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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
G E N E S I S
CHAP. XXV.
The sacred historian, in this chapter,
I. Takes his leave of Abraham,
with an account,
1. Of his children by another wife,
2. Of his last will and testament,
3. Of his age,
death, and burial,
II. He takes his leave of Ishmael,
with a short account,
1. Of his children,
2. Of his
age and death,
III. He enters upon the history of
Isaac.
1. His prosperity,
2. The conception and birth
of his two sons, with the oracle of God concerning them,
3. Their different characters,
4. Esau’s
selling his birthright to Jacob,
| Abraham’s Death. | B. C. 1822. |
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1 Then again Abraham took a wife,
and her name was Keturah.
2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan,
and Medan, and Midian, and
Ishbak, and Shuah.
3 And Jokshan
begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the
sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and
Letushim, and Leummim.
4 And the
sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher,
and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah.
All these were the children of
Keturah.
5 And Abraham gave all
that he had unto Isaac.
6 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.
7 And these are the
days of the years of Abraham’s life
which he lived, an hundred threescore
and fifteen years.
8 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.
9 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;
10 The field which Abraham purchased
of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham
buried, and Sarah his wife.
Abraham lived, after the marriage of Isaac,
thirty-five years, and all that is recorded concerning
him during the time lies here in a
very few verses. We hear no more of God’s
extraordinary appearances to him or trials of
him; for all the days, even of the best and
greatest saints, are not eminent days, some
slide on silently, and neither come nor go
with observation; such were these last days
of Abraham. We have here,
I. An account of his children by Keturah,
another wife whom he married after the death
of Sarah. He had buried Sarah and married
Isaac, the two dear companions of his life,
and was now solitary. He wanted a nurse,
his family wanted a governess, and it was not
good for him to be thus alone. He therefore
marries Keturah, probably the chief of his
maid-servants, born in his house or bought
with money. Marriage is not forbidden to
old age. By her he had six sons, in whom
the promise made to Abraham concerning
the great increase of his posterity was in part
fulfilled, which, it is likely, he had an eye to
this marriage. The strength he received
by the promise still remained in him, to show
how much the virtue of the promise exceeds
the power of nature.
II. The disposition which Abraham made
of his estate,
After the birth of these
sons, he set his house in order, with prudence
and justice.
1. He made Isaac his heir, as
he was bound to do, in justice to Sarah his
first and principal wife, and to Rebekah who
married Isaac upon the assurance of it,
In this all, which he settled upon
Isaac, are perhaps included the promise of
the land of Canaan, and the entail of the covenant.
Or, God having already made him
the heir of the promise, Abraham therefore
made him heir of his estate. Our affection
and gifts should attend God’s.
2. He gave
portions to the rest of his children, both to
Ishmael, though at first he was sent empty
away, and to his sons by Keturah. It was
justice to provide for them; parents that do
not imitate him in this are worse than infidels.
It was prudence to settle them in places distant
from Isaac, that they might not pretend
to divide the inheritance with him, nor be in
any way a care or expense to him. Observe,
He did this while he yet lived, lest it should
not be done, or not so well done, afterwards.
Note, In many cases it is wisdom for men to
make their own hands their executors, and
what they find to do to do it while they live,
as far as they can. These sons of the concubines
were sent into the country that lay east
from Canaan, and their posterity were called
the children of the east, famous for their
numbers,
Their great increase
was the fruit of the promise made to
Abraham, that God would multiply his seed.
God, in dispensing his blessings, does as
Abraham did; common blessings he gives to
the children of this world, as to the sons of
the bond-woman, but covenant-blessings he
reserves for the heirs of promise. All that
he has is theirs, for they are his Isaacs, from
whom the rest shall be for ever separated.
III. The age and death of Abraham,
He lived 175 years, just 100 years after he
came to Canaan; so long he was a sojourner
in a strange country. Though he lived long
and lived well, though he did good and could
ill be spared, yet he died at last. Observe
how his death is here described.
1. He gave
up the ghost. His life was not extorted from
him, but he cheerfully resigned it; into the
hands of the Father of spirits he committed
his spirit.
