_Luther_ says: "Now there follows the right promise, which ought to be written in golden letters, and proclaimed in all lands, and for which we ought to praise and glorify."
The promise stands here in close connection with the Mosaic [Pg 48]
history of the creation. According to that, man, as such, bears upon him the impress of the divine image. Gen. i. 26, and is the depository of the divine breath. Gen. ii. 7. From such a beginning, we cannot conceive of any limitation of salvation which is not, at the same time, a means of its universal extension. It must therefore be in entire accordance with the nature of the thing, that even here, where the setting apart of a particular chosen race takes its rise, there should be an intimation of its universally comprehensive object. There is, in the circ.u.mstance of _families_ being spoken of, a distinct reference to the history of creation; ????? everywhere corresponds exactly with our word "family." It is everywhere used only of the subdivisions in the greater body of the nation or tribe. The expression, then, points to the higher unity of the whole human race, as it has its foundation in the fact that all partake in common of the divine image.
The announcement of the blessing in this pa.s.sage leads us back to the curse p.r.o.nounced in consequence of sin, Gen. iii. 17: "Cursed is the ground (_Adamah_) for thy sake." (Compare Gen. v. 29.) This curse is, at some future time, to be abolished by Abraham. We can account for the mention of the families of the "Adamah" only by supposing that a reference to this pa.s.sage was fully intended; for it was just the "Adamah" (primarily, "land") which had there been designated as the object of the curse.
In announcing that all the families shall be blessed in Abraham, the writer refers also to the judgment described in Gen. xi., by which the family of mankind,--which, according to the intention of G.o.d, ought to have been united,--was dispersed and separated. When viewed in this connection, we expect that the blessing will manifest itself in the healing of the deep wound inflicted upon mankind, in the re-establishment of the lost unity, and in the gathering again of the scattered human race around Abraham as their centre.
Beyond this, no other disclosure about the nature of this salvation is given. But that it consisted essentially in the union with G.o.d accomplished through the medium of Abraham, and that everything else could be viewed as emanating only from this source, was implied simply in the circ.u.mstance, that all the blessing which Abraham enjoyed for himself had its origin in [Pg 49] this, that he could call G.o.d _his G.o.d_; just as, in Gen. ix., it had been declared as the blessing of Shem, that Jehovah should be his G.o.d, and as the blessing of j.a.pheth, that he was called to become a partaker of this blessing. The blessings which were either bestowed upon or promised to the Patriarchs and their descendants, had for their object the advancement of knowledge and the practice of true religion, and had been bestowed or promised only under this condition (compare Gen. xvii. 1, xvii. 17-19, xxii. 16-18, xxvi.
5); they could not hence expect anything else than that their posterity would, in so far, be the cause of the salvation of the heathen nations, that the latter should, by means of the former, be made partakers of the blessings of true religion.
With regard to the manner in which this blessing was to come to the Gentiles, no intimation was given by the words themselves. The person of the Redeemer is not yet brought before us in them; the indication of that was reserved for a later stage in the progress of revelation.[1]
The last clause of ver. 3 cannot, by any means, take away from the import of the preceding one; the announcement of the blessing which, through Abraham, is to come upon all the families of the earth, does not repeal the foregoing one, according to which all shall be cursed who curse him. This view is confirmed by an allusion to this announcement in Zech. xiv. 16-19, where the words, "the families of the earth," must be regarded as a quotation. In ver. 16, the prophet says that _all the Gentiles_ shall go up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles; but then, in vers. 17-19, he intimates the punishment of those who should refuse to go up. _Luther_ says: "If you wish to [Pg 50] comprehend in a few words the history of the Church from the time of Abraham down to our days, then consider diligently these four verses. For in them you will find the blessing; but you will see also, that those who curse the Church are cursed, in turn, by G.o.d; so that they must perish, while the eternal seed of the Church stands unmoved and unshaken. For which reason, this text agrees with the first promise given in Paradise, concerning the seed which is to bruise the serpent"s head. For the Church is not without enemies, but is a.s.sailed and hara.s.sed so that she groans under it; but yet, by this seed, she is invincible, and shall at length be victorious, and triumphant over all her enemies, in eternity."
