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TOPIC: Spurgeon - C.H. - Sermons from Genesis (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 17 GEN 49:24 Joseph Attacked by the Archers
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Joseph Attacked by the Archers
April 1, 1855
by
C. H. SPURGEON
(1834-1892)
"The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his
bow abode in strength; and the arms of his hands were made strong by the
hands of the mighty God of Jacob; from thence is the shepherd, the stone of
Israel."- Gen_49:23-24.
It must have been a fine sight to see the hoary-headed Jacob sitting up in
his bed whilst he bestowed his parting benediction upon his twelve sons. He
had been noble in many instances during his life-at the sleeping place of
Bethel, the brook of Jabbok, and the halting of Peniel. He had been a
glorious old man; one before whom we might bow down with reverence, and truly
say, "There were giants in those days." But his closing scene was the best. I
think if ever he stood out more illustrious than at any other time, if his
head was at any one season more than another, encircled with a halo of glory,
it was when he came to die. Like the sun at setting, he seemed then to be the
greater in brilliance, tinging the clouds of his weakness with the glory of
grace within. Like good wine, which runs clear to the very bottom, unalloyed
by dregs, so did Jacob till his dying hour continue to sing of love, of
mercy, and of goodness, past and future. Like the swan, which (as old writers
say) singeth not all its life until it comes to die, so the old patriarch
remained silent as a songster for many years; but when he stretched himself
on his last couch of rest, he stayed himself up in his bed, turned his
burning eye from one to another, and although with a hoarse and faltering
voice, he sang a sonnet upon each of his offspring, such as earthly poets,
uninspired, cannot attempt to imitate. Looking upon his son Reuben, a tear
was in his eye, for he recollected Reuben's sin; he passed over Simeon and
Levi, giving some slight rebuke; upon the others he sung a verse of praise,
as his eyes saw into the future history of the tribes. By-and-by his voice
failed him, and the good old man, with long-drawn breath, with eyes pregnant
with celestial fire, and heart big with heaven, lifted his voice to God, and
said, "I have waited for thy salvation, O God," rested a moment on his
pillow, and then again sitting up, recommenced the strain, passing briefly by
the names of each. But oh! when he came to Joseph, his youngest son but one-
when he looked on him, I picture that old man as the tears ran down his
cheeks. There stood Joseph, with all his mother Rachel in his eyes-that dear
loved wife of his-there he stood, the boy for whom that mother had prayed
with all the eagerness of an Eastern wife. For a long twenty years she had
tarried a barren woman and kept no house, but then she was a joyful mother,
and she called her son "Increase." Oh! how she loved the boy; and for that
mother's sake, though she had been buried for some years, and hidden under
the cold sod, old Jacob loved him too. But more than that, he loved him for
his troubles. He was parted from him to be sold into Egypt. His father
recollected Joseph's trials in the round-house and the dungeon, and
remembered his royal dignity as prince of Egypt; and now, with a full burst
of harmony, as if the music of heaven had united with his own, as when the
widened river meets the sea, and the tide coming up doth amalgamate with the
stream that cometh down, and swelleth into a broad expanse, so did the glory
of heaven meet the rapture of his earthly feelings, and giving vent to his
soul , he sung, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well;
whose branches run over the wall; the archers have sorely grieved him, and
shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of
his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from
thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel); even by the God of thy father,
who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings
of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the
breasts, and of the womb; the blessings of thy father have prevailed above
the blessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bound of the everlasting
hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of
him that was separate from his brethren." What a splendid stanza with which
to close! He has only one more blessing to give; but surely this was the
richest which he conferred on Joseph.
Joseph is dead, but the Lord has his Josephs now. There are some still who
understand by experience-and that is the best kind of understanding-the
meaning of this passage, "The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at
him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands
were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob."
There are four things for us to consider this morning. First of all, the
cruel attack-"the archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated
him;" secondly, the shielded warrior-"but his bow abode in strength;"
thirdly, his secret strength-"the arms of his hands were made strong by the
mighty power of the God of Jacob;" and fourthly, the glorious parallel drawn
between Joseph and Christ-"from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel."
I. First, then, we commence with THE CRUEL ATTACK. "The archers have sorely
grieved him." Joseph's enemies were archers. The original has it, "masters of
the arrows;" that is, men who were well skilled in the use of the arrows.
