James M. Gray · 6 of 93

Genesis · Part 5

3. Their Second Contract, 30:25 to 31:16.

As one reads the story of this section he feels little sympathy for Laban, who deserved the punishment he received, but wonders at Jacob's smartness until he reads his explanation (31:4-13), and learns that God interposed on his behalf, and prompted him in what he did. This is in fulfillment of the original promise of blessing and cursing, which was carried out in the later history of Israel, and will be very markedly fulfilled at the end of this age and throughout the millennium. There is a divine reason why the Jew of today holds the money bags of the world, and why he is such a factor in our commercial centers.

O, thou treacherous and crafty Laban, type of the Gentile oppressor of Israel in all time, dost thou think thou canst circumvent Jehovah by removing all the speckled goats and black sheep from thy flocks that Jacob may have none (vv. 34-36)? Place three day's journey between thyself and Jacob, but leave to Jacob God, and he will ask no more (31:5)!

It is interesting that Jacob has the sympathy of his wives in the issue between him and their father, and that they support him in his purpose to return to his own land. What was the inspiration and the encouragement of this purpose (13)?

4. Their Separation, 31:17-55.

What advantage of Laban did Jacob take at this juncture (19, 20)? What shows Jacob's wives to have been idolators at this time? How does this further indicate the divine patience and longsuffering? How does it indicate that God has a purpose of grace He is seeking in the earth independent of the conscious and willing co-operation of His creatures?

Look on the map and determine what river it was that Jacob crossed in going from Haran into Gilead (a distance of probably 350 miles). How does God interpose for Jacob (24)? Where have we seen a similar revelation of Himself to a heathen? Do you think Laban was sincere in v. 27? What teaching do we obtain of the responsibilities and hardships of the shepherd's life in vv. 38-40? Notice Jacob's testimony to God's great favor to him (42), and the distinction of faith in Jacob's oath as compared with that of Laban.

It is desirable to add that the names which Laban and Jacob gave to the locality of their covenant means the same thing in the Aramaic and Hebrew tongues, "The heap of witness," while Mizpah means "The watch tower."

How does the conclusion of this story illustrate Proverbs 16:7?

Questions.

1. Rehearse the story of Jacob from the time of leaving home until he met Laban.

2. Try to recall the story he would have to tell Laban.

3. Give the substance of the references to Malachi and Matthew.

4. Of what is Laban a type in all the generations?

5. Memorize the last Scripture reference, with chapter and verse.

JACOB BECOMES ISRAEL

Chapters 32, 33

1. Meeting With the Angels, 32:1-2.

Filled with wonders is this lesson! The appearance of the angels, the divine wrestling, the transformation of Esau -- how much we need the Holy Spirit to understand the meaning of these things!

Be sure to identify these places. Galeed or Mizpah of the preceding chapter, and Mahanaim, Peniel and the river Jabbok named in this, are all on the east of the Jordan, not far from what was known later as Ramoth-Gilead.

How condescending of God to send His angels to encourage Jacob at this crisis -- such a man as Jacob! In the margin you will find that Mahanaim means "two heaps" or "two camps," with reference perhaps to the angels as one camp and the household of Jacob as the other.

2. Meeting With God, 32:3-32.

Where was Esau dwelling at this time (3)? What shows Jacob's fear of him (4-8)? What reason had he for the increase of this fear (6)? To whom did he appeal, and how (9-12)?

Study this prayer, the first of its kind in the Bible -- that of Abraham was intercessory and of the nature of a dialogue, but this is a personal supplication. Its elements are adoration, confession, thanksgiving, petition and pleading. Discover these divisions for yourself and locate them in the verses.

How does Jacob plan to propitiate Esau (13)? What kind of present does he prepare for him (14-15)? How many droves in all do you think there were (16-20)? Can you picture these five droves separated and appearing before Esau's astonished eyes at intervals? Was not the plan well adapted from a human point of view to have the desired effect?

