Heroes of the Faith

 

Heroes of the Faith

 

Life of Abraham

 

 

Abraham is noted as a man of faith, the father of faith, and a friend of God.

 

Abraham is the Father of the Jewish people. There are three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

 

Abraham means “Father of a Multitude”. His original name was Abram, which means “Exalted Father”. He is the first great Patriarch of ancient Israel. Abraham was born in the city of Ur in Babylonia in the year 2161 BC.

 

He was the son of Terah. Terah and his household and sons and their families originally set out to migrate to the land of Canaan. However, they went 300 miles north to Haran and settled there. Terah eventually died in Haran. Abraham lived there for 15 years until God called him to take his family and leave.

 

God said:

 

“Get out of your country,

From your family

And from your father's house,

To a land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation;

I will bless you

And make your name great;

And you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,

And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

(Genesis 12:1-3)

 

So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and his nephew Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan.

 

They came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. They were war-like people.

 

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South to the Negev.

 

There was a famine in the land, so Abram took his family and livestock and went to Egypt. Sarai was very beautiful and Abram was afraid that the men would kill him for her sake. So Abram told Sarai to lie and to say that she was Abram’s sister. Some of the men of Egypt commended Sarai to the Pharoah, and the king took her into his palace.  od sent plagues on the household of Pharoah because he had taken Abram’s wife. Pharoah confronted Abram about lying to him saying that Sarai was his sister, because he might have married her. So the Pharoah gave Sarai back to Abram and sent Abram’s household away.

 

Abram returned to the place where he had lived previously—that is, Bethel in Canaan. He was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.

 

Abram and Lot prospered greatly in the land of Canaan. It got to a point where Abram’s servants and Lot’s servants quarreled over pasture land because they had so much livestock between them. Abram wanted peace rather than strife, so he suggested that he and Lot part ways. He gave Lot the first choice of the land he wanted. Lot chose the fertile land of the plain of Jordan, near Sodom and Gommorah.

 

Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.

 

So Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan.

 

The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

 

Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.

 

Some time passed and war filled the land. Four kings fought against five kings.

 

Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, Ched-or-laomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim fought against:

 

Bera, king of Sodom, Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (later called Zoar).

 

These kings (of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela) mobilized their armies in Siddim Valley (that is, the valley of the Dead Sea). (For twelve years they had all been subject to King Ched-or-laomer, but now in the thirteenth year, they rebelled.) One year later, Ched-or-laomer and his allies arrived and the slaughter began.

 

The other army, that of the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (Zoar), unsuccessfully attacked Ched-or-laomer and his allies as they were in the Dead Sea Valley). As it happened, the valley was full of asphalt pits. And as the army of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some slipped into the pits, and the remainder fled to the mountains.

 

Then the victors plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and carried off all their wealth and food, women and children, and went on their homeward way, taking Lot captive, Abram's nephew, who lived in Sodom, and taking all he owned.

 

One of the men who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. When Abram learned that Lot had been captured, he called together the men born into his household, 318 of them in all, and chased after the retiring army as far as Dan. He divided his men and attacked during the night from several directions, and pursued the fleeing army to Hobah, north of Damascus, and recovered everything—the loot that had been taken, his relative Lot, and all of Lot's possessions, including the women and other captives.

 

When Abram returned home, the king of Sodom went out to meet him. The king said to Abram, “Just give me back my people who were captured, and you keep for yourself the loot that was stolen from my city.” But Abram refused to keep the booty lest the king say that he made Abram rich.

 

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said:

 

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth;

And blessed be God Most High,

Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

 

So Abram gave Melchizedek a tithe of all.

 

Notice that Melchizedek was not from the Aaronic priesthood. Also, the kings came from Judah and the priests from Levi. A priest could not be a king and a king could not be a priest. Melchizedek is the only person mentioned who was both king and priest.

 

After a period of time had gone by, God made a covenant with Abram in Genesis 15:1-6. The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

 

But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

 

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

 

And Abram believed in the Lord, and God accounted it to him for righteousness.

 

Then God said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”

 

And Abram said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

 

Then there was a covenant ceremony between the Lord and Abram involving animal sacrifices. God said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then Abram brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.

 

Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then God said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

 

When the sun went down and it was dark, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those animal pieces. On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:

 

“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

 

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.

 

Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.

 

Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”

 

So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.

 

Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

 

The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”

 

And the Angel of the Lord said to her: “Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

 

Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Therefore, the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

 

So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

 

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” 

 

Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.

 

And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also, I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

 

And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.

 

He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

 

Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”

 

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”

 

Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.

 

And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.

 

But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

 

So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him.

 

Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

 

A few months later the Lord appeared to Abraham by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.”

 

They said, “Do as you have said.”

 

So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

 

Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.”

 

And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)

 

Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

 

And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

 

But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”

 

Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”

 

 

And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

 

Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

 

So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”

 

Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?”

 

So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”

 

And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?”

 

So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”

 

Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”

 

So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

 

And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”

 

So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”

 

Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”

 

And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.”

 

So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

 

Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.”

 

And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.”

 

But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

 

Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally” (sexual assault and rape).

 

So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.

 

Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

 

So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.

 

When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”

 

Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”

 

And he said to him, “See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore, the name of the city was called Zoar.

 

The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

 

But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

 

And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace.

 

Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and escaped to the mountains and dwelt in a cave.

 

And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar.

 

Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

 

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.”

 

But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”

 

And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore, I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

 

So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.” Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”

 

Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, He is my brother.’”

 

Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him.

 

And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed, this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus, she was rebuked.

 

So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; for the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

 

And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac.

 

Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah was ninety years old. And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”

 

So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.

 

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. Therefore, she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son.

 

But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.”

 

So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.

 

And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.”

 

Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

 

It came to pass that Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech.

 

Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do. Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.”

 

And Abraham said, “I will swear.”

 

Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had seized. And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.” So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.

 

Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?”

 

And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.” Therefore, he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.

 

Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days.

 

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

 

And he said, “Here I am.”

 

Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

 

So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

 

Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”

 

So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”

 

And he said, “Here I am, my son.”

 

Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

 

And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

 

Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

 

But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.”

 

And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

 

Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

 

Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

 

So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.

 

Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, “Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: Huz his firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.”  And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother. His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash and Maachah.

 

Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years. So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

 

Then Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, “I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

 

And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, “Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.”

 

Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. And he spoke with them, saying, “If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.”

 

Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!”

 

Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land; and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.”

 

And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, “My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.”

 

And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.

 

So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

 

And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.

 

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but you shall go to my country (Haran) and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

 

And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”

 

But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.”

 

So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

 

Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all his master's goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

 

And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

 

Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

 

And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up.

 

And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

 

So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

 

And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

 

So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge?”

 

So she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah's son, whom she bore to Nahor.” Moreover, she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”

 

Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren.” So the young woman ran and told her mother's household these things.

 

Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. And he said, “Come in, O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”

 

Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. Food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told about my errand.”

 

And he said, “Speak on.”

 

So he said, “I am Abraham's servant. The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and to him he has given all that he has.

 

Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; but you shall go to my father's house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’ And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ But he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house. You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’

 

 

“And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” and she says to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master's son.’

 

“But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also. Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.’

 

So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.

 

Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”

 

Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as the Lord has spoken.”

 

And it came to pass, when Abraham's servant heard their words, that he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.

 

And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, “Send me away to my master.”

 

But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.”

 

And he said to them, “Do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.”

 

So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”

 

So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:

 

“Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands; and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them.”

 

Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

 

Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”

 

The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.

 

And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

 

Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bore him six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah.

 

And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.

 

This is the sum of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

 

And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.

 

And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.

 

Abraham made his share of mistakes, but he was a man who obeyed the Lord and had great faith in God’s promises. He saw the impossible come to pass in his life. The Bible says that his body was as good as dead. When God brought resurrection life back into his body, he not only fathered Isaac, but when Sarah died 38 years later he remarried and had six more sons (he probably had daughters too, but the Bible does not mention them).

 

Romans 4:19-22 says:

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

 

Of Sarah, it is said about her that she received the promise in her old age (Isaac) because she considered Him faithful who had promised (Hebrews 11:11).

 

Abraham is the Father of the Jewish people. He is also the Father of the Gentiles who have been adopted into the family of God through faith in Christ, and the promises God gave to Abraham is for all God’s children. (However, the physical land that the Lord gave to Abraham belongs to Israel and the Jewish people.)

 

Galatians 3:29 says, “And if you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

 

The Abrahamic Covenant includes:

·                   I will make you a great nation.

·                   I will bless you.

·                   I will make your name great.

·                   You shall be a blessing.

·                   I will bless those who bless you,

·                   And I will curse him who curses you;

·                   And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Prosperity and wealth is also a part of the Abrahamic Covenant. The Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) were some of the wealthiest men who lived during their time. They served God and the Lord mightily blessed them. Wealth belongs to their biological, grafted in, and adopted descendants.

 

Living in the favor of God is also a part of the Abrahamic Covenant. God gives you favor everywhere you go, and gives you favor with people in high places who are able to promote or help you. Favor opens doors and creates opportunities. When you have the favor of God you walk in the Blessing. Blessings come in many packages—financial, family, relationships, marriage, children, health, spiritual, etc.

 

Abraham represents faith, and Sarah represents grace. Faith and Grace always go together. Faith believes it has received the answer before it’s happened. Grace gives you the strength and composure to be patient and wait for the manifestation of the answer. Grace gives you rest and an ease about things, and as you enter into God’s Sabbath rest you are refreshed and find your strength to hold on until the answer comes.

 

Abraham was both a prophet and an intercessor. He was faced with a contradiction in his life. He prayed for the house of Abimelech that barrenness would be removed, and God answered his prayer. Yet his own wife remained barren for years and years. However, Abraham never lost faith. In God’s timing, Abraham and Sarah’s prayers were answered when God brought life back into Abraham’s body (because by this time he was too old to father children) and God quickened Sarah’s dead womb and she conceived Isaac, the son of promise.

 

Abraham’s faith was tested again when Isaac was a youth or young adult. God told Abraham to offer Isaac on the altar. Abraham obeyed God. He believed that God would raise him from the dead because God promised that through Isaac his offspring would be as the sand on the seashore and as the stars in the heavens. At the last moment, an angel of the Lord stopped the sacrifice. A ram was provided and offered instead.

 

God introduces Himself in many names to reveal His majesty. In the life of Abraham, God revealed Himself by five names:

 

1.  Elohim (God, our Creator) – when Abraham was first called.

2.  Jehovah (Self-Existent, Eternal, I AM, Jewish National Name of God)

3.  El Shaddai (All Powerful, Supplier) – Chapter 17

4.  Adonai (Master, Lord) – Chapter 18

5.  Jehovah Jireh (The Lord will provide) – Chapter 22

 

From Walter L. Wilson’s book entitled “A Dictionary of Bible Types” (Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. – 1999), he says the following on pages 1 and 2:

 

“Abraham is a type of the true believer from the standpoint of “FAITH” (Romans 4:3).

·                   He was called out of idolatry by God and so are we.

·                   He took the path of separation and so should we.

·                   He obeyed God and walked in a path of obedience, as we should do.

·                   He believed God about the “seed” (Jesus Christ) and so do we.

·                   He was made righteous through believing in Jesus Christ and so are we.

·                   God revealed His secrets to Abraham, the man of faith and so He does today to those who believe His Word.

·                   Abraham was the father of the faithful and we too who believe God should have spiritual children who have faith as we have.

The people of old names (Abram and Sarai) became the people with new names (Abraham and Sarah), symbolic of Faith and Grace walking hand-in-hand.

 

Genesis 24:2 – In this passage Abraham is a type of the Father who sent His servant (the Spirit) to obtain a bride (Rebecca) for his son Isaac. The servant represents the Holy Spirit, and Isaac represents the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, Abraham represents God the Father. Rebecca represents the Church. The Holy Spirit knocks at the heart’s door, tells of the loveliness, the riches and the glory of the Son of God, and thus wins the stranger and makes him willing to leave his old haunts and companions to live for and with Jesus Christ, the Son.”

 

The land of Canaan would be the inheritance of Abraham's descendants but Abraham would only be a pilgrim there. On his journey to Canaan there were seventeen places that Abraham visited recorded in the Old Testament. Each of these places are important in the history of Israel and there is evidence of their existence in ancient times through archaeology (by Bible History Online, www.bible-history.com).

 

1. Ur of the Chaldees was the original home of Abraham. It was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, and Ur was the capital of the ancient Chaldean Empire in ancient Mesopotamia. Sometime around 1900 BC the Lord told Abraham to leave his home and country and go to a land that He would show him. He obeyed and departed from Ur with his father Terah and his nephew Lot. (Genesis 11:31; Acts 7:2-4).

 

2. Haran in Mesopotamia was the first stopping place recorded in the Bible. They dwelt here until after the death of his father Terah, and in Haran the Lord called Abraham again (Genesis 12:1-4; Acts 7:4). Nahor, Abraham's brother, had probably settled in Haran before they departed.

 

3. Damascus was a great city in the ancient world and it was located in ancient Aram (Syria). Abraham and his nephew Lot had departed Haran and followed the leading of the Lord. They moved southward and passed by the city of Damascus along the way and it might have been at this time that Abraham secured his servant Eliezer (Genesis 15:2).

 

4. Shechem or Sichem was the first place where Abraham came to in Canaan. The Lord appeared to Abraham again and confirmed his promises, and it was here at Shechem that Abraham built the first altar to the Lord (Genesis 12:6, 7).  There is much history in this place (Joshua 24:1, Judges 9:6, 1 Kings 12:1).

 

5. Bethel. Abraham continued his journey southward and came to a mountain near Bethel, where he built a second altar (Genesis 12:8).

 

6. Egypt. Abraham and his family journeyed southward through the land of Canaan and a major famine hit they migrated to Egypt. In Egypt Abraham deceived the King in order to save his own life and was expelled from the land of Egypt (Genesis 12:9-20). The king of Egypt feared Abraham because of a dream and allowed him to leave with all of his possessions.

 

7. Bethel. Abraham and his nephew Lot returned to their former home at Bethel, but on account of strife between their herdsmen they parted each other’s company as friends (Genesis 13:1-9).

 

8. Hebron. Lot chose the warm climate and lush plains of the Jordan Valley and pitched his tent toward Sodom, and Abraham left the desirable Sodom and Gomorrah and sojourned at Hebron in Mamre where he heard again from the Lord and built an altar (Genesis 13:10-18). An interesting note is that Hebron was one of the oldest cities in ancient Canaan and Numbers 13:22 says that “it was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.”

 

9. Dan. Four kings of the east came to Canaan who were united under Chedorlaomer of Elam (the territory of ancient Ur) and made war against the five kings of Canaan. In their conquest of the Jordan Valley they captured Lot as a prisoner of war, and when Abraham heard of it he pursued the four kings and overtook them at Dan and defeated them with the help of the Lord (Genesis 14:1-14). Abraham had assembled an army of 318 men. The city of Dan was located in the north between Hazor and Damascus.

 

10. Hobah. Abraham and his army of servants smote the army of the 4 kings of Chedorlaomer and chased them to Hobah, which was located near Damascus. Lot and all the people with them were rescued including their belongings (Genesis 14:15, 16).

 

11. Salem. On his return Abraham passed through Salem (Jerusalem) and was met by a man named Melchizedek whose name means “king of righteousness”. Melchizedek was a mysterious man regarded in the Bible as the priest and king of Salem. This was the first mention of the word “priest” in the Bible and he gave to Abraham bread and wine. The Bible also mentions that Abraham paid him 1/10th of all his spoils from the war as a “tithe”. Hebrews 7:3 gives an interesting description of Melchizedek and therefore his identity remains a mystery. The king of Sodom also came out to meet Abraham at the same place (Genesis 14:17-21).

 

12. Hebron. When Abraham finally returned to Hebron God reminded him of his covenant with him and changed his name from Abram to Abraham (Genesis 15:1-21; 17:1-27). During his stay at this place Ishmael was born (Genesis 16:1-16) and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed (Genesis 18:1-19:38)

 

13. Gerar. Abraham left Hebron and for a time sojourned among the Philistines in Gerar which was in southern Canaan west of Beersheba. It was in Gerar that Abraham deceived King Abimelech (Genesis 20:1-18).

 

14. Beersheba. Abraham remained at Beersheba for some time. During this time he made a covenant with King Abimelech. Later he gave birth to a natural son of him and Sarah in his old age, and he named him Isaac which means “laughter”. When Isaac was born Ishmael was expelled and his mother Hagar fled and was met by “the Angel of the Lord” which was the Lord Himself (Genesis 21:1-34).

 

15. Moriah. It was in Beersheba that Abraham received the command from the Lord to take his only son Isaac to Mount Moriah, a mountain of Salem, to offer Isaac as a burnt offering (Genesis 22:1-18).

 

16. Beersheba. Abraham returned to Beersheba and dwelt there for some time.

 

17. Hebron. Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah as the family sepulcher and buried his wife Sarah there (Genesis 23:1-20). At the age of 175 Abraham died, and was also buried in the cave at Machpelah next to Sarah.

 

Life of Isaac

 

 

Isaac is the son of Abraham by his wife Sarah, and is the father of Jacob and Esau. God promised to make Abraham's descendants a great nation that would become God's chosen people. But the promised son was a long time in coming. Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 (Genesis 17:17; 21:5). Both Abraham and Sarah laughed when they heard they would have a son in their old age (Genesis 17:17-19; 18:9-15). This explains why they named their son Isaac, which means “Laughter.”

