THE CALL OF ABRAHAM. -- Genesis 12:1-9. GOLDEN TEXT. --_. will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be. blessing._ -- Genesis 12:2. TIME. --About B. C. 1921. PLACE. --In Haran, east of the Euphrates, in Mesopotamia. HELPFUL READINGS. -- Genesis 11:22-32; Genesis 26:24-26; Acts 7:1-8;... [ Continue Reading ]
WILL MAKE OF THEE. GREAT NATION. There are several clauses in the promise to Abraham of which this is the first and refers to his descendants. Among the purposes of God was the founding of the Jewish race, "a great nation," composed of the blood and offspring of Abraham. AND. WILL BLESS THEE. Per... [ Continue Reading ]
WILL BLESS THEM THAT BLESS THEE. God's blessing was to extend to Abraham's friends and followers, and the enemies of Abraham were to be subject to God's curse. Abraham was called "the friend of God," but God was also his friend. IN THEE SHALL ALL FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED. This clause revea... [ Continue Reading ]
II. PILGRIMS SEEKING. CITY. 4. SO ABRAM DEPARTED, AS THE LORD HAD SPOKEN UNTO HIM. "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into. place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither be went." His prompt obedience of. command that separated hi... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY WENT FORTH INTO THE LAND OF CANAAN. We must keep in mind that Abraham was. great pastoral chieftain,. prince like an Arabian Sheik of our own times. He was attended, wherever he journeyed, by his flocks and thousands of servants and tribesmen. At one time we see him leading 318 "trained ser... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ABRAM PASSED THROUGH THE LAND TO SICHEM. Entering from the north, passing down the Jordan valley, the beautiful and fertile spot of Shechem, or Sychar, "the garden of Palestine" would be in his course. It is evident that the land was thinly settled, for this delightful valley, well watered with... [ Continue Reading ]
III. THE. LTAR OF GOD BUILT 7. AND THE LORD APPEARED UNTO ABRAM. This is the third revelation made to Abraham of which we have record; the first in Ur of the Chaldees, the second in Haran, and the third when he had reached the land to which the Lord directed him. This special revelation was needfu... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE REMOVED THENCE UNTO. MOUNTAIN EAST OF BETHEL. He still journeyed, as his immense flocks exhausted the pastures, to the southward, and he pitched his tent between Bethel and Hai. Here, as was the custom of his life, he built an altar, and "called on the name of Jehovah." It will be observed t... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ABRAM JOURNEYED, GOING STILL TOWARD THE SOUTH. He journeyed by repeated encampments, as the necessities of pasturage required, partly, we fancy, to survey the land which he saw by faith occupied by. great nation of his descendants. PRACTICAL AND SUGGESTIVE. Prompt, unquestioning, unconditiona... [ Continue Reading ]