But the incident following shows that something must be done in Jacob's soul and then the propitiation of his brother will be brought about in another way. In this incident we have another theophany such as we have seen before, but in some respects more remarkable still. To think that Jehovah should not only appear in human form but wrestle as a man with a man! What is the meaning of it all?

For one, thing it shows Jacob's dogged determination to have his own way - a kind of symbolic action illustrative of his whole career. What a schemer and planner he was from the time he defrauded Esau of his birthright until now! While wrestling with God he was in spirit wrestling with Esau probably, seeking in his own strength and by his own schemes to make peace with him, but he is to learn that his strength is made perfect in weakness. In God's plan and purpose he cannot prevail with men until he first prevails with God, and with God he cannot prevail until he ceases his own efforts and simply clings to Him for support and blessing. But this he will not do until God afflicts and makes it impossible for him to do otherwise. What a lesson for us! May God help us to translate it into our experience!

3. Meeting With Esau, 33.

The action of Esau, especially v. 4, seems to indicate a supernatural work on him, changing his mind toward Jacob. It is not the result of Jacob's plan so much as God's grace, whether Jacob realizes it as yet or not.

His caution (12-15) still shows a certain fear of Esau, and this is shown further by the fact that he does not follow him to Seir (14), but turns sharply to the east, locating in Succoth, and then in Shechem. Notice the altar he erects and the recognition of his own new name "God, the God of Israel."

Questions.

1. Have you identified the localities?

2. Have you analyzed Jacob's prayer?

3. Have you pictured in your mind his plan of propitiation of Esau?

4. Have you compared yourself with Jacob as a planner?

5. Have you learned his secret of prevailing with God?

JACOB AT THE HOMESTEAD -- MEMOIRS OF ESAU

Chapters 34-36

1. The Wickedness of Jacob's Sons, 34.

In the last lesson Jacob's altar at Shechem proclaims God to be his God, but (as another says) it is evident he has not gotten the power of this name for he is walking in his own ways still, as his house at Succoth and his purchase at Shechem testify. So new sorrow and discipline must come.

Dinah represents the young women of today who want to see the world and have their fling. Her conduct was indiscreet, to say the least, and dearly did all concerned pay the consequences. One can feel only utter condemnation for the beastliness of Shechem, and yet the reparation he and his father offered to make was honorable (3-12), and dignifies them in comparison with Jacob's sons and many modern offenders of high repute.

No justification can be found for the criminality of Jacob's sons (18-29). That Jacob appreciated its enormity, not only his fear (30) but also his later loathing of it and his curse upon its instigators (49:5-7), show.

In our indignation we ask why did not God destroy these sons of Jacob instead of continuing His interest in them and even prospering them? In reply, remember that He did this not for their sake but for the world's sake, our sake. His plan of redemption for the world involved the preservation of Israel, and to have destroyed them would have been to destroy the root of the tree whose leaves ultimately would be for the healing of the nation. It is this that explains God's patience in later periods of Israel's history, and indeed His dealings with us; for His own name's sake He does many things, or refrains from doing them.

2. The Later Journeys of Jacob, 35.

God comes to Jacob's relief in directing him to what place? What marks this as a time of religious crisis in his family (2-4)? If he had forgotten God's house in building his own, God now leads him to a higher plane where he sees his obligation to build God's house first. What was done with all their emblems of idolatry? In what way does God put Jacob's fear upon his enemies (5)?

How further is God's goodness shown to Jacob (9)? What assurance is renewed to him (10)? What are the Hebrew words for "God Almighty," and their meaning (see Lesson 10)? What relation do you perceive between this name and the promise which follows? In what way does God transfer the original blessing to Jacob (11)? how does the language (v. 13) show that we have here another theophany?

Jacob seems to be gradually approaching the old homestead. What place is now reached, and what later name is given it (16-19)? What domestic events occurred here? It is interesting to note that the pillar erected to Rachel was in existence at the time of Moses, three hundred years later, according to the testimony of v. 20. It is mentioned again four hundred years afterward in 1 Samuel 10:2. "The Mohammedans still mark the site with a monument of solid masonry."

