uire
into the true reason of the _outward_ separation here demanded of [Pg
47] Abraham. It can be Intended only as a means of the internal
separation. In the circle in which he lived, sin had already made a
mighty progress, as appears from Josh. xxiv. 2,--a passage which shows
us that idolatry had already made its way into the family of Abraham.
In order to withdraw him from the influences of this corruption,
Abraham is removed from the circle in which he had grown up, and in
which he had hitherto moved. That the special thing here demanded is
only the result of the general duty of renunciation and self-denial,
which is here, in Abraham, laid upon the whole Church, appears from the
circumstance, that the promise was renewed at a subsequent period,
when, with a willing heart, he had offered up his son Isaac as a
spiritual sacrifice to his God. The carnal, ungodly love to Isaac is
thus placed on a level with the attachment to the land, etc., which
came betwixt him and his God. The general idea, that self-renunciation
lies at the foundation, is brought out in Psalm xlv. 11.

The words, "_And thou shalt be a blessing_," imply more than the words,
"I will bless thee:" they are intentionally placed in the centre of the
whole promise. Abraham shall, as it were, be an embodied
blessing--himself blessed, and the cause of blessing to all those who
bless him--to all the generations of the earth who shall, at some
future period, enter into this loving and grateful relation to him. On
the ground of Abraham's self-denial, and unreserved surrender, blessing
is poured out _upon him_, blessing also _on his account_ and _through
him_. The blessing connected with him begins with himself, and extends
over all the families of the earth.

"_And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee I
will curse._ The blessing is based upon the turning to Him who has
appointed Abraham for a blessing, as we may learn from the example of
Melchizedek, Gen. xiv. 19. They who bless are themselves not far from
the kingdom of God; blessing, therefore, is the preparatory step
towards being blessed. (Compare Matt. x. 40-42.)

"_And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed._"
_Luther_ says: "Now there follows the right promise, which ought to be
written in golden letters, and proclaimed in all lands, and for which
we ought to praise and glorify."

The promise stands here in close connection with the Mosaic [Pg 48]
history of th