References to this fundamental prophecy are found in other parts of the Old Testament, besides the pa.s.sage just quoted from Zechariah. In the 28th verse of Ps. xxii., which was written by David, it is said: "All the ends of the world shall remember, and turn unto the Lord; and all the _families_ of the Gentiles shall worship before Thee." The realization of the blessing announced in Genesis, to all the families of the earth, appears in this psalm as being connected with the wonderful deliverance of the just. Another reference is in Ps. lxxii., which was written by Solomon. In ver. 17 of this psalm it is said of Solomon"s great Ant.i.type: "And they shall bless themselves in Him, all nations shall bless Him." In these words the realization of the Abrahamitic blessing is distinctly connected with the person of the Redeemer.
Among the New Testament references, the most remarkable is in John viii. There, in ver. 53, the Jews say to Christ: "Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? Whom makest thou thyself?" Jesus, in ver. 56, answers: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad," In ver. 57 the Jews reply: "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" In ver. 58 Jesus thus says to them: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."
Let us here, in the first place, consider only the declaration of Jesus, that Abraham rejoiced to see His day, and was glad. It is altogether out of the question to think of any such explanation of this as the one given by _Lucke_, after the example of _Lampe_ namely: "that Abraham, in the heavenly life, as a blessed [Pg 51] spirit with G.o.d, saw the day of the Lord, and in heaven rejoiced in the fulfilment." For it is the custom of Jesus to argue with the Jews from _Scripture_; and He cannot, therefore, here be appealing to an a.s.sumed fact which could not be proved from it. The answer of the Jews, in ver. 57, is likewise opposed to such an explanation, inasmuch as it proceeds from a supposition which Jesus had acknowledged to be true, namely, that the question at issue was a meeting of Christ with Abraham not mentioned in history; and in ver. 58 Christ sets aside their argument, "Thou art not yet fifty years old." But _Lucke_ must himself bear testimony against his own interpretation, inasmuch as, according to it, he is obliged to speak of "the very foolish question of the adversaries."[2]
Jesus saw Abraham, and Abraham saw Jesus. Not the person, but the day of Christ, was future to Abraham. And this can be explained only by Jesus" being concealed behind Jehovah who appeared to him, and gave him the promise, that in him and his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed. This blessing of all the families of the earth is the day of Jehovah,--the day when He will be glorified on the earth.
The key to the right understanding of this is furnished by the doctrine of the Angel of the Lord, which meets us as early as in Genesis. From the pa.s.sages in which, at the appearances and revelations of Jehovah, the mediation of the Angel is expressly mentioned, we infer that it (the mediation) took place even when Jehovah by Himself is spoken of; and the more so, since, even in the former series of pa.s.sages, the simple name of Jehovah is commonly varied by that of the Angel of Jehovah. The Evangelist John"s whole doctrine of the _Logos_ points to the personal ident.i.ty of Jesus with the Angel of the Lord. Not less so does the pa.s.sage, John xii. 41; and there is unquestionably a purpose which cannot be misunderstood in the fact, that, throughout the discourses of Jesus, as reported by John, the declaration that G.o.d _sent_ Him occurs with such frequency and regularity. But we can scarcely conceive of any other purpose than that of marking out Jesus as the Angel or Messenger of Jehovah spoken of in the writings of the Old Testament. Compare, _e.g._, xii. 44, [Pg 52] 45: "Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that _sent_ Me; and he that seeth Me, seeth Him that _sent_ Me." So also iv.
34, v. 23, 24, 30, 37, vi. 38-40, vii. 16, 28, 33, viii. 16, 18, 26, 29, ix. 4, xii. 49, xiii. 20, xiv. 24, xv. 21, xvi. 5.
