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Sarah lived to be 127 years old.
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She died in Hebron in the land of Canaan, and Abraham mourned her death.
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He left the place where his wife's body was lying, went to the Hittites, and said,
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"I am a foreigner living here among you; sell me some land, so that I can bury my wife."
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"Listen to us, sir. We look upon you as a mighty leader; bury your wife in the best grave that we have. Any of us would be glad to give you a grave, so that you can bury her."
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Then Abraham bowed before them
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and said, "If you are willing to let me bury my wife here, please ask Ephron son of Zohar
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to sell me Machpelah Cave, which is near the edge of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for its full price, here in your presence, so that I can own it as a burial ground."
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Ephron himself was sitting with the other Hittites at the meeting place at the city gate; he answered in the hearing of everyone there,
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"Listen, sir; I will give you the whole field and the cave that is in it. Here in the presence of my own people, I will give it to you, so that you can bury your wife."
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But Abraham bowed before the Hittites
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and said to Ephron, so that everyone could hear, "May I ask you, please, to listen. I will buy the whole field. Accept my payment, and I will bury my wife there."
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"Sir, land worth only four hundred pieces of silver---what is that between us? Bury your wife in it."
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Abraham agreed and weighed out the amount that Ephron had mentioned in the hearing of the people---four hundred pieces of silver, according to the standard weights used by the merchants.
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That is how the property which had belonged to Ephron at Machpelah east of Mamre, became Abraham's. It included the field, the cave which was in it, and all the trees in the field up to the edge of the property.
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It was recognized as Abraham's property by all the Hittites who were there at the meeting.
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Then Abraham buried his wife Sarah in that cave in the land of Canaan.
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So the field which had belonged to the Hittites, and the cave in it, became the property of Abraham for a burial ground.
1
Abraham was now very old, and the LORD had blessed him in everything he did.
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He said to his oldest servant, who was in charge of all that he had, "Place your hand between my thighs and make a vow.
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I want you to make a vow in the name of the LORD, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from the people here in Canaan.
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You must go back to the country where I was born and get a wife for my son Isaac from among my relatives."
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But the servant asked, "What if the young woman will not leave home to come with me to this land? Shall I send your son back to the land you came from?"
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Abraham answered, "Make sure that you don't send my son back there!
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The LORD, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and from the land of my relatives, and he solemnly promised me that he would give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel before you, so that you can get a wife there for my son.
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If the young woman is not willing to come with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not under any circumstances take my son back there."
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So the servant put his hand between the thighs of Abraham, his master, and made a vow to do what Abraham had asked.
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The servant, who was in charge of Abraham's property, took ten of his master's camels and went to the city where Nahor had lived in northern Mesopotamia.
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When he arrived, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the time when women came out to get water.
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He prayed, " LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today and keep your promise to my master.
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Here I am at the well where the young women of the city will be coming to get water.
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I will say to one of them, 'Please, lower your jar and let me have a drink.' If she says, 'Drink, and I will also bring water for your camels,' may she be the one that you have chosen for your servant Isaac. If this happens, I will know that you have kept your promise to my master."
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Before he had finished praying, Rebecca arrived with a water jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife Milcah.
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She was a very beautiful young woman and still a virgin. She went down to the well, filled her jar, and came back.
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The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a drink of water from your jar."
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She said, "Drink, sir," and quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and held it while he drank.
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When he had finished, she said, "I will also bring water for your camels and let them have all they want."
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She quickly emptied her jar into the animals' drinking trough and ran to the well to get more water, until she had watered all his camels.
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The man kept watching her in silence, to see if the LORD had given him success.
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When she had finished, the man took an expensive gold ring and put it in her nose and put two large gold bracelets on her arms.
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He said, "Please tell me who your father is. Is there room in his house for my men and me to spend the night?"
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"My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah," she answered.
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"There is plenty of straw and fodder at our house, and there is a place for you to stay."
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Then the man knelt down and worshiped the LORD.
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He said, "Praise the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has faithfully kept his promise to my master. The LORD has led me straight to my master's relatives."
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The young woman ran to her mother's house and told the whole story.
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Now Rebecca had a brother named Laban, and he ran outside to go to the well where Abraham's servant was.
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Laban had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms and had heard her say what the man had told her. He went to Abraham's servant, who was standing by his camels at the well,
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and said, "Come home with me. You are a man whom the LORD has blessed. Why are you standing out here? I have a room ready for you in my house, and there is a place for your camels."
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So the man went into the house, and Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and fodder. Then he brought water for Abraham's servant and his men to wash their feet.
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When food was brought, the man said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." Laban said, "Go on and speak."
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"I am the servant of Abraham," he began.
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"The LORD has greatly blessed my master and made him a rich man. He has given him flocks of sheep and goats, cattle, silver, gold, male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.
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Sarah, my master's wife, bore him a son when she was old, and my master has given everything he owns to him.
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My master made me promise with a vow to obey his command. He said, 'Do not choose a wife for my son from the young women in the land of Canaan.
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Instead, go to my father's people, to my relatives, and choose a wife for him.'
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And I asked my master, 'What if she will not come with me?'
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He answered, 'The LORD, whom I have always obeyed, will send his angel with you and give you success. You will get for my son a wife from my own people, from my father's family.
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There is only one way for you to be free from your vow: if you go to my relatives and they refuse you, then you will be free.'
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"When I came to the well today, I prayed, ' LORD, God of my master Abraham, please give me success in what I am doing.
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Here I am at the well. When a young woman comes out to get water, I will ask her to give me a drink of water from her jar.
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If she agrees and also offers to bring water for my camels, may she be the one that you have chosen as the wife for my master's son.'
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Before I had finished my silent prayer, Rebecca came with a water jar on her shoulder and went down to the well to get water. I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'
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She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will also water your camels.' So I drank, and she watered the camels.
