201 Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev , and settled between Kadesh and Shur ; then he sojourned in Gerar . 2 Abraham said of Sarah his wife , " She is my sister ." So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah .
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night , and said to him, "Behold , you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken , for she is married e ." 4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said , "Lord , will You slay a nation , even though blameless ? 5 "Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister '? And she herself said , 'He is my brother .' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this ." 6 Then God said to him in the dream , "Yes , I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this , and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore e I did not let you touch her. 7 "Now therefore, restore the man's wife , for he is a prophet , and he will pray for you and you will live . But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die , you and all who are yours."
8 So Abimelech arose early in the morning and called all his servants and told all these things in their hearing ; and the men were greatly frightened . 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin ? You have done to me things that ought not to be done ." 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham , "What have you encountered , that you have done this thing ?" 11 Abraham said , "Because I thought , surely there is no fear of God in this place , and they will kill me because e of my wife . 12 "Besides , she actually is my sister , the daughter of my father , but not the daughter of my mother , and she became my wife ; 13 and it came about, when God caused me to wander from my father's house , that I said to her, 'This is the kindness which you will show to me: everywhere e e e e we go , say of me, "He is my brother .""'
14 Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants e , and gave them to Abraham , and restored his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelech said , " Behold , my land is before you; settle wherever you please e ." 16 To Sarah he said , "Behold , I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver ; behold , it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared ." 17 Abraham prayed to God , and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids , so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because e of Sarah , Abraham's wife .
211 Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said , and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised . 2 So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age , at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac . 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old , as God had commanded him. 5 Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah said , "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me." 7 And she said , " Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children ? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age ."
8 The child grew and was weaned , and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned .
9 Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian , whom she had borne to Abraham , mocking . 10 Therefore she said to Abraham , " Drive out this maid and her son , for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac ." 11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because e of his son . 12 But God said to Abraham , "Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid ; whatever e Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named . 13 "And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also , because he is your descendant ."
14 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar , putting them on her shoulder , and gave her the boy , and sent her away . And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba . 15 When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes . 16 Then she went and sat down opposite e him, about a bowshot e away , for she said , "Do not let me see the boy die ." And she sat opposite e him, and lifted up her voice and wept . 17 God heard the lad crying ; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter with you, Hagar ? Do not fear , for God has heard the voice of the lad where e he is. 18 "Arise , lift up the lad , and hold him by the hand , for I will make a great nation of him." 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water ; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink . 20 God was with the lad , and he grew ; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer e . 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran , and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt .
22 Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol , the commander of his army , spoke to Abraham , saying , " God is with you in all that you do ; 23 now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity , but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned ." 24 Abraham said , "I swear it." 25 But Abraham complained to Abimelech because e of the well of water which the servants of Abimelech had seized . 26 And Abimelech said , "I do not know who has done this thing ; you did not tell me, nor e did I hear of it until today ." 27 Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech , and the two of them made a covenant . 28 Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves . 29 Abimelech said to Abraham , "What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves ?" 30 He said , "You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well ." 31 Therefore e he called that place Beersheba , because there the two of them took an oath . 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba ; and Abimelech and Phicol , the commander of his army , arose and returned to the land of the Philistines .
33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba , and there he called on the name of the Lord , the Everlasting God . 34 And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days .
221 Now it came about after these things , that God tested Abraham , and said to him, " Abraham !" And he said , "Here I am." 2 He said , "Take now your son , your only son, whom you love , Isaac , and go to the land of Moriah , and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey , and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son ; and he split wood for the burnt offering , and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance . 5 Abraham said to his young men , "Stay here with the donkey , and I and the lad will go over e there e ; and we will worship and return to you." 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son , and he took in his hand the fire and the knife . So the two of them walked on together . 7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said , "My father !" And he said , "Here I am, my son ." And he said , "Behold , the fire and the wood , but where is the lamb for the burnt offering ?" 8 Abraham said , "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering , my son ." So the two of them walked on together . 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood , and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar , on top of the wood . 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son .
11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said , "Abraham , Abraham !" And he said , "Here I am." 12 He said , "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad , and do nothing e to him; for now I know that you fear God , since you have not withheld your son , your only son, from Me." 13 Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked , and behold , behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns ; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son . 14 Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide , as it is said to this day , "In the mount of the Lord it will be provided ."