What interesting circumstance is mentioned in v. 27? How does v. 29 testify to the reconciliation of Jacob and Esau? In coming to the end of Isaac's life it is worth while to note that his blessing, unlike Jacob's, was uniform and unbroken, doubtless the recompense of the obedience with which his life began. Note also how God preserved him in life so that he did not give up his place as a witness of God's truth in the earth until Jacob, the son of promise, had returned and was made ready to fill that place. Attention had better be called as well to the phrase, "was gathered unto his people" (29), which was used of Abraham (25:7), and points to a belief even in those early days of a continued existence of men after death.

3. The Memoirs of Esau, 36.

We can spare but a paragraph or two for this chapter, which is inserted doubtless because of the natural relations between Jacob and Esau, and the subsequent relations of their respective descendants.

It is noticeable that the author takes pains to identify Esau with Edom, mentioning the fact a number of times. In the second place, we see from the origin of Esau's wives that "Canaanites" includes the Hittites, Hivites and Horites. In the third place, we should not be misled by the word "dukes." which simply means "chiefs," or heads of families or clans. In the fourth place, the reference to Esau's dwelling in Mount Seir (6-8) seems to refer to a second departure into that country after the return of Jacob and the death of Isaac. Finally, the reference in v. 31 to the "kings that reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned any king over the children of Israel" seems to point to a later author than Moses, since there were no kings in Israel until hundreds of years after his death. The entire paragraph with a few variations is found again in 1 Chronicles 1:43-50, and some have thought that it was taken from thence and added to this chapter.

Questions.

1. Has Jacob yet become perfected?

2. Should we palliate wrong in those who stand in close relationship to God?

3. Can we give a reason for God's forbearance in the case of Jacob's sons?

4. Describe the religious crisis in Jacob's household at this time.

5. What corroborative evidence of the historicity of this lesson is found in modern times?

DISPENSATIONAL ASPECT OF JACOB 'S HISTORY

Following F. W. Grant, in the Numerical Bible, the life of Jacob gives as its lesson the story of that discipline by which the Spirit of God brings us from weakness to power, from nature's strength to that wholesome weakness in which alone is strength. But for this, natural strength must be crippled, which is provided for in two ways: (1) in allowing us to realize the power of another nature (Esau), and (2) in the direct dealing of God with our souls.

To this also correspond the two names which distinguish the two parts of Jacob's life, before and after these experiences have done their work. He is Jacob in his methods, however, long after his heart is set upon divine things, and is only Israel when, his human strength broken down, he halts upon his thigh. These two names -- Jacob and Israel -- are applied all through the Scriptures in a very beautiful manner to the nation which sprang from him, and of which he is the representative throughout. But of course the effect of God's discipline upon them cannot be read in their history hitherto, and awaits the fulfillment of prophecy concerning them. Their past history has been that of Jacob, but it will yet be said of "Jacob and of Israel: What hath God wrought!" (Numbers 23:23).

Jacob's history divides itself into three parts - his early life in Canaan, his stay in Padan-aram, and his life again as restored to Canaan; just as the history of the nation dispensationally divides itself into their first occupation of the land, their present dispersion, and their future and perpetual enjoyment of it when God brings them back again.

We find a kind of parallel between the first part of Jacob's life and that of the nation in his dream at Bethel when he is just about to leave the land, as we compare that dream with the application which Christ makes of it to Himself (John 1:51). Christ, as the Son of man, secures to Israel the care and ministrations of Jehovah while the nation is outcast from their inheritance, and when they shall with Nathanael's faith confess Christ as Son of God and King of Israel, they shall have in a more blessed way than ever their "house of God" on earth.

