Genesis 25

1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

After the death of Sarah, Abraham remarried. Remember, he is 137 years old at this point. I am guessing people not only lived longer but aged slower. So at this point he has lived 78% of his life or the equivalent of around age 65.

2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

Abraham fathered six more sons. No daughters are mention. It is possible they had only boys.

3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.

4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

Seven grandkids and three great grandkids are mentioned here. These are probably the ones born during Abraham’s lifetime.

5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.

6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.

Since concubines is mentioned in the plural, we can assume Ishmael and Hagar lived close enough for Abraham to still have occasional contact. He made sure they were all remembered, but gave the bulk of his wealth to Isaac.

7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.

175 years.

8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;

10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.

Now we learn the rest of the history of Ishmael before proceeding with the story of the messianic line:

12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham:

13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,

15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:

Twelve sons in all.

16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.

17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.

18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

Thus ends the story of Ishmael. We do hear the occasional mention of his descendants, but there is no more recorded about his life. The Bible focuses on the ancestry of Christ.

19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac:

“And this is the story of Isaac…”

20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

21 And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Barrenness is not always a curse. Sometimes God withholds children to allow a miracle to be preformed to bring Him greater glory. Sometimes He has work for the couple to do that requires them to not be distracted by children. Sometimes He wants them to adopt. And sometimes barrenness is just the result of living in a fallen world. In this case, it appears God wanted to perform a miracle in their lives just like in Sarah’s.

22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it be so, why am I thus?” And she went to enquire of the LORD.

“What in the world is going on here!” Twins can usually be diagnosed by a midwife felling of the belly. Something about feeling two heads and way too many legs and arms squirming around. She can also often lay her ear against the mom and hear the heartbeats. Rebekah probably already knew she had twins and was wondering why they were carrying on so.

23 And the LORD said unto her, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”

If she didn’t know before, she did now! And God said thy would be very different kinds of men.

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

Esau means hairy.

26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

Jacob means supplanter (victor or replacer). It is unusual for a baby to grab his twin during the birth process like this. Twins are usually 5-20 minutes apart.

Isaac and Rebekah lived without children for twenty years.

27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Each parent had their favorite. This is not a good thing.

Jacob was fond of the meat Esau made him while Rebekah probably loved the company and gentleness of Jacob.

29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

Esau had been hunting and was very weak because he hadn’t caught anything. Jacob was fixing supper.

30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint:” therefore was his name called Edom.

Red beans and rice is still a popular dish.

Edom means Red.

31 And Jacob said, “Sell me this day thy birthright.”

Sounds like Jacob resented being the younger son and not having the bigger inheritance. He saw the opportunity to get what he wanted from his brother.

32 And Esau said, “Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?”

Esau is probably exaggerating a bit. He was probably not at the point of death, just very uncomfortable.

33 And Jacob said, “Swear to me this day; and he swore unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.”

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

He sold his entire future for a bowl of beans.

Genesis 24

1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

Abraham was what we would call a multi-millionaire.

2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, “Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

3 “And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

4 “But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.”

Who you marry can make a difference in whether you serve God or not. Many a Christian has lost their salvation by being drawn away by an unsaved spouse. Abraham wants to make sure Isaac’s wife comes from the same stock that produced his faith in one God. The local pagans would not provide such a wife.

5 And the servant said unto him, “Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?”

The servant wants to make sure he understands the totality of his mission. How important is it that Isaac’s wife comes from Abraham’s relatives.

6 And Abraham said unto him, “Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

7 “The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; He shall send His angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

Abraham has complete faith that God has already prepared the woman He wants for his son.

8 “And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.”

But under no circumstances is Isaac to back to Abraham’s family. He was probably aware of the hold her family would have on Isaac. A man loves his wife and wants her to be happy. It would be hard for a woman to leaver her mother, father and all her siblings. So if Isaac returned to the family root, he would be tempted to stay there to please his wife, especially since he had no family back in Canaan. Abraham is very clear that his descendants are to remain in Canaan.

9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.

This servant may have been the Eliezer mentioned in chapter 15 as being Abraham’s only heir before the birth of Ishmael and Isaac. If so, this man was once heir to Abraham’s entire fortune and has now been replaced by the son. It shows loyalty indeed for him to so willingly serve Abraham in this way.

