“HE loved righteousness, and hated lawlessness,” though it cost His blood, and the forsaking and bruisings of God. “Therefore God, even his God, anointed him with oil of gladness above his companions."
Gladness follows upon righteousness; blessing comes upon grace; gladness is consequent upon righteousness.
“Grace is poured into thy lips, therefore God hath blessed thee forever.” “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hast hated lawlessness, therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with oil of gladness above thy companions.” Now is a foundation laid for gladness forever-laid in blood, laid in righteousness, for a sanctuary in Zion, a tried stone, a sure foundation, that whosoever believeth in Him should not be ashamed.
In truth did the righteous One own Jehovah as His God when all things went against Him. He witnessed for His righteousness, and truth, and grace, even in the dust of death. Nor this alone. In three days did He raise up a temple of God for Him to dwell in, a sanctuary, in which men who had fled thereto might render His full due, and worship Him acceptably forever. How great the contrast to Jacob, the deceitful servant who in fleshly haste had undertaken to do this very thing.
He took the honor of that priestly place uncalled of God, whereas this One has not glorified Himself to be made high priest, but He who had said, “Thou art my Son,” says also, “Thou art a priest forever."
"Jacob took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God, yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed.” But this man, before He was conceived in the womb, was called Jesus, since, He “should save his people from their sins; was crucified through weakness, that through death he might annul him who has the might of death,” “and was tempted in all things in like manner (sin apart) as we:” with Him power is perfected in weakness, and “through sufferings was he made perfect."
“He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up both supplications and entreaties to him who was able to save him out of death, with strong cryings and tears,” not for Himself, but that He should “become to all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation;” whereas Jacob wept for himself, and made supplication unto Him for himself, saying, “Deliver me, I pray thee,” delivering also into the hand of his servants “every drove by themselves, saying, Pass over before me, and so commanded he the second and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, Say ye Jacob is behind us."... So went the present over before him. And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and sent them over the brook Jabbok, and Jacob was left alone.” Let all things go, if by any means Jacob lives. If ye seek these, let me go my way. Note the contrast! “Jesus, knowing all things that were coming upon him,” went forth, and said,” Whom seek ye?.... If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way."
Jacob at last is found alone, the first time since that night at Luz, when he vowed the vow. If Jacob is not faithful, God is. If Jacob will not keep his word, God must. If Jacob does not bless God, God will bless him. If Jacob owns not God's new name, God calls Jacob by his new name. But first He must find some point of truth. Man cannot partake in any blessing without the required truth for it to rest on. Is it food? He must have the desire; if not, he abhors all manner of meats. If drink, the thirst to slake goes first, or the fountain of living water is deserted, and broken cisterns, which can hold no water, preferred. If clothing, nakedness must first be known and owned. (Gen. 3:7 -217And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. (Genesis 3:7‑21).) So a Savior is for the lost, and cleansing for the filthy, deliverance for the captive, and pardon for the guilty.
If Jehovah is to be revealed and glorified, it can only be in man renewed and redeemed. The proof is that when the old man, Jacob, is brought to a point beyond which God cannot lead him, a pitch of blessing than which a greater cannot be attained, he fails more utterly than ever. Thus God had been with him, fed him, clothed him, kept him, compassed him with a host of angels, and now, wonder of all wonders, has met him face to face; yet Jacob lives, and dares to stand on equal ground with God, and resist Him until the break of day. Is not this ever the course of fleshly man, especially religious man? Was there not “a householder who planted a vineyard, and made a fence round it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen.... and sent his bondsmen to receive his fruits” —, without avail— “and at last he sent to them his son. . . But the husbandmen, seeing his son, said, This is the heir, come, let us kill him?” Were they not stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, always resisting the Holy Spirit, as their fathers? Thus Jacob fenced off all the strivings of the Lord—in ignorance, surely, and unbelief. The secret place of Jacob's power must be smitten. If hitherto he has prevailed through strength, and boasted in his hands, now be must be taught the Lord's grace suffices, and to boast rather in his weakness, that the power of the Lord may dwell upon him.
