Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 1 · Chapter 26
XXVI. Verſ. 1. Beſides the firſt famine.]
NEw ſins bring new plagues. Flagitium & flagellum, ut acus & filum. Where iniquity breaks faſt, calamity will be ſure to dine, to ſup where it dines, and to lodge where it ſups. If the Cana…nites had amended by the former famine, this later had been prevented; for God afflicts not willingly, nor grieves the children of men, Lam. 3.35. Polybius wonders, why Man ſhould be held the wiſeſt of creatures, when to him he ſeemeth the fooliſheſt. For other things, ſaith he, where they have ſmarted once, will beware for the future. The Fox will not raſhly return to the ſnare; the Wolf to the pitfal, the dog to the cudgel, &c. Solus homo, ab avo ad aevum peccut ferè in iiſdem, & in iiſdem plectitur. OnelyOnly Man is neither weary of ſinning, nor wary of ſmarting for it.
And Iſaac went to Abimelech] As Abraham had done before to Pharaoh, Gen. 12.10. The trials of Gods ſervants, in ſeveral ages, are much alike: we ſuffer the ſame things that our betters have done afore us: which both Paul and Peter preſs as a lenitive to our miſeries, and a motive to patience, 1 Cor. 10.13. 1 Pet. 5.9. The ſame fable is acted over again in the world, as of old; the perſons onelyonly changed. That which hath been, is now; and that which is to be, hath already been: and there is no new thing under the ſun, Eccleſ. 13 5. and 1.9, 10.ſaith Solomon.
Verſ. 2. And the Lord appeared unto him] God knows our ſouls, and our ſouls him, beſt, in adverſity. See Zech. 13.9. This famine was to the Canaanites in the nature of a curſe, to Iſaac, of a cure. Hinc diſtinctio illa poen… in conferentem & nocentem, ſive in ſuffocantem & promoventem; item in poenam vindictae & poenam cautelae, ſive in condemnant em & corrigentem.
Verſ. 3. Sojourn in this land] Though it lay under the common laſh; that he might ſee Gods power in providing for him, amidſt greateſt ſtraights and difficulties. Alex. Ales. p. 3. q. 5. m. 1.Poena duplicem habet ordinationem: unam ad culpam quae praecedit, alteram, ad gloriam Dei quam praecedit.
Verſ. 5. Becauſe that Abraham] His obedience was univerſal to all the wills of God; and is here alleadged, not as the meritorious cauſe, but as an antecedent, of the bleſſing. Our good works do truely pleaſe God in Chriſt, and move him, after a ſort, Rolloc. de Vocatione, p. 25.to do us good; yet not as merits, but as certain effects of Chriſts merits alone, and ſuch as teſtifie of his merit.
Verſ. 7. She is my ſiſter] How apt are children to imitate their fathers infirmities! 1 Pet. 1.18. which yet is no excuſe, foreign.Ezek. 18, 14. but an aggravation, Dan. 5.22, 23. The Orator therefore was far wide, that ſaid, Me ex ea opinione, Tull. de natur. Deor.quam a Majoribus accepi, de cultu deorum immortalium, nullius unquam oratio aut docti aut indocti movebit. Iſaac's fault here, was greater then Abrahams, becauſe he was not warned by domeſtical examples. Seeſt thou another make ſhipwrack of a good conſcience? look well to thy tacklings. Sin is worſe, after warning.
For he feared to ſay, &c.] Fear and infidelity is found in the moſt faithful. Corruption, in the beſt, will have ſome flurts, ſome out-burſts. As therefore Luther intreats his Readers, if they finde in his writings any thing, that ſmelleth of the old cask of Popery, to remember he was once a poor Monk: So when we ſee the Saints humanum aliquid pati, to play ſome mad pranks; we muſt conſider, they were but lately cured of a ſpiritual phrenſie.
Becauſe ſhe was fair to look upon] Beauty therefore is not much to be deſired, or the want of it to be bewailed; Sabiua, cum aliquando ſe non ſatis bona forma in ſpeculo cerneret, mori priuſquam ſeneſcerct, optavis. Dio.becauſe it creates ſo many dangers to them that have it, and their deareſt husbands. The Britiſh virgins deformed themſelves, that the Danes might not deflower them.