10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

Without running water in their houses, water had to be brought from the local well or river for washing, drinking and cooking. Understandably, cultures without running water only use about 2-3 gallons per person per day (if that much), while Americans use more than thirty.

It was generally the woman’s chore to go get the water a couple of times every day, not because the men and children didn’t want to do it, but because it was a good time to visit with the other women and trade gossip. Generally, all the women of the village would go out at the same time.

12 And he said “O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

13 “Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

He saw the women heading to the well.

14 “And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, ‘Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink;’ and she shall say, ‘Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also:’ let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.”

Today we call this “putting a fleece before the Lord” after the act of Gideon in testing to make sure he was in God’s will. The servant here trusted God more than his own judgment.

15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

This well was a deep hole with stairs going around the edge leading down to the water level.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, “Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.”

18 And she said, “Drink, my lord:” and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, “I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.”

20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

This was no small feat! I wonder how many trips she made down that well.

21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

It isn’t unusual for us to have complete faith in God’s provision and still be stunned into silence when we see His miracles.

22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

23 And said, “Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?”

24 And she said unto him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.”

Exactly the family Abraham had sent him to; Abraham’s brother.

25 She said moreover unto him, “We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.”

“We have plenty of room for you to stay with us.” Inns were not very common if they had existed yet at all. It was not unusual for a traveler to ask for housing from strangers.

26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.

27 And he said, “Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.”

The gave credit and glory right then and there for God’s answered prayers.

28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.

29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.

He saw the rich presents the servant gave her.

30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “Thus spake the man unto me;” that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

31 And he said, “Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.”

32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.

Always care for your animals first. That is the first rule of good horsemanship.

33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, “I will not eat, until I have told mine errand.” And he said, “Speak on.”

The servant wanted to get the whole matter settled right away. He didn’t want to take advantage of these people, nor sit in suspense a minute longer.

34 And he said, “I am Abraham's servant.

35 “And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

“Your brother/uncle is a rich man.” He then recounts the entire story.

36 “And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.

37 “And my master made me swear, saying, ‘Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

38 “’But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.’

39 “And I said unto my master, ‘Peradventure the woman will not follow me.’

40 “And he said unto me, ‘The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house:

41 “’Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.’

42 “And I came this day unto the well, and said, ‘O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:

43 “’Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, “Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;”

44 “’And she say to me, “Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels:” let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son.’

45 “And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, ‘Let me drink, I pray thee.’

46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also:’ so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

47 “And I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter art thou?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him:’ and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.

48 “And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.

49 “And now if ye 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.”

“Now that you know the whole story, let me know what you are going to do wo I can make my plans.”

50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

51 “Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken.”

How can you argue with God’s obvious hand?

52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.

53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, “Send me away unto my master.”

55 And her brother and her mother said, “Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.”

There is a difference of opinion whether they actually said ten days or ten months. Either way, the delay was unacceptable.

56 And he said unto them, “Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.”

It sounds to me like he was afraid they would change their minds. Later stories about Laban support that idea. He will change Jacob’s salary ten times and then only let him go because of a threat from God.

57 And they said, “We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.”

58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, “Wilt thou go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”

They left it up to her, probably assuming she would choose to stay with her family instead of go with this total stranger and marry another total stranger. She, however, appears as anxious to leave as the servant.

59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.

60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, “Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.”

Babies are blessings. They leave a name for their parents written in the Book of Life, depending on the job the parents do of raising them to serve God.

61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.

He evidently wasn’t living with Abraham at this point, but in his own house. The servant took his wife to him.

63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

65 For she had said unto the servant, “What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us?” And the servant had said, “It is my master:” therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.”

“Who’s that?” “That is your new husband.” At this point she put on the veil of a married woman. Only her husband would see her face from now on, making it very special.

66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.

67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Love at first sight. He could quit mourning for his mother now.

Genesis 23

1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Abraham had to “come to mourn for Sarah.” There is some speculation that she was so upset at his intention of sacrificing Isaac that she left him. We don’t know for sure, but it does appear here that they were not living in the same location. Abraham didn’t remarry until after her death, however.

Divorce is an abomination to God, but there are times when separation is appropriate. At any rate, they did not divorce.

