What I’ve noticed is that the further I get away from the time the church ended that I’m beginning to reference the church plant less and less. It will always have been a part of my life as an exciting, rewarding yet challenging and painful time.

It has left me wondering what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus when I’m not leading something. Before I referenced everything to the church with its survival and health being the most important priority of my life. But with it there no more it causes me to take all the aspects of my life and ask how they can be oriented around the gospel of Jesus (of course being a part of a local church body will be a key ingredient in that).

I began this blog in January with the goal of taking the church plant through the bible, going from Genesis to Revelation. But without the backdrop of leading a community what do I do with the story of God? I’m not teaching at the church I am a part of now (nor do I want to do any kind of teaching right now) so I am left with how do I approach the part of my life that engages the scriptures?

I really fell in love with the storying process that we begun to do with the church plant. So many churches are based around a person’s ability to articulate a well crafted speech where one person is active in the story and everyone else is passively taking it in rather than a community that can dive into the story together trusting the Holy Spirit and wisdom of mature believers (note: I believe that there is an important place for declarative preaching). I also saw that storying process as one that opened my eyes to see how God has worked through all of redemptive history rather than Jumping from Genesis 3 (the Fall) to the cross (redemption) and skipping everything in between.

Recently I was reading a book by Scot McKnight called The King Jesus Gospel. In it he goes on to make the claim that the gospel isn’t just a legal transaction declaring us not guilty before God (as beautiful as that it) but it is the “story of Israel resolved in the Story of Jesus” that does result in salvation but includes so much more. You can read the book to see if you agree with the statement and premise or not but I think that is why storying has clicked so much for me as the Hebrew scriptures were continually pointing to Jesus as the greater Adam, Abel, Noah, Temple, Festival, David, Solomon…etc.

So I’m going to continue going on with the storying process. Obviously, it will be a bit different because it isn’t revolved around helping a community engage with the story of God but for now will be a journey I go on as I take a weekly look at an individual, festival, symbol that was always meant to point towards the fulfilled story of Jesus.

We are covering a total of 24 stories over this year that fall into those 7 acts. Tonight’s story of Abraham is our fifth story overall (here is the first, second, third and fourth) and our first story that falls into Act 3: Israel.

Intro:
I began by talking about bi-focals. Bi-focals have the unique ability of giving someone with damaged vision the ability to see two different distances with clarity. They can see something close through the appropriate lens and they can see something far away through the appropriate lens. You need to look through the appropriate lens for the appropriate distance.

I mention how often times we have damaged vision when we come to the bible. We aren’t quite sure what to do with it. When I first read about people sacrificing animals at the age of 16 I wondered why we don’t sacrifice animals today (not that I wanted to). How do you know what matters and applies to your life today? Are we just picking and choosing what we like and don’t like? Why do we apply some passages of scripture and not others?

Randy Freeze suggests that we need bi-focals when it comes to the bible. We need to understand that the scriptures have an Upper Story and a Lower Story.

Upper Story: What God is doing in Redemptive History…where God is taking things. Because the animal sacrifices were pointing to Jesus the ultimate one who was sacrificed we have done away with sacrifices. Not because we pick and choose what we want to do but because of what God has done in redemptive history.

Lower Story: While what God is doing in History leads to chances, God never changes. So we can learn from real people, real places and real times and how God has worked in history.

So with every story we are learning to ask where does this story fit within God’s Upper Story and how can we learn from the Lower Story right in front of us.

REVIEW previous stories

We did a different kind of review for this weeks story. I had a whiteboard up front and I picked 4 volunteers to come up and on the whiteboard without the help of anyone else they were to draw the IKON that represented the 4 previous stories we had looked at. Overall I thought they did really well. While they were drawing I played a 3-4 minute creative video that recaps Creation to Noah which we had covered:

PREPARE for imaginative listening
This week for imaginative listening I reminded them of the basics that we are trying to help them find themselves in the story. For some that is closing their eyes and for others it may be having a pad of paper in front of them and jotting down key words that stand out to them. I then read from Psalm 139:23-24
“23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. “

I then waited about 30 second and begun reading.

READ the story
I then read the story. You can find my source material for the story here.

RETELL the story
In the past we have done the retelling portion of the evening with props in which people in our group act out the story or we have had images up on powerpoint that as they have told the story we have had images from the brick testament go along with the retelling. This week we did a tag team retelling in which one person started in the middle and they retold as much as they could until they needed help. They would then point at one table and they would have to send up a representative to come up and continue the story. OR, if the person missed a detail then someone would raise their hand and they would have to switch with the person who raised their hand.

I thought this worked really well. Some stories are only really one scene or event so they are easy to act out but this one had so many different scenes as it covered Genesis 11-21 that acting it out wouldn’t have been possible.

IKON the story
I then brought up an image that would represent this weeks story. This will come into play our following session when we recap what has previously occurred. Here is this weeks image:

The images of the stars was chosen because these were involved when God promised to Abraham that he would be the father of a people who would bless the world:
Genesis 15:4-6
Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[d] be.”

Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

DIALOGUE the story
From here we went to retell the story. I reminded the group of a few ground rules and because we were in a rush timewise I didn’t elaborate too much.
1) No fast forwarding. Let’s focus on this story and what comes before it and this story without jumping ahead.
2) Use this story alone. We all need to be on equal ground for this discussion. We do this not to neglect our bibles or bible commentary notes but we hope that this conversations works as a diving board to jump into the scriptures and to not get caught up too much in technicalities. Since our 4 minute telling of the story condensed 11 chapters there is a lot that we didn’t get to cover.

My overall feeling is that our dialogue time was a “B”. Which is up from a “D” last week. I spent a bit more time in preparation thinking of questions that are easier to answer in a group setting. I also set up a question for people to talk about at their tables. Hopefully, as we continue to do this our group will feel more free to share and talk and I’d say 50% of the people engage and another 50% just listen.

FORWARD the story
At this point I address how all of these stories are just a shadow of Jesus.

In Romans 10:4 it says that Christ is the end of the law so that there might be righteousness for everyone that believes.

The word for law here is the word nomos in the greek. We often take this passage in the sense that the law is bad…it is a list of rules and regulations and makes us guilty. We fought the law and the law won. Jesus comes up and accomplishes the list of rules in the law and in turn proclaims us not guilty.

There is more depth to it than that. The word law here is referring to the Jewish Torah, the books of Moses in which Genesis and Abraham belong. The torah has lists and rules in it but it is also full of people and place and covenants. You could read the above as “Christ is the end of Adam/Eve/Cain/Able/Noah/Abraham/etc…so that there might be righteousness for everyone who believes”

The word “end” here is the word telos. This is a deeper word than disposal or removal. Telos means something closer to completed. Like a carpenter has reached the end or telos of his project, not when he has thrown away the wood but shaped it and chiseled it into a table or a chair or cabinet.

So the Torah, the stories, what God is doing in redemptive history is not thrown away by Jesus but completed by Jesus. And the righteousness given to us isn’t because of our achievement or success in these stories but in Jesus accomplishment, faithfulness and fulfilled in him.

This doesn’t let us off the hook saying that they are nice pieces of literature and Jesus has completed them. Instead as the church is the body of Christ we look how Jesus fulfilled these stories to better inform us how we are to be the body of Jesus for our world and to do for our world what he has done for us.

The first item of note is that in Genesis 3-11 what we have been tracking in our previous stories we see the word curse used 5 times. In response to our disobediance to God, God respond with we are living against the grain of shalom, against the way things were meant to be and there will be consequences.

1. To the serpent – “cursed are you above all livestock,” Genesis 3:14
2. To Adam – “cursed is the ground because of you,” Genesis 3:17
3. To Cain – “you are cursed from the ground,” Genesis 4:11
4. To Noah – “the ground that the LORD has cursed,” Genesis 5:29
5. To Ham – “Cursed be Canaan,” Genesis 9:25

Yet in Genesis 12…in the midst of just three verses we see the word “bless” used 5x’s revolving around the figure of Abraham. So there is something about this individual that he is going to play a central role in God’s redemptive movement. In his redemptive history.

And it all begins, when Abraham goes…God doesn’t announce to Abraham or to us that he will be a blessing or a source of this redemptive movement until he first listens to the voice of God telling him to go…

Thomas Cahil describes the magnitude and meaning of Abraham going:
So, “wayyelekh Avram” (“Avram went”)—two of the boldest words in all literature. They signal a complete departure from everything that has gone before in the long evolution of culture and sensibility. Out of Sumer, civilized repository of the predictable, comes a man who does not know where he is going but goes forth into the unknown wilderness under the prompting of his god….Out of mortal imagination comes a dream of something new, something better, something yet to happen, something—in the future.

