Through the Bible – Day 7

₁Abraham moved to the Southern Desert, where he settled between Kadesh and Shur. Later he went to Gerar, and while there ₂he told everyone that his wife Sarah was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. ₃But God came to Abimelech in a dream and said, “You have taken a married woman, and for this you will die!”

_4-5Abimelech said to the Lord, “Don't kill me! I haven't slept with Sarah. Didn't they say they were brother and sister? I am completely innocent.”

₆God spoke to Abimelech in another dream and said:

₈Early the next morning Abimelech sent for his officials, and when he told them what had happened, they were frightened. ₉Abimelech then called in Abraham and said:

₁₁Abraham answered:

₁₄Abimelech gave Abraham some sheep, cattle, and slaves. He sent Sarah back ₁₅and told Abraham that he could settle anywhere in his country. ₁₆Then he said to Sarah, “I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver as proof to everyone that you have done nothing wrong.”

_17-18Meanwhile, God had kept Abimelech's wife and slaves from having children. But Abraham prayed, and God let them start having children again.

₁The LORD was good to Sarah and kept his promise. ₂Although Abraham was very old, Sarah had a son exactly at the time God had said. ₃Abraham named his son Isaac, ₄and when the boy was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, just as the LORD had commanded.

₅Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born, ₆and Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Now everyone will laugh with me. ₇Who would have dared to tell Abraham that some day I would have a child? But in his old age, I have given him a son.”

₈The time came when Sarah no longer had to nurse Isaac, and on that day Abraham gave a big feast.

_9-10One day, Sarah noticed Hagar's son Ishmael playing, and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that Egyptian slave woman and her son! I don't want him to inherit anything. It should all go to my son.”

₁₁Abraham was worried about Ishmael. ₁₂But God said, “Abraham, don't worry about your slave woman and the boy. Just do what Sarah tells you. Isaac will inherit your family name, ₁₃but the son of the slave woman is also your son, and I will make his descendants into a great nation.”

₁₄Early the next morning Abraham gave Hagar an animal skin full of water and some bread. Then he put the boy on her shoulder and sent them away.

They wandered around in the desert near Beersheba, ₁₅and after they had run out of water, Hagar put her son under a bush. ₁₆Then she sat down a long way off, because she could not bear to watch him die. And she cried bitterly.

₁₇When God heard the boy crying, the angel of God called out to Hagar from heaven and said, “Hagar, why are you worried? Don't be afraid. I have heard your son crying. ₁₈Help him up and hold his hand, because I will make him the father of a great nation.” ₁₉Then God let her see a well. So she went to the well and filled the skin with water, then gave some to her son.

_20-21God blessed Ishmael, and as the boy grew older, he became an expert with his bow and arrows. He lived in the Paran Desert, and his mother chose an Egyptian woman for him to marry.

₂₂About this time Abimelech and his army commander Phicol said to Abraham, “God blesses everything you do! ₂₃Now I want you to promise in the name of God that you will always be loyal to me and my descendants, just as I have always been loyal to you in this land where you have lived as a foreigner.” ₂₄And so, Abraham promised.

₂₅One day, Abraham told Abimelech, “Some of your servants have taken over one of my wells.”

₂₆“This is the first I've heard about it,” Abimelech replied. “Why haven't you said something before? I don't have any idea who did it.” ₂₇Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle, and then the two men made a peace treaty.

₂₈Abraham separated seven female lambs from his flock of sheep, ₂₉and Abimelech asked, “Why have you done this?”

₃₀Abraham told him, “I want you to accept these seven lambs as proof that I dug this well.” ₃₁So they called the place Beersheba, because they made a treaty there.

₃₂When the treaty was completed, Abimelech and his army commander Phicol went back to the land of the Philistines. ₃₃Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshipped the eternal LORD God. ₃₄Then Abraham lived a long time as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines.

₁Some years later God decided to test Abraham, so he spoke to him.

Abraham answered, “Here I am, LORD.”

₂The LORD said, “Go and get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar.” ₃So Abraham got up early the next morning and chopped wood for the fire. He put a saddle on his donkey and left with Isaac and two servants for the place where God had told him to go.

₄Three days later Abraham looked into the distance and saw the place. ₅He told his servants, “Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship. We will come back.”

₆Abraham put the wood on Isaac's shoulder, but he carried the hot coals and the knife. As the two of them walked along, _7-8Isaac said, “Father, we have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?”

“My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the lamb.”

The two of them walked on, and ₉when they reached the place that God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and placed the wood on it. Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood. ₁₀He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son. ₁₁But the LORD's angel shouted from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am!” he answered.

₁₂“Don't hurt the boy or harm him in any way!” the angel said. “Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.”

₁₃Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it in place of his son.

₁₄Abraham named that place “The LORD will Provide”. And even now people say, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

₁₅The LORD's angel called out from heaven a second time:

₁₉Abraham and Isaac went back to the servants who had come with him, and they returned to Abraham's home in Beersheba.

_20-23Abraham's brother Nahor had married Milcah, and Abraham was later told that they had eight sons. Uz was their firstborn; Buz was next, and then there was Kemuel who became the father of Aram; their other five sons were: Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel, who became the father of Rebekah. ₂₄Nahor also had another wife. Her name was Reumah, and she had four sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.