Heroes of Israel. Theodore Gerald Soares
THE MEANING OF THE STORY
1 (§1). We begin with the man to whom Israel looked back as their first great hero. What was his name? What was his father's name?
2 (§1). Where did he come from? Look at the map of the Semitic world. You will see two great rivers which join and then flow into the Persian Gulf. It is not always possible to know where ancient cities were located, but it is supposed that Ur may have been on the Euphrates near the point where the rivers join. It is called Ur of the Chaldees, because people of that name lived there. Terah therefore came from the very old country of Babylonia, which was rich and fertile because it was in the valley of the two rivers. What American river has a rich country in all its wide valley?
3 (§1). What route would be taken to go from Ur to Canaan? If you lay a ruler on the map you will see that Jerusalem is almost directly west of Ur. They lay about six hundred miles apart. But there was a very good reason why they could not travel right across that way. What kind of country would they have had to pass through? They had to follow the river for nearly the same distance in a northwesterly direction. This would bring them to a very rich country where it seems they stopped for some time and where Terah died. What was its name?
4 (§2). Evidently most of Terah's tribe were satisfied to stay in Haran, but Abraham felt a great stir in him to continue the journey to the West land. He believed that God wanted him to go there and to become the founder of a great nation that should serve Jehovah. This feeling became so strong that at last it was clear to him that the Lord was calling him. Learn the beautiful passage of the Call of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3) so that you can recite it.
5(§2). What route would Abraham take from Haran to Canaan? Let us look at the map again. There was a caravan road that ran from Haran west across the river, then it turned south and came down through the country of Syria to a very ancient city. Abraham's chief servant came from this city (Gen. 15:2). The road still runs south and then crosses the river Jordan into Palestine.
6(§2). How long would such a journey take? There were no railroads and there are still very few in that country. Travel was very slow. We have an account in Ezra 7:9 of how long it took a company to make the journey from Babylon long afterward. But Abraham's company would move more slowly, for we must think of him as traveling with a great many animals and servants and children. It was very much as the Arab tribes move about to-day.
7(§2). Think of what Abraham left behind when he obeyed God's voice and came into the strange land. What company of people in American history felt that God called them to leave their own country and come into the new land? Is it always safe to obey God? Look up Gal. 3:9 and Heb. 11:8-10 and see why Abraham is called "The Father of the Faithful."
8(§3). What promise did God give Abraham after he came to Canaan? What places did Abraham visit? Locate them on the map of Canaan. What religious act did he perform wherever he went? What act is the same in our lives?
9(§4). Abraham's numerous sheep and cattle required him to journey from place to place. Why was this? Why would dry weather cause him trouble? Notice on the map that when the famine came he was in the south of Palestine. It was only a short journey west to reach a very rich country, which lay in the valley of a great river. Name the country and its river and explain why there was no drought there.
10 (§4). We shall often notice that the old heroes did wrong. Tell the story of Abraham's visit to Egypt. What do you think of his conduct? If we knew only this part of Abraham's story we should not call him a hero. Ought we then to judge anyone by a single act?
WRITTEN REVIEW
This story deals with several journeys. Let us get them all before our eyes. Turn to the map of the Semitic world at the beginning of the book and make a very simple copy of it, according to the following directions: Mark the two great rivers in the east. Make the coast line of the Mediterranean Sea. Draw the River Nile. Make the coast line of the Red Sea. Locate Ur, Haran, Damascus, Canaan, Egypt. Make this map first in pencil and then ink it.
II. ABRAHAM, THE MAGNANIMOUS
THE STORY
§5. Abraham's Treatment of Lot (Gen. 13)
And Abraham went out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South. And Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the South even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Ai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abraham called on the name of the Lord.
And Lot also, who went with Abraham, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, 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 Abraham's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle.
And Abraham said unto Lot, "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; 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 take the right hand, then I will go to the left."
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the Plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou goest unto Zoar. So Lot chose him all the Plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the Lord exceedingly.
And the Lord said unto Abraham, after that Lot was separated from him, "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 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 shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for unto thee will I give it."
And Abraham moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.
§6. Abraham's Deliverance of Lot (Gen. 14:10-24)
And there came five kings from the East and made war against the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. And the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and they that remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abraham's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
And there came one that had escaped, and told Abraham the Hebrew: now he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these were confederate with Abraham. And when Abraham heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
And