January 18 - Morning
"Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, 'It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.' "
- Genesis 41:51
- Genesis 41:51
Joseph Refrains from Bitterness and God's Plan Prospers
Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers at the age of 17. Joseph entered the service of Pharaoh at the age of 30 and in Joseph’s 37th year the famine began. Joseph began to save Egypt twenty years after having been sold into Egypt. It was before the seven years of famine began (age 37-44) that Joseph had two sons. (Jacob had also spent twenty years in Padan Aram; Abram had spent around twenty years waiting for the promised son.)
The name of the first son still echoes Joseph’s painful past. But, the name Manasseh seems to be Joseph’s way of saying that the bitterness, betrayal and disappointment of the 13 years of bondage (age 17-30 years) had begun to make sense. There was a purpose that began to reach fulfillment during those early years of Joseph’s service to Pharaoh as vizier of Egypt. By definition, the Egyptian vizier position that Joseph filled was that of a civil officer with vice regal powers who acted as chancellor.
Joseph gives God the credit for having “made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” Joseph has a new home, a new position, a new source of prosperity and a new family. Whatever Joseph had lost, he has regained. Joseph had prospered without becoming bitter, without giving up and without striking back in vengeance. Joseph had moved on from his past because he remained faithful to God, but also because he trusted that God would remain faithful to him. Joseph did not become bitter and God prospered Joseph in the plan he had created for Joseph.
'Elohim (Hb) - God (Eng) - 'elohim is the Hebrew word that means "deity," and "God." 'Elohim is also used to refer to "rulers," "judges," "divine ones," "angles," "gods," and, since it is not gender specific, also, "goddess," The -im ending on 'elohim makes this Hebrew word plural, or plural intensive when used with singular verbs as it does in Genesis 1:1.
Do I let the offenses of the past determine my current attitude?
Does bitterness restrict my ability to capture the future?
I will pray for those who have caused me pain, and forget the past so I can see God's future for me.
Does bitterness restrict my ability to capture the future?
I will pray for those who have caused me pain, and forget the past so I can see God's future for me.
Bible Reading Descriptions Here
Personal
Positive influence on people you encounter
Church
Humility among leaders
Nation
National Revival
World
Cross-cultural missions
The Canaanite water tunnel that was used to bring water from the Pool of Siloam before Hezekiah's Tunnel was cut. This was cut from the top down and filled in with large stones that were dropped from the top and wedged into this V-shaped tunnel. These stones can be seen in other photos and while in the tunnel.
Someone to Quote
"Comparison is the root of all feelings of inferiority."
- James Dobson
- James Dobson
Something to Ponder
Six Worldviews common in the Western World:
1. Secular Humanism - the concept that God does not exist. The scientific method determines truth through logic, reason and proof through our five senses. The goal is for humans, the highest form of life, to live good, satisfied lives.
2. Existentialism - life has no objective meaning, so we live a life of misery that ends in death while we seek to create something meaningful. The universe is chaotic and meaningless. There is no God, which means there are no absolutes. We are guided by our own personal preferences.
3. Nihilism - nothing is real and everything is random and imagined. There is no purpose, so, ife is empty and pointless. Since life has no value, everything is permissible, yet we will find nothing fulfilling.
4. Postmodernism - there is no overreaching purpose that ties everything together. All we have is our own experiences and feelings which cannot be judged right or wrong by anyone else. Nor do we have any basis for judging someone else's actions or decisions. Whatever a person feels is right for them. The only goals are to survive life comfortably while we express ourselves.
5. Eastern Mysticism - "deity" is not the Western concept of a holy being with personality. The essence of "god" is a universal condition. Each one of us has this "god" or the ability to attain this universal condition. Facts, history, reality and morality are not real and do not matter. We will have a future in another life form, but there is no ultimate judgment and no end of the universe because matter is eternal. The goal is to achieve a condition of unity with this everlasting physical universe.
6. Christian Theism - based on the concept of a living God who is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient and holy. God has created the universe with order and created man to live in this physical world. God, a spiritual being, seeks to secure a relationship with man through Jesus Christ who removed the barrier of man's sin and rebellion that separates man from God. There are absolutes revealed in natural law and in the written Word of God. Man is created with the purpose of using, developing and enjoying the material and order God established while living in obedience to God's holiness. Each man will be judged, and those who have accepted God's offer of Jesus will be spared eternal damnation.