Though all weapons are alike approved by the warrior in his thirst for blood,
there seems something more cowardly in the attack of the archer than in that
of the swordsman. The swordsman plants himself near you, foot to foot, and
lets you defend yourself, and deal your blows against him; but the archer
stands at a distance, hides himself in ambuscade, and, without you knowing
it, the arrow comes whizzing through the air, and perhaps penetrates your
heart. Just so are the enemies of God's people. They very seldom come foot to
foot with us; they will not show their faces before us; they hate the light,
they love darkness; they dare not come and openly accuse us to our face, for
then we could reply; but they shoot the bow from a distance, so that we
cannot answer them; cowardly and dastardly as they are, they forge their
arrow-heads, and aim them, winged with hell-birds feathers, at the hearts of
God's people. The archers sorely grieved poor Joseph. Let us consider who are
the archers who so cruelly shot at him. First, there were the archers of
envy; secondly, the archers of temptation; and thirdly, the archers of
slander and calumny.
1. First, Joseph had to endure the archers of ENVY. When he was a boy, his
father loved him. The youth was fair and beautiful; in person he was to be
admired; moreover, he had a mind that was gigantic, and an intellect that was
lofty; but, best of all, in him dwelt the Spirit of the living God. He was
one who talked with God; a youth of piety and prayerfulness; beloved of God,
even more than he was by his earthly father. O! how his father loved him! for
in his fond affection, he made him a princely coat of many colors, and
treated him better than the others-a natural but foolish way of showing his
fondness. Therefore his brethren hated him. Full often did they jeer at the
youthful Joseph, when he retired to his prayers; when he was with them at a
distance from his father's house, he was their drudge, their slave; the
taunt, the jeer, did often wound his heart, and the young child endured much
secret sorrow. On an ill day, as it happened, he was with them at a distance
from home, and they thought to slay him; but upon the entreaty of Reuben,
they put him into a pit, until, as Providence would have it, the Ishmaelites
did pass that way. They then sold him for the price of a slave, stripped him
of his coat, and sent him naked, they knew not, and they cared not, whither,
so long as he might be out of their way, and no longer provoke their envy and
their anger. Oh! the agonies he felt-parted from his father, losing his
brethren, without a friend, dragged away by cruel man-sellers, chained upon a
camel it may be, with fetters on his hands. Those who have borne the gyves
and fetters, those who have felt that they were not free men, that they had
not liberty, might tell how sorely the archers grieved him when they shot at
him the arrows of their envy. He became a slave, sold from his country,
dragged from all he loved. Farewell to home and all its pleasures-farewell to
a father's smiles and tender cares. He must be a slave, and toil where the
slave's task-master makes him; he must be stripped in the streets, he must be
beaten, he must be scourged, he must be reduced from the man to the animal,
from the free man to the slave. Truly the archers sorely shot at him. And, my
brethren, do you hope, if you are the Lord's Josephs, that you shall escape
envy? I tell you, nay; that green-eyed monster, envy, lives in London as well
as elsewhere, and he creeps into God's church, moreover. Oh! it is hardest of
all, to be envied by one's brethren. If the devil hates us, we can bear it;
if the foes of God's truth speak ill of us, we buckle up our harness, and
say, "Away, away, to the conflict." But when the friends within the house
slander us; when brethren who should uphold us, turn our foes; and when they
try to tread down their younger brethren; then, sirs, there is some meaning
in the passage, "The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and
hated him." But, blessed be God's name, it is sweet to be informed that "his
bow abode in strength." None of you can be the people of God without
provoking envy; and the better you are, the more you will be hated. The
ripest fruit is most pecked by the birds, and the blossoms that have been
longest on the tree, are the most easily blown down by the wind. But fear
not; you have naught to do with what man shall say of you. If God loves you,
man will hate you; if God honors you, man will dishonor you. But recollect,
could ye wear chains of iron for Christ's sake, ye should wear chains of gold
in heaven; could ye have rings of burning iron round your waists, ye should
have your brow rimmed with gold in glory; for blessed are ye when men shall
say all manner of evil against you falsely, for Christ's name's sake; for so
persecuted they the prophets that were before you. The first archers were the
archers of envy.
