С НА Р. XIV.

That God feems to have defigned to keep up a Spirit of Jealousy in the very Bofom of the JEWISH Nation.

WE have feen, in general, that God, by giving his law to the

Ifraelites, intended to difcriminate them from all other nations of the world, and in particular from thofe nations which had fhewed themselves to be jealous of that diftinction; I mean from the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Ifraelites, and the Edomites, as I fhall hereafter fhew. I have likewife obferved that God, by his conduct, and his oracles, did alfo excite a spirit of jealousy amongst the feveral pretenders to the promife. I come now to fhew that God hath followed the fame defign in his law, and that he hath made ufe of that jealoufy as of another means to make that people, which he had feperated from all other nations, keep up always amongst themselves a lively notion and expectation of the Meffiah.

Perhaps the reader may think that these reflexions may interrupt the feries of the obfervations I have undertaken to make upon Mofes's law: but befides that I fhall refume them prefently, fo one may eafily difcern, that these two remarks concerning the fpirit of diftinction, and the spirit of jealoufy, kept up in the bofom of this people, ought to be well confidered by thofe that defire to know the genius of God's laws, and the original caufes of all the tranfactions related by Mofes, and by the other facred authors, who acted in pursuance of that defign which appears in those laws which Mofes gave to the people of Ifrael.

I begin with two general reflexions, which I think are very useful in the explanation of God's conduct upon this occafion.

Two things, as I have already obferved, have conduced to keep up that jealoufy whereof Mofes has given fo many inftances in the book of Genefis.

The first is, the preference which God hath commonly given to the younger brothers before the elder.

The fecond is, the choice which God hath made of fuch particular perfons as appeared abfolutely unworthy of God's choice.

So that here one fees a continual feries in the Jewish history written by Mofes, and by the Prophets, who made the fame obfervations upon that model which Mofes had given them.

First of all, the tribe of Judah is preferred before all the other tribes of Ifrael, and particularly before the tribe of Reuben, which afterwards occafioned the infurrection of fome Reubenites in their fedition against Mofes, wherein Cerah, Dathan, and Abiram, perifhed; juft as God's preferring Abel offended Cain, and as Jofeph's brethren confpired together to put him to death, because of his dreams, which foretold his greatness and their fall.

Secondly, one fees that Phares, Judah's youngest fon, is preferred not only before all the other children of Judah, but even before Zerah,

the

CH. XIV. the eldest of the twins which Judab had by Thamar; juft as Jacob was preferred before his brother Efau, though they were twins, and Efau born the first of the two.

One tees afterwards, that God having chofen Jefe of all the pofterity of Phares, David, the youngeft of all his fons, was preferred before his brethren, when God was pleafed to tranflate the kingdom to the tribe of Judah, and to the family of J; juft as we faw before, in the election of the firft king whom the Ifraelites defired to be fet over them, that he was chofen by lot, by an extraordinary effect of providence, out of the tribe of Benjamin, though the youngest of all Jacob's children. Thus one fees that Solomon, the youngest of David's children, was preferred before his brothers, and that the fame Solomon built the temple of God in the tribe of Benjamin, though he himself was of the tribe of Judab.

We shall afterwards fee that the Meffiah was defcended from David, by Nathan, fon to one of David's younger children, and by Refab, Zorababel's youngest fon, from whom the Bleffed Virgin drew her original.

The fecond remark is about the care God hath taken, by his choice of fome particular perfons to accomplish the promife, to furnish thofe with pretences and objections, who might be interefted to oppofe the reftrictions which God had made in favour of their equals; for as they ferved to keep up a jealoufy amongst all the pretenders to the promife, fo they alfo ferved to preferve a diftinct knowledge of it, and to make them inquire more diligently after it.

