Correspondence.

From: The Believer's Monthly Magazine: Volume 3

By: William John Hocking, Editor

Matthew 25:14‑30; Genesis 15:13; Acts 7:6; Exodus 12:40‑41; Galatians 3:17

E.M.K.— Does the parable of the talents refer to believers? If so, explain as to the unprofitable servant (Matt. 25:14-30¹⁴For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. ¹⁵And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. ¹⁶Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. ¹⁷And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. ¹⁸But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. ¹⁹After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. ²⁰And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. ²¹His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ²²He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. ²³His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. ²⁴Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: ²⁵And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. ²⁶His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: ²⁷Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. ²⁸Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. ²⁹For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. ³⁰And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:14‑30)). The parable applies to all, (believers or not) who are in the place of Christian service. It will assist you in understanding the parable to recollect that the question is one of service, not of eternal life. The goods were delivered by the master to his servants (verse 14), one of whom was found “unprofitable” and cast into outer darkness (verse 30). Judas was, in a sense, such an unprofitable servant. He was one of “the twelve” even, thus occupying a distinguished place of service, and yet he was lost after all (John 6:70, 71⁷⁰Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? ⁷¹He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. (John 6:70‑71); Acts 1:25²⁵That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. (Acts 1:25)). He served himself rather than his Master, Whom he entirely misjudged. Now those who have eternal life can never perish (John 10:28²⁸And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28)). And eternal life is given by God on account of faith in the Lord Jesus (John 3:16¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)), not on account of faithful service. Had the.” slothful servant” possessed eternal life, he would have known the Master (John 17:3³And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)). He calls his lord a hard man (verse 24). This is false, proving his utter ignorance.

See on 1 Corinthians 9:27²⁷But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Corinthians 9:27) in Vol. 2. B.M.M., p. 142.

F.W.R.— Sojourning of Israelites. Explain the different periods given: 400 years (Gen. 15:13¹³And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; (Genesis 15:13); Acts 7:6⁶And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. (Acts 7:6)), 430 years (Ex. 12:40,41⁴⁰Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. ⁴¹And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:40‑41); Gal. 3:17¹⁷And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. (Galatians 3:17)). Let us take first the passage in Galatians which states the law was given 430 years after the ratification of the covenant. Now this I say; A covenant confirmed beforehand by God, the law which came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not disannul” (Gal. 3:17,¹⁷And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. (Galatians 3:17) R. V.). As this period begins at the confirming of the promise to Abraham, we must fix this point. Now Abraham received the promise in Ur (Acts 7:2, 3²And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, ³And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. (Acts 7:2‑3)) but he stayed in Haran until Terah, his father, died. When he entered Canaan at the age of seventy-five, the first confirmation was made (Gen. 12:7⁷And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. (Genesis 12:7)). Starting here we can pursue the landmarks as follow: —

1. Birth of Isaac	25 years later	(Gen. 21:5).
2. Jacob	60 after	1. (Gen. 25:26).
3. Joseph	91	2
4. Death of Joseph	110	3. (Gen. 1:26).
5. Birth of Moses	64	4
6. The Exodus and the law given	80	5. (Ex. 7:7).
Total...	430 years after	Genesis 12:7.

It will be observed that each item except 3 and 5 is established by direct scripture. For 3 notice that Jacob was 130 years of age when he went into Egypt (Gen. 47:9⁹And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. (Genesis 47:9)). Joseph was then about 39; since he was 30 when raised to power (Gen. 41:46⁴⁶And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 41:46)), and years of plenty and 2 of famine elapsed before his father came. Deducting 39 from 130, we have 91, the age of Jacob at the birth of Joseph, as stated above.

As to 5, there is nothing to enable us to speak so accurately; still it can be shown to be an approximate estimate. Levi was about ten years older than his brother Joseph, and therefore 120 at the latter’s death (Gen. 1:26²⁶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26)). Levi died 17 years later at the age of 137 (Ex. 6:16¹⁶And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years. (Exodus 6:16)). Jochebed, the mother of Moses, who must have been Levi’s youngest daughter, seeing she married her nephew (Ex. 6:20²⁰And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years. (Exodus 6:20)), could hardly have been less than 40 at her father’s death. If so, taking the above reckoning, Moses was born (64-17) 47 years after, that is, when Jochebed was 87 years old. This is not unreasonable. So that 64 years agrees with the facts recorded of this period.

Even if we commence reckoning, as some do, at Genesis 15 the small difference of five or ten years thus made can be added to 5, without altering the sum total, or affecting the above reasoning as to the time given—64 years.

Turning now to the next passage, we read, “The sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was 430 years.” Here we have the same period. The question arises whether it applies to the actual time the people were in Egypt.

If so, we must add 215 years to Jochebed’s age at the birth of Moses, making her (215 plus 87) 302 years old, which is incredible. If not, as we believe, then the 430 years covers the whole period of sojourning in Canaan (Heb. 11:9⁹By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: (Hebrews 11:9)) as well as in Egypt—from Abraham’s first entry into the promised land until the Exodus. They had been sojourners 430 years and now went forth to take possession of the promised land. This text therefore agrees with Galatians 3:17¹⁷And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. (Galatians 3:17).

In the third place we look at Genesis 15:13,¹³And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; (Genesis 15:13) where 400 years, not 430, is named. This however we find is spoken not of Abraham but of his seed. “Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years,” In this instance we cannot start before the birth of Isaac who was Abraham’s seed, and promised in this chapter (Gen. 15). We must therefore (see above) deduct 25 years from 430, leaving 405 years. Shortly after Isaac’s birth, the persecution of the seed began by the son of Hagar the Egyptian (Gen. 21:9⁹And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. (Genesis 21:9)) mocking Mac. This will further reduce the 405; so that we can easily see how 400 years covers in round numbers the affliction of Abraham’s seed by the Egyptians.

The fourth passage (Acts 7:6⁶And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. (Acts 7:6)) is but a quotation (Gen. 15. and hence requires no remark.

Summing up, the 430 years refers to the sojourning of the children of Israel in Canaan and Egypt, and the 400 years to the affliction of Abraham’s seed.