Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

not at all improbable that this was his accus tomed hour and place for such delightful communion with his heavenly Father. And we may well suppose, that the journey of Eliezer, and the object which he went to accomplish, formed an interesting part of his thoughts, and of his prayers.

In the midst of his reflections he discovers a group of travellers approaching. As they come nearer, he recognizes Eliezer and his attendants, and sees that some females are with them. It must be that God has prospered him in his errand, and that one of these females is his intended wife. He hastens to meet them.

[ocr errors]

In the meanwhile Rebekah has inquired, and been told by Eliezer that it is Isaac. Covering herself with a veil, as was customary, she alights from the camel on which she was riding. Isaac receives her with respectful courtesy and affection, being informed by Eliezer who she is, and of all that he had done. He conducts her to the tent of his late mother, which Rebekah is now to consider as her own. They are soon united in marriage; and Isaac is comforted under the loss of Sarah, a parent whom he tenderly

loved, and whose death had greatly afflicted him.

Eliezer took no small satisfaction in having thus fulfilled the oath which he made to Abraham, and accomplished successfully the important object of the long journey on which he was sent. He thanked God, with devout gratitude for the result.

He had undertaken and conducted the whole enterprize, feeling his dependence on his heavenly Father, and looking to him for his blessing. And now, as we have every reason to believe, he would give to God all the glory of its being brought to so happy an issue.

What kind of plans and enterprises, my dear reader, are you forming? Are they solely for your own personal advantage, or that you may do good to others? Are they of such a nature that you can ask the blessing of God upon them?

Do as Eliezer did. Engage only in enterprises to which you are called by a sense of duty, and to fulfil the obligations that you are under to God, and to your fellow-men. Seek the divine direction in prayer. Look above for wisdom and strength. Put your

trust in the Almighty. Go forward resolutely. Be persevering, prompt and decided. Make all reasonable despatch. And when you have succeeded, (if God sees fit to grant you success,) let him have all the praise.

STORY XXI.

ESAU SELLS HIS BIRTHRIGHT.

THIRTY-FIVE years after Isaac's marriage with Rebekah, Abraham died, at the advanced age of one hundred and seventy-five years. He was buried by his sons, Isaac and Ishmael, in the same cave of Machpelah, where lay the remains of his wife Sarah. His spirit ascended to God. There he is now enjoying the happiness of the heavenly state, and experiencing the value of that faith which marked his character so strongly while on earth. He saw the day of Jesus Christ, and was glad that such a Saviour was to be provided for him and his fellow-sinners. He

now rejoices in the triumphs of this Saviour, and, redeemed by his blood, is with him and the thousands whom he has rescued from destruction, enjoying his presence, and engaged in his service, in the world of eternal blessedness.

Fifteen years before the death of Abraham, Rebekah had two sons. They were twins. The one who was born first, was called Esau, and the other Jacob.

Esau, while yet an infant, had one very singular peculiarity. He was covered, all over, with thick hair of a red colour. As he grew up to manhood, he became a very skilful hunter. He disliked the quiet occupation of an agricultural life, and delighted in chasing the beasts of the forest, and procuring them for food, for himself and the family. On this account he was a favourite of Isaac, who was fond of the wild game which Esau so often brought home with him.

Rebekah, on the contrary, was most partial to Jacob, who was attached to domestic concerns; to tilling the ground, and taking care of the flocks and herds.

An event occurred, one day, in which the two brothers were concerned, of little conse

quence in itself considered, but of immense importance in its results.

Jacob had been making some pottage, by boiling a kind of beans, called lentiles, when Esau came in from hunting, quite faint with hunger and fatigue, and asked his brother to give him some of the food.

Jacob consented, on the condition that Esau would sell him his birthright for the pottage. This was, I think, a very unkind demand, and showed a great want of generosity towards a suffering brother. It was exceedingly exorbitant, too, as you will perceive when we consider what this birthright was which Jacob would fain purchase with a mess of pottage.

A birthright is a right to certain things which a person has, on acccount of some circumstances attending his birth. Among the descendants of Abraham, the first-born son was entitled to certain things which the other children were not, and these were called his birthright.

He had the priesthood; that is, after his father's death, and during his life-time, if he was disabled from performing the duty by sickness, or otherwise, the eldest son was

« AnteriorContinua »