In short, as we fee that the Ifmaelites might upbraid Sarah bath with her frequent rapes, and with her cruelty to Agar and Ifmael; as the Easmites might upbraid Jacob's pofterity with Rebecca's fupplanting their father Efau, and cheating him of his bleffing; fo likewife we may obferve that God not only chofe Thamar to have the Meffiah defcend from her, but also would have her inceft with her father-in-law recorded. What! might all the other tribes of Ifrael fay, were there then no honest women in Ifrael, that the Meffiah's ancestors must defcend from thofe that were born of an incestuous commerce? What probability is there that God fhould choose the tribe of Judah? Had not all the other children of Judab a fairer pretenfion to this privilege, than Phares could have? And might not their pofterity revive against the pofterity of Phares that fevere law againft baftard children which we read of

Deut. xxiii.

God chofe in the like manner Ruth the Moabitefs, and had her hiftory written, and his choice recorded, as if he had intended to prepare an excufe for those of the Ifraelites who afterwards would refuse to submit to David. What probability is there, might they fay, that God would have the Meffiah to be born of a Moabitefs, feeing it was by his order that Mofes caufed all thofe fraelites to be put to death, who after the pronunciation of Balaam's prophecy held any commerce with the daughters of Moab? Was there any likelihood that fuch a thing could be poffible, efpecially feeing there was a law which God would have to be inferted in Deuteronomy, which excludeth the Moabites from the poffibikry of ever being admitted into the people of God. But at least, was not

this choice of Ruth the Moabites, a fair cause of jealousy to all the other families of Judah?

God caufed the adultery of Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, to be carefully recorded, as it were on purpose to excufe the rebellion of those who afterwards fided with Jeroboam, against Rehoboam and his authority.

Is it probable (might thefe rebels fay) that God would have chosen that bloody cruel man David, that adulterer, that he and Bathsheba fhould beget the Meffiah together?

Had effe no other children befides David? And if David muft needs have been the man, why fhould Solomon, born of Bathsheba, be preferred before all his brothers?

There are three things confiderable in this matter.

The first is, that God having given to Joshua the conduct of the Ifraelites, after he had formerly raised Jofeph fo 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 fhould rife up against Rehoboam, Solomon's fon; and not only fo, but fhould likewife, according to the prophecy related Gen. xxviii. 17. build a temple at Bethel, as being jealous againft Solomon, who built one upon mount Moriah, according to the prophecy we find in Genefis xxii. 14.

The fecond is, that this feparation gave a fair pretence to raise the reputation of the prophecies which Jacob uttered upon his death-bed in favour of Jofeph; which prophecies ran in terms fo very high, that they' not only gave colour to Jeroboam's pretenfions to the kingdom, but did alfo lead the ten tribes into an expectation that the Meffiah fhould be born, not in the tribe of Judah, as Jacob had exprefsly foretold, Genefis xlix. but in the tribe of Ephraim, according to the conftant cuftom of God's preferring the younger fons of a family before the elder, in the matter of this promife.

The third is, that even the greateft part of the two loyal tribes received at laft the interpretation which the other ten made of that prophecy. At least, it appears, that many of the Jews have endeavoured to prove that the Meffiah fhould come from the tribe of Ephraim, by interpreting feveral prophecies that way, which, according to their account and their prejudices, were expreffed in fuch 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.

VOL. I.

X

CHAT

СНА Р. XV.

That Circumcifion was a Means of diftinguishing the ISRAELITES from other Nations.

UT I must now refume my obfervations upon Mofes's laws. Circumcifion was, without question, one of the first and most fenfible means whereby God did diftinguish Jacob's pofterity from all other people. I will therefore begin with it.

First, the very fignification of the word circumcifion, implies a real and corporeal diftinction: even Tacitus understood it fo, when he faith, Circumcidere genitalia inftituere Judæi ut diverfitate nofcantur (e). But befides, by it God's covenant was, as it were, printed and engraved in the very flesh of all Abraham's pofterity.

God has explained it thus himself in feveral places; and one may affirm, that this was very agreeable to God's defign, which was, as we have intimated before, to hinder that people, from which the Messiah was to be born, from mingling with the other nations of the world, which would have made the pedigree of the Meffiah fufpected, or at least much more difficult to be traced.

