251 And Abraham took another wife named Keturah. 2 And she bore him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan; and the sons of Dedan were the Asshurim, and the Letushim, and the Leummim. 4 And the sons of Midian were Ephah, and Epher, and Enoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah. 5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 And to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and, while he yet lived, sent them away from Isaac his son, eastward to the east country.
7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: a hundred and seventy-five years. 8 And Abraham expired and died in a good old age, old and full [of days]; and was gathered to his peoples. 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 was opposite to Mamre— 10 the field that Abraham had 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 at Beer-lahai-roi.
12 And these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's bondwoman, bore to Abraham. 13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their names according to their generations: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, 14 and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, 15 Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedmah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, in their hamlets and their encampments—twelve princes of their peoples. 17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael: a hundred and thirty-seven years; and he expired and died, and was gathered to his peoples. 18 And they dwelt from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite to Egypt, as one goes towards Assyria. He settled before the face of all his brethren.
19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebecca as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 And Isaac entreated Jehovah for his wife, because she was barren; and Jehovah was entreated of him, and Rebecca his wife conceived. 22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If [it be] so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of Jehovah. 23 And Jehovah said to her, Two nations are in thy womb, And two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels; And one people shall be stronger than the other people, And the elder shall serve the younger. 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 a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out; and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
27 And the boys grew, and Esau became a man skilled in hunting, a man of the field; and Jacob was a homely man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau, because venison was to his taste; and Rebecca loved Jacob.
29 And Jacob had cooked a dish; and Esau came from the field, and he was faint. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with the red—the red thing there, for I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me now thy birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am going to die, and of what use can the birthright be to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear unto me now. And he swore unto him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and the dish of lentils; and he ate and drank, and rose up and went away. Thus Esau despised the birthright.
261 And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine which had been in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines, to Gerar. 2 And Jehovah appeared to him and said, Go not down to Egypt: dwell in the land that I shall tell thee of. 3 Sojourn in this land; and I will be with thee and bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries; and I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father. 4 And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and unto thy seed will I give all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves— 5 because that Abraham hearkened to my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
6 And Isaac dwelt at Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, She is my sister; for he feared to say, my wife, [saying to himself,] Lest the men of the place slay me on account of Rebecca—because she was fair in countenance. 8 And it came to pass when he had been there some time, that Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked out of the window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was dallying with Rebecca his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, she is certainly thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? and Isaac said to him, Because I said, Lest I die on account of her. 10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done to us? But a little and one of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought a trespass on us. 11 And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that touches this man or his wife shall certainly be put to death.
12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold; and Jehovah blessed him. 13 And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great. 14 And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great number of servants; and the Philistines envied him. 15 And all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them and filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go from us; for thou art become much mightier than we. 17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his camp in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and that the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. 19 And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. 20 But the shepherds of Gerar strove with Isaac's shepherds, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Esek, because they had quarrelled with him. 21 And they dug another well, and they strove for that also; and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22 And he removed thence and dug another well; and they did not strive for that. And he called the name of it Rehoboth, and said, For now Jehovah has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. 23 And he went up thence to Beer-sheba. 24 And Jehovah appeared to him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. 25 And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of Jehovah. And he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.
26 And Abimelech, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol the captain of his host, went to him from Gerar. 27 And Isaac said to them, Why are ye come to me, seeing ye hate me, and have driven me away from you? 28 And they said, We saw certainly that Jehovah is with thee; and we said, Let there be then an oath between us—between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee, 29 that thou wilt do us no wrong, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done to thee nothing but good, and have let thee go in peace; thou art now blessed of Jehovah. 30 And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 And they rose early in the morning, and swore one to another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well that they had dug, and said to him, We have found water. 33 And he called it Shebah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.
34 And Esau was forty years old, when he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basmath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and to Rebecca.
81 And when he had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper came up to [him] and did him homage, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou art able to cleanse me. 3 And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will; be cleansed. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus says to him, See thou tell no man, but go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses ordained, for a testimony to them.
