John Calvin Commentary Genesis 35:22

"And it came to pass, while Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father`s concubine: and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:" — Genesis 35:22 (ASV)

Reuben went and lay with Bilhah. A sad and even tragic account is now related concerning the incestuous relations of Reuben with his mother-in-law. Moses, indeed, calls Bilhah Jacob’s concubine; but although she was not fully established as the mistress of the household or a sharer in his possessions, yet, regarding their marital relations, she was his lawful wife, as we have previously seen.

If even a stranger had defiled the wife of the holy man, it would have been a great disgrace; it was, however, far more atrocious that he should suffer such an indignity from his own son. But how great and how detestable was the dishonor that the mother of two tribes should not only defile herself with adultery, but even with incest—a crime so repugnant to nature that it has never been considered tolerable, not even among the Gentiles?

And truly, by the cunning artifice of Satan, this great obscenity penetrated the holy household, so that God’s election might seem to be ineffective. Satan endeavors, by whatever means he can, to pervert the grace of God in the elect; and since he cannot achieve that, he either covers it with infamy or at least obscures it.

Thus it happens that shameful examples often creep into the Church. And the Lord, in this manner, allows His own people to be humbled, so that they may be more attentive to themselves, may more earnestly be vigilant in prayer, and may learn to depend entirely on His mercy.

Moses only relates that Jacob was informed of this crime, but he conceals his grief—not because Jacob was unfeeling (for he was not so dull as to be insensible to sorrow), but because his grief was too great to be expressed. For here Moses seems to have acted as the painter did who, in depicting the sacrifice of Iphigenia, put a veil over her father’s face because he could not adequately express the grief of his countenance.

In addition to this enduring disgrace of the family, other causes of anxiety pierced the heart of the holy man. The sum of his happiness was in his offspring, from whom the salvation of the whole world was to proceed. Meanwhile, two of his sons had already shown themselves to be treacherous and bloodthirsty robbers, and now the firstborn exceeded them both in wickedness.

But here the gratuitous election of God has appeared all the more glorious: it was not on account of their own worthiness that He preferred the sons of Jacob to all the world, and also, when they had fallen so shamefully, this election nevertheless remained firm and efficacious. Warned by such examples, let us learn to strengthen ourselves against those dreadful scandals by which Satan strives to disturb us.

Let each person also privately apply this to strengthen his own faith. For sometimes even good people slide, as if they had fallen from grace. Despair would necessarily be the consequence of such a fall, unless the Lord, on the other hand, held out the hope of pardon. A remarkable example of this is set before us in Reuben, who, after this extreme act of iniquity, yet retained his rank as a patriarch in the Church.

We must, however, remain under the discipline of fear and watchfulness, so that temptation does not seize us unexpectedly, and so that the snares of Satan do not entrap us. For the Holy Spirit did not intend to present us with an example of vile lust, so that everyone might rush into incestuous relationships, but rather intended to expose to infamy the depravity of this crime in an honorable person, so that all, on that account, might more vehemently detest it.

This passage also refutes the error of Novatus. Reuben had been properly instructed; he bore in his flesh, from early infancy, the symbol of the divine covenant; he was even born again by the Spirit of God. We see, therefore, the deep abyss from which he was raised by the incredible mercy of God. The Novatians, therefore, and similar fanatics, have no right to cut off the hope of pardon from the lapsed, for it is no small injury to Christ if we suppose the grace of God to be more restricted by His coming.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. Moses again lists the sons of Jacob in a systematic order. Reuben is placed first among them, not for the sake of honor, but that he may be burdened with greater disgrace. For the greater the honor anyone receives from the Lord, the more severely he is to be blamed if he afterwards makes himself the slave of Satan and deserts his post. Moses seems to insert this list before the account of Isaac’s death to distinguish between the descendants of Jacob and the Edomites, of whom he is about to make mention (Genesis 36:1). For on the death of Isaac, the source of the holy lineage became divided, as into two streams; but since God’s adoption was confined to only one branch, it was necessary to distinguish it from the other.