Hands-On Bible Sampler - Flipbook - Page 52
Genesis 22 ... page 22
what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard
the boy crying as he lies there. 18Go 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,
21and 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
22About
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.
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.”
27 Abraham then gave some of his sheep,
goats, and cattle to Abimelech, and they made a
treaty. 28But 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.
32After 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.
CHAPTER
22
Abraham’s Faith Tested
Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith.
“Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
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.
4On 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.”
6So 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?”
8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both
walked on together.
9 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. 10And Abraham picked up the knife to kill
his son as a sacrifice. 11At that moment the angel
of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”
12 “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.”
13 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. 14Abraham named the place YahwehYireh (which means “the Lord will provide”).
To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 Then the angel of the Lord called again to
Abraham from heaven. 16“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 17I will certainly bless you. I
will multiply your descendants beyond number,
like the stars in the sky and the sand on the
2 “Take
