Month: June 2025

Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a whle between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.

But that night God cam to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!” But Abmelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother. I acted in complee innocence! My hands are clean!”

In the dream, God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her. Now return the woman back to her husband, and he will pray for you, for is is a prophet. THen you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and your people will die.” (vv. 1-7, NLT)

[After Abimelech called ro Abraham and asked hin way he did such a thing.] Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’ And she is really my siser, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I married her. When God called me to leave my father’s home to travel from place to place, I told her, “Do me a favor. Wherever we go, tell the people that i am your brother.” (vv. 11-13, NLT)

Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his female servants so they could have children. For the Lord had caused all the women to e infertile because of what hapened with Abraham’s wife, Sarah.” (vv. 17-18, NLT)

“Oh, no, my lord!” Lot begged. “You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown so much great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up with me there, and I would soo die. See, there is a small village nearby. Please let go there instad: don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.”

“All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village. But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” (This explains why that village was know as Zoar, which means “little place.”)

Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the the horizon. Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every but if vegetation. But Lot’s wife look back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

Abraham got up early that morning and hurried to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watch as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.

BUt God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain. (vv. 18-29, NLT)

That evening, the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood to meet them. Then he welcomed and bowed with his face to the ground. “My lords,”he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early and be on your way again.” (vv. 1-2A, NLT)

“Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relative here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place-your sons-in-laws, sons, daughters or anyone else. For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and He has sent us to destroy it.”

So Lot rushed to tell his daughters’, fiances, “Quick get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it!” But the youn men thought he was only joking.

At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!”

When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!.”(vv. 12-17, NLT)

Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send the on their way.

“Should I hid my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham what I have promised.”

So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not I want to know.”

The other men turned and headed to Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. Abraham approached Him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous with the wicked? Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city-will you still sweep it way and not spare it for their sakes? Surely You wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why You would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely You wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.” (vv. 16-26, NLT)

Finally Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?”

And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy if for the sake of the ten.”

When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, He went on His way, and Abraham returned to his tent.” (vv. 32-33, NLT)

The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tend during the hottest part of the ay. He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.

“My Lord, ” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your fee. And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.”

“All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”

So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and roasted the meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.

“Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked.

“She is inside the tent,” Abraham replied.

Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year ,and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”

Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such a pleasure-especially when my master-my husband-is so old?”

Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

“Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.”

But the Lord said, “No, you did laugh.” (vv. 1-15, NLT)

Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, you wife, her name will no longer e Sarai. For now on her name will be Sarah. And i will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”

THen Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” So Abram said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”

But God replied, “No-Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you.You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm My covenant with him and his descendants as well as an everlasting covenant. As for Ismael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiple his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year.” When God had finished speaking, He left Abraham. (vv. 15-22, NLT)

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai-‘God Almighty’. Serve Me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

At this Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, “This is My covenant with you: I wll make you the father of a multitude of nations! What’s more, I am changing you name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful. You descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!”

“I will confirm My covenant with you and you descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be you God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner and your descendants, and I will be their God.” (vv. 1-8, NLT)

The angel of the Lord found Hagar besides a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I’m running way from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.

“The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”

And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against his relatives”

Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?? So that well as name Beer-lahlai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.

So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram named him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Ismael was born. (vv 7-15, NLT)