Surrender. We talked about it in our prep episode #2 (Listen here if you missed it!) and we'll keep coming back to it again and again. How do we give the Lord what matters most and how do we trust Him when it doesn't possibly seem like He could turn something for good? The chapters and characters of Scripture aren't just letters on a page, they are inspired by the Holy Spirit to give us hope and direction! Listen to hear just how these verses can point you to the God who longs to dwell and abide with you.

Find our free Bible plan and resources at www.entrustedministries.com/podcast

Today's Reading: Genesis 20-23

Scripture Referenced:

Genesis 20:3-5

Genesis 21:1-2, 6, 17-19

Genesis 22:1-18

Hebrews 11:17-19

John 3:16

Welcome back to The Dwelling

Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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Yesterday's schedules may have been

thrown off with the day off of school.

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Wherever you're at in this

plan, don't feel behind.

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The Lord is just pleased that

you're seeking him right now.

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Today we're covering Genesis

Chapters 20 through 23.

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We've seen a pattern with Abraham that he

is quick to obey, and he will be even in

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the most difficult test he has ever given.

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Before we get to his highlight

reel, let's look at chapter 20.

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Unfortunately, Abraham repeats

the exact same sin he did in

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chapter 12 when he lied to Abbi

and said that Sarah was his sister.

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Now this ruler in chapter 20 has the

same name, but it's either the father

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or the grandfather of the first eek,

and this is about 25 years after

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In verse three, one of the most

powerful two word phrases in all

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of scripture is written, but God.

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But God came to Abe in a dream

by night and said to him.

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Behold, you are a dead man because

of the woman whom you have taken for.

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She is a man's wife now.

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Abila had not approached her.

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Scripture is very clear here,

and the reason is that the next

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chapter will tell us that the son

of the promise is finally born.

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The Lord most certainly intervened before

anything could happen to Sarah to make

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sure that the covenant was protected.

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Abraham is the father of Isaac,

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and it could be no other Aek says, in the

integrity of my heart and the innocence

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of my hands, I have not done this.

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And the Lord tells him I know.

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And it was I who kept you from sinning

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Abraham tells him, I could tell there

was no fear of God in this place,

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but it sure seems that Abraham was

wrong interestingly, the Lord still

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uses Abraham to pray to heal them.

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Once again, we see fallen people

being used by a perfect holy God

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In Chapter 21, the promise is finally

fulfilled after about 25 years.

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Abraham is a hundred, and Sarah is 90.

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And we're told the Lord visited

Sarah as he had said, and the Lord

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did to Sarah as he had promised.

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And Sarah conceived and bore

Abraham's son in his old age at the

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time of which God had spoken to him.

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This is different than Jesus' birth.

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In the New Testament, Jesus was conceived

by the Holy Spirit, but we were told

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that the Lord had closed Sarah's womb.

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\ When he visited Sarah, he opened

her womb, so then she could

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naturally conceive Abraham's child.

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It's still an absolute miracle that

a couple of this age would be able

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to biologically conceive a child.

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In verse six, Sarah says,

God has made laughter for me.

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Everyone who hears will laugh over

me Isaac's name means He laughs.

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It feels so redemptive here.

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She got scolded for laughing

earlier that God could do this, and

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now she's saying, God, I get it.

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You are able, and I will laugh, but

with joy, even though this incredible

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promise is fulfilled, it doesn't

mean it's going to be smooth sailing.

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As Isaac grew, Ishmael was cruel

to him, given the Lord's prophetic

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words about Ishmael's future.

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It's not surprising, and Sarah wants

Hagar and Ishmael cast out the legal

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codes of this day would've forbidden it.

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If there is a rightful heir.

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It would've been wrong to cast them out,

but the Lord tells Abraham, it's okay.

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I'm going to turn Ishmael into a nation.

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Listen to your wife.

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Ishmael would've been about

17 years old at this point,

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the conflict that we see in the

Middle East today began because

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Sarah and Abraham took matters into

their own hands and did not wait

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for the Lord to act as Christians.

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We believe Isaac was the son

of the promise, but we know we

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serve a God that intends to bless

every nation through his son.

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And let us pray to that end, that whatever

line people come from, that they would

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come to know Jesus Christ is their savior.

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In chapter 21, the tenderness of the

Lord is so apparent once again to Hagar.

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Her son is dying from

thirst and she can't watch.

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She lifts up her voice

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And God heard the voice of the boy and the

angel of God called to Hagar from heaven

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and said to her, what troubles you, Hagar?

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Fear not?

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For the Lord has heard the voice of

the boy where he is, lift up the boy

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and hold him fast with your hand, for

I will make him into a great nation.

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Then God opened her eyes

and she saw a well of water.

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In Hagar's first encounter

with the Lord, he made himself

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known as the God who sees her.

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And the God who hears Ishmael means God

hears and we're told God heard his voice.

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It makes me wonder when we're

told that God opened her eyes

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and she saw a well of water.

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Did the Lord just make it appear or

had her eyes been blinded before?

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But it makes me pray that I would have

eyes to see hope in all circumstances.

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I had a season that reminded me so much

of Hagar's experience here, and the

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Lord absolutely brought me through.

