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Take a breath, find your place, and read deeply. Discover the joy of reading God’s word with the Immerse New Living Translation (NLT) Bible.
This daily Bible podcast will take you through the Bible in a year following the Immerse Bible Reading Experience. So grab your family and small group and go through the Bible in a year together with Immerse. Each of the 6 volumes is available online or at your favorite Christian bookstore.
Malcom: Welcome To Immerse: The
Daily Bible Reading Experience.
Day 89
Sometime later, God tested
Abraham's faith, Abraham God called.
Yes, he replied.
Here I am.
Take your son, your only son.
Yes, Isaac, whom you love so much,
and go to the land of Mariah.
Go and sacrifice him as a
burnt offering on one of the
mountains, which I will show you.
The next morning, Abraham got up early.
He saddled his donkey and
took two of his servants with
him, along with his son Isaac.
Then he chopped wood for a fire for
a burnt offering and set out for
the place God had told him about.
On the third day of their
journey, Abraham looked up and
saw the place in the distance.
Stay here with the donkey.
Abraham told the servants the boy
and I will travel a little farther.
We will worship there and
then we will come right back.
So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt
off a ring on Isaac's shoulders while he
himself carried the fire and the knife.
As the two of them walked on together,
Isaac turned to Abraham and said,
father, yes, my son Abraham replied,
we have the fire and the wood.
The boy said, but where is the
sheep for the burnt offering?
God will provide a sheep
for the burnt offering.
My son Abraham answered.
They both walked on together.
When they arrived at the place where
God had told him to go, Abraham built
an altar and arranged the wood on it.
Then he tied his son Isaac and laid
him on the altar on top of the wood,
and Abraham picked up the knife
to kill his son as a sacrifice.
At that moment, the angel of the
Lord called to him from heaven.
Abraham.
Abraham.
Yes.
Abraham replied.
Here I am.
Don't lay a hand on the boy.
The angel said, do not
hurt him in any way.
For now I know that you truly fear God.
You have not withheld from me,
even your son, your only son.
Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram
caught by its horns in a thicket, so
he took the ram and sacrificed it as
a burnt offering in place of his son.
Abraham named the place Yahweh Yra,
which means the Lord will provide to
this day, people still use that name
as a proverb on the mountain of a Lord.
It will be provided.
Then the angel of the Lord called
again to Abraham from heaven.
This is what the Lord says because
you have obeyed me and have not
withheld even your son, your only son.
I swear by my own name that
I will certainly bless you.
I will multiply your descendants
beyond number like the stars and the
sky and the sand on the seashore.
Your descendants will conquer the
cities of their enemies and through
your descendants, all the nations
of the earth will be blessed,
all because you have obeyed me.
Then they returned to the servants
and traveled back to Beersheba
where Abraham continued to live.
Soon after this, Abraham heard
that Milka, his brother, nah.
Ho's wife had born Nahor eight sons.
The oldest was named us.
The next oldest was Buzz, followed by
Kimel, the ancestor of the Ians Kei
Hazo Pill Dash Jitl, and Beth Huell.
Beth Huell became the father of Rebecca.
In addition to these eight sons
from Milka, Nahor had four other
children from his concubine Ruma.
Their names were tba,
ham, te Hash, and Meka.
When Sarah was 127 years old,
she died at Kiba, now called
Heian in the land of Canaan.
Their Abraham mourned and wept for her.
Then leaving her body, he said
to the Hitite elders, Here I am a
stranger and a foreigner among you.
Please sell me a piece of land so
I can give my wife a proper burial.
The hitite reply to Abraham.
Listen, my Lord, you are
an honored prince among us.
Choose the finest of our
tombs and bury her there.
No one here will refuse
to help you in this way.
Then Abraham bowed low before they hit
nights and said, Since you are willing
to help me in this way, be so kind as
to ask Ephron son of Zohar to let me buy
his cave at Ma Pilla down at the end of
his field, I will pay the full price and
the presence of witnesses so I will have
a permanent burial place for my family.
Ephron was sitting there among the
others and he answered Abraham as the
others listened, speaking publicly before
all the hit eyed elders of the town.
No, my Lord.
He said to Abraham, please listen to me.
I will give you the field and the cave
here in the presence of my people.
I give it to you.
Go and bury your dead.
Abraham again bowed low before
the citizens of the land,
and he replied to Ephron.
Has everyone listened?
No.
Listen to me.
I will buy it from you.
Let me pay the full price for the
field so I can bury my dead there.
Ephron answered, Abraham, my
Lord, please listen to me.
The land is worth 400 pieces of silver.
But what is that between friends?
Go ahead and bury your debt.