2. He died in a good old age, an
old man; so God had promised him. His
death was his discharge from the burdens of
his age: an old man would not so live always.
It was also the crown of the glory of his old
age.
3. He was full of years, or full of life
(as it might be supplied), including all the
conveniences and comforts of life. He did
not live till the world was weary of him, but
till he was weary of the world; he had had
enough of it, and desired no more. Vixi
quantum satis est–I have lived long enough.
A good man, though he should not die old,
dies full of days, satisfied with living here,
and longing to live in a better place.
4. He
was gathered to his people. His body was
gathered to the congregation of the dead, and
his soul to the congregation of the blessed.
Note, Death gathers us to our people. Those
that are our people while we live, whether
the people of God or the children of this world,
are the people to whom death will gather us.
IV. His burial,
Here is nothing
recorded of the pomp or ceremony of his funeral;
only we are told,
1. Who buried him:
His sons Isaac and Ishmael. It was the last
office of respect they had to pay to their good
father. Some distance there had formerly
been between Isaac and Ishmael; but it seems
either that Abraham had himself brought
them together while he lived, or at least that
his death reconciled them.
2. Where they
buried him: in his own burying-place, which
he had purchased, and in which he had buried
Sarah. Note, Those that in life have been
very dear to each other may not only innocently,
but laudably, desire to be buried together,
that in their deaths they may not be
divided, and in token of their hopes of rising
together.
| Genealogy of Ishmael. | B. C. 1822. |
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11 And it came to pass after the
death of Abraham, that God blessed
his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the
well Lahai-roi.
12 Now these are the
generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s
son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s
handmaid, bare unto Abraham:
13 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,
14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish,
and Kedemah:
16 These are the sons
of Ishmael, and these are their names,
by their towns, and by their castles;
twelve princes according to their nations.
17 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.
18 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.
Immediately after the account of Abraham’s
death, Moses begins the story of Isaac
(v. 11),
and tells us where he dwelt and how
remarkably God blessed him. Note, The
blessing of Abraham did not die with him,
but survived to all the children of the promise.
But he presently digresses from the
story of Isaac, to give a short account of Ishmael,
forasmuch as he also was a son of
Abraham, and God had made some promises
concerning him, which it was requisite we
should know the accomplishment of. Observe
here what is said,
1. Concerning his
children. He had twelve sons, twelve princes
they are called
(v. 16),
heads of families, which
in process of time became nations, distinct
tribes, numerous and very considerable. They
peopled a very large continent, that lay between
Egypt and Assyria, called Arabia. The
names of his twelve sons are recorded. Midian
and Kedar we often read of in scripture.
And some very good expositors have taken
notice of the signification of those three names
which are put together
(v. 14),
as containing
good advice to us all, Mishma, Dumah, and
Massa, that is, hear, keep silence, and bear;
we have them together in the same order,
Be swift to hear, slow to speak,
slow to wrath. The posterity of Ishmael had
not only tents in the fields, wherein they grew
rich in times of peace; but they had towns
and castles
(v. 16),
wherein they fortified
themselves in time of war. Now the number
and strength of this family were the fruit of
the promise made to Hagar concerning Ishmael
(ch. xvi. 10),
and to Abraham,
Note, Many that are strangers
to the covenants of promise are yet blessed
with outward prosperity for the sake of their
godly ancestors. Wealth and riches shall be
in their house.
2. Concerning himself. Here
is an account of his age: He lived 137 years
(v. 17)
which is recorded to show the efficacy
of Abraham’s prayer for him
(ch. xvii. 18),
O that Ishmael might live before thee! Here
is also an account of his death; he too was
gathered to his people; but it is not said that
he was full of days, though he lived to so
great an age: he was not so weary of the
world, nor so willing to leave it, as his good
father was. Those words, he fell in the presence
of all his brethren, whether they mean,
as we take them, he died, or, as others, his lot
fell, are designed to show the fulfilling of that
word to Hagar
(ch. xvi. 12),
He shall dwell
in the presence of all his brethren, that is, he
shall flourish and be eminent among them,
and shall hold his own to the last. Or he
died with his friends about him, which is
comfortable.
| Birth of Esau and Jacob. | B. C. 1837. |
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19 And these are the generations
of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham
begat Isaac:
20 And Isaac was forty
years old when he took Rebekah to
wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian
of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban
the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated
the LORD for his wife, because
she was barren: and the LORD
was intreated of him, and Rebekah his
wife conceived.
