I. If there be little poetic or romantic charm in the history of Isaac, what a wealth of it there is in that of Jacob! A double deceit, followed by banishment from his country; this expulsion relieved and brightened, first by a glorious vision and then by unexampled prosperity in the strange land whither he had gone; long toils, travails, disappointments, and quarrels; and, at last, light at eventime in Egypt, and the spirit of prophecy resting upon his soul. Jacob's love for Rachel is the most pleasing trait in his character, as the prophecy from his deathbed is the most sublime.
II. The story of Joseph has often and truly been called a romantic one, as marvellous as anything in the "Arabian Nights," and yet alive all over with truth and nature. It combines the charms of the most finished fiction and of the simplest truth. It is at once the strangest and the most likely of stories. The character of Joseph, so mild, yet so determined, so wise and so affectionate, yet so astute and pious, develops before you as naturally as a bud into a flower or a slip into a tree. The subordinate characters in this drama of life are all drawn by brief but most powerful strokes, from the wife of Potiphar with her mock cry, to the chief butler with his tardy admission, "I do remember my faults this day"; from the kindness of Reuben to the cruelty of Simeon; from the tenderness of Benjamin to the pleading eloquence of the repentant Judah.
III. From the history of Jacob and Joseph we may gather these additional thoughts. (1) Let us learn to admire even the eddies of life, and to respect even the weaker members of the Church of God (Isaac). (2) Sometimes, though seldom, policy and piety are found in the same character (Jacob). (3) Let us rejoice that, even in this world of dull injustice and leaden law, there are again and again opened up to aspiring spirits sudden opportunities of rising, like Jacob's ladder stretched along the sky. (4) Let us remember that we, too, in our turn, must be gathered, like the patriarchs, to our fathers.
G. Gilfillan, Alpha and Omega,vol. ii., p. 21.
References: Genesis 28. F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis,p. 101; M. Dods, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph; Old Testament Outlines,pp. 13, 16, 18; Wells, Bible Children,p. 43.Genesis 29. Expositor,2nd series, vol. vi., p. 267; F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis,p. 110; R. S. Candlish, Book of Genesis,vol. ii., pp. 17, 28, 36. Genesis 29:20. W. Meller, Village Homilies,p. 142.Genesis 29:26. Spurgeon, Evening by Evening,p. 321. Gen 29-31. Homiletic Quarterly,vol. iii., p. 539; Parker, vol. i., p. 280.