake. Messiah the Prince should come; (v. 10,) The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, till Shiloh come. Jacob here foresees and 4. That it should be the royal tribe, and the tribe from which foretells, (1.) That the sceptre should come out of the tribe of Judah, which was fulfilled in David, on whose family the crown was entailed. (2.) That Shiloh should be of this tribe; his that peaceable and prosperous one, or the Saviour, so others Seed, that promised Seed, in whom the earth should be blessed; translate it, he shall come of Judah. Thus dying Jacob, at a great distance, saw Christ's day, and it was his comfort and support on his death-bed. (3.) That after the coming of the sceptre into the tribe of Judah, it should continue in that tribe, at least, a government of their own, till the coming of the Messiah, in whom, as the King of the church, and the great High-Priest, it was fit that both the priesthood and the royalty should determine. Till the captivity, all along from David's time, the sceptre was in Judah, and from thence governors of that tribe, or of the Levites that adhered to it, (which was just at the time of our Saviour's birth, and was at that time equivalent,) till Judea became a province of the Roman empire, his death the Jews expressly owned, We have no king but taxed as one of the provinces, Luke 2. 1. And at the time of for no other; for he came exactly at the time appointed. Many Cæsar. Hence it is undeniably inferred against the Jews, that excellent pens have been admirably well employed in explaining our Lord Jesus is he that should come, and that we are to look and illustrating this famous prophecy of Christ.

should abound with milk for babes, and wine to make glad the heart of strong men, v. 11, 12. Vines, so common in the 5. That it should be a very fruitful tribe, especially that it hedge-rows, and so strong, that they should tie their asses to them, and so fruitful, that they should load their asses from them. Wine, as plentiful as water, so that the men of that tribe should be very healthful and lively, their eyes brisk and sparkling, their teeth white. Much of that which is here said concerning Judah, is to be applied to our Lord Jesus. (1.) of all his father's enemies; and he it is, that is the praise of all the saints. (2.) He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, as he He is the Ruler of all his father's children, and the conqueror is called with reference to this here, (Rev. 5. 5,) who, having spoiled principalities and powers, went up a Conqueror, and couched so as none can stir him up, when he sat down on the right hand of the Father. (3.) To him belongs the sceptre; ple be, as the Desire of all nations, (Hag. 2. 7,) who, being he is the Lawgiver, and to him shall the gathering of the peoabroad, should meet, as the centre of their unity, John 11. 52. lifted up from the earth, should draw all men unto him, (John (4.) In him there is plenty of all that which is nourishing and 12. 32,) and in whom the children of God, that are scattered refreshing to the soul, and which maintains and cheers the divine life in it; in him we may have wine and milk, the riches of his sons. of Judah's tribe, without money, and without price, Is. 55. 1. V. 13-21. Here we have Jacob's prophecy concerning six

have their lot upon the seacoast, and should be merchants and
mariners, and traders at sea.
I. Concerning Zebulun, (v. 13,) that his posterity should
three hundred years after, the land of Canaan was divided by
lot, and the border of Zebulun went up towards the sea, Josh.
This was fulfilled, when, two or
19. 11. Had they chosen their lot themselves, or Joshua ap-
pointed it, we might have supposed it done with design to make
Jacob's words good; but, being done by lot, it appears that
Note, The lot of God's providence exactly agrees with the
plan of God's counsel, like a true copy with the original. If
that was divinely disposed, and Jacob divinely inspired.
prophecy says, Zebulun shall be a haven of ships, Providence
will so plant him. Note, 1. God appoints the bounds of our
habitation. 2. It is our wisdom and duty to accommodate
ourselves to our lot, and to improve it. If Zebulun dwell at
the haven of the sea, let him be for a haven of ships.

that tribe should be strong and industrious, fit for labour, and
II. Concerning Issachar, v. 14, 15. 1. That the men of
ass, that patiently carries his burden, and, by using himself to
it, makes it the easier. Issachar submitted to two burdens,
inclined to labour, particularly the toil of husbandry, like the
tillage and tribute. It was a tribe that took pains, and, thriv-
ing thereby, was called upon for rents and taxes. 2. That

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. 19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him; but he shall overcome at the last.

