Haran for the land of Canaan.  When they had reached a point in that land known as Sichem, the Lord appeared unto him and said:  “Unto thy seed will I give this land”.  Abraham builded an altar there, and the place has since been known as Bethel, which means the house of God.  Afterward Abraham dwelt in the plains of Mamre, which is just above the present site of Hebron in the southern part of Palestine.  While there, God made a covenant with him, saying:  “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates".—­Genesis 15:18.

[95]Thereafter, when Abraham was 99 years old, the Lord appeared unto him and said:  “I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly, ... and thou shalt be a father of many nations.  And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:2,4,8) Some time later, when Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent, which was pitched in the plains of Mamre, there stood before him three men, messengers from Jehovah.  In the plains of Mamre, a short distance above the town of Hebron, still stands a very ancient oak tree.  It is about thirty feet in circumference.  It is claimed that this is Abraham’s oak, where he pitched his tent at the time these holy messengers appeared to him.  Of course we cannot believe this is true, because an oak would not live that length of time.  It is interesting, however, to note this ancient tree standing approximately at the point where Abraham is supposed to have resided in his tent.  Here it was that Abraham prepared refreshments for his distinguished visitors; and “he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat”.  Here it was that the messenger of Jehovah told Abraham that he and his wife Sarah would be given a son.—­Genesis 18:1-14.

[96]In due time a son was born unto Abraham and Sarah and his name was called Isaac. (Genesis 21:1-3) Afterward, when the son Isaac had grown up, Jehovah put Abraham to a great test, and in doing so he made a picture which foreshadowed the redemption of the human race.  This record appears in the twenty-second chapter of Genesis.  God said unto Abraham:  “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of”. (Genesis 22:2) It is interesting here to note that Mount Moriah is inside of the walls of the present city of Jerusalem.  It was the site of the temple of Solomon, and supposed to be the very spot where Abraham was met by Melchizedek.  It is the place where Abraham was directed to offer and did offer up his son Isaac.