Old Testament Division--Third Period

LEADING PERSONS

#Abraham.#--Lived in Ur of the Chaldees. Called by G.o.d to leave country and home and kindred to go to Canaan, the promised land (Gen. 12:1 to 25:11).

#Isaac.#--Son of Abraham (Gen. 21). Proposed as a sacrifice (Gen. 22:1-19). Married Rebekah (Gen. 24).

#Esau.#--Son of Isaac. Sold his birthright to his brother (Gen. 25:27-34).

#Jacob.#--Son of Isaac. By a trick secured his father's parting blessing, to which Esau was ent.i.tled (Gen. 27:1-45).

Journeyed in search of a wife, and married (Gen. 28:10 to 31:16). Returned and was forgiven by Esau (Gen. 31:17 to 33:20). His name changed to Israel and he became the father of the Jewish nation (Gen. 35:9-15). Had twelve sons, who become the heads of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (Gen.

35:23-27).

#TIME.#--1928 B. C. to the birth of Joseph, 1752 B. C.

#PLACES.#--Ur of Chaldees, Canaan, Egypt.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--With Abraham G.o.d began a course of dealings with man which continued for about two thousand years. Setting apart Abraham with his family was really the beginning of the chosen nation, although the national life did not begin until after the escape from Egypt (see Lesson 5).

Abraham, the Father of the Faithful

#14. The Bible Deals Largely in Biographies.#--If you know well the stories of the great Patriarchs, you know the best part of Genesis.

Again, if you know the stories of Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Samuel, David, you will have mastered most of the history of Israel from Exodus through 2 Samuel. This is the reason why in these lessons we deal so largely with Bible biographies.

#15. Abraham.#--Abraham was one of the greatest men in all history. He was the founder of that people through whom we have received all of the Bible, excepting only what Luke, the beloved Physician, has given us. This of itself is no small distinction. But more. He is the great progenitor of him whom we know as the Messiah and the world's Redeemer.

#16. Abraham and his Call.#--The call came to him in his home in Ur of the Chaldees. Exactly in what way it came we are not told. It may have been an inward call, such as believers to this day have at times. Bear in mind that Abraham's ancestors were idolaters, and that the land in which he lived was totally idolatrous.

This call was twofold. It was a call "out of," and a call "in to." Out of home and family and religious antecedent. In to a new environment geographically, socially, religiously.

This call he obeyed at once, and forth he went, not knowing his ultimate destination. At Haran he paused until the death of his father. Then on he went. How he knew what direction to take we are not told. It may have been that he pushed forward as the migrating bird pushes ahead, driven by a kind of inward impulse, blindly but surely.

This at least is my idea.

#17. Abraham and the Land.#--At last Abraham comes to Shechem, and there for the first time G.o.d tells him that this is the land of which he had spoken. There, for the first time in that land, an altar was raised to the true G.o.d. From that day to this, and to the end of time, that land and the Chosen People have been and will be identified.

#18. Abraham and Egypt.#--Driven by famine, the Patriarch goes down to Egypt. There is no record that he was divinely guided in this, and from the fact that there he gets into trouble, and that G.o.d does not appear to him at all in Egypt, we may infer that this was not any part of the divine plan. G.o.d does not appear to his servant again until he returns to the Land, and builds his altar "where it was at the first"

(Gen. 13:1-18).

#19. Abraham and Lot.#--Lot was Abraham's nephew. His character differs widely from that of his uncle. Mark, in his dealings with his greedy nephew, the grandeur of the Patriarch's character. As the land cannot "bear" the two sets of flocks, Abraham gives Lot the first choice of the land, and declares that he will take what Lot leaves.

This is not after the manner of the "natural man." Decency would have led Lot to decline his uncle's generous offer. But Lot was not decent, and so seized all that he could. In the end this led to Lot's ruin. It is most suggestive to note the steps in Lot's career. First he pitched his tent "towards" Sodom. Then we find him "in" Sodom. Then he sits in "the gate" of Sodom--that is, he has become a prominent man in that accursed city. Soon we see him involved in the overthrow of Sodom by the four kings. Still he returns to that city, after his rescue by his uncle. And at last he has to escape from its final ruin, penniless. We read in 2 Peter 2:7 that Lot was vexed with the wicked life of the Sodomites. It has always seemed a pity that he was not sufficiently vexed to get out from the city, bag and baggage, long before he did.