Let us now, in addition, turn to the words, "Abraham rejoiced to see (literally, that he might see) My day." It cannot be liable to any doubt, that these words express the heartfelt, joyful desire of Abraham to see that day, and that _Bengel_ correctly explains it by the words: _gestivit c.u.m desiderio_. It is true, ??a?????a? signifies, by itself, only "to rejoice;" but it has added to it the idea of joyful desire by its being connected with ??a. The words now under consideration are expressive of Abraham"s joy and longing in the spirit for the manifestation of the day of Jehovah and of Christ, while those in the last clause of the verse express the gratification of this longing, which was produced by his receiving the promise that all the families of the earth should be blessed.
The ardent desire of Abraham to see the day of Christ implies that he already _knew_ Christ, which can be the case only on the supposition of Christ"s concealment in Jehovah. This longing desire is not expressly mentioned in Genesis, but it is most intimately connected with all living faith, and must necessarily precede such divine communications.
The seed of the divine promises is everywhere sown only in a well prepared soil. That the promise in 2 Sam. vii. was to David, in like manner, a gratification of his anxious desire--an answer to prayer--we are not, it is true, expressly told in the historical record; and yet, that it was so, is evident from the words of Ps. xxi. 3: "Thou hast given him his heart"s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips." There is here, then, express mention made of that which is a matter of course, and which forms the necessary condition of that which was reported in Genesis.
We are furnished by the Book of Genesis itself with the right explanation of what is meant by the day of Christ, about which interpreters have so frequently erred. It is not the time of His first appearing, but, in accordance with the New Testament mode of expression (_e.g._, Phil. i. 10), the time of His glorification. The day of Christ is the time when the promise, "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed," shall be fulfilled.
[Pg 53]
Peter quotes this promise in Acts iii. 25, 26. Among the families of the earth he enumerates, first and chiefly, the people of the Old Testament dispensation; and he does so with perfect propriety, since there is no warrant whatever for limiting it to the Gentiles.
Paul probably refers to this promise when, in Rom. iv. 13, he speaks of a promise given to Abraham and his seed that he should be the heir of the world. A blessing imparted to the whole world is a spiritual victory obtained over the world. The world is, in a spiritual sense, conquered by Abraham and his seed. Express references are found in Gal.
iii. 8, 14, 16.
The same promise is repeated to Abraham in Gen. xviii. 18. Instead of the ?????? ????? (the families of the earth), the ???? ???? (the nations of the earth) are there mentioned; the family-connection is lost sight of, and the comprehensiveness only--the catholic character of the blessing--is prominently brought out. This promise is a third time repeated to Abraham in chap. xxii. 18, on a very appropriate occasion, even that on which, by his endurance of the greatest trial, and by his willingness to sacrifice to G.o.d even what was dearest to him, he had proved himself a worthy heir of it. It is certainly not a matter of mere accident that this promise is just three times given to Abraham. There is in this a correspondence with the three individuals to whom the same promise is addressed. Abraham, however, as the first of them, and as the father of the faithful, could not be put on the same footing with the others. Instead of "in thee," or "by thee" (??), we read in xxii. 18, "in" or "by thy seed" (?????). The same promise is confirmed to Isaac in chap. xxvi. 14, and it is transferred to Jacob in chap. xxviii. 14. But while, in the first and second pa.s.sages, it is said, "by thee," and in the third and fourth, "by thy seed," we read, in the pa.s.sage last mentioned, "by thee and thy seed." This evidently shows that, in those pa.s.sages where we find "by thee" standing alone, we are not at liberty to explain it as meaning simply: "by thy seed."
It is not only the seed of Abraham, but Abraham himself also, who is to be the medium of blessing to the nations, as the foundation-stone of the large building of the Church of G.o.d, as the father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh, and as the father of all believers.
