The Gospel of the Pentateuch: A Set of Parish Sermons

And was this all that Abraham believed—that the sun and moon and stars were not gods, but that there was a God besides, who had made them all?  My friends, there have been thousands and tens of thousands since, I fear, who have believed as much as that, and yet who cannot call Abraham their spiritual father, who are not justified by faith with faithful Abraham.

For merely to believe that, is a dead faith, which will never be counted for righteousness, because it will never make man a righteous man doing righteous and good deeds as Abraham did.

Of Abraham it is written, that what he knew, he did.  That his faith wrought with his works.  And by his works his faith was made perfect.  That when he gained faith in God, he went and acted on his faith.  When God called him he went out, not knowing whither he went.

His faith is only shown by his works.  Because he believed in God he went and did things which he would not have done if he had not believed in God.  Of him it is written, that he obeyed the voice of the Lord, and kept his charge, his commandments, his statutes, and his laws.

In a word, he had not merely found out that there was one God, but that that one God was a good God, a God whom he must obey, and obey by being a good man.  Therefore his faith was counted to him for righteousness, because it was righteousness, and made him do righteous deeds.

He believed that God was helping him; therefore he had no need to oppress or overreach any man.  He believed that God’s eye was on him; therefore he dared not oppress or overreach any man.

His faith in God made him brave.  He went forth he knew not whither; but he had put his trust in God, and he did not fear.  He and his three hundred slaves, born in his house, were not afraid to set out against the four Arab kings who had just conquered the five kings of the vale of Jordan, and plundered the whole land.  Abraham and his little party of faithful slaves follow them for miles, and fall on them and defeat them utterly, setting the captives free, and bringing back all the plunder; and then, in return for all that he has done, Abraham will take nothing—not even, he says, ‘a thread or a shoe-latchet—lest men should say, We have made Abraham rich.’  And why?

Because his faith in God made him high-minded, generous, and courteous; as when he bids Lot go whither he will with his flocks and herds.  ‘Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and me.  If thou wilt take the left hand, I will go to the right.’  He is then, as again with the king of Sodom, and with the three strangers at the tent door, and with the children of Heth, when he is buying the cave of Machpelah for a burying-place for Sarah—always and everywhere the same courteous, self-restrained, high-bred, high-minded man.

It has been said that true religion will make a man a more thorough gentleman than all the courts in Europe.  And it is true: you may see simple labouring men as thorough gentlemen as any duke, simply because they have learned to fear God; and fearing him, to restrain themselves, and to think of other people more than of themselves, which is the very root and essence of all good breeding.  And such a man was Abraham of old—a plain man, dwelling in tents, helping to tend his own cattle, fetching in the calf from the field himself, and dressing it for his guests with his own hand; but still, as the children of Heth said of him, a mighty prince—not merely in wealth of flocks and herds, but a prince in manners and a prince in heart.

But faith in God did more for Abraham than this: it made him a truly pious man—it made him the friend of God.

There were others in Abraham’s days who had some knowledge of the one true God.  Lot his nephew, Abimelech, Aner, Eshcol, Mamre, and others, seem to have known whom Abraham meant when he spoke of the Almighty God.  But of Abraham alone it is said that he believed God; that he trusted in God, and rested on him; was built up on God; rested on God as a child in the mother’s arms—for this we are told, is the full meaning of the word in the Bible—and looked to God as his shield and his exceeding great reward.  He trusted in God utterly, and it was counted to him for righteousness.

And of Abraham alone it is said that he was the friend of God; that God spoke with him, and he with God.  He first of all men of whom we read, at least since the time of Adam, knew what communion with God meant; knew that God spoke to him as a friend, a benefactor, a preserver, who was teaching and training him with a father’s love and care; and felt that he in return could answer God, could open his heart to him, tell him not only of his wants, but of his doubts and fears.

Yes, we may almost say, on the strength of the Bible, that Abraham was the first human being, as far as we know, who prayed with his heart and soul; who knew what true prayer means—the prayer of the heart, by which man draws near to God, and finds that God is near to him.  This—this communion with God, is the especial glory of Abraham’s character.  This it is which has given him his name through all generations, The friend of God.  Or, as his descendants the Arabs call him to this day, simply, ‘The Friend.’

This it is which gained him the name of the Father of the Faithful; the father of all who believe, whether they be descended from him, or whether they be, like us, of a different nation.  This it is which has made a wise man say of Abraham, that if we will consider what he knew and did, and in what a dark age he lived, we shall see that Abraham may be (unless we except Moses) the greatest of mere human beings—that the human race may owe more to him than to any mortal man.

But why need we learn from Abraham? we who, being Christians, know and believe the true faith so much more clearly than Abraham could do.