 

On the eighth day after his birth, Isaac was circumcised (Genesis 21:4). As he grew, his presence as Abraham's rightful heir brought him into conflict with Ishmael, Abraham's son by Sarah's handmaid Hagar. The strained relationship caused Sarah to send away Hagar and Ishmael (Genesis 21:9-21). God comforted Abraham by telling him that Ishmael would also become the father of a great nation (Genesis 21:13).

 

Isaac's birthright was an important part of his life. The blessings which God gave to Abraham were also given to his descendants. Thus, to inherit this covenant with God was of far greater value than to inherit property or material goods.

 

When Isaac was a young man, God tested Abraham's faith by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. But when Abraham placed Isaac upon the altar, an Angel appeared and stopped the sacrifice, providing a ram instead. This showed clearly that Isaac was God's choice to carry on the Covenant.

 

Isaac married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel from Mesopotamia, when he was 40 years old. She became Isaac's wife when God directed one of Abraham's servants to her. The Bible reveals that Isaac loved Rebekah and that she was a comfort to him after his mother Sarah's death (Genesis 24:67). Isaac and Rebekah had twin sons, Jacob and Esau, who were born when Isaac was 60 years old (Genesis 25:20-26).

 

For the first twenty years of his marriage, Rebekah was barren. Finally, Isaac interceded and pleaded to the Lord on her behalf and she conceived twins. Rebekah felt her children wrestling and struggling within her womb and she inquired of the Lord about it. In Genesis 25:23 the Lord said to her:

 

“Two nations are in your womb,

Two peoples shall be separated from your body;

One people shall be stronger than the other,

And the older shall serve the younger.”

 

So when Rebekah’s days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob.

 

So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

 

There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

 

Then the Lord appeared to Isaac and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

 

So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

 

And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.”

 

Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, caressing and showing affection to Rebekah his wife.

 

Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’”

 

And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.” So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

 

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.

 

The man waxed great, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.

 

Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth.

 

Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

 

Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.

 

Also, Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him.

 

Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah.

 

And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

 

Then he went up from there to Beersheba. And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham's sake.” So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

 

Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”

 

But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’”

 

So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

 

It came to pass the same day that Isaac's servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” So he called it Shebah. Therefore, the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

 

When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

 

Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.”

 

Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

 

Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you.

 

Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”

 

And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

 

But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

 

So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

 

Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”

 

But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”

 

Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.

 

Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.”

 

He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

 

Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:

 

“Surely, the smell of my son

Is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed.

Therefore, may God give you

Of the dew of heaven,

Of the fatness of the earth,

And plenty of grain and wine.

Let peoples serve you,

And nations bow down to you.

Be master over your brethren,

And let your mother's sons bow down to you.

Cursed be everyone who curses you,

And blessed be those who bless you!”

 

Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

 

He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that your soul may bless me.”

 

And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

 

Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.”

 

When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”

 

But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”

 

And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

 

Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”

 

And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

 

Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

 

“Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth,

And of the dew of heaven from above.

By your sword you shall live,

And you shall serve your brother;

And it shall come to pass, when you become restless,

That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

 

So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

 

The words of Esau her older son was told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. And stay with him a few days, until your brother's fury turns away, until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?”

 

And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

 

Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.

 

“May God Almighty bless you,

And make you fruitful and multiply you,

That you may be an assembly of peoples;

And give you the blessing of Abraham,

To you and your descendants with you,

That you may inherit the land

In which you are a stranger,

Which God gave to Abraham.”

 

So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

 

Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. Also, Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.

 

Esau soon left his father's household. Many years passed before the two brothers were at peace with each other. But they were united at last in paying last respects to their father after his death. Isaac lived to be 180 years old. He was buried alongside Abraham, Sarah, and Rebekah in the Cave of Machpelah (Genesis 35:28-29; 49:30-31).

 

The Bible contains many references to Isaac's good character. The Scripture gives evidence of his submission (Genesis 22:6,9), meditation (Genesis 24:63), trust in God (Genesis 22:6,9), devotion (Genesis 24:67), peaceful nature (Genesis 26:20-22), and his life of prayer and faith (Genesis 26:25).

 

Isaac is a type of Christ: He is the son of promise like Jesus our Messiah was. The promises took a long time in coming, but in the fullness of time, God did what He had promised. God gave up His one and only Son and Jesus was sacrificed for us and rose from the dead. Abraham was willing to give up his one and only son, and figuratively, Isaac was raised from the dead when the Angel stopped the sacrifice. Isaac was a peaceful man, and Jesus is called the “Prince of Peace” in Isaiah 9:6. Isaac was very obedient to his father, and Jesus always obeyed His Father.

 

Polygamy was common during the time of Isaac. However, he had just one wife in his lifetime, Rebekah, and he loved her. This is how God originally intended for marriage to be in the Garden of Eden: just one man and one woman for a lifetime. Both of Isaac’s sons had multiple wives, and there were problems of jealousy and strife in the household.

 

Apparently, Rebekah died before Isaac did, because when Isaac died he was laid to rest beside Rebekah, Abraham and Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah (Genesis 35:28-29; 49:30-31). Isaac thought that he was going to die soon when he gave away the blessing to his son. However, he lived for many more years (decades) and Rebekah passed away first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Journey of Isaac (10 Key Locations)

 

The land of Canaan was indeed the inheritance of the descendants of Abraham, but Isaac like his father would only be a pilgrim in this wonderful land. He made his home in Beersheba where he was born until the last days of his life which were in Hebron. He was finally buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron.

 

1. Beersheba was Isaac's birthplace and his early home (Genesis 21:3, 31).

 

2. Mount Moriah. Abraham took Isaac to the Mountains of Moriah to offer him as a burnt offering in obedience to God. The Lord stopped him in the middle of the act and provided a substitute to teach him about God's plan of salvation in offering His only son Jesus (Genesis 22:2, 3).

 

3. Beersheba. This place became Isaac's home while he was with his parents.

 

4. Beer Lai-hai-roi. This was Isaac's home after he married Rebekah. It was here at Beer Laihairoi that his sons, Jacob and Esau, were born (Genesis 24:62-67; 25:24-29).

 

5. Gerar. Because there was a great famine in the land Isaac moved to Gerar in the country of the Philistines. This is where he deceived Abimelech, the king of Gerar (Genesis 26:1-16).

 

6. Esek (strife). After Abimelech had allowed him to leave Gerar, Isaac dug a well at Esek, but the men of Gerar were envious of Isaac's prosperity and contended with the herdsmen of Isaac and forced him to leave (Genesis 26:19, 20).

 

7. Sitnah (hatred). Isaac dug another well at Sitnah, but again they envied him and strove with him and Isaac departed (Genesis 26:21).

 

8. Rehoboth (plenty). Isaac was permitted to dwell in this area of plenty and he could now live in peace (Genesis 26:22).

 

9. Beersheba. The Philistine king made a treaty of peace with him, and Isaac lived there many years. Isaac also renamed the site Beer-Sheba after he had received a special revelation from the Lord (Genesis 26:23-33).

 

10. Hebron. Isaac spent his last days here, and at the age of 180 years died and was buried by his sons Jacob and Esau in the family sepulcher, Machpelah (Genesis 35:27-29).

 

 

Life of Jacob

 

 

Jacob is one of the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. He was the younger brother of Esau.

 

Jacob’s name means “a supplanter”. He was so rightly named because when Esau was born Jacob grabbed the heel of his brother. In his youth, his name fit him well when he stole Esau’s birthright and the firstborn blessing through trickery. However, he reaped what he sowed when he was tricked by his father-n-law and also when his sons deceived him into believing Joseph was devoured by a wild animal.

 

In his older years, God changed his name and character, and he became known as Israel (Genesis 32:28), meaning “Prince with God”.

 

Jacob was born in answer to his father's prayer (Genesis 25:21), as Rebekah was barren for twenty years. When Rebekah conceived, she felt a struggle taking place in her womb, and she sought the Lord. The Lord told her that two nations were in her womb, and that one people would be stronger than the other, and the older would serve the younger. Isaac was sixty years old when Esau and Jacob were born (Genesis 25:26).

 

Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob (Genesis 25:27-28).

 

Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore, his name was called Edom.

 

But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”

 

And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”

 

Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.”

 

So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright (Genesis 25:29-34).

 

The next time Jacob is mentioned in Scripture is when his father was old and blind. Isaac was planning on giving the firstborn blessing to Esau since he was the eldest and he was the favorite son of Isaac.

 

Isaac called his son Esau and said to him, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

 

Rebekah overheard the conversation. She wanted Jacob to receive the firstborn blessing, so she devised a plan.

 

In Genesis 27:6-30, Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”

 

Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

 

But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.”

 

And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

 

So he went to his father and said, “My father.”

 

And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

 

Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”

 

But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”

 

Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.

 

Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob said, “I am.”

 

He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:

 

“Surely, the smell of my son

Is like the smell of a field

Which the Lord has blessed.

Therefore, may God give you

Of the dew of heaven,

Of the fatness of the earth,

And plenty of grain and wine.

Let peoples serve you,

And nations bow down to you.

Be master over your brethren,

And let your mother's sons bow down to you.

Cursed be everyone who curses you,

And blessed be those who bless you!”

 

Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that your soul may bless me.”

 

His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

 

So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

 

Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.”

 

When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”

 

But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”

 

And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

 

Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”

 

Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

 

Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

 

“Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth,

And of the dew of heaven from above.

By your sword you shall live,

And you shall serve your brother;

And it shall come to pass, when you become restless,

That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

 

So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

 

And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. And stay with him a few days, until your brother's fury turns away, until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?”

 

Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

 

Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.

 

“May God Almighty bless you,

And make you fruitful and multiply you,

That you may be an assembly of peoples;

And give you the blessing of Abraham,

To you and your descendants with you,

That you may inherit the land

In which you are a stranger,

Which God gave to Abraham.”

 

So Isaac sent Jacob away from Beersheba, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah his mother.

 

On his way to Haran, he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

 

And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also, your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

 

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

 

Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel (meaning, “House of God”); but the name of that city had been Luz previously.

 

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You” (Genesis 28:11-22).

 

In Genesis 29:1-15, Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well's mouth.

 

Jacob said to the men there, “My brethren, where are you from?”

 

And they said, “We are from Haran.”

 

Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?”

 

And they said, “We know him.”

 

So he said to them, “Is he well?”

 

And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep.”

 

Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

 

Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative and that he was Rebekah's son. So she ran and told her father.

 

Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.

 

In Genesis 29:15-30, Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?” Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.

 

Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”

 

And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.

 

Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.” And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob (she was veiled); and he went in to her. And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid.

 

So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?”

 

And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.”

 

Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.

 

When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.”

 

Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore, his name was called Levi.

 

She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore, she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

 

Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” And Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

 

So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.” Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore, she called his name Dan. Rachel's maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.

 

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad. Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher.

 

Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.”

 

But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?”

 

And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes.”

 

When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night.

 

And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

 

Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” So she called his name Joseph, and said, “The Lord shall add to me another son.”

 

And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.”

 

And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.” Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”

 

So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the Lord has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?”

 

So he said, “What shall I give you?”

 

And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks: Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages. So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me.”

 

Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!” So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. Then he put three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

 

Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink.

 

So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban's flock.

 

And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

 

Jacob used the law of visualization (that what you keep before your eyes eventually comes to pass). Streaks and spots were continually kept before the flocks’ eyes, and so they produced speckled and spotted offspring. Jacob outwitted his father-n-law.

 

In Genesis 31, Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has acquired all this wealth.”

 

And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”

 

So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, and said to them, “I see your father's countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me. And you know that with all my might I have served your father. Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.

 

If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked. So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

 

“And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’  And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’”

 

Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children's; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”

 

Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

 

Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father's. And Jacob and his family left, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.

 

Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days' journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

 

So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.

 

And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have left unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing.

 

It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father's house, but why did you steal my gods?”

 

Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

 

And Laban went into Jacob's tent, into Leah's tent, and into the two maids' tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel's saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them. And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.”  And he searched but did not find the household idols.

 

Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both!

 

These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

 

Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”

 

Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”

 

So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore, its name was called Galeed, also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”

 

Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.”

 

And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

 

The next thing that happened was that Esau was coming to meet him, along with 400 men.

 

In Genesis 32, Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God's camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

 

Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.’”

 

Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

 

Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

 

So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.”

 

He commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’, then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob's. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’”

 

So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”  So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

 

And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

 

Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

 

So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

 

Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”

 

And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

 

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. Therefore, to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob's hip in the muscle that shrank.

 

In Genesis 33, Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

 

But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these with you?”

 

So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down. And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.

 

Then Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?”

 

And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.”

 

But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”

 

Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” So he urged him, and he took it.

 

Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.”

 

But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

 

And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.”

 

But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock.

 

Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for one hundred pieces of money. Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.

 

Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her. His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”

 

And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came. Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.

 

But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves. So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.”

 

Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”

 

But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.”

 

And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son. So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father.

 

And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: “These men are at peace with us. Therefore, let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”

 

And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

 

Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem's house, and went out.

 

The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses.

 

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me a stench among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”

 

But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”

 

Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”

 

And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.

 

And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

 

Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

 

Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.

 

Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

 

Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; you will have this son also.” And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

 

So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.

 

Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard about it.

 

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

 

Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

 

Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob. For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock. So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.

 

In Genesis 37, Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

 

His son Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

 

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

 

Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

 

And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

 

Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

 

So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

 

Then his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”

 

Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

 

Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?” So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”

 

And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

 

Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

 

But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.

 

So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

 

And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened.

 

Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

 

Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”

 

So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son's tunic or not?”

 

And he recognized it and said, “It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus, his father wept for him.

 

Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

 

For all the years that Joseph served in Potiphar’s house, the Lord prospered Joseph and gave him favor with his master. Joseph was given charge over the entire household.

 

It came to pass that Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph of attempted rape, and Joseph was put into the king’s prison. The Lord prospered Joseph while he was in prison and the guard put Joseph in charge of the prisoners. Joseph interpreted the dreams of the butler and baker, and it happened exactly as he said it would.

 

Two years later, the Pharoah of Egypt had two troubling dreams. No one could interpret the dream. The butler remembered Joseph and told the king. Joseph was brought before the Pharoah, and interpreted his dreams. There would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Joseph gave the Pharoah wise advice as to how to plan to provide food during the years of famine.

 

Pharoah appointed Joseph as second in command over all Egypt. Thirteen years had elapsed from the time he was first brought to Egypt as a slave until he stood before Pharoah in the palace.

 

During the years of plenty, Joseph had two sons by his wife Asenath. The oldest was Manasseh, which means “The Lord has caused me to forget my toil.” His second son was named Ephraim, which means “He has made me double fruitful.”

 

During the early years of the famine, Jacob sent 10 of his sons to go to Egypt to buy food. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him. Joseph asked them many questions, inquiring about their father’s welfare and asked them if they had another brother. Then Joseph accused them of being spies and put them all in prison. After three days, he released all but one of the brothers to return home to their father with grain. He kept Simeon in captivity. Joseph warned them not to return unless they brought their youngest brother with them.

 

Jacob would not allow them to bring his son Benjamin to Egypt. However, the famine got so severe that Jacob finally gave in and allowed Benjamin to go with his brothers.

 

Once the brothers arrived in Egypt, a series of events occurred. Joseph wanted to test his older brothers to see if they had changed or not. In the end, Joseph finally disclosed who he was to his brothers. They were all reunited. Then Joseph sent horses and carts to Canaan, so that his father and the entire household could move to Goshen in Egypt.

 

When Jacob and Joseph were reunited, they wept on each other’s neck for a long time. It had been twenty years since they had seen each other. All those years, Jacob mourned for his son thinking that he was dead.

 

Jacob lived for another seventeen years after he relocated to Goshen.

 

Seventy souls moved to the land of Goshen. God promised Jacob that He would make them a great nation, and would bring them back to Canaan.

 

Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”

 

And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

 

And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with bread, according to the number in their families (Genesis 47:7-12).

 

Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob's life was one hundred and forty-seven years. When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”

 

And he said, “I will do as you have said.”

 

Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed (Genesis 47:28-31).

 

Then Israel blessed Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. In Genesis 48:8-22, it says, Then Israel saw Joseph's sons, and said, “Who are these?”

 

Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.”

 

And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.” Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

 

So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him.

 

Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said:

 

“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,

The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,

Bless the lads;

Let my name be named upon them,

And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;

And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

 

Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

 

But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

 

So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

 

Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.

 

A short time thereafter Jacob called all of his twelve sons together when he was on his deathbed, to bless them and to prophesy over each one. To Joseph, he gave the most favorable blessing.

 

In Genesis 49, Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father.”

 

“Reuben, you are my firstborn,

My might and the beginning of my strength,

The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

Unstable as water, you shall not excel,

Because you went up to your father's bed;

Then you defiled it—He went up to my couch.”

 

“Simeon and Levi are brothers;

Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

Let not my soul enter their council;

Let not my honor be united to their assembly;

For in their anger they slew a man,

And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;

And their wrath, for it is cruel!

I will divide them in Jacob

And scatter them in Israel.”

 

“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;

Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

Your father's children shall bow down before you.

Judah is a lion's whelp;

From the prey, my son, you have gone up.

He bows down, he lies down as a lion;

And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,

Until Shiloh comes;

And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

Binding his donkey to the vine,

And his donkey's colt to the choice vine,

He washed his garments in wine,

And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

His eyes are darker than wine,

And his teeth whiter than milk.”

 

“Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea;

He shall become a haven for ships,

And his border shall adjoin Sidon.”

 

“Issachar is a strong donkey,

Lying down between two burdens;

He saw that rest was good,

And that the land was pleasant;

He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden,

And became a band of slaves.”

 

“Dan shall judge his people

As one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall be a serpent by the way,

A viper by the path,

That bites the horse's heels

So that its rider shall fall backward.

