Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Abraham’s Servant Finds a Wife for Isaac

24 By that time Abraham was very old. The Lord had blessed Abraham in every way. ² The best servant in his house was in charge of everything Abraham had. Abraham said to him, “Put your hand under my thigh. ³ The Lord is the God of heaven and the God of earth. I want you to make a promise to me in his name. I’m living among the people of Canaan. But I want you to promise me that you won’t get a wife for my son from their daughters. ⁴ Instead, promise me that you will go to my country and to my own relatives. Get a wife for my son Isaac from there.”

⁵ The servant asked Abraham, “What if the woman doesn’t want to come back with me to this land? Then should I take your son back to the country you came from?”

⁶ “Make sure you don’t take my son back there,” Abraham said. ⁷ “The Lord, the God of heaven, took me away from my father’s family. He brought me out of my own land. He made me a promise. He said, ‘I will give this land to your family after you.’ The Lord will send his angel ahead of you. So you will be able to get a wife for my son from there. ⁸ The woman may not want to come back with you. If she doesn’t, you will be free from your promise. But don’t take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant put his hand under Abraham’s thigh. He promised to do what his master wanted.

³⁵ “This is the same Moses the two men of Israel would not accept. They had said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ But God himself sent Moses to rule the people of Israel and set them free. He spoke to Moses through an angel. The angel had appeared to him in the bush. ³⁶ So Moses led them out of Egypt. He did wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for 40 years in the desert.

³⁷ “This is the same Moses who spoke to the Israelites. ‘God will send you a prophet,’ he said. ‘He will be like me. He will come from your own people.’ (Deuteronomy 18:15) ³⁸ Moses was with the Israelites in the desert. He was with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai. Moses was with our people of long ago. He received living words to pass on to us.

³⁹ “But our people refused to obey Moses. They would not accept him. In their hearts, they wished they were back in Egypt. ⁴⁰ They told Aaron, ‘Make us a god who will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him!’ (Exodus 32:1) ⁴¹ That was the time they made a statue to be their god. It was shaped like a calf. They brought sacrifices to it. They even enjoyed what they had made with their own hands. ⁴² But God turned away from them. He let them go on worshiping the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets. There it says,