F I R S T PA G E S

Genesis 21:2722:12
So Abraham brought s heep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and
the two men made a treaty. Abraham set a part seven ewe lambs from
the f lock, and Abimelek asked Abraham, What is the meaning of these
seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?
He replied, Accept t hese seven l ambs from my hand as a witness that
I dug this well.
So that p
lace was called Beersheba,d because the two men swore an
oath there.
After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phicol the
commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham
planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and t here he c alled on the name of
the Lord, the Eternal God. And Abraham s tayed in the land of the Phi
listines for a long time.
22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, Abraham!
Here I am, he replied.
Then God said, Take your son, your only son, whom you loveIsaac
and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrif ice him there as a b
urnt offering on
a mountain I will show you.
Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He
took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut
enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had
told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place
in the distance. He said to his servants, Stay here with the donkey
while I and the boy go over t here. We will worship and then we will
come back to you.
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son
Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them
went on together, Isaac s poke up and said to his father Abraham, Father?
Yes, my son? Abraham replied.
The fire and wood are here, Isaac said, but w
here is the lamb for the
burnt offering?
Abraham answered, God himself will provide the lamb for the b
urnt
offering, my son. And the two of them went on together.
When they r eached the p
lace God had told him a bout, Abraham b
uilt
an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and
laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he r eached out his hand
and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord c alled out to
him from heaven, Abraham! Abraham!
Here I am, he replied.
Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said. Do not do anything to him.
Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me
your son, your only son.
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11/18/16 1:37 PM