Jo’s Place

Isaac Deceives Abimelech A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time.  So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.  The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you.  Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you.  I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.  I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands.  And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.  I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.”  So Isaac stayed in Gerar.  When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.”  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” ...

Bethuel gives his daughter Rebekah to his uncle’s son Isaac Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say.  Here is Rebekah; take her and go.  Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”  When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord.  Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and presented them to Rebekah.  He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother.  Then they ate their meal, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight.  But early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.”  “But we want Rebekah to stay with us at least ten days,” her brother and mother said.  “Then she can go.”  But Abraham’s servant said, “Don’t delay me.  The Lord has made my mission successful; now send me back so I can return to my master.”  “Well,...

A Wife for Isaac Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.  One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.  Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.  Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”  The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home?  Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”  “No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there.  For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants.  He will send His angel ahead of you, and He will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.  If she is unwilling...