To be a blessing Abraham must go. Today, travel is exciting or fun and adventurous. You have a place you know where you are going or a place where you know you have people who will welcome you in.

Abraham went leaving his riches, comfort, safety and security behind not knowing where he was going and in doing so we recognize that God had “announced the gospel in advance to Abraham.”

7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
-Galatians 3:7-9

Just as Abraham going would lead to the eventual blessing of the nations. Abraham’s going was the original glimpse of the good news. Abraham went on a long journey and left comfort and freedom in the process.

But he was just a foreshadow of one who would go on a longer journey, sacrificing more comfort and freedom. Jesus going is the source our how God would bless the nations. Abraham going was God announcing the gospel in advance…Jesus going was the gospel in the flesh:

Hebrews 2
9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.

14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them,[k] fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

The incarnation of Jesus was the ultimate example of one who goes. The incarnation meaning “in the flesh”. We don’t really get incarnation. I don’t really get incarnation. I can define it but poorly live it.

Much of what I call what I try to pass off as incarnation is serving from a position of comfort and freedom. A position of I can draw back or draw out of whenever I want to.

Imagine this. We have served at the Gospel Center Rescue Mission. We have done some amazing things. We wound up on the TOMS shoes blog for what we did. The women there felt incredibly, blessed and were really thankful. That kind of serving is from a position of authority and power. It is strictly us serving them. We get good feelings from it but they aren’t turning and round and washing our feet. We also serve from a position of we can come in and then leave.

So we sign up and go and do something good.

But suppose someone said that to sign up for this event means that you will walk in and you can’t leave for five years. You will put on the clothes that they wear you will eat the food that they eat. So you will serve them but you will serve them as one of them. We’ve lined up someone to take care of your job, and we have someone to take care of your family.

You would think things like…but I want to further my career not just maintain it. I want to be with my family and see them grow up. I want to eat better food and dress in better clothes. When you are no longer serving from comfort and freedom you quickly become aware of all that you might lose.

You would begin to think not of the temporary obstacles but you would see all the big things you now must drop.

Ultimately, to choose to be one of them you would have to truly love them. They would have to be the future that you are building. They would need to be your family. You would need to see them as your ideal future.

Look back at these verses from Hebrews 2

…by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone
…Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters

…free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death
…fully human in every way

…because he himself suffered when he was tempted
…he is able to help those who are being tempted

…Since the children have flesh and blood,
…he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil

…For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.
…For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way,

Soreign Kierkegaard:
It is only in love that unequals can be made equal…

When the book of Hebrews in chapter 11 looks back at Abraham it says:
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Not a negative word is spoken about Abraham. It isn’t because the bible is afraid to to critique those in it. The book of Hebrews demands that the reader is thoroughly familiar with Abraham’s story in Genesis which shows him warts and all.

After the promise in Genesis 12 we find Abraham Sarah to claim that they are siblings instead of husband and wife because he fears Pharaoh’s people might kill him for her.

In Genesis 19 we find Abraham and Sarah trying to fulfill God’s promise in a culturally acceptable way taking Sarah’s maid and having a child that only leads to pain in all 3 of their lives. He pursues a good promise in the worst kind of way.

In Genesis 20…we Abraham pulling the same stunt with Sarah again in the land of Pharaoh.

In John 17:18 and John 20:21 Jesus says to his church, his body, “as the Father has sent me so I am sending you.”
As Abraham goes and as we go we will fail. We will do incredibly foolish things. We will lose sight of God’s promises or we will try to accomplish them in our own power. She will be incredibly faithless and we’ll have incredible moments of faith. While Abraham going was a foreshadow of the promise and we are heralds of the promise…Jesus is the reality, incarnation, and satisfaction of the promise.

These stories are true in Jesus. He is the Hero. He is the ultimate one who goes. He is the one who became like us in every way and tasted death for all of us.

Closing Application:
I challenged each person in our group to try to find one person in the next two weeks to tell this story to. Maybe it is a family neighbor or a friend but let’s try to get used to telling these stories. And the one other application I wish I had made was to tell people sometime this week to go out under the stars and think about this story and God’s promises.

So awesome and well worth your time. Here are a few quotes surrounding the word Eucatastrophe that he brings up:

Tragedy is the true form of Drama, its highest function; but the opposite is true of Fairy- story. Since we do not appear to possess a word that expresses this opposite—I will call it Eucatastrophe. The eucatastrophic tale is the true form of fairy-tale, and its highest function. The consolation of fairy-stories, the joy of the happy ending: or more correctly of the good catastrophe, the sudden joyous “turn” (for there is no true end to any fairy-tale): this joy, which is one of the things which fairy-stories can produce supremely well, is not essentially “escapist,” nor “fugitive.” In its fairy-tale—or otherworld—setting, it is a sudden and miraculous grace: never to be counted on to recur. It does not deny the existence of dyscatastrophe, of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance; it denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium, giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.

I would venture to say that approaching the Christian Story from this direction, it has long been my feeling (a joyous feeling) that God redeemed the corrupt making-creatures, men, in a way fitting to this aspect, as to others, of their strange nature. The Gospels contain a fairy-story, or a story of a larger kind which embraces all the essence of fairy-stories. They contain many marvels—peculiarly artistic, beautiful, and moving: “mythical” in their perfect, self-contained significance; and among the marvels is the greatest and most complete conceivable eucatastrophe. But this story has entered History and the primary world; the desire and aspiration of sub-creation has been raised to the fulfillment of Creation. The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of Man’s history. The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation. This story begins and ends in joy. It has pre-eminently the “inner consistency of reality.” There is no tale ever told that men would rather find was true, and none which so many sceptical men have accepted as true on its own merits. For the Art of it has the supremely convincing tone of Primary Art, that is, of Creation. To reject it leads either to sadness or to wrath.

“It is not difficult to imagine the peculiar excitement and joy that one would feel, if any specially beautiful fairy-story were found to be “primarily” true, its narrative to be history, without thereby necessarily losing the mythical or allegorical significance that it had possessed. It is not difficult, for one is not called upon to try and conceive anything of a quality unknown. The joy would have exactly the same quality, if not the same degree, as
the joy which the “turn” in a fairy-story gives: such joy has the very taste of primary truth. (Otherwise its name would not be joy.) It looks forward (or backward: the direction in this regard is unimportant) to the Great Eucatastrophe. The Christian joy, the Gloria, is of the same kind; but it is preeminently (infinitely, if our capacity were not finite) high and joyous. But this story is supreme; and it is true. Art has been verified. God is the Lord, of angels, and of men—and of elves. Legend and History have met and fused.”

I wonder how many husbands have had this conversation with their wife…and lived to tell about it.

Preparing for Storying sessions 5 and 6 coming up regarding Abraham…just 57 shout outs regarding his original name Abram and 235 mentions after his name was changed to Abraham to sift through!

