The case of Lot’s wife is, to all appearance, very strange. Her crime of looking back, would appear to us much less than that of her husband’s in turning his daughters into the street. The history of Lot winds up with a strange account, and not very favorable to strict morality, namely—the project of his daughters in making him drunk, and the disgusting consequences that followed. Thus, it is clear, that Lot’s wife (bless the good old woman!) was the best, in a moral point of view, in the whole family; and only for looking back on her beloved home, she was treated like a dead sow, by being put into pickle. To conclude this tirade of nonsense and folly, we will add—“remember Lot’s wife.”
It appears from Bible history, that when Abram left his own country, he was any thing but rich; and as his substance consisted in a few heads of cattle, a famine soon overtook him as he journeyed, which induced him to go down into Egypt, the then granary of the earth. To prevent any unpleasant consequences that might result to Abram, because of the beauty of Sarah, his wife, she was instructed to call her husband her brother. It turned out as was expected, for she was recommended to Pharaoh, and taken into the royal palace. Immediately, presents came unto Abram in quick succession, consisting of “sheep and oxen, and he asses; men-servants and maidservants; and she asses and camels.” But the Lord, ever watchful over Abram’s affairs, troubled Pharaoh and his house; and when Pharaoh discovered the cause of this evil, he remonstrated with Abram for his duplicity, and returned his wife undefiled. So kind, however, was the Lord to Abram, that the presents were made before the cheat was discovered, and he came out of Egypt a rich man.
This may be said to be the beginning of Abram’s good luck; and we may suppose that in returning home to their old pasturage, Sarah would laugh and exclaim—“See what it is to have a handsome wife!” Another famine will make brother Abram and sister Sarah the richest couple in pastoral life.
In the course of events, Abram and Sarah had recourse again to the same trick, on Abimelech, King of Gerar, which had been acted with so much success in Egypt. Sarah, on account of her beauty, at ninety years of age, was taken by the King; but the Lord, ever the guardian of Sarah’s virtue, came to Abimelech in a dream, and threatened him and all his house with death, if Sarah was not given up to her lawful husband. The King remonstrated with the Lord, and justified his conduct by declaring, that both Abram and Sarah had deceived him; and said—“In the integrity of my hearty and innocency of hands, have I done this.” The Lord replied—“I know that you did it innocently, for I withheld thee from, sinning against me; therefore, suffered I thee not to touch her.” Again, as before, presents of cattle, men-servants, and maid-servants, with a thousand pieces of silver into the bargain, were given to Abram, with his wife, who is as chaste as morning dew.
I have dwelt longer on this account than I at first intended, merely to show the folly in believing that the Almighty Lord of all had any concern in such contemptible fooleries as are recorded in the family concerns of Abram. One thing, however, is omitted; and that is, the quarrel between Sarah and Hagar. The tent or house became too hot to hold those rival women; at last, Sarah triumphed by turning out Hagar and her love-begotten child, which demanded the Lord’s interference, and gave poor Abram no small share of trouble.
From the moment that Jehovah adopted the family of Abram, the Bible account warrants us in supposing that the family concerns of that patriarch particularly engaged the attention of Jehovah; since, for every trifling concern that took place, the Lord was applied to in order to settle the matter. Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau, when about to become a mother, applied to the Lord for information respecting her singular situation; and the Lord informed her that she would be the mother of two celebrated nations, and satisfied her mind as to every other inquiry she made. And here we may ask, how it was that the Lord, in those days, was so easy of access? How every gossipping old woman could lay her case before the Lord, and wait his advice and answer? The reply is at hand. The whole account of the Lord’s saying unto Abram, or the Lord’s saying unto Moses, and again, “the word of the Lord came unto Moses, saying,” is all humbug: no such word ever came; no such conversation ever took place.
Whoever wrote the Book of Genesis, has placed Jehovah in an immoral point of view; as keeping company with unprincipled knaves, and as acting without any regard to the strict rules of justice and mercy; as having a system of favoritism, which does not admit of administering impartial justice. The case of Jacob and Esau is directly opposed to truth and impartiality. Esau was, in a moral point of view, evidently the best of the two; but Jacob was Jehovah’s choice. Esau, according to Bible history, was a hardy, industrious, and generous man. Jacob, on the other hand, was his mother’s pet; and the deception which he and his mother played on old Isaac, who was blind, is in strict accordance with the conduct of all the Lord’s favorites. Jacob, according to Bible history, was, through his whole life, full of deception and trickery. He could lie and take a false oath to deceive his blind father; and by deceit, deprive his brother Esau of his lawful right of inheritance. And yet the Lord was with him, and connived at all his baseness!
But Jacob, conscious of his wickedness, and justly deserving his brother’s resentment, fled to his uncle for protection. On his way, the Lord appeared to him in visions; and, notwithstanding his lying and false swearing to his father, promised him divine assistance. Jacob still acted in the same crafty manner, even with the Lord himself; always having his own self-interest in view; for, after the Lord had said, Genesis xxvii., 15, “And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of”—even after this promise from the Lord, in verse 20 it is said—“And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God.”
Well done, Jacob! that is making a good Jew bargain. Jehovah and Jacob both kept their word; for Jacob married his two cousins, the daughters of his uncle Laban, and staid with him until he, by the help of the Lord, contrived to jockey old Laban out of the best of his cattle, and ran away back to his own father’s house, taking with him, by stealth, the gods of Laban his father. Thus did Jacob not only triumph over the heathen gods, by carrying them off captive, but continued to adhere to Jehovah, his own God, who did not desert him in his recreant tricks. It is not to be wondered that the sons of Jacob should be so base in their actions, after the example of their father; and considering what a mixed breed they were, having so many mothers. Their conduct towards their brother Joseph is a sample of their actions; and although Bible history records the good fortune of Joseph, he, among the rest of his brethren, acted the tyrant as soon as power would permit him so to do.
This chapter will conclude with a few remarks on the life of Joseph, and his career in Egypt. The fame and good fortune of Joseph, depended on his gift of interpreting dreams, which finally made him, under Pharaoh, Lord of the land; and according to his predictions, seven years of famine were to succeed seven years of plenty; by which, Joseph planned the entire subjugation of Egypt. He, by the authority of Pharaoh, bought up all the grain left of the seven years’ plenty; and when the famine came, the grain was sold to the inhabitants at the price that Joseph was pleased to put upon it. But the famine continued so long that all the money was spent. The poor, half-starved people told Joseph their situation, and offered their cattle in exchange for grain; the cattle were taken by him; at last, all their cattle disappeared, and the people continued in want; then, offer was made of their lands, which Joseph also took; and with their lands, themselves; so the government took all. But after the famine, Joseph proposed to furnish them with seed wherewith to sow their fields, on condition that, ever after, Pharaoh was to have one-fifth of the yearly produce. How kind of Joseph! Now, if the Bible be true concerning this matter, I ask, could anything be more unjust and cruel?