God Calls Abram

The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country and your people. Leave your father’s family and go to the country that I will show you.

The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from my homeland to this place. That place was the home of my father and the home of my family, but he promised that this new land would belong to my family. May he send his angel before you so that you can choose a wife for my son.

The Lord spoke to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid. I am with you, and I will bless you. I will make your family great. I will do this because of my servant Abraham.”

I pray that God All-Powerful will bless you and give you many children. I pray that you will become the father of a great nation

and if I return in peace to my father’s house—if he does all these things—then the Lord will be my God.

He said to them, “I have noticed that your father is not as friendly with me as he used to be. But the God of my father has been with me.

So God has taken the animals away from your father and has given them to me.

While Laban was gone to cut the wool from his sheep, Rachel went into his house and stole the false gods that belonged to her father.

I have the power to really hurt you. But last night the God of your father came to me in a dream. He warned me not to hurt you in any way.

And Rachel said to her father, “Father, don’t be angry with me. I am not able to stand up before you. I am having my monthly time of bleeding.” So Laban looked through the camp, but he did not find the gods from his house.

May the God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their ancestors judge us guilty if we break this agreement.” Jacob’s father, Isaac, called God “Fear.” So Jacob used that name to make the promise.

Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! Lord, you told me to come back to my country and to my family. You said that you would do good to me.

Joseph named the first son Manasseh. He was given this name because Joseph said, “God made me forget all my hard work and everything back home in my father’s house.”

But the servant answered, “Don’t be afraid; believe me. Your God, the God of your father, must have put the money in your sack as a gift. I remember that you paid me for the grain the last time.” Then the servant brought Simeon out of the prison.

It was not your fault that I was sent here. It was God’s plan. God made me like a father to Pharaoh. I am the governor over all his house and over all Egypt.”

Israel Invited to Egypt

Joseph said, “Hurry up and go to my father. Tell him his son Joseph sent this message: ‘God made me the governor of Egypt. So come here to me quickly. Don’t wait.

God Assures Israel

So Israel began his trip to Egypt. First he went to Beersheba. There he worshiped God, the God of his father Isaac. He offered sacrifices.

Then God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go to Egypt. In Egypt I will make you a great nation.

Joseph said to his father, “These are my sons. These are the boys God gave me.” Israel said, “Bring your sons to me. I will bless them.”

the God of your father who helps you. May God All-Powerful bless you and give you blessings from the sky above and from the deep below. May he give you blessings from breast and womb.

He said, ‘Tell Joseph that I beg him to please forgive his brothers for the bad things they did to him.’ So now Joseph, we beg you, please forgive us for the bad things we did to you. We are the servants of God, the God of your father.” That message made Joseph very sad, and he cried.

The Burning Bush

Moses’ father-in-law was named Jethro. Jethro was a priest of Midian. Moses took care of Jethro’s sheep. One day Moses led the sheep to the west side of the desert. He went to a mountain called Horeb, the mountain of God.

Advice From Moses’ Father-in-Law

Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, was a priest in Midian. He heard about the many ways that God helped Moses and the Israelites. He heard about the Lord leading the Israelites out of Egypt.

The other son was named Eliezer, because when he was born, Moses said, “The God of my father helped me and saved me from the king of Egypt.”

Jethro got some sacrifices and offerings to honor God. Then Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat with Moses’ father-in-law Jethro. They all ate together there with God.