There is a deep reason for the fact that, wherever the posterity [Pg 54] of the Patriarchs are spoken of as the instruments of blessing, the singular is always used. This circ.u.mstance is pointed out by Paul in Gal. iii. 16. The Apostle does not in the least think of maintaining that, by ??? "seed," only a single individual could be signified. Such an opinion, no one who understood Hebrew could for a moment entertain; and Rom. iv. 13 shows that Paul was indeed very far from doing so. The further development of the promise (which took place within the limits of Genesis itself, in chap. xlix. 10), as well as its fulfilment (it is, indeed, with reference to the promise now under consideration that the lineal descent of Christ from Abraham is established at the commencement of Matthew"s Gospel), showed that the real cause of the salvation bestowed upon the Gentiles was not the seed of Abraham as a whole, but one from among them, or rather He, in whom this whole posterity was comprehended and concentrated. Now, all to which Paul intends to draw our attention is the fact, that the Lord, who, when He gave the promise, had already in view its fulfilment which He had Himself to accomplish, did not unintentionally choose an expression which, besides the comprehensive meaning which would most naturally suggest itself to the Patriarchs, admitted also of the more restricted one which was confirmed by the fulfilment. In the _Protevangelium_, and in the promise of the Prophet in Deut. xviii., we have a case quite a.n.a.logous to this; and in 2 Sam. vii. there is likewise a case which is, to a certain extent, parallel.
In two pa.s.sages out of the five--in chap. xxii. 18 and xxvi. 4--the Hithpael of the verb ??? instead of the Niphal is found. We meet with it also again in the derived pa.s.sage in Ps. lxxii. 17, where it is said of the great King to come, "And they shall bless themselves in Him, all nations shall bless Him." In xxii. 18 and xxvi. 4, we shall be allowed to translate only thus: "They shall bless themselves in thy seed." For the Hithpael of ??? always signifies "to bless oneself;" and the person from whom the blessing is derived (Isa. lxv. 16; Jer. iv. 2), or whose blessing is desired, is connected with it by means of the preposition ?. (Compare Gen. xlviii. 20: "In thee shall Israel bless, saying, G.o.d make thee as Ephraim and as Mana.s.seh.") From the nature of the case, it is evident that only the latter can be meant here. This is shown also by the derived pa.s.sage [Pg 55] in Ps. lxxii. 17, where the words, "they shall bless themselves in Him," are explained by the subsequent expression, "they shall bless Him."
But it is certainly not accidental that the Hithpael is on both sides inclosed by the Niphal, and that the latter stands not only twice at the beginning, but also at the end. Hence we are not at liberty to force upon the Hithpael the signification of the Niphal; but the pa.s.sages in which the Hithpael occurs must be supplemented from the real fundamental pa.s.sages. "To bless oneself _in_" is the preparatory step to being "blessed _by_." The acknowledgment of the blessing calls forth the wish to be a partaker of it. (Compare Isa. xlv. 14, where, in consequence of the rich blessings poured out upon Israel, the nations make the request to be received among them.) Oftentimes in the Psalms utterance is given to the expectation that, through the blessing resting on the people of G.o.d, the Gentiles will be allowed to seek communion in it. (See my Commentary on Ps. vol. iii. p. lxxvii.) But especially in Ps. lxxii. does it clearly appear how "blessing oneself in" is connected with "being blessed by." The very same people who bless themselves in the glorious King to come, hasten to Him to partake in the fulness of the blessings which He dispenses. He has dominion from sea to sea; they that dwell in the wilderness bow before Him; all kings worship Him; all nations serve Him.