I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!”

 

“Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him,

But he shall triumph at last.”

 

“Bread from Asher shall be rich,

And he shall yield royal dainties.”

 

“Naphtali is a deer let loose;

He uses beautiful words.”

 

“Joseph is a fruitful bough,

A fruitful bough by a well;

His branches run over the wall.

The archers have bitterly grieved him,

Shot at him and hated him.

But his bow remained in strength,

And the arms of his hands were made strong

By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob

(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

By the God of your father who will help you,

And by the Almighty who will bless you

With blessings of heaven above,

Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

The blessings of your father

Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,

Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.

They shall be on the head of Joseph,

And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.”

 

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;

In the morning he shall devour the prey,

And at night he shall divide the spoil.”

 

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

 

Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.”

 

And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

 

Then Joseph fell on his father's face and wept over him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

 

Now when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’”

 

And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

 

So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.

 

Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore, its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

 

So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.

 

Jacob started out in life as a supplanter or trickster and continued living like this during his younger years. After the twenty years he spent working for his uncle Laban, and all the trouble Laban put him through, his character changed and he developed humility. God changed his name to Israel, meaning “Prince with God.”

 

Jacob was persistent and would not let go of the angel until God had blessed him. He did receive his blessing.

 

Jacob was a very hard worker, and a diligent worker. Jacob had excellent management skills. He also had ingenious ideas come to him which caused him to prosper exceedingly.

 

Jacob served the Lord all the days of his life.

 

One of the mistakes that Jacob made was that he showed favoritism among his sons. He loved the sons of Rachel and showed them great favor, because Rachel was the woman that he loved. He never wanted to be married to Leah or the two maids. His other sons hated Joseph and sold him into slavery, and then lied about it to their father. Even after Joseph was gone (until they reunited twenty years later), his brothers still never received the love and favor from their father. During those twenty years Jacob continually grieved for his son Joseph, and also for the loss of Rachel. He poured out all his love on Benjamin.

 

His sons from Leah and the two maids did other things that caused him much grief as well. At the end of Jacob’s life, he gave the most favorable blessing to Joseph and Joseph’s two sons. Jacob also gave good blessings to the other sons who, over the years, had changed their negative character traits, especially Judah. He prophesied that kings would come from his loins.

 

Jacob had nothing good to say to Reuben because of his instability, lack of the firstborn’s leadership abilities, and because Reuben usurped his father’s authority and slept with one his wives. He also had nothing good to say to Simeon and Levi because they had slaughtered all the men of Shechem and plundered and burned the city. What the lad did to Dinah was wrong (he raped her), but he loved her and wanted to make it right by marrying her. Dinah’s mother was not loved by her husband, and now the opportunity for Dinah to be loved was taken away from her when her two brothers killed the lad and all the men of the city.

 

Jacob had a hard life in many ways, although he also had a prosperous life.

 

 

The Journey of Jacob (14 Key Locations)

 

The land of Canaan would become the inheritance of the descendants of Abraham, and Jacob his grandson would become the father of the twelve tribes who would inherit the land promised by God. Jacob actually purchased some land at Shechem. Later he journeyed southward and dwelt at Hebron which was the location of the events around his son Joseph. He was finally buried in Hebron at the family tomb, the Cave of Machpelah.

 

1. Beersheba. It was in the city of Beersheba where Jacob deceived his brother Esau and the strife developed, Jacob departed from Beersheba to go to his family in Padan Aram, to the city of Haran (Genesis 25:28-34; 27:1-46).

 

2. Bethel. When Jacob fled from his brother Esau he laid down to sleep for the night at Bethel, where he met the Lord and received the vision of the heavenly ladder (Genesis 28:11-22). Jacob learned and realized for the first time God's intention to save the whole world through the sacrifice of His only Son who would be a descendant of his, the Jewish Messiah.

 

3. Haran. Jacob finally arrived in Haran at the home of his uncle Laban and dwelt there for 20+ years. While Jacob was in Haran he married Leah and Rachel and the Lord was with him and blessed him with great riches (Genesis 29:1-30: 43). He gave birth to twelve sons who became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

4. Mizpah. Jacob secretly left Haran because his father-in-law was envious of Jacob's wealth and was planning to take revenge. Rachel took her father Laban's household gods. Laban was outraged and pursued them to Mizpah. The Lord intervened for Jacob and in Mizpah Laban made a treaty of peace with Jacob (Genesis 31:1-55).

 

5. Mahanaim. It was at Mahanaim that a host of angels came to comfort Jacob. Also from Mahanaim Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to request peace from his brother Esau (Genesis 32:1-5).

 

6. Peniel. Jacob stayed at the brook Jabbok, near Peniel, the night. His messengers told him the news of Esau's coming (Genesis 32:6-8) and Jacob became troubled and prayed for help and deliverance (Genesis 32:9-12). He sent gifts ahead of his caravan to determine the situation with Esau. If he rejected the gifts then Jacob knew there would be trouble (Genesis 32:13-20). That very night the Angel of the Lord wrestled with him in a dream (Genesis 32:24-32) and because Jacob strove with God and prevailed the Lord changed his name to Israel. The next morning Esau came, and his desire was to be kind to his brother (Genesis 33:1-16).

 

7. Succoth. Here in Succoth Jacob built a house for himself and booths for his cattle to rest from their long journey (Genesis 33:17).

 

8. Shechem. Jacob purchased a parcel of land here in Shechem and actually made for himself a dwelling place in the land of Canaan (Genesis 33:18-20). Later a troubling situation came about, the slaughter of the Shechemites by Jacob's sons, and this forced Jacob to move southward (Genesis 34:1-30).

 

9. Bethel. Jacob arose and returned to Bethel where he would renew his vow to the Lord and he built an altar at Bethel and worshiped God (Genesis 35:1-15).

 

10. Bethlehem. Again Jacob journeyed southward, and at Bethlehem Rachel gave birth to Benjamin, but she died in giving childbirth and was buried there (Genesis 35:16-20).

 

11. Hebron. It was here at Hebron where Jacob saw his father Isaac in his old age (Genesis 35:27) and he dwelt here in Hebron. While living here in Hebron he made the multi-colored coat for his son Joseph, and later Joseph's brother became jealous of this and Joseph's ability to interpret dreams and Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold to the Midianites who took him to Egypt to be sold as a slave (Genesis 37:1-36).

 

12. Beersheba. Many years later Joseph became second in command in the land of Egypt by the hand of God. He desired to see his father Jacob and invited him to Egypt because of the great famine. Jacob left Hebron and set out for Egypt. He stopped at Beersheba to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and to seek guidance from Him (Genesis 46:1-5).

 

13. Egypt. Here in Egypt Jacob met Joseph and there were great tears and rejoicing among them. Jacob and his sons were offered a home in the land of Goshen (Genesis 46:1-5). Jacob lived out his last years in Egypt with his sons until his death.

 

14. Hebron. After Jacob's death his body was embalmed and he was carried back to Hebron, where he was buried in the family tomb, the Cave of Machpelah next to Leah (Genesis 50:1-13).

 

 

 

Life of Daniel

 

 

Daniel’s name means “God is my judge, or judge of God.”

 

He was descended from one of the noble families of Judah (Daniel 1:3), and was probably born in Jerusalem about 623 B.C., during the reign of Josiah.

 

At the first deportation of the Jews by Nebuchadnezzar (the kingdom of Israel had come to an end nearly a century before), or immediately after his victory over the Egyptians at the second battle of Carchemish, in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim (605 B.C.), Daniel and three other noble youths were carried off to Babylon, along with part of the vessels of the temple. There he was obliged to enter into the service of the king of Babylon. His residence in Babylon was very probably in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar.

 

The king of Babylon instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.

 

Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.

 

Daniel and his three Hebrew friends purposed in their hearts that they would not defile themselves with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. Daniel was the spokesperson and he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he and his friends might not defile themselves.

 

Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”

 

So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king's delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.

 

At the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. Thus, the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

 

As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

 

Now at the end of the three-year training, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore, they served before the king. In all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in his realm.

 

In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”

 

Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

 

The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore, tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

 

They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”

 

The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.”

 

The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king's matter; therefore, no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

 

For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.

 

Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.

 

So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

 

Daniel answered and said:

 

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

For wisdom and might are His.

And He changes the times and the seasons;

He removes kings and raises up kings;

He gives wisdom to the wise

And knowledge to those who have understanding.

He reveals deep and secret things;

He knows what is in the darkness,

And light dwells with Him.

 

I thank You and praise You,

O God of my fathers;

You have given me wisdom and might,

And have now made known to me what we asked of You,

For You have made known to us the king's demand.”

 

Therefore, Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”

 

Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.”

 

The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”

 

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.”

 

“You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

 

"This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold.

 

But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. The fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.

 

Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.

 

In the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”

 

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

 

Also, Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

 

It came to pass that Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

 

King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So they all gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

 

Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

 

So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

 

Daniel's three friends disobeyed the king’s edict.

 

Therefore, at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the three Jews. They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”

 

Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

 

Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

 

Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

 

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

 

They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

 

“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

 

Nebuchadnezzar began to praise God.

 

Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

 

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore, I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”

 

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.

 

It came to pass that King Nebuchadnezzar had a second dream. He wrote about it in a letter or journal.

 

“I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Therefore, I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

 

Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation. But at last Daniel came before me (his name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; in him is the Spirit of the Holy God), and I told the dream before him, saying: “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation.”

 

“These were the visions of my head while on my bed:

 

I was looking, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong; its height reached to the heavens, and it could be seen to the ends of all the earth. Its leaves were lovely, its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

 

I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. He cried aloud and said thus: 'Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it, and the birds from its branches. Nevertheless, leave the stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from that of a man, let him be given the heart of a beast, and let seven times (years) pass over him.

 

This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men.’”

 

“This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for the Spirit of the Holy God is in you.”

 

Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time, and his thoughts troubled him. So the king spoke, and said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you.”

 

Daniel replied, "The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home—it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth.

 

And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him’; this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king:

 

They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times (years) shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.

 

And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules.

 

Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

 

All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

 

While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.”

 

That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.

 

At the end of seven years, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted his eyes to heaven, and his understanding (sanity) returned to him. Then he began to bless the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever. He declared:

 

“For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,

And His kingdom is from generation to generation.

All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;

He does according to His will in the army of heaven

And among the inhabitants of the earth.

No one can restrain His hand

Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’

 

At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.”

 

Years later, Belshazzar (son of Nebuchadnezzar) who was now the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

 

In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

 

Now all the king's wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.

 

The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.

 

Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”

 

Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.

 

Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

 

Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

 

O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down.

 

But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.

 

But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.

 

Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.

 

And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

 

This is the interpretation of each word. Mene: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; Tekel: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; Peres: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”

 

Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

 

That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

 

It came to pass over a period of time that there was a plot against Daniel to kill him.

 

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss.

 

Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.

 

So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

 

So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” Therefore, King Darius signed the written decree.

 

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows opened towards Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

 

Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king's decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?”

 

The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.”

 

So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

 

And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”

 

So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.

 

Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also, his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

 

Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”

 

Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.

 

The king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.

 

Then King Darius wrote:

 

“To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth:

Peace be multiplied to you.

I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.

For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end.

He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

 

Daniel prospered under the reign of King Darius and Cyrus the Persian. By this time, the Jewish exiles were granted permission to return to Israel and to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. However, Daniel remained in Babylon for the rest of his life.

 

During the first year of the reign of Belshazzar, Daniel had a vision of four beasts.

 

Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

 

“And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’

 

After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

 

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

 

I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.”

 

Daniel also had a vision of the Ancient of Days.

 

Daniel said, “I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

 

I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

 

I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.”

 

Daniel continued to write:

 

“I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’

 

Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.

 

I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

 

Thus he said:

 

‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces.

 

The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them. He shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.

 

But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’

 

This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart."

 

In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar, Daniel had a vision of a ram and goat.

 

Daniel writes:

 

“I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in Shushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai. Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, but he did according to his will and became great.

 

As I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power. And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.

 

Therefore, the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.

 

Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”

 

And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

 

The angel Gabriel interpreted the vision.

 

Daniel writes:

 

“Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, ‘Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.’ So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, ‘Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.’

 

Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright. And he said, ‘Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.

 

The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king. As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

 

And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.

 

Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means.

 

And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore, seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.’

 

And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king's business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.”

 

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, Daniel understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then after seventy years in exile, His people would return to Israel, especially Jerusalem.

 

Then Daniel began to make confession for the sins of Judah and made intercession that God would forgive them by His mercies, and once again show them favor and grace.

 

Daniel wrote:

 

“Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.

 

And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore, consider the matter, and understand the vision:

 

Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.

 

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.

 

And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”

 

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel. The message was true, but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

 

Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.

 

And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore, I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength. Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

 

“Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands.  And he said to me, ‘O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.’ While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.

 

Then he said to me, ‘Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael the archangel, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.’

 

When he had spoken such words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. And suddenly, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, ‘My lord, because of the vision my sorrows have overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.’

 

Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, ‘O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!’

 

So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, ‘Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.’

 

Then he said, ‘Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.’”

 

In the first year of Darius the Mede, Daniel stood up to confirm and strengthen him. Daniel prophesied: “And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.”

 

Then Daniel prophesied concerning warring kings of the North and South. The Northern king would be blasphemous, and send forces to defile the sanctuary. Then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. The king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods.

 

The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits (Daniel 11:32).

 

Then Daniel prophesied about the end time.

 

"At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. At that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

 

‘But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.’

 

Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank. And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, ‘How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?’

 

Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.

 

Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, ‘My lord, what shall be the end of these things?’

 

And he said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.

 

And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

 

But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.’”

 

Daniel lived to be around 85 years of age. Nothing is mentioned about his personal life, whether he was married and had children, or was single his entire life.

 

 

 

 

Life of Elijah

 

 

Elijah was born in Tishbe. He is one of the most powerful prophets ever to have lived on this earth. Just like Enoch, Elijah never tasted death. He was carried away to Heaven in a chariot of fire and a whirlwind.

 

Elijah was an influential prophet who lived during the ninth century B.C. during the reigns of Ahab and Ahaziah in the northern kingdom of Israel. Elijah shaped the history of his day and dominated Hebrew thinking for centuries afterward.

 

Elijah's prophetic activities emphasized the unconditional loyalty to God required of the nation of Israel. His strange dress and appearance (2 Kings 1:8), his fleetness of foot (1 Kings 18:46), his rugged constitution that resisted famine (1 Kings 19:8), and his cave-dwelling habits (1 Kings 17:3; 19:9) all suggest that he was a robust, outdoors-type personality.

 

Elijah was opposed to the accepted standards of his day, when belief in many gods was normal. He appears in the role of God's instrument of judgment upon a wayward Israel because of the nation's widespread idolatry. The miracles that Elijah performed occurred during the period when a life-or-death struggle took place between the religion of Jehovah and Baal worship.

 

Elijah's views were in conflict with those of King Ahab. Ahab had attempted to cultivate economic ties with Israel's neighbors, especially Tyre. One of the consequences was that he had married Jezebel, a daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre. Ahab saw no harm in participating in the religion of his neighbors, particularly the religion of his wife. Therefore, he established a center of Baal worship at Samaria. Influenced by Jezebel, Ahab gave himself to the worship of Baal. Suddenly Elijah appeared on the scene in 1 Kings 17.

 

As punishment against Ahab for building the temple for Baal worship at Samaria, Elijah proclaimed that a drought would grip the land. 1 Kings 17:1 says, “And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.’”

 

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

 

So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land (1 Kings 17:2-7).

 

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

 

So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

 

And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’”

 

So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah (1 Kings 17:8-16).

 

Elijah remained at the widow’s house for two years. The widow had an upper room in which she let Elijah stay in.

 

While Elijah was there, the widow’s son became very sick and died. The widow said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”

 

And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?” And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him.” Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.

 

Then Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”

 

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth” (1 Kings 17:18-24).

 

It came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”

 

So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria.

 

In the meantime, Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.)

 

Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock.” So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

 

Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?” And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”

 

So he said, “How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. And now you say, “Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here’”!

 

It shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid one hundred men of the Lord's prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now you say, “Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”

 

Then Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.” So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

 

Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”

 

Elijah answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table” (1 Kings 18:1-19).

 

So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.

 

Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Therefore, let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”

 

So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”

 

Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”

 

So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.

 

And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.

 

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.

 

And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.

 

It came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

 

Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”

 

Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!”  So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there (1 Kings 18:20-40).

 

The drought came to an end.

 

Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”

 

So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”

 

Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’”

 

Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel (1 Kings 18:41-46). Elijah outran a horse and chariot going full speed.

 

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

 

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. After a huge victory, then a death threat from Jezebel, he slipped into depression. He prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

 

Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

 

And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

 

So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life” (1 Kings 19:1-10).

 

Then God said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. (That’s how the Lord speaks to us—through His still small voice in our hearts.)

 

So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

 

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

 

The Lord said to Elijah, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” Elijah thought he was the only one who had not bowed to Baal, when actually there was a remnant of seven thousand who were faithful to the Lord.

 

Then the Lord said to Elijah: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also, you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill (1 Kings 19:11-18).

 

Elijah departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.”

 

Elijah testing Elisha said, “Go on back. What have I done to you? Settle it for yourself.”

 

So Elisha went back from him. Then he took a yoke of oxen, slew them, boiled their flesh with the oxen's yoke [as fuel], and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, followed Elijah, and served him (1 Kings 19:19-21).

 

And it came to pass that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”

 

But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”

 

So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?”

 

He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

 

Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

 

And she wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. She wrote in the letters, saying,

 

“Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people; and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, You have blasphemed God and the king. Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.”

