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And the Canaanite, that accursed and-idolatrous people, [was] then in the land; so that he could expect little comfort, and 7 found great trials for his faith. And the LORD appeared* unto Abram, for his encouragement, and said, Unto thy seed, though not to thyself, will I give this land, which they surely shall possess; and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him, for sacrifice and thanksgiving for this mercy, and to keep them close to the worship of the true God. 8 And he removed from thence southward, unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, as it was afterwards called, but then Luz, and pitched his tent, [having] Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east and there also he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD; worshipping God by 9 prayer, preaching to his family, and offering sacrifices. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south; but found repeated disappointments, and trials for his faith.

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And at length there was a famine in the land, which obliged him to leave it for a time; and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there for the famine [was] grievous in the land of 11 Canaan. And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, 12 I know that thou [art] a fair woman to look upon : Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This [is] his wife: and they will kill me,† but they will save thee alive, and some one will take thee as a 13 wife or concubine. Say, I pray thee, thou [art] my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee; my life shall be safe, and I shall have nothing to fear.

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And according to his expectation, it came to pass that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the wom15 an that she [was] very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh

saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh ; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house, probably in order to 16 his marrying her. And he entreated Abram well for her sake, to gain his consent: and by Pharaoh's gift he had sheep, and oxen, beside what he had of his own, and he asses, and men servants, and maid servants, and she asses, and camels. But the God of Abram was highly displeased at the wicked designs 17 of the monarch; And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues, because of Sarai Abram's wife.* 18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What [is] this [that]

By a new revelation, to strengthen his faith, now that he saw all the land before him possessed by the Canaanite. Abram is the first person to whom God is said in scripture to have appeared.

This fear of being killed was the more inexcusable in Abram, as the promise of a seed to descend from him was not yet fulfilled, and therefore was a security to his life.

Though this was true in some sense, (ch. xx. 12,) yet not as they understood it; and sp

he exposed her to danger, contrary to his duty.

All their kings were called Pharaoh, which signifies the father of the people.

Probably with some such distemper as did both chastise him for, and hinder him from executing his designs.

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thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she [was] thy wife? which he might understand upon 19 further inquiry by Sarai's confession. Why saidst thou, She [is] my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife : now therefore behold, since she is thy wife, take [her,] and go thy way. Pharaoh's reproof was mild and just, and his conduct 20 generous. And Pharaoh commanded [his] men concerning him, that they should not offer him any injury, but show him all manner of kindness: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had, believing him to be a peculiar favourite of heaven.

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REFLECTIONS.

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implicitly follow wherever he leads. Thus did Abram, Heb. xi. 8. The gospel commandeth us to forsake houses and land for Christ's sake; and if we do so, we shall in no wise lose our reward; for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. All lands are the good man's country. If we are willing to follow the divine directions, God will lead us in the right way to a city of habitation, and to a happy end.

2. Let us earnestly pray for the divine blessing; that he may bless us, and make us a blessing to others; bless us in temporal, but especially in spiritual things. None can bless like him. Men may curse, but, if the Lord bless us, all shall be well. Good men are a blessing to others: God will make them so to the families and places where they dwell. Imitate Abram's faith and obedience: for they that are of faith are blessed with faithful Abram.

3. Let us be thankful for that seed of Abram, in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed. We and our families share in this blessing. Christ is the greatest blessing in the world, the sum and substance of all other blessings. This blessing of Abram is come upon us Gentiles. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ Jesus.

4. We learn of Abram to acknowledge God wherever we go: he built an altar in every place. Wherever we have a tent, let God have an altar. Let us maintain his worship in our families, and there call on his name. The master of a family should be a priest in his own house, should pray with and for them, and teach them the way of the Lord, and the judgments of their God. Let us serve the Lord with all our house, then he will bless us, and make us a blessing.

5. The best of men have infirmities in those graces for which they are most remarkable. Who would have thought that Abram, the father of the faithful, should distrust God, equivocate, and manifest such unbelief! Let us not expect to live without fears, or believe without infirmities; but be sensible what reason we have daily to pray, Lord, increase our faith.

6. Let us revere this remainder of virtue in the Egyptian court. Pharaoh restored Sarai when he knew she was Abram's wife. Few christian princes would have been so tender: he would not have taken her, had he known who she was. Adultery is a most wicked and abominable sin; what Pharaoh would have been ashamed of committing; and it is strange that all professing christians do not consider it to be so.

7. We learn not to be too suspicious of men's characters. Pharaoh and his courtiers were not so bad as Abram thought they were. We often find more honour and virtue among strangers, than we at first expected. Let us be on our guard against a temper that would lead us to suspect persons' characters without reason, and not fear where no fear is. We should believe the best we can of every man. Charity hopeth all things, and believ eth all things.