So Abraham agreed to Ephron's
price and paid the amount he had
suggested 400 pieces of silver wait.
According to the market standard, the hit
eyed elders witnessed the transaction.
So Abraham bought the plot of land
belonging to Ephron at Ma Near Ma.
This included the field itself,
the cave that was in it and
all of the surrounding trees.
It was transferred to Abraham as his
permanent possession in the presence of
the hid eyed elders at the city gate.
Then Abraham buried his wife Sarah
there in Canaan, in the cave of Ma
Pilla, near Mammary, also called Hein.
So the field and the cave were transferred
from the hit heights to Abraham for
use as a permanent burial place.
Abraham was now a very old man, and
the Lord had blessed him in every way.
One day, Abraham said to his oldest
servant, the man in charge of his
household, take an oath by putting
your hand under my thigh, swear by
the Lord, the God of heaven and earth,
that he will not allow my son to marry
one of these local Canaanite women.
Go instead to my homeland, to my
relatives and find a wife there for
my son Isaac, the servant asked, but
what if I can't find a young woman who
is willing to travel so far from home?
Should I then take Isaac there
to live among your relatives
in the land you came from?
No, Abraham responded.
Be careful never to take my son there for
the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me
from my father's house and my native land.
Solemnly promise to give
this land to my descendants.
He will send his angel ahead of
you and he will see to it that
you find a wife there for my son.
If she is unwilling to come back with you,
then you are free from this oath of mine.
But under no circumstances
are you to take my son there.
So the servant took an oath
by putting his hand under the
thigh of his master Abraham.
He swore to follow Abraham's instructions.
Then he loaded 10 of Abraham's
camels with all kinds of expensive
gifts from his master, and he
traveled to distant Arum Neha.
There.
He went to the town where
Abraham's brother Hor had settled.
He made the camels kneel beside
a well just outside the town.
It was evening and the women
were coming out to draw water.
Oh Lord God, of my master Abraham.
He prayed.
Please give me success today and show
unfailing love to my master Abraham.
See, I am standing here beside this
spring and the young women of the
town are coming out to draw water.
This is my request.
I will ask one of them.
Please give me a drink from your jug.
If she says yes, have a drink
and I will water your camels too.
Let her be the one you have
selected as Isaac's wife.
This is how I will know that you have
shown unfailing love to my master.
Before he had finished praying, he saw
a young woman named Rebecca coming out
with her water jug on her shoulder.
She was the daughter of Beth
Ell, who was the son of Abraham's
brother Hor and his wife Milka.
Rebecca was very beautiful and old enough
to be married, but she was still a virgin.
She went down to the spring,
filled her jug, and came up again.
Running over to her.
The servant said, please give me a
little drink of water from your jug.
Yes, my Lord.
She answered, have a drink, and
she quickly lowered her jug from
her shoulder and gave him a drink.
When she had given him a drink, she said,
I'll draw water for your camels too,
until they have had enough to drink.
So she quickly emptied her jug into
the watering trough and ran back to the
well to draw water for all his camels.
The servant watched her in silence,
wondering whether or not the Lord
had given him success in his mission.
Then at last, when the camels had
finished drinking, he took out
a gold ring for her nose and two
large gold bracelets for her wrists.
Whose daughter are you?
He asked, and please tell me,
would your father have any room
to put us up for the night?
I am the daughter of Beth Yuel.
She replied, my grandparents
are hor and milka.
Yes, we have plenty of straw and fee for
the camels and we have room for guests.
The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord.
Praise the Lord, the God
of my master Abraham.
He said The Lord has shown unfailing love
and faithfulness to my master, for he has
led me straight to my master's relatives.
The young woman ran home to tell her
family everything that had happened.
Now Rebecca had a brother named Labban
who ran out to meet the man at the spring.
He had seen the nose ring and the
bracelets on his sister's wrists and had
heard Rebecca tell what the man had said.
So he rushed out to the spring where the
man was still standing beside his camels.
Labban said to him, come and stay with us.
You who are blessed by the Lord.
Why are you standing here outside the
town when I have a room already for
you at a place prepared for the camels?
So the man went home with Laben and
Laben, unloaded the camels, gave him
straw for their bedding, fed them
and provided water for the man and
the camel drivers to wash their feet.
Then food was served, but Abraham's
servant said, I don't want to eat
until I have told you why I have come.
All right.
Leman said, tell us I
am Abraham's servant.
He explained, And the Lord
has greatly blessed my master.
He has become a wealthy man.
The Lord has given him flocks of sheep
and goats, herds of cattle, a fortune
and silver and gold, and many male and
female servants and camels and donkeys.
