The Berean Pursuit
Now Abram's wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, "Look now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her."
And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So after he had lived in Canaan for ten years, his wife Sarai took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to Abram to be his wife. And he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. But when Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
Then Sarai said to Abram, "May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me."
"Here," said Abram, "your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her." Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.
Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert-the spring along the road to Shur. "Hagar, servant of Sarai," he said, "where have you come from, and where are you going?"
"I am running away from my mistress Sarai," she replied.
So the angel of the LORD told her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her authority." Then the angel added, "I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count."
The angel of the LORD proceeded:
"Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son.
And you shall name him Ishmael,
for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.
He will be a wild donkey of a man,
and his hand will be against everyone,
and everyone's hand against him;
he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers."
So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "Here I have seen the One who sees me!" Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. It is located between Kadesh and Bered.
And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly."
Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, "As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing-all the land of Canaan-as an eternal possession; and I will be their God."
God also said to Abraham, "You must keep My covenant-you and your descendants in the generations after you. This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner-even those who are not your offspring. Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant.
But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."
Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai, for her name is to be Sarah. And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her."
Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?" And Abraham said to God, "O that Ishmael might live under Your blessing!"
But God replied, "Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you, and I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He will become the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year."
When He had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or purchased with his money-every male among the members of Abraham's household-and he circumcised them, just as God had told him.
So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day. And all the men of Abraham's household-both servants born in his household and those purchased from foreigners-were circumcised with him.
Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
"My lord," said Abraham, "if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a bit of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant's way. After that, you may continue on your way."
"Yes," they replied, "you may do as you have said."
So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick! Prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread."
Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender and choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then Abraham brought curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and he set them before the men and stood by them under the tree as they ate.
"Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked.
"There, in the tent," he replied.
Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!"
Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent. And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. So she laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
And the LORD asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Can I really bear a child when I am old?' Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you-in about a year-and Sarah will have a son."
But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it and said, "I did not laugh."
"No," replied the LORD, "but you did laugh."
When the men got up to leave, they looked out over Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them off.
And the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised."
Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous, I will go down to see if their actions fully justify the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will find out."
And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
Abraham stepped forward and said, "Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous ones in the city? Will You really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones who are there? Far be it from You to do such a thing-to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?"
So the LORD replied, "If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place."
Then Abraham answered, "Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord-though I am but dust and ashes- suppose the fifty righteous ones lack five. Will You destroy the whole city for the lack of five?"
He replied, "If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it."
Once again Abraham spoke to the LORD, "Suppose forty are found there?"
He answered, "On account of the forty, I will not do it."
Then Abraham said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?"
He replied, "If I find thirty there, I will not do it."
And Abraham said, "Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose twenty are found there?"
He answered, "On account of the twenty, I will not destroy it."
Finally, Abraham said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?"
And He answered, "On account of the ten, I will not destroy it."
When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, He departed, and Abraham returned home.
Jesus went on from there and came to His hometown, accompanied by His disciples. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. "Where did this man get these ideas?" they asked. "What is this wisdom He has been given? And how can He perform such miracles? Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren't His sisters here with us as well?" And they took offense at Him.
Then Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household is a prophet without honor." So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few of the sick and heal them. And He was amazed at their unbelief.
And He went around from village to village, teaching the people.
Then Jesus called the Twelve to Him and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing but a staff for the journey-no bread, no bag, no money in their belts- and to wear sandals, but not a second tunic.
And He told them, "When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them."
So they set out and preached that the people should repent. They also drove out many demons and healed many of the sick, anointing them with oil.
Now King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known, and people were saying, "John the Baptist has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him." Others were saying, "He is Elijah," and still others, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old."
But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen from the dead!" For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip's wife Herodias, whom Herod had married. For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife!"
So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she had been unable, because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man. When he heard John's words, he was greatly perplexed; yet he listened to him gladly.
On Herod's birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests, and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." And he swore to her, "Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom!"
Then she went out and asked her mother, "What should I request?"
And her mother answered, "The head of John the Baptist."
At once the girl hurried back to the king with her request: "I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately."
The king was consumed with sorrow, but because of his oaths and his guests, he did not want to refuse her. So without delay, the king commanded that John's head be brought in. He sent an executioner, who went and beheaded him in the prison. The man brought John's head on a platter and presented it to the girl, who gave it to her mother.
When John's disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.
Meanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus and brought Him news of all they had done and taught. And He said to them, "Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while." For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
So they went away in a boat by themselves to a solitary place. But many people saw them leaving and recognized them. They ran together on foot from all the towns and arrived before them. When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.
By now the hour was already late. So the disciples came to Jesus and said, "This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."
But Jesus told them, "You give them something to eat."
They asked Him, "Should we go out and spend two hundred denarii to give all of them bread to eat?"
"Go and see how many loaves you have," He told them.
And after checking, they said, "Five-and two fish."
Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. And there were five thousand men who had eaten the loaves.
Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd. After bidding them farewell, He went up on the mountain to pray.
When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and Jesus was alone on land. He could see that the disciples were straining to row, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea. He intended to pass by them, but when they saw Him walking on the sea, they cried out, thinking He was a ghost- for they all saw Him and were terrified.
But Jesus spoke up at once: "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. And the disciples were utterly astounded, for they had not understood about the loaves, but their hearts had been hardened.
When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and moored the boat. As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus and ran through that whole region, carrying the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was. And wherever He went-villages and towns and countrysides-they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.