1. Genesis 11:10
[ From Shem to Abram ] This is the account of Shem’s family line. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.
Genesis 11:9-11 (in Context) Genesis 11 (Whole Chapter)
2. Genesis 11:26
After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
Genesis 11:25-27 (in Context) Genesis 11 (Whole Chapter)
3. Genesis 11:27
[ Abram’s Family ] This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
Genesis 11:26-28 (in Context) Genesis 11 (Whole Chapter)
4. Genesis 11:29
Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah.
Genesis 11:28-30 (in Context) Genesis 11 (Whole Chapter)
5. Genesis 11:31
Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.
Genesis 11:30-32 (in Context) Genesis 11 (Whole Chapter)
6. Genesis 12:1
[ The Call of Abram ] The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
Genesis 12:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 12 (Whole Chapter)
7. Genesis 12:4
So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.
Genesis 12:3-5 (in Context) Genesis 12 (Whole Chapter)
8. Genesis 12:6
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
Genesis 12:5-7 (in Context) Genesis 12 (Whole Chapter)
9. Genesis 12:7
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
Genesis 12:6-8 (in Context) Genesis 12 (Whole Chapter)
10. Genesis 12:9
Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.
Genesis 12:8-10 (in Context) Genesis 12 (Whole Chapter)
11. Genesis 12:10
[ Abram in Egypt ] Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
Genesis 12:9-11 (in Context) Genesis 12 (Whole Chapter)
12. Genesis 12:14
When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.
Genesis 12:13-15 (in Context) Genesis 12 (Whole Chapter)
13. Genesis 12:16
He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
Genesis 12:15-17 (in Context) Genesis 12 (Whole Chapter)
14. Genesis 12:17
But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
Genesis 12:16-18 (in Context) Genesis 12 (Whole Chapter)
15. Genesis 12:18
So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
Genesis 12:17-19 (in Context) Genesis 12 (Whole Chapter)
16. Genesis 12:20
Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.
Genesis 12:19-20 (in Context) Genesis 12 (Whole Chapter)
17. Genesis 13:1
[ Abram and Lot Separate ] So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.
Genesis 13:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 13 (Whole Chapter)
18. Genesis 13:2
Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
Genesis 13:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 13 (Whole Chapter)
19. Genesis 13:4
and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.
Genesis 13:3-5 (in Context) Genesis 13 (Whole Chapter)
20. Genesis 13:5
Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.
Genesis 13:4-6 (in Context) Genesis 13 (Whole Chapter)
21. Genesis 13:7
And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
Genesis 13:6-8 (in Context) Genesis 13 (Whole Chapter)
22. Genesis 13:8
So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.
Genesis 13:7-9 (in Context) Genesis 13 (Whole Chapter)
23. Genesis 13:12
Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.
Genesis 13:11-13 (in Context) Genesis 13 (Whole Chapter)
24. Genesis 13:14
The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west.
Genesis 13:13-15 (in Context) Genesis 13 (Whole Chapter)
25. Genesis 13:18
So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the LORD.
Genesis 13:17-18 (in Context) Genesis 13 (Whole Chapter)
26. Genesis 14:1
[ Abram Rescues Lot ] At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim,
Genesis 14:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 14 (Whole Chapter)
27. Genesis 14:12
They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
Genesis 14:11-13 (in Context) Genesis 14 (Whole Chapter)
28. Genesis 14:13
A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram.
Genesis 14:12-14 (in Context) Genesis 14 (Whole Chapter)
29. Genesis 14:14
When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
Genesis 14:13-15 (in Context) Genesis 14 (Whole Chapter)
30. Genesis 14:15
During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.
Genesis 14:14-16 (in Context) Genesis 14 (Whole Chapter)
31. Genesis 14:17
After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
Genesis 14:16-18 (in Context) Genesis 14 (Whole Chapter)
32. Genesis 14:19
and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
Genesis 14:18-20 (in Context) Genesis 14 (Whole Chapter)
33. Genesis 14:20
And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Genesis 14:19-21 (in Context) Genesis 14 (Whole Chapter)
34. Genesis 14:21
The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”
Genesis 14:20-22 (in Context) Genesis 14 (Whole Chapter)
35. Genesis 14:22
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
Genesis 14:21-23 (in Context) Genesis 14 (Whole Chapter)
36. Genesis 14:23
that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’
Genesis 14:22-24 (in Context) Genesis 14 (Whole Chapter)
37. Genesis 15:1
[ The LORD’s Covenant With Abram ] After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. ”
Genesis 15:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 15 (Whole Chapter)
38. Genesis 15:2
But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Genesis 15:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 15 (Whole Chapter)
39. Genesis 15:3
And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
Genesis 15:2-4 (in Context) Genesis 15 (Whole Chapter)
40. Genesis 15:6
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:5-7 (in Context) Genesis 15 (Whole Chapter)
41. Genesis 15:8
But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
Genesis 15:7-9 (in Context) Genesis 15 (Whole Chapter)
42. Genesis 15:10
Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.
Genesis 15:9-11 (in Context) Genesis 15 (Whole Chapter)
43. Genesis 15:11
Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
Genesis 15:10-12 (in Context) Genesis 15 (Whole Chapter)
44. Genesis 15:12
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.
Genesis 15:11-13 (in Context) Genesis 15 (Whole Chapter)
45. Genesis 15:18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—
Genesis 15:17-19 (in Context) Genesis 15 (Whole Chapter)
46. Genesis 16:1
[ Hagar and Ishmael ] Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar;
Genesis 16:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 16 (Whole Chapter)
47. Genesis 16:2
so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
Genesis 16:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 16 (Whole Chapter)
48. Genesis 16:3
So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
Genesis 16:2-4 (in Context) Genesis 16 (Whole Chapter)
49. Genesis 16:5
Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
Genesis 16:4-6 (in Context) Genesis 16 (Whole Chapter)
50. Genesis 16:6
“Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
Genesis 16:5-7 (in Context) Genesis 16 (Whole Chapter)
51. Genesis 16:15
So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
Genesis 16:14-16 (in Context) Genesis 16 (Whole Chapter)
52. Genesis 16:16
Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Genesis 16:15-16 (in Context) Genesis 16 (Whole Chapter)
53. Genesis 17:1
[ The Covenant of Circumcision ] When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty ; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
Genesis 17:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
54. Genesis 17:3
Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
Genesis 17:2-4 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
55. Genesis 17:5
No longer will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
Genesis 17:4-6 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
56. 1 Chronicles 1:27
and Abram (that is, Abraham).
1 Chronicles 1:26-28 (in Context) 1 Chronicles 1 (Whole Chapter)
57. Nehemiah 9:7
“You are the LORD God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham.
Nehemiah 9:6-8 (in Context) Nehemiah 9 (Whole Chapter)

