Day 8 – Isaac’s Birth and “Sacrifice”

₁The LORD blessed Sarah, as he had promised, ₂and she became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham when he was old. The boy was born at the time God had said he would be born. ₃Abraham named him Isaac, ₄and when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded. ₅Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born. ₆Sarah said, “God has brought me joy and laughter. Everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.” ₇Then she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

₈The child grew, and on the day that he was weaned, Abraham gave a great feast.

₉One day Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, was playing with Sarah's son Isaac. ₁₀Sarah saw them and said to Abraham, “Send this slave and her son away. The son of this woman must not get any part of your wealth, which my son Isaac should inherit.” ₁₁This troubled Abraham very much, because Ishmael was also his son. ₁₂But God said to Abraham, “Don't be worried about the boy and your slave Hagar. Do whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I have promised. ₁₃I will also give many children to the son of the slave woman, so that they will become a nation. He too is your son.”

₁₄Early the next morning Abraham gave Hagar some food and a leather bag full of water. He put the child on her back and sent her away. She left and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba. ₁₅When the water was all gone, she left the child under a bush ₁₆and sat down about a hundred metres away. She said to herself, “I can't bear to see my child die.” While she was sitting there, she began to cry.

₁₇God heard the boy crying, and from heaven the angel of God spoke to Hagar, “What are you troubled about, Hagar? Don't be afraid. God has heard the boy crying. ₁₈Get up, go and pick him up, and comfort him. I will make a great nation out of his descendants.” ₁₉Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. She went and filled the leather bag with water and gave some to the boy. ₂₀God was with the boy as he grew up; he lived in the wilderness of Paran and became a skilful hunter. ₂₁His mother found an Egyptian wife for him.

₂₂At that time Abimelech went with Phicol, the commander of his army, and said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. ₂₃So make a vow here in the presence of God that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so promise that you will also be loyal to me and to this country in which you are living.”

₂₄Abraham said, “I promise.”

₂₅Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well which the servants of Abimelech had seized. ₂₆Abimelech said, “I don't know who did this. You didn't tell me about it, and this is the first I have heard of it.” ₂₇Then Abraham gave some sheep and cattle to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement. ₂₈Abraham separated seven lambs from his flock, ₂₉and Abimelech asked him, “Why did you do that?”

₃₀Abraham answered, “Accept these seven lambs. By doing this, you admit that I am the one who dug this well.” ₃₁And so the place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them made a vow.

₃₂After they had made this agreement at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol went back to Philistia. ₃₃Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshipped the LORD, the Everlasting God. ₃₄Abraham lived in Philistia for a long time.

₁Some time later God tested Abraham; he called to him, “Abraham!” And Abraham answered, “Yes, here I am!”

₂“Take your son,” God said, “your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah. There on a mountain that I will show you, offer him as a sacrifice to me.”

₃Early the next morning Abraham cut some wood for the sacrifice, loaded his donkey, and took Isaac and two servants with him. They started out for the place that God had told him about. ₄On the third day Abraham saw the place in the distance. ₅Then he said to the servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there and worship, and then we will come back to you.”

₆Abraham made Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice, and he himself carried a knife and live coals for starting the fire. As they walked along together, ₇Isaac said, “Father!”

He answered, “Yes, my son?”

Isaac asked, “I see that you have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?”

₈Abraham answered, “God himself will provide one.” And the two of them walked on together.

₉When they came to the place which God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. He tied up his son and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood. ₁₀Then he picked up the knife to kill him. ₁₁But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!”

He answered, “Yes, here I am.”

₁₂“Don't hurt the boy or do anything to him,” he said. “Now I know that you honour and obey God, because you have not kept back your only son from him.”

₁₃Abraham looked round and saw a ram caught in a bush by its horns. He went and got it and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ₁₄Abraham named that place “The LORD Provides”. And even today people say, “On the LORD's mountain he provides.”

₁₅The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time, ₁₆“I make a vow by my own name — the LORD is speaking — that I will richly bless you. Because you did this and did not keep back your only son from me, ₁₇I promise that I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand along the seashore. Your descendants will conquer their enemies. ₁₈All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants — all because you obeyed my command.” ₁₉Abraham went back to his servants, and they went together to Beersheba, where Abraham settled.