1. Secular Humanism - the concept that God does not exist. The scientific method determines truth through logic, reason and proof through our five senses. The goal is for humans, the highest form of life, to live good, satisfied lives.
2. Existentialism - life has no objective meaning, so we live a life of misery that ends in death while we seek to create something meaningful. The universe is chaotic and meaningless. There is no God, which means there are no absolutes. We are guided by our own personal preferences.
3. Nihilism - nothing is real and everything is random and imagined. There is no purpose, so, ife is empty and pointless. Since life has no value, everything is permissible, yet we will find nothing fulfilling.
4. Postmodernism - there is no overreaching purpose that ties everything together. All we have is our own experiences and feelings which cannot be judged right or wrong by anyone else. Nor do we have any basis for judging someone else's actions or decisions. Whatever a person feels is right for them. The only goals are to survive life comfortably while we express ourselves.
5. Eastern Mysticism - "deity" is not the Western concept of a holy being with personality. The essence of "god" is a universal condition. Each one of us has this "god" or the ability to attain this universal condition. Facts, history, reality and morality are not real and do not matter. We will have a future in another life form, but there is no ultimate judgment and no end of the universe because matter is eternal. The goal is to achieve a condition of unity with this everlasting physical universe.
6. Christian Theism - based on the concept of a living God who is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient and holy. God has created the universe with order and created man to live in this physical world. God, a spiritual being, seeks to secure a relationship with man through Jesus Christ who removed the barrier of man's sin and rebellion that separates man from God. There are absolutes revealed in natural law and in the written Word of God. Man is created with the purpose of using, developing and enjoying the material and order God established while living in obedience to God's holiness. Each man will be judged, and those who have accepted God's offer of Jesus will be spared eternal damnation.
Here’s a Fact
Daniel, Nehemiah and Esther all served in the citadel of the ancient city of Susa. The city of Susa has been excavated. (Details here and here) Also, the palace of Darius I, or the citadel where Daniel, Nehemiah and Ester ruled, Nehemiah served and where Daniel saw the vision of the Ram and the Goat, has been discovered in Susa.
(Daniel 8:2; Details here.)
(Daniel 8:2; Details here.)
Proverb
"An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment."
- Proverbs 18:1
- Proverbs 18:1
Coach’s Corner
There is always a price that must be paid for anything of eternal value. Include the cost of suffering into your proposal to be successful and significant.
Genesis 20
New International Version (NIV)
Abraham and Abimelek
20 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”
8 Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”
16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
New International Version (NIV)
Abraham and Abimelek
20 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”
8 Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”
16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
Job 11
New International Version (NIV)
Zophar
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2
“Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated?
3
Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock?
4
You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.’
5
Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you
6
and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
7
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
8
They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?
9
Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.
10
“If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him?
11
Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note?
12
But the witless can no more become wise than a wild donkey’s colt can be born human.
13
“Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him,
14
if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
15
then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear.
16
You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.
17
Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning.
18
You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
19
You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor.
20
But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp.”
New International Version (NIV)
Zophar
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2
“Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated?
3
Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock?
4
You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.’
5
Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you
6
and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
7
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
8
They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?
9
Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.
10
“If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him?
11
Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note?
12
But the witless can no more become wise than a wild donkey’s colt can be born human.
13
“Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him,
14
if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
15
then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear.
16
You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.
17
Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning.
18
You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
19
You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor.
20
But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp.”
Genesis 19-20
New International Version (NIV)
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
19 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”
“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”
3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! 19 Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”
21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.)
23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
Lot and His Daughters
30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”
33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
Abraham and Abimelek
20 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”
8 Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”
16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
New International Version (NIV)
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
19 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”
“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”
3 But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. 4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
9 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
10 But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. 11 Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
12 The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, 13 because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
18 But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! 19 Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”
21 He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.)
23 By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. 24 Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
29 So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.
Lot and His Daughters
30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”
33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
Abraham and Abimelek
20 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”
8 Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?”
11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”
16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.