22 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.
23 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.
24 And when her days to
be delivered were fulfilled, behold,
there were twins in her womb.
25 And
the first came out red, all over like a
hairy garment; and they called his
name Esau.
26 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.
27 And the boys grew: and
Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of
the field; and Jacob was a plain man,
dwelling in tents.
28 And Isaac loved
Esau, because he did eat of his venison:
but Rebekah loved Jacob.
We have here an account of the birth of
Jacob and Esau, the twin sons of Isaac and
Rebekah: their entrance into the world was
(which is not usual) one of the most considerable
parts of their story; nor is much related
concerning Isaac but what had reference
to his father while he lived and to his sons
afterwards. For Isaac seems not to have
been a man of action, nor much tried, but to
have spent his days in quietness and silence.
Now concerning Jacob and Esau we are
here told,
I. That they were prayed for. Their parents,
after they had been long childless, obtained
them by prayer,
Isaac was
forty years old when he was married; though
he was an only son, and the person from
whom the promised seed was to come, yet he
made no haste to marry. He was sixty years
old when his sons were born
(v. 26),
so that,
after he was married, he had no child for
twenty years. Note, Though the accomplishment
of God’s promise is always sure, yet it
is often slow, and seems to be crossed and
contradicted by Providence, that the faith of
believers may be tried, their patience exercised,
and mercies long waited for may be
the more welcome when they come. While
this mercy was delayed, Isaac did not approach
to a handmaid’s bed, as Abraham had
done, and Jacob afterwards; for he loved
Rebekah,
But,
1. He prayed:
he entreated the Lord for his wife. Though
God had promised to multiply his family, he
prayed for its increase; for God’s promises
must not supersede, but encourage, our
prayers, and be improved as the ground of
our faith. Though he had prayed for this
mercy very often, and had continued his
supplication many years, and it was not
granted, yet he did not leave off praying for
it; for men ought always to pray, and not to
faint
to pray without ceasing,
and knock till the door be opened, He prayed
for his wife; some read it with his wife. Note,
Husbands and wives should pray together,
which is intimated in the apostle’s caution,
that their prayers be not hindered,
1 Pet. iii. 7.
The Jews have a tradition that Isaac, at length,
took his wife with him to mount Moriah,
where God had promised that he would multiply
Abraham’s seed
(ch. xxii. 17),
and there,
in his prayer with her and for her, pleaded
the promise made in that very place.
2. God
heard his prayer, and was entreated of him.
Note, Children are the gift of God. Those
that continue instant in prayer, as Isaac did,
shall find, at last, that they did not seek in
vain,
Isa. xlv. 19.
II. That they were prophesied of before
they were born, and great mysteries were
wrapped up in the prophecies which went
before of them,
Long had Isaac
prayed for a son; and now his wife is with
child of two, to recompense him for his
long waiting. Thus God often outdoes our
prayers, and gives more than we are able to
ask or think. Now Rebekah being with child
of these two sons, observe here,
1. How she was perplexed in her mind
concerning her present case: The children
struggled together within her. The commotion
she felt was altogether extraordinary and
made her very uneasy. Whether she was
apprehensive that the birth would be her
death, or whether she was weary of the intestine
tumult, or whether she suspected
it to be an ill omen, it seems she was ready
to wish that either she had not been with
child or that she might die immediately, and
not bring forth such a struggling brood: If
it be so, or, since it is so, Why am I thus?
Before, the want of children was her trouble,
now, the struggle of the children is no less
so. Note,
(1.) The comforts we are most
desirous of are sometimes found to bring
along with them more occasion of trouble
and uneasiness that we thought of; vanity
being written upon all things under the sun,
God thus teaches us to read it.