In the same way Jacob's history at Padan-aram suggests a parallel with the nation as they are now scattered from their land, for during the twenty years of Jacob's exile he enjoyed no such revelations of God's presence as he did before. During that time God deals with him as He is now dealing with the nation, as one for whom He has a purpose of blessing only to be reached through disciplinary sorrow. Like his descendants he is multiplied as the dust, while trampled into it. The nation to-day is enslaved, persecuted, and yet preserved in order to merge in the end of the age into that place of wealth and power of which all the prophets speak.

Jacob's return to his own land, in its application to the nation, brings us into the field of prophecy. For the nation, as well as for him, Peniel must prepare the way to Bethel. That the nation may not fall into the hands of their enemies, God, whose name is yet unknown to them, must take them into His own hand, crippling the human strength with which they contend with Him that in weakness they may hold Him fast for blessing. Thus, broken down in repentance and purged from idolatry, the nation will have their second Bethel when God will reveal to them His name so long hidden, and confirm to them the promise to their father Abraham.

Questions.

1. What is the great lesson of Jacob's life?

2. Divide his history in three parts, and apply it dispensationally.

3. Quote from memory John 1:51.

4. In what way does the Padan-aram experience foreshadow Israel's history to-day?

5. What event in Jacob's life foreshadows a similar one yet to follow in the history of Israel?

JOSEPH'S HISTORY

Chapters 37-47

The general familiarity with these chapters warrants the grouping of them in one lesson, especially as there is little requiring explanation within our present scope.

1. Loved and Hated, 37.

It may seem foolish for Joseph to have made known his dreams to his brethren, and thus increase their enmity against him, but we should consider God's purpose in the matter, whether Joseph understood it or not. In the outcome it was important that they should know these dreams, which were really prophecies, in advance of their fulfillment for the sake of the moral effect upon them.

In this chapter it will be seen that the merchantmen are called both Ishmaelites and Midianites, both being in the company, perhaps, as their territories were contiguous in Arabia.

2. Sold Into Slavery, 39.

Note the faith and piety of Joseph as indicated in v. 9, in language unlike anything hitherto recorded of the patriarchs. Note too that according to v. 20 Potiphar must have doubted the truth of his wife's charge, or else he would probably have executed Joseph.

3. Falsely Imprisoned, 40.

This chapter is chiefly notable for the further evidence it gives of Joseph's intimate acquaintance with and faith in God, and the close dealings of God with him in the revelation of these things.

4. Exalted to the Throne, 41.

Note Pharaoh's testimony to Joseph's power with God (38), not that he himself knew the true God, but that he witnessed to the power Joseph had with the God he (Joseph) served. How does this incident in Joseph's life illustrate 1 Tim. 4:8, last clause?

The name given Joseph by Pharaoh merits attention notwithstanding the difficulty in its interpretation. The Revised Version spells it "Zaphenathpaneah," but it is not determined whether it is of Hebrew, Egyptian or Coptic derivation. If the first it may mean "Revealer of secrets"; if the second, "Bread of Life"; if the third, "Saviour of the world"; all bearing on the same thought and any of them both significant and appropriate.

5. Dealing with His Brethren, 42 to 44.

The details of these chapters show the purpose of Joseph to "multiply unlooked for events and complicate the situation for his brethren, both to awaken their conviction of wrongdoing in the past and an expectation of something still more mysterious, whether good or bad, in the future" - thus preparing them for the great revelation soon to be made.

In chapter 44:17, 18 the reference to the three days is important for its bearing on the death and resurrection of Christ. It will be well to note, for example, the vague way of the Hebrews in using the words. According to our usage, had Joseph's brethren been imprisoned three days it would not have been until the fourth day that he changed his plan, but instead of that they were shut up but two nights and the intermediate day, with parts of the first and third days. This was the time Jesus was in the grave, so that there is no more reason to accuse the Bible of inaccuracy or contradiction in the one case than in the other. (Studies in Genesis, in loco.)

6. Revealing Himself to His Brethren, 45.

Why was Pharaoh so pleased to have Jacob and his family settle in Egypt? To show appreciation of Joseph? Yes, and for other reasons. It was not merely three-score and six souls that constituted the whole encampment of Jacob, but between three and four thousand souls, if we count all their dependents, which was a valuable accession to any nation when we consider the character of the people.