1. Genesis 17:5
No longer will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
Genesis 17:4-6 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
2. Genesis 17:9
Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.
Genesis 17:8-10 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
3. Genesis 17:15
God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.
Genesis 17:14-16 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
4. Genesis 17:17
Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”
Genesis 17:16-18 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
5. Genesis 17:18
And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
Genesis 17:17-19 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
6. Genesis 17:22
When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
Genesis 17:21-23 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
7. Genesis 17:23
On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.
Genesis 17:22-24 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
8. Genesis 17:24
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
Genesis 17:23-25 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
9. Genesis 17:26
Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day.
Genesis 17:25-27 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
10. Genesis 17:27
And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
Genesis 17:26-27 (in Context) Genesis 17 (Whole Chapter)
11. Genesis 18:1
[ The Three Visitors ] The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.
Genesis 18:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
12. Genesis 18:2
Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
Genesis 18:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
13. Genesis 18:6
So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”
Genesis 18:5-7 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
14. Genesis 18:11
Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
Genesis 18:10-12 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
15. Genesis 18:13
Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’
Genesis 18:12-14 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
16. Genesis 18:16
[ Abraham Pleads for Sodom ] When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.
Genesis 18:15-17 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
17. Genesis 18:17
Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
Genesis 18:16-18 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
18. Genesis 18:18
Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
Genesis 18:17-19 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
19. Genesis 18:19
For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
Genesis 18:18-20 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
20. Genesis 18:22
The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
Genesis 18:21-23 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
21. Genesis 18:23
Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
Genesis 18:22-24 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
22. Genesis 18:27
Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,
Genesis 18:26-28 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
23. Genesis 18:31
Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
Genesis 18:30-32 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
24. Genesis 18:33
When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
Genesis 18:32-33 (in Context) Genesis 18 (Whole Chapter)
25. Genesis 19:27
Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD.
Genesis 19:26-28 (in Context) Genesis 19 (Whole Chapter)
26. Genesis 19:29
So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
Genesis 19:28-30 (in Context) Genesis 19 (Whole Chapter)
27. Genesis 20:1
[ Abraham and Abimelek ] Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar,
Genesis 20:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 20 (Whole Chapter)
28. Genesis 20:2
and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
Genesis 20:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 20 (Whole Chapter)
29. Genesis 20:9
Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.”
Genesis 20:8-10 (in Context) Genesis 20 (Whole Chapter)
30. Genesis 20:10
And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
Genesis 20:9-11 (in Context) Genesis 20 (Whole Chapter)
31. Genesis 20:11
Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’
Genesis 20:10-12 (in Context) Genesis 20 (Whole Chapter)
32. Genesis 20:14
Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him.
Genesis 20:13-15 (in Context) Genesis 20 (Whole Chapter)
33. Genesis 20:17
Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again,
Genesis 20:16-18 (in Context) Genesis 20 (Whole Chapter)
34. Genesis 20:18
for the LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
Genesis 20:17-18 (in Context) Genesis 20 (Whole Chapter)
35. Genesis 21:2
Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.
Genesis 21:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
36. Genesis 21:3
Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.
Genesis 21:2-4 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
37. Genesis 21:4
When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him.
Genesis 21:3-5 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
38. Genesis 21:5
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Genesis 21:4-6 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
39. Genesis 21:7
And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Genesis 21:6-8 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
40. Genesis 21:8
[ Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away ] The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.
Genesis 21:7-9 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
41. Genesis 21:9
But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking,
Genesis 21:8-10 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
42. Genesis 21:10
and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”
Genesis 21:9-11 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
43. Genesis 21:11
The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.
Genesis 21:10-12 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
44. Genesis 21:14
Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.
Genesis 21:13-15 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
45. Genesis 21:22
[ The Treaty at Beersheba ] At that time Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.
Genesis 21:21-23 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
46. Genesis 21:24
Abraham said, “I swear it.”
Genesis 21:23-25 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
47. Genesis 21:25
Then Abraham complained to Abimelek about a well of water that Abimelek’s servants had seized.
Genesis 21:24-26 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
48. Genesis 21:27
So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelek, and the two men made a treaty.
Genesis 21:26-28 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
49. Genesis 21:28
Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock,
Genesis 21:27-29 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
50. Genesis 21:29
and Abimelek asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs you have set apart by themselves?”
Genesis 21:28-30 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
51. Genesis 21:33
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.
Genesis 21:32-34 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
52. Genesis 21:34
And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
Genesis 21:33-34 (in Context) Genesis 21 (Whole Chapter)
53. Genesis 22:1
[ Abraham Tested ] Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
Genesis 22:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
54. Genesis 22:3
Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.
Genesis 22:2-4 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
55. Genesis 22:4
On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
Genesis 22:3-5 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
56. Genesis 22:6
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,
Genesis 22:5-7 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
57. Genesis 22:7
Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Genesis 22:6-8 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
58. Genesis 22:8
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
Genesis 22:7-9 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
59. Genesis 22:9
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
Genesis 22:8-10 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
60. Genesis 22:11
But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.
Genesis 22:10-12 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
61. Genesis 22:13
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Genesis 22:12-14 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
62. Genesis 22:14
So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
Genesis 22:13-15 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
63. Genesis 22:15
The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time
Genesis 22:14-16 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
64. Genesis 22:19
Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
Genesis 22:18-20 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
65. Genesis 22:20
[ Nahor’s Sons ] Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor:
Genesis 22:19-21 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
66. Genesis 22:23
Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor.
Genesis 22:22-24 (in Context) Genesis 22 (Whole Chapter)
67. Genesis 23:2
She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
Genesis 23:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 23 (Whole Chapter)
68. Genesis 23:3
Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said,
Genesis 23:2-4 (in Context) Genesis 23 (Whole Chapter)
69. Genesis 23:5
The Hittites replied to Abraham,
Genesis 23:4-6 (in Context) Genesis 23 (Whole Chapter)
70. Genesis 23:7
Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites.
Genesis 23:6-8 (in Context) Genesis 23 (Whole Chapter)
71. Genesis 23:10
Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city.
Genesis 23:9-11 (in Context) Genesis 23 (Whole Chapter)
72. Genesis 23:12
Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land
Genesis 23:11-13 (in Context) Genesis 23 (Whole Chapter)
73. Genesis 23:14
Ephron answered Abraham,
Genesis 23:13-15 (in Context) Genesis 23 (Whole Chapter)
74. Genesis 23:16
Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
Genesis 23:15-17 (in Context) Genesis 23 (Whole Chapter)
75. Genesis 23:18
to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city.
Genesis 23:17-19 (in Context) Genesis 23 (Whole Chapter)
76. Genesis 23:19
Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
Genesis 23:18-20 (in Context) Genesis 23 (Whole Chapter)
77. Genesis 23:20
So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.
Genesis 23:19-20 (in Context) Genesis 23 (Whole Chapter)
78. Genesis 24:1
[ Isaac and Rebekah ] Abraham was now very old, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.
Genesis 24:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 24 (Whole Chapter)
79. Genesis 24:6
“Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said.
Genesis 24:5-7 (in Context) Genesis 24 (Whole Chapter)
80. Genesis 24:9
So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
Genesis 24:8-10 (in Context) Genesis 24 (Whole Chapter)
81. Genesis 24:12
Then he prayed, “LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
Genesis 24:11-13 (in Context) Genesis 24 (Whole Chapter)
82. Genesis 24:15
Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.
Genesis 24:14-16 (in Context) Genesis 24 (Whole Chapter)
83. Genesis 24:27
saying, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”
Genesis 24:26-28 (in Context) Genesis 24 (Whole Chapter)
84. Genesis 24:34
So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.
Genesis 24:33-35 (in Context) Genesis 24 (Whole Chapter)
85. Genesis 24:42
“When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come.
Genesis 24:41-43 (in Context) Genesis 24 (Whole Chapter)
86. Genesis 24:48
and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.
Genesis 24:47-49 (in Context) Genesis 24 (Whole Chapter)
87. Genesis 24:52
When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD.
Genesis 24:51-53 (in Context) Genesis 24 (Whole Chapter)
88. Genesis 24:59
So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men.
Genesis 24:58-60 (in Context) Genesis 24 (Whole Chapter)
89. Genesis 25:1
[ The Death of Abraham ] Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah.
Genesis 25:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 25 (Whole Chapter)
90. Genesis 25:5
Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.
Genesis 25:4-6 (in Context) Genesis 25 (Whole Chapter)
91. Genesis 25:7
Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.
Genesis 25:6-8 (in Context) Genesis 25 (Whole Chapter)
92. Genesis 25:8
Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.
Genesis 25:7-9 (in Context) Genesis 25 (Whole Chapter)
93. Genesis 25:10
the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah.
Genesis 25:9-11 (in Context) Genesis 25 (Whole Chapter)
94. Genesis 25:11
After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.
Genesis 25:10-12 (in Context) Genesis 25 (Whole Chapter)
95. Genesis 25:12
[ Ishmael’s Sons ] This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.
Genesis 25:11-13 (in Context) Genesis 25 (Whole Chapter)
96. Genesis 25:19
[ Jacob and Esau ] This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Genesis 25:18-20 (in Context) Genesis 25 (Whole Chapter)
97. Genesis 26:1
[ Isaac and Abimelek ] Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar.
Genesis 26:1-3 (in Context) Genesis 26 (Whole Chapter)
98. Genesis 26:3
Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.
Genesis 26:2-4 (in Context) Genesis 26 (Whole Chapter)
99. Genesis 26:5
because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.”
Genesis 26:4-6 (in Context) Genesis 26 (Whole Chapter)
100. Genesis 26:15
So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
Genesis 26:14-16 (in Context) Genesis 26 (Whole Chapter)
101. Genesis 26:18
Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
Genesis 26:17-19 (in Context) Genesis 26 (Whole Chapter)
102. Genesis 26:24
That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
Genesis 26:23-25 (in Context) Genesis 26 (Whole Chapter)
103. Genesis 28:4
May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
Genesis 28:3-5 (in Context) Genesis 28 (Whole Chapter)
104. Genesis 28:9
so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.
Genesis 28:8-10 (in Context) Genesis 28 (Whole Chapter)
105. Genesis 28:13
There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.
Genesis 28:12-14 (in Context) Genesis 28 (Whole Chapter)
106. Genesis 31:42
If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.”
Genesis 31:41-43 (in Context) Genesis 31 (Whole Chapter)
107. Genesis 31:53
May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac.
Genesis 31:52-54 (in Context) Genesis 31 (Whole Chapter)
108. Genesis 32:9
Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, LORD, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’
Genesis 32:8-10 (in Context) Genesis 32 (Whole Chapter)
109. Genesis 35:12
The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”
Genesis 35:11-13 (in Context) Genesis 35 (Whole Chapter)
110. Genesis 35:27
Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
Genesis 35:26-28 (in Context) Genesis 35 (Whole Chapter)
111. Genesis 48:15
Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
Genesis 48:14-16 (in Context) Genesis 48 (Whole Chapter)
112. Genesis 48:16
the Angel who has delivered me from all harm —may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.”
Genesis 48:15-17 (in Context) Genesis 48 (Whole Chapter)
113. Genesis 49:30
the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.
Genesis 49:29-31 (in Context) Genesis 49 (Whole Chapter)
114. Genesis 49:31
There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.
Genesis 49:30-32 (in Context) Genesis 49 (Whole Chapter)
