Parashas Vayeshev
Genesis 37:1 – 40:23 NKJV
Please pray this
Prayer before reading
In the name of Yahushua
Our Messiyah, (Jesus Christ)
I pray for the Spirit of
Understanding
The Spirit of Knowledge and
The Spirit of Wisdom
As I read through this
Parasha
bThis Parashas is the ninth Torah Portion Vayeishev
means “and he settled.” After
devoting a mere chapter to the genealogy of Esau and his progeny, the Torah now
turn to the narrative of Jacob and his family. As been its practice, the Torah
gives short narrative to people who have fallen short of the goal, but speaks
volumes of those who have managed to overcome and secure their inheritance.
So it was that great men
like Noah, Abraham, and Isaac were discussed in great details, while millions
of others men and women since creation, were mention briefly, and some not at
all. It is not what is written on my tomb stone that is of concern to me. It is
what is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Jacob had twelve sons and
one daughter. The Torah says that Jacob loved Joseph, the second youngest son
more than the other, so much so that Jacob gave Joseph a beautiful coat of many
colors.
Understandably from a
purely human perspective, the other sons were jealous of Joseph. Adding to the
tension, Joseph told his brother his dream, the purpose of his life. Like all
who ore govern by the selfish Ego, the brothers understand that Joseph would
rule over over them.
What they like many of
us, we fail to understand the circumstance in which it would take place, and
the benefit of Joseph lordship over his brother. This Parashas was written to
instruct believers that we are living in the present, we have no idea of the
future. The circumstance that accurs in our lives is to provide us with the
necessary tools that when the future arrive we will be ready for it.
If Jacob’s brother and
Isaac also had only pray for revelation, they might have understand why Joseph
was given these dreams. The CREATOR will never leave us without a witness.
The brothers took these
dreams to mean that Joseph intend to rule over then, instead of YAHVEH will
send Him ahead to prepare for then as a savior would. It was a prospect they did not relish, when looking
at it from a selfish egotistic point of view. In fact they were so resentful
that they made a plan to kill him.
These boys were all sons
of the promise, the selfishness of their Ego was been exposed.
Gen 37:1
Now Jacob settled in the land where
his father was a sojourning, in the land
of Canaan Canaan as his final destination, while Isaac was looking
for the world to come.
Could it also means
that because of the different in the age, contribute in shaping the difference
world view of these two righteous men? Isaac who had lives a full life, one who
had reach maturity and walk in that spiritual state of perfection, was now
looking to the world to came. While the relative younger Jacob with a young
family, wanted a secure peaceful environment, one which EL YAHVEH had furnished
as the place to reside.
Our world view even
from a spiritual mature position, shape the way we view life. This verse gave
us an insight into the mind set of two great men at different time in their
life. Isaac’s view elucidate that there are too much to accomplish and too few,
capable of doing it. Knowing that, the righteous are more than willing to
sacrifice a bit of the temporary peace, for the sake of eternal elevation; even
for their offspring.
Gen 37:2
This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was
feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah
and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of
them to his father. - This verse start with the phrase these are the
Toldot, referring to the offspring, this phrase cannot be rendered, these are
the offer spring of Jacob, because Joseph is the only name mention.
Joseph at the age of
seventeen, Jacob was 108, Isaac was 168, and would lived another twenty years.
This incident occurred nine years after Jacob returned home. The Torah labeled
Joseph a youth implies that he was acting immaturely as a believer.
Torah also implied
that they were with the sons of Bilhah, implying that they were the ring
leaders, the dominant personality among the brothers.
This verse also
implies that both Bilhah and Zilpah were wives of Jacob. Even though the bride
price was not paid by Jacob, they were view by Torah as equal to Leah and
Rachel. Therefore, Leah and Rachel were within their right to give both Bilhah
and Zilpah to Jacob and Jacob was not required to pay the bride price.
We need to understand
how Torah views the family structure; it is not the individual right that Torah
focus on, it is our Torah obedient that is off the most important. The
situation we are born in is the vehicle to help bring us to maturity. I
Corinthians 17:20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 21Were
you called while a slave? Do
not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. Whatever misbehavior Joseph noted in his brothers, he reported them to
Jacob. That was one reason why they hated him. The other reasons are in the
following verses. Joseph misinterpreted their actions, although Joseph was
sincere in his faulty evaluation, he was at fault because he should have given
his brothers the benefit of the doubt and reported all the facts to Jacob,
without forming his own conclusion.
This would certainly
explain why the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah did not defend Joseph against Leah’s
sons conspired to sell him as slave. Immaturity in a believer will always
reveals itself in gossip. It is a way to build oneself up at the expense of
another. If I tell dad on him, I will not look so bad after all. Immature
believers will always create strife among each other; this was where Joseph was
at age seventeen. The trials that Joseph would experience in the years to come,
were to correct these obvious character flaws and to perfect his obvious
strength. The rest of his life story will be, how he got to that illustrious
place call spiritual maturity.
Gen 37:3 Now
Yisrael loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his
old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. - We know from Torah that EL YAHVEH love Jacob more than Esau. We also
know that, that love was based on the character of Esau. Our Heavenly Father loves
all His children, but not our sins. Jacob loved Joseph with that same devotion
as EL YAHVEH.
Jacob’s favoritism
was based on Joseph’s spiritual and intellectual desire over his brother. For
the same reason EL YAHVEH proclaimed His love for Yisrael over Esau. Torah used
the name Yisrael to elucidate the spiritual maturity of Jacob, the name that
expresses his highest spiritual nature, therefore implying that his choice of
Joseph was a function of his greatness, not his frailty.
The mere fact, that
Torah mention that Joseph was a child of Yisrael old age, is significant. Old
here depict wisdom or maturity; at that age Yisrael must have perfected the art
of developing sons, this one might have been the very best so far. The one who
had the potential to be the priest of the family. Notice that Yahushua is the
first to graduate from planet earth with absolute perfection. Joseph is a type
and shadow of El Yahushua. The tunic given to Joseph symbolizes a sign of
leadership, for after Reuben discredited himself by tampering with his father
wife, Joseph was elevated to the status of firstborn.
Gen 37:4 But when his brothers saw that their father
loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak
peaceably to him. - So great was the
brothers’ hostility toward Joseph that they could not carry on a friendly
conversation with him even about peaceful matters. What ever he said they
interpreted in a negative, contentious way, even when he tried to be friendly.
Spiritually immature believers will always see circumstances from the ego
perspective.
Verse 5 – 11 Dreams
mentioned in Scripture are generally understood to be vehicles of prophecy.
Whether dreams have validity, it is clear from Scripture that Joseph’s dream
and those of Pharaoh and his officials, that YAHVEH used them to convey
revelation of future events. All these dreams came true according to Joseph
interpretations.
Joseph’s dream,
which indicated clearly, that the one who is spiritually mature would become
the leader of the group in the next generation. He would also become a
spiritual bridge between the Mighty Ones and the ones on their way to maturity.
Joseph’s brothers took the prophecy to mean that he would rule over them.
Gen 37:5 Now
Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even
more - Joseph been an immature person
spiritual, he was egger to share his dream with others. Like most immature
believer will quite regularly talk about themselves in a way that over
emphasize their spiritual importance.
Even though Joseph
was immature, he had enough spiritually savvy to know what was important. Not
because we are a believer does not mean that the Spirit of Wisdom is
flourishing in our lives, it takes time to cultivate wisdom.
Gen 37:6 So he
said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: - It is never a good idea to share our dreams with
everyone, even those who are close to us. There are always those who are
willing to settle for the status quote, and there are some who have lofty
dreams life Joseph. Our dreams are a manifestation of an establish mindset. Who
we are in our mind is like a radio, it will play what ever station it is in
tune with. When our dream becomes EL YAHVEH dream, our mind begins to
reverberate the Mind of EL YAHVEH.
Gen 37:7 “There
we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also
stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my
sheaf.” - The symbolism of the sheaves
implied to Joseph that his brothers would bow to him because their need for
grain. That they gathered around indicated that they would surround him like
subjects congregating around a king.
Joseph’s sheaf stood
up on its own accord, implying that his rise to power would not be credited to
anyone else, but his spiritual development. Joseph was viceroy of Egypt
Gen 37:8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall
you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?”So they
hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. - We as believer, when we communicate with immature
believer, we will be amused by the manner in which people interpret what you
say. Again the example of the radio, it broadcast whatever station it is tune
to. Even Yahushua the perfect person, when he gave the example of His
resurrection, some interpret it as saying He was going to destroy the temple.