(2.) We are
too apt to be discontented with our comforts,
because of the uneasiness that attends
them. We know not when we are pleased;
we know neither how to want nor how to
abound. This struggle between Jacob and
Esau in the womb represents the struggle
that is maintained between the kingdom of
God and the kingdom of Satan,
[1.] In
the world. The seed of the woman and the
seed of the serpent have been contending
ever since the enmity was put between them
(ch. iii. 15),
and this has occasioned a constant
uneasiness among men. Christ himself came
to send fire on earth, and this division,
Luke xii. 49, 51.
But let not this be offence to
us. A holy war is better than the peace of
the devil’s palace.
[2.] In the hearts of believers.
No sooner is Christ formed in the
soul than immediately there begins a conflict
between the flesh and spirit,
The stream is not turned without a mighty
struggle, which yet ought not to discourage
us. It is better to have a conflict with sin
than tamely to submit to it.
2. What course she took for her relief:
She went to enquire of the Lord. Some think
Melchizedek was now consulted as an oracle,
or perhaps some Urim or Teraphim were now
used to enquire of God by, as afterwards in
the breast-plate of judgment. Note, The
word and prayer, by both which we now enquire
of the Lord, give great relief to those
that are upon any account perplexed. It is
a great relief to the mind to spread our case
before the Lord, and ask counsel at his
mouth. Go into the sanctuary,
Ps. lxxiii. 17.
3. The information given her, upon her
enquiry, which expounded the mystery: Two
nations are in thy womb,
v. 23.
She was now
pregnant, not only with two children, but two
nations, which should not only in their manners
and dispositions greatly differ from each other,
but in their interests clash and contend with
each other; and the issue of the contest
should be that the elder should serve the
younger, which was fulfilled in the subjection
of the Edomites, for many ages, to the house
of David, till they revolted,
Observe here,
(1.) God is a free agent in
dispensing his grace; it is his prerogative to
make a difference between those who have
not as yet themselves done either good or
evil. This the apostle infers hence,
(2.) In the struggle between grace and
corruption in the soul, grace, the younger,
shall certainly get the upper hand at last.
III. That when they were born there was
a great difference between them, which served
to confirm what had been foretold
(v. 23),
was presage of the accomplishment of it,
and served greatly to illustrate the type.
1. There was a great difference in their
bodies,
Esau, when he was born, was
rough and hairy, as if he had been already a
grown man, whence he had his name Esau,
made, reared already. This was an indication
of a very strong constitution, and gave
cause to expect that he would be a very robust,
daring, active man. But Jacob was
smooth and tender as other children. Note,
(1.) The difference of men’s capacities, and
consequently of their condition in the world,
arises very much from the difference of their
natural constitution; some are plainly designed
by nature for activity and honour,
others as manifestly marked for obscurity.
This instance of the divine sovereignty in the
kingdom of providence may perhaps help to
reconcile us to the doctrine of the divine
sovereignty in the kingdom of grace.
(2.) It is God’s usual way to choose the weak
things of the world, and to pass by the mighty,
2. There was a manifest contest in their
births. Esau, the stronger, came forth first;
but Jacob’s hand took hold of his heel,
v. 26.
This signified,
(1.) Jacob’s pursuit of the
birthright and blessing; from the first,
he reached forth to catch hold of it, and,
if possible, to prevent his brother.
(2.) His prevailing for it at last, that, in process
of time, he should undermine his brother,
and gain his point. This passage is referred
to
(Hos. xii. 8),
and hence he had his name,
Jacob, a supplanter.
3. They were very unlike in the temper of
their minds, and the way of living they
chose,
They soon appeared to be of
very different dispositions.
(1.) Esau was a
man for this world. He was a man addicted
to his sports, for he was a hunter; and a
man who knew how to live by his wits, for
he was a cunning hunter. Recreation was
his business; he studied the art of it, and
spent all his time in it. He never loved a book,
nor cared for being within doors; but he was
a man of the field, like Nimrod and Ishmael,
all for the game, and never well but when he
was upon the stretch in pursuit of it: in
short, he set up for a gentleman and a soldier.
