1 Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. While Isaac’s sons are growing up, a famine descends on the land. Isaac seeks a place to continue to graze his flocks, ending up in…
1 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. After the death of…
1 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. With the death of Sarah still looming over his household, Abraham thinks it might be time to find Isaac a bride. However he has grown old, he can no longer travel as much as he used to.…
1 Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. This is the first time the text specifically mentions the death and age of a woman. All of the genealogies had focused on the men, but now, as a member of God’s covenant, Sarah’s death is also recorded. She is the…
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take 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…
1 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. I find it interesting that the text says that God visited Sarah. The word “visited” differs from the more commonly used word “appeared.” Often times in Scripture when God appears someone, He usually says something, and…
1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. Abraham and his family go on the move again, although no clear reason is given for them doing so. Perhaps with the recent destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the land had become more…
1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your…
1 And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. After Abraham and his household have recovered from their circumcision (we know this since they are working again), God appears visibly to Abraham, as he is taking a break…
Patience in Promises: Journeys in the Wilderness
Historically, the southern edge of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah was the city of Beer Sheba. This city located at the edge of the southern desert was one of the last places in the land that had enough water to sustain a permanent settlement. That said, for much of the year, the only available…
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