Gen 37:9
Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and
said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon,
and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” - The
message of this dream although it employs a different metaphor, it is
essentially the same as that of the first, with one major new factor. This
dream included the suggestion that even his father and mother would bow to him.
The repetition of
the dream indicates the certainty of its fulfillment. Although this dream did
not come to completion some twenty two years later, the process that culminated
in Joseph’s elevation to the role of rulership of Egypt was about to begin.
What would it take to be a ruler? What lesson did Joseph had to learn? These
were the reason he had to experience all that he had to endure. Leadership is
not given to those who just desire it; it is for those to who prepared
themselves for it, full maturity.
Gen 37:10
So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked
him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your
mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”
- After scolding Joseph and deriding his
dream, Jacob showed that the dream was foolish because it was impossible to
fulfill since the moon in the dream that exemplified Rachel, she had already
died.
It is amazing that
Jacob did not take the dream seriously, or maybe EL YAHVEH did not revealed the
purpose of the dream to Jacob. If EL YAHVEH did revealed it to Jacob the
outcome of the dream might have been different. When there are several members
of a family, where deep emotions are at work, someone would have tried to help EL
YAHVEH. If Jacob knew that Joseph would not die, his behavior would be
different. EL YAHVEH had to keep Jacob out of the loop so to speak, in order to
fulfill his purpose for Joseph.
Gen 37:11 And
his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.- This is exactly what EL YAHVEH wanted to happen. The
revelation of our heart, it always takes an unusual situation to reveal the
content of one heart. - When any believer produces envy, it symbolize that we
are led by the flesh. Galiathins 5:19 Now the
works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lewdness, 20 idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21envy, murders,
drunkenness, revelries, and the like; Notice
what Jacob did he kept the matter in mind. Meaning he was not troubled by it.
If is quiet possible that Jacob brought it up in prayer to EL YAHVEH. Since it
was apart of EL YAHVEH plan Jacob was encourage to send Joseph to see his
brother as the next verse imply. Did Jacob forget that the brothers envied
Joseph? So why would he sent the boy into harms way, if he was not encourage by
EL YAHVEH.
Gen 37:12 Then
his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. - There is a
spirit over Shechem that incur violence. It is not strange that the brothers
when to Shechem. As Lot was blinded by the spirit of Sodom ,
so that he could not see Sadom for Sodom
Gen 37:13
And Yisrael said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock
in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”
- We read in verse 11 that Jacob knew that the
brothers envied Joseph, we see here that Yisrael, this principle of Spiritual
maturity; is sending his favorite son into harms way. If it was not for the
Sovereign Will of EL YAHVEH this could or would never have happen. In
dispatching Joseph on this faithful mission which start the process for his
spiritual training for rulership, Jacob was now been called Yisrael, a
reflection of high spiritual nature.
Gen 37:14
Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your
brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him
out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem. - Yisrael now sends Joseph on a journey he knew that
Joseph would fulfilled. Looking after his fathers business is the goal of all
faithful sons, even if he is not mature. Jacob knew that Joseph would bring
back a report and more. Jacob sends Joseph with the intention of him returning.
The mention of Hebron is of importance to this analogy, in the sense that
Abraham was burred in Hebron; it would make perfect sense for Joseph trip would
began the fulfillment of EL YAHVEH’s
prophecy to Abraham “your offspring would be aliens in a land not their
own.”
It is obvious that
Yisrael should not have send Joseph to a people who disliked him intensely: if
Yisrael wanted to inquire after the well-being of his flock, he had more than
enough servants capable of carrying out the task. This is further proof that EL
YAHVEH hand was part of Yisrael decision process.
Gen 37:15
Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field.
And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?” - This certain person was
most definitely an angel appearing in the form of a man, whom EL YAHVEH had
sent to direct Joseph to his brother. It is logical that when a person cannot
find the way, the logical thing to do is to return home. Instead, Joseph displayed great loyalty to
his father wishes by searching for them persistently.
Our attitude in
carrying out our duties assigns to us, carries with it the ability to receive
further revelation. If Joseph had wile-Nelly, as if he did not care, that
unknown man would never have asked him; what are you seeking? This was another
mundane task Yisrael had assigned to Joseph, yet Joseph carried it out with
great diligence.
Gen 37:16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please
tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”
- Yisrael might have been sent Joseph to bring back info on the flock, but
Joseph was seeking his brother. Is this not why Yahushua came to earth, but to
seek His brothers?
Joseph is clearly
his father’s favorite, angers his brothers by flaunting is special decorated
coat, commonly known as the coat of many color, and by telling them his dream.
In order to
alleviate the tension between Joseph and his brothers their father sends his
sons to pasture the sheep. Content to complete his assignment, he diligently
seek his brothers, when a mysterious man came walking across the field and ask
Joseph what he is seeking. This unnamed man who send Joseph in the right direction,
began a series of events that is the Divine blueprint being played out in exact
sequence. The step by step incidents some of which happen for no apparent
reason and have little logical explanation at the time.
Gen 37:17 And the
man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan Dothan Dothan
Gen 37:18 Now
when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired
against him to kill him. - Galatians 5:21
list envy and murder side by side. First the brothers envy him, now they were
contemplating murder in the open. When we as believer hear about another person
who envies someone else, we can rest a sure that murder is not far behind.
Gen 37:19
Then they said to one another, “Look, the dreamer is coming! - According to Deut 3:5 And that
prophet, or that dreamer of dreams. a dreamer of dreams is a Prophet. Let
hear what Yahushua says in John 4:44 For
Yahushua Himself testified that a prophet
has no honor in his own country. At a very
young age the prophetic ability was with Joseph, this ability should always be
used to lead people in time of trouble or back to Torah.
Gen 37:20 “Come
therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say,
‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” - The brother concluded long before, that they had a
right and even an obligation, to kill Joseph. This was not just some spore of
the moment, isolated action. Over the months of even day before the topic might
have even come up in a joke or even idle chatter. Now it is being acted upon.
It is essential as believer to keep careful attention to those things that we
hear or see, for they have the power to bend our mind towards good or bad.
Gen 37:21 But
Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not
kill him.” - The salvation of Joseph came
from a very unlikely source Rueben. He had the most to lose by keeping Joseph
alive and the most to gain by his death. Rueben was the most injured by Joseph
as he assumes some of the role of the firstborn; nevertheless he opposed his
brother’s wishes to harm Joseph.
Gen 37:22
And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit
which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and
bring him back to his father. - The
Torah itself testifies that Reuben’s desire was to return and rescue Joseph. As
the oldest son, he knew Jacob would hold him responsible if anything happened
to Joseph.
Gen 37:23
So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they
stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. - As the giving of the Tunic was a sign of
leadership, the brothers taught that by stripping Joseph was a sign of removing
the anointing; but they were wrong. Who EL YAHVEH blesses is bless indeed.
Gen 37:24 Then
they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no
water in it. - It is always the will of
the immature to place restriction on those who have a dream of progressing in
the spiritual realm. They will use criticism or if you are in a church, they
would place you into a position where you cannot be heard. A pit is a
restricted area, if someone does not help you out the chance of getting out is
very slim. The fact that this verse mentioned that it was empty with no water;
symbolizes, total isolation with no chance of the substances of life be found close by.
Gen 37:25 And
they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there
was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing
spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. - They sat down to eat prove that they had a clear
conscience; otherwise they could not have seated themselves comfortable to eat
with the entreaties of their brother crying in the background. They sold their
brother, then they sat down to eat; so it was many century’s later in Shushan
when the king and Haman sat down to drink(Esther 3:15) after plotting the
extermination of the Hebrew people.
Gen 37:26 So Judah Judah
Gen 37:27 “Come
and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for
he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. - As long as a person is alive there is still a chance
for them to progress spiritually. Judah
Gen 37:28 Then
Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him
out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver.
And they took Joseph to Egypt Egypt
Since each brother
receive two dinarim which equal half-shekel, Hebrew give a half-shekel annually
for the temple’s upkeep. Hebrew people for all time are commanded to redeem
their firstborn in atonement for an ancient sin is an indication of how the
Torah views human nature. From the shortcomings of people as great as the
tribal ancestors, we draw the lesson that anyone is susceptible to be cruel and
base in defense of what he perceives to be an important personal interest, just
as the brother acted against Joseph in all sincerity and with the absolute
conviction that they were acting justly.
If Joseph brother
could err so grievously is proof that human character needs constant attention
and care. EL YAHVEH gave the commandments in order to refine human beings. Our
challenge is to perform them and let their lessons seep into our consciousness
and refine us in thought and deed.
