Wayfinding Bible - Flipbook - Page 41
Genesis 23
35
PG 36
PG 36
OBSERVATION POINT
Mount Moriah was located about 48 miles north of
Abraham’s home in Beersheba. Hundreds of years
later, David saw the angel of the Lord near here,
poised to destroy Jerusalem. God relented before
it could happen. Eventually, Solomon built God’s
great temple on Mount Moriah inside Jerusalem
(2 Chronicles 3:1). Today the Dome of the Rock, a
Muslim holy site, is located there.
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?”
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. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to
kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At 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. 14 Abraham named the place
Yahweh-Yireh (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 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants* beyond number, like the stars in the sky
EXPLORATION POINT
Abraham’s response to God is incredible: no discussion or bargaining, as he had done trying to save
Sodom. This time he obeyed God’s command and
prepared for the trip. God’s command didn’t make
sense, but it didn’t have to—God was good, just, and
in control. Abraham chose to live in faith moment by
moment, letting God guide and direct his path. Like
Abraham, we can move forward one moment at a
time, trusting that God is good and just and in control.
and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.
18
And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because
you have obeyed me.”
19
Then they returned to the servants and
traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham
continued to live.
20
Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah,
his brother Nahor’s wife, had borne Nahor eight
sons. 21 The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the ancestor
of the Arameans), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jid
laph, and Bethuel. 23 (Bethuel became the father
of Rebekah.) In addition to these eight sons
from Milcah, 24 Nahor had four other children
from his concubine Reumah. Their names were
Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.
THE BURIAL OF SARAH
23
When Sarah was 127 years old, 2 she died
at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in
the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned
and wept for her.
3
Then, leaving her body, he said to the Hit
tite elders, 4 “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.”
5
The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “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.”
7
Then Abraham bowed low before the Hit
tites 8 and said, “Since you are willing to help
me in this way, be so kind as to ask Ephron son
of Zohar 9 to let me buy his cave at Machpelah,
down at the end of his field. I will pay the full
price in the presence of witnesses, so I will
have a permanent burial place for my famil y.”
22:17 Hebrew seed; also in 22:17b, 18.