Ah, my friends, it is easier to know than to believe, and easier to know than to do.  Easier to talk of Abraham’s faith than to have Abraham’s faith.  Easier to preach learned and orthodox sermons about how Abraham was justified by his faith, than to be justified ourselves by our own faith.

And say not in your hearts, ‘It was easy for Abraham to believe God.  I should have believed of course in his place.  If God spoke to me, of course I should obey him.’  My friends, there is no greater and no easier mistake.  God has spoken to many a man who has not believed him, neither obeyed him, and so he may to you.  God spoke to Abraham, and he believed him and obeyed him.  And why?  Because there was in Abraham’s heart something which there is not in all men’s hearts—something which answered to God’s call, and made him certain that the call was from God—even the Holy Spirit of God.

So God may call you, and you may obey him, if only the Spirit of God be in you; but not else.  May call you, did I say?  God does call you and me, does speak to us, does command us, far more clearly than he did Abraham.  We know the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke to the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and told us our duty, and the reward which doing our duty will surely bring, far more clearly than ever he did to Abraham.

But do we listen to him?  Do we say with Abraham, ‘O my people, I am clear of all these things which rise and set, which are born and die, which begin and end in time, and turn my face to him that made heaven and earth!’  If so, how is it that we see people everywhere worshipping not idols of wood and stone, but other things, all manner of things beside God, and saying, ‘These are my Elohim.  These are the high and mighty ones whom I must obey.  These are the strong things on which depend my fortune and my happiness.  I must obey them first, and let plain doing right and avoiding wrong come after as it can.’

One worships the laws of trade, and says, ‘I know this and that is hardly right; but it is in the way of business, and therefore I must do it.’

One worships public opinion, and follows after the multitude to do evil, doing what he knows is wrong, simply because others do it, and it is the way of the world.

One worships the interest of his party, whether in religion or in politics; and does for their sake mean and false, cruel and unjust things, which he would not do for his own private interest.

Too many, even in a free country, worship great people, and put their trust in princes, saying, ‘I am sorry to have to do this.  I know it is rather mean; but I must, or I shall lose such and such a great man’s interest and favour.’  Or, ‘I know I cannot afford this expense; but if I do not I shall not get into good society, and this person and that will not ask me to his house.’

All, meanwhile, except a few, rich or poor, worship money; and believe more or less, in spite of the Lord’s solemn warning to the contrary, that a man’s life does consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses.

These are the Elohim of this world, the high and mighty things to which men turn for help instead of to the living God, who was before all things, and will be after them; and behold they vanish away, and where then are those that have put their trust in them?

But blessed is he whose trust is in God the Almighty, and whose hope is in the Lord Jehovah, the eternal I Am.  Blessed is he who, like faithful Abraham, says to his family, ‘My people, I am clear of all these things.  I turn my face from them to him who hath made earth and heaven.  I go through this world like Abraham, not knowing whither I go; but like Abraham, I fear not, for I go whither God sends me.  I rest on God; he is my defence, and my exceeding great reward.  To have known him, loved him, obeyed him, is reward enough, even if I do not, as the world would say, succeed in life.  Therefore I long not for power and honour, riches and pleasure.  I am content to do my duty faithfully in that station of life to which God has called me, and to be forgiven for all my failings and shortcomings for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord, and that is enough for me; for I believe in my Father in heaven, and believe that he knows best for me and for my children.  He has not promised me, as he promised Abraham, to make of me a great nation; but he has promised that the righteous man shall never be deserted, or his children beg their bread.  He has promised to keep his covenant and mercy to a thousand generations with those who keep his commandments and do them; and that is enough for me.  In God have I put my trust, and I will not fear what man, or earth, or heaven, or any created thing can do unto me.’

Blessed is that man, whether he inherit honourably great estates from his ancestors, or whether he make honourably great wealth and station for himself; whether he spend his life quietly and honestly in the country farm or in the village shop, or whether he simply earn his bread from week to week by plough and spade.  Blessed is he, and blessed are his children after him.  For he is a son of Abraham; and of him God hath said, as of Abraham, ‘I know him that he will command his children and household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring on him the blessing which he has spoken.’

Yes; blessed is that man.  He has chosen his share of Abraham’s faith; and he and his children after him shall have their share of Abraham’s blessing.

SERMON VI.  JACOB AND ESAU

(Second Sunday in Lent.)

GENESIS xxv. 29-34.  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.

I have been telling you of late that the Bible is the revelation of God.  But how does the story of Jacob and Esau reveal God to us?  What further lesson concerning God do we learn therefrom?