115. Genesis 50:13
They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.
Genesis 50:12-14 (in Context) Genesis 50 (Whole Chapter)
116. Genesis 50:24
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Genesis 50:23-25 (in Context) Genesis 50 (Whole Chapter)
117. Exodus 2:24
God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.
Exodus 2:23-25 (in Context) Exodus 2 (Whole Chapter)
118. Exodus 3:6
Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
Exodus 3:5-7 (in Context) Exodus 3 (Whole Chapter)
119. Exodus 3:15
God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.
Exodus 3:14-16 (in Context) Exodus 3 (Whole Chapter)
120. Exodus 3:16
“Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.
Exodus 3:15-17 (in Context) Exodus 3 (Whole Chapter)
121. Exodus 4:5
“This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
Exodus 4:4-6 (in Context) Exodus 4 (Whole Chapter)
122. Exodus 6:3
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself fully known to them.
Exodus 6:2-4 (in Context) Exodus 6 (Whole Chapter)
123. Exodus 6:8
And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.’”
Exodus 6:7-9 (in Context) Exodus 6 (Whole Chapter)
124. Exodus 32:13
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’”
Exodus 32:12-14 (in Context) Exodus 32 (Whole Chapter)
125. Exodus 33:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’
Exodus 33:1-3 (in Context) Exodus 33 (Whole Chapter)
126. Leviticus 26:42
I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.
Leviticus 26:41-43 (in Context) Leviticus 26 (Whole Chapter)
127. Numbers 32:11
‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more when they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—
Numbers 32:10-12 (in Context) Numbers 32 (Whole Chapter)
128. Deuteronomy 1:8
See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the LORD swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”
Deuteronomy 1:7-9 (in Context) Deuteronomy 1 (Whole Chapter)
129. Deuteronomy 6:10
When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build,
Deuteronomy 6:9-11 (in Context) Deuteronomy 6 (Whole Chapter)
130. Deuteronomy 9:5
It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 9:4-6 (in Context) Deuteronomy 9 (Whole Chapter)
131. Deuteronomy 9:27
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin.
Deuteronomy 9:26-28 (in Context) Deuteronomy 9 (Whole Chapter)
132. Deuteronomy 29:13
to confirm you this day as his people, that he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 29:12-14 (in Context) Deuteronomy 29 (Whole Chapter)
133. Deuteronomy 30:20
and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (in Context) Deuteronomy 30 (Whole Chapter)
134. Deuteronomy 34:4
Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”
Deuteronomy 34:3-5 (in Context) Deuteronomy 34 (Whole Chapter)
135. Joshua 24:2
Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.
Joshua 24:1-3 (in Context) Joshua 24 (Whole Chapter)
136. Joshua 24:3
But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac,
Joshua 24:2-4 (in Context) Joshua 24 (Whole Chapter)
137. 1 Kings 18:36
At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
1 Kings 18:35-37 (in Context) 1 Kings 18 (Whole Chapter)
138. 2 Kings 13:23
But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy them or banish them from his presence.
2 Kings 13:22-24 (in Context) 2 Kings 13 (Whole Chapter)
139. 1 Chronicles 1:1
[ Historical Records From Adam to Abraham ] To Noah’s Sons Adam, Seth, Enosh,
1 Chronicles 1:1-3 (in Context) 1 Chronicles 1 (Whole Chapter)
140. 1 Chronicles 1:27
and Abram (that is, Abraham).
1 Chronicles 1:26-28 (in Context) 1 Chronicles 1 (Whole Chapter)
141. 1 Chronicles 1:28
[ The Family of Abraham ] The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.
1 Chronicles 1:27-29 (in Context) 1 Chronicles 1 (Whole Chapter)
142. 1 Chronicles 1:32
Descendants of Keturah The sons born to Keturah, Abraham’s concubine: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.
1 Chronicles 1:31-33 (in Context) 1 Chronicles 1 (Whole Chapter)
143. 1 Chronicles 1:34
Descendants of Sarah Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.
1 Chronicles 1:33-35 (in Context) 1 Chronicles 1 (Whole Chapter)
144. 1 Chronicles 16:16
the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
1 Chronicles 16:15-17 (in Context) 1 Chronicles 16 (Whole Chapter)
145. 1 Chronicles 29:18
LORD, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
1 Chronicles 29:17-19 (in Context) 1 Chronicles 29 (Whole Chapter)
146. 2 Chronicles 20:7
Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?
2 Chronicles 20:6-8 (in Context) 2 Chronicles 20 (Whole Chapter)
147. 2 Chronicles 30:6
At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read: “People of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria.
2 Chronicles 30:5-7 (in Context) 2 Chronicles 30 (Whole Chapter)
148. Nehemiah 9:7
“You are the LORD God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham.
Nehemiah 9:6-8 (in Context) Nehemiah 9 (Whole Chapter)
149. Psalm 47:9
The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.
Psalm 47:8-9 (in Context) Psalm 47 (Whole Chapter)
150. Psalm 105:6
you his servants, the descendants of Abraham, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.
Psalm 105:5-7 (in Context) Psalm 105 (Whole Chapter)
151. Psalm 105:9
the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
Psalm 105:8-10 (in Context) Psalm 105 (Whole Chapter)
152. Psalm 105:42
For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham.
Psalm 105:41-43 (in Context) Psalm 105 (Whole Chapter)
153. Isaiah 29:22
Therefore this is what the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says to the descendants of Jacob: “No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will their faces grow pale.
Isaiah 29:21-23 (in Context) Isaiah 29 (Whole Chapter)
154. Isaiah 41:8
“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend,
Isaiah 41:7-9 (in Context) Isaiah 41 (Whole Chapter)
155. Isaiah 51:2
look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many.
Isaiah 51:1-3 (in Context) Isaiah 51 (Whole Chapter)
156. Isaiah 63:16
But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.
Isaiah 63:15-17 (in Context) Isaiah 63 (Whole Chapter)
157. Jeremiah 33:26
then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.’”
Jeremiah 33:25-26 (in Context) Jeremiah 33 (Whole Chapter)
158. Ezekiel 33:24
“Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession.’
Ezekiel 33:23-25 (in Context) Ezekiel 33 (Whole Chapter)
159. Micah 7:20
You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago.
Micah 7:19-20 (in Context) Micah 7 (Whole Chapter)
160. Matthew 1:1
[ The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah ] This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Matthew 1:1-3 (in Context) Matthew 1 (Whole Chapter)
161. Matthew 1:2
Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Matthew 1:1-3 (in Context) Matthew 1 (Whole Chapter)
162. Matthew 1:17
Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
Matthew 1:16-18 (in Context) Matthew 1 (Whole Chapter)
163. Matthew 3:9
And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
Matthew 3:8-10 (in Context) Matthew 3 (Whole Chapter)
164. Matthew 8:11
I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 8:10-12 (in Context) Matthew 8 (Whole Chapter)
165. Matthew 22:32
‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
Matthew 22:31-33 (in Context) Matthew 22 (Whole Chapter)
166. Mark 12:26
Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ?
Mark 12:25-27 (in Context) Mark 12 (Whole Chapter)
167. Luke 1:55
to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
Luke 1:54-56 (in Context) Luke 1 (Whole Chapter)
168. Luke 1:73
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
Luke 1:72-74 (in Context) Luke 1 (Whole Chapter)
169. Luke 3:8
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
Luke 3:7-9 (in Context) Luke 3 (Whole Chapter)
170. Luke 3:34
the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
Luke 3:33-35 (in Context) Luke 3 (Whole Chapter)
171. Luke 13:16
Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
Luke 13:15-17 (in Context) Luke 13 (Whole Chapter)
172. Luke 13:28
“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.
Luke 13:27-29 (in Context) Luke 13 (Whole Chapter)
173. Luke 16:22
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
Luke 16:21-23 (in Context) Luke 16 (Whole Chapter)
174. Luke 16:23
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
Luke 16:22-24 (in Context) Luke 16 (Whole Chapter)
175. Luke 16:24
So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
Luke 16:23-25 (in Context) Luke 16 (Whole Chapter)
176. Luke 16:25
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
Luke 16:24-26 (in Context) Luke 16 (Whole Chapter)
177. Luke 16:29
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
Luke 16:28-30 (in Context) Luke 16 (Whole Chapter)
178. Luke 16:30
“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Luke 16:29-31 (in Context) Luke 16 (Whole Chapter)
179. Luke 19:9
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
Luke 19:8-10 (in Context) Luke 19 (Whole Chapter)
180. Luke 20:37
But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
Luke 20:36-38 (in Context) Luke 20 (Whole Chapter)
181. John 8:33
They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
John 8:32-34 (in Context) John 8 (Whole Chapter)
182. John 8:37
I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word.
John 8:36-38 (in Context) John 8 (Whole Chapter)
183. John 8:39
“Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did.
John 8:38-40 (in Context) John 8 (Whole Chapter)
184. John 8:40
As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.
John 8:39-41 (in Context) John 8 (Whole Chapter)
185. John 8:52
At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death.
John 8:51-53 (in Context) John 8 (Whole Chapter)
186. John 8:53
Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
John 8:52-54 (in Context) John 8 (Whole Chapter)
187. John 8:56
Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
John 8:55-57 (in Context) John 8 (Whole Chapter)
188. John 8:57
“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
John 8:56-58 (in Context) John 8 (Whole Chapter)
189. John 8:58
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
John 8:57-59 (in Context) John 8 (Whole Chapter)
190. Acts 3:13
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
Acts 3:12-14 (in Context) Acts 3 (Whole Chapter)
191. Acts 3:25
And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’
Acts 3:24-26 (in Context) Acts 3 (Whole Chapter)
192. Acts 7:2
To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran.
Acts 7:1-3 (in Context) Acts 7 (Whole Chapter)
193. Acts 7:5
He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.
Acts 7:4-6 (in Context) Acts 7 (Whole Chapter)
194. Acts 7:8
Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
Acts 7:7-9 (in Context) Acts 7 (Whole Chapter)
195. Acts 7:16
Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.
Acts 7:15-17 (in Context) Acts 7 (Whole Chapter)
196. Acts 7:17
“As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased.
Acts 7:16-18 (in Context) Acts 7 (Whole Chapter)
197. Acts 7:32
‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
Acts 7:31-33 (in Context) Acts 7 (Whole Chapter)
198. Acts 13:26
“Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.
Acts 13:25-27 (in Context) Acts 13 (Whole Chapter)
199. Romans 4:1
[ Abraham Justified by Faith ] What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter?
Romans 4:1-3 (in Context) Romans 4 (Whole Chapter)
200. Romans 4:2
If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.
Romans 4:1-3 (in Context) Romans 4 (Whole Chapter)
201. Romans 4:3
What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Romans 4:2-4 (in Context) Romans 4 (Whole Chapter)
202. Romans 4:9
Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.
Romans 4:8-10 (in Context) Romans 4 (Whole Chapter)
203. Romans 4:12
And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Romans 4:11-13 (in Context) Romans 4 (Whole Chapter)
204. Romans 4:13
It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
Romans 4:12-14 (in Context) Romans 4 (Whole Chapter)
205. Romans 4:16
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
Romans 4:15-17 (in Context) Romans 4 (Whole Chapter)
206. Romans 4:18
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Romans 4:17-19 (in Context) Romans 4 (Whole Chapter)
207. Romans 9:7
Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
Romans 9:6-8 (in Context) Romans 9 (Whole Chapter)
208. Romans 9:8
In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
Romans 9:7-9 (in Context) Romans 9 (Whole Chapter)
209. Romans 11:1
[ The Remnant of Israel ] I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
Romans 11:1-3 (in Context) Romans 11 (Whole Chapter)
210. 2 Corinthians 11:22
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I.
2 Corinthians 11:21-23 (in Context) 2 Corinthians 11 (Whole Chapter)
211. Galatians 3:6
So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Galatians 3:5-7 (in Context) Galatians 3 (Whole Chapter)
212. Galatians 3:7
Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham.
Galatians 3:6-8 (in Context) Galatians 3 (Whole Chapter)
213. Galatians 3:8
Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
Galatians 3:7-9 (in Context) Galatians 3 (Whole Chapter)
214. Galatians 3:9
So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Galatians 3:8-10 (in Context) Galatians 3 (Whole Chapter)
215. Galatians 3:14
He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Galatians 3:13-15 (in Context) Galatians 3 (Whole Chapter)
216. Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.
Galatians 3:15-17 (in Context) Galatians 3 (Whole Chapter)
217. Galatians 3:18
For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
Galatians 3:17-19 (in Context) Galatians 3 (Whole Chapter)
218. Galatians 3:29
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:28-29 (in Context) Galatians 3 (Whole Chapter)
219. Galatians 4:22
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
Galatians 4:21-23 (in Context) Galatians 4 (Whole Chapter)
220. Hebrews 2:16
For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.
Hebrews 2:15-17 (in Context) Hebrews 2 (Whole Chapter)
221. Hebrews 6:13
[ The Certainty of God’s Promise ] When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,
Hebrews 6:12-14 (in Context) Hebrews 6 (Whole Chapter)
222. Hebrews 6:15
And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
Hebrews 6:14-16 (in Context) Hebrews 6 (Whole Chapter)
223. Hebrews 7:1
[ Melchizedek the Priest ] This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him,
Hebrews 7:1-3 (in Context) Hebrews 7 (Whole Chapter)
224. Hebrews 7:2
and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”
Hebrews 7:1-3 (in Context) Hebrews 7 (Whole Chapter)
225. Hebrews 7:4
Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!
Hebrews 7:3-5 (in Context) Hebrews 7 (Whole Chapter)
226. Hebrews 7:5
Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham.
Hebrews 7:4-6 (in Context) Hebrews 7 (Whole Chapter)
227. Hebrews 7:6
This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
Hebrews 7:5-7 (in Context) Hebrews 7 (Whole Chapter)
228. Hebrews 7:9
One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham,
Hebrews 7:8-10 (in Context) Hebrews 7 (Whole Chapter)
229. Hebrews 7:10
because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.
Hebrews 7:9-11 (in Context) Hebrews 7 (Whole Chapter)
230. Hebrews 11:8
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Hebrews 11:7-9 (in Context) Hebrews 11 (Whole Chapter)
231. Hebrews 11:17
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,
Hebrews 11:16-18 (in Context) Hebrews 11 (Whole Chapter)
232. Hebrews 11:19
Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
Hebrews 11:18-20 (in Context) Hebrews 11 (Whole Chapter)
233. James 2:21
Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
James 2:20-22 (in Context) James 2 (Whole Chapter)
234. James 2:23
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
James 2:22-24 (in Context) James 2 (Whole Chapter)
235. 1 Peter 3:6
like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
1 Peter 3:5-7 (in Context) 1 Peter 3 (Whole Chapter)

