02.04. The Danger of Misconstruing God's Dispensations.
4. The Danger of Misconstruing God’s Dispensations.
"And Jacob their father said to them: You have bereaved me! Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me!" Genesis 42:36 The severest trials and the strongest temptations of God’s people arise, in many cases, from the strength of their most innocent affections, and of their holiest principles.
We shall entertain a very partial and erroneous idea of temptation, if we suppose that it depends only on the presence, or derives its greatest strength from the power, of corrupt passion. For although it is true, that in one sense, "no man is tempted of God, and that every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed" — it is equally true that, in another sense, God does tempt or try his people, and that the strength of such temptations depends on the power of their holiest principles. Thus our blessed Lord himself was tempted.
Thus also, was Abraham tempted, when God commanded him to offer up his son Isaac on the altar — in this instance, the strength of the temptation arose from the innocent yearnings of a father’s heart for a beloved and only son — but far more from the firm faith which Abraham exercised in God’s promise, that in Isaac, the very son whom he was called to sacrifice, all the nations of the earth should be blessed. The command seemed to be against the promise of God; but the command being clear, Abraham prepared to offer up his only begotten son, leaving God to fulfill his own promise, in his own way, and accounting that, for its fulfillment, "God was able to raise him up, even from the dead." (Hebrews 11:19.)
We find Jacob subjected to a similar trial; but his faith, unlike that of Abraham, seems for a time to have forsaken him, and to have left him, under the influence of a sorrowful, if not a desponding spirit. Nor is it astonishing, considering all the circumstances of the case, that, his faith in God’s promise being for a time overclouded — he should have given utterance to this complaint. For, if we would estimate the strength of his present temptation, there are two circumstances in the character and situation of the Patriarch which should not be overlooked. The first is, that he seems from the whole narrative of his life, to have been a man of a mild contemplative character — a character in which the domestic affections are usually strongest, and which finds its chief earthly happiness in the welfare and comfort of a family. That, in point of fact, he did entertain a very strong natural affection for his children, unworthy as many of them were, and that no affliction, therefore, which could have fallen upon him would have affected him so deeply as the loss of one or more of them. All this is evident from his own pathetic language, "You have bereaved me! Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin." "If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." But while such was the affection with which he regarded all his children, there were two, for whom he had ever cherished a very peculiar and tender regard — the two children of his beloved Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin. And these were the children who, along with Simeon, were the immediate subjects of his present complaint. Joseph had been early lost to him — but was still tenderly remembered. And Benjamin had now been sent for to go down into Egypt by a powerful governor, of whose good intentions he had no security. And in these circumstances, all the grief which Joseph’s loss had occasioned, was renewed in the affectionate heart of the old man, by the proposed departure of Benjamin. Of Joseph it is said, "Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age." And when Joseph was lost to him, it is said, "And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said: For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning." Thus his father wept for him!" Genesis 37:35 Of Benjamin, again, it is said, that when the ten brethren were sent down to Egypt to get grain, "But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him!" And on being urged by them, he gave his reason, "My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow!" And his feelings, in reference to both the children of Rachel, are beautifully set forth in Judah’s pathetic address to Joseph: "Your servant my father said to us, ’You know that my wife bore me two sons. One of them went away from me, and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces." And I have not seen him since. If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’ "So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow!" Genesis 44:27-31 The strong natural affection, therefore, which Jacob felt for all his children, and the peculiar and tender love which he cherished for the two sons of Rachel, cannot fail to be obvious, from these and similar passages. And it must be equally plain, that these sentiments, amiable as they were, were among the strongest ingredients in that trial to which he was now subjected, and to which he so far yielded, as to utter a desponding complaint. The strength of his temptation arose out of, and bore some proportion to, the strength of his natural affection. And his trial was such, as no indifferent or hard-hearted parent could either feel or understand. So true it is, that God makes even the innocent affections of his people a means of trial, and uses them as instruments of discipline, for their spiritual good. But we said that there were two circumstances in the character and situation of the Patriarch Jacob, which concurred to render this trial peculiarly severe; and the second of these is even more striking than the one already noticed. It consisted in the fact, that the loss of his children was a severe trial to his faith, as well as a heavy affliction to his natural feelings. For these children were the children of promise — and no calamity could befall them without awakening in his mind the painful thought, either that God was no longer faithful to his covenant, or that he had in some way forfeited the privileges of which it had given him assurance. For if you will consider the terms in which those privileges were promised, you shall find that the children were included in the covenant, along with the Patriarch; and that its choicest promises had an express reference to his posterity.