2. But a worse trial than this was to overtake him. The archers of TEMPTATION
shot at him. Here I know not how to express myself. I would that some one
more qualified to speak were here, that he might tell you the tale of
Joseph's trial, and Joseph's triumph. Sold to a master who soon discovered
his value, Joseph was made the bailiff of the house, and the manager of the
household. His wanton mistress fixed her adulterous love on him; and he,
being continually in her presence, was perpetually, day by day, solicited by
her to evil deeds. Constantly did he refuse; still enduring a martyrdom at
the slow fire of her enticements. On one eventful day she grasped him,
seeking to compel him to crime; but he, like a true hero as he was, said to
her, "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Like a wise
warrior, he knew that in such a case fleeing was the better part of valor. He
heard a voice in his ears: "Fly, Joseph, fly; there remains no way of victory
but flight;" and out he fled, leaving his garment with his adulterous
mistress. Oh, I say in all the annals of heroism there is not one that shall
surpass this. You know it is opportunity that makes a man criminal; and he
had abundant opportunity; but importunity will drive most men astray. To be
haunted day by day by solicitations of the softest kind-to be tempted hour by
hour-oh! it needs a strength super-angelic, a might more that human, a
strength which only God can grant, for a young man thus to cleanse his way,
and take heed thereto according to God's word. He might have reasoned within
himself, "Should I submit and yield, there lies before me a life of ease and
pleasure; I shall be exalted, I shall be rich. She shall prevail over her
husband, to cover me with honors; but should I still adhere to my integrity,
I shall be cast into prison, I shall be thrown into the dungeon; there awaits
me nothing but shame and disgrace." Oh! there was a power indeed within that
heart of his; there was an inconceivable might, which made him turn away with
unutterable disgust, with fear and trembling, while he said, "How can I? how
can I-God's Joseph-how can I-other men might, but how can I do this great
wickedness and sin against God." Truly the archers sorely grieved him and
shot at him; but his bow abode in strength.
3. Then another host of archers assailed him; these were the archers of
MALICIOUS CALUMNY. Seeing that he would not yield to temptation, his mistress
falsely accused him to her husband, and his lord, believing the voice of his
wife, cast him into prison. It was a marvelous providence that he did not put
him to death; for Potiphar, his master, was the chief of the slaughtermen; he
had only to call in a soldier, who would have cut him in pieces on the spot.
But he cast him into prison. There was poor Joseph. His character ruined in
the eyes of man, and very likely looked upon with scorn even in the prison-
house; base criminals went away from him as if they thought him viler than
themselves, as if they were angels in comparison with him. Oh! it is no easy
thing to feel your character gone, to think that you are slandered, that
things are said of you that are untrue. Many a man's heart has been broken by
this, when nothing else could make him yield. The archers sorely grieved him
when he was so maligned-so slandered. O child of God, dost thou expect to
escape these archers? Wilt thou never be slandered? Shalt thou never be
calumniated? It is the lot of God's servants, in proportion to their zeal, to
be evil spoken of. Remember the noble Whitefield, how he stood and was the
butt of all the jeers and scoffs of half an age; while his only answer was a
blameless life.
"And he who forged, and he who threw the dart,
Had each a brother's interest in his heart."
They reviled him and imputed to him crimes that Sodom never knew. So shall it
be always with those who preach God's truth, and all the followers of Christ-
they must all expect it; but, blessed be God, they have not said worse things
of us than they said of our Master. What have they laid to our charge? They
may have said, "he is drunken and a wine-bibber;" but they have not said, "he
hath a devil." They have accused us of being mad, so was it said of Paul. Oh,
holy infatuation, heavenly furor, would that we could bite others until they
had the same madness. We think, if to go to heaven be mad, we will not choose
to be wise; we see no wisdom in preferring hell; we can see no great prudence
in despising and hating God's truth. If to serve God be vile, we purpose to
be viler still. Ah! friends, some now present know this verse by heart, "The
archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him." Expect it;
do not think it a strange thing; all God's people must have it. There are no
royal roads to heaven-they are paths of trial and trouble; the archers will
shoot at you as long as you are on this side the flood.
II. We have seen these archers shoot their flights of arrows; we will now go
up the hill a little, behind a rock, to look at the SHIELDED WARRIOR and see
how his courage is while the archers have sorely grieved him. What is he
doing? "His bow abideth in strength." Let us picture God's favorite. The
archers are down below. There is a parapet of rock before him; now and then
he looks over it to see what the archers are about, but generally he keeps
behind. In heavenly security he is set upon a rock, careless of all below.
Let us follow the track of the wild goat and behold the warrior in his
fastness.
First, we notice that he has a bow himself, for we read that "his bow abode
in strength." He could have retaliated if he pleased, but he was very quiet
and would not combat with them. Had he pleased, he might have drawn his bow
with all his strength, and sent his weapon to their hearts with far greater
precision that they had ever done to him. But mark the warrior's quietness.