Verſ. 8. Sporting with Rebeccah his wife] Or, laughing and rejoycing; according to that of Solomon, Prov. 5.18, 19.Rejoyce with the wife of thy youth: let her be as the loving hinde, and pleaſant roe, &c. The Hinde and Roe are the females of the Hart, and Roe-buck. Now of the Hart and Roe-buck it is noted (ſaith a grave Divine) that of all other beaſts, D. Gouge.they are moſt enamoured (as I may ſo ſpeak) with their mates, and even mad again with heat and deſire after them. Which being taken in a good ſenſe, doth ſet forth the lawful vehement affection that an Iſaac may bear to his Rebeccah; which may be ſuch, as that others may think he even doats on her. And ſo much is imported in that which follows: Let her breſts ſatisfie thee at all times, and earn thou always in her love. Not but that a man may be out in this lawful errour too, and exceed in love to his wife; as he in Seneca did, who, when ever he went abroad, wore his wives fillet on his boſom for a favour, would never willingly be without her company, nor drink, but when ſhe drank to him; with many the like fooleries, in quae improvida vis affectus erumpebat, ſaith he. The beginning of this love was honeſt; but the nimiety was not without deformity. Est modus in rebus.
Verſ. 9. Lest I die for her] See the Notes upon Gen. 20.11, 12, &c.
Verſ. 10. Brought guiltineſs upon us] Or, a ſhameful crime, ſubjecting us to condign puniſhment. This is more then many pſeudo-Chriſtians will yeeld; who hold adultery a light ſin, if any at all, a trick of youth: being of the ſame minde with that old dotard in Terence: Non est, mihi crede, flagitium, adoleſcentem belluari, potare, ſcortari, fores effringere.It is nothing for a young man to be found potting, piping, drinking, drabbing, ſwearing, whoring, &c. And this poiſonful poſition paſſed (it ſeems) for currant at Corinthus; whence the Apoſtle Paul ſo ſtrives to ſtock up by the roots that wretched opinion, by many arguments, 1 Cor. 6. And Chap. 10.8, in ſtead of the cloke of heat of youth, he puts upon fornication a bloody cloke, bathed in the blood of three and twenty thouſand.
Verſ. 11. He that toucheth this man, &c.] So ſweetly doth God, many times, turn even our ſins to our ſafety here, and to our ſalvation hereafter▪ What is not God able to do for his?
Verſ. 12. Then Iſaac ſowed in that land] In ground hired for his uſe, and managed by himſelf: for it was anciently a great commendation, Veteres ſiquem virum bonum colonum appellaſſent, ampliſsime lau…aſſe exſtimabant. Cic.ſaith Cicero, to be a good husbandman. M. Curius, after three triumphs, returned to the plow, and held it no diſgrace; neither ever was there more plenty at Rome than then, ſaith Pliny; Quaſi gauderet terra laureato vomere, & Aratore triumphali. This good husband in the text, ſowing in that barren land, and in a time of famine too, hath an hundred-fold increaſe; which is the utmoſt that our Saviour mentioneth, Matth. 13.23.in the parable of the ſower: And in reference hereunto, Matth. 19.29.he elſewhere aſſureth ſuch as part with all for his ſake and the Goſpels, they ſhall receive an hundred-fold here, and eternal life hereafter. foreign Her. lib. 1. Plin. l. 6. c. 26.That which Herodotus and Pliny report of Babylon, is beyond belief; That the land thereabouts returns two hundred-fold increaſe. But grant it were true, yet he that is a good husband for his ſoul, ſowes in a better ground, and ſhall have a better return: For, Gal. 6.8, 9.he that ſowes to the Spirit, ſhall, of the Spirit, reap life everlasting. OnelyOnly it is required, that he be not weary in well-doing: for in due ſeaſon we ſhall reap, if we faint not. We muſt not look to ſowe and reap all in a day, as he ſaith of the Hyperborean-people far north; Heresbach. de re ruſtica.that they ſowe ſhortly after the ſun-riſing, and reap before the ſun-ſet; becauſe the whole half yeer is one continual day with them. We muſt wait, with the husbandman, for the precious fruit of the earth, and have long patience for it, until we receive the former and later rain, James 5.7. And be diligent in the mean while, that when Chriſt comes, we may be found of him in peace, 2 Pet. 3.14. Heaven will pay for all our pains and patience. He which ſoweth ſparingly, ſhall reap ſparingly; and he that ſoweth bountifully, ſhall reap bountifully, even bleſſing upon bleſſing, foreign. 2 Cor. 9.6. Pſal. 126.6.as the word there ſignifies: be ſhall doubtleſs come again with joy, bringing his ſheaves with him.
