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chapter of Hebrews, in th e roll of the heroes of faith, it has th e largest place. (d) A g reat Biesser. “Thou shalt be a blessing.” Through Abraham the nations, even to the ends of th e earth , were to be blessed. (e) A G reat Benediction. “ I will bless them, th a t bless thee.” Associa tion w ith Abraham , and favors shown to Abraham , would bring blessing. His tory has proven th a t those nations who have favored the Jews have been blessed of God. (f) A G reat Judgm ent. “ I will curse him th a t curseth thee.” The his tory of nations should be read in the ligh t of th is promise. Look a t F rance and Spain. Keep your eyes on Russia and Germany. Every nation which has m istreated th e Jews hias felt th e rod of God. (g) A G reat Power. "In thee shall all fam ilies of th e earth be blessed.” This is the climax of th e prom ise of God and is repeated (22:18) (Gal. 3 :1 6 ). “ N o w to A b ra h a m a n d h is s e e d w e re th e p ro m is e s m a d e . H e s a lt h n o t, A n d to s e e d s , a s o f m a n y ; b n t a s o f o n e , A n d to t h y s e e d , w h ic h Is C h ris t,” God h as ordained th a t through faith in Christ men should in h erit th e bless ings of the covenant which was made w ith Abraham ’s seed. All th e blessings which the believer enjoys,— the Saviour, th e Gospel, salvation, are the fru it of th a t covenant. The ground was cursed, for Adam ’s sake, b a t th e world is blessed in Christ, th e seed of Abraham . (Gal. 4 :4 ). The prom ise will have its complete fulfillment in the m illennial age (Rom. 8:18-23). The covenant, then, includes th e earth ly blessings for Israel, the heavenly blessings for the church, and th e blessings which await the nations in the millennium. (3) THE CANAAN CONFLICT OF ABRAHAM, “ Into th e land of Canaan t e came.” A fter th e death of Terah (his name meaning “ delay” ), Abraham obeyed the divine call and left H aran (meaning
half-hearted, unsurrendered life. The call was personal, “Get thee.” It was positive, “ out from thy kindred and th y fa th e r’s house.” It was p ar ticu lar, “ unto a land th a t I will shew th ee.” He was called alone (Isa. 51 :2 ). “ L o o k u n to A b ra h a m , y o u r f a th e r , a n d u n to S a ra h t h a t b a r e y o u ; f o r I c a lle d h im a lo n e , a n d b le s s e d h im ; a n d in c re a s e d h im .” Fam ily ties have hindered, too often, the call of God. Much of blessing- has been lost because the called ones have been unw illing to sever th e home ties' and go w ith God. The call is described by Stephen in Acts 7:2-8. God does not say where th e land is, or what the conditions will be when it is reached. The call is to faith, and Abraham , the man of faith, hears and heeds. (2 ) THE COVENANT WITH ABRA HAM. “ I will make of th ee * * * I will bless thee.” God’s calls are commands, and God’s prom ises are provisions. Here is a cov enan t into which God enters w ith Abra ham which is unconditional depending wholly upon God Himself. It includes th ree things,— a land, a seed, a bless ing. The prom ise is seven-fold: (a) A G reat Possession. “ I will make of thee a g reat nation.” Here is th e beginning of th a t great people, Israel, th e g reatest of all nations, and the one which was never to be num bered among the nations, but in which was w rapped th e destiny of all na tions. (b) A G reat Satisfaction. “ I will bless thee.” When God promises a blessing it will be indeed great. He was to be blessed w ith God Himself. (Gen. '1 5 :1 ). “F ear not, Abram, I am thy shield and thy exceeding g reat rew ard .” (c) A g rea t Name. Abraham ’s name was to come down th rough th e ages as “The friend of God” (James 2 :2 3 ). Among Jews, Mohammedans and Gentiles, Abraham ’s name is ac corded the chief place; In the 11th
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