Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. When food was set before the servant, he said, “ I will not eat until I have told my business. I am Abraham’s servant. The Lord has greatly blessed my master, so that he has become rich; and He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys. My master made me swear that I would not take a wife for his son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land he lives. He told me to go to his father’s house and take a wife for his son. I asked what I should do if the woman did not follow me. He said that the Lord, before whom he has walked, will send His angel with me to make my journey successful, and that I should take a wife for his son from his relatives and from his father’s house.” He then explained what happened at the spring with Rebekah. Father thank You that You work out everything perfectly in our lives.

  Good morning. When Laban saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of Rebekah, saying “This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man; he was standing by the camels at the spring. That verifies that she just ran off and left the man standing there. “Come in blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside since I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels ? ” Seriously? He didn’t have time to do all of that. The man entered the house. Then Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. Laban saw the 10 camels and probably many of the items the man had brought with him to give as a dowry. He knew this meant Abraham was rich, and later when Jacob comes he probably assumes that Jacob ’ s father, Isaac who would have inherited everything from Abraham, is rich also. Father make this a time of healing and deliverance for the reader and his/he...

  Good morning. “Whose daughter are you ? Is there room for us (there are 10 camels, so there is more than one guy) to lodge in your father’s house ? ” “I am the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s (Abraham’s brother) son. We have plenty of room to lodge in.” “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.” The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. She just left him standing there. Her brother Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. What follows shows just how conniving Laban was. This is the man that Jacob will have to deal with years from now. Father bring Your richness and mercy upon the reader and his/her family.

  Good morning. Before he had finished speaking (God was fulfilling the fleece even as the servant was putting it out), Rebekah (Abraham’s grandniece) came out with her jar on her shoulders. To anyone who had made such a request that the servant had made, this would be confirmation that it was God ‘ s will for her to be Isaac ’ s wife. The girl was very beautiful and went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. “Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” She quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “ I will draws also for your camels until they have finished drinking.” Remember that the servant had brought 10 camel loads of gifts. That would take a lot of water to quench their thirst. The servant was watching her to know whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not. When the camels had finished drinking, he gave her a gold ring and two gold bracelets. Father thank You that You are al...

 Good morning. The servant made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at evening time, the time when women go out to draw water. “O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘please let down your jar so that I may drink’, and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also‘ - May she be the one whom You have appointed for your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.” In other words, he was putting out a fleece. If you put out a fleece, you may get “ fleeced.” They did that a lot in the Old Testament, but they did not have the Holy Spirit within them to guide them like we do today. God will many times confirm His word by physical occurrences; but that is not the way we are to guide our decision ma...

  Good morning. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, “ To your descendants I will give this land.”, He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this my oath; only do not take my son back there. Abraham repeats his command to make sure his servant perfectly understands. The servant took 10 camels from those of his master, and set out with a variety of good things of his master’s in his hand; and he went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor (Abraham’s brother). We will continue this Hallmark Christmas movie tomorrow. Father fill the reader’s house with love, joy, and peace continually.

 Good morning. Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way. We would all like that to be true of ourselves. There was one main thing left for him to do before he died. God had promised that his descendants would be as the sand on the seashore, and yet, he only had one child “according to promise”. That ’ s not looking like the sand on the seashore. Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he owned (probably Eliezer of Damascus mentioned earlier as his heir), “I will make you swear by the Lord that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came ? ” It sounds like he means for Isaac to move back there. “Beware that you do not take my son back there!” In th...

 Good morning. Abraham: “I will give you the price of the field; accept it from me that I may bury my dead there.” “A piece of land worth 400 shekels of silver, what is that between me and you ? So bury your dead.” [My Bible says that despite Ephron’s pretense of generosity, 400 shekels of silver was an exorbitant price for a field. He was taking advantage of Abraham during a time of grief and bereavement. He knew that Abraham had to deal quickly in order to have a place to bury Sarah, so he insisted that Abraham buy the entire lot and assume responsibility for all dues concerning the field.] Abraham had no choice; he did not even try to bargain with him. So Abraham bought the cave and the field and buried Sarah in the cave which faced Mamre (Hebron). Father thank You that You go with us and take care of us whatever may happen.