8. Let us adore that wonderful providence that appeared for Abram. God appeared for him remarkably; and, as it is expressed Psalm cv. 14. he reproved kings for his sake. He was dismissed in an honourable manner, and enriched with presents. The hearts of kings are in the hands of the Lord; this would be an encouragement to Abram to trust him for the time to come; to act an honest, upright part, not doubting but God would appear for him. It was God, as Isaiah expresseth it, who raised up this righteous man from the east ; called him to his foot, to receive divine directions; gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings. He can never be at a loss to reward the zeal and fidel, ity of those who follow him fully, and are upright before him.

CHAP. XIII.

Abram returns to Canaan; the difference between him and Lot amicably settled; Lot's removal to the plains of Sodom ; God renews his promise to Abram; who removes to the plain of Mumre.

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ND Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south 2 of Canaan. And Abram, through the bounty of Pharaoh and the blessing of God, [was] very rich in cattle, in silver, and in $ gold.* And he went on in his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Unto the place of the altar, which he made there at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD; gratefully acknowledged his goodness in preserving him in Egypt, and bringing him from $ thence in greater affluence than he went thither. And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and servants dwelling in tents. And such was the increase of both of them

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• See Harmer's Observations, Vol. I. p. 121.

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that the land was not able to bear them, did not afford food enough for so many flocks and herds.* that they might dwell together for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle, probably about some pasture or water t and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land, and took up the best pasturage, And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we [be] brethren, both by nature and religion, and such contention will be a reproach to that religion, and expose us to danger 9 [Is] not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me if [thou wilt take] the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if [thou depart] to the right hand, then I will go to the left,

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And Lot accepted the kind and generous proposal of his uncle, and lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it [was] well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as Eden the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto F1 Zoar, all the way till thou comest to Zoar. Then Lot chose for him self all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east ; and thus they amicably separated themselves the one from 12 the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched [his] tent toward 13 Sodom; a fruitful soil, but a wicked country. But the men `of Sodom [were] wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly, impudent and daring sinners.

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And the LORD said unto Abram, to comfort him after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and south15 ward, and eastward and westward : For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, as a pledge of the heavenly country, and to thy seed for ever, for a long time, if they are 16 obedient. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] 17 shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee, as the inheritance of thy posterity. ̄ {

18 Then Abram removed [his] tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which [is] in or near Hebron, about twenty four miles south of Bethel, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

The LXX. use the same word as John does, when he says, the world could not contain the books, that is, could not read and attend to so many: so the land could not contain them.

putes.

Water was a scarce commodity in those hot climates, and the source of many dis

It is probable he dwelt on a mountain and had a wide prospect.

An Amorite of great note; a friend and confederate, and probably a proselyte of Abram's,

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REFLECTIONS.

EE what an happy thing it is to have the blessing of God wherever we go. This made Abram rich, and brought nó sorrow with it; his riches gave him an opportunity of doing much good; and the blessing of God kept him from the snares of prosperity, from pride, and insolence. Let us seek his blessing to make us prosperous, to sweeten our enjoyments, and prevent our falling into various temptations, and foolish and hurtful lusts.

2. The children of Abram should cultivate peace. This is a beautiful part of Abram's character. Though superior to Lot in nature and grace, yet he condescends to his inferior, for peace sake. Let us as far as possible live peaceably with all men. Abram gave the preference to Lot. This is a temper becoming christians, to submit to one another; to be pitiful and courteous. This is like some great and injured person making the first pro posals of reconciliation. How truly amiable does he appear! Observe his plea; and let it ever be remembered when angry passions rise, that we are brethren, fellow men, fellow christians, members of the same body; and also, that the Canaanites are in the land, those who wish us ill, and wait for our halting. Let us not give occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, but live as brethren, conquer ourselves, and hold the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

3. We see the sad consequence of great plenty in Sodom. It was a fine fruitful country; but pride and fulness of bread was its ruin; they were sinners exceedingly against the Lord. This is too much the case with our own land; it is fruitful, we are fed with the finest of the wheat, but we are sinners before God exceedingly. Lot preached to them, but they continued wicked. So it is with us, notwithstanding all the preachers of righteousness in the land and we have too much reason to fear, lest God should turn a fruitful land into barremess, because of the wickedness thereof.

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4. Let us not measure the favour of God by our situations in the world. The sinners of Sodom dwelt in a pleasant place; Abram and his family among the mountains. But this paradise was turned into the likeness of hell by the sinners that dwelt there. How much happier was Abram and his pious family on the mountains! When men regard wealth and pleasant places more than the character of those they dwell among, they do not act wisely. In our choice of callings and relations in life, let the interest of the soul be first consulted: this is the way to have God's blessing, and that will make a desert as the garden of the Lord.

5. When friends forsake us, it is a pleasant thing to have God near. When Lot went from Abram, God renewed the visits of

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