LIFE IN CANAAN


'And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east
of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the
west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar
unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.'
GENESIS xii. 3.

These are the two first acts of Abram in the land of Canaan.

1. _All life should blend earthly and heavenly._

They are not to be separated. Religion should run through everything
and take the whole of life for its field. Where we cannot carry it
is no place for us. It is a shame that heathenism should be more
penetrated by its religion than Christendom is.

2. _The family should be a church._

Domestic religion. New Testament households. Abram a priest. The
decay of family religion, worship, and instruction.

3. _The service to God should be more costly than to
ourselves._

Pitching a tent cheaper than building an altar. Give God the best.
We build ourselves ceiled houses and the ark dwells in curtains.
Pagans build elaborate temples, but their houses are hovels. Too
many Christians do the opposite.