The Line of Redemption

Genesis

The Line of Redemption

October 2nd, 1974 @ 7:30 PM

Genesis 24-50

And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. And the man bowed down his head, and worshiped the LORD. And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren. And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things. And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. And he said, I am Abraham's servant. And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house: Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath. And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son. And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed down my head, and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshiped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi. Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham: And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations. And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people. And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren. And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac: And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright. And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. And he went up from thence to Beersheba. And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well. Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD. And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day. And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah. And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away; Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me? And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham. And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram; And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife. And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place. And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father. And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month. And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing. And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son. And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher. And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah. And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son. And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake. And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also? And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock: I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire. So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks. And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle. And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses. And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory. And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before. And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money. For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children's: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do. Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's. And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead. And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead. And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead. And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing. It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me. With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not. And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images. And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me? Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both. This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight. And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born? Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap. And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed. And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee. And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee; This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount. And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place. And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape. And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us. And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me. So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company. And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank. And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it. And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city. And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel. And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife. And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him. And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done. And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife. And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife. And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister: And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us: But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised; Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone. And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son. And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father. And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying, These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised. Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us. And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house. And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot? And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother. But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth. And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel. And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day. And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar. And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali: And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram. And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years. And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth. And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel; And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle. Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom. And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir: These are the names of Esau's sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau. And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife. And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife. And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz, Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah. And these are the sons of Reuel Esau's son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife. And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau's wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes. These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah. And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan. The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran. These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir. And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah. And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead. And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. And Saul died, and Baalhanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. And Baalhanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab. And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth, Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar, Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites. And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed
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THE LINE OF REDEMPTION,

Dr. W. A. Criswell

Genesis 24-50

10-02-74     7:30 p.m.

 

 

Now we are, as all of us are significantly and movingly aware, we are following the Line of Redemption, the scarlet thread through the Bible.  And last Wednesday night, we were following it through the seed that God has chosen to bring our Messiah and Savior into the world; the line of redemption from Adam, and Seth, and Enoch, and Noah, and Shem – Semetic, Shemitic, Semitic – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and so through the story of God’s elective purpose in His chosen people.

So we were, last Wednesday night, discussing Abraham sending Eliezer to search for a bride for Isaac; and we were avowing that that story in the twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis is one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible.  And it is a type, a very distinct type of the Holy Spirit seeking a bride for Christ.

Isaac is a type of Christ.  His birth was predicted long before he is born, and his birth was marvelously miraculous.  Abraham was a hundred years old, and Sarah his wife was ninety years old when Isaac was born.  He was supernaturally begotten.  And the beautiful picture in Genesis 24 of Eliezer seeking a bride for Isaac is a marvelous type of the Holy Spirit seeking a bride for our Savior.  And the bride of Christ is His church.  Now, in that line of redemption, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is chosen, not Esau.  Jacob received the birthright, that is, he had a double portion of the inheritance, and he was the head of the household and the family.  And he also received the blessing; that is, he is the one through whom Messiah should come.

The difference between the birthright and the blessing is, and you’re going to see it demonstrated in a moment when we talk about Joseph and Judah.  Joseph received one of them, and Judah received the other of them.  The birthright, as I said, was given to the eldest son, normally, and it meant he received a double portion of the inheritance, and he became the head of the patriarchal family.  That’s the birthright.

The blessing is that through him the Seed should be born that would be the salvation of the world.  Now Jacob received both of them.  One of them he bought from Esau, in Genesis 25:31.  And you remember Hebrews 12:16-17 refers to it, "Esau, found no place for repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears; he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage."

You could preach a sermon on a fine animal, and preach about Esau.  He sold his birthright to the younger brother Jacob.  But the blessing was stolen, and that is the story in Genesis 27.  It was the purpose of God before the two children were born – they were twins – it was the purpose of God that the younger should be the one who was chosen in this line of redemption.  And it is unusual to see how the purpose of God works out even though it works through deception and lying and thievery.

That means something to me in the kind of a world in which we live.  There is hardly anything in the world that seems to me that is put together right.  Do you remember the cry of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play; "The times are out of joint, oh cursed spike, that ever I was born to set it right."  That is so true of all life.  The thing isn’t put together right.  It doesn’t fit

There are so many things in disarray.  There are so many things disjointed.  Things don’t come out as we hope for, expected for, planned for, prayed for even.  But, what I am to remember is this; however the turn of fortune or life, however the evil, or the dark, or the deception, or the thievery, or anything, the purpose of God never fails, not ultimately, not finally.  In spite of the dark, in spite of human weakness, in spite of all of the things that just crush us sometimes into the dust of the ground, the purpose of God never fails.