I, when Sarah, my master's wife, was very
old, she gave birth to my master's son,
and my master has given him everything he
owns, and my master made me take an oath.
He said, do not allow my son to marry
one of these local Canaanite women.
Go instead to my father's
house, to my relatives and
find a wife there for my son.
But I said to my master, what if
I can't find a young woman who
is willing to go back with me?
He responded, the Lord and whose presence
I have lived will send his angel with you
and will make your mission successful.
Yes, you must find a wife from
my son, from among my relatives,
from my father's family.
Then you will have
fulfilled your obligation.
But if you go to my relatives and
they refuse to let her go with
you, you'll be free from my oath.
So today when I came to the
spring, I prayed this prayer, oh
Lord, God, of my master Abraham.
Please give me success on this mission.
See, I am standing here
beside this spring.
This is my request.
When a young woman comes to draw water,
I will say to her, please give me a
little drink of water from your jug.
If she says, yes, have a drink and I
will draw water for your camels too.
Let her be the one you have selected
to be the wife of my master's son.
Before I had finished praying in
my heart, I saw Rebecca coming out
with her water jug on her shoulder.
She went down to the
spring and drew water.
I said to her, please give me a drink.
She quickly lowered her jug from her
shoulder and said, yes, have a drink,
and I will water your camels too.
So I drank and then
she watered the camels.
Then I asked, whose daughter are you?
She replied, I am the
daughter of Beth Yule, and my
grandparents are hor and Milka.
So I put the ring on her nose
and the bracelets on her wrists.
Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord.
I praised the Lord the God of my master
Abraham because he had led me straight to
my master's niece to be his son's wife.
So tell me, will you or won't
you show unfailing love and
faithfulness to my master?
Please tell me yes or no, and
then I'll know what to do next.
Then Laben and Beth Yule replied.
The Lord has obviously brought you
here, so there is nothing we can say.
Here is Rebecca.
Take her and go.
Yes, let her be the wife of your
master's son, as the Lord has directed.
When Abraham's servant heard
their answer, he bowed down to
the ground and worshiped the Lord.
Then he brought out silver
and gold jewelry and clothing
and presented them to Rebecca.
He also gave expensive presents
to her brother and mother.
Then they ate their meal and
the servant and the man with him
stayed there overnight, but early.
The next morning, Abraham servant said,
send me back to my master, but we want
Rebecca to stay with us at least 10 days.
Her brother and mother said, then she
can go, but he said, don't delay me.
The Lord has made my mission successful.
Now send me back so I
can return to my master.
Well, they said, we'll call Rebecca
and ask her what she thinks.
So they called Rebecca, are you
willing to go with this man?
They asked her and she
replied, yes, I will go.
So they said goodbye to
Rebecca and sent her away with
Abraham's servant and his men.
The woman who had been Rebecca's
childhood nurse went along with her.
They gave her this blessing
as she parted our sister.
May you become the
mother of many millions.
May your descendants be strong and
conquer the cities of their enemies.
Then Rebecca and her servant girls
mounted the camels and followed the man.
So Abraham's servant took
Rebecca and went on his way.
Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home
was in the Negev, had returned
from beer Leroy one evening.
As he was walking and meditating
in the fields, he looked up
and saw the camels coming.
When Rebecca looked up and saw
Isaac, she quickly dismounted
from her camel, who is that man?
Walking through the fields to meet us.
She asked the servant and
he replied, it is my master.
So Rebecca covered her face with her veil.
Then the servant pulled Isaac,
everything he had done, and Isaac
brought Rebecca into his mother
Sarah's tent, and she became his wife.
He loved her deeply and she
was a special comfort to him
after the death of his mother.
Abraham married another
wife whose name was Katera.
She gave birth to Zimman Jacque,
Shan Medan, Midian Ishak and Shua.
Jacque Shan was the father of Shiba
and Deon Deon's descendants were
the Asher Rights Laches and Leites.
Midian sons were Efa, EER,
Hena, ABIDA, and Albea.
These were all descendants
of Abraham through Ketura.
Abraham gave everything
he owned to his son Isaac.
But before he died, he gave gifts to the
sons of his concubines and sent them off
to a land in the east away from Isaac.
Abraham lived for 175 years
and he died at a ripe old age.
Having lived a long and satisfying
life, he breathed his last and
joined his ancestors in death.
His son's Isaac and Ishmael buried
him in the cave of Ma Pilla, near
Mammary in the field of Ephron.
Son of Zohar, the Hitite.
This was the field Abraham had
purchased from the HID Heights and
where he had buried his wife Sarah.
After Abraham's death, God blessed
his son Isaac, who settled near beer.
Leroy in the Negev.
This concludes today's
Immerse reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.