We are covering a total of 24 stories over this year that fall into those 7 acts. Tonight’s story of Noah is our fourth story overall (here is the first, second and third) and our third story that falls into Act 2: Disruption.

Intro:
Among other things I brought up the question “Why do you hear people say, don’t just open the bible randomly and read?” If it is all “God-breathed and usefull…for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) then shouldn’t we be able to just open it wherever and get something out of it?

I brought up that the scriptures are true as one large story in which everything is connected (64,000 cross-references by some accounts) by what comes before and after as opposed to a dictionary that you open to one spot about one thing. So our desire in Storying this year at Ecclesia is to give our community a framework to understand where they are in the story when they open up Proverbs, versus when they open up Matthew. It will hopefully help people know why at one time in history animal sacrifices made complete sense but currently it is of no worth.

REVIEW previous stories

I brought up the IKON for the previous story of Cain and Abel (I skipped over Creation and Disruption for this week other than showing the pictures) and asked people for a recap of the story. Becky gave a great 1 minute summary of the story as she was volunteered by Erica to share. I asked them what Abel and Jesus had in common. I then asked what was different about the blood of Jesus vs. the blood of Abel?

PREPARE for imaginative listening
Being that this is our 4th week I asked our group if they could define “imaginative listening”. I asked them if they could remember the Hebrew word for remember and the connotations it carried with it. No one could remember. Not surprising unless someone was taking notes. The word for remember in Hebrew is pronounced Zah-khor = placement in a story.
But before we did that I showed a clip of Bill Cosby who gives an example of hearing the story and then creatively imagining themselves in that position:

READ the story
I then read the story. You can find my source material for the story here.

RETELL the story
Last week for the Cain and Abel story we didn’t have the correct props to pull off a crowd reenactment. Instead, we used the bricktestament to help with the retelling that went really well. However, this week Erica Nestle came through like a champ and came up with a few props. I’ll update this post in a few days with some pics of the props.
I also forgot to tell the group to share one item at a time. They tend to do rapid fire recaps of the story which at times leads to a slopping retelling.

I found this story was a little difficult to retell because of all the details. The Creation story was the most difficult overall so far. Both the Garden of Eden story and Cain and Abel story had very easy retellings. I’m not sure if that means that the stories need to be adjusted to be more memorable or whether it would have been better to have no props to distract us from telling story correctly.

IKON the story
I then brought up an image that would represent this weeks story. This will come into play our following session when we recap what has previously occurred. The picture is pretty self explanatory.