Now you look how it works out in the life of Jacob.  God chose Jacob, not Esau.  It was the purpose of God that Jacob be the head of the family and the one who receives the blessing.

Now when you read the story [Genesis 27:1-45], Isaac planned for Esau to have it.  He was the firstborn, so he would naturally inherit the birthright.  And Esau brought venison to his father, and Isaac loved to eat deer meat.  And Esau, hairy Esau, as I say a splendid animal, Esau was loved by his father.  And his father planned to bestow the blessing upon Esau.  But God, before the children were born, said that it should be given to Jacob.  And though Isaac planned for Esau to have the blessing, Rebecca planned for Jacob to have it.

Now Jacob was a mother’s boy.  He stayed around the house.  He washed the dishes.  He dried them.  He swept the floor.  He ran errands for his mother.  When he came in he would kiss her and put his arms around her, and the mother delighted in Jacob.

Jacob was smooth and Esau was hairy.  Esau smelled of the outside, and Isaac loved the smell of Esau.  Isaac loved the feel of Esau.  Jacob was such a different kind of a boy.

So in the story of deception, Isaac was old and couldn’t see, and through the chicanery of Rebecca, the blessing was given to Jacob.  So Isaac was deceived, and Esau was robbed, and Rebecca lost her son forever.  She never saw him again.  Isn’t that a tragic thing?

Having so deftly and coyly and astutely framed the deception that would bring to her favorite Jacob the blessing that Isaac was going to bestow upon Esau, in that deception, Jacob had to flee for his life, and Rebecca his mother never saw her son again.  Jacob himself was in exile for twenty years; and Jacob, whose name means "supplanter, deceiver," Jacob was that, just out-maneuvering, out-deceiving, out-supplanting, out-guessing, out-maneuvering Laban his father-in-law until at Peniel, he wrestled with the Lord all night long [Genesis 32:24-32].

And I think at Peniel, Jacob became a new man.  Whether you want to call that conversion or regeneration, however the nomenclature you describe it, I think Jacob until that time was a shrewd bargainer.  But after the wrestling with the Angel at Peniel, he was a new man.  And God changed his name from Jacob, Supplanter, Deceiver, to Israel, Prince of God [Genesis 32:28].

And you remember, thereafter Jacob limped upon his thigh, his weakened thigh [Genesis 32:31].  When he wrestled with God, he was stubborn and hard.  And the Angel wrestled with him until the Angel touched his thigh, and thereafter Jacob walked with a great limp.  And when Esau met him, he did not meet a man strong and mighty, but he met a man who was broken and crippled.  And God used the brokenness of Jacob to make him the prince, to make him Israel.

I would suppose in that God is saying to us that we are more useful in His hands when we are weak than when we are strong.  We are more useful to God when we are broken than when we are mended.  We are more useful to God in our tears and in our sorrows and in our express need than we are in our adequacies and in our self-sufficiencies.

So here again we see how God works.  We think, "Oh dear, my life is ruined, oh dear!  I have failed.  O God in heaven, look I have missed the mark."  Maybe we are more useful in the hands of God broken, limping, crippled, failures, than we were when we thought we were sufficient and strong.  So, he becomes Israel at Peniel when he is crushed, and he limps like a cripple all the rest of his life.

Now out of the children of Jacob, of Israel, there are two that are tremendously vital in this line of redemption.  One is Joseph and one is Judah.  Joseph inherited the birthright; 1 Chronicles 5:2.  The birthright was inherited by Joseph.  Apparently, Jacob had a very disdainful and disappointed attitude toward Reuben.  Reuben was his firstborn.  And you remember in the tragic story of the life of the twelve patriarchs, Jacob learned that Reuben had committed incest with one of his wives.  And somehow Jacob could never overcome that terrible feeling toward Reuben, his firstborn.  So Reuben did not inherit the birthright.  Joseph inherited the birthright, and Judah inherited the blessing; Genesis :10.  So when we go through this line of redemption, we will more and more and more and more see the whole story begin to follow the course and life and history of Judah and the tribe of Judah.  Now I am going to say a brief word about both of those men; Joseph and Judah.

