19

CHAP. III.

From the Confusion of Languages to the Birth of Moses."

THE design of this work being, avowedly, to present

our readers with a view of Scripture History, and such particulars as are indispensibly necessary to connect or illustrate certain parts of the Old and New Testaments, we shall now follow the example of the inspired penman, in taking leave of all the patriarchs from whom the numerous tribes of gentiles descended, and in fixing our attention upon Abram, the son of Terah, who appears to have been peculiarly favored with the affection of his Creator, and in whose family the true worship was scarsoon maintained, under various circumstances, till the coming of the Messiah.

B. C.

Abram, the illustrious progenitor of the Jewish 1921. nation, appears to have been about seventy-four years old when he removed, with his aged father Terah, his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot, from the place of his nativity into the land of Haran, where he had not. long resided before Terah died, and he was commanded, by the Almighty, to depart into another country, where he should enjoy the especial protection of Heaven, and experience such a wonderful increase, that, in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed.

Obedient to this injunction, the patriarch removed, with his family and servants, into Canaan, and built an altar to the Lord in the neighbourhood of Sichem, where

he was honoured with an appearance of the Deity *, and received a consolatory assurance that his descendants should, in process of time, possess the land in which he was now a stranger. A severe famine, however, which occurred in Canaan, compelled him to seek a temporary residence in Egypt, and exposed him to some inconveniencies on account of his wife, whose personal charms attracted the notice of Pharaoh; but, the providence of God interfering on his behalf, Sarai was restored, without molestation to his arms, and a royal edict was promulgated for his safe conduct out of the kingdom.

Grateful for this deliverance, Abram returned to Bethel, where the famine had now ceased, and offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving upon the altar which he had erected during his former residence in that country. Meanwhile the great increase of his nephew's herds occasioned such contentions among the herdsmen, that he deemed it expedient to separate, and accordingly gave Lot the choice of removing to any part of the country which he thought proper. Hereupon Lot removed to

*As frequent mention is made, in the Sacred History, of the appearance of the Supreme Being to his creatures, and as va. rious passages of scripture, imply that no man can see God and live, it may be necessary to remind our juvenile readers that, the glorious personage who appeared, under the old dispensations of grace, to the patriarchs and prophets, was JESUS CHRIST, the second person in the holy Trinity, who being in the form of God thought it no robbery to be equal with God; of whom it is said that, "he both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living ;" and who is reverentially described, by St. Paul, as the brightness of God's glory and the express image of his person, upholding all things by the word of his power. See Philippians ii. chap. and 6 verse; Romans xiv. chap. and 9-verse; and Hebrews i. chap. and 3 verse.

the fertile and irriguous plain of Jordan, in the vicinage of Sodom; and Abram pitched his tents in the land of Moreh, where he contracted a friendship with three of the wealthiest inhabitants, viz. Mamre, Aner and Eshcol, who rendered him many important services.

B. C.

About seven years after the separation of Lot 1912. ` and Abram, the former was unfortunately taken prisoner, with all his family, by Chedorlaomer and his allies but Abram having engaged the assistance of his three friends, Mamre, Aner, and Eshcol, surprised the conquerors, by night, at Dan; pursued them to Hoba, on the left of Damascus; and brought the captives back, in triumph, to their own habitations. The king of Sodom. was no sooner apprised of this gallant exploit than he came out to congratulate Abram upon his success, and to offer him all the booty, as a remuneration for his timely assistance: the patriarch, however, nobly refused to accede to this proposal, and instead of accepting any recompence, presented Melchisedek, a priest of God, with tithes of all the spoils.

Soon after this transaction, Abram removed to Mamre, where he was indulged with a fifth vision of the Deity, and encouraged with fresh assurances of especial favor and protection. Hereupon he ventured to acknowledge that he was unable to comprehend how these repeated promises could be accomplished whilst he continued childless, and should, in all probability, be obliged to leave his substance to his steward, Eliezer. The Almighty then assured him that not Eliezer, but a son of his own should be his heir, and that his posterity should eventually become more numerous than the stars of Heaven. As Abram, at this time, was eighty-five years old, and Sarai, turned of seventy-four, had been long

deemed barren, an ordinary faith might have been staggered at such a declaration, but the Scripture informs us that, "he believed in God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness." He presumed, however, to demand a sign, and God readily granted his request. Abram, having killed a goat, a ram, and a young heifer, with a pigeon and turtle dove in obedience to his Maker's command, divided the beasts, and then, joining the pieces, laid the birds upon them, whilst himself stayed to protect the sacrifice from the fowls of the air. About sun-set he was suddenly overpowered with sleep, and a horror of great darkness, during which it was revealed to him that his posterity should sojourn, and sustain many afflictions, in a strange land, for the space of four hundred years, at the expiration of which time God would take vengeance on their oppressors, and bring them safely into the land of promise. This important revelation was immediately followed by a vision of a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp, which glided between the victims, as a solemn ratification of the covenant made between God and the patriarch. "In that same day," says Moses, "the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt, unto the great river, the river Euphrates."

B. C.

Sarai, not suspecting that she was to become 1911. the mother of the promised heir, and naturally. judging herself, on account of her advanced age, to be past all possibility of gestation, gave her hand-maid to Abram, in hope of becoming a mother by proxy, according to the custom of that age and country. Hagar, however, soon acted with such intolerable insolence, that her mistress broke out into bitter complaints against her, and finally treated her with such severity, that she

fled from her presence, and wandered in the road to Sur, leading to Egypt; till, weary and disconsolate, she sat down by a fountain.. Here she was accosted by an angel, who persuaded her to return and submit herself to her mistress; assuring her that she should soon bring forth a son, whom she should call Ishmael; that his posterity would multiply exceedingly; that they would prove extremely fierce and warlike; that their hand should be against every man, and every man's hand against them; and that they should dwell in the face of all their brethren. Encouraged by these assurances, Hagar called the place where she met the angel, Beer-lahai-roi, or "the well of him who lives and sees me ;" and returned to the house of Sarai; where she soon gave birth to a male child, and named him Ishmael, according to the angel's direction.

About thirteen years after this event, God vouchsafed to ratify his former covenant with the patriarch, by changing his name from Abram to Abraham, assuring him that he should become the father of many nations; that kings should proceed from him; and that his descendants should certainly possess the land in which he now resided as a stranger. As a trial of his obedience, God commanded him to circumcise all the males in his family; and, to complete his happiness, he informed him, that Sarai, whose name was now changed to Sarah, should bear him a son, who should inherit all these blessings. At this declaration Abraham fell upon his face, in order to conceal the irreverent laughter which resulted from the improbability of what he heard, and began to intercede for the preservation of Ishmael, whom he had hitherto considered, and brought up, as the heir of all his substance. The Deity, however, assured him, that these