I think that if we will take the story simply as it stands we shall see easily enough.  For it is all simple and natural enough.  Jacob and Esau, we shall see, were men of like passions with ourselves; men as we are, mixed up of good and evil, sometimes right and sometimes wrong: and God rewarded them when they did right, and punished them when they did wrong, just as he does with us now.

They were men, though, of very different characters: we may see men like them now every day round us.  Esau, we read, was a hunter—a man of the field; a bold, fierce, active man; generous, brave, and kind-hearted, as the end of his story shows: but with just the faults which such a man would have.  He was hasty, reckless, and fond of pleasure; passionate too, and violent.  Have we not seen just such men again and again, and liked them for what was good in them, and been sorry too that they were not more sober and reasonable, and true to themselves?

Jacob was the very opposite kind of man.  He was a plain man—what we call a still, solid, prudent, quiet man—and a dweller in tents: he lived peaceably, looking after his father’s flocks and herds; while Esau liked better the sport and danger of hunting wild beasts, and bringing home venison to his father.

Now Jacob, we see, was of course a more thoughtful man than Esau.  He kept more quiet, and so had more time to think: and he had plainly thought a great deal over God’s promise to his grandfather Abraham.  He believed that God had promised Abraham that he would make his seed as the sand of the sea for multitude, and give them that fair land of Canaan, and that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed; and that seemed to him, and rightly, a very grand and noble thing.  And he set his heart on getting that blessing for himself, and supplanting his elder brother Esau, and being the heir of the promises in his stead.  Well—that was mean and base and selfish perhaps: but there is somewhat of an excuse for Jacob’s conduct, in the fact that he and Esau were twins; that in one sense neither of them was older than the other.  And you must recollect, that it was not at all a regular custom in the East for the eldest son to be his father’s heir, as it is in England.  You find that few or none of the great kings of the Jews were eldest sons.  The custom was not kept up as it is here.  So Jacob may have said to himself, and not have been very wrong in saying it:

‘I have as good a right to the birthright as Esau.  My father loves him best because he brings him in venison; but I know the value of the honour which is before my family.  Surely the one of us who cares most about the birthright will be most fit to have it, and ought to have it; and Esau cares nothing for it, while I do.’

So Jacob, in his cunning, bargaining way, took advantage of his brother’s weak, hasty temper, and bought his birthright of him, as the text tells.

That story shows us what sort of a man Esau was: hasty, careless, fond of the good things of this life.  He had no reason to complain if he lost his birthright.  He did not care for it, and so he had thrown it away.  Perhaps he forgot what he had done; but his sin found him out, as our sins are sure to find each of us out.  The day came when he wanted his birthright and could not have it, and found no place for repentance—that is, no chance of undoing what he had done—though he sought it carefully with tears.  He had sown, and he must reap; he had made his bed, and he must lie on it.  And so must Jacob in his turn.

Now this, I think, is just what the story teaches us concerning God.  God chooses Abraham’s family to grow into a great nation, and to be a peculiar people.  The next question will be: If God favours that family, will he do unjust things to help them?—will he let them do unjust things to help themselves?  The Bible answers positively, No.  God will not be unjust or arbitrary in choosing one man and rejecting another.  If he chooses Jacob, it is because Jacob is fit for the work which God wants done.  If he rejects Esau, it is because Esau is not fit.

It is natural, I know, to pity poor Esau; but one has no right to do more.  One has no right to fancy for a moment that God was arbitrary or hard upon him.  Esau is not the sort of man to be the father of a great nation, or of anything else great.  Greedy, passionate, reckless people like him, without due feeling of religion or of the unseen world, are not the men to govern the world, or help it forward, or be of use to mankind, or train up their families in justice and wisdom and piety.  If there had been no people in the world but people like Esau, we should be savages at this day, without religion or civilization of any kind.  They are of the earth, earthy; dust they are, and unto dust they will return.  It is men like Jacob whom God chooses—men who have a feeling of religion and the unseen world; men who can look forward, and live by faith, and form plans for the future—and carry them out too, against disappointment and difficulty, till they succeed.

Look at one side of Jacob’s character—his perseverance.  He serves seven years for Rachel, because he loves her.  Then when he is cheated, and Leah given him instead, he serves seven years more for Rachel—‘and they seemed to him a short time, for the love he bore to her;’ and then he serves seven years more for the flocks and herds.  A slave, or little better than a slave, of his own free will, for one-and-twenty years, to get what he wanted.  Those are the men whom God uses, and whom God prospers.  Men with deep hearts and strong wills, who set their minds on something which they cannot see, and work steadfastly for it, till they get it; for God gives it to them in good time—when patience has had her perfect work upon their characters, and made them fit for success.

Esau, we find, got some blessing—the sort of blessing he was fit for.  He loved his father, and he was rewarded.  ‘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.’

