The Tupelo journal., 1905-04-21

E'N<
promise Of larger. fuller light as the
days should unfold, God had come to
him and spoken, commanding him, say
ing:
Get thee out of thy country, and from
thy kindred, and from thy fathers
house, unto the land that | will show
thee; and | will make of thee a great ma
ton, and l will bless thee, and make thy
lame great; and be thou a blessing;
and l will bless them that bless thee, and
him that curseth thee will | curse; and
in thee shall all the families of the earth
be blessed"
Then the conflict of that night. All
through the long hours he wrestled with
himself and his desires. How could he
go? Why need he go? Could he not
serve GOD as well at Haran as elsewhere?
What would his father say? What
would Sarah, his wife, say? Butfaith and
obedience were finally triumphant, and
as he anne down the mountain side and
turned his face homeward it had been
with the settled purpose to obey God at
all hazards. And hat peace and con-
fidence which come from following the
pathway of duty had filed his soul. But
his n concern was his father. He was
aged and infirm. He knew he could not
take him with him. He was loath to
leave him behind. Thus in deep
thought, as he studied over the problem,
his brother had met him and told
him of his fathers condition. Who
can wonder that a peculiar light shone
in his eye, and that conflicting emo
lions surged through his soul and
made their impress upon his face? His
brother could not understand, and he
could not explain now. And so they
walked along in silence-and soo en-
tered the tent door, and in the gloom
Of the far corner saw the form of the
aged father.
Hearing the hurried footsteps, the
old mar half-raised himself, and,
turning his head in the direction of
the souno he asked, in a thin, shrill
voice:
Has Abraham come?"
BY way of answer, Abraham threw
himself down by the side of his IA
theirs couch, and, placing his strong
arm about him, drew him to himself.
Where hast thou been, Abraham"
asked the old man. as he gazed search
ingly into the face which bent over
him.
Abraham hesitated. Could he tell his
father of how God had spoken to him,
and of his purposes and plans? He
feared to, for he knew Terah's hopes
centered about Haran, and that it was
his desire that his children should
make it their permanent home.
But apparently failing to note the
embarrassment Of his son, Terah con-
tinued:
Il have something Of Importance to
say to thee. Ere l die l want to
commend thee to thy God, and to
urge thee to obey Him. Last night in
a vision l thought l saw God point
ing toward the south, and heard Him
say: Canaan 1t was the land for
which we started. 1t is the land to
which God would have you CO." and
lifting up his hand. he blessed his
children and grandchildren, and then,
lying back in Abraham's arms, he
passed peacefully away.
So unexpected were the words,
bringing such new light and
such wonder and ~perplexity to the
others, that it was some minutes be-
fore all realized that Terah was dead.
Then grief .overcame other feelings,
and the sense of loss shut out other
thoughts. But when Terah had been
laid away in the tomb, and the days
of mourning were ended, Abraham
called all the members of the family
together and said:
God has called me to leave Haran
and to go to a land which He will
show me. You all heard our Father
Terah's last words. Can we doubt
that God has spoken? Can we refuse
to obey His voice?"
A deep silence followed. At last
Lot spoke up and said:
my desires are in Haran. l love
it's beauty. 1 enjoy its ease. But l
believe in Abraham's God. l believe
that He has spoken. l do not under
stand why, and yet I feel hat Abra-
ham is right, and I will go with him."
AS Lot ceased speaking, a smile of
mingled ridicule and scorn spread over
the face of Major, and, with an impa-
tient shrug of his shoulders, he said:
at is better to keep what we have
than to go after an uncertainty. The
gods have been kind to us here; why
should we tempt their anger by a
dering elsewhere? AS for this God
of Abraham, l will not believe what I |
cannot see and what cannot
understand" and SO saying. Major |
and walked away-back to his
fields and vineyards, back to the ease
and luxury of the life at Haran, while |
and Lot, choosing to obey |
God, collected "all their substance that
they had gathered, and the souls that
they had gotten in Haran; and they
forth to go into the land Of
Canaan; and into the land of Canaan
they came"
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