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.
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.