to secure so rich a booty. His example is a rebuke to self-seeking, mercenary spirits.
Abraham regarded the claims of justice and humanity. His conduct illustrates the
inspired maxim, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Leviticus 19:18. “I have
lifted up my hand,” he said, “unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of
heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet, and that I
will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich.”
he would give them no occasion to think that he had engaged in warfare for the sake
of gain, or to attribute his prosperity to their gifts or favor. God had promised to bless
Abraham, and to him the glory should be ascribed.
Another who came out to welcome the victorious patriarch was Melchizedek, king
of Salem, who brought forth bread and wine for the refreshment of his army. As “priest
of the most high God,” he pronounced a blessing upon Abraham, and gave thanks to
the Lord, who had wrought so great a deliverance by his servant. And Abraham “gave
him tithes of all.”
Abraham gladly returned to his tents and his flocks, but his mind was disturbed
by harassing thoughts. He had been a man of peace, so far as possible shunning
enmity and strife; and with horror he recalled the scene of carnage he had witnessed.
But the nations whose forces he had defeated would doubtless renew the invasion of
Canaan, and make him the special object of their vengeance. Becoming thus involved
in national quarrels, the peaceful quiet of his life would be broken. Furthermore, he
had not entered upon the possession of Canaan, nor could he now hope for an heir, to
whom the promise might be fulfilled.
In a vision of the night the divine Voice was again heard. “Fear not, Abram,” were
the words of the Prince of princes; “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”
But his mind was so oppressed by forebodings that he could not now grasp the promise
with unquestioning confidence as heretofore. He prayed for some tangible evidence
that it would be fulfilled. And how was the covenant promise to be realized, while the
gift of a son was withheld? “What wilt thou give me,” he said, “seeing I go childless?”
“And, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.” he proposed to make his trusty servant
Eliezer his son by adoption, and the inheritor of his possessions. But he was assured
that a
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child of his own was to be his heir. Then he was led outside his tent, and told to look
up to the unnumbered stars glittering in the heavens; and as he did so, the words were
spoken, “So shall thy seed be.” “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him
for righteousness.” Romans 4:3.
Still the patriarch begged for some visible token as a confirmation of his faith and
as an evidence to after-generations that God’s gracious purposes toward them would
be accomplished. The Lord condescended to enter into a covenant with his servant,
employing such forms as were customary among men for the ratification of a solemn
engagement. By divine direction, Abraham sacrificed a heifer, a she-goat, and a ram,
each three years old, dividing the bodies and laying the pieces a little distance apart.
To these he added a turtledove and a young pigeon, which, however, were not divided.
This being done, he reverently passed between the parts of the sacrifice, making a
solemn vow to God of perpetual obedience. Watchful and steadfast, he remained
beside the carcasses till the going down of the sun, to guard them from being defiled
or devoured by birds of prey. About sunset he sank into a deep sleep; and, “lo, a
horror of great darkness fell upon him.” And the voice of God was heard, bidding
him not to expect immediate possession of the Promised Land, and pointing forward
to the sufferings of his posterity before their establishment in Canaan. The plan of
redemption was here opened to him, in the death of Christ, the great sacrifice, and his
coming in glory. Abraham saw also the earth restored to its Eden beauty, to be given
him for an everlasting possession, as the final and complete fulfillment of the promise.
As a pledge of this covenant of God with men, a smoking furnace and a burning
lamp, symbols of the divine presence, passed between the severed victims, totally
consuming them. And again a voice was heard by Abraham, confirming the gift of the
land of Canaan to his descendants, “from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the
river Euphrates.”
When Abraham had been nearly twenty-five years in Canaan, the Lord appeared
unto him, and said, “I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect.”
In awe, the patriarch fell upon his face, and the message continued: “Behold, My
covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.” In
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token of the fulfillment of this covenant, his name, heretofore called Abram, was
changed to Abraham, which signifies, “father of a great multitude.” Sarai’s name
became Sarah—“princess;” for, said the divine Voice, “she shall be a mother of
nations; kings of people shall be of her.”
At this time the rite of circumcision was given to Abraham as “a seal of the
righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised.” Romans 4:11. It
was to be observed by the patriarch and his descendants as a token that they were
devoted to the service of God and thus separated from idolaters, and that God accepted
them as his peculiar treasure. By this rite they were pledged to fulfill, on their part, the
conditions of the covenant made with Abraham. They were not to contract marriages
with the heathen; for by so doing they would lose their reverence for God and his
holy law; they would be tempted to engage in the sinful practices of other nations, and
would be seduced into idolatry.
God conferred great honor upon Abraham. Angels of heaven walked and talked
with him as friend with friend. When judgments were about to be visited upon Sodom,
the fact was not hidden from him, and he became an intercessor with God for sinners.
His interview with the angels presents also a beautiful example of hospitality.
In the hot summer noontide the patriarch was sitting in his tent door, looking out
over the quiet landscape, when he saw in the distance three travelers approaching.
Before reaching his tent, the strangers halted, as if consulting as to their course.
Without waiting for them to solicit favors, Abraham rose quickly, and as they were
apparently turning in another direction, he hastened after them, and with the utmost
courtesy urged them to honor him by tarrying for refreshment. With his own hands
he brought water that they might wash the dust of travel from their feet. He
himself selected their food, and while they were at rest under the cooling shade,
an entertainment was made ready, and he stood respectfully beside them while they
partook of his hospitality. This act of courtesy God regarded of sufficient importance
to record in his word; and a thousand years later it was referred to by an inspired
apostle: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained
angels unawares.” Hebrews 13:2.
Abraham had seen in his guests only three tired wayfarers,
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little thinking that among them was One whom he might worship without sin. But the
true character of the heavenly messengers was now revealed. Though they were on
their way as ministers of wrath, yet to Abraham, the man of faith, they spoke first of
blessings. Though God is strict to mark iniquity and to punish transgression, he takes
no delight in vengeance. The work of destruction is a “strange work” to him who is
infinite in love.
“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” Psalm 25:14. Abraham had
honored God, and the Lord honored him, taking him into his counsels, and revealing to
him his purposes. “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” said the Lord.
“The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I
will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of
it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.” God knew well the measure of
Sodom’s guilt; but he expressed himself after the manner of men, that the justice of
his dealings might be understood. Before bringing judgment upon the transgressors
he would go himself, to institute an examination of their course; if they had not passed
the limits of divine mercy, he would still grant them space for repentance.
Two of the heavenly messengers departed, leaving Abraham alone with him whom
he now knew to be the Son of God. And the man of faith pleaded for the inhabitants
of Sodom. Once he had saved them by his sword, now he endeavored to save them
by prayer. Lot and his household were still dwellers there; and the unselfish love that
prompted Abraham to their rescue from the Elamites, now sought to save them, if it
were God’s will, from the storm of divine judgment.
With deep reverence and humility he urged his plea: “I have taken upon me to
speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes.” There was no self-confidence,
no boasting of his own righteousness. He did not claim favor on the ground of his
obedience, or of the sacrifices he had made in doing God’s will. Himself a sinner, he
pleaded in the sinner’s behalf. Such a spirit all who approach God should possess.
Yet Abraham manifested the confidence of a child pleading with a loved father. He
came close to the heavenly Messenger, and fervently urged his petition. Though Lot
had become a dweller in Sodom, he did not partake in the iniquity of its inhabitants.
Abraham thought that in that populous city there must be other worshipers of the true
God.
