Genesis 36

Chap. XXXVI. Ver. 1—43. Esau’s increase.—This chapter seems intended to evince the faithfulness of God in performing his promise to Abraham, “Nations shall come of thee;” and to show the accomplishment of his prophetical information to Rebekah, “Two nations are in thy womb;” and of the blessing pronounced on Esau, “By thy sword shalt thou live.” It might also be in many ways useful to the children of Israel. Yet it contains mere registers, and is very different from the particular history of the heirs of promise; who have the best place and the highest character in the book of God, though not in many other books.—However men may struggle against the purpose of God, his counsel will stand; they will finally be compelled to give place to it, and he hath many ways of inducing them to do so.

He often gives ungodly people a large portion of this world; and satisfied with it, they leave others to possess and enjoy spiritual blessings unenvied and unmolested. This is Esau: still the profane despiser of heavenly things, as when he sold his birthright; though not the same malicious persecutor, as when he vowed Jacob’s destruction.—Yet persons of his character look great, become dukes and princes, and are envied and courted; while the “Israel of God” are obscure, and despised! But soon the state of things will be reversed: the wicked shall be cut down, and wither as the grass; while “the righteous shall flourish as the cedar in Lebanon!” and having their good things, when those of the sinner are spent and gone, they shall have them durably, yea, eternally. Let us then seek an interest in these blessings; and not covet, envy, or glory in those fading distinctions which are so often lavished upon the enemies of God, and “the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction.”—T. Scott.

They were related; and at their obvious interpretation, that all the family were to bow down to one of the youngest sons; and he reproved him: yet his father observed the sayings, and kept them in his heart.

((Luke 2:49, 51).) But thus it is that God governs the world. The weakness of one, the vanity of another, and the crimes of a third, all conspire to bring about the divine purposes; and yet without excusing either. The elevation of Joseph was decreed; but the mystery lies in its being brought about by means so apparently opposite to such an end. “God’s way is in the great deep, and his foot-steps are not known.” ((Psalms 77:19).) By his repeated dreams, and probably his frequent conversations about them, Joseph had acquired among his brethren the name of “the dreamer;” and when his father sent him to them on a message of kind inquiry, their first remark is, “Behold, this dreamer cometh!” and they conspired against his life.

But we need not wonder at this, for Simeon and Levi were there, whose hands had been already stained with blood at Shechem, in the neighbourhood of which they were now feeding cattle. That God, however, who had destined him to save their lives, led some of them to preserve his for that purpose, and it is observable who they were: Reuben, who had defiled his father’s bed; and Judah, who (as we may see in the next chapter) committed incest with his own daughter. Their besetting sin was unrestrained lewdness; yet these were the men employed, and their softer passions perhaps made them the fitter instruments to counteract the sanguinary designs of their more cruel brothers. At present, however, we leave him safe in the hands of that God, who is at no loss for means to effect his great designs.

Ver. 18—36. Joseph sold into Egypt.—Joseph now approaches to inquire after the welfare of his brethren; but their only answer is, to strip him of his party-coloured coat, and cast him into a pit. Here he was to be left to perish, and it was only by the arguments of Reuben and of Judah that he had this mercy; for they, at least Reuben, meant to rescue him from the pit, and restore him to his father; perhaps thinking by this to make him some atonement for the dishonouring of his bed. Providence, however, had designed to save him in a different way, and another guilty passion, their cupidity, is to be the means of his deliverance; they will sell him to strangers, and revel, perhaps, on the price of blood.

Behold Ishmaelites and Midianites are passing by in their way to Egypt, with various merchandise, and Joseph is sold to them, to be carried to the scene of his aggrandizement. Ah! little did they think that, in the person of this persecuted boy, they were carrying into Egypt its supreme governor, and the appointed saviour of the world! This is the first instance of the slave trade upon record, though there is no reason to believe it even now an incipient trade. It is as old as war, and originated in the sale of its miserable captives. We leave Joseph, however, to pursue his journey, and remark the agony of Reuben, who was not present at the sale of his brother, and supposed him to be destroyed: “And I, (said he,) whither shall I go?” Reuben was, however, soon undeceived; and the cold-blooded plan which some of them formed to deceive their father, shows them to have been hardened in their villany.

