Every Woman's Bible Genesis sampler - Flipbook - Page 43
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and her egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of
her son, Isaac.* 10So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son.
He is not going to share the inheritance with my son,
Isaac. I won’t have it!”
11 This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. 12 But God told Abraham, “Do not
be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever
Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom
your descendants will be counted. 13 But I will also
make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son
because he is your son, too.”
14 So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped
them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away
with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the
wilderness of Beersheba.
15 When the water was gone, she put the boy in the
shade of a bush. 16 Then she went and sat down by
herself about a hundred yards* away. “I don’t want to
watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears.
17 But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of
God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s
wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Go to him and comfort him, for
I will make a great nation from his descendants.”
19 Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a
well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.
20And God was with the boy as he grew up in the
wilderness. He became a skillful archer, 21 and he
settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of
egypt.
Abraham’s Covenant with Abimelech
About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his
army commander, to visit Abraham. “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,”
Abimelech said. 23 “Swear to me in God’s name that
you will never deceive me, my children, or any of my
descendants. I have been loyal to you, so now swear
that you will be loyal to me and to this country where
you are living as a foreigner.”
24Abraham replied, “Yes, I swear to it!” 25 Then
Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well
that Abimelech’s servants had taken by force from
Abraham’s servants.
22
GeNeSIS 22
26 “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Abimelech answered. “I have no idea who is responsible. You have
never complained about this before.”
27Abraham then gave some of his sheep, goats,
and cattle to Abimelech, and they made a treaty.
28 But Abraham also took seven additional female
lambs and set them off by themselves. 29Abimelech
asked, “Why have you set these seven apart from the
others?”
30Abraham replied, “Please accept these seven
lambs to show your agreement that I dug this well.”
31 Then he named the place Beersheba (which means
“well of the oath”), because that was where they had
sworn the oath.
32 After making their covenant at Beersheba,
Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of his
army, and they returned home to the land of the Philistines. 33 Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at
Beersheba, and there he worshiped the Lord, the
eternal God.* 34And Abraham lived as a foreigner in
Philistine country for a long time.
Abraham’s Faith Tested
Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith.
“Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom
you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go
and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the
mountains, which I will show you.”
3 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. 4 On the third day
of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the
place in the distance. 5 “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.”
6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the
fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 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?”
22
21:9 As in Greek version and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew lacks of her son, Isaac. 21:16 Hebrew a bowshot. 21:33 Hebrew El-Olam.
21:9-10 Earlier, Sarah had mistreated Hagar to the point that
Hagar had fled (16:6). When Hagar’s son mistreated Isaac, Sarah
demanded that “that slave woman and her son” leave. Sarah’s
initial lack of trust in God in giving Hagar to Abraham resulted in
many years of exploitation and multigenerational rivalry.
21:14-21 Abraham gave Hagar meager resources when he sent
her away, but God kept his promise to this Egyptian woman and
her son. He heard their cries and provided for their needs, reiterating his plan to “make a great nation from his descendants”
(see 16:10). Hagar later succeeded in finding Ishmael an Egyptian wife.
22:2 God’s instructions to Abraham are troubling (see Perspective on page 34), but this story does not encourage child
abuse. God’s unique test of Abraham’s faith related directly to
the covenant promise about Isaac’s descendants. Abraham’s
immediate and unquestioning obedience showed he trusted
God to provide a substitute (22:3, 5, 8) or even raise Isaac from
the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19).