Again look at Abraham when he had gained the victory over the kings as told in Genesis 14. How grandly he stands, refusing to touch what comes from Sodom from a thread to a shoe latchet. By the laws of war in that time all the "loot" was his. But he would not touch it. Bear in mind that this was 2000 years before the Golden Rule was given, yet here we have a man exemplifying it grandly. What a contrast between Abraham and some of the troops in modern sieges, where they have seized all that they could lay their hands on. This was nearly 2000 years after Jesus uttered the Golden Rule. Who was more truly Christ-like, Abraham 2000 years B. C. or we, 2000 years A. D.?

#20. Abraham and Hagar.#--The Patriarch was not a perfect man. He sinned in Egypt (Gen. 12:10-20), and again, as told in Genesis 20:1-16. Again, his faith in G.o.d's promise that he should have a son seems to have grown dim. So he yields to Sarah's suggestion, and takes Hagar. (Gen. 16). In judging him for this, bear in mind that he had not the light that came in later days, through the further revelation of G.o.d's will. Then Ishmael was born. It is most suggestive that from Ishmael, who was not a "child of faith," sprang in later days Muhammad the great antagonist of Jesus Christ, who came from Abraham through Isaac, the "child of faith."

#21. Abraham and Isaac.#--To understand the command of G.o.d in relation to the sacrifice of Isaac, we must bear in mind the customs of those days in Canaan. As we now know, through excavations in that land, human sacrifices were common. Remembering this, my own impression is that G.o.d intended to teach his servant two things by this command.

First, that all human sacrifices were abhorrent to G.o.d; and second, that his obedience must be unquestioning. G.o.d never intended that Isaac should be sacrificed. This is apparent from the whole narrative.

His command was a "test" of the utter obedience of the Patriarch. This test Abraham met grandly. He was willing to trust G.o.d to the last, though he could not see the reason why. Then G.o.d showed him that his son was not to be sacrificed, and provided in Isaac's place a ram for an offering.

The story of procuring a wife for Isaac is truly oriental in its setting. But bear in mind, it was accompanied with prayer. Though it is not in accord with Western methods of courtship, it turned out quite as well as many modern marriages made after the custom of twentieth century "society."

#22. Abraham and Sodom.#--Here again we have this man in a grand light. He pleads for Sodom, and that, in spite of its utter worthlessness. But there are not in all of Sodom twenty righteous men to be found. Lot's family even, merely scoff at him, and refuse to believe his warning. It is most suggestive in this connection, that "G.o.d remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow." (Gen. 19:29.) Lot's best a.s.set in his life was not his real estate in Sodom, but his G.o.dly uncle far from that wicked city.

Just so the best a.s.set that any modern city has, is not its stocks and bonds, or real estate, but the truly G.o.dly people who live in its midst.

#23. Abraham and Machpelah.#--There are two places in Canaan most intimately a.s.sociated with Abraham. These are Shechem, where he first learned that he was in "the Land" at last, and Machpelah, where he laid Sarah to rest and where he himself was buried. Here also were buried Isaac, Jacob, Rebekah, and Leah. (See Gen. 25:9, 49:30, and 50:13.) It would not be very surprising if some day we were to recover their bodies from that historic burying-place. Stranger things have happened.

Test Questions

In what does the Bible deal largely?

Give the names of the great characters of the Old Testament up to David.

In what two respects was Abraham one of the greatest men of history?

In what respect was the call of Abraham a twofold call?

What was the religious environment of the Patriarch in his home?

Where did Abraham first know that he was in "the Land"?

What did he there "raise" at once?

What makes us think that G.o.d did not direct Abraham to go to Egypt?

What characteristics did the Patriarch show in his relations with Lot?

How did Abraham's faith show somewhat of an eclipse in the matter of Hagar?

Who was one of Ishmael's descendants, and what does this suggest?

To whom did Lot owe his deliverance from Sodom at its overthrow?

Who were buried in the Cave of Machpelah?

Lesson 4

Joseph

Old Testament Division--Third Period (Continued)