And there may have been another reason still, if it be true that the reigning dynasty at this time was the Hyksos or Shepherd kings, i. e., Syrians or Asiatics who centuries before had invaded and seized upon the kingdom, and so were unpopular with the native races. It would be a great advantage to them to have so powerful an accession of Asiatics as Jacob's tribe represented, not only to increase their riches but to "give additional firmness to the throne against the discontent and disturbance of the native races."

7. Settling the Family in Goshen, 46 to 48.

Note the suitableness of Goshen as a place of settlement for the Israelites. In the first place, it afforded good pasturage and they were shepherds, but in some parts of it there was excellent tillage as well. In the next place, its location near the Isthmus of Suez, - made it easy to depart from later on when the necessity was so great. And last, but not least, it was a location where the least offense would be given to the native races, and there was reason for such offense because shepherds were held in abomination by them. Their subjugation by a shepherd race explains this in part, but there was another reason in that the Egyptians for religious reasons did not eat flesh. They worshipped the beasts which the Israelites ate and offered in sacrifice to God.

How long did Jacob live in Egypt (47:28)? What solemn promise did he extract from Joseph just prior to his death (29-31)? Do you think this expressed only the natural desire to be buried with his own people, or did it express faith in the divine promise that his seed should ultimately inherit Canaan?

Questions.

1. What name did Pharaoh give Joseph, and what are its possible meanings?

2. How does this lesson throw light on the period that Christ remained in the grave?

3. What probable dynasty of Pharaoh's is before us in this lesson?

4. Give some reasons for Pharaoh's satisfaction in welcoming the Israelites to Egypt.

5. What made Goshen a desirable locality for them?

TYPICAL AND DISPENSATIONAL ASPECTS OF JOSEPH'S HISTORY

The life of Joseph more than any other patriarch suggests that of Christ and shadows forth the history of Israel as a nation.

1. The first view we have of him he is loved of his father and hated by his brethren, and there are three things for which his brethren hated him, namely: the love of his father for him, his separation from them in a moral sense, and his dreams in which his future supremacy is announced. J. here were the same things for which Christ was hated by his brethren after the flesh: (1) His Father's love; (2) His separation from them (John 15:17-25); and (3) the announcement of His future glory (Matt. 27:57-68).

2. Joseph is conspired against and sold, and it is his love-mission to his brethren, as sent by his father, that gives occasion for this. How like the history of our Saviour in His coming unto Israel! Joseph is cast into a pit at first, but instead of putting him to death his brethren sell him to the Ishmaelites. So the Jews, knowing it was not lawful for them to put any man to death, transferred Jesus to the Gentiles.

3. Joseph is a slave in the house of the Egyptian, but that house is greatly blessed of God because he is in it: a type of Christ's ministry to the world while He abode therein. And yet Joseph's goodness to the Egyptian did not avail in the face of false accusation, nor did that of Christ to the world. The former is cast into prison where again all things come under his hand, and so Christ descends into a darker prison-house where He manifests Himself as master of all there

(Col. 2:15; 1 Peter 3:18-22).

4. Joseph's humiliation issues in exaltation; the parallel to which in Christ's case is as we see Him raised from the grave to the throne of glory. "God sent me before you to preserve life," said Joseph to his brethren, and Jesus at the right hand of God is ministering in the spiritual sense, to His brethren of Israel to whom He is as yet unknown.

5. But in connection with Joseph's exaltation he enters on a new relationship - that of marriage with a Gentile woman, suggestive of the unique relationship of Christ to His church, composed chiefly of Gentile believers.

6. Now comes the time of famine which speaks of the period at the end of this age, a literal seven years as indicated by Daniel 9, when the church shall have been translated to meet her Lord in the air, and Israel will be preparing through trial to recognize and receive her rejected Lord.

Benjamin Blended with Joseph.

