The Story of the Chosen People (Yesterday's Classics) (5 page)

He was about to go farther still, and even journey down into Egypt, when God appeared to him, bade him remain where he was, and solemnly renewed all the promises that he had made to Abraham.

While Isaac was dwelling here among the Philistines, he repeated the mistake twice made by his father. When asked who Rebecca was, he replied: "She is my sister." This falsehood was soon found out by the Philistine king, but he nevertheless allowed Isaac to stay in his land.

When the Philistines saw how very prosperous Isaac was, they became jealous of him and said: "Go from us, for thou art much mightier than we." Then, seeing that he did not depart, they tried to drive him away, by claiming in turn each new well that he dug. Isaac was almost in despair, but he finally made a treaty with them, and thus obtained peace.

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was more than one hundred years old, and was nearly blind, when he made up his mind to give his solemn blessing to his heir. This ceremony would make known to all men that this was the son chosen to continue the race which was in time to give birth to the Redeemer.

Isaac intended to give his blessing to Esau, and bade him prepare a venison feast for the occasion. While Esau was away hunting, Rebecca made up her mind to secure the birthright for her favorite Jacob; for she knew that her eldest son had given it up of his own free will.

As she did not dare claim it openly, she tried a fraud. Jacob's smooth hands and arms were covered with hairy goat skin, so that they would seem like his brother's to the touch, and a savory stew was prepared. Isaac, believing that it was Esau whom he touched, then gave to Jacob his solemn blessing before Esau came home from the chase.

ISAAC BLESSING JACOB

Esau, upon entering the tent, found out what had been done, and realized then for the first time how great was his loss. Falling at his father's feet, he cried wildly, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!"

But it was too late. The solemn blessing, once given, could not be recalled. Isaac could not give back to Esau the first place, forfeited by weakness; nor could he make Esau the ancestor of the Messiah. Nevertheless, the father blessed his elder son also, and promised him much worldly prosperity to take the place of the greater blessing which he had lost forever.

Now, although it was all his own fault, Esau could not forgive Jacob for taking his place; and he secretly made up his mind to kill his brother as soon as Isaac had passed away. Rebecca found out these evil intentions; and, to prevent any harm to Jacob, she sent him to visit her brother Laban in Mesopotamia, under the pretext of finding a wife among the daughters of his own race.

Esau was very angry when he heard that Jacob was out of reach, and about to marry in a way that would please his father so greatly. To win back his father's favor, Esau sent away his heathen wives, and married a daughter of Ishmael; but he did not give up all hopes of killing Jacob, and getting back his inheritance.

Jacob, in the mean while, had journeyed on; and when night overtook him he lay down upon the hard ground, with a stone for a pillow. While he was slumbering thus, he had a marvelous dream, and fancied that he saw a great ladder leading from earth to heaven.

On this ladder were "the angels of God ascending and descending," and "the Lord stood above it and said: 'I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac.' " Then God promised that he would give the land to Jacob's descendants, and would be with him and take care of him wherever he went.

When Jacob awoke, he piled up in the form of a rude altar the stones near where he lay. Then he poured oil upon them to consecrate them, and called the spot Bethel (the house of God), before he continued his journey.

Jacob was about seventy years old when he came to Mesopotamia, and sat down near the selfsame well where Eliezer had found his mother, Rebecca. Here Jacob first saw Rachel, Laban's daughter, who invited him into her father's house, where he tarried for a month as a guest.

During this month, Jacob daily saw Rachel, and learned to love her very dearly; and he soon entered into an agreement with Laban whereby he would obtain her hand in marriage at the end of seven years, in exchange for his faithful services as shepherd.

Such was the love which Jacob felt for Rachel that these seven years of servitude "seemed unto him but a few days." As soon as they were ended, however, he went to seek Laban, and eagerly claimed his bride.

Laban prepared for the wedding, but, instead of giving up Rachel, he married Jacob to his eldest daughter, Leah. The bride was so closely veiled during the ceremony that Jacob did not find out the fraud until it was too late. He was very angry indeed at this deception, and refused to be pacified until Laban promised to give him Rachel also; but this was on condition that Jacob should continue to serve his father-in-law for another term of seven years.

As in those days it was quite customary to have several wives at once, Jacob consented, and soon married Rachel. Then, at the request of Rachel and Leah, he also married their handmaidens. During the seven years which followed, Leah and the two servants gave birth to ten sons,—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Leah also had a daughter named Dinah; but Rachel, Jacob's favorite wife, had no children at all.

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we have seen, Rachel was the only one of Jacob's wives who had no children. She was much grieved to have no son, because every Jewish woman was anxious to have one, as he might be the Redeemer promised in the Garden of Eden. Rachel mourned greatly, but it was only when the second term of Jacob's servitude was near its end that she became the mother of Joseph.

As this son was the child of his favorite wife, Jacob loved him more than all the others; and, immediately after his birth, the father tried to leave Laban, and become his own master once more. But Laban would not let him go, and promised that if he would only serve for a third term of seven years, he should receive a certain part of the produce of the flocks.

Jacob consented, and during these seven years his herds prospered remarkably well. The time was nearly at an end, when he was favored by a vision, in which he was told to go back to the place where he was born, with his wives, children, and all the wealth that he had won.

