THE K I N G ' S B U S I NE S S
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part I am so engaged in business that I could not find time to die.” Uttering these words he arose from the table and went into the kitchen and while putting on his boots fell on the floor a corpse. Most people need the divine bath of obedience. “ Photographers found that a solution of hyposulphite of soda fixed the picture, which otherwise would fade out. Obedience is the divine bath in which the otherwise transient impress ions from the light of God’s truth are made permanent in the soul; the image of holiness is fixed by habitual compli ance with the laws of holy living.” A woman had been owing a preacher a dollar for twelve years. One day the preacher received a letter saying,_“ I have been converted and X find that the Bible says ‘restore fourfold’ so hère is $4.00 to pay my indebtedness.” He wrote back saying, “ I was converted before you were and have long since forgiven you the indebtedness. Enclosed find $3.00 and may God bless you.” Gen, 27:6-8. God is not dependent upon us for the fulfillment of His prophecies, and it is never right to do wrong that good may come (Rom. 3 :8). Deceit is never justi- COMMENT liable.— Torrey. Re- FROM MANY bekah used this miser- SOURCES able device to obtain the fulfillment of God’s promise. Such pious frauds are the out come of a weak faith in the wisdom and method of divine providence.— Dumme- low. Rebekah while she obtained the patriarchal blessing for her favorite son, ■fell nevertheless under the pain ful necessity of choosing between losing him through his brother’s revenge or losing him by absence from home. She chose the latter alternative.— Boyd. Perhaps the fraud was intended not so much to hasten the fulfillment as to prevent the thwarting of the oracle of God. The blessing was just going to be put upon the wrong head, and they
thought it was time to bestir them selves.—Henry. When compared with Isaac’s fatal error Rebekah was right. Though she deceived him greatly, mis led the favorite son, and alienated Esau from her, there was somethings saving in her action according to her intentions, for to Esau the most com prehensive blessing might have become only a curse.— Lange. If the Word of God is on our side, we must not indeed depart from it, but neither must we undertake to bring about what it holds before us by unlawful means, but look to God who knows what means to use and how and when to fulfill His word. Bibl. Wirt. God makes even the errors of the pious to work good if their hearts are sincere and upright, yet we are not to imitate their errors.— Sel. Two grand points are brought out in Jacob’s history— God’s purpose of grace on the one hand, and on the other hand nature plotting and scheming tp reach what that purpose would have infallibly brought about without any plotting or scheming at all.—McIntosh. v. 19. I am Esau thy firstborn. Double dealing generally comes down upon ourselves. To speak or to act a lie is alike contemptible in the sight of God and man.—Everton. Deceit and falsehood, whatever conveniences they may for a time promise or produce, are in the sum of life the opposite of hap piness.— Johnson. Jacob by nature was a very unlovely man, and the great les son of his life is the power of grace whereby Jacob, the cheater, becomes Israel, “ he that hath power with God.” " — Torrey. Some say that Jacob did many wrong things and that God sanc tioned them and blessed him. If they would take the whole life of Jacob, the beginning and the end, they would find how God dealt with Jacob and punished him-—Moody. God did not need the aid of such elements as Rebekah’s cunning or Jacob’s deceit in order to accomplish His purpose. He had said, “ the elder shall serve the younger.” This was
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