Gen 37:29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and
indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. - After convincing his brothers to place
Joseph in the pit, Reuben left and was not present at Joseph’s sale. When he
came back to the pit and saw that Joseph had disappeared, he was distraught.
Rueben more than anyone else, should have felt guilty, since he had tried to
save Joseph, he blamed himself for not having pursued his plan aggressively
enough.
Gen 37:30 And he
returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”
- Joseph is missing and he as the
first born will be held responsible for his safety; he must flee because of the
grief this will cause his father. But where will I go! Crime of passion not
only destroys the intended victim, it also destroys other lives also. The
brothers certainly did not thought of this.
Gen 37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed
a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. - Was this the actions of all the ten brothers or was
Reuben and Judah
Gen 37:32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to
their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your
son’s tunic or not?” - When the
verse says that they send, it mean that it was a combine effort of all the brothers
included Rueben and Judah. For they brought it together to their father, and
said we have found this. We are not sure if it is Your son or not. They did not
say we are not sure if it was our brother or not.
Gen 37:33
And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has
devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” - Deceptive people will always want you to make a
decision after they have push you into a corner. Jacob was manipulated into
saying that it was a wild beast had torn Jacob to pieces. This is the principle
that those of us who practice manipulation, often practice. Weather it is
physical, emotional or even physiological manipulation all operate under the
same principle.
Gen 37:34 Then
Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son
many days. - Jacob rent his garment and
place sack on his loin, in an act of mourning. No child had ever died in the
house of the Patriarchal; the offspring of the righteous is blessed. If Joseph
was indeed dead, then the fulfillment of the promise was not kept. Jacob was
promise twelve sons; one was now dead, what was the reason of this? Was Jacob
still operating in EL YAHVEH Sovereign Will or were his sons lying to him? If
it was the latter then this was indeed a very serious situation, for the
brothers had something to do with Joseph demise.
Gen 37:35 And
all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be
comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in
mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. -
Can you ever imagine watching one’s father lamenting over and over for a son
when they knew where it was. This is the power of guilt.
Gen 37:36 Now the
Midianites had sold him in Egypt
Chapter
38
In the spiritual scope of
things, there is never a wasted moment. Weather we see it or not the hand of EL
YAHVEH is working in our lives for build or to destroyed. Every moment is the
best of times and the worst of times. It is good if we obey, it is not so good
if we do not.
For the brothers the only
story of any relevance was now Judah
Gen 38:1
It came to pass at that time that Judah Judah
Gen 38:2 And Judah Judah
Gen 38:3 So
she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4She
conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5And
she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at
Chezib when she bore him. - Judah and the
daughter of Shua had three sons in quick succession. Judah Judah Judah
Gen 38:6 Then
Judah Judah Judah
Gen 38:7 But Er, Judah
Gen 38:8
And Judah
Gen 38:9 But Onan knew that the heir would
not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he
emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. - Onan the complainer were willing to enjoy his
dead brother wife, but he would not lift
a finger to build up his brother house. The root of this sin can be found in
selfishness.
Gen 38:10 And the thing which he did
displeased YAHVEH; therefore He
killed him also. - Remember the fruit of the flesh Galatians 5:19
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20idolatry, sorcery, hatred,
contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions,
heresies, 21envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of
which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those
who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of YAHVEH. - All
believer need to memorize this list and remember if we continue to practice any
of them, spiritual death as well as physical death awaits us.
Gen 38:11 Then
Judah Judah Judah
Gen 38:12
Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died;
and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his
friend Hirah the Adullamite. - The sheep
shearing time of a prominent man was a festive occasion that was accompanied by
a public feast for the poor.
Gen 38:13 And
it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to
shear his sheep.”- Who told Tamar?
Gen 38:14 So she
took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself,
and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that
Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. - This verse seems to imply that there was a
particular item of clothing worn by a widow, also one for a harlot. The godly
person whom Tamar was she recognizes that Judah
Gen 38:15 When
Judah Judah
Gen 38:16
Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to
you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, “What
will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
- Tamar did not want money and would have refused it if had been offered, She
wanted something that she could use later to prove that her consort was Judah
Gen 38:17 And he said, “I will send a young goat from
the flock.” So she said, “Will you give me
a pledge till you send it?”
–
Gen 38:18
Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” So she said, “Your
signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to
her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. - This request was certainly an unusual request from a
Harlot. It also seems to imply that it was during the fertile part of her cycle
that was why she got pregnant. Did Judah Judah
Gen 38:19
So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the
garments of her widowhood. - We see here a deceit, similar to Jacob and Esau.
Does this imply that we can use deceit to gain what one want, even if it is for
a noble cause?
Gen 38:20 And Judah Judah
Gen 38:21
Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?” And they
said, “There was no harlot in this place.”
- Where is the Harlot? This indeed a Divine
providence at work, no other person beside Judah
Gen 38:22 So
he returned to Judah
Gen 38:23 Then
Judah Judah Judah
Gen 38:24
And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah Judah
Gen 38:25 When
she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom
these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these
are—the signet and cord, and staff.” -
Tamar did not publicly embarrass Judah
Gen 38:26 So Judah Judah
Gen 38:27
Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins
were in her womb.
Gen 38:28 And so
it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the
midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came
out first.”
Gen 38:29 Then it
happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and
she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his
name was called Perez. - As part of Divine
plan Zerah push his hand out first and the midwife tied a scarlet thread of
redemption on his hand. Then Perez was born first. The name Perez and Zerah
have great mystical significance. Zerah, literally means brightness or shining,
which alludes to the sun, which is a source of constant light. Perez on the
other hand, means breach, alluding to the moon, whose light s sometime whole
and sometime breached, as its light wanes and waxes. It would have been logical
for the brilliant, constant Zerah to be born first, but EL YAHVEH wanted Perez
to be firstborn, to symbolize the Davidic dynasty, which is likened to the
moon, because it became diminished and finally disappeared but, like the moon,
it will re-emerge and glow to fullness again.
Gen 38:30
Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand.
And his name was called Zerah. - One thing
we all need to remember, no matter where we live, we are all part of EL YAHVEH
Sovereign Will. Our obedience to His principle each and every day will
determine our purpose in life.
Chapter 39
In this chapter Torah
return to the narrative that had been interrupted by the Judah-Tamar Saga.
Joseph’s descent into Egypt
The phrase Joseph was
brought down to Egypt has
the deeper implication that Joseph will bring down his father and the tribal
ancestors to Egypt
His brothers had done
their work, convinced that Joseph’s dreams of Kingship could never be
fulfilled. But wherever he went, he ruled. As a slave of Potiphar, he was put
in charge of the household; as a disgrace prisoner, he was placed in charge of
the prison; as despised Hebrew, he was rushed to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams
which made him viceroy of all Egypt
You will notice that there
will be a constant flow of people that will play a prominent role in the
shaping of a leader. Each person will have a specific role to play, and when
that role is complete they depart the scene for the next. In life, people are
like sandpaper they come into our lives for a moment, however, too often we
allow them to stay too long. They come to prepare us for a specific role and
when that agenda is accomplishing a new set of people arrive. When we see new
people in our lives we must ask for the spirit of Wisdom and Understanding what
need to be accomplished.
Gen 39:1
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt
Gen 39:2 YAHVEH was with Joseph, and he was a
successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. - When we accept Yahushua we have the dubious
distinction of having the presence of the Holy Spirit with us at all time. No
matter where we go He is with us always. This same presence was with the star
in this narrative, and he was successful. Success is not always in personal
wealth, it is a spiritual thing. Whatever a person who is led by the Holy
Spirit does, he or she does it with a certain attitude, which was evidence in
Joseph.
Gen 39:3 And his master
saw that YAHVEH was with him and that YAHVEH made all he did to prosper in his
hand. - Here is proof of what I am saying.
His master Potiphar saw the quality of character and made Joseph lord of His
housed. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good work and
promote you.
Gen 39:4 So
Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of
his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. - Finding favor with the world should be a norm
for all believers. Why then in the churches we have people praying for job? Why
not let our character finds us suitable employment? Many time we have not spend
enough time building our Menorah, therefore we have nothing to shine before
men.
Gen 39:5
So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house
and all that he had, that YAHVEH blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s
sake; and the blessing of YAHVEH was on all that he had in the house and in the
field. - If we as believers would truly
build our Menorah the world would be bless by us been in it. We would be the
best farmers, the best salesperson, the best doctors, the best teachers.
Gen 39:6 Thus he left all
that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the
bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. - Except for the bread, this is a delicate
expression; the bread here refers to his wife. The sense is that Potiphar
unquestioningly entrusted to Joseph everything except for his own wife.
