Hello, this is Father Paul and I'm glad we're taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year.
Yesterday we heard about the birth of Isaac and about the sacrifice Abraham was called
to make and how God saved Isaac at the very last moment.
Today we're going to hear about the death of Sarah his mother as well as about his own
marriage.
Let's begin.
Today's reading is from Genesis chapters 23 and 24.
Sarah lived 127 years.
These were the years of the life of Sarah.
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.
Then 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 Makphela, 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, know 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 Macphela, 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 Macphela
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.
Chapter 24
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 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 to 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 Bethelal,
son of Milke, 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 a 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.
And 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 wandering 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, Milka'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 worshipped 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 Rebecca, 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 Bethel, Nahor's son, whom Milka 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 return to the right hand or to the left.
Then Naban and Bethel answered and said, the thing comes from the Lord, we cannot speak
to you either bad or good.
Here is Rebecca before you, take her and go, and let her be your master's son's wife,
as the Lord has spoken.
Then 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 Rebecca.
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 Rebecca and said to her, will you go with this man?
And she said, I will go.
So they sent away Rebecca their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men.
And they blessed Rebecca 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 Rebecca and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man.
So the servant took Rebecca and departed.
Now Isaac came from the way of Bir-l-Hay-Roy, 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 Rebecca 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's Sarah's tent.
And he took Rebecca and she became his wife, and he loved her.
So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I did, and I look forward to seeing you
again tomorrow to continue on our journey.
God bless you and have a great day.