15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven , 16 and said , " By Myself I have sworn , declares the Lord , because e you have done this thing and have not withheld your son , your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore e ; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies . 18 " In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed , because e you have obeyed My voice ." 19 So Abraham returned to his young men , and they arose and went together to Beersheba ; and Abraham lived at Beersheba .
20 Now it came about after these things , that it was told Abraham , saying , "Behold , Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor : 21 Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram 22 and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel ." 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah ; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor , Abraham's brother . 24 His concubine , whose name was Reumah , also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah .
19 " Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth , where moth and rust destroy , and where thieves break in and steal . 20 "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven , where neither moth nor rust destroys , and where thieves do not break in or steal ; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also .
22 " The eye is the lamp of the body ; so then if your eye is clear , your whole body will be full of light . 23 "But if your eye is bad , your whole body will be full of darkness . If then the light that is in you is darkness , how great is the darkness !
24 " No one can serve two masters ; for either he will hate the one and love the other , or he will be devoted to one and despise the other . You cannot e serve God and wealth .
25 " For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life , as to what you will eat or what you will drink ; nor for your body , as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food , and the body more than clothing ? 26 " Look at the birds of the air , that they do not sow , nor reap nor gather into barns , and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life ? 28 "And why are you worried about clothing ? Observe how the lilies of the field grow ; they do not toil nor do they spin , 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these . 30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field , which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace , will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith ! 31 "Do not worry then , saying , 'What will we eat ?' or 'What will we drink ?' or 'What will we wear for clothing ?' 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things ; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things . 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness , and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow ; for tomorrow will care for itself . Each day has enough trouble of its own.
(Read Matthew 6:19-24)
Worldly-mindedness is a common and fatal symptom of hypocrisy, for by no sin can Satan have a surer and faster hold of the soul, under the cloak of a profession of religion. Something the soul will have, which it looks upon as the best thing; in which it has pleasure and confidence above other things. Christ counsels to make our best things the joys and glories of the other world, those things not seen which are eternal, and to place our happiness in them. There are treasures in heaven. It is our wisdom to give all diligence to make our title to eternal life sure through Jesus Christ, and to look on all things here below, as not worthy to be compared with it, and to be content with nothing short of it. It is happiness above and beyond the changes and chances of time, an inheritance incorruptible. The worldly man is wrong in his first principle; therefore all his reasonings and actions therefrom must be wrong. It is equally to be applied to false religion; that which is deemed light is thick darkness. This is an awful, but a common case; we should therefore carefully examine our leading principles by the word of God, with earnest prayer for the teaching of his Spirit. A man may do some service to two masters, but he can devote himself to the service of no more than one. God requires the whole heart, and will not share it with the world. When two masters oppose each other, no man can serve both. He who holds to the world and loves it, must despise God; he who loves God, must give up the friendship of the world.
(Read Matthew 6:25-34)
There is scarcely any sin against which our Lord Jesus more warns his disciples, than disquieting, distracting, distrustful cares about the things of this life. This often insnares the poor as much as the love of wealth does the rich. But there is a carefulness about temporal things which is a duty, though we must not carry these lawful cares too far. Take no thought for your life. Not about the length of it; but refer it to God to lengthen or shorten it as he pleases; our times are in his hand, and they are in a good hand. Not about the comforts of this life; but leave it to God to make it bitter or sweet as he pleases. Food and raiment God has promised, therefore we may expect them. Take no thought for the morrow, for the time to come. Be not anxious for the future, how you shall live next year, or when you are old, or what you shall leave behind you. As we must not boast of tomorrow, so we must not care for to-morrow, or the events of it. God has given us life, and has given us the body. And what can he not do for us, who did that? If we take care about our souls and for eternity, which are more than the body and its life, we may leave it to God to provide for us food and raiment, which are less. Improve this as an encouragement to trust in God. We must reconcile ourselves to our worldly estate, as we do to our stature. We cannot alter the disposals of Providence, therefore we must submit and resign ourselves to them. Thoughtfulness for our souls is the best cure of thoughtfulness for the world. Seek first the kingdom of God, and make religion your business: say not that this is the way to starve; no, it is the way to be well provided for, even in this world. The conclusion of the whole matter is, that it is the will and command of the Lord Jesus, that by daily prayers we may get strength to bear us up under our daily troubles, and to arm us against the temptations that attend them, and then let none of these things move us. Happy are those who take the Lord for their God, and make full proof of it by trusting themselves wholly to his wise disposal. Let thy Spirit convince us of sin in the want of this disposition, and take away the worldliness of our hearts.