Several commentators (_Clericus_, _Gesenius_, _de Wette_, _Maurer_, _k.n.o.bel_, and, in substance, _Hofmann_ also) attempt to explain the fundamental pa.s.sage by the derived ones, and force upon Niphal the signification of Hithpael; so that the sense would be only that a great and, as it were, proverbial happiness and prosperity belonged to Abraham: "Holding up this name as a pattern, most of the eastern nations will comprehend all blessings in these or similar words: "G.o.d bless thee as He blessed Abraham."" But this explanation is, according to the _usus loquendi_, incorrect, inasmuch as the Niphal is used only in the signification "to be blessed," and never means "to bless oneself," or "to have or find one"s blessing in something." To a difference in the significations of the Niphal and the Hithpael, we are led also by the circ.u.mstance that the Hithpael is connected only with the seed--"they shall bless themselves in thy seed,"--and the Niphal only with the person of the Patriarch: [Pg 56] "they shall be blessed in thee," and "in thee and thy seed." The Patriarchs themselves are the source of blessing, but, if these nations _blessed themselves_, they wish for themselves the blessing of their descendants exhibited before their eyes. The reference in Zech. xiv. 17, 18 to the promise made to the Patriarchs presupposes the Messianic character, and the pa.s.sive signification of ?????. In like manner, all the quotations of it in the New Testament rest on the pa.s.sive signification. It is from this view of it that the Lord says that Abraham saw His day; that, in Rom. iv.
13, Paul finds, in this promise, the prophecy of His conquering the world; and that, in Gal. iii. 14, he speaks of the blessing of Abraham upon the Gentiles through Christ Jesus. Gal. iii. 8 and Acts iii. 25 render ????? by ??e???????s??ta?. The explanation, "they shall wish prosperity or happiness to each other," is destructive of the gradation, so evident in the fundamental pa.s.sage,--blessing _for_, _on account of_, and _by_ Abraham; it cannot account for the constant, solemn repet.i.tion of this proclamation which everywhere appears as the _acme_ of the promises given to the Patriarch; it destroys the correspondence existing between this blessing upon all the families of the earth, and the curse which, after the fall, was inflicted upon the earth; it does away with the contrast, so clearly marked, between the union of the families of the earth effected by the blessing, and their dispersion, narrated in chap. xi.; it demolishes the connection existing between the prophecy of j.a.pheth"s dwelling in the tents of Shem (ix. 27), on the one hand, and the Ruler proceeding from Judah, to whom shall be the obedience of the nations (xlix. 10), on the other; and it severs all the necessary connecting links which unite these prophecies with one another.
Another attempt to deprive this promise of its Messianic character--that, namely, made by _Bertholdt_ (_de ortu theol. Vet.
Hebr._ p. 102) and others, who would have us to understand, by the families and nations of the earth, the Canaanitish nations--does not require any minute examination, as the weakness of these productions of rationalistic tendency are so glaringly manifest.
Footnote 1: _Herder_ says, in his _Briefe das Studium der Theol._ betr.
ii. S. 278: "If, in Abraham"s descendants, all the nations of the earth were to be blessed, Abraham might and should have conceived of this blessing in all its generality, so that everything whereby his nation deserved well of the nations of the earth, was implied in it. If, then, Christ also belongs to the number of those n.o.ble individuals who deserved so well, the blessing refers to Him, not _indirectly_, but _directly_; and if Christ be the chief of all this number, it then most directly, and in preference to all others, refers to Him;--although, in this germ, Abraham did not distinctly perceive His person, did not, nor could, except by special revelation, in this bud, so plainly discover the full growth of His merits."
Footnote 2: Even in this he was preceded by _Lampe_, who remarks: "Christ had spoken of seeing the day; the Jews speak about seeing the person. He had spoken of Abraham"s seeing; they speak of Christ"s seeing."
[Pg 57]
THE BLESSING OF JACOB UPON JUDAH.
(Gen. xlix. 8-10.)
