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Abraham Returns to Canaan
v. 1. And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. Together with Lot, who, as we learn here, had accompanied him into Egypt, Abram now returns to Canaan with all his great possessions, choosing the same route for his return which he had taken in coming down. His first stopping place was on the great plateau in the southern part of Canaan.
v. 2. And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. This remark is here inserted in order to explain the difficulty which later arose between him and Lot.
v. 3. And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
v. 4. unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. The journey northward naturally had to be made by easy stages, for it was slow traveling with large herds that were dependent for their food upon the pasturage along the way. But the caravans finally reached the neighborhood of their earlier sojourn once more, where their encampment had been before the famine, between Bethel and Ai. It is emphasized in the story that this was the place of the altar which Abram had made at his first stay in that country. That was the important point in the history of Abram, that his experience in Egypt had taught him to turn back to the Lord with all his heart. His desire was now centered in Him who was promised as his descendant, the Messiah, who was to bring blessing and salvation to the world. Therefore Abram again instituted services with prayer and preaching; he set up the worship of Jehovah with his family. He thus confessed the true God and the hope of his heart also before the heathen. Temporal, earthly gain does not constitute the real happiness of the believers, but the fact that they possess Christ and His salvation.