Verſ. 13. And the man waxed great] Becauſe the Lord bleſſed him, verſ. 12. for it is his bleſſing that maketh rich. He ſowed, and feared God, and the Lord bleſſed him. Godlineſs hath the promiſes of both lives, 1 Tim. 4.8. Now the promiſes, are the unſearchable riches of Chriſt, Eph. 3.6, 9. who is the heir of all, Heb 1.2, and hath made godly men his co-heirs, Rom. 8.17, entailing upon them riches and honour, delight and pleaſure, Prov. 3.16, 17. & 8.18. Deut. 28. Pſal. 112.2, 3.life and length of days, the bleſſings of both hands. Godly men, in Scripture, are read to have been richer then any; as Abraham, Iſaac, David, &c. ſo they might be now, (likely) if they would be as godly. Bonus Deus Conſtantinum Magnum, Aug. de civ. Dei, l. 5. c. 25.tantis terrenis implevit muneribus, quanta opt are nullus auderet, ſaith Auguſtine. If God deny gain to godlineſs, it is, that it may be admired for it ſelf, as having an autarky, a ſelf-ſufficiency, foreign1 Tim. 6.6. he makes up in the true treaſure: and a grain of grace is worth all the gold of Ophi…; a remnant of faith, better then all gay clothing. Achans wedge of gold ſerved for no better purpoſe, then to cleave aſunder his ſoul from his body; and the Babyloniſh garment but for a ſhrowd. Prov. 31.12.But, contented godlineſs, like Solomons good wife, doth a man good, and not evil, all his days: for it brings his minde and his means together, and makes him reſt well aſſured of a ſufficiency, though he miſs of a ſuperfluity.
Verſ. 14. And the Philiſtims envied him] Envie is the conſtant companion of proſperity, as David felt, and complained. Succoth and Penuel contemn Gideon, out of envie of his victory; Joſephs brethren cannot abide him, becauſe more favoured of his father. Corah maligneth Moſes; Saul, David; the Phariſees, our Saviour; Dio in vita Caligulae.their malice wilfully croſſing their conſciences. Caligula ſacrificed to Neptune and Envie, ne ſibi, ut ipſe dicebat, invideretur. He thought other men ſick (belike) of his diſeaſe, (as the devil accuſed God of envie, to our firſt parents;) for certainly, there was not a more envious perſon living, Sueton. cap. 3 & 4. Lucano, quòd arte poetica clarus erat, vetitum ſuit, ne carmen ſaceret. Dio in Nerone. Seneca. Dio in vita Tiberii. Sueton. c. 53. Am. Marcell. lib. 30. cap. 29.then he; witneſs his throwing down the ſtatues of all famous men, and defacing their titles; forbidding any new to be ſet up, without his leave and liking. So, that Tyger Tiberius laid hold, with his ſpiteful teeth, on all the excellent ſpirits of his time: He put a Poet to death, for making an excellent Tragedy; and baniſhed a certain Architect, for building a curious Porch at Rome, which he could not chuſe but admire, and reward with money. Nero envied all men that were any whit gracious with the people. Valentinian hated all that were well apparelled, or well learned, or wealthy, or noble. Fortibus etiam detrahere ſolebat, ut ſolus videretur bonis artibus eminere, ſaith Ammianus. Germanicus had not any more deadly enemies, then his own ornaments: Tacitus.and his adverſaries (as here Iſaac's) had nothing to complain of him, more then his greatneſs. So true is that of Salust. Saluſt. in Catil.Difficillimum inter mortales eſt, gloriâ invidiam vincere. Hercules had not more ado with Hydra, then a good man ſhall have with this beaſt. Envied he ſhall be of his neighbour, for his labour, and right work. Eccleſ. 4.4. This is alſo vanity, and vexation of ſpirit.