 

So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people. And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

 

And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite (1 Kings 21:1-16).

 

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. There he is, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: Have you murdered and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.”

 

So Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?”

 

And Elijah answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free. I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.”

 

And concerning Jezebel the Lord also spoke, saying, “The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.”

 

There was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up. He behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.

 

So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning.

 

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house” (1 Kings 21:17-29).

 

Some time had passed, and Ahab the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead in a battle. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

 

Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “Surely it is the king of Israel!” Therefore, they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. And it happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.

 

Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel (Ahab) between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”

 

The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot. Then, as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!”

 

So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. Then someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken.

 

Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, the ivory house which he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab rested with his fathers. Then Ahaziah his son reigned in his place (1 Kings 22:29-40).

 

Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; for he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done (1 Kings 22:51-53).

 

Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.”

 

But the Angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ Now therefore, thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah departed.

 

When the messengers returned to him, he said to them, “Why have you come back?”

 

So they said to him, “A man came up to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’”

 

Then he said to them, “What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?” So they answered him, “A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

 

Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’”

 

So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

 

Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he answered and said to him: “Man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down quickly!’”

 

So Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

 

Again, Ahaziah sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight.”

 

And the Angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king. Then he said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore, you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’”

 

So Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

 

Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? (2 Kings 1:2-18).

 

And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.”

 

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.

 

Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?”

 

And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

 

Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho.”

 

But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho.

 

Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?”

 

So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

 

Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.”

 

But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

 

And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?”

 

Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

 

So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

 

And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.

 

Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him. Then they said to him, “Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.”

 

And he said, “You shall not send anyone.”

 

But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send them!” Therefore, they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him. And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?” (2 Kings 2:1-18)

 

 

 

Life of Elisha

 

 

Elisha was the son of Shaphat and from Abel Meholah.

 

Elisha was anointed by Elijah the prophet to replace him, and was Elijah’s servant for a number of years. They traveled together in ministry. Elijah was his mentor.

 

When the day came for Elijah to be transported to Heaven, like Enoch was, Elijah asked Elisha if there was anything he could do for Elisha in the hours he had left on this earth. Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit to rest on him. Elijah said that if Elisha was present when he was raptured and saw it, and caught his mantle, then his request would be granted to him.

 

Elisha stayed close by Elijah’s side the entire day, and he witnessed firsthand the chariot of fire and horses, and a whirlwind, carry Elijah to Heaven. Elisha took hold of Elijah’s mantle. From that moment on, Elisha walked in a double portion anointing.

 

The first thing Elisha did was to take the mantle and strike the Jordan River. Then he cried out, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” The waters parted, so that he crossed over on dry land. After that, he began to perform miracles and even raised the dead. There is more than double the number of miracles recorded in the ministry of Elisha than in Elijah’s ministry.

 

Also, when Elisha prophetically proclaimed things, it happened just as he said.

 

Elijah and Elisha’s personalities were different. Elijah was more of a loner and dwelt in caves and the wilderness. He was more confrontational. Elisha was a people person, and enjoyed the company of his friends and ministry associates. He dwelt in towns around people.

 

2 Kings 2:19-25 says, Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water (spring) is bad, and the ground barren.”

 

And Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’” So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

 

Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

 

Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

 

The king of Israel, the king of Judah and the king of Edom joined forces in going up against the Moabites. However, they encountered problems due to lack of water for the men and their animals.

 

Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?”

 

So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.”

 

And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

 

Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

 

And Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. But now bring me a musician.”

 

Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. Also, you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

 

Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.

 

And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were gathered; and they stood at the border. Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood. And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!”

 

So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing the Moabites. Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of Kir Haraseth intact. However, the slingers surrounded and attacked it.

 

When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great indignation against Israel. So they departed from him and returned to their own land (2 Kings 3:11-27).

 

After that, Elisha began to perform many miracles.

 

A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”

 

So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”

 

Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”

 

So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”

 

And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest” (2 Kings 4:1-7).

 

Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food.

 

And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”

 

And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’”

 

She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”

 

So he said, “What then is to be done for her?”

 

And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

 

So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!”

 

But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.

 

And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. And he said to his father, “My head, my head!”

 

So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out.

 

Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.”

 

So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.” And she said, “It is well.”

 

Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

 

So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman! Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’” And she answered, “It is well.”

 

Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”

 

So she said, “Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”

 

Then he said to Gehazi, “Get yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but lay my staff on the face of the child.”

 

And the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore, he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has not awakened.”

 

When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

 

And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she picked up her son and went out (2 Kings 4:8-37).

 

Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.

 

So he said, “Then bring me some flour.” And he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot (2 Kings 4:38-41).

 

Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.”

 

But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?”

 

He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord (2 Kings 4:42-44).

 

Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.

 

And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman's wife. Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”

 

Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”

 

So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, “Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.”

 

And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore, please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”

 

So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

 

Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

 

And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

 

And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.”

 

But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.

 

So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing.”

 

Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a short distance (2 Kings 5:1-20).

 

But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?”

 

And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’”

 

So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him. When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed.

 

Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?”

 

And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.”

 

Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow (2 Kings 5:20-27).

 

The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.”

 

So he answered, “Go.”

 

Then one said, “Please consent to go with your servants.”

 

And he answered, “I will go.” So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”

 

So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. Therefore, he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it (2 Kings 6:1-7).

 

Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.” And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus, he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.

 

Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”

 

And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”

 

So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.”

 

And it was told him, saying, “Surely he is in Dothan.”

 

Therefore, he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

 

So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

 

Now Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” But he led them to Samaria.

 

So it was, when they had come to Samaria, that Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and there they were, inside Samaria!

 

Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”

 

But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel (2 Kings 6:8-23).

 

And it happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver.

 

Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”

 

And he said, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?” Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you?”

 

And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.”

 

Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes; and as he passed by on the wall, the people looked, and there underneath he had sackcloth on his body. Then he said, “God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!”

 

But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man ahead of him, but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent someone to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door. Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?”

 

And while he was still talking with them, there was the messenger, coming down to him; and then the king said, “Surely this calamity is from the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

 

Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’”

 

So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?”

 

And Elisha said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

 

Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.”

 

And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!”

 

Therefore, they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives. And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.

 

Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king's household.”

 

So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, “We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound—only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact.” And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king's household inside.

 

So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore, they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’”

 

And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see.”

 

Therefore, they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.” And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king. Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians.

 

So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.

 

Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.

 

So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.”

 

Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, “Now look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.

 

Then there is the story of the king who restored the Shunammite's land.

 

Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the Lord has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.” So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years.

 

It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land. Then the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done.”

 

Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” And when the king asked the woman, she told him.

 

So the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now” (2 Kings 6:24-8:7).

 

Then Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.”

 

And the king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’” So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel-loads; and he came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’”

 

And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover.’ However, the Lord has shown me that he will really die.” Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept. And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?”

 

He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.”

 

So Hazael said, “But what is your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?”

 

And Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will become king over Syria.”

 

Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me you would surely recover.” But it happened on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his place (2 Kings 8:7-15).

 

Jehu was anointed as king over Israel.

 

Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, “Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among his associates, and take him to an inner room.

 

Then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have anointed you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.”

 

So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sitting; and he said, “I have a message for you, Commander.”

 

Jehu said, “For which one of us?”

 

And he said, “For you, Commander.” Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel, both bond and free. So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.’” And he opened the door and fled.

 

Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?”

 

And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble.”

 

And they said, “A lie! Tell us now.”

 

So he said, “Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you king over Israel.’”

 

Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!” (2 Kings 9:1-13).

 

Jehu killed Joram and Ahaziah, the sons of Jezebel.

 

Then Jezebel had a violent death. Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a window. Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, “Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?”

 

And he looked up at the window, and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” So two or three eunuchs looked out at him. Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot.

 

And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “Go now, see to this accursed woman, and bury her, for she was a king's daughter.” So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. Therefore, they came back and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, ‘Here lies Jezebel’” (2 Kings 9:30-37).

 

Jehu commanded that all seventy sons of Ahab be beheaded. His command was carried out. He also killed all of Ahab’s great men and his close acquaintances and his priests (2 Kings 10:1-11).

 

Next, Jehu killed all 42 of Ahaziah’s brothers (2 Kings 10:12-14). Then he killed the rest of Ahab’s family (2 Kings 10:15-17).

 

Then Jehu had all the Baal worshippers put to death (2 Kings 10:18-31).

 

Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-eight years, then he died (2 Kings 10:36).

 

Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, “O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!”

 

And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So he took himself a bow and some arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot.

 

And he said, “The arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.”

 

Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped. And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times.”

 

Then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year. So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet (2 Kings 13:14-21).

 

 

 

Life of Ezra

 

 

Ezra’s name means “helper”.

 

Ezra was a scribe and priest who led the second company of Jewish exiles in Babylon back to Jerusalem in 458 B.C.

 

He was the son, or perhaps grandson, of Seraiah, and a lineal descendent of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the High Priest (Ezra 7:1-5).

 

All we know of his personal history is contained in the last four chapters of his book, and in Nehemiah 8 and 12:26.

 

In the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, he obtained leave to go up to Jerusalem and to take with him a company of Israelites (Ezra 8). Artaxerxes manifested great interest in Ezra's undertaking, granting him “all his request,” and loading him with gifts for the house of God. Artaxerxes even gave Ezra a royal letter (Ezra 7:11-16), granting him civil as well as religious authority, along with the finances to furnish the Temple, which had been rebuilt by the returned captives.

 

The king decreed, moreover, that the treasurers of the king should assist Ezra with a tribute of wheat, wine, oil and salt, and that they should impose no tribute, custom or toll upon any of those employed in the service of the house of God.

 

Ezra assembled the band of exiles, probably about 5,000 in all, who were prepared to go up with him to Jerusalem around 457 B.C., on the banks of the Ahava, where they rested for three days and fasted, and were put into order for their march across the desert, which was completed in four months. Among the exiles who returned to Jerusalem were the children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim.

 

 

Ezra was a skilled scribe and teacher with extensive training in the Books of the Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). After his return to Jerusalem, he apparently did a lot of work on the Hebrew Bible of that time, modernizing the language, correcting irregularities in the text, and updating and standardizing expressions in certain passages. References to this work by Ezra are found in 2 Esdras, one of the apocryphal books of the Old Testament. He also refers to himself in his own book as a skilled scribe (Ezra 7:6,12), whose task was to copy, interpret and transmit the books of the Law.

 

He was “a ready scribe in the law of Moses,” who “had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10).

 

When he arrived in Jerusalem, Ezra discovered that many of the Hebrew men had married foreign wives from the surrounding nations (Ezra 9:1,2). He rent his clothes and plucked out his hair. After a period of fasting and prayer (Ezra 9:3,15), he insisted that these men divorce their wives (Ezra 10:1,17). He feared that intermarriage with pagans would lead to worship of pagan gods among the restored community of Judah.

 

Ezra was authorized to appoint judges to judge the people according to the law of God and the law of the king, and to inflict punishments upon all who would not obey these laws.

 

For about fourteen years, i.e., till 445 B.C., we have no record of what went on in Jerusalem after Ezra had set in order the ecclesiastical and civil affairs of the nation. In that year another distinguished personage, Nehemiah, appears on the scene. After the ruined wall of the city had been built by Nehemiah, there was a great gathering of the people at Jerusalem preparatory to the dedication of the wall. On the appointed day the whole population assembled, and the law was read aloud to them by Ezra and his assistants (Nehemiah 8:3).

 

Several priests helped Ezra read the Law, translating and interpreting it for the people's clear understanding in their new language, Aramaic. This reading process went on for seven days as the people focused on God's commands.

 

During this period, they also celebrated one of their great religious festivals, the Feast of Tabernacles, with joy and enthusiasm, and the giving of gifts, to commemorate their sustenance by God in the wilderness following their miraculous escape from Egyptian bondage (Nehemiah 8). The result of this week of concentration on their heritage was a religious revival and awakening. For successive days they held solemn assemblies, confessing their sins and offering up solemn sacrifices. The people renewed their covenant with God (Nehemiah 9-10).

 

The date of his death is uncertain. There was a Jewish tradition that he was buried in Persia. The principal works ascribed to him by the Jews are:

 

1.          The instruction of the great synagogue

 

2.          The settling of the canon of Scripture, and restoring, correcting and editing the whole sacred volume

 

3.          The introduction of the Chaldee character instead of the old Hebrew or Samaritan

 

4.          The authorship of the books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and, some add, Esther; and, many of the Jews say, also of the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and the twelve prophets

 

5.          The establishment of synagogues

 

 

 

 

 

Life of Jonah

 

 

Jonah’s name means “dove”. The dove is the symbol of peace, Israel and the Holy Spirit.

 

Jonah was the son of Amittai and from Gath-hepher, a town in Zebulun in the northern kingdom of Israel.

 

Jonah was a prophet in Israel. He predicted the remarkable expansion of Israel's territory during the reign of Jeroboam II (who ruled about 793 B.C. - 753 B.C.; 2 Kings 14:25-27). He was a contemporary with Hosea and Amos; or possibly he preceded them, and consequently may have been the very oldest of all the prophets whose writings we possess.

 

Jonah is described as a “servant of the Lord” in 2 Kings 14:25. The Bible records the successes and strengths, as well as the failures and weaknesses of God’s servants.

 

In the Book of Jonah, it says that the word of the Lord came to Jonah, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

 

But Jonah was disobedient and arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa (known today as Jaffa, Israel near Tel Aviv), and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

 

Jonah tried to run from God, but he couldn’t. The Lord sent out a great wind on the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.

 

Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had laid down, and was fast asleep. So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”

 

They said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”

 

So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

 

Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”— for the sea was growing more tempestuous.

 

Then Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”

 

Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. Therefore, they cried out to the Lord and said, “We pray, O Lord, please do not let us perish for this man's life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.

 

Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, possibly a whale. Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah up on the beach.

 

While Jonah was in the belly of the fish, he cried out to the Lord in his distress. He said:

 

“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice. For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me. All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.

 

Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; the deep closed around me; weeds were wrapped around my head.

 

I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.

 

Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”

 

The word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

 

The people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. He caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying:

 

“Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let everyone turn from his evil ways and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?”

 

Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

 

This displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became very angry and depressed. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore, I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”

 

Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

 

Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. The Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah's head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

 

Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

 

And Jonah said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” (Jonah wanted to see Ninevah’s destruction, not their repentance.)

 

But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons (with women and children it was 600,000 people) who cannot discern between their right hand and their left — and much livestock?”

 

God's mercy triumphed over judgment.

 

The old tradition made the burial-place of Jonah to be Gath-hepher; the modern tradition places it at Nebi-Yunus, opposite Mosul.

 

The lesson that Jonah learned is that disobedience to the Word of the Lord brings severe consequences in this life and that to come.

 

Life of Joseph

 

 

Joseph was the 11^th son of Jacob, and Rachel’s firstborn son.

 

Rachel had been barren for her whole marriage up until she gave birth to Joseph. God remembered Rachel and opened up her womb and she conceived. When Joseph was born, Rachel said “God has taken away my reproach.” Then she named her son Joseph, which means “May He (God) add to me another son.”

 

Jacob loved and favored Joseph more than any of his other sons because Joseph was born to him in his older age and because he was the son of Rachel, the wife he was in love with.

 

When Joseph was around 10 years of age, his full brother Benjamin was born by Rachel. Rachel had complications in childbirth, and died. She was buried on the road to Bethlehem.

 

When Joseph was around 17 years of age, Jacob made for him a coat of many colors. The coat represented the favor Jacob had for Joseph, and also signified royalty.

 

Joseph’s older brothers were very jealous and envious of Joseph. They hated Joseph. They never had a kind word to say to him. They became especially angry when Joseph told them his dreams.

 

In Joseph’s first dream, he and his brothers were binding sheaves in the field. Joseph’s sheaf stood up, and his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to his sheaf. His brothers were outraged and said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words (Genesis 37:8).

 

Then Joseph had a second dream, which he shared with his father and brothers. In this dream, the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. His father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind (Genesis 37:10-11).

 

They were living in the Valley of Hebron at the time, and Joseph’s older brothers went to Shechem to feed their father’s flocks. Shechem was around 60 miles from Hebron. One day, Jacob asked Joseph to go to Shechem to inquire on the welfare of his brothers and the flocks, then to bring word back to him.

 

So Joseph went to Shechem, but did not find his brothers. While he was wandering around in a field, a man came to him to ask if he needed help. Joseph asked where his brothers and the flocks were. The man told them that they went to Dothan. So Joseph traveled on to Dothan.

 

While his brothers saw Joseph coming at a distance, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” (Genesis 37:19-20).

 

When Reuben heard of their plans, he delivered Joseph out of their hands. Reuben told them not to shed any blood, but to cast him into a pit in the wilderness. (Reuben was intending on later coming back and rescuing Joseph, and returning him to his father.)

 

When Joseph had come to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it (Genesis 37:23-24).

 

Soon thereafter, his brothers sat down to eat a meal. They looked and saw a band of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead heading down the road with all their goods strapped on their camels. The Midianites were going to sell their balm, spices and myrrh in Egypt.

 

(Reuben was not there with his brothers at that moment, so he didn’t know what they were conspiring to do until it was too late.)

 

Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt (Genesis 37:26-28).

 

A little while later when Reuben returned to the pit, and he saw that Joseph was gone, he tore his clothes. He returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?” (Genesis 37:30).

 

So Joseph’s brothers covered up their sin by killing a goat and dipping Joseph’s coat of many colors in the blood to make it look like a wild animal had devoured him. Joseph’s brothers returned to their father and said that they found a coat in the field. They asked him if it belonged to Joseph. When Jacob identified that it was the tunic that Joseph was wearing, and when he saw the blood, Jacob believed that a wild animal had torn apart his beloved son.