As he feared that Laban would again try to detain him, Jacob got ready in secret, and stole away during the night. Thus, twenty years after he had left his father, he again crossed the desert, and came to the Holy Land.

Laban was very much displeased when he found that Jacob was gone. In his anger he set out to pursue his son-in-law, and soon overtook him. Then he reproached Jacob for going away without taking leave of him, and asked him to give back the household gods, which Rachel had carried off.

Although Laban was at first so angry, he parted peacefully with Jacob, because God warned him not to do his servant any harm. While still on the homeward journey, Jacob had another vision, and saw the angels camping around him, to keep him from all harm.

As he drew near home, his memory of the past grew clearer, and he remembered that he had parted from his brother Esau in anger. He now began to fear that his brother might still wish to kill him, and, hoping to disarm Esau's wrath, he sent a messenger to say that he was coming.

This man soon came back and said that Esau was coming to meet his brother, with an escort of four hundred fighting men. Jacob was terrified when he heard this. In his distress he called to God for help, and then, knowing that a man who wishes aid should exert himself, he got ready to meet the coming danger.

First, he sent a princely present of fine cattle to Esau; and then he placed his caravan so that Rachel and his best-loved child should be in the rear, and thus run less risk in case he was obliged to fight. Thus the caravan slowly passed over the ford of a little river; and Jacob, after seeing the people all cross in safety, staid near the edge of the stream.

Here he met a stranger, who fell upon him and wrestled with him all night. It was only near morning that Jacob found out that his opponent was an angel; for the stranger touched the sinews of one of Jacob's thighs and lamed him for life.

In spite of this bodily injury, Jacob clung fast to the angel, crying: "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." Thanks to his perseverance, he obtained the blessing he wanted, and the angel told him that he would henceforth be called Israel, or soldier of God.

Limping onward, Jacob soon overtook the caravan. Then, hastening to the head of it, he ran forward to meet his brother, Esau, whose anger he hoped to dispel by falling down upon his face before him, and begging his pardon.

Esau, however, had entirely forgotten his wrath. He put his arms around his brother's neck, kissed him, and proposed that they should always live side by side. Jacob was very glad to be on good terms with Esau once more, but he refused this kind offer, because he knew that their servants would never agree.

This meeting over, Jacob continued his journey, passed over the Jordan, and came to Shechem, where he bought a piece of land. Here he pitched his tents, and built an altar to God, and here his daughter Dinah was carried off by the Shechemites.

Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's sons, were anxious to punish these men for robbing them of their only sister. In doing so, however, they behaved so cruelly that Jacob was angry with them, and said that they had forfeited their right to inherit the blessing which he had received from his father Isaac.

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did not remain very long at Shechem, but soon passed on to Bethel, where he renewed his covenant with God. While on a journey from this place, his beloved wife Rachel died, after giving birth to a second son, named Benjamin. Rachel was buried near Bethlehem, and over her grave still rises a rude dome, which is called her tomb, and is often visited by Jews, Christians, and Mussulmans.

At the next resting place, Reuben, Jacob's oldest son, forfeited his birthright by doing wrong; and soon afterwards the caravan reached Isaac's encampment. Here they found the patriarch still alive, although he was now one hundred and sixty-five years old; and here Jacob sojourned until his father's death, fifteen years later.

Jacob and Esau buried their father, Isaac, in the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham, Sarah, and Rebecca already lay; and then Esau journeyed away to seek pasture for his flocks. His family is little mentioned in the Bible, but we are told that his descendants were the Edomites, who became the enemies of the Chosen Race.

Jacob went on dwelling in the Land of Canaan, and because he "loved Joseph more than all his children," he was very partial to him. To show his affection, he gave this favorite child a princely robe of many colors.

When Jacob's other sons saw that their father preferred Joseph, they grew angry and envious. These wicked feelings grew worse when Joseph told about two dreams which he had had, and which were as follows:

In the first dream he thought he was in the midst of a harvest field, where he and his brothers were binding grain, and he said that he saw their sheaves bow down and do homage to his, which alone stood boldly upright.

In the second dream, "the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance" to him.

These dreams were, according to the custom of the time, considered as signs of the future; and they were thought to mean that Joseph would rule over his brothers.

The jealousy of the elder brothers was made still greater by this way of interpreting the dreams; and they began to plot how to get rid of Joseph. They soon had a chance to do what they wished; for, before long, Jacob sent Joseph alone to Shechem, to inquire how his sons and flocks were getting along there.

The brothers recognized Joseph from afar by his bright robe, and hastily consulted together how they might kill him. Reuben alone wished to save Joseph, but he did not dare oppose his brothers openly; so he now suggested that instead of shedding the lad's blood it would be better to put him into an empty cistern near by.

The wicked brothers agreed, and after taking off Joseph's coat of many colors, they lowered the poor boy into the cistern, whence he could not escape without aid. Then they stained his gay garment with the blood of a kid, and sent it back to Jacob, who thought that his favorite son had been devoured by the wild beasts, and bitterly mourned his loss.

Before Reuben could carry out his kind intentions, and release Joseph from the empty cistern, the other brothers sold him to a caravan of passing merchants for twenty pieces of silver; and when Reuben came back, after a short absence, Joseph was already well on his way to Egypt, where he was to be sold as a slave.