Ver. 8. "_Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father._ Ver. 9. _A lion"s whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up?_ Ver. 10. _The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere._"
Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing "what shall befall his sons in the end of the days" (ver. 1), speak to Judah, after having dismissed those of his sons to whom, in the name of the Lord, he must tell hard things--things which did not, however, exclude them from the salvation common to all of them (ver. 28), although their shadow made the light of Judah shine so much the more brightly.[1]
In ver. 8 everything depends upon a right determination of the meaning of the name Judah. Being formed from the Future in Hophal, it signifies: "He (viz., G.o.d) shall be praised." This explanation rests upon Gen. xxix. 35, where Leah, after the birth of Judah, says, "Now will I praise the Lord;" and then follow the words: "therefore she called his name Judah." It rests likewise on the common use of the verb ???, the Hiphil of which is, according to _Maurer_, almost constantly used of "praising G.o.d," and is, as it were, set apart and sanctified for that purpose. After having enumerated a mult.i.tude of pa.s.sages, _Gesenius_ says, in his _Thesaurus_: "In all these pa.s.sages it refers [Pg 58] to the praise of G.o.d, and it is only rarely (Gen. xlix. 8 compared with Job xl. 14) that it refers to the praise of men." Even these few exceptions are such only in appearance. In Job xl. 14, he whom G.o.d will praise is not an ordinary man, but a _G.o.d-man_. By the subsequent words in Gen. xlix. 8, "Before thee shall bow down,"
something divine is ascribed to Judah; we need not therefore be astonished that, by the word ?????, he is raised above the merely human standing. They only who do not know the Lion of the tribe of Judah, have any reason to explain away, by a forced exposition, the slight allusion to a superhuman dignity of the tribe of Judah. The greater number of expositors, referring to the subsequent words, "thy brethren shall praise thee," explain the name by the expression, "blessed one."
But, even though we should retain the sure explanation which has been given above, the idea now mentioned falls very naturally in with it. He who, in the fullest sense, is a "G.o.d"s-praise" (_Gottlob_), whose very existence becomes the cause of exclaiming, d??a t? Te?, praise be to G.o.d, will a.s.suredly receive praise from the brethren.--"Judah thou"
stands (according to Gen. xxvii. 36; Matt. xvi. 18) either for, "Thou art Judah," _i.e._, thou art rightly called so, or, according to Gen.
xxiv. 60, for, "Thou Judah," _i.e._, I have something particular to tell thee (compare the emphatic "I" in Gen. xxiv. 27).--On the expression, "Thine hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies," _i.e._, thou shalt put to flight all thine enemies, and press them hard while they are fleeing, compare Exod. xxiii. 27, "I will make all thine enemies (turn their) backs unto thee," and Ps. xviii. 41, where David says, in the name of his family, in which Judah centred, as did Israel in Judah, "Thou hast given me mine enemies (to be) a back." If, however, we inquire how this prophecy was fulfilled, we must not overlook the circ.u.mstance that the subjects of it are sinful men, and that, for this reason, G.o.d could never give up the right of visiting their iniquity,--a right which has its foundation in His very nature.
Three sentences of condemnation precede the blessing upon Judah, and this indicates that Judah too will be weighed in the balance of justice. "The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power,"
which, in ver. 3, were taken from Reuben, are here adjudged to Judah.
The circ.u.mstance of his being the first-born could not protect the former against the loss of his privileges; [Pg 59] and just as little will the divine election deliver Judah from a visitation for his sins, although, by that election, the total loss of his privileges is rendered impossible. These two ordinations--the election and the visitation of sin in the elect--stand by the side of each other; and the latter could not be stayed, even at the time when Judah had reached its height in the Lion from out of his tribe; for although the Shepherd was blameless, yet the flock was not so. The ordination of election is, however, far from being thereby darkened; it only shines by a brighter light. Often painful indeed were the defeats which Judah had to sustain; often enough--as during the centuries which elapsed between the destruction of David"s kingdom and the coming of Christ--was the promise, "Thy hand shall be in the necks of thine enemies," reversed.