20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall.

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24 But his bow "abode in strength, and the arms daughters. = c. 37. 4, &c.

Pa. 40. 1. Is. 25. 9. 26.8. y I Chr. 5, 18. 39. 20. Job 29, 20. Pa. 37. 14, 15.

they should be encouraged in their labour by the goodness of the land that should fall to their lot. (1.) He saw that rest at home was good. Note, The labour of the husbandman is really rest, in comparison with that of soldiers and seamen, whose hurries and perils are such, that those who tarry at home in the most constant service have no reason to envy them. (2.) He saw that the land was pleasant, yielding not only pleasant prospects to charm the eye of the curious, but pleasant fruits to recompense his toils. Many are the pleasures of a country life, abundantly sufficient to balance the inconveniences of it, if we can but persuade ourselves to think so. Issachar, in prospect of advantage, bowed his shoulder to bear: let us, with an eye of faith, see the heavenly rest to be good, and that land of promise to be pleasant; and that will make our present services easy, and encourage us to bow our shoulder to them.

III. Concerning Dan, v. 16, 17. What is said concerning Dan, has reference either, 1. To that tribe in general; that though Dan was one of the sons of the concubines, yet he should be a tribe governed by judges of his own as well as other tribes; and should, by art, and policy, and surprise, gain advantages against his enemies, like a serpent suddenly biting the heel of the traveller. Note, (1.) In God's spiritual Israel there is no distinction made of bond or free, Col. 3. 11. Dan shall be incorporated by as good a charter as any of the other tribes. (2.) Some, like Dan, may excel in the subtlety of the serpent, as others, like Judah, in the courage of the lion; and both may do good service to the cause of God against the Canaanites. Or, it may refer, 2. To Samson, who was of that tribe, and judged Israel, that is, delivered them out of the hands of the Philistines, not as the other judges, by fighting them in the field, but by the vexations and annoyances he gave them underhand: when he pulled the house down under the Philistines that were upon the roof of it, he made the horse throw his rider.

Thus was Jacob going on with his discourse; but now, being almost spent with speaking and ready to faint and die away, he relieves himself with those words which come in as a parenthesis, (v. 18,) I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord; as those that are fainting are helped by taking a spoonful of a cordial, or smelling at a bottle of spirits; or, if he must break off here, and his breath will not serve him to finish what he intended, with these words he pours out his soul into the bosom of his God, and even breathes it out. Note, The pious ejaculations of a warm and lively devotion, though sometimes they may be incoherent, yet they are not therefore to be censured as impertinent; that may be uttered affectionately, which does not come in methodically. It is no absurdity, when we are speaking to men, to lift up our hearts to God. The salvation he waited for, was, [1.] Christ, the promised Seed, whom he had spoken of, v. 10. Now that he was going to be gathered to his people, he breathes after him to whom the gathering of the people shall be. [2.] Heaven, the better country, which he declared plainly that he sought, (Heb. 11. 13, 14,) and continued seeking, now that he was in Egypt. Now that he is going to enjoy the salvation, he comforts himself with this, that he had waited for the salvation. Note, First, It is the character of a living saint, that he waits for the salvation of the Lord. Christ, as our Way to heaven, is to be waited on; and Heaven, as our rest in Christ, is to be waited for. Secondly, It is the comfort of a dying saint thus to have waited for the salvation of the Lord; for then he shall have what he has been waiting for: long-looked for will come.