(2.) Jacob was a man for the other
world. He was not cut out for a statesman,
nor did he affect to look great, but he was a
plain man, dwelling in tents, an honest man
that always meant well, and dealt fairly, that
preferred the true delights of solitude and
retirement to all the pretended pleasure of
busy noisy sports: he dwelt in tents,
[1.] As a shepherd. He was attached to that
safe and silent employment of keeping sheep,
to which also he bred up his children,
Or,
[2.] As a student. He frequented
the tents of Melchizedek, or Heber,
as some understand it, to be taught by them
divine things. And this was that son of
Isaac on whom the covenant was entailed.
4. Their interest in the affections of their
parents was likewise different. They had
but these two children, and, it seems, one
was the father’s darling and the other the
mother’s,
(1.) Isaac, though he was
not a stirring man himself (for when he went
into the fields he went to meditate and pray,
not to hunt), yet loved to have his son active.
Esau knew how to please him, and showed
a great respect for him, by treating him often
with venison, which gained him the affections
of the good old man, and won upon him
more than one would have thought.
(2.) Rebekah was mindful of the oracle of God,
which had given the preference to Jacob, and
therefore she preferred him in her love.
And, if it be lawful for parents to make a
difference between their children upon any
account, doubtless Rebekah was in the right,
that loved him whom God loved.
| Esau Sells His Birthright. | B. C. 1805. |
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29 And Jacob sod pottage: and
Esau came from the field, and he was
faint:
30 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.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy
birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold,
I am at the point to die: and
what profit shall this birthright do to
me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to
me this day; and he sware unto him:
and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34 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.
We have here a bargain made between
Jacob and Esau about the birthright, which
was Esau’s by providence but Jacob’s by
promise. It was a spiritual privilege, including
the excellency of dignity and the
excellency of power, as well as the double
portion,
It seemed to be such a
birthright as had then the blessing annexed
to it, and the entail of the promise. Now see,
I. Jacob’s pious desire of the birthright,
which yet he sought to obtain by indirect
courses, not agreeable to his character as a
plain man. It was not out of pride or ambition
that he coveted the birthright, but with
an eye to spiritual blessings, which he had
got well acquainted with in his tents, while
Esau had lost the scent of them in the field.
For this he is to be commended, that he
coveted earnestly the best gifts; yet in this
he cannot be justified, that he took advantage
of his brother’s necessity to make him a
very hard bargain
(v. 31):
Sell me this day
thy birthright. Probably there had formerly
been some communication between them
about this matter, and then it was not so
great a surprise upon Esau as here it seems
to be; and, it may be, Esau had sometimes
spoken slightly of the birthright and its
appurtenances, which encouraged Jacob to
make this proposal to him. And, if so,
Jacob is, in some measure, excusable in what
he did to gain his point. Note, Plain men
that have their conversation in simplicity and
godly sincerity, and without worldly wisdom,
are often found wisest of all for their souls
and eternity. Those are wise indeed that are
wise for another world. Jacob’s wisdom appeared
in two things:–
1. He chose the fittest
time, took the opportunity when it offered
itself, and did not let it slip.
2. Having
made the bargain, he made it sure, and got
it confirmed by Esau’s oath: Swear to me
this day,
v. 33.
He took Esau when he was
in the mind, and would not leave him a
power of revocation. In a case of this nature,
it is good to be sure.
II. Esau’s profane contempt of the birthright,
and the foolish sale he made of it. He is
called profane Esau for it
(Heb. xii. 16),
because
for one morsel of meat he sold his birthright,
as dear a morsel as ever was eaten since the
forbidden fruit; and he lived to regret it
when it was too late. Never was there such
a foolish bargain as this which Esau now
made; and yet he valued himself upon his
policy, and had the reputation of a cunning
man, and perhaps had often bantered his
brother Jacob as a weak and simple man.
Note, There are those that are penny-wise
and pound-foolish, cunning hunters that can
out-wit others and draw them into their
snares, and yet are themselves imposed upon
by Satan’s wiles and led captive by him at
his will. Again, God often chooses the
foolish things of the world, by them to confound
the wise. Plain Jacob makes a fool
of cunning Esau. Observe the instances of
Esau’s folly.
1. His appetite was very strong,
Poor Jacob had got some bread and pottage
(v. 29)
for his dinner, and was sitting down
to it contentedly enough, without venison,
when Esau came from hunting, hungry and
weary, and perhaps had caught nothing.