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I asked her, 'Who is your father?' And she answered, 'My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah.' Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms.
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I knelt down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me straight to my master's relative, where I found his daughter for my master's son.
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Now, if you intend to fulfill your responsibility toward my master and treat him fairly, please tell me; if not, say so, and I will decide what to do."
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Laban and Bethuel answered, "Since this matter comes from the LORD, it is not for us to make a decision.
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Here is Rebecca; take her and go. Let her become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD himself has said."
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When the servant of Abraham heard this, he bowed down and worshiped the LORD.
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Then he brought out clothing and silver and gold jewelry, and gave them to Rebecca. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and to her mother.
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Then Abraham's servant and the men with him ate and drank, and spent the night there. When they got up in the morning, he said, "Let me go back to my master."
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But Rebecca's brother and her mother said, "Let her stay with us a week or ten days, and then she may go."
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But he said, "Don't make us stay. The LORD has made my journey a success; let me go back to my master."
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They answered, "Let's call her and find out what she has to say."
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So they called Rebecca and asked, "Do you want to go with this man?" "Yes," she answered.
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So they let Rebecca and her old family servant go with Abraham's servant and his men.
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And they gave Rebecca their blessing in these words: "May you, sister, become the mother of millions! May your descendants conquer the cities of their enemies!"
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Then Rebecca and her young women got ready and mounted the camels to go with Abraham's servant, and they all started out.
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Isaac had come into the wilderness of "The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me" and was staying in the southern part of Canaan.
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He went out in the early evening to take a walk in the fields and saw camels coming.
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When Rebecca saw Isaac, she got down from her camel
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and asked Abraham's servant, "Who is that man walking toward us in the field?" "He is my master," the servant answered. So she took her scarf and covered her face.
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The servant told Isaac everything he had done.
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Then Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in, and she became his wife. Isaac loved Rebecca, and so he was comforted for the loss of his mother.
1
Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.
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Then he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick,
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after saying to them, "Take nothing with you for the trip: no walking stick, no beggar's bag, no food, no money, not even an extra shirt.
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Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that town;
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wherever people don't welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them."
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The disciples left and traveled through all the villages, preaching the Good News and healing people everywhere.
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When Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about all the things that were happening, he was very confused, because some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life.
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Others were saying that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.
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Herod said, "I had John's head cut off; but who is this man I hear these things about?" And he kept trying to see Jesus.
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The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him, and they went off by themselves to a town named Bethsaida.
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When the crowds heard about it, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed it.
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When the sun was beginning to set, the twelve disciples came to him and said, "Send the people away so that they can go to the villages and farms around here and find food and lodging, because this is a lonely place."
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But Jesus said to them, "You yourselves give them something to eat." They answered, "All we have are five loaves and two fish. Do you want us to go and buy food for this whole crowd?"
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(There were about five thousand men there.) Jesus said to his disciples, "Make the people sit down in groups of about fifty each."
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After the disciples had done so,
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Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.
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They all ate and had enough, and the disciples took up twelve baskets of what was left over.
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One day when Jesus was praying alone, the disciples came to him. "Who do the crowds say I am?" he asked them.
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"Some say that you are John the Baptist," they answered. "Others say that you are Elijah, while others say that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."
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"What about you?" he asked them. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are God's Messiah."
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Then Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.
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He also told them, "The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will be raised to life."
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And he said to them all, "If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me.
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For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it.
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Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but are yourself lost or defeated? Of course not!
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If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
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I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God."
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About a week after he had said these things, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a hill to pray.
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While he was praying, his face changed its appearance, and his clothes became dazzling white.
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Suddenly two men were there talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah,
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who appeared in heavenly glory and talked with Jesus about the way in which he would soon fulfill God's purpose by dying in Jerusalem.
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Peter and his companions were sound asleep, but they woke up and saw Jesus' glory and the two men who were standing with him.
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As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." (He did not really know what he was saying.)
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While he was still speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow; and the disciples were afraid as the cloud came over them.
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A voice said from the cloud, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen---listen to him!"
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When the voice stopped, there was Jesus all alone. The disciples kept quiet about all this and told no one at that time anything they had seen.
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The next day Jesus and the three disciples went down from the hill, and a large crowd met Jesus.
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A man shouted from the crowd, "Teacher! I beg you, look at my son---my only son!
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A spirit attacks him with a sudden shout and throws him into a fit, so that he foams at the mouth; it keeps on hurting him and will hardly let him go!
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I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn't."
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Jesus answered, "How unbelieving and wrong you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you?" Then he said to the man, "Bring your son here."
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As the boy was coming, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a fit. Jesus gave a command to the evil spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
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All the people were amazed at the mighty power of God. The people were still marveling at everything Jesus was doing, when he said to his disciples,
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"Don't forget what I am about to tell you! The Son of Man is going to be handed over to the power of human beings."
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But the disciples did not know what this meant. It had been hidden from them so that they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about the matter.
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An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest.
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Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side,
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and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest."
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John spoke up, "Master, we saw a man driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group."
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"Do not try to stop him," Jesus said to him and to the other disciples, "because whoever is not against you is for you."
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As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind and set out on his way to Jerusalem.
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He sent messengers ahead of him, who went into a village in Samaria to get everything ready for him.
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But the people there would not receive him, because it was clear that he was on his way to Jerusalem.
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When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"
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Jesus turned and rebuked them.
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Then Jesus and his disciples went on to another village.
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As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go."
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Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest."
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He said to another man, "Follow me." But that man said, "Sir, first let me go back and bury my father."
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Jesus answered, "Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
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Someone else said, "I will follow you, sir; but first let me go and say good-bye to my family."
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Jesus said to him, "Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is of no use for the Kingdom of God."