IV. Concerning Gad, v. 19. He alludes to his name, which signifies a troop, foresees the character of that tribe, that it should be a warlike tribe, and so we find, 1 Chr. 12. 8, the Gadites were men of war fit for the battle. He foresees that the situation of that tribe on the other side of Jordan, would expose it to the incursions of its neighbours, the Moabites and Ammonites; and that they might not be proud of their strength and valour, he foretells that the troops of their enemies should in many skirmishes overcome them; yet, that they might not be discouraged by their defeats, he assures them that they should overcome at the last, which was fulfilled when, in Saul's time and David's, the Moabites and Ammonites were wholly subdued; see l'Chron. 5. 18, &c. Note, The cause of God and his people, though it may seem for a time to be baffled and run down, yet it will be victorious at last, Vincimur in prælio, sed non in bello-We are foiled in battle, but not in a campaign. Grace in the soul is often foiled VOL. I.-21

of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel :)

25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts and of the womb:

26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of thy progenitors, unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. b Ps. 18. 32, 34. e c. 45. 10, 11, 50. 21. d Is. 28. 16. e Deut. 33. 27. f Eph. 1.3. g Hab. 3. 6. Is. 66. 5.

in its conflicts, troops of corruption overcome it, but the cause is God's, and grace will in the issue come off conqueror, yea, more than conqueror, Rom. 8. 37.

V. Concerning Asher, v. 20. That it should be a very rich tribe, replenished not only with bread for necessity, but with fatness, with dainties, royal dainties, (for the king himself is served of the field, Ec. 5. 9,) and these exported out of Asher, to other tribes, perhaps to other lands. Note, The God of nature has provided for us not only necessaries but dainties, that we might call him a bountiful Benefactor; yet, whereas all places are competently furnished with necessaries, only some places afford dainties. Corn is more common than spices. Were the supports of luxury as universal as the supports of life, the world would be worse than it is, and that it needs not be.

VI. Concerning Naphtali, v. 21. A tribe that carries struggles in its name; it signifies wrestling, and the blessing entailed upon it signifies prevailing; it is a hind let loose. Though we find not this prediction so fully answered in the event as some of the rest, yet, no doubt, it proved true, that those of this tribe were, 1. As the loving hind, (for that is her epithet, Prov. 5. 19,) friendly and obliging to one another, and to other tribes; their converse remarkably kind and endearing. 2. As the loosened hind, zealous for their liberty. 3. As the swift hind, (Ps. 18. 33,) quick in despatch of business; and perhaps, 4. As the trembling hind, timorous in times of public danger. It is rare that those that are most amiable to their friends, are most formidable to their enemies. 5. That they should be affable and courteous, their language refined, and they complaisant, giving goodly words. Note, Among God's Israel there is to be found a great variety of dispositions, contrary to each other, yet all contributing to the beauty and strength of the body; Judah like a lion, Issachar like an ass, Dan like a serpent, Naphtali like a hind. Let not those of different tempers and gifts censure one another, or envy one another, any more than those of different statures and complexions.

V. 22-27. He closes with the blessings of his best-beloved sons, Joseph and Benjamin, with these he will breathe his last. I. The blessing of Joseph, which is very large and full. He is compared (v. 22) to a fruitful bough, or young tree; for God had made him fruitful in the land of his affliction; he owned it, ch. 41. 52. His two sons were as branches of a vine, or other spreading plant, running over the wall. Note, God can make those fruitful, great comforts to themselves and others, who have been looked upon as dry and withered. More is recorded in the history concerning Joseph, than concerning any other of Jacob's sons; and therefore what Jacob says of him, is historical as well as prophetical. Observe, 1. The providences of God concerning Joseph, v. 23, 24. These are mentioned to the glory of God, and for the encou ragement of Jacob's faith and hope, that God had blessings in store for his seed. Here observe, (1.) Joseph's straits and troubles, v. 23. Though he now lived at ease, and in honour, Jacob reminds him of the difficulties he had formerly waded through. He had had many enemies here, called archers, being skilful to do mischief, masters of their art of persecution: they hated him, there persecution begins; they shot their poisonous darts at him, and thus they sorely grieved him. His brethren, in his father's house, were very spiteful toward him, mocked him, stripped him, threatened him, sold him, thought they had been the death of him. His mistress in the house of Potiphar, sorely grieved him, and shot at him, when she impudently assaulted his chastity; (temptations are fiery darts, thorns in the flesh, sorely grievous to gracious souls ;) when she prevailed not in this, she hated him, and shot at him, by her false accusations, arrows which there is little fence against, but the hold God has in the consciences of the worst of men. Doubtless he had enemies in the court of Pharaoh, that envied his preferment, and sought to undermine him. (2.) Joseph's strength and support under all these troubles; (v. 24,) His bow abode in strength, that is, his faith did not fail, but he kept his ground, and came off a conqueror. The arms of his hands were made strong, that is, his other graces did their part, his wisdom, courage, and patience, which are better than weapons of war. In short, he maintained both his integrity and his comfort through all his trials; he bore all his burdens with an invincible resolution, and did not sink under them, nor do any thing unbecoming him. (3.) The spring and fountain of this strength; it was by the hands of the ( 161 )

