ABRAHAM ENTERTAINETH THREE ANGELS.

"And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day, and he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, pray thee, from thy servant: let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man ; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

"And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the

tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh."-GEN. xviii. 1-15.

If you were to go to the DESERT and sit inside an Arab's tent in the middle of the day, you would find the air to be rather "close." At last it would become so oppressive that you would like to get out in the open air. You would not like to go out of the door on the sunny side, for the dazzling light and scorching rays would be more unpleasant still.

Ion. Then I would go on the shady side.

P. That is what Abraham did once. It was about nine or ten years after Hagar's return to her mistress, and the birth of Hagar's son, Ishmael, when Abraham was sitting outside his tent, on "the shady side." Perhaps, as he sat, he was thinking,-for, about three months ago, God had visited him once more, and had told him even again that his own wife Sarah should have a son. Abraham was then much surprised, for both he and Sarah were getting very old,-Sarah was ninety years of age, and it is not usual for God to give people children when they are as old as that. Ishmael was now a great boy-about ten years old. Both Abraham and Sarah had looked upon him as their heir; and when Abraham had heard that he was to have another son, he could hardly believe it.

L. But, papa, you say Abraham now, instead of Abram; and Sarah, instead of Sarai. Why do you do so?

P. Because when God spoke to Abraham this last time, God changed his and Sarah's name, to show more plainly that their children were to become a great nation. The name Abram, which simply means high father, was to be changed to Abraham, which means the father of a multitude. His wife's name Sarai, which means "my princess," was to be changed to Sarah, or princess-a name which might mean princess of many people.

But let us return to Abraham, as he sat outside his tent enjoying the freshness of the open air. Perhaps he was thinking these matters over. He was scarcely taking the trouble to look up, or to cast his eyes across the plain, when he saw three strangers walking along; they were already close to him. He did not sit still much longer, but did exactly as an Arab would do in the present day; he ran from his tent door to meet them, and bowing himself to the ground, he pressed them to stop and rest, saying, "My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant." And they answered, "So do, as thou hast said."

Abraham was no doubt much pleased when they gave him this answer. Most Arabs are glad to see strangers, and to treat them with hospitality; they think it a great honour to be hospitable, and that they who give are the favoured parties; if Abraham's hospitality had been rejected, he would have felt that he was treated badly and with great shame.

It is the custom in hot climates to bake bread every day, and only sufficient for one day's meals, as it would by keeping become too dry, so that there is always a baking of bread on the arrival of strangers. The grinding of corn and bread-making is attended to by the females; Abraham therefore hastened into the tent to Sarah, saying, "Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth."

The killing of the animals, and the preparing of meat, is, however, attended to by the men-servants; and therefore "Abram ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto the young man; and he hasted to dress it."

Íon. But would the young man cook it directly it was killed?

P. Yes. It was the custom to cook all animal food as soon as possible after the animal's death, before the warmth of life had departed from it. We could not bear such an idea in this country, but in Eastern countries, when meat had been killed in the morning, it was never usual to keep it even until the following day. Moses, in after days, would not allow Abraham's descendants, the Israelites, to do so, but commanded that all the remains of the animals which had been offered as peace offerings during the day, should be destroyed by fire in the evening. The climate of the countries was one reason for this rule. In England meat is generally kept for a day that the fibres may be set, and the meat become firm, and solid enough for food; but if it were kept so

long in hot climates, it would often become very disgusting and unfit to eat.*

As soon as the meat was ready, Abraham took it, with butter and milk, and set it before the strangers; but, according to the custom of showing respect, instead of sitting down to enjoy it with them, he stood on one side, under the tree, while they ate.

L. Just as if he were their servant. Didn't Sarah come out and help him? It seems so strange for Abraham himself to do it all.

W. Yes; because he was the master, and an old man.

P. He only felt the more honoured at being allowed to do good to the strangers. He felt very pleased as he watched them eating, and as he looked on, he observed that the principal guest had a noble and beautiful countenance-the same commanding look which before had caused him to bow down with his face to the ground. When they had finished their meal, this stranger, who is distinguished in the Bible by the name of "the Lord," turned suddenly to Abraham and asked him, "Where is Sarah thy wife?"

Now, when wayfarers visit an Arab's tent, it is not usual for the women to be seen; indeed it is considered highly impertinent for a stranger to take notice of their existence, or to make any inquiries about them. Abraham therefore, perhaps, felt shocked that his noble guest, whom he was admiring so much, should ask him that question. He was even more surprised that the angel (for he perceived his guests were angels) should know his wife's name, especially the new name which God had given her only three months ago. Abraham, however, was not angry, but answered the Lord, "Behold, in the tent."

The Lord then brought good news to Abraham, and explained to him that, in less than a year's time, his wife Sarah should have a son of her own, who was to become his heir. Abraham, who still had faith in God's promises, received this message in gladness; but we read that Sarah, who was listening behind the tent door, laughed at the news, and did not believe, for which the Lord rebuked her.

Soon after, the angels arose to depart, turning their faces towards Sodom, and Abraham, like a kind host, resolved to keep them company, and to go, at least, a part of the way with them.

L. But it must have been late in the afternoon then, I should think, so that it would not be so hot.

P. It appears that the angels were going down to Sodom, to examine the city and the people, for they had been sinning against God very much. The Lord sent the two angels on before, so that only he and Abraham were left together. He then resolved to tell Abraham what he was going to do, saying to him-"Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is very great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it; and if not, I shall know." He also told Abraham that if they were found to be very wicked people, he intended to destroy them and their city with fire.

Kitto's "History of Palestine."