In the remarkable economy of the Holy Spirit, there is as much space given to Joseph as to Abraham.  Each one of them commands fourteen chapters in the Book of Genesis.  Joseph is the reason the family is in Egypt.  He is the reason for the change from the nomadic life of a Bedouin type like Abraham was, and like Isaac was, and like Joseph was.

They were nomads.  They lived in tents and from place to place.  But Joseph is the reason that the people changed from a nomadic type of life to a national life, a settled life.  And Joseph is the most perfect type of Christ in the Bible.  Let me tell you, I have a book in my library, and I just counted the pages, I mean pages of small print, in that book in which it is exhibiting, presenting how Joseph is a type of Christ.

And there are six pages of that in the volume.  And I counted; there are twenty-five separate entries to a page.  That means that that book lists about one hundred fifty different things in the life of Joseph that typify our blessed Lord Jesus.  That was an astonishing thing to me to read it.

For example, Joseph is the beloved son, as our Lord Jesus.  Joseph was hated by his brethren.  Even his brethren did not believe on him.  They conspired against him and sold him into the hands of the enemies [Genesis 37:26-28]. "He came into His own, and His own received Him not" [John 1:11].

He [Joseph] was sold.  He was auctioned off for silver.  He was taken down into Egypt and brought out of Egypt.  There were two others in Egypt who were bound with him.  One was saved and the other was destroyed [Genesis 40:20-23].  One cursed the Lord, and the other said, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom" [Luke 23:42].

His pure, just, and holy life is emblematic of the spotless, stainless purity of our Savior.  There is nothing in the life of Joseph, nothing, of stain or impurity.  And God meant it for good, what happened to Joseph [Genesis 50:20].  God meant it for good what happened to Jesus.  You can see the type of a thing that would be discussed by a learned and scholarly man.  Joseph is the most perfect type of Christ in the Bible.

Now just a word about Judah; Genesis :10 is one of the great verses of the Scriptures:  "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come."  However the nation as a nation may fall, and however the tribes may be dispersed, and whatever the course of history in each one of those patriarchal groups, there will be a Judah here, says Jacob by inspiration, "until Shiloh come."

And that is exactly what happened.  You know, the Jew today; isn’t that a strange way to say it?  I didn’t say, "You know the Israelite today."  You don’t use the word Israelite except only in the nomenclature of the Bible.  You call him a Jew.

You know the Jew today.  Why do you know the Jew today?  Because in the providence in history, all of the others were enmeshed in the grave of the nations of the world, but Judah continued and continued and continued, and the word "Jew" is just a shortening of a "Judah."  He’s a Judah.  He’s a Judah, He’s a Jew.  It’s just a shortening for a Judah.  In that great prophecy, "Judah will be here until Shiloh, until Messiah come"; and He came through Judah.

Now, we’re down in the land of Egypt, and the people have been molded into a national group.  "And there arose a pharaoh, who knew not Joseph" [Exodus 1:8].  And seeing the children of Israel propagate and their strength of physical frame and body, the new Pharaoh began to fear the might and power of these settlers in the land of Goshen, down there where the Nile River fans out in the great rich delta.

So the new Pharaoh began to oppress God’s people, just as the Lord revealed to Abraham in the fifteenth chapter of Genesis that for four hundred years, they would be in a fiery furnace [Genesis 15:13].  So in those days, God’s people began to cry to the Lord, and their groanings were heard in heaven [Exodus 2:23-24].

What do you think about that?  God saw their tears, and God heard their cries.  God must be sensitive to His people.  God must have a heart that can be moved by the necessities and the sufferings of His children. And down there in the oppression and persecution and fiery furnace of the slavery of Egypt, they cried and they groaned.  And God heard their cry, and God heard their groaning and He called Moses.

He called Moses out of a burning bush, which itself is a marvelous type of Israel; the bush that burned unconsumed.  Even though the chosen people are in a fiery furnace, they are not yet destroyed.  And out of that bush that burned unconsumed, God sent Moses to deliver His oppressed people [Exodus 3:2-10].

Now the ten plagues that we look upon as just tragic things that overcame the people of Egypt, those ten plagues were a tax upon the ten gods of Egypt.  It says so.  In Exodus 12, verse 12, it says "God is going to do these things against all the gods," plural, "of Egypt."

So the first plague was blood [Exodus 7:20-25]; that was upon the river god, they worshiped the Nile.  The second one was frogs [Exodus 8:1-15]; that was against the god Heqt who had a frog head.  The third was lice [Exodus 8:16-19]; that was on Geb the earth god.  He couldn’t, powerless to rid the earth of the lice.  The fourth was beetles [Exodus 8:20-31].  There’s nobody yet that ever visited Egypt that didn’t come away with a scarab, isn’t that right?