3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,

4 “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

He needed an appropriate place to bury his wife.

5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,

6 “Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.”

These people (Hitites) acknowledge Abraham’s wealth, the strength of his servants trained for war, his long years in the area (about sixty), and his service to God. They tell him he can have his choice of land.

7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

8 “And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,

9 “That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.”

Abraham didn’t really want the whole field, just the cave. He would have had to pay taxes to the king of the Hitites if he had bought the whole field. And he only needed the cave anyway.

He offers to pay what ever the owner wants.

10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

11 “Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.”

It sounds like Ephron gave the land and the cave as a gift to Abraham. This may be, or it may have been just a formality; a proper way to show respect.

12 And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.

13 And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, “But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.”

Abraham agrees to take the whole property but insists on paying for it.

14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

15 “My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.”

“Well the land is worth this much, but that isn’t important.”

16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

Abraham pays the mentioned amount. The entire transaction is carried out with utmost respect and everyone is happy and honored by the end.

17 And the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

This land stayed the possession of Abraham and his descendents. Isaac, Rebecca, Leah, Jacob, and Abraham himself were all buried there.

19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

20 And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.

Chapter 23

1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.

2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Abraham had to “come to mourn for Sarah.” There is some speculation that she was so upset at his intention of sacrificing Isaac that she left him. We don’t know for sure, but it does appear here that they were not living in the same location. Abraham didn’t remarry until after her death, however.

3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying,

4 “I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

He needed an appropriate place to bury his wife.

5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,

6 “Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.”

These people (Hitites) acknowledge Abraham’s wealth, the strength of his servants trained for war, his long years in the area (about sixty), and his service to God. They tell him he can have his choice of land.

7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.

8 “And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,

9 “That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.”

Abraham didn’t really want the whole field, just the cave. He would have had to pay taxes to the king of the Hitites if he had bought the whole field. And he only needed the cave anyway.

He offers to pay what ever the owner wants.

10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

11 “Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.”

It sounds like Ephron gave the land and the cave as a gift to Abraham. This may be, or it may have been just a formality; a proper way to show respect.

12 And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land.

13 And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, “But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.”

Abraham agrees to take the whole property but insists on paying for it.

14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him,

15 “My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.”

“Well the land is worth this much, but that isn’t important.”

16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

Abraham pays the mentioned amount. The entire transaction is carried out with utmost respect and everyone is happy and honored by the end.

17 And the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure

18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.

This land stayed the possession of Abraham and his descendents. Isaac, Rebecca, Leah, Jacob, and Abraham himself were all buried there.

19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

20 And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of Heth.

Chapter 22

1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, “Abraham:” and he said, “Behold, here I am.”

2 And He said, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”

God does not acknowledge Ishmael here. He calls Isaac Abraham’s only son. God no longer acknowledges the “…bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman.” (Galatians 4:30) “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.” (vs. 28).

Moriah was a set of mountains that include the eventual location of Solomon’s temple.

3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

5 And Abraham said unto his young men, “Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.”

Abraham says he AND Isaac will return to the servants. He whole-heartedly believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead.

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, ‘That in Isaac shall thy seed be called’: accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” Hebrews 11:17-19

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, “My father:” and he said, “Here am I, my son.” And he said, “Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

Isaac found it puzzling that they came to do sacrifice and brought no sacrificial lamb with them. I wonder if he was getting suspicious at this point of what his father had in mind.

8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:” so they went both of them together.

God did provide Himself a lamb for an offering; Jesus Christ.

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

At this point Abraham is about 113 and Isaac is around 13. Now Abraham would still live another sixty-two years, but surly a strapping teenager could have fought his father off. Isaac’s obedience speaks volumes about Abraham’s training him.

Abraham had faith in God that He would raise his son again and Isaac had faith that his father would do what was right.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham:” and he said, “Here am I.”

12 And he said, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”

Of course God knew before hand that Abraham would obey, even to the sacrificing of his precious son of promise. But now Abraham, Isaac, and all of history knows that Abraham has this kind of faith in God.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

God provided the lamb for Abraham’s sacrifice just as He provided us a Lamb to pay for our sins.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.”

Jehovahjireh means “God will provide.”