Verſ. 15. The Philiſtims had ſtopped them] They deprived themſelves of the benefit of thoſe Wells, ſo that Iſaac might not water at them. Aug. in Pſal. 139.Envie doth nothing with reaſon. It is vitium diabolicum, ſaith Auguſtine. The devil, of pure ſpite, hinders men from heaven: he rageth and rangeth, roaring up and down, ſeeking whom to devour; and not caring to be double-damn'd himſelf, ſo that others may not be ſaved. We ſhould be ſo far from envying at the happineſs of others, that we ſhould rejoyce in it. This were to be as the Angels of God; and the contrary, is to be like the devils of hell: as Saul was; who, becauſe he could not ſee Davids heart, fed upon his own. Envie devours it ſelf, as the worm doth the nut out of which it grows.
Verſ. 16. Go from us; for thou art, &c.] Iſaaco ob benedictionem Dei Oſtraciſmus indicitur. It was well, they had nothing worſe againſt him. Of Iſaac it may be more truely ſaid, then of Mithridates, Virtute eximius, aliquando fortunâ, Paterculus.ſemper animo maximus. foreign, Dio, lib. 41.as Dio ſaith of Pompey.
Verſ. 17. And Iſaac departed thence] was compelled to do ſo; though, not long before, the king of the country had charged all his people, on pain of death, not to diſquiet him. Antipho.foreign. So neer neighbours are Proſperity and Adverſity. Friends are very changeable creatures, ſaith Plato. Friends, foreign. Plato. foreign. Truſſels contin. of Dan. Chronicle.there's no friend, ſaith Socrates; no faſt friend. Faithful friends (quoth the Duke of Buckingham to Biſhop Morton, in Richard the third's time) are in this age, all, for the moſt part, gone in pilgrimage; and their return is uncertain. Sejanus his friends ſhewed themſelves (as did likewiſe Hamans) moſt paſſionate againſt him; ſaying, that if Ceſar had clemency, he ought to reſerve it for men, not uſe it toward monſters. Carnal friends were never true to any that truſted to them: whereas, truſt in God, at length, will triumph, as we ſee in this Patriarch.
Verſ. 18. Iſaac digged again the wells, &c.] Both for more certainty to finde water, a ſcarce commodity in thoſe hot countries; and becauſe the labour was the eaſier, and his right the better, ſith they had once been his fathers.
Verſ. 19. A well of ſpringing water] Heb. living; ſo called, for their continual motion. Life conſiſteth in action: and the godly eſteem of life, by that ſtirring they finde in their ſouls. O Lord, ſaith Hezekiah, by theſe things men live, and in all theſe things is the life of my ſpirit. And thus, many a man lives more in a ſhorter, then others in a longer time. S. Jerome tells of One, Hieron. Epiſt. ad Fri.qui in brevi vitae ſpacio tempora virtu…im multa replevit. As Seneca of another, qui non diu vixit, ſed diù fuit: Non multum navigavit, ſed multum jactatus eſt. Oh live, live, live, (ſaith a Reverend man) quickly, much, long: elſe, you are but hiſted, and kickt off this ſtage of the world, as Phocas was by Heraclius. Nay, Abners fun. by M. Harris.many (as Job 27.23. and v. 15.) who were buried before half dead.
Verſ. 20. And the herd-men of Gerar▪ ] Not content to have caſt him out, they purſued him, with cruel hatred; and, by denying him water, went about to deſtroy both him and his herds. Croſſes ſeldom come ſingle, Eccleſ. 12.2.but in a croud. James 1.2. The clouds return after the rain, and cluſter againſt a new ſtorm. See therefore, that ye keep your cloke cloſe about you.
Verſ. 21. And he called the name of it Sitnah] Of Satan; to hate deadly, as the devil doth. So the Preacher in his travels, tells us of a place called The mouth of hell. And we read of a Country called Terra del fuego. Preach. trav. pag. 106. Heyl. Geog. 130.Savoy, for the ſtrait paſſages infeſted with thieves, was once called Malvoy; till a worthy adventurer cleared the coaſts, and then 'twas called Salvoy, or Savoy, quaſi ſalva via. Ibid. 474.So, King Alfred, as he divided the kingdom into ſhires, ſo the ſubjects, in the ſeveral ſhires, into Tens, or Tythings; every of which ſhould give bond for the good abearing of each other. The ancienteſt of the ten, was called the Tything-man. And the Kingdom was called Regnum Dei, Polyd. Virg.and Albion, quaſi Olbion, happie; as Angli quaſi Angeli; for that then, a poor girl might ſafely travel with a bag of gold in her hand, and none durſt meddle with her.
