Reflexions upon the books of the Holy Scriptures to establish the truth of the Christian religion. Volume I in two volumes.

CHAP. XIV.

That God seems to have designed to keep up a Spirit of Jealousie in the very Bosom of the Jewish Nation.

WE have seen in general, that God by gi∣ving his Law to the Israelites, intended to discriminate them from all other Nations of the World, and in particular from those Nations which had shewed themselves to be jealous of that distinction; I mean from the Moabites, the Ammo∣nites, the Ismaelites, and the Edomites, as I shall hereafter shew. I have likewise observed, that God by his Conduct, and his Oracles, did also excite a Spirit of Jealousie amongst the several pretenders to the Promise. I come now to shew that God hath follow'd the same design in his Law, and that he hath made use of that Jealousie as of another means, to make that People, which he had separated from all other Nations, keep up always amongst themselves a lively Notion, and Expectation of the Messiah.

Perhaps the Reader may think, that these Re∣flections may interrupt the Series of the Obser∣vations I have undertaken to make upon Moses's Law: But besides that I shall resume them pre∣sently, so one may easily discern, that these two Remarks concerning the Spirit of Distinction, and the Spirit of Jealousie, kept up in the Bosom of this

people, ought to be well considered by those that desire to know the Genius of God's Laws, and the original Causes of all the Transactions related by Moses, and by the other sacred Authors, who a∣cted in pursuance of that Design which appears in those Laws which Moses gave to the People of Israel.

I begin with two general Reflexions, which, I think are very useful in the explication of God's Conduct upon this Occasion.

Two things, as I have already observed, have conduced to keep up that Jealousie, whereof Mo∣ses has given so many instances in the Book of Ge∣nesis.

The first is, The Preference which God hath commonly given to the younger Brothers before the elder.

The second is, The choice which God hath made of such particular persons as appeared abso∣lutely unworthy of God's choice.

So that here one see's a continual Series in the Jewish History written by Moses, and by the Prophets, who made the same Observations upon that Model which Moses had given them.

First of all, The Tribe of Judah is preferred before all the other Tribes of Israel, and particu∣larly before the Tribe of Reuben, which after∣wards occasioned the Insurrection of some Reu∣benites in their Sedition against Moses, wherein Co∣rah, Dathan, and Abiram perished: Just as God's preferring Abel offended Cain, and as Joseph's Bre∣thren conspired together to put him to death, be∣cause of his Dreams, which foretold his greatness and their fall.

Secondly, One see's that Phares, Judah's young∣est Son, is preferred not only before all the other Children of Judah, but even before Zerah the eldest of the Twins which Judah had by Thamar; just as Jacob was preferred before his Brother E∣sau, tho' they were Twins, and Esau born the first of the two.

One see's afterwards, That God having chosen Jesse of all the Posterity of Phares, David the youngest of all his Sons, was preferred before his Brethren, when God was pleased to translate the Kingdom to the Tribe of Judah, and to the Fa∣mily of Jesse. Just as we saw before, that, in the Election of the first King, whom the Israelites desi∣red to be set over them, that he was chosen by Lot by an extraordinary effect of Providence out of the Tribe of Benjamin, tho' the youngest of all Jacob's Children.

Thus one see's that Solomon the youngest of Da∣vid's Children, was preferred before his Brothers, and that the same Solomon built the Temple of God in the Tribe of Benjamin, tho' he himself was of the Tribe of Judah.

We shall afterwards see, That the Messiah was descended from David by Nathan, Son to one of David's younger Children, and by Resah Zoroba∣bel's youngest Son, from whom the Blessed Virgin drew her Original.

The second Remark is about the care God hath taken by his choice of some particular persons to accomplish the promise, to furnish those with pretences and objections, who might be interessed, to oppose the Restrictions which God had made in favour of their equals; for as they served to

keep up a Jealousie amongst all the pretenders to the Promise, so they also served to preserve a di∣stinct knowledge of it, and to make them inquire more diligently after it.

In short, as we see that the Ismaelites might up∣braid Sarah both with her frequent Rapes, and with her Cruelty to Agar and Ismael: As the Edo∣mites might upbraid Jacob's Posterity with Rebec∣ca's supplanting their Father Esau, and cheating him of his Blessing; so likewise we may observe, that God not only chose Thamar to have the Mes∣siah descend from her; but also would have her Incest with her Father in-Law recorded. What might all the other Tribes of Israel say, were there then no honest Women in Israel, that the Messiah's Ancestors must descend from those that were born of an Incestuous Commerce? What probability is there, that God should choose the Tribe of Judah? Had not all the other Children of Judah a fairer pretension to this priviledge, than Phares could have? And might not their Posterity re∣vive against the Posterity of Phares, that severe Law against Bastard Children which we read of Deut. XXIII.

God chose in the like manner Ruth the Moabitess, and had her History written, and his choice re∣corded, as if he had intended to prepare an excuse for those of the Israelites who afterwards would re∣fuse to submit to David. What probability is there might they say, that God would have the Mes∣siah to be born of a Moabitess, seeing it was by his order, that Moses caused all those Israelites to be put to death, who after the pronunciation of Ba∣laam's Prophesie, held any commerce with the

Daughters of Moab? Was there any likelihood that such a thing could be possible, especially see∣ing there was a Law which God would have to be inserted in Deuteronomy, which excludeth the Mo∣abites from the possibility of ever being admitted in∣to the people of God. But at least, was not this choice of Ruth the Moabitess, a fair cause of Jea∣lousie to all the other Families of Judah?

God caused the Adultery of Bathsheba, the Mo∣ther of Solomon, to be carefully recorded, as it were on purpose to excuse the Rebellion of those who afterwards sided with Jeroboam, against Re∣hoboam and his Authority.

Is it probable, (might these Rebels say) that God would have chosen that Bloody Cruel Man David, that Adulterer, that he and Bathshebah should beget the Messiah together?

Had Jesse no other Children besides David? And if David must needs have been the Man, why should Solomon born of Bathshebah be preferred before all his Brothers?

There are three things considerable in this Matter.

The First is, That God having given to Jo∣shuah, the conduct of the Israelites, after he had formerly raised Joseph so much above his Brethren by his advancement in Egypt, and given to his Tribe two portions of the Land of Canaan; he permitted, that Jeroboam should rise up against Rehoboam, Solomon's Son, and not only so, but should likewise, according to the Prophesie rela∣ted, Gen. XXVIII. 17. build a Temple at Bethel, as being jealous against Solomon, who built one upon Mount Moriah, according to the Prophe∣sie

we find in Genesis XXII. 14.

The Second is, That this separation, gave a fair pretence to raise the Reputation of the Pro∣phesies which Jacob uttered upon his Death-Bed in favour of Joseph; which Prophesies ran in terms so very high, that they not only gave colour to Jeroboam's pretensions to the Kingdom, but did also lead the Ten Tribes into an expectation, that the Messiah should be born, not in the Tribe of Judah, as Jacob had expresly foretold Genesis XLIX. but in the Tribe of Ephraim, according to the constant Custom of God's preferring the younger Sons of a Family before the Elder, in the matter of this Promise.

The Third is, That even the greatest part of the two Loyal Tribes received at last the inter∣pretation which the other ten made of that Pro∣phesie. At least, it appears, that many of the Jews have endeavoured to prove, that the Messiah should come from the Tribe of Ephraim, by interpreting several Prophesies that way, which according to their account and their prejudices, were expressed in such terms, as could not be understood of him, that was to be born in the Tribe of Judah, and out of the Royal Family of David.