Chapter III: Abraham and Isaac

ABRAHAM, THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL

THE STORY

=Sec.1. The Old Home of Abraham= (Gen. 11:31)

Terah took Abraham his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarah his daughter-in-law, his son Abraham's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there, and Terah died in Haran.

=Sec.2. The Journey Westward= (Gen. 12:1-5)

Now the Lord said unto Abraham, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed."

So Abraham went, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abraham was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abraham took Sarah his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan: and into the land of Canaan they came.

=Sec.3. Abraham's Altars= (Gen. 12:6-9)

And Abraham passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

And the Lord appeared unto Abraham and said, "Unto thy seed will I give this land." And there built he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.

And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east: and there he built an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abraham journeyed, going on still toward the South.

=Sec.4. A Test of Courage= (Gen. 12:10-20)

And there was a famine in the land: and Abraham went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarah his wife, "Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: and it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, 'This is his wife': and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee."

And it came to pass, that, when Abraham was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And he treated Abraham well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she-asses, and camels. And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

And Pharaoh called Abraham, and said, "What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so that I took her to be my wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way."

And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him: and they brought him on the way, and his wife, and all that he had.

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

1 (Sec.1). We begin with the man to whom Israel looked back as their first great hero. What was his name? What was his father's name?

2 (Sec.1). Where did he come from? Look at the map of the Semitic world. You will see two great rivers which join and then flow into the Persian Gulf. It is not always possible to know where ancient cities were located, but it is supposed that Ur may have been on the Euphrates near the point where the rivers join. It is called Ur of the Chaldees, because people of that name lived there. Terah therefore came from the very old country of Babylonia, which was rich and fertile because it was in the valley of the two rivers. What American river has a rich country in all its wide valley?

3 (Sec.1). What route would be taken to go from Ur to Canaan? If you lay a ruler on the map you will see that Jerusalem is almost directly west of Ur. They lay about six hundred miles apart. But there was a very good reason why they could not travel right across that way. What kind of country would they have had to pass through? They had to follow the river for nearly the same distance in a northwesterly direction. This would bring them to a very rich country where it seems they stopped for some time and where Terah died. What was its name?

4 (Sec.2). Evidently most of Terah's tribe were satisfied to stay in Haran, but Abraham felt a great stir in him to continue the journey to the West land. He believed that God wanted him to go there and to become the founder of a great nation that should serve Jehovah. This feeling became so strong that at last it was clear to him that the Lord was calling him. Learn the beautiful passage of the Call of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3) so that you can recite it.

5(Sec.2). What route would Abraham take from Haran to Canaan? Let us look at the map again. There was a caravan road that ran from Haran west across the river, then it turned south and came down through the country of Syria to a very ancient city. Abraham's chief servant came from this city (Gen. 15:2). The road still runs south and then crosses the river Jordan into Palestine.

6(Sec.2). How long would such a journey take? There were no railroads and there are still very few in that country. Travel was very slow. We have an account in Ezra 7:9 of how long it took a company to make the journey from Babylon long afterward. But Abraham's company would move more slowly, for we must think of him as traveling with a great many animals and servants and children. It was very much as the Arab tribes move about to-day.

7(Sec.2). Think of what Abraham left behind when he obeyed God's voice and came into the strange land. What company of people in American history felt that God called them to leave their own country and come into the new land? Is it always safe to obey God? Look up Gal. 3:9 and Heb. 11:8-10 and see why Abraham is called "The Father of the Faithful."

8(Sec.3). What promise did God give Abraham after he came to Canaan? What places did Abraham visit? Locate them on the map of Canaan. What religious act did he perform wherever he went? What act is the same in our lives?

9(Sec.4). Abraham's numerous sheep and cattle required him to journey from place to place. Why was this? Why would dry weather cause him trouble? Notice on the map that when the famine came he was in the south of Palestine. It was only a short journey west to reach a very rich country, which lay in the valley of a great river. Name the country and its river and explain why there was no drought there.

10 (Sec.4). We shall often notice that the old heroes did wrong. Tell the story of Abraham's visit to Egypt. What do you think of his conduct? If we knew only this part of Abraham's story we should not call him a hero. Ought we then to judge anyone by a single act?

WRITTEN REVIEW

This story deals with several journeys. Let us get them all before our eyes. Turn to the map of the Semitic world at the beginning of the book and make a very simple copy of it, according to the following directions: Mark the two great rivers in the east. Make the coast line of the Mediterranean Sea. Draw the River Nile. Make the coast line of the Red Sea. Locate Ur, Haran, Damascus, Canaan, Egypt. Make this map first in pencil and then ink it.