Thus the blessing which Jacob received from his father Isaac, has a direct reference to his children: "May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham." Genesis 28:3-4 And the blessing which he had twice received directly from God himself, when with an audible voice he spoke to him out of Heaven, had the same express reference to his children: "Your seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and you shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in you, and in your seed, shall all the families of the earth be blessed!" (Genesis 28:14; Genesis 35:11.)
You cannot fail to remember what importance is attached by an inspired apostle, to the latter part of this promise, as a short but comprehensive announcement of the Gospel covenant, wherein it was provided, that all the nations of the earth should be blessed in the seed of Jacob; not in seeds, as of many — but in his seed, as of one, that is Christ. The same promise had been given to Abraham, and to Isaac before him — and now it was expressly limited to the line of Jacob’s posterity. (Romans 9:13) And, whatever obscurity may have attached to a promise couched in such general terms, there can be no doubt that it was understood by Jacob to the extent at least of affording an assurance, that from among his posterity there should, in due time, be raised up a deliverer, such as he himself describes in his dying blessing to his children: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people." Genesis 49:10
Looking, then, on his posterity as the line of the promised Messiah, "the seed in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed," he could not fail to regard his children with very peculiar feelings as the children of promise. Nor could he contemplate any calamity which might befall them, without viewing it in connection with that promise. His faith in God’s covenant was tried, not less than his natural affection, by any such events. And, accordingly, we find him pleading this promise, when he was alarmed for the safety of his family, by the supposed enmity of Esau: "Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For You said, ’I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’" Genesis 32:11-12
He was delivered from his fears at that time; but now, he was placed in very different circumstances — he had already lost Joseph, whom he loved above all his brethren. Simeon had been detained as an hostage, by the governor of Egypt. And a further demand was made upon him to send down his beloved Benjamin. And when his children were thus, one after another, withdrawn from him, not only was his parental tenderness awakened — but his faith in God’s promise itself seems to have been shaken; and in a moment of grief and despondency, he gave utterance to the complaint, "All these things are against me!"
Such seem to have been the circumstances in which Jacob was placed, and the feelings with which his mind was filled on this interesting occasion; and, if we consider the events as they must have appeared to the eye of sense, at the time, we cannot fail, I think, to acknowledge that they were discouraging indeed. Besides the loss of his children, he was threatened with famine; and so far as man could see, there was no prospect of a speedy deliverance, the only condition on which food was to be secured, being his parting with the child of his old age. A large demand was thus made on his faith in God’s promise, and on his trust in God’s providence; and for a time it would seem that his faith was not equal to that demand. He did not exemplify the same vigorous faith which enabled Abraham at once to surrender Isaac, his only son. Perhaps the reason of this might be, that even believers are less apt to regard the course of God’s providence with devout resignation, than they are to obey an audible voice from Heaven. But in truth and reality, God rules in providence not less than by extraordinary means; and all the while that Jacob was doubting and desponding, God was clearing the way for the accomplishment of his own counsel, and the fulfillment of his own promise. The very events which occasioned his complaint, were in fact the means, not only of fulfilling the counsels of the Divine mind — but also of securing for Jacob the blessings and privileges which were dearest to his heart. For consider the circumstances of the case, as these are recorded with pathetic simplicity in the sacred narrative: Joseph, although long since given up as lost, was actually alive, and in great power, in the land of Egypt. The detention of Simeon, whereby the fears of his aged father had been awakened, was, in fact, a means of securing the return of some, at least, of his brethren into that land, were it only to obtain his release. And the demand that Benjamin should be sent along with them — a demand without their compliance with which, they were assured they might not hope either for Simeon’s release, or for further supplies of food — was so imperative, that Jacob, notwithstanding all his reluctance, was compelled to send him. And we find from the subsequent narrative that it was the sight of Benjamin, his own brother, that moved Joseph to tears, and led to his making himself known to his brethren. Had Simeon not been detained in Egypt, the brethren might perhaps have had no further necessity for repairing there; or, had no demand been made for the appearance of Benjamin, the brethren might have gone to Egypt and returned as before, without any knowledge of Joseph. But the famine, the detention of Simeon, and the compulsory demand for Benjamin, were among the means by which God was preparing the way for bringing the whole family together, and planting them for a season in the land of Goshen.