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29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with

32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the 'ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

CHAPTER L.

my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Here is, I. The preparation for Jacob's funeral, v. 1-6. II. The funeral itself, v. Ephron the Hittite:

30 In the cave "that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place.

31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

i Judg. 20. 21, 25. E. 39. 8-10. Rom. 12. 6, &c. m c. 47. 30. 2 Sam. 19. 37. c. 23. 3, &c.

mighty God, who was therefore able to strengthen him, and the God of Jacob, a God in covenant with him, and therefore engaged to help him. All our strength for the resisting of temptations, and the bearing of afflictions, comes from God: his grace is sufficient, and his strength is perfected in our weakness. (4.) The state of honour and usefulness he was advanced to after this; from thence, from this strange method of providence, he became the shepherd and stone, the feeder and supporter of God's Israel, Jacob and his family. Herein Joseph was a type, [1] Of Christ; he was shot at and hated, but borne up under his sufferings, (Is. 50. 7-9,) and was afterward advanced to be the shepherd and stone. [2.] Of the church in general, and particular believers; hell shoots its arrows against the saints, but Heaven protects and strengthens them, and will crown them.

7-14. III. The settling of a good understanding between Joseph and his brethren after the death of Jacob, v. 15-21. IV. The age and death of Joseph, v. 22Thus the book of Genesis, which began with the originals of light and life, ends with nothing but death and darkness; so sad a change bas sin made.

26.

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night. Or, in the first times of Israel, they shall be noted for
activity, though many of them left-handed, Judg. 3, 15.-20. 16.
Ehud, the second judge, and Saul, the first king, were of this
tribe, and so also in the last times Esther and Mordecai were of
this tribe, by whom the enemies of the Jews were destroyed.
The Benjamites ravened like wolves, when they desperately es-
poused the cause of the men of Gibeah, those men of Belial,
Judg. 20. 14. Blessed Paul was of this tribe, (Rom. 11.1. Phil.
3. 5,) and he did in the morning of that day, devour the prey as
a persecutor, but in the evening, divide the spoil as a preacher.
Note, God can serve his own purposes by the different tempers
of men; the deceived and the deceiver are his.
V. 28-33. Here is,

1. The summing up of the blessings of Jacob's sons, v. 28. Though Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, were put under the marks of their father's displeasure, yet he is said to bless them every one according to his blessing; for none of them were rejected as Esau was. Note, Whatever rebukes of God's word or providence we are under at any time, yet, as long as we have an interest in God's covenant, a place and a name among his people, and good hopes of a share in the heavenly Canaan, we must account ourselves blessed.