15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

16 And said, “By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

17 “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

18 “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

The promise of Abraham becoming a great nation is reaffirmed plus he is given the extra promis that his Seed would bless the world.

The Jews never brought any more blessing to the world than any other people, except in two points: they were the bearers and protectors of the Bible, and they were the physical lineage of Jesus Christ.

19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

20 And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;

21 Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,

22 And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

23 And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.

Abraham gets word that his brother has had many children.

Genesis 20

1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister:” and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

Abraham repeats his deception and Sarah is taken into the king’s harem. She is rightly listed among the women of faith. Can you imagine your husband allowing you to be taken to another man’s harem? Yet when we trust God He protects us. God took care of Sarah to the point of miraculous intervention.

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.”

4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, “Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

5 “Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.”

This is one sample of someone in the Old Testament who was not a Jew and yet obviously believed in the true God.

6 And God said unto him in a dream, “Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

God even protected Abimelech from sinning. He takes care of His own.

7 “Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.”

8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.

There was a lot of the fear of God going on here.

9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, “What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.”

Abimelech scolds Abraham, and rightly so. Abraham’s actions had not only put his wife in danger of adultery, but the king also. We should never be so selfish as to put our comfort and even our lives ahead of other’s salvation.

10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, “What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?”

11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, “Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.

12 “And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

So it was a half-truth to say Sarah was his sister yet this deceived others putting them at risk of sin.

Marrying your sister was not outlawed until the time of Moses. It is believed that the genetic code had not deteriorated enough at the time of Abraham for there to be any problems with sibling marriages. By the time of Moses it was no longer a safe practice and in our day even first cousins are too close to safely marry.

13 “And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, ‘This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.’”

14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

The gifts were to insure that this man who was under special protection of God was not angry enough to call punishment down on Abimelech. They were not an acknowledgement of Abraham’s rightness, but more like fire insurance.

15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.”

At this point Abimelech is not going to put any restrictions on Abraham nor do anything to make him mad.

16 And unto Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other:” thus she was reproved.

He also wanted to make sure Sarah was not angry (thus the money) and he scolded her for going along with Abraham’s deception.

17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.

18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

This event appears when we read it to have taken a day or two, but it obviously took some time; long enough for the king’s household to realize they were barren (maybe six months or so?)

This is another sample of the womb being under God’s control. There are many places in the Bible where babies are given as rewards or denied as punishment. Without babies, any society will eventually die. This holds true today, too, where western society has such a low birth rate that we will soon face extinction if something is not changed. Italy, for example, has a mere 1.3 children per woman; a number far lower than the cut off point for survivability. Their culture will not last another generation.

Genesis 19

1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

These two angels are most likely the two that left Abraham and God back at Abraham’s house. They have a definite mission to complete: seeing if there are enough righteous men left in the city to spare it.

Lot is sitting in the gate implying that he was actually a leader of the city.

2 And he said, “Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways.” And they said, “Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.”

It was the custom in these days for travelers to simply camp out in the town square. There was often a well for water and they carried their own food and bedding. Only the rich could have afforded a night in an inn.

3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

Lot insisted they come home with him. He knew what would happen to them out on the street.

4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, “Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”

These men- all the men of the city- gathered at Lot’s house to demand he turn his visitors over for them to rape. The Bible condemns homosexuality in the first place (Lev 18:22-30, 20:13, Romans 1:24-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10), and made it a capital offence in the Mosaic Law along with adultery, incest and bestiality.

The fact is that homosexuality is a choice, or more accurately, a series of choices. Our emotions and attractions will follow our decisions.

Science has found no evidence of a “gay gene” like so many gay activists claim. There were three studies whose authors said that they had proved such a gene existed, but if you read the actual studies all three were so poorly done as to be pure garbage, scientifically, and even if valid, did not even come close to proving the “gay gene” theory. Recently, the American Psychiatrist organization rescinded their statement of homosexuality being caused by biology and has stated it “has many causes.”

Why would God outlaw homosexuality? First of all, sex was designed for four reasons: example, communication, procreation, and recreation.
The marital relationship exemplifies the relationship with God. It communicates to us the relationship God wants to have with His people. Homosexuality communicates, “God doesn’t need the church. He needs to find another God. The church doesn’t need God, just another church to fellowship with.” Ludicrous. And homosexuality is non-fruitful. It is a type of relationship that cannot produce godly offspring. This leaves only communication and recreation, a very shallow relationship indeed.