Gen 39:7
And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast
longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” -
Joseph was exceedingly handsome, which, in the plain sense, set the stage for
the lust of Potiphar’s wife.
Gen 39:8 But
he adamantly refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not
know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my
hand.
Gen 39:9“
There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything
from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great
wickedness, and sin against EL YAHVEH?” -
The verb adamantly is suggested by the staccato and emphatic Masoretic
cantillation of this word: the shalsheles, followed by a psik (disjunction),
both of which set off the word and enhance the absoluteness of its implication.
It indicates that Joseph’s refusal was constant, categorical, and definitive.
He repulses her with absolute firmness. Even as a boy his sense of right and
wrong sets him above his brothers. This was one of Joseph strength, is been
brought to perfection.
To her, however he
gave an explanation, trying to convince her to stop pestering him. It was
important to him that she not is angry, because he knew full well that she
could cause him great harm, so he try to make her understand in terms that she
could comprehend why he could not please her.
Gen 39:10 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph
day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. - She tried to entice him in every way possible:
with words; by threats of imprisonment, humiliation and physical harm. Yet,
Joseph stood to his determination.
Gen 39:11
But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do
his work, and none of the men of the house was inside. - In
every form of temptation, the evil one will always increase the temperament of
the temptation. This particular day, Joseph was to face his most formidable
test. In order for us to rule and reign in the Kingdom of Heaven
Gen 39:12
that she caught him by his garment, saying, and “Lie with me.” But he
left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. - Temptations are like trials, they are geared to
wear us down spiritually. As long as we are in the flesh we will be tested.
This day when everyone else was away, she took the opportunity to request
Joseph service and if he did not comply I would accuses him. Joseph was a wise
young man; however the situation was not in his favor this day. He was damd if
he did and damd if he did not. This was another of EL YAHVEH Sovereign Will, it
had to happen. Just as Yahushua (Jesus) had to accomplish certain things in His
life, Joseph had to also.
Gen 39:13 And so it was,
when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside. - There is no greater hate than a woman hate. The
person, who just a moment ago was willing to get personal, was now plotting his
downfall. This is the nature of women.
Gen 39:14
that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying,
“See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with
me, and I cried out with a loud voice. -
Who did she blame, but her husband. She played the race card to those who
abhorred the Hebrew and would not even eat with them 43:32. Ordinarily, therefore, the Hebrew would never
be brought into the house, she charge that for her husband to have made an
exception of this Hebrew slave took advantage of it and tried to exploit his
position and trifle with our sensibilities.
Gen 39:15 “And it
happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his
garment with me, and fled and went outside.” - Joseph’s mistress, having
tried in vain to make him a criminal, now endeavours to represent him as one;
so to be revenged on him for his virtue. Now was her love turned into the
utmost rage and malice, and she pretends she cannot endure the sight of him
whom awhile ago she could not endure out of her sight. Chaste and holy love
will continue, though slighted; but sinful love, like Amnon’s to Tamar, is
easily changed into sinful hatred. She accused him to his fellow servants and
gave him a bad name among them. Probably they envied him his interest in their
master’s favour, and his authority in the house; and perhaps found themselves
aggrieved sometimes by his fidelity, which prevented their purloining; and
therefore they were glad to hear any thing that might tend to his disgrace,
and, if there was room for it, incensed their mistress yet more against him.
Gen 39:16 So she kept
his garment with her until his master came home. – When she speaks of her
husband, she does not call him her husband, or her lord, but only he;
for she had forgotten the covenant of her God, that was between them. Therefore
the adulteress (Prov. 7:19) calls her husband the good man.
Gen
39:17 Then
she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you
brought to us came in to me to mock me;
- Innocence itself cannot secure a
man’s reputation. Not every one that keeps a good conscience can keep a good
name. She accused him to his master, who had power in his hand to punish him,
which his fellow servants had not. What an improbable story she tells,
producing his garment as an evidence that he had offered violence to her, which
was a plain indication that she had offered violence to him.
Gen 39:18“so it
happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me
and fled outside.” – Those that have
broken the bonds of modesty will never be held by the bonds of truth. No marvel
that she who had impudence enough to say, Lie with me, had front enough
to say, "He would have lien with me.’’ Had the lie been told to conceal
her own crime it would have been bad enough, yet, in some degree, excusable;
but it was told to be revenged upon his virtue, a most malicious lie. And yet
She manages it so as to incense her husband against him, reflecting upon him
for bringing this Hebrew servant among them, perhaps at first against her mind,
because he was a Hebrew.
It is no new thing
for the best of men to be falsely accused of the worst of women by those who
themselves are the worst of criminals. As this matter was represented, one
would have thought chaste Joseph a very bad man and his wanton mistress a
virtuous woman; it is well that there is a day of discovery coming, in which
all shall appear in their true characters. This was not the first time that
Joseph’s coat was made use of as a false witness concerning him; his father had
been deceived by it before, now his master.
Gen 39:19
So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to
him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused.
- To infuriate Potiphar emotion she describes
the sort of intimate conduct of which she accused Joseph. By the standard of Egypt
Gen 39:20 Then Joseph’s
master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners
were confined. And he was there in the prison. - Joseph master took him personally to the King’s prison, this was not
some ordinary place, yet it was a maximum security place. EL YAHVEH decreed
that Joseph to be imprisoned for ten years. Joseph accepted this new challenge
with the same calm and unwavering faith in EL YAHVEH, as he did at the hand of
his brothers.
Gen 39:21
But YAHVEH was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor
in the sight of the keeper of the prison. - Joseph
wronged by his master. He believed the accusation, and either Joseph durst not
make his defence by telling the truth, as it would reflect too much upon his
mistress, or his master would not hear it, or would not believe it, and there
is no remedy, he is condemned to perpetual imprisonment. God restrained his
wrath, else he had put him to death; and that wrath which imprisoned him YAHVEH
made to turn to his praise, in order to which Providence so disposed that he
should be shut up among the king’s prisoners, the state-prisoners. Potiphar, it
is likely, chose that prison because it was the worst; for there the iron
entered into the soul (Ps. 105:18), but YAHVEH designed to pave the way to his
enlargement. He was committed to the king’s prison, that he might thence be
preferred to the king’s person. Many an action of false imprisonment will, in
the great day, be found to lie against the enemies and persecutors of YAH’s
people. Our Messiyah Yahushua, like Joseph here, was bound, and numbered with the
transgressors.
Gen 39:22 And the keeper of the prison
committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever
they did there, it was his doing.
– Joseph
owned and corrected by his EL, who is, and will be, the just and powerful patron
of oppressed innocence. Joseph was at a distance from all his friends and
relations, had not them with him to comfort him, or to minister to him, or to
mediate for him; but YAHVEH was with Joseph, and showed him mercy.
YAHVEH CHESED
despises not this prisoner, Ps. 69:33. No gates nor bars can shut out HIS
gracious presence from HIS people; for HE has promised that HE will never leave
them. Those that have a good conscience in a prison have a good EL there.
Integrity and uprightness qualify us for the divine favour, wherever we are.
Joseph is not long a prisoner before he becomes a little ruler even in the
prison, which is to be attributed, under YAHVEH.
To the keeper’s
favour. YAHVEH gave Yoseph favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
YAHVEH CHESEDcan raise up friends for HIS people even where they little expect
to find them, and can make them to be pitied even of those that carry
them captive, Ps. 106:46. To Joseph’s fitness for business.
The keeper saw that YAHVEH
CHESED was with him, and that every thing prospered under his hand; and
therefore entrusted him with the management of the affairs of the prison.
Wisdom and virtue will shine in the narrowest spheres. A good man will do good
wherever he is, and will be a blessing even in bonds and banishment; for the
Spirit of the Lord is not bound nor banished, witness St. Paul
Gen 39:23 The keeper of the
prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because YAHVEH
was with him; and whatever he did, YAHVEH made it prosper. - Normally, prisoners are the dregs of socially, and
those accused of a crime like that attributed to Joseph are among the most
degraded. But Joseph was so admired by everyone, his prison warden and his
fellow prisoners alike. Realizing that Joseph was innocent, the warden put
Joseph in charge of the prison and never demanded an accounting of him, nor did
he guard him.
As believers today
does the world see us in the same fashion, or is our actions the same as the
world.