But when we behold Judah ever and anon returning and rising to the dignity here bestowed upon him,--when the advance then always keeps equal pace with the preceding depths of humiliation (we need think only of David"s time, and compare it with the period of the Judges),--then indeed it appears all the more clearly, that the hand of G.o.d is ever active in bringing this promise to a sure and firm fulfilment. In the history of the world there is only one power--that of Judah--in which, notwithstanding all defeats, the promise, "Thy hand shall be in the necks of thine enemies," is ever, after all, fulfilled anew; only one power, the victorious energy of which may indeed be overcome by sleep, but never by death; only one power which can speak as does David in the name of his family in Ps. xviii. 38-40: "I pursue mine enemies and overtake them, I do not return till they are consumed; I crush them, and they cannot rise: they fall under my feet. And Thou girdest me with strength for the war, Thou bowest down those that rise against me."--Luther remarks on this pa.s.sage: "These promises must be understood in spirit and faith. This may be seen from the history of David, where it often appears as if G.o.d had altogether forgotten him, and what He had promised to him. After he had already been elected, he was, for ten years, not able to obtain a fixed place, or residence in the whole kingdom; and when at last he took hold of the reins of government, he fell into great, grievous, heinous sin, and was sore vexed when he had to bear the punishment of it. Therefore these two things--promise and [Pg 60] faith--must always be combined; and it is necessary that a man who has a divine promise know well the art which Paul teaches in Rom. iv. 18, to believe in hope even against hope.--The kingdom of Israel, too, was a.s.sailed by so great weakness, and pressed down by so many burdens, that it appeared as if every moment it would fall; and this was especially the case when sin, and punishment in consequence of sin, broke in upon them, as, for instance, after David"s adultery with Bathsheba, and oftentimes besides. Yet, even in all such temptations, it always remains, on account of the promise."--It must be carefully observed that the words, "Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies," are placed between, "Thy brethren shall praise thee,"
and "Before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father," and that, immediately after this, Judah"s victorious power against the enemies of G.o.d"s people is again pointed out. This teaches us that the exalted position which Judah, when compared with his brethren, occupies, rests mainly on this:--that he is their fore-champion in the warfare against the world, and that G.o.d has endowed him with conquering power against the enemies of His kingdom. The history of David is best calculated to show and convince us, how closely these two things are connected with each other. That he was called to verify the truth of the promise given to Judah, "Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies," was first seen in his victory over Goliath the Philistine, fore-champion of the world"s power. After David"s word had been fulfilled, "The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear. He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine," and the Philistines had fled, seeing that their champion was dead (1 Sam. xvii.
37-51), then also were fulfilled the other words: "Thy brethren shall praise thee, the sons of thy father shall bow before thee." "And it came to pa.s.s as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands."--And in Sam. xviii. 16, it is said: "But all Israel and Judah _loved_ David, _because_ he went out and came in before them;"--and in 2 Sam. v. 2, when the ten tribes acknowledged [Pg 61]
David as their king, they said: "Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel." David would never have succeeded in overcoming the jealousy and envy of the other tribes, unless the promise, "Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies," had been fulfilled in him.--_Before Judah shall how down the sons of his father._ I have already remarked, in my commentary on Rev. xix. 10, that there is very little ground for the common distinction between religious and civil p??s????s?? (bowing down, worship). The true distinction is between that p??s????s?? which is given to G.o.d, either directly or indirectly, in those who bear His image, in the representatives of His gifts and offices,--and that p??s????s?? which is exacted apart from, and against G.o.d. "The G.o.d of Scripture demands to be honoured in those who bear His image, who hold His offices,--in father and mother and old men (Lev. xix. 32), in princes (Exod. xxii. 28), in the office of the judge (Deut. i. 17; Exod. xxi. 6, xxii. 7, 8). It is wicked to refuse this honour, and its natural expression in the bowing of the body, under the pretext, that it is due to _G.o.d_ alone. It is to be refused only where there is some danger that, thereby, any independent honour would be ascribed to the mere vessel of the divine glory." In what the p??s????s?? consists, which Judah is to receive from his brethren, we see distinctly from Isa. xlv. 14, where the heathen, at the time of the salvation, fall down before Israel: "Thus saith the Lord, The labour of Egypt and merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and be thine: they shall go behind thee; in chains they shall walk; _and they shall fall down before thee, and they shall make supplication unto thee_ (saying). _Only in thee is G.o.d, and there is no G.o.d else._" The ground of Judah"s adoration on the part of his brethren is this:--that G.o.d"s glory is visibly upon him, that by glorious deeds and victories the seal is impressed upon him: "with us is G.o.d"
(_Immanuel_). And this found its most glorious fulfilment in the Lion of the tribe of Judah, in Christ, of whom it is said in Phil. ii. 9-11: "Wherefore G.o.d has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of all those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth; and that every tongue should [Pg 62] confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of G.o.d the Father." That, in its final accomplishment, this prophecy referred to Christ, was known to Jacob as certainly as he makes Judah centre in the Shiloh. This Solomon also knew, when, in Ps.
