PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Notes on the Book of Genesis
Mackintosh, Charles Henry, 1820-1896 · 94,805 words · 140 reading sections
Part 61
But there was a deeper trial for Abraham's heart than even the famine, namely, that arising from the company of one who evidently was not walking in the energy of personal faith, nor in the realization of personal responsibility. It seems plain that Lot was, from the very beginning, borne onward rather by Abraham's inf…
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Let us, therefore, my beloved reader, search and see whether we are walking under a divine or a human influence; whether our faith stands in the wisdom of man, or in the power of God; whether we are doing things because others have done them, or because the Lord has called us to do them; whether we are merely propped u…
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Thus it is always: controversies and divisions arise in the Church of God, and many are stumbled thereby, and driven back into the world, in one way or another. They then lay the blame on the controversy and division, whereas the truth is, that these things were only the means of developing the real condition of the so…
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"And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever." The "strife" and "separation," so far from dama…
901 wordsSECTION 65CHAPTER XIV.
We are here presented with an historic record of the revolt of five kings from under the hand of Chedorlaomer, and a battle consequent thereon. The Spirit of God can occupy himself with the movements of "kings and their armies," when such movements are in anywise connected with the people of God. In the present case, A…
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But be it remembered that genuine separation from the world can only be the result of communion with God. I may seclude myself from the world, and constitute myself the centre of my being, like a monk or a cynic; but separation to God is a totally different thing. The one chills and contracts, the other warms and expan…
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It is peculiarly sweet to observe the manner in which Melchizedek introduces God to the thoughts of Abraham. He calls him "the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth;" and not only so, but pronounces Abraham "blessed" of that same God. This was effectually preparing him for the king of Sodom. A man who was "bless…
425 wordsSECTION 68CHAPTER XV.
"After these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." The Lord would not suffer his servant to be a loser, by rejecting the offers of this world. It was infinitely better for Abraham to find himself hidden behind Jehovah's shiel…
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"And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it unto him for righteousness." The imputation of righteousness to Abraham is here founded upon his believing in the Lord as the Quickener of the dead. It is in this character that he reveals himself in a world where death reigns; and when a soul believes in him, as such, it…
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Hence, therefore, sonship, being founded on resurrection, stands connected with perfect justification,--perfect righteousness,--perfect freedom from every thing which could, in any wise, be against us. God could not have us in his presence with sin upon us. He could not suffer a single speck or stain of sin upon his so…
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Now, the question is, Shall we refuse to suffer from the hand of man _with him_ who suffered from the hand of God _for us_? That it is, in a certain sense, a question is evident from the Spirit's constant use of the word "if," in connection with it. "If so be we suffer with him." "If we suffer, we shall reign." There i…
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The subject of heirship has led me much further than I intended; but I do not regret it, as it is of considerable importance. Let us now briefly glance at the deeply significant vision of Abraham as set forth in the closing verses of our chapter. "And _when the sun was going down_, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo…
698 wordsSECTION 73CHAPTER XVI.
Here we find unbelief casting its dark shadow across the spirit of Abraham, and again turning him aside for a season from the path of simple, happy confidence in God. "And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold the Lord hath restrained me from bearing." These words bespeak the usual impatience of unbelief; and Abram should have…
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Now, in the case before us, in this chapter, it is evident that Hagar was not God's instrument for the accomplishment of his promise to Abraham. He had promised a son, no doubt, but he had not said that this son should be Hagar's; and, in point of fact, we find from the narrative, that both Abraham and Sarah "multiplie…
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And now, as to the doctrinal view of this chapter. We are authorized to look at Hagar and her son, as figures of the covenant of works, and all who are thereby brought into bondage. (See Gal. iv. 22-25.) "The flesh" is, in this important passage, contrasted with "promise;" and thus we not only get the divine idea as to…
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Under the law, God as it were stood still to see what man could do; but in the gospel God is seen acting, and as for man, he has but to "stand still and see the salvation of God." This being so, the inspired apostle hesitates not to say to the Galatians, "Christ is become of no effect unto you; whosoever of you are jus…
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Here we have God's remedy for Abraham's failure set before us. "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto him, _I am the Almighty God_: walk before _me_, and be thou _perfect_."[15] This is a most comprehensive verse. It is very evident that Abraham had not been walking b…
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"And God talked with him." It is when man is in the dust that God can talk to him in grace. Abraham's posture here is the beautiful expression of entire prostration, in the presence of God, in the sense of utter weakness and nothingness. And this, be it observed, is the sure precursor of God's revelation of himself. It…
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What rest--perfect rest--for the heart and conscience is here! What full relief for the burdened spirit! _All_ our sins buried in the grave of Christ,--not one--even the smallest--left out! God did this for us! All that his searching eye could detect in us, he laid on the head of Christ when he hung upon the cross! He …
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[15] I would here offer a remark as to the word "perfect." When Abraham was called upon to be "perfect," it did not mean perfect to himself; for this he never was, and never could be. It simply meant that he should be perfect as regards the object before his heart,--that his hopes and expectations were to be perfectly …
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Finally, in Phil. iii. we have two other senses of the word "perfect." The apostle says, "not as though I had already attained, either were already _perfect_;" and yet a little farther on he says, "Let as many as be _perfect_ be thus minded." The former refers to the apostle's full and everlasting conformity to Christ …
73 wordsSECTION 82CHAPTER XVIII.
