(presented by: Naomi Blankenship)
The Lord came to Abram in a vision saying, “Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.” Abram asked the Lord GOD what he would give him, seeing he had no children. Abram said, “Behold to me thou hast given no seed; and lo, one born in my house is mine heir”, speaking of his steward Eliezer of Damascus.
The Word of the Lord GOD came unto him saying, “This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.” GOD said, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them”: and he said unto him, “So shall thy seed be.” And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, “I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” Abram said, “Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” And GOD said to Abram, “Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And He took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
When the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, “know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward they shall come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”
It came to pass that when the sun went down, and it was dark, that a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.”
Abram’s wife Sarai was barren and had given him no children. Sarai had an Egyptian handmaid, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, “Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing; I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her.” And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
Sarai took Hagar, her handmaid, and gave her to Abram, her husband, to wife. Abram went in unto Hagar, and she conceived. When Hagar saw that she had conceived, Sarai, her mistress, became despised in her eyes.
Seeing that she was despised by Hagar, Sarai spoke to Abram, and Abram told her to do as she would to Hagar. Sarai dealt hard with Hagar and Hagar fled from the camp.
The angel of the Lord found Hagar by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way of Shur. The angel told Hagar to return to Sarai and submit herself into Sarai’s hands. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, “Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
Hagar bear Abram a son, and he called him Ishmael. Abram was eighty six years old when Ishmael was born.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared unto him. “I am the Almighty GOD; walk before me and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. Abram fell on his face and GOD talked with him, saying, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called, Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their GOD.” And GOD said unto Abraham, “Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.”
GOD made the covenant of circumcision with Abraham. GOD told Abraham that his wife Sarai would no longer be called Sarai, but her name would be Sarah. God said, “And I will bless her and give thee a son also of her: and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
Then, Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old; and shall Sarah that is ninety years old bear?” And Abraham said unto GOD, “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” And GOD said, “Sarah, thy wife, shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
GOD went up from Abraham. And Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house and circumcised the flesh of his foreskin. Abraham was ninety-nine when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. His son Ishmael was thirteen when he was circumcised.
The Lord appeared unto Abraham in the plains of Mamre: as he sat at the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lifted up his eyes and three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground. And said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that yea shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant.” And they said, “So do as thou hast said.”
Abraham told Sarah to quickly prepare fine meal for cakes upon the hearth and Abraham ran to the herd and fetched a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man to hasten and dress. Abraham took butter, and milk, and the calf, which he had prepared, and set it before them. Abraham stood by them under the tree and they did eat.
God spoke unto Abraham and said, “Where is Sarah, thy wife?” Abraham replied, “Behold, in the tent.” And he said, “I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah, thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. (Abraham and Sarah were both old and stricken with age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.) Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” and the Lord said, “Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of surety bear a child, which am old? Is anything too hard for the Lord? At that time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” Then Sarah denied, saying, “I laughed not”; for she was afraid. And he said, “Nay, but thou didst laugh.” The men left off being with Abraham and headed towards Sodom.
The Lord visited Sarah, as He said He would do, and did unto Sarah as He had spoken. Sarah conceived and bear Abraham a son, and they called him Isaac. Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac, being eight days old, as GOD had commanded. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born of Sarah.
GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES if you only believe! Do you keep all your promises as GOD does? Would you like the blessings of GOD as Sarah and Abraham had? Give your heart and life to Him. Through His son, Jesus Christ, He will save your soul and give you eternal living waters. Jesus will cleanse and make you whole!
If Jesus (Yeshua) has touched your heart and you would like to accept Him as your personal Lord and Savior, please just
Pray for your family and parents. Pray for the peace of Israel.
