The Berean Pursuit
By now Abraham was old and well along in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, "Place your hand under my thigh, and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling, but will go to my country and my kindred to take a wife for my son Isaac."
The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?"
Abraham replied, "Make sure that you do not take my son back there. The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me from my father's house and my native land, who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-He will send His angel before you so that you can take a wife for my son from there. And if the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there."
So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed with all manner of good things from his master in hand. And he set out for Nahor's hometown in Aram-naharaim. As evening approached, he made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town at the time when the women went out to draw water.
"O LORD, God of my master Abraham," he prayed, "please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Here I am, standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. Now may it happen that the girl to whom I say, 'Please let down your jar that I may drink,' and who responds, 'Drink, and I will water your camels as well'-let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master."
Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. Now the girl was very beautiful, a virgin who had not had relations with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up again.
So the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me have a little water from your jar."
"Drink, my lord," she replied, and she quickly lowered her jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
After she had given him a drink, she said, "I will also draw water for your camels, until they have had enough to drink." And she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran back to the well to draw water, until she had drawn water for all his camels.
Meanwhile, the man watched her silently to see whether or not the LORD had made his journey a success.
And after the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring weighing a beka, and two gold bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels. "Whose daughter are you?" he asked. "Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"
She replied, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor." Then she added, "We have plenty of straw and feed, as well as a place for you to spend the night."
Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, saying, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."
The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things. Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he rushed out to the man at the spring. As soon as he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and heard Rebekah's words, "The man said this to me," he went and found the man standing by the camels near the spring.
"Come, you who are blessed by the LORD," said Laban. "Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels." So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of his companions.
Then a meal was set before the man, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I came to say."
So Laban said, "Please speak."
"I am Abraham's servant," he replied. "The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, camels and donkeys. My master's wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and my master has given him everything he owns.
My master made me swear an oath and said, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell, but you shall go to my father's house and to my kindred to take a wife for my son.'
Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not come back with me?'
And he told me, 'The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you may take a wife for my son from my kindred and from my father's house. And when you go to my kindred, if they refuse to give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.'
So when I came to the spring today, I prayed: O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if only You would make my journey a success! Here I am, standing beside this spring. Now if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, 'Please let me drink a little water from your jar,' and she replies, 'Drink, and I will draw water for your camels as well,' may she be the woman the LORD has appointed for my master's son.
And before I had finished praying in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'
She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will water your camels as well.' So I drank, and she also watered the camels.
Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?'
She replied, 'The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master's brother for his son.
Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; but if not, let me know, so that I may go elsewhere."
Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter. Rebekah is here before you. Take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's son, just as the LORD has decreed."
When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD. Then he brought out jewels of silver and gold, and articles of clothing, and he gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother. Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night there.
When they got up the next morning, he said, "Send me on my way to my master."
But her brother and mother said, "Let the girl remain with us ten days or so. After that, she may go."
But he replied, "Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey a success. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master."
So they said, "We will call the girl and ask her opinion."
They called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?"
"I will go," she replied.
So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
"Our sister, may you become the mother
of thousands upon thousands.
May your offspring possess
the gates of their enemies."
Then Rebekah and her servant girls got ready, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
Now Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev. Early in the evening, Isaac went out to the field to meditate, and looking up, he saw the camels approaching.
And when Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she got down from her camel and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?"
"It is my master," the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. Then the servant told Isaac all that he had done.
And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother's death.
Now Abraham had taken another wife, named Keturah, and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites.
The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.
All these were descendants of Keturah.
Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
Abraham lived a total of 175 years. And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.
After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.
This is the account of Abraham's son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham. These are the names of the sons of Ishmael in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their villages and encampments-twelve princes of their tribes. Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. Then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.
Ishmael's descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.
Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So Rebekah went to inquire of the LORD, and He declared to her:
"Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger."
When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. The first one came out red, covered with hair like a fur coat; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. Because Isaac had a taste for wild game, he loved Esau; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
One day, while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished. He said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished." (That is why he was also called Edom.)
"First sell me your birthright," Jacob replied.
"Look," said Esau, "I am about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?"
"Swear to me first," Jacob said.
So Esau swore to Jacob and sold him the birthright. Then Jacob gave some bread and lentil stew to Esau, who ate and drank and then got up and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
Answer me when I call,
O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved my distress;
show me grace and hear my prayer.
How long, O men, will my honor be maligned?
How long will you love vanity and seek after lies?
Selah
Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself;
the LORD hears when I call to Him.
Be angry, yet do not sin;
on your bed, search your heart and be still.
Selah
Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the LORD.
Many ask, "Who can show us the good?"
Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
You have filled my heart with more joy
than when grain and new wine abound.
I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Then Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God arrive with power."
After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them. His clothes became radiantly white, brighter than any launderer on earth could bleach them. And Elijah and Moses appeared before them, talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters-one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." For they were all so terrified that Peter did not know what else to say.
Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!" Suddenly, when they looked around, they saw no one with them except Jesus.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus admonished them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this matter to themselves, discussing what it meant to rise from the dead. And they asked Jesus, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
He replied, "Elijah does indeed come first, and he restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected? But I tell you that Elijah has indeed come, and they have done to him whatever they wished, just as it is written about him."
When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were filled with awe and ran to greet Him.
"What are you disputing with them?" He asked.
Someone in the crowd replied, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a spirit that makes him mute. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable."
"O unbelieving generation!" Jesus replied. "How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to Me."
So they brought him, and seeing Jesus, the spirit immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has this been with him?"
"From childhood," he said. "It often throws him into the fire or into the water, trying to kill him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."
"If You can?" echoed Jesus. "All things are possible to him who believes!"
Immediately the boy's father cried out, "I do believe; help my unbelief!"
When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," He said, "I command you to come out and never enter him again."
After shrieking and convulsing him violently, the spirit came out. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, "He is dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
After Jesus had gone into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
Jesus answered, "This kind cannot come out, except by prayer."
Going on from there, they passed through Galilee. But Jesus did not want anyone to know, because He was teaching His disciples. He told them, "The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise." But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was in the house, He asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all."
Then He had a little child stand among them. Taking the child in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes not only Me, but the One who sent Me."
John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone else driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us."
"Do not stop him," Jesus replied. "For no one who performs a miracle in My name can turn around and speak evil of Me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Indeed, if anyone gives you even a cup of water because you bear the name of Christ, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.
But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where 'their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.'
For everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another."