The Lord interfered and matters were made up. But soon another misunderstanding arose between Sarah and Hagar about the child who had ill-behaved himself towards Abram’s wife. Sarah became enraged, and got the better of the Lord; and Abram and she drove Hagar and her son out of the house for good and all. The Lord again made the best of the matter by sending an angel who took charge of Hagar’s son; and Abram and Sarah lived happy, and directed all their attention to little Isaac. To return to the Jews, as a nation. Did they answer the end for which they were chosen? Most undoubtedly they did. For, as “known unto the Lord are all his works from the beginning” whatever his dealings were towards them, in punishing them for their rebellion and disobedience, and whatever suffering they endured in consequence of their departure from his commands, are included in his choice; and are the ends for which they were chosen. Here, then, we have arrived at the ends for which they were selected,—he knowing that they would continue to transgress, and also that such transgression would call forth his anger; and that punishment would follow from their disobedience. These are the only ends that we can discover by their being chosen, and these ends were fully answered. And as Jehovah is represented as acting the same as men act under similar circumstances, the following remarks are in accordance with his dealings with the people of his choice, namely: that after Jehovah had driven the inhabitants of Babel abroad on the face of the earth, and not having any church or worshippers in the world, he became weary of this state of inaction, and, sighing for something to do, he chose the descendants of Abram for his future operations on the earth. And from that moment, the Jews required all his attention; his anger was always raging: he had no repose whatever. In the course of his watching over them, he occasionally stirred up the heathen against them, and suffered them to become bondmen and slaves. Then, again, they had arms put into their hands, and he marched out in aid of their victories; and then the “Lord of Hosts was his name.” Then, as if he had forgotten the promises made to their forefathers, he repents of the neglect shown to them; again renews the combat and orders them to war against nations, and _to spare neither old age nor infancy_. So that, by turns, hating them and showing them no mercy; then again, repenting of his severe conduct towards them, proclaiming to the world that the Lord of Hosts or battle is his name,—the Bible account of Jehovah confirms us, in concluding, that, he chose the family of Abram for no other purpose than to disturb and brutalize the rest of the world.