lxxii. 11 (compare Ps. xlv. 12), he ascribes to his great Ant.i.type what is here ascribed to Judah: "All kings shall worship Him, and all nations shall serve Him." The consequence of the worship "by kings and nations" is the worshipping "by the sons of the father." Jacob thus transfers to Judah that which Isaac had promised to _him_: "People shall serve thee, and nations shall worship thee: be lord over thy brethren, and thy mother"s sons shall worship before thee:" Gen. xxvii.
29.
In ver. 9 Judah is first designated a young lion,--a name which is intended to indicate, that the victorious power ascribed to Judah exists, as yet, only in the _germ_. It required that centuries should pa.s.s away before he grew up to be a lion, a full-grown lion. By the long period which thus intervened between the promise and its fulfilment, the divine election is the more strikingly manifested.
(Several interpreters have been of opinion that there is no difference between the young lion, the lion, and the full-grown lion. But it is shown by Ezek. xix. 3--"And she brought up one of her ?????, and it became a ????, and it learnt to tear prey,"--that ??? ???? is a young lion not yet able to catch prey.[2]) In the words, "From the prey, my son, thou art gone up," the _prey_ is the _terminus a quo_: for ???
with ?? is always used of the place from which it is gone up (see Josh.
iv. 17, x. 9; Song of Sol. iv. 2): the _terminus ad quem_ is the usual abode, as is shown by what follows. The residence of the conqueror and ruler is conceived of as being _elevated_. Joseph, according to Gen.
xlvi. 31, goes up to Pharaoh, and in ver. 29 of the same chapter he goes up to meet his father. The expression "to go up" is commonly used of those who come from [Pg 63] other countries to Canaan. But the "going up" in the pa.s.sage under review implies also the "going down"
into the lower regions to seek for prey, just as in Ps. lxviii. 19, where it is said of the Lord, after He had fought for His people, and had been victorious, "Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive: Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord G.o.d might dwell among them." "_To dwell_" means there, that, after having accomplished all this, thou mayest dwell gloriously, and be inaccessible to the vengeance of the conquered, in thy usual place of abode. The sense is the same in the pa.s.sage before us. Luther is therefore wrong in explaining it thus: "Thou hast risen high, my son, by great victories,"--as are others also who translate it, "From the prey thou growest up." Such a view of this clause would, moreover, break up the connection, and all that follows would appear without preparation.[3]
The words, "He stoopeth down, he croucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion; who shall rouse him up?" contain a transition and allusion to what we are subsequently told concerning Shiloh. Even here we are presented with a picture of peace,--a peace, however, which is not to the prejudice of victorious power, as in the case of Issachar (vers. 14, 15), but which, on the contrary, preserves it undiminished.
If the promise, "From the prey, my son, thou art gone up," found its first glorious, although only preliminary, fulfilment in the reign of David (compare the enumeration of his victories in 2 Sam. viii.), the words, "He stoopeth down, he coucheth," etc., are the most appropriate inscription for the portal of Solomon"s reign. But, in Christ, the pre-eminence in the reign both of war and peace is united.--That ????
is not "the lioness," but only the poetical designation of the lion, appears from just the very pa.s.sage which is so commonly adduced in support of the former signification, viz., Job iv. 11; for the sons of the lion spoken of in that pa.s.sage are the sons of the wicked (compare Job xxvii. 14).