 

Jacob mourned over his son for many years to come. He had lost the love of his life, Rachel, and now lost Joseph. Jacob was overly protective of his son Benjamin, since he was the only son left of Rachel.

 

The Ishmaelites had sold Joseph, as a slave, in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard (Genesis 37:36).

 

Genesis 39:2-6 records: “The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus, he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.”

 

Joseph was very handsome in form and appearance.

 

It came to pass that Potiphar’s wife began to have “longing eyes” for Joseph. She even tried to seduce him into lying with her. Joseph was a pure man and he refused her advances. He said that Potiphar had entrusted everything within the household to him, except for his wife. Joseph could not sin against God.

 

It got to a point that day after day, she tried to talk Joseph into lying with her. Genesis 39:10 says that she spoke to Joseph day after day, but he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.

 

One day as he went into the house to do his work, she made advances to him again. She grabbed his garment, but he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside. So then she began crying: “Rape! Rape!” and falsely accused Joseph of attempted sexual assault.

 

When Potiphar found out, he was very angry and had Joseph put into the king’s prison.

 

The Lord was merciful with Joseph and gave him favor with the keeper of the prison. The keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper (Genesis 39:22-23).

 

It came to pass that the king’s chief butler and baker were cast into prison and were there a while. Each of them had a dream on the same night. They were perplexed by their dreams and didn’t know what they meant.

 

Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in the custody of his lord's house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”

 

They said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.”

 

So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”

 

Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. Then Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.”

 

Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”

 

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head. In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

 

So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you” (Genesis 40:6-19).

 

It came to pass exactly what Joseph had said about each one.

 

Genesis 40:20-23 says, “Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”

 

At the end of two full years, Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.

 

He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream.

 

In the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

 

Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day. When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

 

Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

 

So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

 

Then Pharaoh told Joseph his two dreams.

 

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine.

 

“This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.”

 

"Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine” (Genesis 41:1-36).

 

The advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”

 

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

 

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

 

Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph's hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

 

Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

 

Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt (Genesis 41:37-47).

 

For 13 years (from age 17 to 30), Joseph was a slave and prisoner in Egypt. Then he suddenly rose to power by the Hand of God as second in command over all Egypt.

 

During the seven years of plenty, Asenath bore Joseph two sons. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house.” The name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be double fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Genesis 41:51-52).

 

In the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities in granaries; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable (Genesis 41:47-49).

 

The seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.” The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands (Genesis 41:53-57).

 

Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt, so he sent his ten sons to go buy grain in Egypt, so they would live and not die. The famine in Canaan was severe. Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”

 

Joseph was Governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph's brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?”

 

And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

 

Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”

 

They said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. We are all one man's sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.” But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”

 

But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” So he put them all together in prison three days.

 

Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God: If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so.

 

Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore, this distress has come upon us.”

 

Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore, behold, his blood is now required of us.” But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. And Joseph he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. He took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes (Genesis 42:6-24).

 

Then Joseph gave a command to his servants to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man's money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them. So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”

 

Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: “The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’”

 

Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man's bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”

 

Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

 

But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave” (Genesis 42:25-38).

 

Now the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

 

Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?” But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

 

Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”

 

Their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”

 

So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

 

Now the brothers were afraid because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”

 

When they drew near to the steward of Joseph's house, they talked with him at the door of the house, and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food; but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”

 

But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

 

So the man brought the men into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. Then they made the present ready for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there. And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth. Then Joseph asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.

 

Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.”

 

So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.

 

They seated the brothers before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the brothers looked in astonishment at one another. Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin's serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him (Genesis 43:1-34).

 

Joseph commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack. Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.” So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

 

As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.’”

 

So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words. And they said to him, “Why does my lord say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing. Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord's house? With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's slaves.”

 

And he said, “Now also let it be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless.” Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack. So he searched. He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.

 

So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there; and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said to them, “What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?”

 

Then Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord's slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.”

 

But Joseph said, “Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

 

Then Judah began interceding for Benjamin.

 

Then Judah came near to him and said: “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him.’ Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ And we said to my lord, ‘The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.’

 

“So it was, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my lord. And our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ But we said, ‘We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons; and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces”; and I have not seen him since. But if you take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.’

 

“Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad's life, it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.’ Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?” (Genesis 44:1-34).

 

Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.

 

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

 

“Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children's children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.’”

 

“And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you. So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.

 

Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, “Joseph's brothers have come.” So it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan. Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.

 

Now you are commanded—do this: Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives; bring your father and come. Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

 

Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them carts, according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments.

 

And he sent to his father these things: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey. So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them, “See that you do not become troubled along the way.”

 

Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob's heart stood still, because he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die” (Genesis 45:1-28).

 

So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.”

 

He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”

 

Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. His sons and his sons' sons, his daughters and his sons' daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

 

There were seventy souls in all who went down to Egypt.

 

Then Jacob sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.

 

And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”  (Jacob lived for another 17 years after being reunited with Joseph.)

 

Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ that you shall say, ‘Your servants' occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians” (Genesis 46:1-34).

 

Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.” And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?”

 

And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”

 

Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”

 

Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?” Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

 

Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with bread, according to the number in their families.

 

The famine grew worse.

 

Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.

 

So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.”

 

Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.” So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus, he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

 

When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”

 

Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh's. And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.

 

Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”

 

So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.” Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh's (Genesis 47:1-26).

 

Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob's life was one hundred and forty-seven years. When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”

 

And he said, “I will do as you have said.” Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him.  So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed (Genesis 47:27-31).

 

Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

 

Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

 

And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

 

Then Israel saw Joseph's sons, and said, “Who are these?” Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”

 

Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

 

So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him.

 

Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads.  Let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

 

Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

 

But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

 

So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

 

Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow” (Genesis 48:1-21).

 

A short time later, Jacob prophesied over each of his twelve sons. To Joseph he said:

 

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall.

 

The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him.

 

But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

 

By the God of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

 

The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.”

 

Genesis 49:22-26

 

When Jacob died, he was surrounded by his family. Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. Then he commanded the physicians to embalm his father. The Egyptians mourned for him for seventy days.

 

Now when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’”

 

Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.” So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.

 

Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore, its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

 

So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.

 

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you. Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.’" And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

 

Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

 

Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

 

So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph's knees.

 

Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

 

The story of Joseph is an encouragement to us today that God can bring a person from the pit to the Palace.

 

There are many similarities between the life of Joseph and the life of Jesus Christ.

 

Similarities between the life of Joseph (son of Jacob) and Jesus

 

Joseph	Jesus
Beloved of his father Jacob - Gen 37:3-4.	Beloved of his Father (God, Jehovah) - Matt 3:17.
Was a firstborn son of Rachel - Gen 30:22-24.	Was Mary’s firstborn son - Matt 1:25.
Was a shepherd - Gen 37:2.	Is the Good Shepherd - John 10.
Was hated by his brothers - Gen 37:4.	Was hated by his brothers, the Jews (religious leaders) - John 15:25; Luke 19:14.
Was hated for his words - Gen 37:8.	Was and is hated for his words of truth - John 15:18.
His brothers envied him - Gen 37:11.	The Jews envied Jesus - Matt 27:17-18.
Was promised a remarkable future - Gen 37:7-12.	Looked past the cross to the joy set before Him - Heb 12:2.
Foretold of his future sovereignty - Gen 37:7-12.	Foretold of His future sovereignty - Matt 26:64.
Was sent by his father to his brothers - Gen 37:13-17.	Was sent to the lost sheep of Israel by his Father - Matt 15:24.
Seeks out his brothers, and seeks their best welfare - Gen 37:14-17.	Sought out his brethren, and did not come to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through Him - Luke 19:10; John 3:16-17.
Was conspired against - Gen 37:18.	Jesus was conspired against - Matt 12:14.
Was stripped of his coat of many colors - Gen 37:23.	Was stripped of his tunic and seamless coat - John 19:23.
Was cast into a pit - Gen 37:24.	Was placed in a tomb - Mark 6:29.
Lifted from the pit alive - Gen 37:28.	Was bodily resurrected from the grave - Mark 16:9-11.
Betrayed by his brothers - Gen 37:27-28.	Betrayed by Judas Iscariot - Matt 26:23-25, 47-49.
Sold for twenty pieces of silver - Gen 37:28.	Sold for thirty pieces of silver - Matt 26:15.
His blood sprinkled coat (of goat blood) was presented to his father - Gen 37:31-32.	Jesus is our scapegoat and His Blood was presented to the heavenly Father as a sin offering - Lev 16:8-15; Heb 9:12-14, 10:12,19-22.
Taken from Israel to Egypt, where he was sold to Potiphar as a slave - Gen 37:28.	Taken from Israel to Egypt when He was two years old to escape Herod’s brutal massacre of children – Matt 2:13-15.
Became a servant in Potiphar’s house - Gen 39:1-6.	Became a servant to mankind - Phil 2:6-7.
His master, the Egyptian, was well pleased with him - Gen 39:4.	The Father is well pleased with His Son Jesus - Matt 17:5; Luke 3:22.
Was tempted and refused to sin, and he fled from sin - Gen 39:7-12.	Was tempted in every way, but sinned not - Heb 4:15.
Was falsely accused - Gen 39:13-19.	Was falsely accused - Matt 26:59-60.
Attempted no defense - Gen 39:19-20.	Jesus gave no defense at His trials - Matt 26:62-63; Isa 53:7.
Was put into prison and treated like a criminal, though he was innocent - Gen 39:20.	Was sentenced to death though Pilate found no fault in him - John 19:4-20.  He suffered as a criminal.
Joseph first suffered at the hands of his brothers, then by the Gentiles (the Egyptians) - Gen 39-40.	Jesus first suffered at the hands of the Jews, and then by the Gentiles (the Romans) - Matt 27:22-54.
Was numbered with the transgressors - Gen 39:20.	Was numbered with the transgressors - Mark 15:28; Isa 53:12.
Gave credit to God alone for his knowledge of the future - Gen 40:8.	Acknowledged that He only spoke what His Father told Him to speak - John 12:49.
Desired to be remembered by the butler - Gen 40:14-15.	Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me” - Luke 22:19.
Joseph is portrayed as the wonderful counselor in giving wisdom to Pharoah - Gen 41:33-36.	He is the Wonderful Counselor - Isa 9:6. Christ is known as the One in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge - Col 2:3.
Cast into the dungeon – Gen 41:14	Spent the night in the dungeon after He was arrested
Was delivered from the dungeon by the hand of God - Gen 41:1-46.	Was delivered from Sheol and risen to life by the power of God - Acts 2:31; Ps 16:10; Rom 8:11.
Exalted to second in command over all Egypt - Gen 41:39-44.	Exalted to the right hand of God - Acts 2:33.
Given a new name—Zaphnath-Paaneah - Gen 41:45.	God has given Him a Name that is above every other name - Phil 2:9.
Joseph’s brothers bowed down before him - Gen 42:6.	Every knee will bow before Him and confess that Jesus is Lord - Phil 2:9-11.
Was given a Gentile bride (Asenath) - Gen 41:45.	The Bride of Christ is composed of Jews and Gentiles - Gal 3:28; Rev 22:17.
Began his reign at age 30 - Gen 41:46.	Began His public ministry at age 30 - Luke 3:23.
Became a savior to all peoples - Gen 41:57, 45:7.	Became the Savior to the whole world - John 3:16-17.
Was reunited with his brothers - Gen 45:1-28.	Will be reconciled with the Jews (they will see Jesus as their Messiah) - Zech 12:10-14; Rev 1:7.

 

 

 

 

 

Life of Joshua

 

 

Joshua’s original name was Hoshea, meaning “help” or “he will save”. He is later referred to as Jehoshua, meaning “Jehovah is help” or “Jehovah is Salvation” (Numbers 13:16). Jehovah would save the nation of Israel through His servant Joshua.

 

Joshua is the son of Nun, and from the tribe of Ephraim (Numbers 13:8, 1 Chronicles 7:27). He was born in Egypt and was a slave. He is closely associated with Caleb. Joshua was around 40 years old when the Israelites left Egypt.

 

While in Egypt as a slave laboring amidst Egyptian brick kilns, Joshua had leadership capabilities. He was recognized as an officer among his brethren.

 

He shared in all the events of the Passover and Exodus, and held the place of commander of the host of the Israelites at their great battle against the Amalekites in Rephidim (Exodus 17:8-16).

 

Joshua became Moses' minister or servant, and accompanied him part of the way when he ascended Mount Sinai to receive the two tables, or ten commandments (Exodus 32:17). Joshua also served in the Sanctuary. Moses served as Joshua’s mentor.

 

Joshua was also one of the twelve spies who were sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan (Numbers 13:16,17), and only he and Caleb gave an encouraging, faith-filled report. Joshua and Caleb said that the Israelites were well able to take the land and to proceed at once.

 

However, the other ten spies gave a negative, fear-filled report about how they were like grasshoppers in the eyes of the Canaanites. Therefore, the people were filled with fear and did not go in to possess the promised land. The ten spies all died of a plague, and the entire first generation of Israelites (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb) died in the wilderness. It was the second generation of Israelites who, under the command of Joshua, went in and defeated their enemies and took the land.

 

Under the direction of God, Moses, before his death, invested Joshua in a public and solemn manner with authority over the people as his successor (Deuteronomy 31:23). The people accepted Joshua as their new leader.

 

Joshua 1:10-11 says, Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, 'Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess’” (NKJV).

 

The people were encamped at Shittim when Joshua assumed the command; and crossing the Jordan, they encamped at Gilgal, where, having circumcised the people, he kept the Passover, and was visited by the Captain of the Lord's host.

 

Joshua 5:13-15 says, And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

 

The Lord spoke to Joshua and said: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.

 

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

 

Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.

 

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:2-9, NKJV).

 

The first place they conquered was the walled city of Jericho. The instructions that God had given them was to march around the city for six days and remain silent while marching. Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, and on the seventh time for the priests to blow the ram’s horns and shout. When they did that, and the walls came tumbling down and the army rushed in and slaughtered everyone, with the exception of Rahab and her family, because she had hidden the spies. She had the scarlet cord hanging out of her window.

 

Now began the wars of conquest which Joshua carried on for many years, the record of which is in the book which bears his name. Six nations and thirty-one kings were conquered by him (Joshua 11:18-23; 12:24).

 

In Joshua 10, the kings of the Amorites went to war against Israel at Gibeon. After fighting all day, it was getting late in the day. Joshua commanded the sun to stand still and it did. Joshua declared in verses 12-14: “Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.” And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.

 

Having thus subdued the Canaanites, Joshua divided the land among the tribes, Timnath-serah in Mount Ephraim being assigned to himself as his own inheritance.

 

His work being done, he died, at the age of one hundred and ten years, twenty-five years after having crossed the Jordan. He was buried in his own city of Timnath-serah (Joshua 24); and “the light of Israel for the time faded away.”

 

Joshua made a famous statement in Joshua 24:15. He said, “Choose you this day whom you will serve … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

 

Joshua, by faith and action, inherited all the promised land that God had promised to the Children of Israel. He is an example to us today how we too, through faith, can inherit all of the promises of God that He has for us.

 

 

 

 

 

David’s name means “beloved”. He was the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother's name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Samuel 17:25. As to his personal appearance, we only know that he was red-haired, with beautiful eyes and a fair face (1 Samuel 16:12; 17:42).

 

His early occupation was that of tending his father's sheep on the uplands of Judah. From what we know of his after history, doubtless he frequently beguiled his time, when thus engaged, with his shepherd's flute, while he drank in the many lessons taught him by the varied scenes spread around him. His first recorded exploits were his encounters with the wild beasts of the field. He mentions that with his own unaided hand he slew a lion and also a bear, when they came out against his flock, beating them to death in open conflict with his club (1 Samuel 17:34,35).

 

While David, in the freshness of ruddy youth, was thus engaged with his flocks, Samuel paid an unexpected visit to Bethlehem, having been guided thither by divine direction (1 Samuel 16:1-13). There he offered up sacrifice, and called the elders of Israel and Jesse's family to the sacrificial meal. Among all who appeared before him he failed to discover the one he sought. David was sent for, and the prophet immediately recognized him as the chosen of God, chosen to succeed Saul, who was now departing from the ways of God, on the throne of the kingdom. He accordingly, in anticipation, poured on his head the anointing oil. David went back again to his shepherd life, but "the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward," and "the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul" (1 Samuel 16:13,14).

 

Not long after this David was sent for to soothe with his harp the troubled spirit of Saul, who suffered from a strange melancholy dejection. He played before the king so skilfully that Saul was greatly cheered, and began to entertain great affection for the young shepherd. After this he went home to Bethlehem. But he soon again came into prominence.

 

The armies of the Philistines and of Israel were in battle array in the valley of Elah, some 16 miles south-west of Bethlehem; and David was sent by his father with provisions for his three brothers, who were then fighting on the side of the king. On his arrival in the camp of Israel, David (now about twenty years of age) was made aware of the state of matters when the champion of the Philistines, Goliath of Gath, came forth to defy Israel. David took his sling, and with a well-trained aim threw a stone "out of the brook," which struck the giant's forehead, so that he fell senseless to the ground. David then ran and slew him, and cut off his head with his own sword (1 Samuel 17). The result was a great victory to the Israelites, who pursued the Philistines to the gates of Gath and Ekron.

