utmost literality.

It is equally sad and instructive to notice how little effect mere judgments, however terrible, are capable of

producing even upon those most nearly affected by them. Lot and his daughters had been allowed to retire

to Zoar, a little town not far from Sodom. But the same weakness of faith which had made them at the first

reluctant to leave their own doomed city, now induced them to forsake Zoar, though safety had b een

promised them there. Far worse than that, they fell into the most grievous and abominable sin, the issue of

which was the birth of the ancestors of Israel's hereditary enemies - Moab and Ammon. (Deuteronomy 23:3,

4) But even this is not all. Whether from a dislike to a neighborhood so lately visited by such judgments, or

in quest of better pasturage for his flocks, Abraham left the district of Mamre, and traveled in a south-

easterly direction, where he settled in the territory of Abimelech, king of Gera r, in the land of the Philistines.

Abimelech seems to have been a royal title, like that of Pharaoh. (Comp. Genesis 26:1, 8) But in this instance,

as we gather from Scripture, the possessor of this title was far different from the king of Egypt. In fact, he

appears to have been not merely true and upright in character, but to have feared the Lord. Accordingly,

when Abraham was once more guilty of the same dissimulation as formerly in Egypt, passing off his wife for

his sister from fear for his own life, God directly communicated to Abimelech in a dream the real state of

matters. Upon this, Abimelech hastened to amend the wrong he had, unwittingly, so nearly committed. In

comparison to the Gentile king, Abraham occupies indeed an unfavorable position. He is unable to vindicate

his conduct on other grounds than what amounts to a want of faith. But, as God had informed Abimelech,

Abraham, despite his weakness, was "a prophet;" and in that capacity, as already quoted, "He suffered no

man to do them wrong; yea, He reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not Mine anointed, and do

My prophets no harm." The alliance with Abraham which Abimelech had sought by marriage, was shortly

afterwards concluded by a formal covenant between the two, accompanied by a sacrifice of the sacred

number of seven ewe lambs. (Genesis 21:22) To show that this was intended not as a private but as a public

alliance, Abimelech came accompanied by his chief captain, or phichol, (Comp. Genesis 26:26) at the same

time expressly stating it as the motive in the public step which he took, that God was with Abraham in all

that he did. In similar manner, the sympathy on these points between Abimelech and his people had

formerly been shown, when the king had communicated to "all his servants" what God had told him about

Abraham, "and the men were sore afraid." In these circumstances we do not wonder that Abraham should

have made the land of the Philistines the place of lengthened residence, pitching his tent close by

Beersheba, "the well of the oath," with Abimelech, or rather "the well of the seven" ewe lambs, - and there

he once more "called on the name of Jehovah, the everlasting God."