2. The solemn charge Jacob gave them concerning his burial, which is a repetition of what he had before given to Joseph. See how he speaks of death, now that he is dying; (v. 29,) Í am to be to ourselves under the most desirable images, that the terror of it may be taken off. Though it separate us from our children and our people in this world, it gathers us to our fathers and to our people in the other world. Perhaps Jacob uses this expression concerning death, as a reason why his sons should bury him in Canaan; for says he, I am to be gathered unto my people, my soul must be gone to the spirits of just men made perfect; and therefore bury me with my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, and their wives, v. 31. Observe,

(1.) His heart was very much upon it, not so much from a natural affection to his native soil, as from a principle of faith in the promise of God, that Canaan should be the inheritance of his seed in due time. Thus he would keep up in his sons a remembrance of the promised land, and not only would have their acquaintance with it renewed by a journey thither on that occasion, but their desire towards it and their expectation of it preserved.

2. The promises of God to Joseph. See how these are connected with the former! (v. 25,) Even by the God of thy father Jacob, who shall help thee. Note, Our experiences of God's power and goodness in strengthening us hitherto, are our encouragements still to hope for help from him; he that has helped us will: we may build much upon our Eben-Ezers. See what Joseph Inay expect from the Almighty, even the God of his father. (1.) He shall help thee in difficulties and dangers which may yet be before thee, help thy seed in their wars. Joshua came from him, who commanded in chief in the wars of Canaan. (2.) He shall bless thee; and he only blesses indeed. Jacob prays for a bless-gathered unto my people. Note, It is good to represent death ing upon Joseph, but the God of Jacob commands the blessing. Observe the blessings conferred on Joseph; [1.] Various and abundant blessings. Blessings of heaven above; rain in its season, and fair weather in its season, and the benign influences of the heavenly bodies; blessings of the deep that lieth under this earth, which, compared with the upper world, is but a great deep, with subterraneous mines and springs. Spiritual blessings are blessings of heaven above, which we ought to desire and seek for, in the first place, and to which we must give the preference, while temporal blessings, those of this earth, must fie under in our account and esteem. Blessings of the womb and the breasts are given, when children are safely born, and comfortably nursed. In the word of God, by which we are born again, and nourished up, (1 Pet. 1. 23.-2.2;) there are to the new man blessings both of the womb and the breasts. [2.] Eminent and transcendent blessings, which prevail above the blessings of my progenitors, v. 26. His father Isaac had but one blessing, and when he had given that to Jacob, he was at a loss for a blessing to bestow upon Esau; but Jacob had a blessing for each of his twelve sons, and now, at the latter end, a copious one for Joseph. The great blessing entailed upon that family was increase, which did not so immediately and so signally follow the blessings which Abraham and Isaac gave to their sons, as it followed the blessing which Jacob gave to his; for, soon after his death, they multiplied exceedingly. [3] Durable and extensive blessings; unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills, including all the productions of the most fruitful hills, and lasting as long as they last, Is. 54. 10. Note, The blessings of the everlasting God include the riches of the everlasting hills, and much more. Well, of these blessings it is here said, They shall be, so it is a promise, or, Let them be, so it is a prayer, on the head of Joseph; to which let them be as a crown to adorn it, and a helmet to protect it. Joseph was separated from his brethren (so we read it) for a time; yet, as others read it, he was a Nazarite among his brethren, better and more excellent than they. Note, It is no new thing for the best men to meet with the worst usage; for Nazarites among their brethren to be cast out and separated from their brethren; but the blessing of God will make it up to them. II. The blessing of Benjamin; (v. 27,) He shall raven as a wolf; it is plain by this, that Jacob was guided in what he said by a spirit of prophecy, and not by natural affection; else he would have spoken with more tenderness of his beloved son Benjamin, concerning whom he only foresees and foretells this, that his posterity should be a warlike tribe, strong and daring, and that they should enrich themselves with the spoils of their enemies; that they should be active and busy in the world, and a tribe as much feared by their neighbours as any other; in the morning he shall devour the prey, which he seized and divided over

(2.) He is very particular in describing the place, both by the situation of it, and by the purchase Abraham had made of it, for a burying-place, v. 30, 32. He was afraid lest his sons after seventeen years sojourning in Egypt, had forgotten Canaan, and even the burying-place of their ancestors there, or lest the Canaanites should dispute his title to it; and therefore he specifies it thus largely, and the purchase of it, even when he lies a-dying, not only to prevent mistakes, but to show how mindful he was of that country. Note, It is, and should be, a great pleasure to dying saints, to fix their thoughts upon the heavenly Canaan, and the rest they hope for there after death.