 

David's popularity consequent on this heroic exploit awakened Saul's jealousy (1 Samuel 18:6-16), which he showed in various ways. He conceived a bitter hatred toward him, and by various stratagems sought his death (1 Samuel 18-30). The deep-laid plots of the enraged king, who could not fail to observe that David "prospered exceedingly," all proved futile, and only endeared the young hero the more to the people, and very specially to Jonathan, Saul's son, between whom and David a life-long warm friendship was formed.

 

A fugitive. To escape from the vengeance of Saul, David fled to Ramah (1 Samuel 19:12-18) to Samuel, who received him, and he dwelt among the sons of the prophets, who were there under Samuel's training. It is supposed by some that the sixth, seventh, and eleventh Psalms were composed by him at this time. This place was only 3 miles from the residence of Saul, who soon discovered whither the fugitive had gone, and tried ineffectually to bring him back. Jonathan made a fruitless effort to bring his father to a better state of mind toward David (1 Samuel 20), who, being made aware of the fact, saw no hope of safety but in flight to a distance.

 

We accordingly find him first at Nob (21:1-9) and then at Gath, the chief city of the Philistines. The king of the Philistines would not admit him into his service, as he expected that he would, and David accordingly now betook himself to the stronghold of Adullam (22:1-4; 1 Chronicles 12:8-18). Here in a short time 400 men gathered around him and acknowledged him as their leader. It was at this time that David, amid the harassment and perils of his position, cried, "Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem;" when three of his heroes broke through the lines of the Philistines and brought him the water for which he longed (2 Samuel 23:13-17), but which he would not drink.

 

In his rage at the failure of all his efforts to seize David, Saul gave orders for the massacre of the entire priestly family at Nob, "persons who wore a linen ephod", to the number of eighty-five persons, who were put to death by Doeg the Edomite. The sad tidings of the massacre were brought to David by Abiathar, a son of Ahimelech, the only one who escaped. Comp. Psalms 52.

 

Hearing that Keilah, a town on the western frontier, was harassed by the Philistines, David with his men relieved it (1 Samuel 23:1-14); and then, for fear of Saul, he fled to the strongholds in the "hill country" of Judah. Comp. Psalms 31. While encamped there, in the forest in the district of Ziph, he was visited by Jonathan, who spoke to him words of encouragement (23:16-18). The two now parted never to meet again.

 

Saul continued his pursuit of David, who narrowly escaped from him at this time, and fled to the crags and ravines of Engedi, on the western shore of the Dead Sea (1 Samuel 23:29). Here Saul, who still pursued him with his army, narrowly escaped, through the generous forbearance of David, and was greatly affected by what David had done for him. He returned home from pursuing him, and David betook himself to Maon, where, with his 600 men, he maintained himself by contributions gathered from the district. Here occurred the incident connected with Nabal and his wife Abigail (1 Samuel 25), whom David married after Nabal's death.

 

Saul again went forth (1 Samuel 26) in pursuit of David, who had hid himself "in the hill Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon," in the wilderness of Ziph, and was a second time spared through his forbearance. He returned home, professing shame and penitence for the way in which he had treated David, and predicting his elevation to the throne.

 

Fighting against Israel. Harassed by the necessity of moving from place to place through fear of Saul, David once more sought refuge among the Philistines (1 Samuel 27). He was welcomed by the king, who assigned him Ziklag as his residence. Here David lived among his followers for some time as an independent chief engaged in frequent war with the Amalekites and other tribes on the south of Judah.

 

Achish summoned David with his men to join his army against Saul; but the lords of the Philistines were suspicious of David's loyalty, and therefore he was sent back to Ziklag, which he found to his dismay may had been pillaged and burnt during his brief absence. David pursued after the raiders, the Amalekites, and completely routed them. On his return to Ziklag tidings reached him of Saul's death (2 Samuel 1).

 

An Amalekite brought Saul's crown and bracelet and laid them at his feet. David and his men rent their clothes and mourned for Saul, who had been defeated in battle near Mount Gilboa. David composed a beautiful elegy, the most beautiful of all extant Hebrew odes, a "lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son" (2 Samuel 1:18-27). It bore the title of "The Bow," and was to be taught to the children, that the memory of Saul and Jonathan might be preserved among them. "Behold, it is written in the book of Jasher" (q.v.).

 

David king over Judah. David and his men now set out for Hebron under divine direction (2 Samuel 2:1-4). There they were cordially welcomed, and he was at once anointed as king. He was now about thirty years of age.

 

But his title to the throne was not undisputed. Abner took Ish-bosheth, Saul's only remaining son, over the Jordan to Mahanaim, and there crowned him as king. Then began a civil war in Israel. The first encounter between the two opposing armies, led on the one side by Abner, and on the other by Joab, took place at the pool of Gibeon. It resulted in the defeat of Abner.

 

Other encounters, however, between Israel and Judah followed (2 Samuel 3:1,5), but still success was on the side of David. For the space of seven and a half years David reigned in Hebron. Abner now sided with David, and sought to promote his advancement; but was treacherously put to death by Joab in revenge for his having slain his brother Asahel at Gibeon (3:22-39). This was greatly to David's regret. He mourned for the death of Abner. Shortly after this Ish-bosheth was also treacherously put to death by two Canaanites of Beeroth; and there being now no rival, David was anointed king over all Israel (4).

 

David king over all Israel (2 Samuel 5:1-5; 1 Chronicles 11:1-3). The elders of Israel now repaired to Hebron and offered allegiance to David in name of all the people, among whom the greatest enthusiasm prevailed. He was anointed king over all Israel, and sought out a new seat of government, more suitable than Hebron, as the capital of his empire. At this time there was a Jebusite fortress, "the stronghold", on the hill of Zion, called also Jebus. This David took from the Jebusites, and made it Israel's capital, and established here his residence, and afterwards built for himself a palace by the aid of Tyrian tradesmen. The Philistines, who had for some time observed a kind of truce, now made war against David; but were defeated in battle at a place afterwards called, in remembrance of the victory, Baal-perazim. Again they invaded the land, and were a second time routed by him. He thus delivered Israel from their enemies.

 

David now resolved to bring up the Ark of the Covenant to his new capital (2 Samuel 6). It was in the house of Abinadab at Kirjath-jearim, about 7 miles from Jerusalem, where it had been for many years, from the time when the Philistines had sent it home (1 Samuel 6; 7). In consequence of the death of Uzzah (for it was a divine ordinance that only the Levites should handle the ark, Numbers 4), who had put forth his hand to steady the ark when the cart in which it was being conveyed shook by reason of the roughness of the road, David stayed the procession, and conveyed the ark into the house of Obed-edom, a Philistine from Gath.

 

After three months David brought the ark from the house of Obed-edom up to Jerusalem. Comp. Psalms 24. Here it was placed in a new tent or tabernacle which David erected for the purpose. About seventy years had passed since it had stood in the tabernacle at Shiloh. The old tabernacle was now at Gibeah, at which Zadok ministered. David now (1 Chronicles 16) carefully set in order all the ritual of divine worship at Jerusalem, along with Abiathar the high priest. A new religious era began. The service of praise was for the first time introduced into public worship. Zion became henceforth "God's holy hill."

 

David's wars. David now entered on a series of conquests which greatly extended and strengthened his kingdom (2 Samuel 8). In a few years the whole territory from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt, and from Gaza on the west to Thapsacus on the east, was under his sway (2 Samuel 8:3-13; 10).

 

David's fall. He had now reached the height of his glory. He ruled over a vast empire, and his capital was enriched with the spoils of many lands. But in the midst of all this success he fell, and his character became stained with the sin of adultery (2 Samuel 11:2-27). It has been noted as characteristic of the Bible that while his military triumphs are recorded in a few verses, the sad story of his fall is given in detail, a story full of warning, and therefore recorded. This crime, in the attempt to conceal it, led to anoter. He was guilty of murder. Uriah, whom he had foully wronged, an officer of the Gibborim, the corps of heros (23:39), was, by his order, "set in the front of the hottest battle" at the siege of Rabbah, in order that he might be put to death. Nathan the prophet (2 Samuel 7:1-17; 12:1-23) was sent by God to bring home his crimes to the conscience of the guilty monarch. He became a true penitent. He bitterly bewailed his sins before God. The thirty-second and fifty-first Psalms reveal the deep struggles of his soul, and his spiritual recovery.

 

Bathsheba became his wife after Uriah's death. Her first-born son died, according to the word of the prophet. She gave birth to a second son, whom David called Solomon, and who ultimately succeeded him on the throne (2 Samuel 12:24,25).

 

Peace. After the successful termination of all his wars, David formed the idea of building a temple for the ark of God. This he was not permitted to carry into execution, because he had been a man of war. God, however, sent Nathan to him with a gracious message (2 Samuel 7:1-16). On receiving it he went into the sanctuary, the tent where the ark was, and sat before the Lord, and poured out his heart in words of devout thanksgiving (18-29). The building of the temple was reserved for his son Solomon, who would be a man of peace (1 Chronicles 22:9; 28:3).

 

A cloudy evening. Hitherto David's carrer had been one of great prosperity and success. Now cloudy and dark days came. His eldest son Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam of Jezreel, was guilty of a great and shameful crime (2 Samuel 13). This was the beginning of the disasters of his later years. After two years Absalom terribly avenged the crime against Tamar, and put Amnon to death. This brought sore trouble to David's heart. Absalom, afraid of the consequences of his guilt, fled to Geshur beyond Jordan, where he remained for three years, when he was brought back through the intrigue of Joab (2 Samuel 14).

 

After this there fell upon the land the calamity of three years' famine (2 Samuel 21:1-14). This was soon after followed by a pestilence, brought upon the land as a punishment for David's sinful pride in numbering the people (2 Samuel 24), in which no fewer than 70,000 perished in the space of three days.

 

Rebellion of Absalom. The personal respect for David was sadly lowered by the incident of Bathsheba. There was a strong popular sentiment against the taking of the census, and the outburst of the plague in connection with it deepened the feeling of jealously that had begun to manifest itself among some of the tribes against David. Absalom, taking full advantage of this state of things, gradually gained over the people, and at length openly rebelled against his father, and usurped the throne. Ahithophel was Absalom's chief counsellor. The revolt began in Hebron, the capital of Judah. Absalom was there proclaimed king. David was now in imminent danger, and he left Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:13-20), and once more became a fugitive.

 

It was a momentous day in Israel. The incidents of it are recorded with a fulness of detail greater than of any other day in Old Testament history. David fled with his followers to Mahanarm, on the east of Jordan. An unnatural civil war broke out. After a few weeks the rival armies were mustered and organized. They met in hostile array at the wood of Ephraim (2 Samuel 18:1-8). Absalom's army was defeated, and himself put to death by the hand of Joab (9-18). The tidings of the death of his rebellious son filled the heart of David with the most poignant grief. He "went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept" (33), giving utterance to the heart-broken cry, "Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!"

 

Peace was now restored, and David returned to Jerusalem and resumed the direction of affairs. An unhappy dispute arose between the men of Judah and the men of Israel (19:41-43). Sheba, a Benjamite, headed a revolt of the men of Israel. He was pursued to Abelbeth-maachah, and was there put to death, and so the revolt came to an end.

 

The end. After the suppression of the rebellion of Absalom and that of Sheba, ten comparatively peaceful years of David's life passed away. During those years he seems to have been principally engaged in accumulating treasures of every kind for the great temple at Jerusalem, which it was reserved to his successor to build (1 Chronicles 22; 28; 29), a house which was to be "exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries" (22:5).

 

The exciting and laborious life he had spent, and the dangers and trials through which he had passed, had left him an enfeebled man, prematurely old. It became apparent that his life was now drawing to its close. A new palace conspiracy broke out as to who should be his successor. Joab favored Adonijah. The chiefs of his party met at the "Fuller's spring," in the valley of Kidron, to proclaim him king; but Nathan hastened on a decision on the part of David in favor of Solomon, and so the aim of Adonijah's party failed.

 

Solomon was brought to Jerusalem, and was anointed king and seated on his father's throne (1 Kings 1:11-53). David's last words are a grand utterance, revealing his unfailing faith in God, and his joyful confidence in his gracious covenant promises (2 Samuel 23:1-7).

 

After a reign of forty years and six months (2 Samuel 5:5; 1 Chronicles 3:4) David died (1015 B.C.) at the age of seventy years, "and was buried in the city of David." His tomb is still pointed out on Mount Zion.

 

Both in his prophetical and in his regal character David was a type of the Messiah (1 Samuel 16:13). The book of Psalms commonly bears the title of the "Psalms of David," from the circumstance that he was the largest contributor (about eighty psalms) to the collection. (See PSALMS.)

 

"The greatness of David was felt when he was gone. He had lived in harmony with both the priesthood and the prophets; a sure sign that the spirit of his government had been thoroughly loyal to the higher aims of the theocracy. The nation had not been oppressed by him, but had been left in the free enjoyment of its ancient liberties.

 

As far as his power went he had striven to act justly to all (2 Samuel 8:15). His weak indulgence to his sons, and his own great sin besides, had been bitterly atoned, and were forgotten at his death in the remembrance of his long-tried worth.

 

He had reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem and seven and a half at Hebron (2 Samuel 5:5). Israel at his accession had reached the lowest point of national depression; its new-born unity rudely dissolved; its territory assailed by the Philistines. But he had left it an imperial power, with dominions like those of Egypt or Assyria. The sceptre of Solomon was already, before his father's death, owned from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, and from the Orontes to the Red Sea.", Geikie's Hours etc., iii.

 

 

 

 

Life of Samuel

 

 

Samuel means “heard of God”. Samuel was born as an answer to prayer. His father was Elkanah and his mother was Hannah. They were from Ramah.

 

Hannah could not conceive, and longed to be a mother of children. Elkanah’s second wife, Penninah, who had given birth to sons and daughters already, would torment Hannah about her barrenness. Hannah grew bitter and desperate.

 

Yearly all the family would travel to Shiloh, to worship in the Sanctuary and offer sacrifices. Even while at the Sanctuary, Penninah would provoke Hannah about her inability to bear children, and it would cause Hannah to fret and cry tears of sorrow. Penninah was jealous of Hannah because Elkanah loved and favored Hannah more than he did Penninah. When it came time for Elkanah to make offerings, he would give portions to Penninah and her children. But to Hannah he gave a “worthy, double portion”.

 

This went on year after year. Every year when they went to the Tabernacle in Shiloh, Hannah’s rival Penninah would say remarks to make Hannah miserable, to the point where Hannah wept and refused to eat. Elkanah tried to console his wife Hannah by saying, “Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

 

One year while in Shiloh, while at the Tabernacle, Hannah was grieved in spirit and wept in anguish. She poured out her complaint and petition to the Lord. She promised God that if He gave her a son, that she would dedicate him to the Lord and he would grow up a Nazarite and serve in the Tabernacle all the days of his life.

 

Hannah prayed silently, but in great sorrow. Her lips were moving, but no sound came from her voice. Eli, the priest, was sitting nearby and he thought she was drunk. Hannah replied that she was not intoxicated with wine or strong drink, but was sorrowful in spirit. Then Samuel said, “Go in peace, and may the Lord grant your petition.”

 

After the family returned to Ramah, the Lord remembered Hannah and after a process of time she conceived and bore a son. She named him “Samuel”, saying “Because I have asked for him of the Lord.”

 

Hannah remained at home in Ramah, and would not go to the yearly pilgrimage to Shiloh to offer sacrifices and pay vows. She waited until Samuel was weaned. Josephus says that Samuel was twelve years old when he entered the service of the Lord at Shiloh. Samuel remained with Eli in the Tabernacle. He was trained in the priesthood.

 

When Samuel’s family would make visits to Shiloh, Hannah would bring robes that she had made for Samuel to wear. Eli would bless them and ask the Lord to give them many descendants because they had lent Samuel to the Lord.

 

Hannah bore a total of five children – three sons and two daughters (1 Samuel 2:5).

 

Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod.

 

The sons of Eli were corrupt. They did not know the Lord.

 

Samuel received his first vision and prophecy when he was just a youth.

 

At night, Eli was lying down in one room, and Samuel was in another room. Suddenly Samuel heard “Samuel, Samuel”. He thought Eli was calling him, but Eli said he did not call him and sent Samuel back to bed. This happened three times, and then Eli realized that it was the Lord speaking to Samuel. So Eli told Samuel that the next time his name was called, for him to say “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”

 

Soon thereafter, Samuel was lying down and he heard “Samuel, Samuel”, and he said, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” The Lord gave Samuel a prophecy about the house of Eli. The sons of Eli were wicked and vile. God was sending judgment on the house of Eli. The next morning, Eli wanted to know everything that God told Samuel. So Samuel told him all of the vision. After that, Samuel became known as a prophet in Israel. And all the days of Samuel’s life, none of his words fell to the ground.

 

Eli judged Israel for forty years. He was 98 years old when he died. As he sat by the gate, he heard the news that the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines, and that his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were dead. Eli fell backwards, broke his neck and died.

 

The Philistines returned the Ark seven months later, after God had smitten them with tumors. The Ark was taken to Kirjath Jearim and brought into the house of Abinadab. Eleazar was consecrated to keep the Ark of the Lord. The Ark remained there for twenty years.

 

Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

 

As Samuel got older, he appointed his sons as judges. However, they were corrupt.

 

The people of Israel began to cry out for a king. All the other nations had kings, and they wanted a king to rule over them. Samuel was grieved, because he knew a king would bring them into bondage rather than being free, and they would have to pay high taxes. But God said to Samuel that the people were not rejecting him, but rejecting the Lord as their King. So Samuel anointed Saul, a Benjamite, to be Israel’s king.

 

Therefore, Samuel was the last of fifteen judges who were leaders of Israel.

