The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1905-04-22


sheltering rocks with the heaven
spreading its star-gemmed canopy over
his head Inc the silver rim of the new
moon shining out bravely and giving
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 ather's
house. unto the land that l will show
thee; and I will make Of thee a great ma
ton, and l will bless thee, and make thy
name great; and be thou a blessing; |
and I will bless them that bless thee, and !
him that curseth thee will l 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 Goo as we'll at Haran as elsewhere?
What would his father say? What
would Sarah, his wife, say? Butfaith and
obedience were finally triumphant, and
as he> came down the mountain side and
turned his face homeward it had been
with the settled purpose to obey God at
all hazards. And that peace and con-
fdence which come from following the
pathway Of duty had filled his sou But
his n concern was his father. He was
aged and infrm. 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, n that conflicting emo
lions surged through his soul and
made their impress pom his face? His
brother could not understand, and he
could not explain now. And so they
walked along in silence and soon 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 man half-raised himself, and,
turning his head in the direction of
the SOUND he asked, in a thin, shrill
voice:
HAS Abraham ome?"
by way - duSstI, "a d11dIA t1IC"
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 O n
tinued:
4 have something Of Importance to
say to thee. Ere | die | want to
commend thee to thy God, and to
urge thee to obey Him. Last night In
a vision I thought | 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
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 n encour
agement to one heart. and causing
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 1osn shut out othe.
thoughts. But when ferah had beer
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 HaraI
and to go to a land which He viii
show me. o all heard our Father
Terah's last words. Can we doub'
that God has spoken? Can we refuse
to obey His voice."
A deep silence followed. At las
Lot spoke up and said:
My desires are in Haran. l low
its beauty. I enjoy its ease. But
believe in Abraham.s God. l believ'
that He has spoken. I do not under
stand why, and yet I feel hat Abra
ham is right, and l will go with him.
AS Lot ceased speaking. a smile o
;. mingled ridicule and scorn spread owe
the face of Major, and, with an impa
tient shrug of his shoulders, he said
, ct is better to keep what we hav
!, than to go after an uncertainty. TIL
gods nave been kind to Us here; VIII,
; should we tempt their anger by wan
. dering elsewhere? AS for this Go
; of Abraham. l will not believe what
cannot see and what l canro
understand" n SO saying, Naho
e turned and walked away-back to hi
fields and vineyards, back to the cas-
: and luxury of the life at Haran, Will
Abraham and Lot, choosing to ODE
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