Chapter 40
Gen 40:1
It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of
the king of Egypt offended
their lord, the king of Egypt
As believer we must
understand that the Word of EL YAHVEH is like a two edged sword, it heals and
it destroy. The experience that was about to be place on Joseph was not for
Joseph alone it would also be for the Butler
When we meet anyone
as believer, the opportunity for us to influence their live is open to us, it
is also incumbent on them to open their minds to the Word being spoken. The out
come of every experience no matter how trivial depends on our ability to learn
from it.
Gen 40:2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two
officers, the chief butler and the chief baker - And Pharaoh grew angry is also an indicator that he too need the Holy
Spirit to help control his temper, or may be it was EL YAHVEH way of getting
these two men to cross Joseph path. I chose both questions. All of our
experience with one another is to reveal our attitude, our fruit of our spirit.
Gen 40:3
So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in
the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. - Pharaoh places both servants in prison, within the authority of EL
YAHVEH servant Joseph. Too often we pay too much attention to the circumstances
instead of looking at the reason, therefore me miss the blessing associated
with the circumstances.
Gen 40:4 And the
captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were
in custody for a while. - It was not a
coincident that the captain of the guard places both men under Joseph
influence. Joseph was their salvation as well as they were Joseph salvation.
Gen 40:5
Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt
Gen 40:6 And
Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they
were sad. - This was indeed a new day for
both men, a new day to follow the Word of EL YAHVEH or to continue down the
same road that led to death. These men both got a Divine revelation, like a lot
of us, there were no suitable Prophet available to reveal the spiritual meaning
of the dream to us.
Gen 40:7
So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his
lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?” – This is how our Heavenly Father works, He brings us into a confine
place, and where the only voice you will hear is His Voice. Return to Me you
who are sinner and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Too often we view
prison as a place for bad men, this may be true, but our Father is calling even
bad men to salvation. Prison is a place where one should look at themselves and
say what am I doing here? In my Father house are many mansion what am I doing
in Jail.
Gen 40:8 And they
said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So
Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to YAHVEH? - Tell them
to me, please.” No one can explain the prophetic portents of the dream. The mature
believer that Joseph had become behind bars, he accurately reply, do not all
interpretations belong to EL YAHVEH. Tell them to Him. What a wonderful
evangelical tool. Our Heavenly Father will always create an avenue for all
ministry of the Word to revile that He is Elohim.
Joseph did not say I
can do it, He said take it to EL YAHVEH. Our first goal with the unsaved is
always to enter duce other to Him. Joseph knew that just as EL YAHVEH sends the
dream, so He will grant man the Wisdom to interpret it; otherwise, the dream
would have been in vain. Therefore, relate it to me, perhaps EL YAHVEH will
give me the Wisdom to interpret. Man can interpret a dream only because he is
formed in Elohim’s image.
Consequently, even a despised slave in prison
may be Elohim’s agent to interpret dreams.
Gen 40:9
Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him,
“Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, -
Gen 40:10 “and in
the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot
forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. - The
chief butler’s dream was a happy presage of his enlargement, and
re-advancement, within three days; and so Joseph explained it to him.
Gen 40:11
“Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed
them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” - Probably
it had been usual with him to press the full-ripe grapes immediately into
Pharaoh’s cup, the simplicity of that age not being acquainted with the modern
arts of making the wine fine.
Gen 40:12
And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three
branches are three days.
Gen 40:13
“Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to
your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former
manner, when you were his butler. - The
idiom, “lift your head” means to count, to include. In the spiritual sense, it
is trying to display is that he will return to serve Pharaoh with the other
servants. Pharaoh trust in you will be fully restored. He will take the cup
directly from your hand, without demanding that you taste it first.
Gen 40:14 “But remember me when it is well
with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and
get me out of this house. - Your words
will carry weight with the king, since you will be an important official. You
return to prominence n accordance with my interpretation will be so astounding
that you will nee merely to mention me to Pharaoh to have me freed from prison.
This was Joseph adding his words, trying to have himself freed. After ten years
plus, I too would be looking for any way out.
Gen 40:15
“For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the
Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the
dungeon.” - When anyone has to complain
about how long they had to carry their burden, is a clear indicator that they
have a bit more maturing to do. Life is never about us or our trouble. It is
about us becoming overcommer. Out Father alone knows our character and what is
require for us to come to maturity. Every trial, ever situation is geared to
bring us to maturity.
Gen 40:16 When
the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I
also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head. - The
implication here was that the baker was not planning and telling his dream to
Joseph, but once he saw the favorable interpretation of his colleague’s dream
he too was hoping for a similar out come.
Out resolution dictates
our action, the attitude of the Baker showed his inner man. What he was focus
on was his position and not service to the king. Like many today want to be
called Pastor, yet they have not relationship with EL YAHVEH.
Gen 40:17 “In the uppermost basket were all
kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on
my head.” - The service of the king was
only for others to see that he was the Kings baker. The produce of his labor
did not benefit the king.
Gen 40:18
So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The
three baskets are three days. - This Baker
was given three day by Joseph to clean up his life. There is always a period of
grace given to us. If that Baker had taken Joseph recordation and seek repentance,
I believer he would not have been slaying.
Gen 40:19 “Within
three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and
the birds will eat your flesh from you.” -
The term lift up the head is used here in the literal sense meaning, he will be
beheaded.
Gen 40:20
Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday
that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the
chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. - There will be a time when every servant of the
Most High King will reward His servant with the appropriate reward, given
accordingly to our dedication to His service.
Gen 40:21 Then he
restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in
Pharaoh’s hand. - Every servant, included
myself have at some point in our lives failed, we require the service of the
prophet to help restore us to our former service. The object lesson here is not
if we sin, it is when we sin, and what do we do next?
Gen 40:22 But he
hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. - This verse implies that the fate of the
chamberlains was dictated by Joseph’s interpretation, in order to prove his
veracity and pave the way for his future elevation.
Gen 40:23 Yet
the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. - The Cupbearers did not remember Joseph on the
day he was free; and he forgot him subsequently; I believer that the Holy
Spirit assisted the butler in forgetting all about Joseph. Joseph had to learn
the bitter lesson over the next two years that EL YAHVEH ways are always the
best. He should never rely on the cupbearer to speak to the king on his behalf,
when he too has the King of Kings to make his request to.
Haftarah
Amos 2:6 –3:8
Amos 2:6 Thus says
YAHVEH: “For three transgressions
of Yisrael, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they
sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals.- In this
verse we see at length the words
which Amos saw concerning Yisrael.
The reproofs and threatenings having walked the round, here they centre, here
they settle. He begins with them as with the rest: For three transgressions of Yisrael, and for four, I will not turn away
the punishment thereof; it all these nations must be punished for their
iniquities, shall Yisrael go unpunished? Observe here what their sins were, for
which YAHVEH would reckon with them.
Perverting justice.
This was the sin of those who were entrusted with the administration of
justice, the judges and magistrates, and all parties concerned. They made
nothing of selling a righteous man, and his righteous cause when it came to be
tried before them, for a piece of silver; sentence was passed, not according to
the merits of the cause, but the bribe always turned the scale, and judgment
was set to sale by auction to the highest bidder.
They would sell the
life and livelihood of a poor
man for a pair of shoes, for
the least advantage to themselves that could be proposed to them; give them but
a pair of shoes, and the cause
of a poor man, who could not give them as much as that, should be betrayed, and
left at the mercy of those that will have no mercy.
They will rather
play at small game that sit out. For a
piece of bread such a man will transgress. Those who will wrong their
consciences for any thing will come at length to do it for next to nothing;
those who begin to sell justice for silver will in time be so sordid as to see
it for a pair of shoes, for a
pair of old shoes.
Oppressing the poor,
and seeking to benefit themselves by oppressing them: They pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor;
they swallow up the poor with the utmost greediness, and make a prey of those
that are in sorrow with dust on their heads, poor orphans that are in mourning
for their parents; they catch at them to get their estates into their hands;
they never rest till they have got the heads of the poor in the dust, to be
trodden on.
They pant after the dust of the earth, that is, silver and gold, white and yellow dust; they covet it
earnestly, and levy it upon the head
of the poor by their unjust exactions. Men’s seeking to enrich
themselves by the impoverishing of others is a transgression which YAHVEH will
not long turn away the punishment of.
This is turning aside the way of the
meek, contriving to do injury to those who, they know, are mild and
patient and will bear injury.
They invade their
rights, break their measures, and obstruct the course of justice in favour of
them, not suffering them to go on with their righteous cause; this is turning aside their way. The more
patiently men bear injuries that are done them the greater is the sin of those
that injure them, and the more occasion they have to expect that YAHVEH will
give them redress, and take vengeance for them. I, as a deaf man, heard not, and then thou wilt hear.