Verſ. 22. And he removed from thence, &c.] See here a pattern of a patient and peaceable diſpoſition; not broken by the continual injuries and affronts of the Philiſtims, that maligned and moleſted him. Pſal. 120.7.I am peace, ſaith David; and I, ſaith Iſaac, and I, ſaith every ſon of peace, every childe of wiſdom. How well might good Iſaac take up that of David, Pſal. 26.12. Pſal. 4.2.and ſay, My feet ſtand in an even place, (now that he was at Rehoboth eſpecially, and God had made room for him:) The ſcales of his minde neither roſe up toward the beam, Barthol. Weſtmer. in Pſal. 26.through their own lightneſs; nor were too much depreſſed with any load of ſorrow: but hanging equally and unmoved between both, gave him liberty, in all occurrences, to enjoy himſelf. Our mindes (ſaith a Divine) ſhould be like to the Adamant, Ambroſ. Hexam. 4.that no knife can cut; the Salamander, that no fire can burn; the Rock, which no waves can ſhake; the Cypreſs-tree, which no weather can alter; the hill Olympus, higher then ſtorm or tempeſt, winde or weather can reach unto; or rather, like mount Sion, Pſal. 1…5.1. Philip. 4.11. Act. & Mon.that cannot be removed, but ſtandeth fast for ever. Thus Paul had learned how to abound, and to be abaſed. Bradford, if the Queen would give him life, he would thank her; if baniſh him, he would thank her; if burn him, he will thank her; if condemn him to perpetual impriſonment, he will thank her; as he told one Creſwel, that offered to intercede for him. Praeclara eſt aequabilitas in omni vita, & idem ſemper vulius, eademque frons, Aelian. lib. 9. Solin. cap. 8.ut de Socrate, idemque de C. Laelio accepimus, ſaith Tully, in his books of Offices; which book the old Lord Burleigh, Peachams comp. Gent. pag. 45.Lord high Treaſurer to Queen Eliſabeth, would always carry about him, to his dying day, either in his boſom or pocket: And what uſe he made of it, take M. Camdens teſtimony: Camd. Eliſ. fol. 495.Burleigh Lord Treaſurer was wont to ſay, that he overcame envie more by patience then pertinacy. His private eſtate he managed with that integrity, that he never ſued any man, no man ever ſued him. He was in the number of thoſe few, that both lived and died with glory.
Verſ. 23. And he went up] to the place of Gods worſhip. Strabo writeth, that the Metapontines, Dedicaſſe in Delphis, foreign.when they were enriched by a good yeer of corn, dedicated to Apollo a golden harveſt.
Verſ. 24. Fear not] for the continued oppoſition of the Philiſtims, or what-ever other diſcouragement. The beſt mindes, when troubled for any long time, yeeld inconſiderate motions, and ſuffer ſome perturbation; as water that is violenly ſtirred, ſends up bubbles. They cannot be ſo much maſter over their paſſions, as not otherwhiles to be diſquieted: for, not the eveneſt weights, but at their firſt putting into the balance, ſomewhat ſway both parts thereof, not without ſome ſhew of inequality; which, after ſome little motion, ſettle themſelves in a meet poize. Potiſſimùm verò fidei murus, Bucholcer. Chronol. 320.tentationum ariete durius aliquantò pulſatus & concuſſus, facilè nutare ac ruinam minari incipit, niſi divinitus ſuſtentetur.
Verſ. 25. And called upon the Name of the Lord] that had made room for him; and now, by his preſence and promiſe, comforted him. Let the ſtreams of Gods bounty lead us, as the water-courſe doth, either to the ſpring upward, or downward to the main Ocean, to the ſource and fountain whence they flow. Let God taſte of the fruit of his own planting. Otherwiſe, it is no better then the refreſhing of him that ſtandeth by a good fire, and crieth, Ah, ah, I am warm. Iſai. 44.16.We are no better then bruit beaſts, if, contenting our ſelves with a natural uſe of the creatures, we riſe not up to the Author; if, in ſtead of being temples of his praiſe, we become graves of his benefits. Iſaac firſt built an altar, and then digg'd a Well.
