Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
105 Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on him.
Make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him.
Make music to praise him.
Meditate on all the miracles he has performed.
3 Brag about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Search for the Lord and his strength.
Always seek his presence.
5 Remember the miracles he performed,
the amazing things he did, and the judgments he pronounced,
6 you descendants of his servant Abraham,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God.
His judgments are pronounced throughout the earth.
8 He always remembers his promise,[a]
the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,
9 the promise that he made to Abraham,
and his sworn oath to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it as a law for Jacob,
as an everlasting promise to Israel,
11 by saying, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
It is your share of the inheritance.”
37 He brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and no one among his tribes stumbled.
38 The Egyptians were terrified of Israel,
so they were glad when Israel left.
39 He spread out a cloud as a protective covering
and a fire to light up the night.
40 The Israelites asked, and he brought them quail
and filled them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened a rock, and water gushed
and flowed like a river through the dry places.
42 He remembered his holy promise to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with a song of joy.
44 He gave them the lands of ⌞other⌟ nations,
and they inherited what others had worked for
45 so that they would obey his laws
and follow his teachings.
Hallelujah!
God Tests Abraham
22 Later God tested Abraham and called to him, “Abraham!”
“Yes, here I am!” he answered.
2 God said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place that God had told him about. 4 Two days later Abraham saw the place in the distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his servants, “You stay here with the donkey while the boy and I go over there. We’ll worship. After that we’ll come back to you.”
6 Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to his son Isaac. Abraham carried the burning coals and the knife. The two of them went on together.
7 Isaac spoke up and said, “Father?”
“Yes, Son?” Abraham answered.
Isaac asked, “We have the burning coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God will provide a lamb for the burnt offering, Son.”
The two of them went on together. 9 When they came to the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied up his son Isaac and laid him on top of the wood on the altar. 10 Next, Abraham picked up the knife and took it in his hand to sacrifice his son. 11 But the Messenger of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Yes?” he answered.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you did not refuse to give me your son, your only son.”
13 When Abraham looked around, he saw a ram behind him caught by its horns in a bush. So Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide. It is still said today, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
The Lord’s Seventh Promise to Abraham
15 Then the Messenger of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I am taking an oath on my own name, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not refused to give me your son, your only son, 17 I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies’ cities. 18 Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and together they left for Beersheba. Abraham remained in Beersheba.
Faith Directed People’s Lives
11 Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see. 2 God accepted our ancestors because of their faith.
3 Faith convinces us that God created the world through his word. This means what can be seen was made by something that could not be seen.
13 All these people died having faith. They didn’t receive the things that God had promised them, but they saw these things coming in the distant future and rejoiced. They acknowledged that they were living as strangers with no permanent home on earth. 14 Those who say such things make it clear that they are looking for their own country. 15 If they had been thinking about the country that they had left, they could have found a way to go back. 16 Instead, these men were longing for a better country—a heavenly country. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has prepared a city for them.
17 When God tested Abraham, faith led him to offer his son Isaac. Abraham, the one who received the promises from God, was willing to offer his only son as a sacrifice. 18 God had said to him, “Through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name.” 19 Abraham believed that God could bring Isaac back from the dead. Abraham did receive Isaac back from the dead in a figurative sense.
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