Still a merchantman, and bargaining for gain, he seeks blessing only for himself, with mind oblivious of the Lord. But most surely had the time arrived for Jehovah's glory to be considered. “His eternal power and divinity,” His creative glory had been fully and completely manifested when “God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good” (Gen. 1:1-311In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. 6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13And the evening and the morning were the third day. 14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26And 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. 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:1‑31)).; “and God blessed the seventh day."
His glory in irresponsible irrespective grace had been eternally set forth when the Lord God said, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman; between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Gen. 3:1-241Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:1‑24).) Now man had undertaken to manifest God's grace and righteousness combined. Not alone was it needful that His hand of power should be recognized, and His heart of love exhibited, but His righteous character declared. Now was the time for man to do it, in order that the Lord might tabernacle in the land among the children of Israel.
So the Lord wrestles for His glory, and Jacob strives for his gain; eye to eye, hand to hand, foot to foot. Jehovah breaks through all Jacob's devices, gets at him face to face, meets scheme with scheme, and trick with counter-check, devising evil against him who devised iniquity, answering a fool according to his folly, in truest grace, but prevails not. The flocks, the herds, the servants, the sons, the wives are searched, but Jacob's idol is not found, for Jacob is not there, and self is the object of his service, not Jehovah. At last alone he is found, the secret of his strength untouched. Unwittingly he was the thief of Laban's Teraphim, the spirit of whoredom was in the midst, but now his pride testifies in his face; be knows not Jehovah, is a worshipper of self, as yet an empty vine, bringing forth fruit unto himself.
One thing alone is left to do; “he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint."
Is the object gained? Does God get the glory sought? “He said, Let me go, for the day breaketh the supremely critical moment has arrived. Will Jacob answer to it? No! No! What is born of the flesh is flesh, even in death and judgment; and Jacob dares to parley with Jehovah, and to make terms with Him. At the first he had made God's glory to depend upon his blessing, and now he would stake his blessing upon his strength, for he said, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me” —his vow forgotten, Jehovah's name uncared for, His glory unregarded—Jacob first, and last, and altogether.
The truth is out: man has come short of God's glory, and when all is done, Jacob alone is left. He is true to his name, Jacob, a supplanter, whether it be of his brother's birthright, or of Jehovah's glory. There is this truth at least—he does not deny himself, he owns his name, and on this peg of truth the Lord, who cannot deny Himself, can hang the blessing. As yet he own not Jehovah's name, but this truth he has—he owns his own. “If any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not, he will deliver his soul from going down into the pit.” “Every one whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” So here, at the very darkest moment, when all by man is lost, and, as far as he is concerned, the result is irretrievable ruin, a glint of light from God shines athwart the scene, even as says the prophet: “Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them; he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
Thus saith the Lord.... therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision, and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine, and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them..... But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.” Just, therefore, so it shall be in the coming time, when, as heretofore, it shall be said, “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help.” So, in the narrative before us, when God's loved one (Jacob) has brought himself into the extremity of ruin, having plowed wickedness, and reaped iniquity, eaten the fruit of lies, because he trusted in his way, and in the greatness of his strength; when it might be said, “Loruhamab,” and “Lo-Ammi,” then the valley of Achor becomes a door of hope, for thus He said: “Thy name shall be no more called Jacob, but Israel.” For in the new-coming man (God's Israel) the mighty one has helped the helpless by the Spirit of the Lord; by the strength of his arm scattering haughty ones, putting down rulers, and exalting the lowly; so that the beggar is raised from the dunghill to the throne of glory, and Jehovah is blessed and tabernacles in the earth. Israel, the chosen servant, the seed of Abraham, shall help the worm Jacob, and glorify Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, the King of Israel.
Thus Jacob, as the witness for Jehovah's name, forever quits the scene. Self, in every shape, has been his thought from first to last. He has pleaded for himself even when his strength and springs of life were withered with a touch. He has gained his point; for God, having respect to His righteous servant, the root of another race, has reserved His glory till another time. “Jacob asked, and said, Tell, I pray thee, thy name? And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name?” Could He entrust the glories of His name to such a bruised reed Nay! the servant whom He had chosen, His beloved, in whom His soul had found its delight, upon whom He should put His Spirit, alone was fit for such a Charge and task as that. Not so such a withered, halting man as Jacob! Not to such smoking flax will He confide the manifesting forth His glory.
Jacob, notwithstanding, gets his blessing, and has his heart's desire, for “He blessed him there."