While, therefore, Jacob was saying "All these things are against me!" he was misconstruing the intentions of an all-gracious providence, and looking with apprehension on those very events which were the appointed means not of depriving him again of one or more of his children — but of restoring to him Joseph, his best beloved son, and of preparing for the fulfillment of that gracious promise in which God had assured him that in his seed should all the families of the earth be blessed.
"All these things are against me!" was Jacob’s desponding exclamation, when he looked only at the outward and visible appearance of events. But mark, how different was the testimony of faith, when the event had verified the faithfulness of God to his promise. "Be not grieved, said Joseph to his brethren, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me hither; for God sent me before you to preserve life. God sent me before you, to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance." And, long after, he quieted the remorseful apprehensions of his brethren, by saying, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives!" In this fine recognition of divine providence, in an event so distressing to himself, and so criminal on the part of his brethren — Joseph expressly declares, that his being sent into Egypt was the appointed means of providing for the support of Jacob’s family, among many others, in a season of general famine. And there can be no doubt that the violent detention of Simeon in the land of Egypt, and the peremptory demand for Benjamin’s appearance there, which were the immediate occasions of Jacob’s complaint — were really the means of leading to that discovery of Joseph’s being still alive, which secured for the patriarch and his family a safe and comfortable asylum in Goshen. And these events, apparently so unpromising, led not only to the happy reunion of Joseph with his family — but also, to the continued residence of their descendants for four hundred years, in the land of Egypt, where, although in subsequent times they suffered many grievous calamities, God was keeping them as in a safe asylum, until the time should come, when the iniquity of the Canaanites being full — he should bring them out to possess the land that had been promised to their Fathers.
Into the reasons of their long residence in Egypt we cannot at present enter. Suffice it to say, that this was one of the most important dispensations of providence towards that family, and was subservient, in various ways, to the accomplishment of that gracious promise which had been given in covenant to the Patriarchs. And in this way, God was working to bring about, first, the restoration of Joseph to his family; and secondly, the fulfillment of all the promises which related to his posterity, by the very means which in an hour of anxiety and unbelief caused Jacob to exclaim, "All these things are against me!"
We see in this striking instance, how prone even a believer may be to misjudge the course of God’s providence, when, instead of looking on the events of life with the eye of faith, he forms his judgment according to sensible appearances. And there can be no doubt that Jacob saw his error, when the event made manifest the purpose of God. For, having reluctantly consented to send Benjamin with his brethren, and having prayed that God Almighty would give them mercy in the sight of the Egyptian governor, adding in a disconsolate spirit, "if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved" — on their return, he learned from them, "Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt." On hearing their report, it is said, "Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not" — an expression which depicts a state of mind not uncommon, and another beautiful example of which we have in the case of our Lord’s disciples, of whom it is said, that when the resurrection of their Lord was first announced to them, "they believed not for joy, and wondered." But Jacob’s unbelief was soon removed; for when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them, and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the heart of Jacob their father revived, and Israel said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive! I shall go to see him before I die." And afterwards he confessed his former error, and expressed his real satisfaction to Joseph himself, saying: "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too" — and gratefully acknowledges, "Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers." Genesis 49:26
These expressions show that Jacob now recognized the hand of a gracious providence in all that had befallen him, and that he no longer looked on these events with unbelieving discontent. And surely had he been able to foresee the result, or, not foreseeing, had he believed that all things would work together for the accomplishment of such gracious ends, (Psalms 105:17,) he could not have uttered the complaint of my text, "All these things are against me!"
Another remarkable feature in this instructive case deserves to be shortly noticed. It is not unusual for God to send one trial of faith after another; and so it was in the present instance. Jacob was called to leave the land of Canaan, which had been promised to him for an inheritance, and to go down into Egypt. Let it be remembered that God’s promise had special reference to the possession of that land, which Jacob was now called to leave — that it was the land of which God had spoken to Abraham, and to Isaac, to which Isaac referred in pronouncing his blessing on Jacob, and respecting which God had himself said to him, "The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed." (Genesis 28:4-13.) And again, "The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac to you I will give it, and to your seed after you will I give the land." (Genesis 35:12.)
