Jacob's Forgetfulness — Images and Idols- Devotion and Fashion — A consecrated Place - The Nurse's Death-Masters and Servants Jacob changed to Israel - Death of beloved Rachel - Isaac's Death Joseph in Prison - The Butler and Baker shut up with him— Their Pharaoh's Dreams -The Nile- The Seven Kine. The Seven Ears Famine in Canaan - Corn in Egypt-Jacob's Sons sent to Egypt — Their Reception by Joseph-His Incognito - His Stipulation to Jacob's Reluctance to let Benjamin go― Judah's Reasoning-Joseph's Reception of them - His Feelings at seeing Benjamin - His Hospi- Detection of the Divining-Cup in Benjamin's Sack-Shock felt by the Patriarchs Their Return to Joseph - Interview-Touching Appeal Joseph's Disclosure of Himself - The Feelings of his Brethren - Jo- seph's Tenderness- The Fame of it- Pharaoh's delicate and munifi、 Jacob's Arrival -Joseph's Loyalty and Deference - Presentation of his Brethren to Pharaoh - Their Trade - Deference to Age-The GENESIS. CHAPTER I. GENESIS THE PENTATEUCH -SCIENTIFIC AND POPULAR TERMS GOD Ir is only possible, in the course of such incidental remarks as I make on the Scripture lesson for the day, to give a few prefatory explanations of the book which we have now begun to read. It is called, in our common Bible, "Genesis." This was not its original name. The Jews call each of their books by the initial words of each book. For instance, the initial words in this book are Bereshith bara Elohim; and therefore the Jews call the book "Bereshith bara," using the two first words, Bereshith — In the beginning; Bara Elohim God created. But each book in the Old Testament is now called, not by the name given it by the Jews, but by one borrowed from the Septuagint, or Greek version of the Old Testament, made three hundred years before the Christian era. Neither nomenclature is of divine origin. The name, "Genesis," however, which is its Greek name, and not its Hebrew, is very expressive. It means " Creation," or Generation," or, if you like it, "the origin of all things." are called, collect This book, and the other four that succeed it, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, ively, by the name of "The Pentateuch." These five books have been so called for ages "The Pentateuch," or "The five works." This word is not Hebrew, again I may remind you, but Greek, and means "Five works," or "Five accomplishments." The Jews divided the Old Testament into three divisionsMoses, the Prophets, and the Psalms; - including under the division" Prophets," the twelve minor prophets, and also the larger prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; and including under the division "Psalms," the Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes; and under the division "Moses," the Pentateuch, and the other historical books that immediately follow it. That this book is inspired of God, we gather, first, from its internal character, and from external evidence; and, secondly, from the express declarations to that effect in the New Testament writings. When Paul wrote to Timothy, All the Scriptures"Пãσa ręαp—" are given by inspiration of God," he alluded primarily to the Old Testament Scriptures, which every Jew had in his hand Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets. This book, too, might be shown to be inspired, from its intrinsic contents, its sublime character, and marvellous information. Just take a fabulous, or legendary, or traditional account of the creation of man from the Greeks, or from the Romans, or from the Chinese, or from any modern heathen nation, and you will see how absurd, how puerile their records are; and afterwards compare them with the severe and sublime simplicity of this record, and you must come to the conclusion that it alone bears on its face the superscription of Deity, and that man could not have originated a record at once so simple and so sublime, commending itself so truly to the most enlightened mind, and vindicating itself in all respects as worthy of God. The objections that have been raised against it are, of course, in details; and in details such objections may fairly be met. For instance, such a statement as "God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament heaven," is found fault with. Now, this is not a scientific description, but a record of a simple fact; it is speaking optically, not scientifically. The Bible is written in popular language, to teach mankind religion; it is not written in scientific terms, to satisfy the successive discoveries of scientific men. And when it calls the firmament "heaven," there is evidently meant the atmosphere. For instance, in 2 Peter 3: 10, which is our lesson for this evening, we read, "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise." One at once understands that to be the atmosphere; and one can easily see how consistent such a prophecy is with what science has discovered as the component parts of the elements of the atmosphere. And when Moses here describes the clouds as distinct from the ocean, and the earth, and the atmosphere, and calls the clouds "the waters above the firmament," he speaks in popular language, but here, as everywhere, in perfect consistency with scientific dis coveries. Another passage has been objected to, namely, his describing God creating the sun and moon as if he made these at the time the earth was arranged. Now, I do not believe this is here taught; and I shall endeavor to show, in the course of my sermon, that the earth is much older than the common interpretation of the Mosaic record allows. I think that the sun and moon were made long before our earth. But the language of the sacred penman does not teach that God then made the sun and moon; for the words here in the original are not those usually rendered "made" and "created; they might be translated, as it has been shown by the best Hebrew scholars, in fact, they must be so,- "Let the lights in the firmament of the heaven be for the purpose of dividing the day from the night." You will observe, the word for create is bara. The other word that is used for making is aasa; but the sacred penman does not in this instance use |