There he rests, stretching his mighty limbs; his bow abode in strength; he
seemed to say, "Rage on, aye, let you arrows spend themselves, empty your
quivers on me, let your bow-strings be worn out, and let the wood be broken
with its constant bending; here am I, stretching myself in safe repose; my
bow abides in strength; I have other work to do besides shooting at you; my
arrows are against yon foes of God, the enemies of the Most High; I cannot
waste an arrow on such pitiful sparrows as you are; ye are birds beneath my
noble shot; I would not waste an arrow on you." Thus he remains behind the
rock and despises them all. "His bow abideth in strength."
Mark well his quietness. His bow "abideth." It is not rattling, it is not
always moving, but it abides, it is quite still; he takes no notice of the
attack. The archers sorely grieved Joseph, but his bow was not turned against
them, it abode in strength. He turned not his bow on them. He rested while
they raged. Doth the moon stay herself to lecture every dog that bayeth at
her? Doth the lion turn aside to rend each cur that barketh at him? Do the
stars cease to shine because the nightingales reprove them for their dimness?
Doth the sun stop in its course because of the officious cloud which veils
it: Or doth the river stay because the willow dippeth its leaves into its
waters? Ah! no; God's universe moves on, and if men will oppose it, it heeds
them not. It is as God hath made it; it is working together for good, and it
shall not be stayed by the censure nor moved on by the praise of man. Let
your bows, my brethren, abide. Do not be in a hurry to set yourselves right.
God will take care of you. Leave yourselves alone; only be very valiant for
the Lord God of Israel; be steadfast in the truth of Jesus and your bow shall
abide.
But we must not forget the next word. "His bow abode IN STRENGTH." Though his
bow was quiet it was not because it was broken. Joseph's bow was like that of
William the Conqueror; no man could bend it but Joseph himself; it abode in
"strength." I see the warrior bending his bow-how with his mighty arms he
pulls it down and draws the string to make it ready. His bow abode in
strength; it did not snap, it did not start aside. His chastity was his bow,
and he did not lose that; his faith was his bow, and that did not yield, it
did not break; his courage was his bow, and that did not fail him; his
character, his honesty was his bow, nor did he cast it away. Some men are so
very particular about reputation. They think, "surely, surely, surely they
shall lose their character." Well, well, if we do not lose them through our
own fault, we never need care about anybody else. You know there is not a man
that stands at all prominent, but what any fool in the world can set afloat
some bad tale against him. It is a great deal easier to set a story afloat
than to stop it. If you want truth to go round the world you must hire an
express train to pull it; but if you want a lie to go round the world, it
will fly: it is as light as a feather, and a breath will carry it. It is well
said in the old proverb, "A lie will go round the world while truth is
pulling its boots on." Nevertheless, it does not injure us; for if light as
feather it travels as fast, its effect is just about as tremendous as the
effect of down, when it is blown against the walls of a castle; it produces
no damage whatever, on account of its lightness and littleness. Fear not,
Christian. Let slander fly, let envy send forth its forked tongue, let it
hiss at you, your bow shall abide in strength. Oh! shielded warrior, remain
quiet, fear no ill; but, like the eagle in its lofty eyrie, look thou down
upon the fowlers in the plain, turn thy bold eye upon them and say, "Shoot ye
may, but your shots will not reach half-way to the pinnacle where I stand.
Waste your powder upon me if ye will; I am beyond your reach." Then clap your
wings, mount to heaven, and there laugh them to scorn, for ye have made your
refuge God, and shall find a most secure abode.
III. The third thing in our text is THE SECRET STRENGTH. "The arms of his
hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob." First,
notice, concerning his strength, that it was real strength. It says, "the
arms of his hands," not his hands only. You know some people can do a great
deal with their hands, but then it is often fictitious power; there is no
might in the arm-there is no muscle; but of Joseph it is said; "the arms of
his hands were made strong. It was real potency, true muscle, real sinew,
real nerve. It was not simply sleight of hand-the power of moving his finger
very swiftly-but the arms of his hands were made strong. Now that strength
which God gives to his Josephs is real strength; it is not a boasted valor, a
fiction, a thing of which men talk, an airy dream, an unsubstantial
unreality, but it is real strength. I should not like to have a combat with
one of God's Josephs. I should find their blows very heavy. I fear a
Christian's strokes more than any other man's for he has bone and sinew, and
smites hard. Let the foes of the church expect a hard struggle if they attack
an heir of life. Mightier than giants are men of the race of heaven; should
they once arouse themselves to battle they could laugh at the spear and the
habergeon. But they are a patient generation, enduring ills without resenting
them suffering scorn without reviling the scoffer. Their triumph is to come
when their enemies shall receive the vengeance due; then shall it be seen by
an assembled world that the "little flock" were men of high estate, and the
"offscouring of all things" were verily men of real strength and dignity.