This chapter affords a beautiful exemplification of the results of an obedient, separated walk. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me." (Rev. iii. 20.) Again, we read, "Jesus answered, and said unto him, If a man love …
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Again, there is the laughter with which unbelief fills our mouths, when God's promises are too magnificent for our narrow hearts to take in, or the visible agency too small in our judgment for the accomplishment of his grand designs. The first of these we are never ashamed or afraid to avow. Zion's sons are not ashamed…
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We see in this scripture that how blessed soever Abraham's intercession might be, yet it was limited, because the intercessor was _but a man_. It did not reach the need. He said, "I will speak _yet but this once_," and there he stopped short, as if afraid of having presented too large a draft at the treasury of infinit…
783 wordsSECTION 85CHAPTER XIX.
There are two methods which the Lord graciously adopts, in order to draw the heart away from this present world. The first is, by setting before it the attractiveness and stability of "things above." The second is, by faithfully declaring the evanescent and shakeable nature of "things on the earth." The close of Hebrew…
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Hence, the angels' word to Lot contains a most unqualified condemnation of his position in Sodom. They would rather abide in the street all night, than enter under the roof of one in a wrong position. Indeed, their only object in coming to Sodom seems to have been to deliver Lot, and that, too, because of Abraham; as w…
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Lot evidently longed after the scene which he was forced by angelic power to abandon; for not only had the angels to lay hold of him and hasten him away from the impending judgment, but even when exhorted to escape for _his life_ (which was all he could save from the wreck) and flee to the mountain, he replies, "Oh! no…
879 wordsSECTION 88FOOTNOTES:
[16] It would furnish a very searching question for the heart, in reference to every undertaking, were we to ask, "Am I doing this by faith?" "Whatever is not of faith is sin;" and, "Without faith it is impossible to please God."…
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We have two distinct points in this chapter: first, the moral degradation to which the child of God sometimes subjects himself in the view of the world; and, secondly, the moral dignity which always belongs to him in the view of God. Abraham again exhibits the dread of circumstances which the heart can so easily unders…
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In the history of God's people, whether we look at them as a whole, or as individuals, we are often struck with the amazing difference between what they are in God's view, and what they are in the view of the world. God sees his people in Christ. He looks at them through Christ; and hence he sees them "without spot, or…
588 wordsSECTION 91CHAPTER XXI.
"And the Lord visited Sarah, as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken." Here we have accomplished promise,--the blessed fruit of patient waiting upon God. None ever waited in vain. The soul that takes hold of God's promise by faith has gotten a stable reality which will never fail him. Thus was it w…
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I believe this doctrine of the two natures in the believer is not generally understood; and yet, so long as there is ignorance of it, the mind must be utterly at sea, in reference to the true standing and privileges of the child of God. Some there are, who think that regeneration is a certain change which the old natur…
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Now, the error into which the Galatian churches fell, was the introduction of that which addressed itself to nature. "Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved." Here salvation was made to depend upon something that man could be, or man could do, or man could keep. This was upsetting the wh…
753 wordsSECTION 94CHAPTER XXII.
Abraham is now in a fit moral position to have his heart put to a most severe test. The long-cherished reserve being put forth from his heart, in Chap. xx.--the bond-woman and her son being put forth from his house, as in Chap. xxi., he now stands forth in the most honored position in which any soul can be placed, and …
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"And Abraham rose up early in the morning." There is ready obedience. "I made haste and delayed not to keep thy commandments." Faith never stops to look at circumstances, or ponder results; it only looks at God; it expresses itself thus: "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by…
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"By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises, offered up his only-begotten." (Heb. xi. 17.) It is only as we are walking by faith that we can begin, continue, and end our works in God. Abraham not merely set out to offer his son, but he went on, and reached the spot whic…
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However, Abraham's devotedness was fully proved and fully accepted. "For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me." Mark, it is "_now_ I know." It had never been proved before. It was there, no doubt; and, if there, God knew it; but the valuable point here is, tha…
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We now return to our chapter. It is deeply interesting to mark here how Abraham's soul is led into a fresh discovery of God's character by the trial of his faith. When we are enabled to bear the testings of God's own hand, it is sure to lead us into some new experience with respect to his character, which makes us to k…
839 wordsSECTION 99CHAPTER XXIII.
This little section of inspiration furnishes much sweet and profitable instruction to the soul. In it the Holy Spirit sets before us a beautiful exhibition of the mode in which the man of faith should carry himself toward those that are without. While it is true, divinely true, that faith makes a man independent of the…
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Thus we may view this beautiful chapter in a twofold light; first, as setting before us a plain, practical principle, as to our dealings with the men of this world; and secondly, as presenting the blessed hope which should ever animate the man of faith. Putting both these points together, we have an example of what the…
413 wordsSECTION 101CHAPTER XXIV.
