:

"And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen, and thy herdsmen for we are brethren. 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 the left."

Lot chose the valley along which the river Jordan flowed. It was well watered and fertile, but the people in it were wicked: still Lot resolved to go there, so he left Abram, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

It would have been better to have chosen a part of the country where the people were not so wicked, even if it had not been equally fertile and pleasant, since persons are always strongly tempted to do the same as they see others doing around them; and we can scarcely imagine a really good man placing himself by choice amongst a people who were notorious for their crimes. But Lot sought only to live at ease in a fruitful country, not to go where he could serve God best: and by thus putting pleasure before duty he failed, as people usually do, in obtaining the happiness he expected. He had not been long at Sodom before Chedorlaomer and three other neighbouring kings made war upon the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, and conquered them. For twelve years they remained tributary to Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they revolted; upon which he

came with an army, and after defeating the king of Sodom and his allies in a pitched battle, retreated towards his own country, carrying away Lot and his family. As soon as Abram heard of the capture of Lot, he hastily assembled three hundred and eighteen of his servants, all born in his house, and able to go out to war. With these he pursued after Chedorlaomer, and overtook him at Dan, a town to the north of Canaan. Attacking him by night, after drawing his force into two parts, he completely defeated him, and thus succeeded in rescuing Lot, and getting back all the spoil which had been seized.

As Abram returned, he came to Salem. "And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessing heaven and earth; And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand. And Abram gave him tithes* of all." Gen. xiv. 18, 20.

When Abram brought back the people and the spoil, the king of Sodom wished him to keep the goods, as a reward for the toil and danger he had incurred, but this Abram generously refused; he desired that the princes round who had accompanied him might have a share of the spoil, but for himself and his servants he declined accepting any recompense.

i. e. The tenth part.

After Lot's departure, Abram was commanded to walk through the land, in the length of it, and breadth of it, to see the extent of the country his seed should possess; after which he went and dwelt in the plains of Mamre.

Abram was prosperous and happy, for the blessing of the Almighty was upon him; but he had one grief, his wife Sarai had no child. God had declared that the land he lived in should belong to his descendants, and he believed therefore that he should be the ancestor of a great nation; but he had as yet no son except Ishmael; now Ishmael was the son of Hagar, another wife of Abram's, but of inferior rank to Sarai. It was the custom at that time, and is still in some countries, for a man to have more than one wife; but the children of the inferior wives did. not usually inherit their father's property.

When Abram was nearly a hundred years old, the Lord again renewed His promise that his seed should be multiplied, and that he should be the father of many nations. And God changed Abram's name to Abraham, which signifies the father of a great multitude, or, of many nations, and Sarai's name was changed to Sarah.

Not long after these promises had been renewed, as Abraham was one day seated in the shade at the door of his tent, he saw three strangers standing near him. He immediately hastened to meet them, and requested them to rest during the heat, and refresh themselves. "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 fetched 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."

The customs of the Arabs of the present day very much resemble those here described. A stranger is always hospitably received, and it is a mark of respect to go forth to meet him. Water is first given him to wash his feet, which is particularly needed after walking across the sandy plains of the desert, and then food is set before him. This consists of cakes hastily baked, milk, and butter; and if the Arab chief is rich, and wishes to treat his guest with peculiar hospitality, a kid or lamb is killed, and served up. This is however an unusual honor, as animal food is not dressed excepting on great occasions. Neither is bread kept ready made; it would not be good long in so hot a climate. The women of the highest rank pre

C

pare the various dishes, as Sarah did, and like her, the wife of the Shiek of the tribe does not consider it any degradation, but rather esteems it an honor, to make ready the meals of the husband and his guests.

When the angels, for such they were, had partaken of Abraham's entertainment, they said unto him, "where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent;" the tent was near the oak, under whose shade they were seated, and within hearing. One of the three then declared that in the following year Sarah should have a son. When Sarah heard this, she laughed within herself, for she had not faith like Abraham. But he who spoke was not an earthly being, and he knew that she disbelieved, and he reproved her. Then she was afraid, and she denied, and said, “I laughed not." But he said to her, "nay, but thou didst laugh."

“And the men rose up from thence and looked towards Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on their way." Then the LORD spoke to Abraham and told him that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were going to be destroyed because of their great and grievous wickedness.

"And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein ? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to