DIALOGUE the story
From here we went to retell the story. I reminded the group of a few ground rules and because we were in a rush timewise I didn’t elaborate too much.
1) No fast forwarding. Let’s focus on this story and what comes before it and this story without jumping ahead.
2) Use this story alone. We all need to be on equal ground for this discussion. We do this not to neglect our bibles or bible commentary notes but we hope that this conversations works as a diving board to jump into the scriptures and to not get caught up too much in technicalities.

My overall feeling is that our dialogue time was a “D”. Which is down a “B” last week. I need to process it a bit. It didn’t feel like we actually had discussion time beyond making obvious observations. Last week with the Cain and Abel story I thought we had deeper thoughts. I’ll take the blame for this one as I’ll need to think through the questions I ask.

FORWARD the story
At this point I address how all of these stories are just a shadow of Jesus.

You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.-Jesus, John 5:39

I mentioned that the state of humanity is that we don’t want to let Jesus finish the story. We want to take the first part and complete it ourselves but the story is truest when it is finished and fulfilled in Jesus.

I compared the similarities of Noah and Jesus:

Noah’s rest was refuge from the flood in the ark. Jesus offers rest to those who take on his way of living (yoke) in a world of chaos. Jesus shows us how to live again in harmony with God. Eternal life doesn’t begin when you die but it is something Jesus offers right now that not even death can stop.

Both Noah and Jesus found themselves in a world devastated by corruption and were chosen to provide redemption for those who are broken. Election, in the bible is often taught as God choosing some to the exclusion of others. However, I believe that we will notice a theme that those who are “elect” or “predestined” are called to embrace and love the world around them. Ben Witherington III has an amazing book on this. I’ll have to post some thoughts.

It would be the accomplishment of Noah that would save the people of his day and it would be the accomplishment of Jesus that would save the people of his day and for forever. It wasn’t that Noah or Jesus were a crutch for people who can’t do it on their own. Rather, they were the focal point of God’s saving history.

Noah for all his years of work could only save his blood relatives. We don’t know exactly why only his family got on the ark but it was all Noah could accomplish. Jesus by his blood created relatives (children of God) from every tribe, language and nation. Jesus’ work is much more powerful than Noah’s work.

Noah provided a sweet smelling sacrifice on the altar when he got off the ark. After the sacrifice was made God made a covenant with Noah. Jesus didn’t offer a sacrifice on the altar instead he was the sacrifice on the altar and his death was described as a sweet smelling.

God made an everlasting covenant to never flood the earth and with Jesus made a greater covenant through his blood. Noah’s covenant spares us from a physical kind of destruction while the death of Jesus spares us from an eternal kind of destruction.

Lastly, I closed with sharing how both Noah and Jesus help us to understand a “God of wrath” by quoting Becky Pippert. Here are a few of the quote/blurbs:
“I can’t believe in a God who sends people to suffer eternally. What kind of loving God is filled with wrath?”

“People ask, ‘What kind of loving God is filled with wrath?’ But any loving person is often filled with wrath.

‘Think how we feel when we see someone we love ravaged by unwise actions or relationships. Do we respond with benign tolerance as we might toward strangers? Far from it…. Anger isn’t the opposite of love. Hate is, and the final form of hate is indifference.’

“Pippert then quotes E. H. Gifford, ‘Human love here offers a true analogy: the more a father loves his son, the more he hates in him the drunkard, the liar, the traitor.’

“She concludes: ‘If I, a flawed narcissistic sinful woman, can feel this much pain and anger over someone’s condition, how much more a morally perfect God who made them? God’s wrath is not a cranky explosion, but his settled opposition to the cancer of sin which is eating out the insides of the human race he loves with his whole being.’ ”

Now…
You may say, I would do things differently if I were God…but you aren’t…and you can’t make a sweeping general statement like a God of Wrath is by definition unfair or unloving…the stories of Noah and Jesus don’t allow for that.

The Cross is how God can save his creation from the cancer that is wrecking it without destroying the creation that he loves. Jesus’ work on the cross is how God can destroy evil without destroying us…God says I hate evil…I hate what is destroying you…I will take on the wrath that you can’t handle…

At Ecclesia we are going to focus on the heart of the story trusting that this is part of the scripture that “is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God can be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”-2 Timothy 3:16-17

But it raises questions of genre and questions of how did the original audience receive it and what did the author intend? It raises practical questions of what did the animals on the ark eat during this time? How specific were the animals that were brought onto the ark. Instead of every variety of cat at the time would it have just been one kind of cat? Again, did Noah keep them separate from the dogs and mice?

I could think of a hundred questions and there is no way that we can touch on them all or even a minority of them on Sunday and still keep to the heart of the story.

So below are a list of links that address the story:
-Some are meant to be funny and make you laugh. Although this was ultimately an extremely tragic event there are moments and points of view that can make the story humorous.
-Some are meant to help you understand the world view of those who would have first heard this story.
-Some raise questions about the genre of Genesis 6. We read poetry different than we read a history book.
-Some raise skeptical questions. Please don’t be offended but people say and think these things about those who believe in this book and this story specifically. It is a good exercise to listen with humility to the questions and critique of others and think through how we might respond with “gentleness and respect”.

Noah’s Blog: A look at what Noah may have blogged had he had wi-fi on the ark
http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/noahs-blog

Here are a few thoughts on how the story of Noah’s ark would have related to its current world:
http://derek4messiah.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/the-noah-story-and-mesopotamian-myth-pt-1/
http://derek4messiah.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/the-noah-story-and-mesopotamian-myth-pt-2/

http://derek4messiah.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/noah-in-context-meaning-and-purpose/
http://biologos.org/blog/gilgamesh-atrahasis-and-the-flood/
http://biologos.org/blog/gilgamesh-atrahasis-and-the-flood-part-2/
http://biologos.org/blog/gilgamesh-atrahasis-and-the-flood-part-3/

Other musings on the story:
http://pastorkes.blogspot.com/2010/09/good-news-of-great-flood.html

Bill Cosby on the Noah story:

Get your Noah tie here. Only 24.95:
http://christiannightmares.tumblr.com/post/288623164/the-noahs-ark-silk-christian-tie-price-24-99

Bible Fight Game. Pit Noah against some of the biblical greats:
http://games.adultswim.com/bible-fight-action-online-game.html

Ricky Gervais: The language is definitely not safe for work or children. You may be offended as you hear Ricky say some of these things (I don’t think he minds offending people). But this is the world we live in. What does it look like to be salt and light. To hear voices in our culture even negative critique and think of how you might respond. Try to think through how you might answer some of these questions. What misperceptions might you need to clear up? What would you do if a friend showed you this video and thought it was hilarious. Would you scowl at them and feel persecuted or would you be able to offer a perspective the video didn’t?

Day 1
Rain.

Day 2
Rain.

Day 3
Rain.

Day 4
Rain.

Day 5
Rain.

Day 6
So I was loading up the last of the animals last week when I walk past my neighbor Roger, the Molech-worshipper. He looks up and says “Hey, looks like rain.”

True story.

Day 7
Now wondering if it was wrong to have borrowed Roger’s hedge clippers.

Day 15
It’s been the same every day for the last two weeks, but then last night, our mama elephant gave birth. I’ll put up some pics soon.

Day 16
Baby Elephant
Just look at this little guy. We need to name him something. Anybody have an idea?

Day 18
Note to self: next time I’m on a long cruise and I want to play badminton and I only have one birdie, play below deck. I’m so stupid.

Day 20
I hesitate to write this down, but here goes. . . .

I was working late last night when I felt something bite the back of my neck. Without thinking, I slapped it. Long story short, the new world might have to do without the zhingi-zhingi fly.

Day 25
New Year’s Day. A few resolutions for this year:

- Lose weight (let’s face it, I’m not 300 years old anymore)

- Work out more

- Read the entire Bible (there’s only four chapters in the whole thing, you think I would have done this one already)

-After we land, once a week: date night with the missus.

Day 27
Not to diss my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather, but I’ve been hanging out with animals a lot, too, and I think I would have named some of them differently…

ADAM’S NAME MY VERSION
Rabbit Hoppity-hoppity

Dog Rowrf

Bat EEEEEEEEEE!!!

Duck Waddle-waddle-flap-flap

Day 31
You guys read this blog. You know I love my wife, right? But I swear, sometimes she just gets on my nerves.

“The roof is leaking, Noah.”