The connection of this chapter with the two which precede it is worthy of notice. In Chapter xxii. the son is offered up; in Chap. xxiii. Sarah is laid aside; and in Chapter xxiv. the servant is sent forth to procure a bride for him who had been, as it were, received from the dead in a figure. This connection, in a ver…
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There may be a question in some minds as to whether we are to view this deeply-interesting portion of scripture as _a type_ of the calling out of the Church by the Holy Ghost. For myself, I feel happier in merely handling it as _an illustration_ of that glorious work. We cannot suppose that the Spirit of God would occu…
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These scriptures most fully establish the three points, viz., the life, the righteousness, and the hope of the Church, all of which flow from her being one with him who was raised from the dead. Now, nothing can be so calculated to assure the heart as the conviction that the Church's existence is essential to the glory…
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All this, I need hardly remark, is strikingly illustrative of the testimony with which the Holy Ghost was sent from heaven upon the day of Pentecost. "When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." (John xv. 26.…
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Moreover, he sets forth the amazing blessedness of being one with such a Christ, "members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." Such is the Spirit's testimony always; and herein we have an excellent touchstone by which to try all sorts of teaching and preaching. The most spiritual teaching will ever be characte…
787 wordsSECTION 106CHAPTER XXV.
In the opening of this chapter, Abraham's second marriage is set before us,--an event not without its interest to the spiritual mind, when viewed in connection with what we have been considering in the preceding chapter. With the light furnished by the prophetic scriptures of the New Testament, we understand that after…
702 wordsSECTION 107CHAPTER XXVI.
The opening verse of this chapter connects itself with Chap. xii. "There was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham." The trials which meet God's people in their course are very much alike; and they ever tend to make manifest how far the heart has found its _all_ in God. It is a d…
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However, Isaac at length makes his way from amongst the Philistines, and gets up to Beersheba. "And _the Lord appeared unto him_ the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father; fear not, for _I am with thee_, and will bless thee" (Ver. 24.) Mark, it was not the Lord's blessing merely, but the Lord himself…
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These chapters present to us the history of Jacob,--at least the principal scenes in that history. The Spirit of God here sets before us the deepest instruction, first, as to God's purpose of infinite grace; and, secondly, as to the utter worthlessness and depravity of human nature. There is a passage in Chap. xxv. wh…
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So, if he unfolds to us the character and ways of God, he gives us God as he is. And this, we need hardly remark, is exactly what we need. We need the revelation of one perfect in holiness, yet perfect in grace and mercy, who could come down into all the depth of man's need, his misery and his degradation, and deal wit…
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Now, nothing can be more truly blessed than the position of hanging in child-like dependence upon God, and being entirely content to wait for his time. True it will involve trial; but the renewed mind learns some of its deepest lessons, and enjoys some of its sweetest experiences, while waiting on the Lord; and the mor…
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But oh! how well one knows the opposition of the human heart to all this! Any attitude for it save that of patient waiting upon God. It is almost enough to drive nature to distraction to find itself bereft of all resource but God. This tells us in language not to be misunderstood the true character of human nature. In …
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As to Rebekah, she was called to feel all the sad results of her cunning actings. She no doubt imagined she was managing matters most skilfully; but alas! she never saw Jacob again: so much for management! How different would it have been had she left the matter entirely in the hands of God. This is the way in which fa…
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[17] We should ever remember, in a place of trial, that what we want is not a change of circumstances, but victory over self.…
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We are now called to trace Jacob in his movement from under his father's roof, to view him as a homeless and lonely wanderer on the earth. It is here that God's special dealings with him commence. Jacob now begins to realize, in some measure, the bitter fruit of his conduct, in reference to Esau; while, at the same tim…
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Here we have, indeed, "grace and glory." The ladder "set _on the earth_" naturally leads the heart to meditate on the display of God's grace, in the Person and work of his Son. On the earth it was that the wondrous work was accomplished which forms the basis, the strong and everlasting basis, of all the divine counsels…
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And, be it remarked, that it was his failure in the habitual recognition of this that led him into so much sorrow and pressure. God's revelation of himself is one thing, and our resting in that revelation is quite another. God shows himself to Jacob, in infinite grace; but no sooner does Jacob awake out of sleep, than …
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"Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east." As we have just seen, in Chap. xxviii., Jacob utterly fails in the apprehension of God's real character, and meets all the rich grace of Bethel with an "if," and a miserable bargain about food and raiment. We now follow him into a scene…
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Now, in Jacob's case, as set forth in the three chapters now before us, all his toiling and working, like his wretched bargain before, is the result of his ignorance of God's grace, and his inability to put implicit confidence in God's promise. The man that could say, after a most unqualified promise from God to give h…
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It is this that renders the study of Jacob's history so profoundly interesting and eminently useful. No one can read the three chapters now before us and not be struck at the amazing grace that could take up such an one as Jacob; and not only take him up, but say, after the full discovery of all that was in him, "He ha…
290 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.