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226 THE CONVENTION TEACHER BIOGRAPHY IN THE BIBLE Lesson II. October 10, 1948 SENIOR TOPIC: BIOGRAPHY IN THE BIBLE Genesis 11:31 --- 12:5; 17: 1-8 [[line]] AUTHORIZED VERSION [[column 1]] 31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. 1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. [[/column 1]] [[column 2]] 1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession and I will be their God. [[line]] REVISED VERSION [[column 1]] 31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. 1 Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: 2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing: 3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram went, as Jehovah had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran and they went [[/column 1]] [[column 2]] forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. [[line]] MOTTO TEXT--In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he will direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:6. [[line]] [[column 1]] LESSON SETTING Time: B. C. 1921. Place: Ur of the Chaldees; Haran. LESSON OUTLINE I. Abram in Canaan. (VV. 31, 32.) II. Abram Obeys the Divine Call. (VV. 1-5.) III. God Renews Covenant with Abram. (VV. 1-8) [[/column 1]] [[column 2]] DAILY HOME READING October 4-October 10 M. A Man Who Gave Our Race a New Start. Genesis 7:1-5. T. The Man Who Pioneered By Faith, Genesis 12:1-5. W. The Wrestler With an Angel. Genesis 32:22-32. T. The Man Who Led the Exodus. Exodus 3:1-12. F. A Great Judge and Deliverer. Judges 6:11-18. S. A Roll Call of the Heroes of Faith. Hebrews 11:32-40. S. Those Who Lived by Faith. Hebrews 11:1-10. [[/column 2]] [[end page]] [[start page]] THE CONVENTION TEACHER 227 INTRODUCTION [[column 1]] There is no more inspiring and helpful piece of biography for the general as well as specific instruction to mankind than the life of Abraham. His life's teachings are famous as recorded in the Old and New Testaments. His homeland was an idolatrous one, and yet being an heir of the land of promise God made him a teacher for future generations. His father served other gods, on the other side of the flood. With that background God had a purpose for him, and so with his father, Terah, his nephew, Lot, and the remainder of his family, in obedience [[/column 1]] [[column 2]] to the call of God, Abram went to Haran, a place midway between Ur and Canaan, where they dwelt until Terah was laid to rest. To give him this call God appeared in such displays of His glory as left Abram no room to doubt its divine authority. Later God spoke to him in divers manners, but this first time, when the conference was to be settled, He appeared to him as the God of glory. Heeding the call, Abram went into the land of Canaan. God loved him and had mercy in store for him. [[/column 2]] EXPOSITION [[column 1]] I. ABRAM IN CANAAN. (VV. 31, 32.)(31) And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. Terah, the father of Abram, served other gods, thus showing us the early footing idolatry had gained in the world. Observe Terah preparing for departure. He takes his son, Abram, his grandson, Lot, and his daughter-in-law, and they leave Ur of the Chaldees. Ur was a great center of pagan worship, a town of extensive commercial activity, and of an exceedingly highly developed civilization. came unto Haran, and dwelt there--This city was in northwestern Mesopotamia. Just why Abram tarried at Haran, instead of going all the way to Palestine we are not informed. (32) And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. The sojourn here is thought to have lasted about fifteen years, until Terah died. Terah, like Moses, failed to enter the land of promise. II. ABRAM OBEYS THE DIVINE CALL. (VV. 1-5) (1) Now the Lord had said unto Abram. Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: As we study the early accounts we find the word Abram is used. Here we have the call by which Abram was removed out of the land of his nativity into the land of promise, which was designed both to try his faith and obedience, and also to separate him and set him apart for God and for special services and favors which were further designed. This call consists of a com- [[/column 1]] [[column 2]] mand and a promise. The command is to leave the place of his old and fond friendships and associations for a land which he had not yet seen, and therefore did not know. Three ties are to be severed in complying with this command: his country, in the widest range of his affections, his place of birth, close to his heart, and his father's house, which is the inmost circle of all his tender emotions. (2) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: Here are encouraging promises, exceedingly great and precious. When God makes Himself known to us as a Commander, if we are obedient, He will also be a Rewarder. I will make of thee a great nation--When God took Abram from the land of his own people. He promised to make him the head of another. The greatness of Israel is not to be found in numbers. She has never been one of the large nations of the earth. Her greatness consists first, in being the one outstanding monotheistic nation of the ancient world; the only nation in the ancient world that truly knew the Lord God Almighty. She was great in giving birth to those wonderful prophets of her later history, who, without any question whatever, were the greatest religious leaders in all ancient history. I will bless thee and make thy name great--Abram was blessed in these ways: Spiritually he knew God; he was His friend. In his personal life, he was permitted to rear a large family, for, before his death, he saw a great host of descendants. He lived to be one hundred and seventy-five years old and became prosperous and rich. God made his [[/column 2]] [[end page]]