 

In the early years of King Saul’s reign, he had a tender heart towards God. He obeyed and feared the Lord. However, pride, jealousy, hatred and murder filled his heart. Saul was often troubled by evil spirits. Saul began to disobey the Lord. He even consulted a witch. Therefore, God rejected Saul as king, and instead chose David to be king.

 

Samuel was the one who gave the prophecy to Saul of the Lord rejecting him as king. The Lord told Samuel to not mourn over King Saul, but to take oil and anoint the son of Jesse to be the next king—a man who would obey God fully and be a man after God’s own heart.

 

Samuel anointed the youngest son of Jesse, David, to be king. However, it was years before David actually sat on the Throne.

 

When Samuel died, the Israelites gathered together and lamented for him, and buried him at his home in Ramah.

 

In addition to his work as judge, prophet, and priest, Samuel is also known as the author of the Books of First and Second Samuel. He apparently wrote much of the material contained in these books during the reigns of Saul and David. After Samuel's death, these books were completed by an unknown writer, perhaps Abiathar, the priest who served during David's administration.

 

At Ramah, Samuel gathered a company of young men around him and established a school of the prophets, whose education, beside the law, was in sacred, vocal, and instrumental music and processions (1 Samuel 10:5,10; 19:19-20; 1 Chronicles 25:1,6).

 

The schools of the prophets, thus originated, and afterwards established also at Gibeah, Bethel, Gilgal, and Jericho, exercised an important influence on the national character and history of the people in maintaining pure religion in the midst of growing corruption.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life of Samuel

 

 

Samuel means “heard of God”. Samuel was born as an answer to prayer. His father was Elkanah and his mother was Hannah. They were from Ramah.

 

Hannah could not conceive, and longed to be a mother of children. Elkanah’s second wife, Penninah, who had given birth to sons and daughters already, would torment Hannah about her barrenness. Hannah grew bitter and desperate.

 

Yearly all the family would travel to Shiloh, to worship in the Sanctuary and offer sacrifices. Even while at the Sanctuary, Penninah would provoke Hannah about her inability to bear children, and it would cause Hannah to fret and cry tears of sorrow. Penninah was jealous of Hannah because Elkanah loved and favored Hannah more than he did Penninah. When it came time for Elkanah to make offerings, he would give portions to Penninah and her children. But to Hannah he gave a “worthy, double portion”.

 

This went on year after year. Every year when they went to the Tabernacle in Shiloh, Hannah’s rival Penninah would say remarks to make Hannah miserable, to the point where Hannah wept and refused to eat. Elkanah tried to console his wife Hannah by saying, “Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

 

One year while in Shiloh, while at the Tabernacle, Hannah was grieved in spirit and wept in anguish. She poured out her complaint and petition to the Lord. She promised God that if He gave her a son, that she would dedicate him to the Lord and he would grow up a Nazarite and serve in the Tabernacle all the days of his life.

 

Hannah prayed silently, but in great sorrow. Her lips were moving, but no sound came from her voice. Eli, the priest, was sitting nearby and he thought she was drunk. Hannah replied that she was not intoxicated with wine or strong drink, but was sorrowful in spirit. Then Samuel said, “Go in peace, and may the Lord grant your petition.”

 

After the family returned to Ramah, the Lord remembered Hannah and after a process of time she conceived and bore a son. She named him “Samuel”, saying “Because I have asked for him of the Lord.”

 

Hannah remained at home in Ramah, and would not go to the yearly pilgrimage to Shiloh to offer sacrifices and pay vows. She waited until Samuel was weaned. Josephus says that Samuel was twelve years old when he entered the service of the Lord at Shiloh. Samuel remained with Eli in the Tabernacle. He was trained in the priesthood.

 

When Samuel’s family would make visits to Shiloh, Hannah would bring robes that she had made for Samuel to wear. Eli would bless them and ask the Lord to give them many descendants because they had lent Samuel to the Lord.

 

Hannah bore a total of five children – three sons and two daughters (1 Samuel 2:5).

 

Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod.

 

The sons of Eli were corrupt. They did not know the Lord.

 

Samuel received his first vision and prophecy when he was just a youth.

 

At night, Eli was lying down in one room, and Samuel was in another room. Suddenly Samuel heard “Samuel, Samuel”. He thought Eli was calling him, but Eli said he did not call him and sent Samuel back to bed. This happened three times, and then Eli realized that it was the Lord speaking to Samuel. So Eli told Samuel that the next time his name was called, for him to say “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”

 

Soon thereafter, Samuel was lying down and he heard “Samuel, Samuel”, and he said, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” The Lord gave Samuel a prophecy about the house of Eli. The sons of Eli were wicked and vile. God was sending judgment on the house of Eli. The next morning, Eli wanted to know everything that God told Samuel. So Samuel told him all of the vision. After that, Samuel became known as a prophet in Israel. And all the days of Samuel’s life, none of his words fell to the ground.

 

Eli judged Israel for forty years. He was 98 years old when he died. As he sat by the gate, he heard the news that the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines, and that his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were dead. Eli fell backwards, broke his neck and died.

 

The Philistines returned the Ark seven months later, after God had smitten them with tumors. The Ark was taken to Kirjath Jearim and brought into the house of Abinadab. Eleazar was consecrated to keep the Ark of the Lord. The Ark remained there for twenty years.

 

Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

 

As Samuel got older, he appointed his sons as judges. However, they were corrupt.

 

The people of Israel began to cry out for a king. All the other nations had kings, and they wanted a king to rule over them. Samuel was grieved, because he knew a king would bring them into bondage rather than being free, and they would have to pay high taxes. But God said to Samuel that the people were not rejecting him, but rejecting the Lord as their King. So Samuel anointed Saul, a Benjamite, to be Israel’s king.

 

Therefore, Samuel was the last of fifteen judges who were leaders of Israel.

 

In the early years of King Saul’s reign, he had a tender heart towards God. He obeyed and feared the Lord. However, pride, jealousy, hatred and murder filled his heart. Saul was often troubled by evil spirits. Saul began to disobey the Lord. He even consulted a witch. Therefore, God rejected Saul as king, and instead chose David to be king.

 

Samuel was the one who gave the prophecy to Saul of the Lord rejecting him as king. The Lord told Samuel to not mourn over King Saul, but to take oil and anoint the son of Jesse to be the next king—a man who would obey God fully and be a man after God’s own heart.

 

Samuel anointed the youngest son of Jesse, David, to be king. However, it was years before David actually sat on the Throne.

 

When Samuel died, the Israelites gathered together and lamented for him, and buried him at his home in Ramah.

 

In addition to his work as judge, prophet, and priest, Samuel is also known as the author of the Books of First and Second Samuel. He apparently wrote much of the material contained in these books during the reigns of Saul and David. After Samuel's death, these books were completed by an unknown writer, perhaps Abiathar, the priest who served during David's administration.

 

At Ramah, Samuel gathered a company of young men around him and established a school of the prophets, whose education, beside the law, was in sacred, vocal, and instrumental music and processions (1 Samuel 10:5,10; 19:19-20; 1 Chronicles 25:1,6).

 

The schools of the prophets, thus originated, and afterwards established also at Gibeah, Bethel, Gilgal, and Jericho, exercised an important influence on the national character and history of the people in maintaining pure religion in the midst of growing corruption.

 

 

 

Life of Nehemiah

 

 

Nehemiah’s name means “comforted by Jehovah”. Nehemiah was the son of Hachaliah (Nehemiah 1:1), and from the tribe of Judah. His family before him was from Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:3) and were taken off into exile to Babylon in 586 B.C. Over a hundred years later, in his youth he was appointed to the important office of royal cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes Longimanus at the palace of Shushan.

 

It came to pass in the month of Chislev, while in the twentieth year, in the citadel of Shushan that his brother Hanani came with men from Judah. Nehemiah inquired about the welfare of the people in Jerusalem and about the city. Hanani told him that the people were in great distress and reproach. The wall was broken down and the gates were burned with fire.

 

Nehemiah wept and fasted for many days. He began to make intercession on behalf of his people in Judah, for their national and personal sins. He asked God for mercy.

 

When Nehemiah went about doing his duties at the palace, Artaxerxes Longimanus noticed that his face looked saddened. He asked him what was wrong. Nehemiah explained how Jerusalem’s wall was broken down and the gates burned. He mentioned the distress of his people.

 

The king asked him what his request would be. Nehemiah requested that he go to Jerusalem to rebuild it. The king granted his request. Furthermore, Nehemiah said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:7-8).

 

When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he surveyed the condition of the wall and gates. He told the people of the great favor bestowed on him by King Artaxerxes Longimanus and said “Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.”

 

The people responded by saying, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work (Nehemiah 2:18).

 

Nehemiah had three enemies in Judah who were displeased at the idea of rebuilding Jerusalem. They gave Nehemiah and his men trouble. They were Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab (Nehemiah 2:19).

 

Nehemiah and the tribes of Israel began repairing the wall and gates. They made tremendous progress. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem were furious, and tried to get Samaria involved to come and attack Judah. Nehemiah stationed half of the tribes of Israel to guard the city, holding spears, bows and swords. Meanwhile, Nehemiah and the other half of his men continued to work, doing construction with one hand and holding a weapon with the other hand. The plot of their enemies was foiled.

 

It only took 52 days to complete rebuilding the wall and putting up new gates.

 

Nehemiah wrote in Nehemiah 6: “When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies found out that we had almost completed the rebuilding of the wall—though we had not yet hung all the doors of the gates—they sent me a message asking me to meet them in one of the villages in the Plain of Ono. But I realized they were plotting to kill me, so I replied by sending back this message to them:

 

‘I am doing a great work! Why should I stop to come and visit with you?’

 

Four times they sent the same message, and each time I gave the same reply. The fifth time, Sanballat's servant came with an open letter in his hand, and this is what it said:

 

‘Geshem tells me that everywhere he goes he hears that the Jews are planning to rebel, and that is why you are building the wall. He claims you plan to be their king—that is what is being said. He also reports that you have appointed prophets to campaign for you at Jerusalem by saying, Look! Nehemiah is just the man we need!

 

You can be very sure that I am going to pass along these interesting comments to King Artaxerxes! I suggest that you come and talk it over with me—for that is the only way you can save yourself!’

 

My reply was, ‘You know you are lying. There isn't one bit of truth to the whole story. You're just trying to scare us into stopping our work.’ (O Lord God, please strengthen me!)

 

A few days later I went to visit Shemaiah (son of Delaiah, who was the son of Mehetabel), for he said he was receiving a message from God.

 

‘Let us hide in the Temple and bolt the door,’ he exclaimed, ‘for they are coming tonight to kill you.’

 

But I replied, ‘Should I, the governor, run away from danger? And if I go into the Temple, not being a priest, I would forfeit my life. No, I won't do it!’

 

Then I realized that God had not spoken to him, but Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him to scare me and make me sin by fleeing to the Temple; and then they would be able to accuse me.

 

‘O my God,’ I prayed, ‘don't forget all the evil of Tobiah, Sanballat, Noadiah the prophetess, and all the other prophets who have tried to discourage me.’

 

The wall was finally finished in early September—just fifty-two days after we had begun!

 

When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated, and they realized that the work had been done with the help of our God.

 

During those fifty-two days many letters went back and forth between Tobiah and the wealthy politicians of Judah. For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him because his father-in-law was Shecaniah (son of Arah) and because his son Jehohanan was married to the daughter of Meshullam (son of Berechiah). They all told me what a wonderful man Tobiah was, and then they told him everything I had said; and Tobiah sent many threatening letters to frighten me.”

 

Nehemiah said, “After the wall was finished and we had hung the doors in the gates and had appointed the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites, I gave the responsibility of governing Jerusalem to my brother Hanani and to Hananiah, the commander of the fortress—a very faithful man who revered God more than most people do.

 

I issued instructions to them not to open the Jerusalem gates until well after sunrise, and to close and lock them while the guards were still on duty. I also directed that the guards be residents of Jerusalem, and that they must be on duty at regular times, and that each homeowner who lived near the wall must guard the section of wall next to his own home. For the city was large, but the population was small; and only a few houses were scattered throughout the city.

 

Then the Lord told me to call together all the leaders of the city, along with the ordinary citizens, for registration. For I had found the record of the genealogies of those who had returned to Judah before (Nehemiah 7:1-5).”

 

For a complete list of families who returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, it is recorded in Nehemiah 7:6-73.

 

Years had passed and there was a great outcry of protest from parents against some of the rich Jews who were profiteering on them. What was happening was that families who ran out of money for food had to sell their children or mortgage their fields, vineyards, and homes to these rich men; and some couldn't even do that, for they already had borrowed to the limit to pay their taxes.

 

“We are their brothers, and our children are just like theirs,” the people protested. “Yet we must sell our children into slavery to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to redeem them, for our fields, too, are mortgaged to these men.”

 

Nehemiah was very angry when he heard this; so after thinking about it he spoke out against these rich government officials.

 

“What is this you are doing?” he demanded. “How dare you demand a mortgage as a condition for helping another Israelite!”

 

Then he called a public trial to deal with them.

 

At the trial he shouted at them, “The rest of us are doing all we can to help our Jewish brothers who have returned from exile as slaves in distant lands, but you are forcing them right back into slavery again. How often must we redeem them?”

 

And they had nothing to say in their own defense.

 

Then Nehemiah pressed further. “What you are doing is very evil,” he exclaimed. “Should you not walk in the fear of our God? Don't we have enough enemies among the nations around us who are trying to destroy us? The rest of us are lending money and grain to our fellow-Jews without any interest. I beg you, gentlemen, stop this business of usury. Restore their fields, vineyards, oliveyards, and homes to them this very day and drop your claims against them.”

 

So they agreed to do it and said that they would assist their brothers without requiring them to mortgage their lands and sell them their children. Then Nehemiah summoned the priests and made these men formally vow to carry out their promises. And he invoked the curse of God upon any of them who refused. “May God destroy your homes and livelihood if you fail to keep this promise,” he declared.

 

And all the people shouted, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the rich men did as they had promised.

 

Nehemiah said, “I would like to mention that for the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth until the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes—my aides and I accepted no salaries or other assistance from the people of Israel. This was quite a contrast to the former governors who had demanded food and wine and $100 a day in cash, and had put the population at the mercy of their aides who tyrannized them; but I obeyed God and did not act that way.

 

I stayed at work on the wall and refused to speculate in land; I also required my officials to spend time on the wall. All this despite the fact that I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides visitors from other countries! The provisions required for each day were one ox, six fat sheep, and a large number of domestic fowls; and we needed a huge supply of all kinds of wines every ten days. Yet I refused to make a special levy against the people, for they were already having a difficult time.

 

O my God, please keep in mind all that I've done for these people and bless me for it.”

 

In Chapter 8 of Nehemiah, a wooden platform was constructed for Ezra, so the people could see him as he read from the law from early morning until noon. The leaders and the people all stood while he read the law.

 

Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people said, “Amen,” and lifted their hands toward heaven; then they bowed and worshiped the Lord with their faces toward the ground.

 

As Ezra read from the scroll, Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites went among the people and explained the meaning of the passage that was being read. All the people began sobbing when they heard the commands of the law.

 

Then Ezra the priest, and Nehemiah as governor, and the Levites who were assisting Nehemiah, said to them, “Don't cry on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God. It is a time to celebrate with a hearty meal and to send presents to those in need, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. You must not be dejected and sad!”

 

And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, “That's right! Don't weep! For this is a day of holy joy, not of sadness.”

 

So the people went away to eat a festive meal and to send presents; it was a time of great and joyful celebration because they could hear and understand God's words.

 

The next day the clan leaders and the priests and Levites met with Ezra to go over the law in greater detail. As they studied it, they noted that Jehovah had told Moses that the people of Israel should live in tents during the Festival of Tabernacles to be held that month. He had said also that a proclamation should be made throughout the cities of the land, especially in Jerusalem, telling the people to go to the hills to get branches from olive, myrtle, palm, and fig trees and to make huts in which to live for the duration of the feast.

 

So the people went out and cut branches and used them to build huts on the roofs of their houses, or in their courtyards, or in the court of the Temple, or on the plaza beside the Water Gate, or at the Ephraim Gate Plaza. They lived in these huts for the seven days of the feast, and everyone was filled with joy! Ezra read from the scroll on each of the seven days of the feast, and on the eighth day there was a solemn closing service as required by the laws of Moses.

 

In October the people returned for another observance; this time they fasted and clothed themselves with sackcloth and sprinkled dirt in their hair. And the Israelis separated themselves from all foreigners. The laws of God were read aloud to them for two or three hours, and for several more hours they took turns confessing their own sins and those of their ancestors. And everyone worshiped the Lord their God.

 

Some of the Levites were on the platform praising the Lord God with songs of joy. These men were Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani.

 

Then the Levite leaders called out to the people, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting. Praise his glorious name! It is far greater than we can think or say.”

 

The leaders in this part of the service were Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah.

 

Then Ezra prayed, “You alone are God. You have made the skies and the heavens, the earth and the seas, and everything in them. You preserve it all; and all the angels of heaven worship you.”

 

In Chapter 10, Nehemiah as well as the priests, Levites, political leaders, gate keepers, choir members, Temple servants, and anyone old enough to understand the law, signed a covenant.

 

This is the covenant, as was written by Nehemiah:

 

“For we all heartily agreed to this oath and vowed to accept the curse of God unless we obeyed God's laws as issued by his servant Moses. We also agreed not to let our daughters marry non-Jewish men and not to let our sons marry non-Jewish girls.

