But the wicked brother is, in the person of his son (i.e., his work), the boy, or slave, of his good brothers, when good men make a skillful use of bad men, either for the exercise of their patience or for their advancement in wisdom.For the apostle testifies that there are some who preach Christ from no pure motives; "but," says be, "whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice."(4) For it is Christ Himself who planted the vine of which the prophet says, "The vine of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel;"(5)and He drinks of its wine, whether we thus understand that cup of which He says, "Can ye drink of the cup that I shall drink of?"(6) and, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me,"(7) by which He obviously means His passion.Or, as wine is the fruit of the vine, we may prefer to understand that from this vine, that is to say, from the race of Israel, He has assumed flesh and blood that He might suffer; "and he was drunken,"that is, He suffered; "and was naked," that is, His weakness appeared in His suffering, as the apostle says, "though He was crucified through weakness."(8)Wherefore the same apostle says, "The weakness of God is stronger than men; and the foolishness of God is wiser than men."(9) And when to the expression "he was naked" Scripture adds "in his house," it elegantly intimates that Jesus was to suffer the cross and death at the hands of His own household, His own kith and kin, the Jews.This passion of Christ is only externally and verbally professed by the reprobate, for what they profess.they do not understand.But the elect hold in the inner man this so great mystery, and honor inwardly in the heart this weakness and foolishness of God.And of this there is a figure in Ham going out to proclaim his father's nakedness;while Shem and Japheth, to cover or honor it, went in, that is to say, did it inwardly.
These secrets of divine Scripture we investigate as well as we can.
All will not accept our interpretation with equal confidence, but all hold it certain that these things were neither done nor recorded without some foreshadowing of future events, and that they are to be referred only to Christ and His church, which is the city of God, proclaimed from the very beginning of human history by figures which we now see everywhere accomplished.
From the blessing of the two sons of Noah, and the cursing of the middle son, down to Abraham, or for more than a thousand years, there is, as Ihave said, no mention of any righteous persons who worshipped God.I do not therefore conclude that there were none; but it had been tedious to mention every one, and would have displayed historical accuracy rather than prophetic foresight.The object of the writer of these sacred books, or rather of the Spirit of God in him, is not only to record the past, but to depict the future, so far as it regards the city of God; for whatever is said of those who are not its citizens, is given either for her instruction, or as a foil to enhance her glory Yet we are not to suppose that all that is recorded has some signification; but those things which have no signification of their own are interwoven for the sake of the things which are significant.
It is only the ploughshare that cleaves the soil; but to effect this, other parts of the plough are requisite.It is only the strings in harps and other musical instruments which produce melodious sounds; but that they may do so, there are other parts of the instrument which are not indeed struck by those who sing, but are connected with the strings which are struck, and produce musical notes.So in this prophetic history some things are narrated which have no significance, but are, as it were, the framework to which the significant things are attached.
CHAP.3.--OF THE GENERATIONS OF THE THREESONS OF NOAH.
We must therefore introduce into this work an explanation of the generations of the three sons of Noah, in so far as that may illustrate the progress in time of the two cities.Scripture first mentions that of the youngest son, who is called Japheth: he had eight sons,(1) and by two of these sons seven grandchildren, three by one son, four by the other; in all, fifteen descendants.Ham, Noah's middle son, had four sons, and by one of them five grandsons, and by one of these two great-grandsons; in all, eleven.
