one side and Mount Gerizim on the other, Abraham made his encampment. It was
a fair and goodly country that the patriarch had entered—“a land of brooks of water,
of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and
barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey.”
Deuteronomy 8:7, 8. But to the worshiper of Jehovah, a heavy shadow rested upon
wooded hill and fruitful plain. “The Canaanite was then in the land.” Abraham
had reached the goal of his hopes to find a country occupied by an alien race and
overspread with idolatry. In the groves were set up the altars of false gods, and human
sacrifices were offered upon the neighboring heights. While he clung to the divine
promise, it was not without distressful forebodings that he pitched his tent. Then “the
Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land.” his faith
was strengthened by this assurance that the divine presence was with him, that he was
not left to the mercy of the wicked. “And there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who
appeared unto him.” Still a wayfarer, he soon removed to a spot near Bethel, and again
erected an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord.
Abraham, “the friend of God,” set us a worthy example. His was a life of prayer.
Wherever he pitched his tent, close beside it was set up his altar, calling all within his
encampment to the morning and evening sacrifice. When his tent was removed, the
altar remained. In following years, there were those among the roving Canaanites who
received instruction from Abraham; and whenever one of these came to that altar, he
knew who had been there before him; and when he had pitched his tent, he repaired
the altar, and there worshiped the living God.
Abraham continued to journey southward, and again his faith was tested. The
heavens withheld their rain, the brooks ceased to flow in the valleys, and the grass
withered on the plains. The flocks and herds found no pasture, and starvation
threatened the whole encampment. Did not the patriarch now question the leadings of
Providence? Did he not look back with longing to the plenty of the Chaldean plains?
All were eagerly watching to see what Abraham would do, as trouble after trouble
came upon him. So long as his confidence appeared unshaken, they felt that there was
hope; they were assured that God was his Friend, and that he was still guiding him.
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Abraham could not explain the leadings of Providence; he had not realized his
expectations; but he held fast the promise, “I will bless thee, and make thy name great;
and thou shalt be a blessing.” With earnest prayer he considered how to preserve the
life of his people and his flocks, but he would not allow circumstances to shake his
faith in God’s word. To escape the famine he went down into Egypt. He did not
forsake Canaan, or in his extremity turn back to the Chaldean land from which he
came, where there was no scarcity of bread; but he sought a temporary refuge as near
as possible to the Land of Promise, intending shortly to return where God had placed
him.
The Lord in his providence had brought this trial upon Abraham to teach him
lessons of submission, patience, and faith—lessons that were to be placed on record
for the benefit of all who should afterward be called to endure affliction. God leads
his children by a way that they know not, but he does not forget or cast off those who
put their trust in him. He permitted affliction to come upon Job, but he did not forsake
him. He allowed the beloved John to be exiled to lonely Patmos, but the Son of God
met him there, and his vision was filled with scenes of immortal glory. God permits
trials to assail his people, that by their constancy and obedience they themselves may
be spiritually enriched, and that their example may be a source of strength to others. “I
know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not
of evil.” Jeremiah 29:11. The very trials that task our faith most severely and make it
seem that God has forsaken us, are to lead us closer to Christ, that we may lay all our
burdens at his feet and experience the peace which he will give us in exchange.
God has always tried his people in the furnace of affliction. It is in the heat of the
furnace that the dross is separated from the true gold of the Christian character. Jesus
watches the test; he knows what is needed to purify the precious metal, that it may
reflect the radiance of his love. It is by close, testing trials that God disciplines his
servants. He sees that some have powers which may be used in the advancement of
his work, and he puts these persons upon trial; in his providence he brings them into
positions that test their character and reveal defects and weaknesses that have been
hidden from their own knowledge. He
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gives them opportunity to correct these defects and to fit themselves for his service.
He shows them their own weakness, and teaches them to lean upon him; for he is their
only help and safeguard. Thus his object is attained. They are educated, trained, and
disciplined, prepared to fulfill the grand purpose for which their powers were given
them. When God calls them to action, they are ready, and heavenly angels can unite
with them in the work to be accomplished on the earth.
During his stay in Egypt, Abraham gave evidence that he was not free from human
weakness and imperfection. In concealing the fact that Sarah was his wife, he betrayed
a distrust of the divine care, a lack of that lofty faith and courage so often and nobly
exemplified in his life. Sarah was fair to look upon, and he doubted not that the
dusky Egyptians would covet the beautiful stranger, and that in order to secure her,
they would not scruple to slay her husband. He reasoned that he was not guilty of
falsehood in representing Sarah as his sister, for she was the daughter of his father,
though not of his mother. But this concealment of the real relation between them
was deception. No deviation from strict integrity can meet God’s approval. Through
Abraham’s lack of faith, Sarah was placed in great peril. The king of Egypt, being
informed of her beauty, caused her to be taken to his palace, intending to make her his
wife. But the Lord, in his great mercy, protected Sarah by sending judgments upon
the royal household. By this means the monarch learned the truth in the matter, and,
indignant at the deception practiced upon him, he reproved Abraham and restored to
him his wife, saying, “What is this that thou hast done unto me? ...Why saidst thou,
She is my sister? So I might have taken her to me to wife. Now therefore behold thy
wife, take her, and go thy way.”
Abraham had been greatly favored by the king; even now Pharaoh would permit
no harm to be done him or his company, but ordered a guard to conduct them in safety
out of his dominions. At this time laws were made prohibiting the Egyptians from
intercourse with foreign shepherds in any such familiarity as eating or drinking with
them. Pharaoh’s dismissal of Abraham was kind and generous; but he bade him leave
Egypt, for he dared not permit him to remain. He had ignorantly been about to do him
a serious injury, but God had interposed, and
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saved the monarch from committing so great a sin. Pharaoh saw in this stranger a
man whom the God of heaven honored, and he feared to have in his kingdom one who
was so evidently under divine favor. Should Abraham remain in Egypt, his increasing
wealth and honor would be likely to excite the envy or covetousness of the Egyptians,
and some injury might be done him, for which the monarch would be held responsible,
and which might again bring judgments upon the royal house.
The warning that had been given to Pharaoh proved a protection to Abraham in
his after-intercourse with heathen peoples; for the matter could not be kept secret, and
it was seen that the God whom Abraham worshiped would protect his servant, and
that any injury done him would be avenged. It is a dangerous thing to wrong one of
the children of the King of heaven. The psalmist refers to this chapter in Abraham’s
experience when he says, in speaking of the chosen people, that God “reproved kings
for their sakes; saying, Touch not Mine anointed, and do My prophets no harm.” Psalm
105:14, 15.
There is an interesting similarity between Abraham’s experience in Egypt and that
of his posterity, centuries later. Both went down into Egypt on account of a famine,
and both sojourned there. Through the manifestation of divine judgments in their
behalf, the fear of them fell upon the Egyptians; and, enriched by the gifts of the
heathen, they went out with great substance.