Amos 2:7 They
pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert
the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile
My holy name. - Abominable uncleanness,
even incest itself, such as it not named among the Gentiles, that a man should have his father’s wife
(1 Co. 5:1), his father’s concubine: A
man and his father will go in unto the same young woman, for laws of
modesty seldom hold those that have broken the bands of justice and cast away its cords from them. This
wickedness is such a scandal to religion, and the profession of it, that those
who are guilty of it are looked upon as designing thereby to profane YAH’s holy name, and to
render it odious among the heathen, as if he countenanced the villainies which
those who pretend relation to him allow themselves in, and were altogether such
a one as they.
Amos 2:8 They lie down by
every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the condemned in
the house of their Elohim. – Regaling themselves and yet
pretending to honor their Elohim with that which they had got by oppression and
extortion. They add idolatry to their injustice, and then think to atone for
their injustice with their idolatry.
(1.) They make merry
with that which they have unjustly squeezed from the poor. They lay themselves down at ease, and in
state, and stretch themselves upon clothes
laid to pledge, which they ought to have restored the same night,
according to the law, Deu. 24:12, 13. And they drink the wine of the condemned, of such as they have fined and
laid heavy mulcts upon, spending that in sensuality which they have got by
injustice.
(2.) They think to
make atonement for this by feasting on the gains of oppression before their altars, and drinking this wine in the house of their
Elohim, in the temples where they worshipped their calves, as if they
would make YAHVEH a partner in their
crimes by making HIM a partner
of the profits of them, service good enough for false gods; but the true
EL will not thus be mocked; HE has declared that HE hates robbery for burnt-offerings, and cannot be served
acceptably but with that which is got honestly.
Amos 2:9 “Yet it
was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height
of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit
above And his roots beneath. – Here, YAHVEH
puts HIS people Yisrael in mind of the great things he has done for them, in
putting them into possession of the land of Canaan, the greatest part of which
these ten tribes now enjoyed. We need often to be reminded of the mercies we
have received, which are the heaviest aggravations of the sins we have
committed.
YAHVEH gives
liberally, and upbraids us not with our meanness and unworthiness, and the
disproportion between his gifts and our merits; but he justly upbraids us with
our ingratitude, and ill requital of his favours, and tells us what he has done
for us, to shame us for not rendering again according to the benefit done to
us. "Son, remember;
Yisrael, remember,
1. That YAHVEH
brought thee out of a house of bondage, rescued thee out of the land of Egypt, where thou wouldst
otherwise have perished in slavery.’’
2. That he led thee forty years through a desert
land, and fed thee in a wilderness,
where thou wouldst otherwise have perished with hunger. Mercies to our
ancestors were mercies to us, for, if they had been cut off, we should not have
been.
Amos 2:10 Also it was I who
brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you forty years through the
wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite. – That he made room for
them in Canaan, by extirpating the natives by a series of wonders little
inferior to those by which they were redeemed out of Egypt: I destroyed the
Amorite before them, here put for all the devoted nations. Observe the
magnificence of the enemies that stood in their way, which is taken notice of,
that YAHVEH may be the more magnified in the subduing of them.
They were of great
stature (whose height was like the height of the cedars) and the people
of Israel were as shrubs to them; and they were also of great strength, not
only tall, but well-set: He was strong as the oaks. Their kingdom was
eminent among the nations, and over-topped all its neighbours. The supports and
defences of it seemed impregnable; it was as fine as the stately cedar; it was
as firm as the sturdy oak; yet, when YAHVEH had a vine to plant there (Ps.
80:8, 9), this Amorite was not only cut down, but plucked up: I destroyed his
fruit from above and his roots from beneath, so that the Amorites were no
more a nation, nor ever read of any more.
Terefore highly did YAHVEH
value Yisrael. He gave men for them and people for their life, Is. 43:4.
How ungrateful then were those who put such contempt upon him!
That he made them possess
the land of the Amorite, not only put it into their hands, so that they
became masters of it by right of conquest, but gave them a better title
to it, so that it became theirs by promise.
Amos 2:11 I raised
up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as Nazirites. Is
it not so, O you children of Israel
1. They had prophets
that were powerful instructors in piety, divinely inspired, and commissioned to
make known the mind of YAHVEH to them, to show them what is pleasing to YAHVEH
and what displeasing, to reprove them for their faults and warn them of their
dangers, to direct them in their difficulties and comfort them in their
troubles.
YAHVEH raised them
up prophets, animated them for that work and employed them in it. He raised
them up of their sons, from among themselves, as Moses and Messiyah were
raised up from among their brethren, Deu. 18:15. It was an honor put
upon their nation, and upon their families, that they had children of their own
to be YAH’s messengers to them, of their own language, not strangers sent from
another country, whom they might suspect to be prejudiced against them and
their land, but those who, they knew, wished well to them.
Faithful ministers
are great blessings to any people, and it is God that raises them up to be so,
that they may justly be reckoned an honor to the families they are of.
2. They had Nazarites that were bright
examples of piety: I raised up of your young men for Nazarites, men that
bound themselves by a vow to YAHVEH and HIS service, and, in pursuance of that,
denied themselves many of the lawful delights of sense, as drinking wine and
eating grapes.
There were some of
their young men that were in their prime for the enjoyment of the pleasures of
this life and yet voluntarily abridged themselves of them; these YAHVEH raised
up by the power of HIS grace, to be monuments of HIS grace, to HIS
glory, and to be HIS witnesses against the impieties of that degenerate age.
It is as great a
blessing to any place to have eminent good Believers in it as to have eminent
good ministers in it; for so they have examples to their rules. We must
acknowledge that it bodes well to any people when YAHVEH raises up numbers of
hopeful young people among them, when he makes their young men Nazarites,
devout, and conscientious, and mortified to the pleasures of sense; and those
that are such Nazarites are purer than snow, whiter than milk; they are
indeed the polite young men, for their polishing is of sapphires, Lam.
4:7.
Those that have such
men, such young men, among them, have such an advantage, both for direction and
encouragement, to be mature, as they will be called to an account for another
day if they do not improve. Yisrael is here reckoned with, not only for the
prophets, but for the Nazarites, raised up among them. Concerning the truth of
this, he appeals to themselves: "Is it not even thus, O you children of
Yisrael? Can you deny it? Have not you yourselves been sensible of the
advantage you had by the prophets and Nazarites raised up among you?’’
Sinners’ own
consciences will be witnesses for YAHVEH that HE has not been wanting to them
in the means of grace, so that, if they perish, it is because they have been
wanting to themselves in not improving those means. The men of Judah shall
themselves judge between YAHVEH and HIS vineyard, whether HE could have
done more for it, Isa. 5:3, 4.
Amos 2:12 “But you gave the Nazirites
wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’ - He charges them with the abuse of the means of grace
they enjoyed, and the opposition they gave to YAH’s designs in affording them
those means. They were so far from walking in the light that they rebelled
against it, and did what wasn right in their own eyes, they could to extinguish
it, that it might not shine in their faces, to their conviction.
1. They did what
they could to debauch good people, to draw them off from their seriousness in
devotion and their strictness in conversation: You gave the Nazarites wine
of deception to drink, contrary to their vow, that, having broken it in
that instance, they might not pretend to keep it in any other. Some they
surprised, or allured into it, and with their much fair speech caused them
to yield; others they forced and frightened into it, reproached and
threatened them if they were more precise than their neighbours; and, by drawing them in to drink
wine, they spoiled them for Nazarites. Satan
and his agents are very busy to corrupt the minds of young people that look
heavenward; and many that we thought would have been Nazarites they have
overcome by giving them wine of deception to drink, by drawing them in to the
love of mirth and pleasure, and drinking company. Multitudes of young men that
bade fair for eminent professors of religion have erred through wine,
and been undone for ever. And how do the factors for hell triumph in the
debauching of a Nazarite!
2. They did what
they could to silence good ministers, and to stop their mouths: "You
commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not, and threatened them if they
did prophesy (ch. 7:12), as if YAH’s messengers were bound to observe your
orders, and might not deliver their errand unless you gave them leave, and so
you not only received the grace of YAHVEH, in raising up those prophets,
in vain, but put the highest affront imaginable upon that YAHVEH in
whose name the prophets spoke.’’
Those have a great
deal to answer for that cannot bear faithful preaching, and those much more
that suppress it.
Amos 2:13 “Behold, I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of
sheaves is weighed down. – He complains of
the wrong they did him by their sins: "I am pressed under you, I am
straitened by you, and can no longer bear it, and therefore I will ease
myself of my adversaries, Isa. 1:24. I am pressed under you and the
load of your sins as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves, is
loaded with corn, in the midst of the joy of harvest, as long as any
will lie on.’’