3. The death of Jacob, v. 33. When he had finished both his blessing and his charge, (both which are included in the commanding of his sons,) and so had finished his testimony, he addressed himself to his dying work. (1.) He put himself into a posture for dying; having before seated himself upon the bedside, to bless his sons; (the spirit of prophecy bringing fresh oil to his expiring lamp, Dan. 10. 19;) when that work was done, he gathered up his feet into the bed, that he might lie along, not only as one patiently submitting to the stroke, but as one cheerfully composing himself to rest, now that he was weary. Ivill lay me down, and sleep. (2.) He freely resigned his spirit into the hand of God, the father of spirits; he yielded up the ghost. (3.) His separated soul went to the assembly of the souls of the faithful, which, after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity; he was gathered to his people. Note, IfGod's people be our people, death will gather us to them.

NOTES TO CHAPTER L.

V. 1-6. Joseph is here paying his last respects to his deceased father.

3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.

4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,

5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.

6 And Pharaoh said, Go up and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,

8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company. 10 And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned

• wept. & Num. 20. 29. Deut 34.8. c c. 47. 29. d Is. 22. 16. Matt. 27, 60. Ex. 10. 9, 26. f Deut. 34. 8. 1 Sam. 31. 13. 2 Sam. 1. 17. Job 2. 13. Acts 8. 2. 1. e. the mourning of the Egyptians.

1. With tears and kisses, and all the tender expressions of a filial affection, he takes leave of the deserted body, v. 1. Though Jacob was old and decrepit, and must needs die in the course of nature; though he was poor comparatively, and a constant charge to his son Joseph, yet such an affection he had for a loving father, and so sensible was he of the loss of a prudent, pious, praying father, that he could not part with him without floods of tears. Note, As it is an honour to die lamented, so it is the duty of survivors to lament the death of those who have been useful in their day, though for some time they may have survived their usefulness. The departed soul is out of the reach of our tears and kisses, but with them it is proper to show our respect to the poor body, of which we look for a glorious and joyful resurrection. Thus Joseph showed his faith in God, and love to his father, by kissing his pale and cold lips, and so giving an affectionate farewell. Probably, the rest of Jacob's sons did the same, much moved, no doubt, with his dying words.

2. He ordered the body to be embalmed, (v. 2,) not only because he died in Egypt, and that was the manner of the Egyptians, but because he was to be carried to Canaan, which would be a work of time, and therefore it was necessary the body should be preserved as well as it might be from putrefaction. See how vile our bodies are, when the soul has forsaken them; without a great deal of art, and pains, and care, they will, in a very little time, become noisome. If the body have been dead four days, by that time it is offensive.

3. He observed the ceremony of solemn mourning for him, v. 3. Forty days were taken up in embalming the body, which the Egyptians (they say) had an art of doing so curiously, as to preserve the very features of the face unchanged; all this time, and thirty days more, seventy in all, they either confined themselves and sat solitary, or when they went out, appeared in the habit of close mourners, according to the decent custom of the country. Even the Egyptians, many of them, out of the great respect they had for Joseph, (whose good offices done for the king and country were now fresh in remembrance,) put themselves into mourning for his father. As with us, when the court goes into mourning, those of the best quality do so too. About ten weeks was the court of Egypt in mourning for Jacob. Note, What they did in state, we should do in sincerity, weep with them that weep, and mourn with them that mourn, as being ourselves also in the body.