“Noah, the sheep are soaking wet because the roof is leaking.”

You know what? Sometimes Noah just needs a little Noah Time, okay?

Day 35
Here’s an item from the “you-learn-something-every-day” category: Hippo lovemaking is very, very noisy. Haven’t slept in five days.

P.S. I counted every knot in the cypress wood of the ship: 12,946.

Day 39
Uno Cards
Somehow Ham keeps winning at UNO. Does he have a secret stash of Draw 4’s?

Correction: Earlier I wrote that the wood of our ship has 12,946 knots. However, I forgot to include the cover on the top deck. I included that, then recounted the entire thing three more times, just to be sure.

We have 14,598 knots.

Day 45
Okay, so when God said he would make it rain forty days and forty nights, I assumed that we would be done after that. Apparently I was wrong.

Day 87
Very, very wrong.

Day 110
The wife says I’m getting paranoid, but I believe the primates are conspiring to mutiny. Can’t talk, more later.

Day 150
We’ve landed on top of some kind of mountain. More later.

Day 190
Sent out a dove, but it came back.

Day 197
Noah Dove
This time, the dove came back with an olive branch. Going now to ask the wife if she has any recipes with doves and olives.

Day 204
Sent the dove out again today to bring back some more olives for dinner, but it didn’t come back. So good news is we may be off the boat and onto dry land soon. Bad news: Mrs. Noah’s Greek Dove Souffle is a no-go.

Day 231
So we’re on land now. Yay! Big thanks to everybody who wrote to check on us. BTW, my new e-mail address is noah@mtararat.com [1]. I’ll still post from time to time, to keep you guys up to date. To answer a question that so many of you have asked, no, I don’t have a MySpace page yet.

Man, I could really use a drink.

Cush’s Essay
Here’s something my grandson Cush wrote for a school assignment. . . .

MY DAD
by Cush, age 7

My dad, his first name is Ham, was on a big boat one time. They floated around for more than a year. That’s a long time!! They said when they got off the boat, the ground was really squishy. YUCK! We still have the boat and I play in it sometimes and have lots of fun.

The eNd.

Noah’s Favorite Drinks

Drowned Unicorn
Cranberry juice 1 pim
Orange juice 1 pim
Strawberry schnapps 1 pim
Vodka 1 pim

Add the vodka and strawberry schnapps to a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Use equal parts of cranberry and orange juice to fill the glass. Serve with a straw.

Mt. Ararat Iced Tea
Tequila 1 shekel
Vodka 1 shekel
Gin 1 shekel
Triple sec 1 shekel
Coke 1 shekel
Rum 1 shekel

Mix ingredients together over ice in a glass.

Rainbow Shooter
Creme De Noya 1 pim
Midori 1 pim
White Creme De Cacao 1 pim

Pour into shot glass in said order

We are covering a total of 24 stories over this year that fall into those 7 acts. Tonight’s story of Cain and Abel is our third story overall (here is the first and here is the second) and our second story that falls into Act 2: Disruption.

Intro:
I brought up the scene in Luke 24 where the resurrected Christ encounters the disciples on the road to Emmaus he hides his identity (he pulls the ultimate Clark Kent) from them and later in that chapter he appears to his original disciples and in both cases he argues that all of the scriptures were pointing to him. The “true north” of the scriptures is pointing to the death and resurrection of Jesus:

Luke 24
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

So we read the stories of the Hebrew bible to help us understand the crucified and risen Jesus.

REVIEW previous stories

I brought up the IKON for the previous story of Creation and Disruption and asked for people for a recap of the story. The summary of details was pretty poor. We had some crying babies in the room and it was a bit distracting for me and us I think. I do need to think through how I can best make the use of this time to help us get a framework for where we are at in the story.

PREPARE for imaginative listening
Being that this is our 3rd week I asked our group if they could define “imaginative listening”. I got the feedback that it is finding your place in the story. I also added that the Hebrew word for remember “zah-khor” has to do not just with mental recognition but placement. When the Israelites are going into the promised land God tells them that they are to care for the widow, orphan, alien and poor by “remembering” that they were slaves in Egypt and God redeemed them. Their past was to inform their present.

READ the story
I then read the story. You can find my source material for the story here.

RETELL the story

We then did a group retelling. I couldn’t quite come up with props like a shepherd’s staff or pitchfork or stuffed animals last minute so I decided that I would get flannel graph from the kid’s ministry room at St. John’s. They didn’t quite have the full Cain and Abel set so I went with a third alternative. As the group retold the story I posted images from the Brick Testament that went along with the story they told.

IKON the story
I then brought up an image that would represent this weeks story. This will come into play our following session when we recap what has previously occurred. The staff represents the brother Abel and the pitchfork represents the other brother Cain.

DIALOGUE the story
From here we went to retell the story. I laid down a few ground rules.
1) No fast forwarding. N.T. Wright says that our familiarity with a story breeds an unfamiliarity with what actually occured. We are often is such a rush to move forward that we fail to appreciate what is before our eyes.
2) Use this story alone. We all need to be on equal ground for this discussion. We do this not to neglect our bibles or bible commentary notes but we hope that this conversations works as a diving board to jump into the scriptures and to not get caught up too much in technicalities.

My overall feeling is that our dialogue time was a “B”. Which is up from a “C”. One of the things I did for this week was increase the lighting in the room. Last time we had the stage lit up where I am and the crowd dark. This time I evened the lights so we all had the stage together.
I did a little preemptive thinking in regards to the questions I was using and throwing in my two cents ahead of time going into the meeting.

FORWARD the story
At this point I address how all of these stories are just a shadow of Jesus.
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.-Jesus, John 5:39

The religious elite were guilty of bibleolatry. The worship of the idea of the scriptures and not the one they were pointing to. Have you even met someone who knows a lot of the bible but seems to have a cold heart. Chances are they suffer from bibleolatry.

Hebrews 12
22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

The blood of Jesus “speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

Both Jesus and Abel had similarities: They were murdered/their murderer was someone close to them (brother and brothers of the same faith)/practicers of of faith with a good heart murdered (or handed over to be murdered) by those whose worship was empty.

Abel’s blood cried out for justice, vengeance, exclusion and a distinct identity as guilty.
Jesus’ blood cried out for embrace, forgiveness and a mark of innocence: “Father forgive them they know not what they do.”-Luke 22:36

“The blood of Abel was not voiceless, and the blood of Jesus was not dumb—it cried so as to be heard amid the
thrones of Heaven, and blessed be God—it spoke for us and not against us! It spoke not worse things, as it might well have done, but better things than that of Abel. It did not demand fiercer vengeance than that which fell upon Cain. It did not ask that we might be driven vagabonds and fugitives upon the face of the earth, and to be at last banished from God into Hell forever, but it cried, “Father, forgive them”! And it prevailed, and the curse was taken away! And a blessing came to the sons of men.”-Charles Spurgeon

The blood of Abel was the blood of the first death of all death’s to come. The blood of Jesus was the blood involved in the death of the one who would destroy death.

“Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Eph. 2:12-13

I then touched on the fact that in the original creation story the earth is in chaos and described as a barren wilderness:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep…-Genesis 1:1-2

God brings beauty and order out of the chaos and barrenness through his word spoke:
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.-Genesis 1:3

I then pointed out that the same God who brought order out of the chaos of creation with his words wants to bring order out of the chaos in our lives through the word of Christ:
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.-2 Corinthians 4:6

In our Huddles we focus primarily on two questions: What is God saying to me? What am I going to do about it?

The lesser word of Abel’s blood leads to despair and pride. Shame and hiding over our mistakes and judgmental attitudes towards those who fail where we do well. We don’t know forgiveness so we can’t offer it to others.

What is God saying to me? Maybe the simple answer is “A better word.”
What am I going to do about it? Choose hope and humility.

The better word of Jesus leads us to hope and humility. When others trash talk us or we don’t measure up to family or work expectations maybe we simply claim “a better word.” When I go to talk about others to I speak the lesser word of the blood of Abel as my filter or do we choose to speak “a better word” about them.

Lastly, it means we go:
And they sang a new song, saying:    “You are worthy to take the scroll    and to open its seals, because you were slain,    and with your blood you purchased for God    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. –Revelation 5:9

It is our job and our call to take the “better word” of the blood of Jesus to whoever has never heard it.

Sermon – The History of Redemption from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

This is a sermon that is purely scripture woven together with 47 different passages of scripture. There is a book available that has an artists depiction for each passage:

You can buy a copy here. And while you are at it buy me one too!