Page:PracticalCommentaryOnHolyScripture.djvu/93

 thy kindred,  and  out  of  thy  father’s  house,  and  come  into  the land which  I will  show  thee,  and  I will  make  of  thee a great nation. I will bless  thee,  and  magnify  thy  name,  and  thou  shalt be blessed,  and  in  thee  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  world  be blessed.”

The father  of  Abram  had  gone  from  Ur  in  Chaldea,  and taken up  his  abode  in  Haran,  with  his  relatives;  but  as  idolatry had at  last  made  its  way  even  into  that  family,  the  Lord  called ‘Abram forth  from  amongst  his  kindred. Abram believed  the  word of the  Lord,  and  instantly  set  out  for  Chanaan,  taking  with  him Sarai, his  wife,  and  Lot,  his  nephew,  and  his  servants  and  his herds of  cattle. After a long  journey,  he  arrived  in  the  land  of Chanaan,  and  came  to  Sichem  (Fig.  5). He was  then  seventy-five  years  old. Chanaan, on  account  of  its  beauty  and  fertility, was called  a land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. There the  Lord appeared again  to  Abram  and  said  to  him: “To  thy  seed  will I give this  land.’’  Henceforth  Chanaan  was  also  called  the  Promised Land. Abram, wishing  to  show  his  gratitude,  raised  in  that place an  altar  to  the  Lord.