The great YAHVEH
complains of sin, especially the sins of HIS professing people, as a burden to
HIM. HE is grieved with this generation (Ps. 95:10), is broken with
their whorish heart (Eze. 6:9), a consideration which, if it make not the
sinner’s repentance very deep, will make his ruin very great.
The great Elohim
that upholds the world, and never complains that HIS is pressed under the
weight of it (HE fainteth not, neither is weary), yet complains of the
sins of Yisrael, yea, and of their hypocritical services too, that he is weary
of bearing them, Isa. 1:14. No wonder the creature groans being burdened
(Rom. 8:22), when the Creator says, I am pressed under them.
HE threatens them
with unavoidable ruin. And so some read, "Behold I will press, or
straiten, your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses; they shall be
loaded with judgments till they shall sink under them, and shall make a noise,
as a cart overloaded does.’’
Those that will not
submit to the convictions of the word, that will neither be won by that nor by
the conversation of those about them, shall be made to sink under the weight of
YAH’s judgments. If YAHVEH load us daily with HIS benefits, and we,
notwithstanding that, load him with our sins, how can we expect any other than
that he should load us with his judgments? And it is here threatened in the
last three verses that, when YAHVEH comes forth to contend with this provoking
people, they shall not be able to stand before him, to flee from him, nor to
make their part good with him; for when YAHVEH judges he will overcome.
Though HIS patience
be tired out, HIS power is not, and so the sinner shall find, to his cost. When
the Assyrian army comes to lay the country waste by sword and captivity none
shall escape, but every one shall have his share in the common desolation.
Amos 2:14 Therefore
flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power,
Nor shall the mighty deliver himself; -
It will be in vain to think of
fleeing from the enemy that comes armed with a commission to make all desolate:
The flight shall perish from the swift; those that have been famed for
happy escapes and happy retreats shall now find their arts fail them; they
shall have no time to flee, or shall find no way to take, or they shall have no
strength or spirit to attempt it; they shall be at their wits’ end, and then
they are soon at their flight’s end.
Amos 2:15 He shall
not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he
who rides a horse deliver himself. - Are they, as Asahel, as swift of foot as a wild
roe? (2 Sa. 2:18), yet, like him, they shall run the faster upon their own
destruction: He that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself. Or do
they say (as those, Isa. 30:16), We will flee upon horses, and we
will ride upon the swift? Yet they shall be overtaken: Neither shall he
that rides the horse deliver himself from his pursuers. A horse is a
vain thing for safety.
It will be in vain
to think of fighting it out. YAHVEH TSEBAOTH is at war with them; and are
they stronger than he? Is there any military force that can pretend to be a
match for Omnipotence? No: The strong shall not strengthen his force. He
that has a habit of strength shall not be able to exert it when he has occasion
for it. And the mighty, whose should protect and deliver others, shall
not be able to deliver himself, to deliver his soul (so the word
is), shall not save his life. Let not the strong man then glory in
his strength, nor trust in it, but strengthen himself in YAHVEH his EL,
for in HIM is everlasting strength. And, as the bodily strength shall
fail, so shall the weapons of war. The armour as well as the arm shall become
insufficient: Neither shall he stand that handles the bow, though he
stand at a distance, but shall betake himself to flight, and not trust to his
own bow to save him.
Amos 2:16 The
most courageous men of might Shall flee naked in that day,” Says YAHVEH. - Though
the arm be ever so strong, and the armour ever so well fixed, neither will
avail when the spirit fails: He that is courageous among the mighty,
that used to look danger in the face, and not be dismayed at it, shall flee
away naked in that day, not only disarmed, having thrown away his weapons
both offensive and defensive, but plundered of his treasure, which he thought
to carry away with him, and he shall think it as much as he could expect that
he has his life for a prey. Therefore when YAHVEH pleases HE takes
away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causes those
who used to boast of their courage, and their daring enterprises in the field,
to wander and sneak in a wilderness where there is no way, Job
12:24.
Chapter 3
A stupid, senseless,
heedless believers, are, in this chapter, called upon to take notice,
I. Of the judgments of YAHVEH
denounced against them and the warnings he gave them of those judgments, and to
be hereby awakened out of their security verse 1-8.
II. Of the sins that were
found among them, by which YAHVEH was provoked to threaten, to punish, that
they might justify YAHVEH in HIS controversy with them, and, unless they
repented and reformed, might expect no other than that YAHVEH should proceed in
his controversy verse 9–15.
Amos 3:1 Hear
this word that YAHVEH has spoken against you, O children of Yisrael, against
the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying: - The scope of these verses is to convince the people
of Yisrael that YAHVEH had a controversy with them. That which the prophet has
to say to them is to let them know that YAHVEH has something to say against
them in this verse.
They were HIS
peculiar people above others, they knew HIS name, and were called by it; nevertheless
HE had something against them, and they were called to hear what it was,
that they might consider what answer they should make, as the prisoner at the
bar is told to hearken to his indictment. The children of Yisrael would
not regard the words of counsel and comfort that YAHVEH had many a time spoken
to them, and now they shall be made to hear the word of reproof and threatening
that YAHVEH has spoken against them; for he will act as he has spoken.
Let them know that
the gracious cognizance YAHVEH has taken of them, and the favours he has
bestowed upon them, should not exempt them from the punishment due to them for
their sins. Yisrael is a family that YAHVEH brought up out of the
land of Egypt, and it was no more than a family when it went down to
captivity; When YAHVEH delivered it; when HE fetched it to be a family to
himself. It is not only the ten tribes, the kingdom of Yisrael, that must take
notice of this, but that of Judah also, for it is spoken against the whole family
that YAHVEH brought up out of Egypt.
It is a family that
God has bestowed distinguishing favours upon, has owned in a peculiar manner. You
only have I known of all the families of the earth. YAH’s Assembly in the
world is a family dignified above all the families of the earth. Those that
know Messiyah Yahushua are known of YAHVEH.
In Judah is YAHVEH known, and therefore Judah is more than any people
known of YAHVEH. YAHVEH known them, that is, HE has chosen them,
covenanted with them, and conversed with them as HIS acquaintance. Now, one
would think, that HE would spare them who follow HIM and excuse them.’’ No: Therefore
I will punish you for all your iniquities.
Amos 3:2 “You
only have I known of all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.” - The distinguishing favours of YAHVEH shown to us in
this verse, is that if they do not serve HIM, or let HIS Word restrain us from
sin, and we shall not serve Him, which would exempt us from punishment.
The closer anyone is
to YAHVEH in profession, and the kinder YAHVEH will be to them, the more
surely, the more quickly, and the more severely will he reckon with them, if
they by a course of wilful sin profane their character, disgrace their relation
to him, violate their engagements, and put a slight upon the favours and honors
with which they have been distinguished.
Therefore they shall be punished, because their sins dishonor
HIM, it is an affront to HIM, and grieve EL YAHVEH, more than the sins of
others, and because it is necessary that YAHVEH should vindicate HIS own honor
by making it appear that HE hates sin and hates it most in those that are
nearest to HIM. If they be but as bad as others, they shall be punished worse
than others, because it is justly expected that they should be so much better
than others.
Judgment begins
at the house of YAHVEH, begins at
the sanctuary; for YAHVEH will be sanctified either by or upon those that come
nigh unto HIM, Lev. 10:3.
Amos 3:3 Can two
walk together, unless they are agreed?
- Let them know that they could not
expect any comfortable communion with YAHVEH unless they first made their peace
with HIM. Can two walk together except they be agreed? No; how should they?
Where there is not
friendship there can be no fellowship; if two persons be at variance, they must
first accommodate the matters in difference between them before there can be
any interchanging of good offices. Yisrael has affronted YAHVEH, had broken
their covenant with him, and ill-requited his favours to them; and yet they
expected that he should continue to walk with them, should take their part, act
for them, and give them assurances of his presence with them, though they took
no care by repentance and reformation to agree with their adversary and
to turn away his wrath.
"But how can
that be?’’ says YAHVEH. "While you continue to walk contrary to HIM
you can look for no other than that he should walk contrary to you,’’
Lev. 26:23, 24. We cannot expect that YAHVEH should be present with us, or act
for us, unless we be reconciled to him. YAHVEH and man cannot walk together
except they be agreed. Unless we agree with YAHVEH in our end, which is his
glory, we cannot walk with him by the way.