A little old beetle thing that they put in the sarcophagi when they bound up the dead; always those little scarabs, always; I came with a handful of them.  Every one of them, those liars said to me, was taken out of a sarcophagus two thousand five hundred years ago, every one of them, every one of them; sell them for a nickel a piece.

Oh! It reminded me they say John the Baptist, you know, was buried in Damascus.  A fellow came up and said, "Got the greatest bargain in the world.  I have in my possession the head of John the Baptist when he was twelve years of age."  Think about that a minute.

These beetles; that was God showing contempt for the sacred scarabs.  The murik; that was against Aphis, the sacred bull.  You would call that today, "anthrax" or the foot and mouth disease; murik.  Aphis was absolutely unable to protect them. 

The boils [Exodus 9:8-12]; that was against the god Typhon and the magicians of Egypt.  The hail and the fire [Exodus 9:13-35]; that was against the god Shu, who was god of the atmosphere.  The locusts [Exodus 10:1-20]; that was against the god Sirapia, the protector from locusts.  And darkness [Exodus 10:21-29]; that was against the god Ra, the sun god.

And the death of the firstborn [Exodus 11:4-10; 12:29-30] was a judgment upon all the gods and upon the godless people of Egypt.  All of those plagues had a sacred meaning.  God was showing His contempt for, and demonstrating the uselessness of these gods and goddesses of the people of Egypt.

But the Lord delivered Israel how?  Now we’re following the line of redemption, the scarlet thread through the Bible.  How does the Lord deliver Israel?  He delivers Israel by a slain lamb, the blood of a lamb.

I want you to turn if you will to the twelfth chapter of the Book of Exodus.  Turn to Exodus chapter 12, and I want you to look at it.  Number 3, verse number 3 in Exodus 12:  "Speak ye to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb."  You see that, "a, take a lamb."

All right the next verse, verse 4:  "And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of souls."  A lamb in verse 3, the lamb in verse 4, now look at verse 5:  "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year."  Verse 3, "a lamb"; verse 4, "the lamb"; verse 5, "your lamb"; now look at verse 6:  "Ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the month."

It is kept from the tenth day until the fourteenth day.  Why?  In order that the little thing might become identified with the family; it becomes one of them, "your lamb."  Now look at the next verse, verse 7:  "And they shall take of the blood of that lamb, and strike it in the form of a cross"; on the doorposts here, and on either side there, in the form of a cross.

On the doorposts here, and on either side there; the blood of your lamb is to be splashed against the doorposts here and the against the lentil here, and the doorposts on either side, in the form of a cross.  And it is to be publicly exhibited on the front of the house where everybody can see it.  There is to be public identification and profession in our Lord.

Now I do not invent these things.  Thousands of years before I was born, these things were written on the sacred page.  I think when a man gets through preaching he ought to ask for a public commitment to Christ.  Is that something that I have invented?  Is that something that I thought up?  No.  God said the profession and commitment of our lives to Him is to be public, open, unashamed.  "This is a house that is set aside for God; these are the Egyptians, but this home, where the blood is displayed in the form of a cross, this home belongs to God."

"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in thine heart that He is raised from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart one believeth unto this God kind of righteousness" [Romans 10:9-10].  Not ours; a God kind of righteousness, an imputed righteousness, a righteousness that we have in Christ.  Not in us, not in the church, not in the family but from Christ – "for with the heart one believeth unto a God kind of righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Matthew 10:32 and 33:  "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess before My Father which is in heaven.  But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I deny before My Father which is in heaven."  The confession, the profession, the commitment is to be open.  It is to be public.  The blood is to be sprinkled, is to be splashed with hyssop on the front of the house where the whole world can see it.

Well, an Israelite can say, "You know, I don’t mind exhibiting the blood if that’s what God wants.  I don’t mind exhibiting it privately in the closet somewhere.  I might not even particularly object to it being on the back porch."  But God says, "Not so, not so."  It is to be displayed openly, publicly on the front of the house where everybody passing by can see.  This is a family of God.

And I don’t think we can escape that in our lives.  If your home is really Christian, I don’t think you can hide it.  And if you are a child of God, I don’t think you can hide it.  "A light shining on a lampstand, a city built on the top of a great hill," you don’t hide it.  It just is there to be seen, and people look upon it.  That’s you, and that is exactly here in the Passover blood [Exodus 12:7, 13, 23]: openly, publicly displayed, just like God expects of us today.