He was a brave, generous-hearted man, in spite of his faults.  He was to live the free hunter’s life which he loved; and we find that he soon became the head of a wild powerful tribe, and his sons after him.  Dukes of Edom they were called for several generations; but they never rose to any solid and lasting power; they never became a great nation, as Jacob’s children did.  They were just what one would expect—wild, unruly, violent people.  They have long since perished utterly off the face of the earth.

And what did Jacob get, who so meanly bought the birthright, and cheated his father out of the blessing?  Trouble in the flesh; vanity and vexation of spirit.  He had to flee from his father’s house; never to see his mother again; to wander over the deserts to kinsmen who cheated him as he had cheated others; to serve Laban for twenty-one years; to crouch miserably in fear and trembling, as a petitioner for his life before Esau whom he had wronged, and to be made more ashamed than ever, by finding that generous Esau had forgiven and forgotten all.  Then to see his daughter brought to shame, his sons murderers, plotting against their own brother, his favourite son; to see his grey hairs going down with sorrow to the grave; to confess to Pharaoh, after one hundred and twenty years of life, that few and evil had been the days of his pilgrimage.

Then did his faith in God win no reward?  Not so.  That was his reward, to be chastened and punished, till his meanness was purged out of him.  He had taken God for his guide; and God did guide him accordingly; though along a very different path from what he expected.  God accepted his faith, delivered his soul, gave him rest and peace at last in his old age in Egypt, let him find his son Joseph again in power and honour: but all along God punished his own inventions—as he will punish yours and mine, my friends, all the while that he may be accepting our faith and delivering our souls, because we trust in him.  So God rewarded Jacob by giving him more light: by not leaving him to himself, and his own darkness and meanness, but opening his eyes to understand the wondrous things of God’s law, and showing him how God’s law is everlasting, righteous, not to be escaped by any man; how every action brings forth its appointed fruit; how those who sow the wind will reap the whirlwind.  Jacob’s first notion was like the notion of the heathen in all times, ‘My God has a special favour for me, therefore I may do what I like.  He will prosper me in doing wrong; he will help me to cheat my father.’  But God showed him that that was just not what he would do for him.  He would help and protect him; but only while he was doing RIGHT.  God would not alter his moral laws for him or any man.  God would be just and righteous; and Jacob must be so likewise, till he learnt to trust not merely in a God who happened to have a special favour to him, but in the righteous God who loves justice, and wishes to make men righteous even as he is righteous, and will make them righteous, if they trust in him.

That was the reward of Jacob’s faith—the best reward which any man can have.  He was taught to know God, whom truly to know is everlasting life.  And this, it seems to me, is the great revelation concerning God which we learn from the history of Jacob and Esau.  That God, how much soever favour he may show to certain persons, is still, essentially and always, a just God.

And now, my friends, if any of you are tempted to follow Jacob’s example, take warning betimes.  You will be tempted.  There are men among you—there are in every congregation—who are, like Jacob, sober, industrious, careful, prudent men, and fairly religious too; men who have the good sense to see that Solomon’s proverbs are true, and that the way to wealth and prosperity is to fear God, and keep his commandments.

May you prosper; may God’s blessing be upon your labour; may you succeed in life, and see your children well settled and thriving round you, and go down to the grave in peace.

But never forget, my good friends, that you will be tempted as Jacob was—to be dishonest.  I cannot tell why; but professedly religious men, in all countries, in all religions, are, and always have been, tempted in that way—to be mean and cunning and false at times.  It is so, and there is no denying it: when all other sins are shut out from them by their religious profession, and their care for their own character, and their fear of hell, the sin of lying, for some strange reason, is left open to them; and to it they are tempted to give way.  For God’s sake—for the sake of Christ, who was full of grace and truth—for your own sakes—struggle against that.  Unless you wish to say at last with poor old Jacob, ‘Few and evil have been the days of my pilgrimage;’ struggle against that.  If you fear God and believe that he is with you, God will prosper your plans and labour; but never make that an excuse for saying in your hearts, like Jacob, ‘God intends that I should have these good things; therefore I may take them for myself by unfair means.’  The birthright is yours.  It is you, the steady, prudent, God-fearing ones, who will prosper on the earth, and not poor wild, hot-headed Esau.  But do not make that an excuse for robbing and cheating Esau, because he is not as thoughtful as you are.  The Lord made him as well as you; and died for him as well as for you; and wills his salvation as well as yours; and if you cheat him the Lord will avenge him speedily.  If you give way to meanness, covetousness, falsehood, as Jacob did, you will rue it; the Lord will enter into judgment with you quickly, and all the more quickly because he loves you.  Because there is some right in you—because you are on the whole on the right road—the Lord will visit you with disappointment and affliction, and make your own sins your punishment.