Verſ. 26. And Abimelech went to him] Not of any great love, but as 1. prickt in conſcience; 2. to provide for poſterity. It was a mercy to him, howſoever, that ſtrangers and Heathens ſhould do him this honour: as it was to Luther, that when the Pope had excommunicated him, the Emperour proſcribed him, two Kings written againſt him, &c. the Elector of Saxony ſhould nevertheleſs ſtick to him; Manh. loc. com.and that the Great Turk ſhould ſend him word, not to be diſcouraged, for he would become his gracious Lord, &c. through From ſuch a Lord, ſaid Luther, good Lord deliver me.
Verſ. 27. Wherefore come ye to me] Here was his magnanimity, and his modeſty both, in expoſtulating the wrongs they had done unto him. He could not but be ſenſible of their diſcourteſies. though he diſſembled them. A ſheep feels the bite of a dog, as well as a ſwine, though ſhe make no ſuch noiſe. Iſaac having now a fit opportunity, Job 6.gives them the telling of it: and how forcible are right words! There is a real confutation of injuries: and we ſhould conſult, whether, in ſuch a caſe, it be beſt to deal with the wrong-doers, at all, by words. Gods way is by works: and he muſt get an Iſaac-like temperance and prudence, that thinks himſelf able to convince them by reaſon, and to ſet them down.
Verſ. 28. Let there be now an oath] See here, ſaith Chryſoſtom, how great the power of vertue is, Quanta virtutis potentia, quantum manſuetudinis robur, &c. Chryſoſt. Hom. quinta. Prov. 16.7.and the might of meekneſs: For they that lately drove him out from amongſt them, now come to him in courteſie, though a forlorn forraigner; and not onelyonly give him ſatisfaction, but ſeek his friendſhip. Thus, When a mans ways pleaſe the Lord, he maketh his enemies to be at peace with him.
Verſ. 29. Thou art now the bleſſed of the Lord] This they had obſerved, and therefore did him this honour. So the King of Babylon ſent Ambaſſadours, and a Preſent, to Hezekiah, becauſe he had heard of the miracle of the Suns going back for him. Now becauſe the Sun, which was their god, had honoured him ſo much, the King of Babylon would honour him too, Abulenſ. in 2 Reg. 20.as Abulenſis hath well obſerved.
Verſ. 30. And he made them a feast] Not to miſchief them thereat, as Abſalom did Amnon, as Alexander did Philotas, as the Great Turk doth the Baſhaws whom he intends to ſtrangle; Turk. hiſt.but to ſhew, there was no rancour, or purpoſe of revenge.
Verſ. 31. And they roſe up betime, &c.] The proverb is, De ſero convivium, de mane conſilium. It was the Perſians barbarous manner, in the midſt of their cups, to adviſe of their weightieſt affairs, as Pererius here noteth: Ardua negotia, praeſertim in quibus juramentum intervenit jejuno ſtomacho ſuſcipi peragique debent, ſaith Piſcator. Weighty buſineſſes are beſt diſpatched faſting.
Verſ. 32. We have found water] As croſſes, ſo mercies, ſeldom come ſingle, but by troops; as ſhe ſaid, when her ſon Gad was born, A company cometh.
Verſ. 33. Je Beerſhebah to this day] So it was before; Gen. 21.31.but the name was almoſt worn out, the Well being ſtopped up: Iſaac therefore new names it, and ſo preſerves it for a monument of Gods mercy to his father, and to himſelf.
Verſ. 34. And Eſau was fourty yeers old] In an apiſh imitation of his father, who married not till that age; keeping under his body, and bringing it into ſubjection, as Paul, being inured by good education, to hard labour, prayer, and pious meditation. 1 Cor. 9.But Eſau did not ſo, a pleaſure-monger; he was a profane perſon, and, as the Hebrews ſay, a filthy whore-maſter. So much alſo the Apoſtle ſeems to intimate, when he ſets them together, and ſaith, Let there be no fornicator, or profane perſon, as Eſau, Heb. 12.16. [He took to wife] Not conſulting his parents, or craving their conſent. This was abdicationis praeludium; Deus quem deſtruit, dementat.
Verſ. 35. Which were a grief] becauſe idolatreſſes, Rev. 2.2. and untractable, becauſe given up by God, Hoſ. 4.17. Rom. 1.28.