Even though the world perceive it not, the favored Joseph has real strength,
not in his hands only, but in his arms-real might, real power. O ye foes of
God, ye think God's people are despicable and powerless; but know that they
have true strength from the omnipotence of their Father, a might substantial
and divine. Your own shall melt away, and droop and die, like the snow upon
the low mountain top, when the sun shines upon it, it melteth into water; but
our vigor shall abide like the snow on the summit of the Alps, undiminished
for ages. It is real strength.
Then observe that the strength of God's Joseph is divine strength. His arms
were made strong by God. Why does one of God's ministers preach the gospel
powerfully? Because God gives him assistance. Why does Joseph stand against
temptation? Because God gives him aid. The strength of a Christian is divine
strength. My brethren, I am more and more persuaded every day that the sinner
has no power of himself, except that which is given him from above. I know
that if I were to stand with my foot upon the golden threshold of heaven's
portal, if I could put this thumb upon the latch, I could not open that door,
after having gone so far towards heaven, unless I had still supernatural
power communicated to me in that moment. If I had a stone to lift, to work my
own salvation, without God's help to do that, I must be lost, even though it
were so little. There is naught that we can do without the power of God. All
true strength is divine. As the light cometh from the sun, as the shower from
heaven; so doth spiritual strength come from the Father lights, with whom
there is neither variableness nor shadow of a turning.
Again: I would have you notice in the text in what a blessedly familiar way
God gives this strength to Joseph. It say, "the arms of his hands were made
strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob." Thus it represents God as
putting his hands on Joseph's hands, placing his arms on Joseph's arms. In
old times, when every boy had to be trained up to archery, if his father were
worth so many pounds a year, you might see the father putting his hands on
his boy's hands and pulling the bow for him, saying, "there, my son, in this
manner draw the bow." So the text represents God as putting his hand on the
hand of Joseph, and laying his broad arm along the arm of his chosen child,
that he might be made strong. Like as a father teacheth his children; so the
Lord teaches them that fear him. He puts his arms upon them. As Elijah laid
with his mouth upon the child's mouth, with his hand upon the child's hand,
with his foot upon the child's foot, so does "God put his mouth to his
children's mouth, his hand to his ministers' hand, his foot to his people's
foot; and so he makes us strong. Marvelous condescension! Ye stars of glory,
have ye ever witnessed such stoops of love? God Almighty, Eternal,
Omnipotent, stoops from his throne and lays his hand upon the child's hand,
stretching his arm upon the arm of Joseph, that he may be made strong.
One more thought, and I have done. The strength was covenant strength, for it
is said, "The arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty
God of Jacob." Now, wherever you read of the God of Jacob in the Bible, you
may know that that respects God's covenant with Jacob. Ah! I love to talk
about God's everlasting covenant. Some of the Arminians cannot bear it, but I
love a covenant salvation-a covenant not made with my father, not between me
and God, but between Christ and God. Christ made the covenant to pay a price,
and God made the covenant that he should have the people. Christ has paid the
price and ratified the covenant; and I am quite sure that God will fulfil his
part of it, by giving every elect vessel of mercy into the hands of Jesus.
But, beloved, all the power, all the grace, all the blessings, all the
mercies, all the comforts, all the things we have, we have through the
covenant. If there were no covenant; if we could rend the everlasting charter
up; if the king of hell could cut it with his knife, as the king of Israel
did the roll of Baruck, then we should fail indeed; for we have no strength,
except that which is promised in the covenant. Covenant mercies, covenant
grace, covenant promises, covenant blessings, covenant help, covenant
everything-the Christian must receive, if he would enter into heaven.
Now, Christian, the archers have sorely grieved you, and shot at you, and
wounded you; but your bow abides in strength, and the arms of your hands are
made strong. But do you know, O believer, that you are like your Master in
this?
IV. That is our fourth point-A GLORIOUS PARALLEL. "From thence is the
shepherd, the stone of Israel." Jesus Christ was served just the same; the
shepherd, the stone of Israel, passed through similar trials; he was shot at
by the archers, he was grieved and wounded, but his bow abode in strength;
his arms were made strong by the God of Jacob, and now every blessing rests
"upon the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brethren." I
shall not detain you long, but I have a few things to tell you; first about
Christ as the shepherd, and then about Christ the stone.
