24. But the spirit of God said by Jacob, when he was about to die: Let not mine honour come in their churches or assemblies; that is, they are of murderous, Cainical minds, and serve me only in a figure, pointing at the future kingdom of Christ; but the spirit of my love and grace is not with them in their sacrifices and worship of God; which love and grace he calls his honour, which he would manifest through the line of Judah, in Christ.
1 Or, tender eyedness. 2 Instructing.
3 Marriage bed. Gen. xlix. 4.
4 A strict, severe man. Text, a sharp, piercing mind.
25. Which honour was, that he should break death in pieces, and destroy hell, and take away the throne of the devil in man. This the Holy Ghost calls his honour; and that was not in the Levitical priesthood, nor among the titulary priests in their churches. But when Leah gave up her will wholly into the will of God, and said, Now will I give thanks unto the Lord (Gen. xxix. 35), who has delivered me from the disgrace of the devil, and of the world, then she bare Judah, viz. the line of Christ.
26. So here now the spirit says, very secretly and covertly under a veil, And she left off from bearing (Gen. xxix. 35). To signify that Christ was the last, who was the end and fulfilling of the Levitical law; under which the spirit signifies that men would not find Christ in the priests' churches, laws, and ordinances of preaching. He would not dwell in their churches with his honour of victory, nor suffer himself and his honour to be tied to the houses of stone, where they exercise a hypocritical show, and have within them only murdering proud hearts, and with the murdering swords of Levi, disgrace and slay one another with words.
27. But in the souls of men, when they give thanks, and praise the Lord in great humility, as Leah did, when she bare Judah, the line of Christ; there will he dwell, and not be at all in the counsel of these priests and Levites, the titulary priests, who contrive only specious glistering ways for their honour and voluptuousness, and forget the true thanksgiving in humility, and honour and love themselves alone; and so give that honour to their feigned or supposed office, which belongs to God alone, and to the love of our neighbour in great humility.
28. We see clearly by this figure that God will not manifest himself in the fleshly love of ourselves. For Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah (Gen. xxix. 30), and would have only Rachel in the beginning. But his seed must continue shut up with her, till Rachel humbled herself before God, and that Jacob prayed for her; to show also that God will not work in the love of ourselves, in that we love and honour one another according to fleshly lust, worldly honour and riches, where men flock together, associate and love one another according to their greatness, state, riches, glory, beauty, bravery and pleasure of this world.
29. But the spirit of God requires humble, faithful and sincere love, where the soul is resigned up into God, and seeks not its own pleasure or self-love; but looks upon the way of God, and joins itself to the humble children, who love God and constantly give him thanks. There God manifests himself and works in them, that they bear fruit to the Lord.
30. Jacob first served seven years for Rachel, which he himself had chosen in his own love, yet she was not given to him for the first seven years' service; but Leah was, unknown to him, laid by him. Jacob desired Rachel as wages for his service: yet seeing the Covenant of the Lord lay in the line of Christ in him, therefore he first received the spiritual wages of the grace of God.
24. But the spirit of God said by Jacob, when he was about to die: Let not mine honour come in their churches or assemblies; that is, they are of murderous, Cainical minds, and serve me only in a figure, pointing at the future kingdom of Christ; but the spirit of my love and grace is not with them in their sacrifices and worship of God; which love and grace he calls his honour, which he would manifest through the line of Judah, in Christ.
1 Or, tender eyedness. 2 Instructing.
3 Marriage bed. Gen. xlix. 4.
4 A strict, severe man. Text, a sharp, piercing mind.
25. Which honour was, that he should break death in pieces, and destroy hell, and take away the throne of the devil in man. This the Holy Ghost calls his honour; and that was not in the Levitical priesthood, nor among the titulary priests in their churches. But when Leah gave up her will wholly into the will of God, and said, Now will I give thanks unto the Lord (Gen. xxix. 35), who has delivered me from the disgrace of the devil, and of the world, then she bare Judah, viz. the line of Christ.
26. So here now the spirit says, very secretly and covertly under a veil, And she left off from bearing (Gen. xxix. 35). To signify that Christ was the last, who was the end and fulfilling of the Levitical law; under which the spirit signifies that men would not find Christ in the priests' churches, laws, and ordinances of preaching. He would not dwell in their churches with his honour of victory, nor suffer himself and his honour to be tied to the houses of stone, where they exercise a hypocritical show, and have within them only murdering proud hearts, and with the murdering swords of Levi, disgrace and slay one another with words.
27. But in the souls of men, when they give thanks, and praise the Lord in great humility, as Leah did, when she bare Judah, the line of Christ; there will he dwell, and not be at all in the counsel of these priests and Levites, the titulary priests, who contrive only specious glistering ways for their honour and voluptuousness, and forget the true thanksgiving in humility, and honour and love themselves alone; and so give that honour to their feigned or supposed office, which belongs to God alone, and to the love of our neighbour in great humility.
28. We see clearly by this figure that God will not manifest himself in the fleshly love of ourselves. For Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah (Gen. xxix. 30), and would have only Rachel in the beginning. But his seed must continue shut up with her, till Rachel humbled herself before God, and that Jacob prayed for her; to show also that God will not work in the love of ourselves, in that we love and honour one another according to fleshly lust, worldly honour and riches, where men flock together, associate and love one another according to their greatness, state, riches, glory, beauty, bravery and pleasure of this world.
29. But the spirit of God requires humble, faithful and sincere love, where the soul is resigned up into God, and seeks not its own pleasure or self-love; but looks upon the way of God, and joins itself to the humble children, who love God and constantly give him thanks. There God manifests himself and works in them, that they bear fruit to the Lord.
30. Jacob first served seven years for Rachel, which he himself had chosen in his own love, yet she was not given to him for the first seven years' service; but Leah was, unknown to him, laid by him. Jacob desired Rachel as wages for his service: yet seeing the Covenant of the Lord lay in the line of Christ in him, therefore he first received the spiritual wages of the grace of God.
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