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One of my children became sick,

he was losing the ability to walk

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and to even hold up his head.

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We were struggling financially.

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My husband didn't have a job and was

reeling from his diagnosis of MS, and

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our health insurance was about to lapse.

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I can remember crying in a

grocery store parking lot because

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I couldn't get a gift card.

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To work.

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Hagar felt all alone and cast off, but the

Lord was there for her and provided, and

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he certainly did that for my family and I,

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he is the God who hears.

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In a podcast for moms, how could

chapter 22 not be our focus today?

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It begins after these things.

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God tested Abraham and said to him,

Abraham, and he said, here I am.

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He said, take your son, your only son,

Isaac, whom you love, and go to the

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land of Mariah and offer him there

as a burnt offering on one of the

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mountains of which I shall tell you.

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So Abraham Rose early in the morning,

saddled his donkey and took two of

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his young men with him and his son

Isaac, and he cut the wood for the

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burnt offering and arose and went to

the place of which God had told him.

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On the third day, Abraham lifted up

his eyes and saw the place from afar.

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Then Abraham said to his young

men, stay here with the donkey.

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I and the boy will go over there

and worship and come again to you.

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And Abraham took the wood of the

burnt offering and laid it on

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Isaac, his son, and he took in

his hand the fire and the knife.

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So they went both of them

together, and Isaac said to

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his father, Abraham, my father.

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And he said, here I am, my son.

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He said, behold the fire and the wood.

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But where is the lamb

for a burnt offering?

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Abraham said God will provide for himself

the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.

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So they went both of them together.

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When they came to the place of which

God had told him, Abraham built the

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altar there and laid the wood in order

and bound Isaac his son, and laid

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him on the altar on top of the wood.

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Then Abraham reached out his hand

and took the knife to slaughter

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his son, but the angel of the Lord

called him from heaven and said.

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Abraham and he said, here I am.

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He said, do not lay your hand on

the boy or do anything to him.

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For now I know that you fear

God, seeing you have not withheld

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your son, your only son from me.

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And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked

and behold behind him was a ram caught

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in a thicket by his horns and Abraham

went and took the ram and offered it

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as a burnt offering instead of his son.

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So Abraham called the name of

that place The Lord will provide.

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As it is said to this day, on the mount

of the Lord, it shall be provided.

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And the angel of the Lord called

to Abraham a second time from

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heaven and said by myself, I

have sworn, declares the Lord.

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Because you have done this and have

not withheld your son, your only

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son, I will surely bless you and I

will surely multiply your offspring

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as the stars of heaven and as

the sand that is on the seashore.

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And your offspring shall possess the

gate of his enemies and in your offspring

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shall all the nations of the earth be

blessed Because you have obeyed my voice

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The ram caught in the thicket

points to the coming sacrifice

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of Jesus on our behalf.

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This location, Mount Mariah is where

Solomon's temple would be built, and it

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was also in this small mountain range that

Jesus would be crucified for our sins.

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My research says that Isaac would've

been about 20 years old at this

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time, and it seems he was also

surrendering to the Lord's will.

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God hates child sacrifice, and even

though this practice would've been

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rampant in many cultures at the time,

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we're told in Hebrews 11 that

Abraham obeyed because he believed

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God could raise Isaac from the dead.

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We don't know how.

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He already believed in a resurrection,

but he knew God would be faithful

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and God wants to know, is this

child that you waited so long for?

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Is he everything to you or am I?

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And Abraham clearly passes the test.

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Three times.

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God says, your only son, and how

can we not think of Jesus Christ?

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And the most well-known verse in

all of scripture, John three 16.

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For God so loved the world

that he gave his only son.

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That whosoever believeth in him shall

not perish, but have everlasting life.

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I believe the theme of this story

is God saying, I won't ask you to

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do this, but I will do this for you.

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The Lord wants us to love our

children, but he wants our

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primary allegiance to be to him.

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Is the Lord my everything will

I sacrifice everything for a God

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that has given everything for me.

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In the last episode I mentioned

many believe that the angel

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of the Lord is Jesus himself.

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In verse 16, the angel of the Lord

says, by myself, I have sworn we're

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either hearing God the Father say,

I'm going to give my only son for

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you, or it's Jesus saying by myself,

I will be the sacrifice for you.

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Finally, in chapter 23, we are

told that Sarah lived 127 years.

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She's the only female in scripture

that we are given a lifespan for and

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Abraham wants to have a place to bury

his wife this is the first place of

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land that he owns in the promised Land.

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Let's pray.

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Lord we come before you in gratitude.

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That you laid down the life of your son

to bring us back to Fellowship with you.

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May we repay this sacrifice with

wholehearted investment and devotion.

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May we long to commune with you and

put you above every other relationship.

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Guard our hearts and our minds

from fear over our children.

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Help us to trust in your goodwill for

their lives, even when we see them in

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circumstances that seem like they couldn't

possibly be working for their good.

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I pray that you would make us

and our children quick to obey.

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No matter how difficult the task

or the test, may we honor you both

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in our hearts and in our actions.

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In the perfect atoning name

of Jesus Christ we pray.

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Amen.