5 And when he had entered into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, beseeching him, 6 and saying, Lord, my servant lies paralytic in the house, suffering grievously. 7 And Jesus says to him, I will come and heal him. 8 And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not fit that thou shouldest enter under my roof; but only speak a word, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say to this [one], Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my bondman, Do this, and he does it. 10 And when Jesus heard it, he wondered, and said to those who followed, Verily I say unto you, Not even in Israel have I found so great faith. 11 But I say unto you, that many shall come from [the] rising and setting [sun], and shall lie down at table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens; 12 but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, Go, and as thou hast believed, be it to thee. And his servant was healed in that hour.
14 And when Jesus had come to Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law laid down and in a fever; 15 and he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and served him. 16 And when the evening was come, they brought to him many possessed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were ill; 17 so that that should be fulfilled which was spoken through Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities and bore our diseases.
(Read Matthew 8:1)
This verse refers to the close of the foregoing sermon. Those to whom Christ has made himself known, desire to know more of him.
(Read Matthew 8:2-4)
In these verses we have an account of Christ's cleansing a leper, who came and worshipped him, as one clothed with Divine power. This cleansing directs us, not only to apply to Christ, who has power over bodily diseases, for the cure of them, but it also teaches us in what manner to apply to him. When we cannot be sure of God's will, we may be sure of his wisdom and mercy. No guilt is so great, but there is that in Christ's blood which atones for it; no corruption so strong, but there is that in his grace which can subdue it. To be made clean we must commend ourselves to his pity; we cannot demand it as a debt, but we must humbly request it as a favour. Those who by faith apply to Christ for mercy and grace, may be sure that he is freely willing to give them the mercy and grace they thus seek. And those afflictions are blessed that bring us to know Christ, and cause us to seek help and salvation from him. Let those who are cleansed from their spiritual leprosy, go to Christ's ministers and open their case, that they may advise, comfort, and pray for them.
(Read Matthew 8:5-13)
This centurion was a heathen, a Roman soldier. Though he was a soldier, yet he was a godly man. No man's calling or place will be an excuse for unbelief and sin. See how he states his servant's case. We should concern ourselves for the souls of our children and servants, who are spiritually sick, who feel not spiritual evils, who know not that which is spiritually good; and we should bring them to Christ by faith and prayers. Observe his self-abasement. Humble souls are made more humble by Christ's gracious dealings with them. Observe his great faith. The more diffident we are of ourselves, the stronger will be our confidence in Christ. Herein the centurion owns him to have Divine power, and a full command of all the creatures and powers of nature, as a master over his servants. Such servants we all should be to God; we must go and come, according to the directions of his word and the disposals of his providence. But when the Son of man comes he finds little faith, therefore he finds little fruit. An outward profession may cause us to be called children of the kingdom; but if we rest in that, and have nothing else to show, we shall be cast out. The servant got a cure of his disease, and the master got the approval of his faith. What was said to him, is said to all, Believe, and ye shall receive; only believe. See the power of Christ, and the power of faith. The healing of our souls is at once the effect and evidence of our interest in the blood of Christ.
(Read Matthew 8:14-17)
Peter had a wife, yet was an apostle of Christ, who showed that he approved of the married state, by being thus kind to Peter's wife's relations. The church of Rome, which forbids ministers to marry, goes contrary to that apostle upon whom they rest so much. He had his wife's mother with him in his family, which is an example to be kind to our relations. In spiritual healing, the Scripture speaks the word, the Spirit gives the touch, touches the heart, touches the hand. Those who recover from fevers, commonly are weak and feeble some time after; but to show that this cure was above the power of nature, the woman was at once so well as to go about the business of the house. The miracles which Jesus did being noised abroad, many thronged to him. He healed all that were sick, though the patient was ever so mean, and the case ever so bad. Many are the diseases and calamities to which we are liable in the body; and there is more, in those words of the gospel, that Jesus Christ bore our sicknesses and carried our sorrows, to support and comfort us under them, than in all the writings of the philosophers. Let us not grudge labour, trouble, or expense in doing good to others.