Now when the people were taken out of Egypt, the giving of the law was, in that first year, at Mount Sinai.  Exodus 19 verse 3 to Numbers 10:10, in that period of time, from Exodus 19 verse 3 to Numbers chapter 10 verse 10, that is the first year of Israel’s life out of bondage.  Israel goes to, through, and from the Red Sea to Sinai.

And that year at Sinai is one of the great epochal years of human story and human history.  There has never been a more important year in human history than this year that Israel encamped at the base of Mount Sinai, and God gave to them the Mosaic legislation.

Now if you will, I want you to turn to [Exodus] chapter 19, verse 6; chapter 19, verse 6.  There is a purpose of God in redeeming Israel.  This line of redemption, this scarlet thread which is now reaching through Israel, there is a purpose of God in it.

Why did not God choose the Assyrians, or why did not God choose Babylonians, or why didn’t He choose the Egyptians, or why didn’t He choose Cushites or a thousand others?  Why didn’t He do it?  God chose Israel.  Why did God choose Israel?

Because He loved Israel, and He didn’t love the Egyptian, and He didn’t love the Mesopotamian, and He didn’t love the Canaanites?  God loves us all.  There was a purpose in the choice of Israel, and there was a purpose in giving the law, the legislation, the covenant to Israel.  Now I want you to look at it.

When you turn to the twentieth chapter of the Book of Exodus, you have the law.  There it is.  The twentieth chapter of the Book of Exodus, like the fifth chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy that has in it the Ten Commandments, now, the nineteenth chapter comes before the twentieth chapter, isn’t that correct?  There’s nothing unusual about that; nineteen comes before twenty, always nineteen comes before twenty.

So the nineteenth chapter of Exodus comes before the twentieth chapter of Exodus.  So in the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Exodus, you’ll know why it is that God has chosen Israel and why God is giving, getting ready to give, this marvelous commandment to the people of Israel.

All right, look at verse 6:  "And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."  That’s what God says to Israel.  Then He gives them the Ten Commandments.  What is the purpose of a priest?  "You shall be to Me," before He gives them the law, before He gives them the Ten Commandments, before He gives them all that legislation of worship and tabernacle and all the rest of it, before He does, God says in the nineteenth chapter, "Ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation."

What is the purpose of a priest?  A priest is somebody who represents a man to God and represents God to a man.  That is a priest.  A priest is a great mediator.  So the purpose of God in choosing Israel was that Israel was to be God’s preachers, and God’s messengers, and God’s evangelists, and God’s missionaries to the whole world.

They were to be God’s priests to the whole earth.  That’s why God chose them.  How did Israel fair in that choice?  Well, this is how Israel faired.  Israel gathered her garments about her and said, "You Gentile dogs."  Was that the purpose of God, that Israel would be exalted, and set apart, and chosen, and all the world around her was to be looked upon as Gentile dogs?  Was that the purpose of God?  No.  In the nineteenth chapter in the sixth verse God says to Israel:

 

Ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests.  I am going to give you My law for this purpose; that you teach it to the whole world.  I am going to reveal My Word, and My character, and My worship, and all of the things that pertain to Me.  I am going to reveal them to you for this end:  that you might teach Me to the whole world.

 

That was the purpose of it.

You know, when we think about ourselves, don’t you think that’s why God was good to us?  He saved us to save others.  He gave us the gospel that we might spread it abroad to the whole earth.  And when we don’t do that the day is coming when the lampstand will be removed out of our midst.  If we don’t shine for Jesus and if we don’t do the work of God in the earth, God will take away His blessings from us.  So the law is given to Israel for the purpose that Israel might teach it to the whole earth, to the nations of the world.

Now they begin with the construction of the tabernacle – and when I get through with this, we’re going to have to close – with the construction of the tabernacle, the central sanctuary around which the whole life of Israel was to exist and to move.  The tabernacle is the center and heart of the Jewish worship.  Isn’t it a strange thing?  The New Testament will mention hardly, barely at all, the temple.  But always it is the tabernacle.  It is called the tabernacle in Exodus 25:9.  It is called the "tent of meeting" in Exodus 29:44 because God met His people there.  It is called the "tabernacle of testimony" in Exodus 25:21 because the tables of the law were there.  The tabernacle speaks of Christ; all of it.

