DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SATURDAY JANUARY 8
DAILY BIBLE READING
Genesis 22-24 New King James Version
Abraham's Faith Confirmed
22 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said
to him, "Abraham!"
And he said, "Here I am."
2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and
go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of
the mountains of which I shall tell you."
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two
of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the
burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4
Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5
And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the [a]lad
and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his
son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went
together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!"
And he said, "Here I am, my son."
Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the [b]lamb for a
burnt offering?"
8 And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a
burnt offering." So the two of them went together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built
an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and
laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand
and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham,
Abraham!"
So he said, "Here I am."
12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for
now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your
only son, from Me."
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram
caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and
offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called
the name of the place, [c]The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day,
"In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided."
15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,
16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done
this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son- 17 blessing I
will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the
stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your
descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." 19
So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to
Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
The Family of Nahor
20 Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying,
"Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Huz his
firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 22 Chesed, Hazo,
Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel." 23 And Bethuel begot [d]Rebekah. These eight
Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was
Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.
Sarah's Death and Burial
23 Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of
the life of Sarah. 2 So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the
land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
3 Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth,
saying, 4 "I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a
burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."
5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 "Hear us, my lord:
You are a [e]mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our
burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you
may bury your dead."
7 Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the
sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, "If it is your wish that I
bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and [f]meet with Ephron the son of
Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has,
which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price,
as property for a burial place among you."
10 Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered
Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of
his city, saying, 11 "No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the
cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my
people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!"
12 Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; 13 and he
spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, "If you
will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it
from me and I will bury my dead there."
14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 "My lord, listen to me;
the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you
and me? So bury your dead." 16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham
weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the
sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.
17 So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre,
the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the
field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded 18 to
Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who
went in at the gate of his city.
19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of
Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the
field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth
as property for a burial place.
A Bride for Isaac
24 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed
Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house,
who ruled over all that he had, "Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 and
I will make you swear[g] by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the
earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the
Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 but you shall go to my country and to my
family, and take a wife for my son Isaac."
5 And the servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will not be willing to
follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you
came?"
6 But Abraham said to him, "Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7
The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land
of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'To your
[h]descendants I give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you
shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 And if the woman is not willing
to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my
son back there." 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham
his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all
his master's goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia,
to the city of Nahor. 11 And he made his camels kneel down outside the city
by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw
water. 12 Then he said, "O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me
success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I
stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are
coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I
say, 'Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,' and she says, 'Drink,
and I will also give your camels a drink'-let her be the one You have
appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have
shown kindness to my master."
15 And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold,
Rebekah,[i] who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor,
Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the
young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her.
And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the
servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from
your pitcher."
18 So she said, "Drink, my lord." Then she quickly let her pitcher down to
her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a
drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have
finished drinking." 20 Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough,
ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21 And the
man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had
made his journey prosperous or not.
22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a
golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists
weighing ten shekels of gold, 23 and said, "Whose daughter are you? Tell me,
please, is there room in your father's house for us [j]to lodge?"
24 So she said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah's son, whom she
bore to Nahor." 25 Moreover she said to him, "We have both straw and feed
enough, and room to lodge."
26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. 27 And he said,
"Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His
mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord
led me to the house of my master's brethren." 28 So the young woman ran and
told her mother's household these things.
29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the
man by the well. 30 So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the
bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister
Rebekah, saying, "Thus the man spoke to me," that he went to the man. And
there he stood by the camels at the well. 31 And he said, "Come in, O
blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the
house, and a place for the camels."
32 Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and provided
straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of
the men who were with him. 33 Food was set before him to eat, but he said,
"I will not eat until I have told about my errand."
And he said, "Speak on."
34 So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. 35 The Lord has blessed my master
greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds,
silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 And
Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him
he has given all that he has. 37 Now my master made me swear, saying, 'You
shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in
whose land I dwell; 38 but you shall go to my father's house and to my
family, and take a wife for my son.' 39 And I said to my master, 'Perhaps
the woman will not follow me.' 40 But he said to me, 'The Lord, before whom
I walk, will send His angel with you and [k]prosper your way; and you shall
take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house. 41 You
will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they
will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.'
42 "And this day I came to the well and said, 'O Lord God of my master
Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, 43 behold, I stand
by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes
out to draw water, and I say to her, "Please give me a little water from
your pitcher to drink," 44 and she says to me, "Drink, and I will draw for
your camels also,"-let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my
master's son.'
45 "But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah,
coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well
and drew water. And I said to her, 'Please let me drink.' 46 And she made
haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I
will give your camels a drink also.' So I drank, and she gave the camels a
drink also. 47 Then I asked her, and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' And she
said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I
put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 And I
bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master
Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my
master's brother for his son. 49 Now if you will deal kindly and truly with
my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand
or to the left."
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing comes from the Lord;
we cannot speak to you either bad or good. 51 Here is Rebekah before you;
take her and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as the Lord has
spoken."
52 And it came to pass, when Abraham's servant heard their words, that he
worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. 53 Then the servant brought
out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to
Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.
54 And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night.
Then they arose in the morning, and he said, "Send me away to my master."
55 But her brother and her mother said, "Let the young woman stay with us a
few days, at least ten; after that she may go."
56 And he said to them, "Do not [l]hinder me, since the Lord has prospered
my way; send me away so that I may go to my master."
57 So they said, "We will call the young woman and ask her personally." 58
Then they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?"
And she said, "I will go."
59 So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's
servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:
"Our sister, may you become
The mother of thousands of ten thousands;
And may your descendants possess
The gates of those who hate them."
61 Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and
followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.
62 Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South.
63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted
his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. 64 Then Rebekah
lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; 65
for she had said to the servant, "Who is this man walking in the field to
meet us?"
The servant said, "It is my master." So she took a veil and covered herself.
66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac
brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became
his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
Footnotes
Genesis 22:5 Or young man
Genesis 22:7 Or goat
Genesis 22:14 Heb. YHWH Yireh
Genesis 22:23 Rebecca, Rom. 9:10
Genesis 23:6 Lit. prince of God
Genesis 23:8 entreat
Genesis 24:3 take an oath
Genesis 24:7 Lit. seed
Genesis 24:15 Rebecca, Rom. 9:10
Genesis 24:23 to spend the night
Genesis 24:40 make your way successful
Genesis 24:56 delay