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sermons by IVOR POWELL

ABRAM ... and his excellent eye-exercises

(GENESIS 13: 7-18)

And Abram went up out of Egypt " (I 3: 1), and probably

he was very glad to go. The land of the Pharaohs had been

an unpleasant place for the man who had been called to

Canaan. His sense of the divine Presence had been lost, and

every day registered increasing misery. He had long since

regretted the decision to leave Bethel's altar, and wished he

could forget the moment when his covetous eyes desired the

attractions of Egypt. At last his restless spirit had found

relief, and he returned " to the altar which he had made at

the beginning" (v. 4). Slowly he journeyed through the

country, and a prayer of thanksgiving arose from his lips

when the familiar landmarks came into view. The vision

of the altar meant more than possession of a mighty palace.

Abram's Increasing Wisdom

" And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's

cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite

and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said

unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and

thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen ; for we

be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee?" (vv. 7-9).

The wise old man had learned to hate discord. It was not

only a very bad example to the watching Canaanites, it was

ruinous to his own happiness. "Lot, you may have the rich

pasture lands ; you may journey in any direction acceptable

to you. You may choose anything ; but do not spoil my

fellowship with God and man." The saint looked toward

Egypt, and shuddered ; he looked around in every direction,

and sighed; he looked to the sky, and smiled. Nothing

mattered any more but to walk with God. " Lot, my boy, the

whole land is before you. Yours is the choice to go whither-

soever you desire. Take the land ; take the well-watered

places ; take it all, only leave me at peace with God."

Abram's Incessant Watchfulness

" And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld the plain of

Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere. . . . Then Lot

chose him all the plain of Jordan ; and Lot journeyed east

and they separated themselves the one from the other

(vv. I 0, I 1). And perhaps old uncle Abram sighed as the boy

went away. Regret and relief mingled in his fatherly heart.

He was sad for the boy's sake, but profoundly glad for his

own. His nephew had probably said, " You don't mind,

Uncle Abram, if I take the rich and luscious pasture lands in

the valley to the east? It seems a mean thing to leave an

old man with the hills and stony ground ; but I would like to

live near the cities, to trade with the people of Sodom, and

to exploit these far-reaching meadows. I am sure you will

be rewarded even if you do lose these eastern pastures. You

don't mind, do you? No, I thought not ; you were always

such a wonderful uncle to me." When Abram turned his

back on the inviting district of Sodom, his soul sang. What

did it matter that he had lost fertile lands and a vast oppor-

tunity for increasing wealth? He was happy; he was at

peace; he walked with the Highest: all was well. He

looked again at the plains of Jordan and said, in so many

words, " What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world

and lose his soul?" He looked at the difficult terrain ahead,

and said, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" He

looked at the skies, and a voice whispered, " Be not afraid,

for I am with thee whithersoever thou goest." And as the

glory of God fined his soul, his eyes became stars.

Abram's Inspired Worship

" And the Lord said unto Abram, 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" (v. 14). "But, Lord, all the land to

the east now belongs to Lot." And God answered, "To thee

will I give it, and to thy seed for ever." Lot, in grasping for

material gain, loses it ; your renunciation of it brings it within

your reach. Abram, lift up your eyes and see all the land

before you. It is yours; for those eyes see most, which

first look to the skies. "Arise, walk through the land in the

length of it and in the breadth of it ; for I will give it unto

thee. Then Abram removed his tent and came and dwelt in

the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an

altar unto the Lord." Daily he journeyed among the hills

where Sodom's smoke had little chance of getting into his

eyes. He had excellent vision-he even saw Christ's day,

and was glad.