Yet now, he and his family were called to leave the land of Canaan and to go down into Egypt; and this must have been to him as severe a trial of his faith as any that had hitherto befallen him. But now, we have no apparent symptom of hesitation, no expression of distrust, respecting God’s faithfulness; on the contrary, a cheerful acquiescence in the call: "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive! I will go and see him before I die." When he was threatened with the loss of his children, he had said, "All these things are against me!" but now no expression of discontent escapes him when he is called to leave the land of promise. And the reason seems to have been, that the arrival of his sons from Egypt, and their report of Joseph’s being yet in life, had convinced him that God was working in a way which he had formerly misconstrued; and that the very events which he had deprecated as his sorest calamities — were likely to bring about the accomplishment of his gracious purposes. Accordingly, "Israel took his journey with all that he had."
It is not to be supposed, indeed, that he could leave the land of Canaan without regret, or contemplate his prospects in Egypt without some apprehension. But he took the first step in his journey; and one step having been taken in faith — God rewarded its exercise by appearing to him at Beersheba, and saying, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes." Genesis 46:3-4 So he went down in to Egypt; and never from that hour does his faith in God’s promise appear to have failed. On the contrary, he expressed his gratitude that he had there been brought to see Joseph again; and his confidence that God would in due time visit his family, and call them back into the land of Canaan. In this faith he commanded that his bones should be buried in the sepulcher of his fathers, saying to Joseph, "I am dying; but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers." In the same faith, Joseph, now near his end, said to his brethren, "God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" — and took an oath of them that they would carry up his bones also, out of that land. "By faith," says the apostle, "Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones." (Hebrews 11:22) In the faith of Jacob and Joseph respecting the ultimate return of their posterity to the promised land, a return which was not to be accomplished for several hundred years, we see a bright example of trust in the faithfulness of God. And in the actual occurrence of that event, through the agency of Moses, we see how surely — yet by what extraordinary means, the fulfillment follows every word which the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Whereas, in the desponding exclamation of Jacob, "All these things are against me!" — we see an example of what is, alas! but too common even among God’s own people, of distrust in his faithfulness, when the outward appearance of events seems unpromising — a misjudging of his providence, and a limiting of the Holy One of Israel. While, in the outcome of these very events by which such feelings were occasioned, we see that even by the unlikeliest means, God’s purposes are fulfilled — that real, and substantial, and permanent good is often brought out of apparent evil; and that as dark as some of his dispensations may be — his people will, in the end, be constrained to acknowledge, that he has done all things well, that goodness and mercy have followed them all the days of their lives.
Brethren, "Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope!" Romans 15:4
It is true that we cannot foresee the outcome of his present dispensations, nor calculate either on the time or on the method of our deliverance from what may be painful in them. And it is equally true, that under our tribulations, great and manifold as they frequently are — we cannot fail to be deeply affected by suffering; were we insensible to their pressure, or were we prescient of their termination — they might not serve their chief purpose, that of cherishing a spirit of absolute submission to God’s will, and implicit faith in his promise. But we have the general assurance, that "all things shall work together for good to those who love God!" And we have, among others, the case of Jacob, as an illustration of the way in which God fulfills his gracious purposes by means the least likely to human prudence, and the most trying to flesh and blood. And have we not also sufficient evidence in our own past experience, of the same great and precious truth — can we not remember some past trials under which we were ready to say, "All these things are against me!" — and yet, were we not brought through them, and enabled in some measure to look back on them with acquiescence and even with gratitude, as needful and beneficial means of moral discipline and improvement? Have we not reason to be grateful, if they were the means of bringing us nearer to God; and should not our own experience, therefore, as well as the history of Jacob, convince us, that we should contemplate every new aspect of providence with a lively faith in God — that we should patiently wait for the development of his purposes, in the assurance that nothing really evil shall be permitted to befall us? And while we contemplate with wonder the mysterious or the solemn ways of providence, remember that we should judge nothing before the time. A rash and premature judgment of God’s ways in providence, as it is presumptuous, so it is sure to be erroneous, and the occasion of much misery. God’s Providence is like a vast machine, in which there are many wheels, some of which seem to be moving in one direction, others in the opposite direction. And if we fasten our eye upon one wheel only, we cannot see how the end will be gained; it may seem to move contrary to the design. But it is by a combination that it works; the whole must be viewed together, if we would see the wisdom of the contrivance — or we must wait for the accomplishment of the work, if we would judge of the fitness of the means. Even so, providence has many wheels — but all are working together for good to those who love God.
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.
You fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds you so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his works in vain,
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.
Cowper.