To stop his inquiries, they pierce his heart with agonies, under the idea of his son being rent in pieces by wild beasts, and then hypocritically set to comfort him. But Jacob refuses to be comforted. “I will go down mourning (said he) to the grave;” or rather (as we should say) to “the other world”—“the world of souls,” the state of all the dead—“where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary be at rest.” ((Job 3:17). See also (Psalms 16:10).)

Chap. XXXVII. Ver. 1—11. Onan’s wickedness.—What a melancholy view do these records give us of Jacob’s family, of the trouble which he had with his children, and of the state of religion in the visible church of God!—Is this “Judah, whom his brethren shall praise!” Rather let us praise God for his patience with him; and that “where sin had abounded, grace,”

as we have reason to conclude, “much more abounded” in his salvation.—The friendship of those who flatter young persons, and assist them in gratifying their licentious inclinations, is often much valued, and their company courted and preferred before that of pious friends and relations; but it corrupts good manners and principles, and makes bad ones worse. Though, all things considered, it is best for most men to marry early in life; yet surely not when they are incapable of judging for themselves and will not be counselled or directed by their parents and friends; but are influenced by those who fear not God, to form connexions with others of the same character. Indeed, parents themselves frequently lead their children into the mistakes and sins of which they themselves have been guilty; and are instrumental in their ruin, temporal and eternal.—The Scriptures sparingly hint at those vile practices, which, being done in secret, are a shame to be spoken of: this suffices to show, that the Lord notices and abhors them, and will bring to light all the lasciviousness, of which it is to be feared multitudes are guilty in heart and life, who stand fair in the world’s esteem.

Then the secret history of every individual, who hath not truly repented and washed away his sins in the blood of Christ, will be written with an impartial pen, and published to the world of men and angels: every mouth will be stopped; and God’s righteousness, in the condemnation of sinners, manifested to the whole universe.—T. Scott.

Ver. 12—30. Judah deceived.—Mirth, festivity, and vain company, furnish fuel to licentious inclinations, and opportunity inflames the heart; then interest, credit, and conscience, are sacrificed, and the wisest of men act as if bereft of common sense: for “wine and whoredom take away the heart,” and stupify the conscience.—What need have we, then, to “watch and pray, that we enter not into temptation!”

Unthought-of consequences will soon prove the folly of those who give license to their lusts: and they who fear shame before men, more than condemnation before God, often find the very thing come upon them which they feared, notwithstanding all their care to prevent it.—Injurious suspicions and unjust treatment frequently drive those to evil practices, who were not previously disposed to them; but miserable and infatuated beyond expression are they, who barter chastity, reputation, and even their souls, for the paltry reward of sin. Nor are any more hardened against compassion, or more disposed to treat others with unrelenting severity, than they who are most indulgent to themselves, and heedlessly continue in unrepented wickedness: yet it is hopeful, when being put to shame before men produces conviction of guilt, humiliating confessions, and renunciation of the sin thus exposed, never more to return to it.—But while we compassionate Jacob, thus wounded on every side by the misconduct of his family, let us admire the sovereign purpose and grace of God, who by all these events, was preparing for the manifestation of his Son in human nature. Our Redeemer sprang from Judah by Tamar, and from Pharez: for his excellency was personal; and, though himself sinless, it suited the end of his appearance, for him to be “made in the likeness of sinful flesh.”—T. Scott.

Notes on the verses

Chap. XXXVI. Ver. 2. Daughter of Zibeon.—[We ought, most probably, to read here and in ver. 14. as in ver. 20. “the son of Zibeon;” which is the reading of the Samaritan, Septuagint, (and Syriac in ver. 2.) and which Houbigant and Kennicott contend to be genuine.]—Bagster.

Ver. 6. Into the country.—That is, into another country, (so the Chaldee,) namely, Edom, which was his proper inheritance; of which Seir was a part. By this we find, however, that they had dwelt together for some time, and on amicable terms.

Ver. 16. Duke Korah.—The word translated Duke throughout this chapter, means strictly the leader, or captain, of 1000 men. Dr. Kennicott is confi-

Edom, A. M. 2276. B. C. 1723.