The homosexual lifestyle is, in fact, very unhealthy. Gays simply don’t live as long as heterosexuals on average (though individuals may, of course). They have a much higher rate of violence as well. The entire lifestyle is based on self-fulfillment and is as empty as it is fruitless.

Does this mean that we should “hate” gays? Of course not. Neither should we hate adulterers and prostitutes. We should love them into the kingdom of God. We need to teach them, as we do any sinner, that “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” And “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus or Lord.” And “go and sin no more.” It doesn’t matter what a person’s sin is (adultery, lying, stealing, self righteousness, bigotry, homosexuality, violence, etc) they are going to hell unless they repent (turn from their sins) and accept Jesus as their Lord (Boss). It would be the most hateful thing in the world to not try to bring the lost to salvation.

We must note that in addition to the sin of homosexuality, these men wanted to commit rape which was also a capital offense in the Mosaic Law.

6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

7 And said, “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

8 “Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.”

Lot offered his daughters for them to rape instead. This would be a lesser offence (though either one is deserving of death and hell by itself) and by bringing these men into his home, Lot had promised them protection. To give them up would make him an accomplice to their sin.

9 And they said, “Stand back.” And they said again, “This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them.” And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

These men were determined to cause trouble. They were offended at Lot’s calling their lifestyle choice bad and his standing in the way of their plans.

10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

The angels rescue Lot and make it so the men of the city can’t even find the door. They have all the proof they need of the wickedness of the city. Not only did they not find ten righteous men, they only found one.

12 And the men said unto Lot, “Hast thou here any besides? Son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.”

They give Lot a chance to rescue his whole family, even those who are grown and out of his home.

14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, “Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city.” But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.


We don’t know how many daughters Lot had. We know of the two still at home and he evidently had at least two who were married as “sons in law” is a plural. Since the average family before the days of birth control had seven children, he may have had quite a few visits to make.

But they all thought he was joking (or probably just “going on about that religious stuff again.”) What a heartbreaking situation for Lot.

15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, “Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.”

“Get out now!”

16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

The angels had to literally drag them out of town. How many Christians today are so attached to this world and their “modern American lifestyle” that they would have to be dragged out of it, or worse yet, so far gone they would think anyone warning of coming danger would be taken as a joker or nutcase?

17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, “Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.”

18 And Lot said unto them, “Oh, not so, my LORD:”

He is actually going to take the tie to argue!

19 “Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

20 “Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”

Lot was so attached to his lifestyle he wanted to bargen with God to retain a little piece of it. “Can’t you spare a little wickedness so I can be more comfortable?”

21 And he said unto him, “See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

22 “Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

Zoar means little one. God decided to accept Lot’s request.

23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

This may have been a meteor shower of the fallout from a distant volcanic eruption. The end result is the same. This region today is very bare and desolate and the soil has a very high sulfur content.

26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

She didn’t want to leave her life in Sodom. She gave up her future to try to save her past.

27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.

The New Testament calls Lot a righteous man, but Genesis says the reason God spared Lot was because of Abraham. I believe Lot was a righteous man who was quickly being lured by relativism. He was in danger of losing his salvation. For Abraham’s sake, God made sure he was taken out before he was lost.

30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.

After all the begging for God to spare Zoar and the angels assurance that God would for him, Lot got scared and ran to the mountains where the angels originally told him to go.

31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:

32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.”

Lot’s oldest got it into her head that there wither were no men left anywhere or that they would stay hidden too long for her and her sister to ever find a husband. She decided to take maters into her own hands with the only man available.

33 And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, “Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.”

35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.

36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.
Both girls got their father so drunk he didn’t know what was going on (a good argument against drinking right there) and his daughters seduced him.

37 And the first-born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.

Both of these nations later became involved in child sacrifice. Since they started with incest, this just kind of logically follows.

Though God originally forbid Israel from attacking them or taking away their land because they were related, both countries eventually made themselves total enemies of the Jews. Remember: humans always mess things up when they follow their own plans instead of God’s.