And now Jacob’s pottage pleased his eye
better than ever his game had done. Give
me (says he) some of that red, that red, as it
is in the original; it suited his own colour
(v. 25),
and, in reproach to him for this, he
was ever afterwards called Edom, red. Nay,
it should seem, he was so faint that he could
not feed himself, nor had he a servant at
hand to help him, but entreats his brother
to feed him. Note,
(1.) Those that addict
themselves to sport weary themselves for very
vanity,
Hab. ii. 13.
They might do the most
needful business, and gain the greatest advantages,
with half the pains they take, and
half the perils they run into, in pursuit of
their foolish pleasures.
(2.) Those that work
with quietness are more constantly and comfortably
provided for than those that hunt
with noise: bread is not always to the wise,
but those that trust in the Lord and do good,
verily they shall be fed, fed with daily bread;
not as Esau, sometimes feasting and sometimes
fainting.
(3.) The gratifying of the
sensual appetite is that which ruins thousands
of precious souls: surely, if Esau was
hungry and faint, he might have got a meal’s
meat cheaper than at the expense of his birthright;
but he was unaccountably fond of the
colour of this pottage, and could not deny
himself the satisfaction of a mess of it, whatever
it cost him. Never better can come of
it, when men’s hearts walk after their eyes
(Job xxxi. 7),
and when they serve their
own bellies: therefore look not thou upon
the wine, or, as Esau, upon the pottage,
when it is red, when it gives that colour in
the cup, in the dish, which is most inviting,
If we use ourselves to deny
ourselves, we break the forces of most temptations.
2. His reasoning was very weak
(v. 32):
Behold, I am at the point to die; and, if he
were, would nothing serve to keep him alive
but this pottage? If the famine were now
in the land
(ch. xxvi. 1),
as Dr. Lightfoot
conjectures, we cannot suppose Isaac so poor,
or Rebekah so bad a house-keeper, but that
he might have been supplied with food convenient,
other ways, and might have saved
his birthright: but his appetite has the mastery
of him; he is in a longing condition,
nothing will please him but this red this red
pottage, and, to palliate his desire, he pretends
he is at the point to die. If it had
been so, was it not better for him to die in
honour than to live in disgrace, to die under
a blessing than to live under a curse?
The birthright was typical of spiritual privileges,
those of the church of the first-born. Esau
was now tried how he would value them, and
he shows himself sensible only of present
grievances; may he but get relief against
them, he cares not for his birthright. Better
principled was Naboth, who would lose
his life rather than sell his vineyard, because
his part in the earthly Canaan signified his
part in the heavenly,
(1.) If
we look on Esau’s birthright as only a temporal
advantage, what he said had something
of truth in it, namely, that our worldly enjoyments,
even those we are most fond of,
will stand us in no stead in a dying hour
they will not put by the
stroke of death, nor ease the pangs nor
remove the sting: yet Esau, who set up for
a gentleman, should have had a greater and
more noble spirit than to sell even such an
honour so cheaply.
(2.) But, being of a
spiritual nature, his undervaluing it was the
greatest profaneness imaginable. Note, It
is egregious folly to part with our interest in
God, and Christ, and heaven, for the riches,
honours, and pleasures, of this world, as bad
a bargain as his that sold a birthright for a
dish of broth.
3. Repentance was hidden from his eyes
(v. 34):
He did eat and drink, pleased his
palate, satisfied his cravings, congratulated
himself on the good meal’s meat he had had,
and then carelessly rose up and went his
way, without any serious reflections upon
the bad bargain he had made, or any show
of regret. Thus Esau despised his birthright;
he used no means at all to get the
bargain revoked, made no appeal to his father
about it, nor proposed to his brother to compound
the matter; but the bargain which his
necessity had made (supposing it were so) his
profaneness confirmed ex post facto–after
the deed; and by his subsequent neglect and
contempt he did, as it were, acknowledge a
fine, and by justifying himself in what he
had done he put the bargain past recall.
Note, People are ruined, not so much by
doing what is amiss, as by doing it and not
repenting of it, doing it and standing to it.
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