I will not relate here, the feveral notions of divines about the use of that ceremony, but only content myself to make two very natural reflexions upon it.

The firft of which is, that it was particularly in refpect of the Meffiah, that God would have that mark made upon that part of man's body which is infervient to generation. As the Meffiah was to come into the world by generation, according to the words of the first prophecy concerning him, and alfo according to the further revelations of God to Abraham about that promife, fo God could do nothing more agreeable to the idea the Ifraelites had of the Meffiah, and of his birth, than to diftinguish them, by a relation to that blefed feed which he promised them as God defigned, without all queftion, by that means to oblige the Jews to remember the first promife made to mankind; fo, no doubt, he intended by it to fix their minds upon the confideration of that favour he had fhewed to them as well as to Abraham, to diftinguish them from all the people of the earth, that the deliverer of the world might be born in their commonwealth, and from one of their pofterity.

The fecond reflexion is, that it was the fame profpect to the Meffiah, which made God condemn thofe to death, who fhould either remain uncircumcifed themfelves, or leave their children fo.

Is it not a very furprising thing, that fo much rigour and feverity fhould be used in exacting the obfervation of a ceremony which was merely indifferent in its nature, and had no moral goodnefs in itself? But hereby it appears the more evidently, that God defigned that the ufe of circumcifion, by which he diftinguished Abraham's pofterity from all

(e) Hift. l. i.

all other nations of the world, fhould be a kind of immovable bar, to hinder the Jews from mingling with all ftrangers.

Indeed there are three things which may be objected against these reflexions.

The first is, that it does not appear that this ceremony was counted fuch a proper fign of diftinction, feeing the ufe of it hath been fometimes intermitted; as, for instance, when the whole nation of the Jews left it off for forty years in the wilderness.

The fecond is, that if the chiefeft end of circumcifion was to diftinguish that people, with defign to make the Meffiah known, there was no need that that yoke fhould be laid upon all the Jews, but only upon the family from which he was to defcend, or at the most upon the tribe wherein that family was comprised.

The third is, that circumcifion was common both to Efau's and Jacob's pofterity; and even ufed amongst the Egyptians, and the inhabitants of Colchis, as we may learn from Herodotus, and fome other heathen authors.

But after all, it is an eafy thing to fatisfy man's mind in all these appearing difficulties. I confefs that one is furprised to fee that God fhould not oblige the Jews to be circumcifed in the wilderness; for which feveral reafons are given.

First, that God, being difpleafed with that generation, would not allow that they should be honoured with this token of his covenant: others fay, that their journeying in the wilderness gave them a difpenfation from the obfervance of that ceremony. But we may give a better, I think, and more natural account of that matter, if we do but follow the idea which occafioned my fecond reflexion.

The going forth of fome Egyptians with the Ifraelites out of Egypt, was a type of the calling of the Gentiles, as I will fhew fomewhere else: it was then neceffary, that as all ceremonies, and circumcifion in particular, were then to be abolished, to take away all diftinction from among Seth's pofterity, fo the use of circumcifion fhould at that time be fufpended,

However, God would not have the fufpenfion of that ceremony to continue till they were entered into the land of Canaan.

First, to prevent the intruding of fome Canaanites into the body of the Hebrews.

Secondly, to the end that thefe Ifraelites who were to enter into Canaan, being as well uncircumcifed as the Egyptians children, and being all made afterwards equal by circumcifion, thould have no occafion to upbraid them with their different original.

The fecond objection may as easily be answered: one might think at first, that indeed the Meffiah had been more eafily known at his coming, if the ufe of circumcifion had been enjoined only to the family, or at moft to the tribe, from which he was to defcend: but befides that it had expofed that family, or that tribe, to great perfecutions, it had certainly much diminished that fpirit of jealoufy which was kept up by the conformity of the feveral pretenders, which on the other hand was of mighty ufe to preferve a diftinct idea of the Meffiah, and a defire of his coming.