Amos 3:4 Will a
lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his
den, if he has caught nothing? – Let them
know that the warnings YAHVEH gave them of judgments approaching were not
causeless and groundless, merely to amuse them, but certain declarations of the
wrath of YAHVEH against them, which (if they did not speedily repent) they
would infallibly feel the effects of: "Will a lion roar in the forest
when he has no prey in view?
No: he roars upon
his prey. Nor will a young lion cry out of his den if the old lion have
taken nothing to bring home to him; nor would YAHVEH thus give you warning
both by the threatenings of his word, and by less judgments, if you had not by
your sins made yourselves a prey to his wrath, nor if he were not really about
to fall upon you with desolating destroying judgments.’’
The threatenings of
the word and providence of YAHVEH are not bugbears, to frighten children and
fools, but are certain inferences from the sin of man and certain presages of
the judgments of YAHVEH.
Amos 3:5 Will a
bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a
snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all? - Let them
know that, as their own wickedness is a snare the procuring cause of these
judgments, so they shall not be removed till they have done their work. When YAHVEH
has come forth to contend with a sinful people it is necessary that they should
understand,
1. That it is their
own sin that has entangled them; for can
a bird fall in a snare upon the earth where no gin is for him? No,
nature does not lay snares for the creatures, but the art of men; a bird is not
taken in a snare by chance, but with the fowler’s design; so the providence of
YAHHWEH prepares trouble for sinners, and it is in the work of their own hands that they are snared. Affliction does not spring out of the dust, but it is YAH’s justice, and our own wickedness, that correct us.
2. It is nothing but
their own repentance that can disentangle them; for shall one take up a snare from the earth, which he laid with
design, except he have taken something
as he designed? So neither will YAHVEH remove the affliction HE has sent till
it have done its work and accomplished that for which he sent it.
If our hearts be
duly humbled, and we are brought by our afflictions to confess and forsake our
sins, then the snare has taken something, then the point is gained, the end is
answered, and then, and not till then, the snare is broken, is taken up from the earth, and we are delivered in love and mercy.
Amos 3:6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will
not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not YAHVEH have
done it? - Let them know that all their
troubles came from the hand of YAHVEH’s providence and from the counsel of his
will: Shall there be evil in a city, in a family, in a nation, and YAHVEH
has not done it, appointed it, and performed what he appointed? The evil of
sin is from ourselves; it is our own Ego. But the evil of trouble, personal or
public, is from YAHVEH, and is HIS doing; whoever are the instruments, YAHVEH
is the principal agent. Out of HS Mmouth both evil and good proceed.
This consideration, that, whatever evil is in the city, YAHVEH has done it,
should engage us patiently to bear our share in public calamities and to study
to answer YAH’s intention in them.
Let them know that
they ought to tremble before YAHVEH EL-Elyon upon the fair warning HE had given
them, as they would, upon the sounding of a trumpet, to give notice of the
approach of the enemy, that all may stand upon their guard and stand to their
arms: Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people be not afraid,
or run together?
So some read it, will they not immediately come
together in a fright, to consider what is best to be done for the common
safety? Yet when YAHVEH by HIS prophets gives them notice of their danger, and
summons them to come and enlist themselves under his banner, it makes no
impression; they will sooner give credit to a watchman on their walls than to a
prophet sent of YAHVEH, will sooner obey the summons of the governor of their
city than the orders given them by the Governor of the world. YAHVEH says, Hearken
to the voice of the trumpet; but they will not hearken, nay, and
they tell him plainly that they will not, Jer. 6:17.
Amos 3:7 Surely YAHVEH does nothing, Unless He
reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. - Let them know that their
prophets, who give them warning of the approaching Judgement, deliver nothing
to them but what they have received from YAHVEH to be delivered to HIS
people.
YAHVEH makes it
known beforehand to the prophets: Surely YAHVEH ROEH will do nothing,
none of that evil in the city spoken of, but HE reveals it to HIS servants
the prophets, though to others it is a secret. Therefore those know not
what they do who make light of the warnings which the prophets give them, in
YAH’s name. YAH’s prophets are HIS servants, whom HE employs to go on
HIS errands to the children of men.
The secret of
YAHVEH is with them; it is in some sense with all the righteous (Prov.
3:32), with all that fear YAHVEH (Ps. 25:14), but in a peculiar manner
with the prophets, the mature believer, to whom the Spirit of prophecy is a
Spirit of Revelation.
It would have put honor enough upon prophets
if it had been only said that sometimes YAHVEH is pleased to reveal to his
prophets what he designs to do, but it speaks something very great to say that
he does nothing but what he reveals to them, as if they were the
men of HIS counsel. Shall I hide from Abraham, who is a prophet, the
thing which I do? Gen. 18:17.
YAHVEH will
therefore be sure to reckon with those that put contempt on the prophets, whom
he puts this honor upon.
Amos 3:8 A lion
has roared! Who will not fear? YAHVEH has spoken! Who can but prophesy? - The prophets cannot but make known to the people
which YAHVEH has made known to them: YAHVEH EL-YON has spoken; who can but
prophesy? HIS prophets, to whom he has spoken in secret by dreams and
visions, cannot but speak in public to the people what they have heard from YAHVEH.
They are so full of
those things themselves, so well assured concerning them, and so much affected
with them, that they cannot but speak of them; for out of the abundance of
the heart the mouth will speak. I believed; therefore have I spoken,
Acts 4:20. Nay, and besides the prophetic impulse which went along with the
inspiration, and made the word like a fire in their bones (Jer. 20:9),
they received a command from YAHVEH to deliver what they had been charged with;
and they would have been false to their trust if they had not done it. Necessity
was laid upon them, as upon the preachers of the gospel, 1 Co. 9:16.
Brit Chadasha
Acts 7:9-16.
Acts 7:9
“And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt
Acts 7:10 “and
delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the
presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all
his house. – YAHVEH owned Joseph in his troubles, and was with
him (Gen. 39:2, 21), by the influence of his Spirit, both on his mind, giving
him comfort, and on the minds of those he was concerned with, giving him favour
in their eyes. And thus at length YAHVEH delivered him out of his
afflictions, and Pharaoh made him the second man in the kingdom, Ps.
105:20–22. And therefore, he not only arrived at great preferment among the
Egyptians, but became the shepherd and stone of Yirael, Gen. 49:24.
Acts 7:11
“Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land
of Egypt and Canaan ,
and our fathers found no sustenance. - Jacob was compelled to go down into Egypt, by a
famine which forced him out of Canaan, a dearth (which was a great
affliction), to that degree that our fathers found no sustenance in
Canaan.
Acts 7:12 “But
when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt
Acts 7:13 “And
the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family
became known to the Pharaoh. - And the second time that they went, Joseph,
who at first made himself strange to them, made himself known to them, and it
was notified to Pharaoh that they were Joseph’s kindred and had a dependence
upon him, whereupon, with Pharaoh’s leave, Joseph sent for his father Jacob to him into Egypt, with all his kindred and family, to the
number of seventy-five souls,
to be subsisted there.
Acts 7:14 “Then
Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him,
seventy-five people. – In Genesis they are said to be seventy souls,
Gen. 46:27. But the Septuagint there makes them seventy-five, and Stephen or
Luke follows that version, as Lu. 3:36, where Cainan is inserted, which is not
in the Hebrew text, but in the Septuagint. Some, by excluding Joseph and his
sons, who were in Egypt before (which reduces the number to sixty-four), and
adding the sons of the eleven patriarch, make the number seventy-five.
Acts 7:15
“So Jacob went down to Egypt
Acts 7:16
“And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham
bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. - but
were carried over to be buried in Canaan. A very considerable difficulty occurs
here: it is said, They were carried over into Sychem, whereas Jacob was
buried not in Sychem, but near Hebron, in the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham
and Isaac were buried, Gen. 50:13. Joseph’s bones indeed were buried in Sychem
(Jos. 24:32), and it seems by this (though it is not mentioned in the story)
that the bones of all the other patriarchs were carried with his, each of them
giving the same commandment concerning them that he had done; and of them this
must be understood, not of Jacob himself. But then the sepulchre in Sychem was
bought by Jacob (Gen. 33:19), and by this it is described, Jos. 24:32. How then
is it here said to be bought by Abraham?
He supplies it thus:
Jacob went down into Egypt and died, he and our fathers; and (our
fathers) were carried over into Sychem; and he, that is, Jacob, was
laid in the sepulchre that Abraham brought for a sum of money, Gen.
23:16. (Or, they were laid there, that is, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.) And
they, namely, the other patriarchs, were buried in the sepulchre bought
of the sons of Emmor, the father of Sychem.
No comments:
Post a Comment