7. At this point Benjamin comes into view as blended with Joseph in the prototypal relation. To quote another: 'We see how all at last is made to depend upon Benjamin. No one person could be a full type of Christ, and Benjamin is brought in to supplement what is lacking in Joseph. Benjamin means 'the son of my right hand,' and he represents the Messiah of power for whom the Jews have always been looking. But Benjamin, before he was called by his father the name which means 'the son of my right hand,' was named by his mother 'Benoni,' which means 'the son of my sorrow.' It was necessary for Christ to be the sufferer before He could be the conqueror. Christ, known to us as the rejected One, is now exalted and seated at the right hand of God, and He is the One whom Israel does not know. A Christ triumphant and reigning over the earth is the One for whom they have always looked; the Sufferer for whom they did not look but who must precede the Conqueror they have refused.

"But power does not lie with Benjamin for whom his brethren are looking, but with Joseph whom they have refused. As a conquering Messiah Christ has been prophesied to them, and as such He longs to display Himself in their behalf. This He cannot do without atonement for the sin that led them to their refusal of Him. For this they must be brought to repentance, and God sends them into an agony for their ideal Messiah that makes them ready to receive the true one. In the last great sorrow that shall overtake Israel as a nation this shall be accomplished. Before Him whom they do not know they shall plead for the Benjamin who has been lost to them, and in the agony of that hour, while they are still pleading for the ideal conquering Messiah, the heavens shall suddenly open and they shall be overwhelmed by a revelation of the Christ they refused (Zech. 12:10).

"The Conqueror and the Sufferer are one and the same blessed Person. The 'Lion' that prevails to open the book is the 'Lamb' that was slain." - The Numerical Bible, by F. W. Grant; The Unfolding of the Ages, by Ford C. Ottman.

CLOSE OF THE PATRIARCHAL AGE

Chapters 48-50

With the history of Joseph, Genesis concludes what is called the patriarchal age. Yet there are two or three facts for consideration before passing to the next book.

1. The Life of Judah.

For example, Joseph's history was interrupted almost at the beginning by that of his brother Judah (c. 38). A shameful history is that of Judah, but recorded because of its bearing upon the genealogy of Jesus, since Tamar, prostitute though she were, became an ancestress of our blessed Lord (Matt. 1:3).

2. Jacob Blessing Joseph's Sons, 48.

Note the past and the future of Jacob's faith as enunciated in vv. 3 and 4: his adoption of the two sons of Joseph, and how in some sense they were to receive the blessing forfeited by Reuben and Simeon (see the following chapter, and compare 1 Chron. 5:1, 2). By the adoption of these two sons the tribes of Israel were enlarged to thirteen, but by a special divine arrangement, as we shall see subsequently, that of Levi had no part in the division of the land of Canaan, and the nation was thus able to always preserve the original number, twelve.

Of the two sons of Joseph Jacob gave the pre-eminence to one contrary to the law of primogeniture and evidently by divine guidance, though for reasons we do not know. By and by we shall see a fulfillment of this predictive blessing in the pre-eminence of the tribe of Ephraim. Notice the form of blessing on these sons, a kind of credal expression of Jacob (vv. 15, 16). This is the earliest creed of the true faith on record, and suggests an example to us in these days when all sorts of people say they believe in God, meaning so many different things thereby. We should be careful that it be known in what God we believe, namely, "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," with all that the term implies. When in this blessing Jacob speaks of "the Angel" who redeemed him, he means Jehovah Himself, since (as we have learned) He is identical with the second Person of the Trinity. "Angel" means "the sent One," in which connection read Gal. 4:4, 5.

Note the triumphant faith of Jacob through this closing transaction of his career. His assurance of the fulfillment of God's promises to His people takes away the fear of death from him and leads him to regard those promises greater than all the worldly glories enjoyed by Joseph and his sons as princes of Egypt. Observe also that he disposes of that which God has promised him for his descendants with as much confidence, as he would dispose of an earthly estate.