There’s not any materiality in the Old Testament that so presents our Lord as the tabernacle.  In John 1:14 it says, "And the Word was made flesh, and skenoo." Skenos is the Greek word for tent, tabernacle.  Skenoo is the Greek word meaning "to spread a tent," or "to dwell."  If a man spread his tent, he’s getting ready to stay, getting ready to dwell.  So John 1:14 says, "Jesus was the Word of God made flesh, and He tabernacled among us."  And as I say there’s not anything that speaks of Christ more beautifully, more gloriously than the tabernacle.  Everything in it is a presentation of our Lord.

In the building of the tabernacle, it had a great courtyard with a gate, with a gate.  And through that gate one entered into the worship of God, and that gate is the Lord.  When you go inside the gate, in the courtyard of the tabernacle, there was the brazen altar.

And on that altar was the sacrifices offered unto God.  That is Calvary.  Beyond the brazen altar was the laver, where the priests washed.  That is the washing of regeneration and our purification.  Then the door, the tabernacle, the sanctuary, the noos itself, inside the court; first was the door.  In John 10:9, Jesus says, "I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture."  The door is our Lord Jesus.  "If any one man seeks to enter by some other way, the same is a thief and a robber" [John 10:1], the Lord says, "I am the door into the sheepfold" [John 10:7].

When you went into the tabernacle itself, the sanctuary, the Holy Place, on the left side, on the south side, there was the lampstand.  And in John 9:5 Jesus says, "I am the light of the world."  On the right hand side, on the north side as you went into the tabernacle was the table of showbread; and He says in John 6:51, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven."  The bread of life that nourishes and feeds our souls is the Lord Jesus.

When you went into the sanctuary, through the door, there on the south side, on the left side as you went in was the lampstand.  Here was the table of showbread with the twelve loaves.  Right in the center and just before in front of the veil was the golden altar of incense.  And there was the type and the intercession of our Lord praying for us:  John 14:14, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do."

The golden altar of incense is the altar of prayer and intercession.  The veil that separated between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, the sanctum and the sanctum sanctorum, the veil is the flesh of our Lord; it speaks of His incarnation.  In Hebrews 10:20 the author of Hebrews expatiates on that:  "The veil is the flesh of our Lord, and through the torn veil, that is, through the sacrifice, the torn body of our Savior, we enter into the Holy of Holies before God" [Hebrews 10:19].

And the ark, the mercy seat, the hilasterion, the propitiatory over which the wings of the cherubim touched and their eyes looked full down, there was the seat of atonement and reconciliation and mercy.  And once a year and – we’re going to study this the next time we come, following this scarlet line through the Bible, looking at the feasts, and the sacrifices, and the seasons holy of Israel – once a year the high priest, with blood of atonement, went inside the veil and there brought blood upon the mercy seat, looked upon by the cherubim, emblems of the grace and mercy of God, making atonement for the sins of the people [Leviticus 16:14-15].

The whole theme, all of it, of the tabernacle is the picture of Christ; and of the themes, like Joseph is the most beautiful type of the Lord in the Old Testament in somebody living, the tabernacle is incomparably the most glorious type of our Lord of materialities to be found in the Old Testament.

Bear with me just one minute more.  I want to close with a history of the tabernacle.  It will take but a moment.  The tabernacle was the center of the wilderness wanderings.  Wherever the Israelites went in the wandering in the wilderness, there was the tabernacle in the center.

And the twelve tribes were camped around it, three on each side.  And in the land of promise, the tabernacle was pitched in Shiloh, in the tribe of Joseph, that is, Ephraim.  And it was pitched there in Joshua 18:1 by the congregation of the Lord.

And there it remained for four hundred fifty years.  Isn’t that a remarkable thing?  For four hundred fifty years the center of the worship of Israel was at Shiloh.  And Samuel begins with old Eli, the high priest of the tabernacle at Shiloh; and little Samuel, who was brought to him, and the little lad to whom God spake after years and years of silence from heaven [1 Samuel 3:1-15].

Now in the days of old Eli, the Israelites took the ark from the tabernacle when they went out to battle against the Philistines in 1 Samuel 4, and it never returned.  Forever it was taken away.  And about one hundred ten years later, when Solomon built the temple, the ark was placed in the sanctuary of the temple.  And the tabernacle apparently was placed somewhere in the temple and disappeared altogether, but in the New Testament, as I pointed out, it will hardly ever refer to the temple, hardly ever.  But the tabernacle will be referred to again and again and again.  And when you study the tabernacle, you are studying the beautiful life of our Lord.

So we will pick it up there next Wednesday night and follow this scarlet line of redemption through the Bible as God unfolds it before us.