 

We further agreed that if the heathen people in the land should bring any grain or other produce to be sold on the Sabbath or on any other holy day, we would refuse to buy it. And we agreed not to do any work every seventh year and to forgive and cancel the debts of our brother Jews.

 

We also agreed to charge ourselves annually with a Temple tax so that there would be enough money to care for the Temple of our God; for we needed supplies of the special Bread of the Presence, as well as grain offerings and burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, the new moon feasts, and the annual feasts. We also needed to purchase the other items necessary for the work of the Temple and for the atonement of Israel.

 

Then we tossed a coin to determine when—at regular times each year—the families of the priests, Levites, and leaders should supply the wood for the burnt offerings at the Temple as required in the law.

 

We also agreed always to bring the first part of every crop to the Temple—whether it be a ground crop or from our fruit and olive trees.

 

We agreed to give to God our oldest sons and the firstborn of all our cattle, herds, and flocks, just as the law requires; we presented them to the priests who minister in the Temple of our God. They stored the produce in the Temple of our God—the best of our grain crops, and other contributions, the first of our fruit, and the first of the new wine and olive oil. And we promised to bring to the Levites a tenth of everything our land produced, for the Levites were responsible to collect the tithes in all our rural towns.

 

A priest—a descendant of Aaron—would be with the Levites as they received these tithes, and a tenth of all that was collected as tithes was delivered to the Temple and placed in the storage areas. The people and the Levites were required by law to bring these offerings of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple and place them in the sacred containers for use by the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the choir singers.

 

So we agreed together not to neglect the Temple of our God.”

 

Sometime later, in Chapter 13, the leaders and the people had gone downhill in their morals and in keeping with the law and the covenant.

 

Nehemiah writes:

 

On that same day, as the laws of Moses were being read, the people found a statement which said that the Ammonites and Moabites should never be permitted to worship at the Temple.

 

For they had not been friendly to the people of Israel. Instead, they had hired Balaam to curse them—although God turned the curse into a blessing. When this rule was read, all the foreigners were immediately expelled from the assembly.

 

Before this had happened, Eliashib the priest, who had been appointed as custodian of the Temple storerooms and who was also a good friend of Tobiah, had converted a storage room into a beautiful guest room for Tobiah. The room had previously been used for storing the grain offerings, frankincense, bowls, and tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil. Moses had decreed that these offerings belonged to the priests, Levites, the members of the choir, and the gatekeepers.

 

I was not in Jerusalem at the time, for I had returned to Babylon in the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes (though I later received his permission to go back again to Jerusalem).

 

When I arrived back in Jerusalem and learned of this evil deed of Eliashib—that he had prepared a guest room in the Temple for Tobiah—I was very upset and threw out all of his belongings from the room. Then I demanded that the room be thoroughly cleaned, and I brought back the Temple bowls, the grain offerings, and frankincense.

 

I also learned that the Levites had not been given what was due them, so they and the choir singers who were supposed to conduct the worship services had returned to their farms. I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple been forsaken?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties. And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple treasury.

 

I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah the Levite in charge of the administration of the storehouses; and I appointed Hanan (son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah) as their assistant. These men had an excellent reputation, and their job was to make an honest distribution to their fellow-Levites.

 

“O my God, remember this good deed and do not forget all that I have done for the Temple.”

 

One day I was on a farm and saw some men treading winepresses on the Sabbath, hauling in sheaves, and loading their donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of produce, which they took that day into Jerusalem. So I opposed them publicly.

 

There were also some men from Tyre bringing in fish and all sorts of wares and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Jerusalem.

 

Then I asked the leaders of Judah, “Why are you profaning the Sabbath? Wasn't it enough that your fathers did this sort of thing and brought the present evil days upon us and upon our city? And now you are bringing more wrath upon the people of Israel by permitting the Sabbath to be desecrated in this way.”

 

So from then on I commanded that the gates of the city be shut as darkness fell on Friday evenings and not be opened until the Sabbath had ended; and I sent some of my servants to guard the gates so that no merchandise could be brought in on the Sabbath day.

 

The merchants and tradesmen camped outside Jerusalem once or twice, but I spoke sharply to them and said, “What are you doing out here, camping around the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you.” And that was the last time they came on the Sabbath.

 

Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and to guard the gates in order to preserve the sanctity of the Sabbath. Remember this good deed, O my God! Have compassion upon me in accordance with your great goodness.

 

About the same time I realized that some of the Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab, and that many of their children spoke in the language of Ashdod and couldn't speak the language of Judah at all. So I confronted these parents and they vowed before God that they would not let their children intermarry with non-Jews.

 

“Wasn't this exactly King Solomon's problem?” I demanded. “There was no king who could compare with him, and God loved him and made him the king over all Israel; but even so he was led into idolatry by foreign women. Do you think that we will let you get away with this sinful deed?”

 

One of the sons of Jehoiada (the son of Eliashib the High Priest) was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, so I chased him out of the Temple.

 

Remember them, O my God, for they have defiled the priesthood and the promises and vows of the priests and Levites.

 

So I purged out the foreigners and assigned tasks to the priests and Levites, making certain that each knew his work. They supplied wood for the altar at the proper times and cared for the sacrifices and the first offerings of every harvest. Remember me, my God, with your kindness.”

 

Nehemiah probably remained at his post as governor until his death (about 413 B.C.) at a good old age. The place of his death and burial is, however, unknown.

 

 

Life of Noah

 

 

Noah’s name means “rest”. He was the grandson of Methuselah (Genesis 5:25-29), who was for two hundred and fifty years a contemporary with Adam, and the son of Lamech, who was about fifty-six years old at the time of Adam's death.

 

The line of descent from Adam to Noah was as follows: Adam, Seth, Enosh, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared. Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah (Genesis 5).

 

This patriarch is rightly regarded as the connecting link between the old and the new world. He is the second great progenitor of the human family.

 

Noah lived five hundred years, and then there were born unto him three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth (Genesis 5:32).

 

Noah was a “just and righteous man, and perfect in his generation,” and “walked with God”. He found grace in the sight of God.

 

But now the descendants of Cain and of Seth began to intermarry, and then there sprang up a race distinguished for their violence and ungodliness. Men became more and more corrupt, and God determined to sweep the earth of its wicked population (Genesis 6:7). But with Noah God entered into a covenant, with a promise of deliverance from the threatened deluge.

 

God instructed Noah to build an ark in which he and his family would survive this catastrophe. Noah believed God and obeyed Him and “did according to all that God commanded him” (Genesis 6:22).

 

With unswerving confidence in the Word of God, Noah started building the ark. For 120 years the construction continued. He was laughed at and ridiculed, since up until that time there had never been any rain. The earth was watered from dew.

 

During this time of grace, Noah continued to preach God's judgment and mercy, warning the ungodly of their approaching doom. He preached for 120 years, however, without any converts. People continued in their evil ways and turned deaf ears to his pleadings and warnings until they were overtaken by the Flood.

 

Noah's ark was built of gopher wood, and covered with pitch (or bitumen) inside and out to make it watertight. It was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad, and 30 cubits high (Genesis 6:14-16). It was an oblong floating house of three stories, with a door in the side and a window in the roof. It contained numerous compartments for the animals and food supplies. It had a flat bottom and sloping roof. Of all “clean” animals were seven pairs of male and female, and of “unclean” animals one pair. Of birds there were seven pairs of each sort (Genesis 7:2,3).

 

When the ark was ready, Noah entered in with all kinds of animals, with his wife, three sons and their wives (8 people in all) “and the Lord shut him in” (Genesis 7:16), cut off completely from the rest of mankind.

 

The deluge began on the 17th day of the second month, i.e. the middle of November, the beginning of the rainy season, Tishri the first month beginning at the autumnal equinox. At first, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights (the number “40” signifying judgment and affliction). In total, the rain lasted for 150 days, i.e. five months of 30 days each; and then the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat on the 17th of the seventh month (Genesis 7:11-12,24; 8:4).

 

During the Flood, the highest mountain peaks were underneath more than twenty feet of water (Genesis 7:17-20).

 

Noah, his family and the animals remained inside of the ark for a year, until the waters had receded.

 

Noah successively sent, to ascertain the state of the earth, at intervals of seven days, a raven which rested on the ark but never entered it, wandering up and down and feeding on the floating carcasses, and a dove, which finding no rest for the sole of her foot returned and Noah put forth his hand and took her and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

The next time Noah released the dove she brought back a fresh olive leaf (which is an emblem of peace and the Holy Spirit). At the third sending she returned no more.

 

Noah remained in the ark until God gave the word.

 

The first thing Noah did was to build an altar and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Adonai. It was as a sweet savor to the Lord.

 

God made a covenant with Noah, saying that the ground was no longer cursed, but as long as the earth remained, there would be seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and night and day (Genesis 8:22).

 

God also promised Noah that He would never again destroy the earth and mankind with a flood, and the Lord put the rainbow in the cloud as the token of the covenant (Genesis 9:13-17).

 

The Lord gave the same command to Noah as He did to Adam. He said to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth (Genesis 9:1).

 

God went on to say in Genesis 9:2 “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moves upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.”

 

Then God gave them dietary laws (Genesis 9:3-4). He said they could eat meat, but not partake of the blood. It had to be cooked. They could eat of every herb and vegetable. This is the first mention of people and animals eating meat in the Bible. Some scholars believe that both humans and animals were vegetarians prior to the Flood.

 

Ham had a son named Canaan. Noah became a farmer and planted a vineyard. He made the mistake of drinking too much wine, and he got drunk. He laid in his tent uncovered. In Genesis 9:22-27 the Bible implies that Canaan sinned against Noah. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's nakedness.

 

Some Bible Dictionaries say that their father’s nakedness refers to Noah’s wife, and imply that Ham may have molested his mother while Noah was drunk and asleep.

 

So when Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said:

 

“Cursed be Canaan;

A servant of servants

He shall be to his brethren.”

 

And he said:

 

“Blessed be the Lord,

The God of Shem,

And may Canaan be his servant.

May God enlarge Japheth,

And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;

And may Canaan be his servant.”

 

After the Flood, Noah lived 350 years. He died at the age of 950 years.

 

This is the genealogy of the sons of Noah (Shem, Ham and Japheth) which were born to them after the Flood:

 

Shem begat Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram (Genesis 10:22).

 

Ham begat Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan (Genesis 10:6).

 

Japheth begat Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras (Genesis 10:2).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life of Queen Esther

 

 

Esther is the Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes). Esther’s name means “star”. Her Jewish name is Hadassah, meaning “myrtle”.

 

Esther is the daughter of Abihail, a Benjaminite. Her ancestors were taken into Babylonian captivity around 600 BC. When the exiles were granted permission to return to Jerusalem, her family decided to stay in Persia. Her mother and father died, leaving her an orphan. Her cousin Mordecai raised her as his own daughter.

 

Mordecai had a position at the royal palace in Shushan.

 

Following several days of revelry, the drunken king Ahasuerus—generally identified with Xerxes I (who reigned from 486 B.C. - 465 B.C.)—asked his queen, Vashti, to display herself to his guests. When Vashti courageously refused, she was banished from the palace. Ahasuerus then had “all the beautiful young virgins” (Esther 2:3) of his kingdom brought to his palace to choose Vashti's replacement.

 

So it was, when the king's command and decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered at Shushan the citadel, under the custody of Hegai, that Esther also was taken to the king's palace, into the care of Hegai the custodian of the women.

 

Esther pleased him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to her, besides her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were provided for her from the king's palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in the house of the women.

 

Esther had not revealed her people (her Jewish identity) or family, for Mordecai had charged her not to reveal it. Every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the women's quarters, to learn of Esther's welfare and what was happening to her.

 

Each young woman's turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months' preparation, according to the regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women.

 

Thus prepared, each young woman went to the king, and she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the women's quarters to the king's palace. In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name.

 

When the turn came for Esther to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king's eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her. Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

 

The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king made a great feast, the Feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants; and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the generosity of a king.

 

One day while Mordecai sat within the king's gate, two of the king's eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, doorkeepers, became furious and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. So the matter became known to Mordecai, who told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai's name. When an inquiry was made into the matter, it was confirmed, and both were hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.

 

King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. All the king's servants who were within the king's gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would not bow or pay homage. Then the king's servants who were within the king's gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king's command?” When they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai's words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew.

 

When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus—the people of Mordecai.

 

In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, the lot), before Haman to determine the day and the month, until it fell on the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

 

Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people's, and they do not keep the king's laws. Therefore, it is not fitting for the king to let them remain.  If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king's treasuries.”

 

So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the enemy of the Jews. The king said to Haman, “The money and the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you.”

 

Then the king's scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that Haman commanded—to the king's satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province according to its script, and to every people in their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and sealed with the king's signet ring.

 

The letters were sent by couriers into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions.

 

A copy of the document was to be issued as law in every province, being published for all people, that they should be ready for that day. The couriers went out, hastened by the king's command; and the decree was proclaimed in Shushan the citadel. So the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was perplexed.

 

When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry. He went as far as the front of the king's gate, for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. In every province where the king's command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

 

Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was deeply distressed. Then she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and take his sackcloth away from him, but he would not accept them. Then Esther called Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a command concerning Mordecai, to learn what and why this was.

 

So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king's gate. Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries to destroy the Jews. He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people. So Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai.

 

Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: “All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.” So they told Mordecai Esther's words.

 

Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

 

Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”

 

So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.

 

Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, across from the king's house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house. When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter.

 

The king said to her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you—up to half the kingdom!”

 

Esther answered, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”

 

Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, that he may do as Esther has said.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared. At the banquet of wine the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”

 

Then Esther answered and said, “My petition and request is this: If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, then let the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.

 

Haman went out that day joyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, and that he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled with indignation against Mordecai. Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh. Then Haman told them of his great riches, the multitude of his children, everything in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king.

 

Moreover, Haman said, “Besides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared; and tomorrow I am again invited by her, along with the king. Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.”

 

Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows be made, fifty cubits high, and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it; then go merrily with the king to the banquet.” The idea pleased Haman; so he had the gallows made.

 

That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. It was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. Then the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?”

 

The king's servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. The king's servants said to him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” The king said, “Let him come in.”

 

Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”

 

Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’”

 

Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king's gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.”

 

Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!” Afterward Mordecai went back to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered.

 

When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.” While they were still talking with him, the king's eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

 

The king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. On the second day, at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”

 

Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king's loss.”

 

King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?” Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” Haman was terrified before the king and queen.

 

Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?”

 

As the word left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king's behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.”

 

Then the king said, “Hang him on it!” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath subsided.

 

On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. So the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman.

 

Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite, and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews. The king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king, and said, “If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to annihilate the Jews who are in all the king's provinces. For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen?”

 

Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “Indeed, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the Jews. You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's signet ring; for whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring no one can revoke.”

 

The king's scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, to every province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language. He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king's signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds.

 

By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions, on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

 

A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province and published for all people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. The couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king's command. The decree was issued in Shushan the citadel.

 

Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor. In every province and city, wherever the king's command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.

 

In the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king's command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them.

 

The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm, and no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people.

 

All the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king's work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king's palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. Thus, the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.

 

In Shushan the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vajezatha—the ten sons of Haman, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

 

On that day the number of those who were killed in Shushan the citadel was brought to the king. The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the citadel, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your petition? It shall be granted to you. Or what is your further request? It shall be done.”

 

Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do again tomorrow according to today's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows.” So the king commanded this to be done; the decree was issued in Shushan, and they hanged Haman's ten sons.

 

The Jews who were in Shushan gathered together again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men at Shushan; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

 

The remainder of the Jews in the king's provinces gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. And on the fourteenth of the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

 

The feast of Purim was established, and is celebrated today by Jews.

 

The Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. The Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another.

 

Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor.

 

The Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them, because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy them; but when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

 

So they called these days Purim, after the name Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them, the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants.

 

Then Queen Esther, with Mordecai, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim. Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews, to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them, and as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and lamenting. The decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.

 

Mordecai advanced in the kingdom, as second in command under the king.

 

King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. All the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia.

 

Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.

 

Mordecai symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Queen Esther symbolizes the Body of Christ. We have come to the kingdom “for such a time as this” to expose the enemy’s plans and to do great exploits.

 

 It is God's will that no one should perish (end up in hell), but that ALL should come to repentance. 

For God so loved this world that He gave His only begotton Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God did not send His Son into this world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him would be saved.

The thief (Satan the devil) comes only for to kill, steal and destroy. But Jesus has come to give us life, and life more abundantly, until it overflows.

I urge you to come to the Cross today and receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord. He will wash away all your sins and make you as clean and white as fresh snow. 

Just pray this prayer and mean it with your heart:

Dear Lord Jesus (if you are not able to call him Lord yet, then just say "Jesus")

I receive You as my Savior and Lord. I give my life over to You. I believe that You died and rose again, and that if I call on the Name of the Lord I shall be saved. 

I accept you into my heart right now, and confess that You are Lord and have risen from the dead and forever live to make intercession for me. 

Thank You for washing my heart pure and clean and making me whole, and for giving me peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 

Thank You that now I am a new creature in Christ Jesus. The old has gone and the new has come. 

And there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh (carnality and sin), but walk after the Spirit.  In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

If you prayed this prayer, I believe you got born again and are now heaven bound and will be with the Lord forever and have eternal life. Your sins are now forgiven. You are accepted in the Beloved.

I would encourage you to find a good Bible based local church to help you grow in your faith, to learn the Word of God, to praise and worship Him, and to have fellowship with the saints. 

Serving Christ is the best decision you will ever make. 

God bless you!!!