Christ came into the world as a shepherd. As soon as he made his appearance,
the Scribes and Pharisees said, "Ah! we have been the shepherds until this
hour; now we shall be driven from our honors, we shall lose all our dignity,
and our authority." Consequently, they always shot at him. As for the people,
they were a fickle herd; I believe that many of them respected and admired
Christ, though, doubtless, the vast majority hated him, for wherever he went
he was a popular preacher; the multitude always thronged him and crowded
round him, crying, "Hosanna." I think, if you had walked up to the top of
that hill of Calvary, and asked one of those men who cried out, "Crucify him,
crucify him," "What do you say that for? Is he a bad man?" "No," he would
have said, "he went about doing good." "Then why do you say 'crucify him?'"
"Because Rabbi Simeon gave me a shekel to help the clamor." So the multitude
were much won by the money and influence of the priests. But they were glad
to hear Christ after all. It was the shepherds that hated him, because he
took away their traffic, because he turned the buyers and sellers out of the
temple, diminished their dignity and ignored their pretensions; therefore,
they could not endure him. But the Shepherd of Israel mounted higher and
higher; he gathered his sheep, carried the lambs in his bosom; and he now
stands acknowledged as the great shepherd of the sheep, who shall gather them
into one flock and lead them to heaven. Rowland Hill tells a curious tale, in
his "Village Dialogues," about a certain Mr. Tiplash, a very fine
intellectual preacher, who, in one of his flights of oratory, said, "O
Virtue, thou art so fair and lovely, if thou wert to come down upon earth,
all men would love thee," with a few more pretty, beautiful things. Mr.
Blunt, and honest preacher, who was in the neighborhood, was asked to preach
in the afternoon, and he supplemented the worthy gentleman's remarks, by
saying, "O Virtue, thou didst come on earth, in all thy purity and
loveliness; but instead of being beloved and admired, the archers sorely shot
at thee and grieved thee; they took thee, Virtue, and hung thy quivering
limbs upon a cross; when thou didst hang there dying they hissed at thee,
they mocked thee, they scorned thee; when thou didst ask for water they gave
thee vinegar to drink, mingled with gall; yea, when thou diedst thou hadst a
tomb from charity, and that tomb, sealed by enmity and hatred." The Shepherd
of Israel was despised, incarnate virtue was hated and abhorred; therefore
fear not, Christians, take courage; for if your Master passed through it,
surely you must.
To conclude: the text calls Christ the stone of Israel. I have heard a story-
I cannot tell whether it is true or not-out of some of the Jewish rabbis; it
is a tale, concerning the text, "The stone which the builders refused, the
same is become the headstone of the corner." It is said that when Solomon's
temple was building, all the stones were brought from the quarry ready cut
and fashioned, and there were to be put. Amongst the stones was a very
curious one; it seemed of no describable shape, it appeared unfit for any
portion of the building. They tried it at this wall, but it would not fit;
they tried it in another, but it could not be accommodated; so, vexed and
angry, they threw it away. The temple was so many years building, that this
stone became covered with moss, and grass grew around it. Everybody passing
by laughed at the stone; they said Solomon was wise, and doubtless all the
other stones were right; but as for that block, they might as well send it
back to the quarry, for they were quite sure it was meant for nothing. Year
after year rolled on, and the poor stone was still despised, the builders
constantly refused it. The eventful day came when the temple was to be
finished and opened, and the multitude was assembled to see the grand sight.
The builders said, "Where is the top-stone? Where is the pinnacle?" They
little thought where the crowning marble was, until some one said, "Perhaps
that stone which the builders refused is meant to be the top-stone." They
then took it, and hoisted it to the top of the house; and as it reached the
summit they found it well adapted to the place. Loud hosannas made the welkin
ring, as the stone which the builders refused, thus became the headstone of
the corner. So is it with Christ Jesus. The builders cast him away. He was a
plebeian; he was of poor extraction; he was a man acquainted with sinners,
who walked in poverty and meanness; hence the worldly-wise despised him. But
when God shall gather together, in one, all things that are in heaven and
that are in earth, then Christ shall be the glorious consummation of all
things.
"Christ reigns in heaven the topmost stone,
And well deserves the praise."
He shall be exalted; he shall be honored; his name shall endure as long as
the sun, and all nations shall be blessed in him, yea, all generations shall
call him blessed.
Provided by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 314
Columbus, NJ, USA 08022
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