4. He asked and obtained leave of Pharaoh to go to Canaan, thither to attend the funeral of his father, v. 4-6. (1.) It was a piece of necessary respect to Pharaoh, that he would not go without leave; for we may suppose, that though his charge about the corn was long since over, et he continued a prime minister of state, and therefore would not be so long absent from his business without license. (2.) He observed decorum, in employing some of the royal family, or some of the officers of the household, to intercede for this license; either because it was not proper for him in the days of his mourning to come into the presence-chamber, or because he would not presume too much upon his own interest. Note, Modesty is a great ornament to dignity. (3.) He pleaded the obligation his father had laid upon him, by an oath, to bury him in Canaan, v. 5. It was not from pride or humour, but from his regard to an indispensable duty, that he desired it. All nations reckon that oaths must be performed, and the will of the dead must be observed. (4.) He promised to return; I will come again. When we return to our own houses from burying the bodies of our relations, we say, "We have left them behind;" but if

with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.

11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called tAbel-mizraim, which is beyond Jordan.

12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:

13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying-place of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,

17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray

c. 49.29. A c. 23. 16. í c. 27. 41. Lev. 26. 36. Job 15, 21. Prov. 28. 1. I charged. * Prov. 28. 13. Matt. 6. 12, 14. 18. 35. Luke 17. 3, 4. Eph. 4. 32. Col. 3. 13. Jam. 5. 16.

their souls be gone to our heavenly Father's house, we may say, with more reason, "They have left us behind." (5.) He obtained leave; (v. 6,) Go, and bury thy father; Pharaoh is willing his business should stand still so long; but the service of Christ is more needful, and therefore he would not allow one that had work to do for him, to go first and bury his father; no, Let the dead bury their dead, Matt. 8. 22.

V. 7-14. We have here an account of Jacob's funeral. Of the funerals of the kings of Judah, usually, no more is said than this, They were buried with their fathers in the city of David; but the funeral of the patriarch Jacob is more largely and fully described. 1. To show how much better God was to him than he expected; he had spoken more than once of dying for grief, and going to the grave bereaved of his children, but, behold, he dies in honour, and is followed to the grave by all his children. 2. Because his orders concerning his burial were given and observed in faith, and in expectation both of the earthly and of the heavenly Canaan. Now,

1. It was a stately funeral: he was attended to the grave, not only by his own family, but by the courtiers, and all the great men of the kingdom, who, in token of their gratitude to Joseph, showed this respect to his father for his sake, and did him honour at his death. Though the Egyptians had had an antipathy to the Hebrews, and had looked upon them with disdain, (ch. 43. 32,) yet now that they were better acquainted with them, they began to have a respect for them. Good old Jacob had conducted himself so well among them, as to gain universal esteem. Note, Professors of religion should endeavour, by wisdom and love, to remove the prejudices which many may have conceived against them, because they do not know them. There went abundance of chariots and horsemen, not only to attend them a little way, but to go through with them. Note, The decent solemnities of funerals, according to a man's situ ation, are very commendable; and we must not say of them, To what purpose is this waste? See Acts 8. 2. Luke 7. 12.

2. It was a sorrowful funeral; (v. 10, 11,) standers-by took notice of it as a grievous mourning. Note, The death of good men is a great loss to any place, and ought to be greatly lamented. Stephen dies a martyr, and yet devout men make great lamentations for him. The solemn mourning for Jacob gave a name to the place, Abel-mizraim, The mourning of the Egyptians; which served for a testimony against the next generation of the Egyptians, who oppressed the posterity of this Jacob to whom their ancestors showed such respect.

V. 15-21. We have here the settling of a good correspondence between Joseph and his brethren, now that their father was dead. Joseph was at court, in the royal city; his brethren were in Goshen, remote in the country; yet the keeping up of a good understanding, and a good affection, between them, would be both his honour and their interest. Note, When Providence has removed the parents by death, the best methods ought to be taken, not only for the preventing of quarrels among the children, (which often happen about the dividing of the estate,) but for the preserving of acquaintance and love, that unity may continue, even when that centre of unity is taken

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