  Good morning. Then Abraham rose from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth (who was a son of Canaan), “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me a burial site among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” “You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.” “If it is your wish for me to bury my dead out of my sight, approach Ephron for me, that he may give me the cave which he owns at the end of his field for the full price for a burial site.” [My Bible says that according to tradition this cave is deep beneath the Mosque of Abraham, a Muslim shrine in Hebron] Ephron: “I give you the field, and I give you the cave which is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I gave it to you; bury your dead.” First of all, he didn ’ t really mean that he was going to give Abraham the field and the cave . It was a bartering tactic. Secondly, Abraham only asked  to buy...

  Good morning. Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba and lived there. It does not say that Abraham told his men what happened while he was gone. It also does not say whether or not he told Sarah. My guess is that he told Isaac, “ Don’t tell mam a.” About this time, Abraham found out that his brother had children (it ’ s been years since he has seen him, and they didn ’ t have cell phones), and one of them had a child named Rebekah whom Isaac would marry. Apparently it was the style when Moses wrote this that whenever you were finished talking about what someone did that was relevant, you “ bumped them off “ , even though you mentioned things that happened after that while the person was still alive. We will see that with the death of Abraham. Sarah lived 127 years and she died in the land of Canaan. Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to wee p for her. Father continue to meet all of the needs of the reader and his/her family.

  Good morning. “By Myself I have sworn (Hebrews 6:13 since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself), declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” No wonder Abraham was known as the friend of God. When someone obeys God, it is reasonable that that person be blessed by God. In this case, not only was Abraham and his descendants blessed, but also all the nations of the world – through Jesus Christ. Father thank You that through Abraham’s obedience, we were blessed also. Help us to obey like Abraham.

  Good morning. But the angel of the Lord (which some say was the pre-incarnate Jesus ) called to him from heaven and said, “ Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am.” “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” James says that Abraham was justified by works when he offered up Isaac, and that his faith was perfected. We have Jesus, who justified us; they had to be justified by their works. Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked; behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son - just like Jesus died in our place. Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh (The Lord will provide) - “In the Mount of the Lord it will be provided.” Father thank You that You always provide whatever we need .

  Good morning. Then they came to the place of which God had told him, and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Have you ever really thought about this situation ? Abraham is 100 years old, and again, we do not know the age of Isaac. Isaac was not dumb. He would certainly have become suspicious when his father was binding him. Unless he was really young, he should have been able to get away from Abraham, if he tried. Did he trust his father that much ? Do we trust our Father that much ? Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. Stay tuned till next time, when we will see what happens. Father help us to trust You so much that even when it looks like Your promise is doomed to failure, we still believe it will turn out the way You said it would.

  Good morning. Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and a knife. So the two of them walked on together. We don ’ t know how old Isaac was, but he was big enough to carry the wood. “My father!” “Here I am, my son.” “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering ? ” Good thinking. “God will provide for Himself the lamb tor the burnt offering, my son.” This is referred to in preaching today as a foreshadowing of God providing His Lamb, Jesus, as an offering for sin - (John 1:29) John the Baptist saying of Jesus, “ Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The book of Hebrews says that he, Abraham, considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. From the cla ssic Hymn: trust and obey, for there’s no other way. Father help us to get to the point where we can trust and obey You no matter what You may ask...

  Good morning. Abraham rose early in the morning (obeying immediately like he always did) and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and went to the place which God had told him. I bet you he didn’t tell Sarah what he was doing. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Abraham said to his young men, “ Stay with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” There is nothing that says how old Isaac was. [My Bible says that the Hebrew for this word “lad” could mean an infant up to a young man of military age.] Abraham was confident that somehow or other God would make everything turn out all right, and that they would both return. Father help us to keep our confidence in You even when things look like they will not work out the way You said they would.

 Good morning. Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God. And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days. Everything was going so “smoothingly”, and then… God tested Abraham and said to him, “ Abraham!” And he said, “ Here I am.” “Take now your son, your only son, whom you have, Isaac (just in case there was any confusion as to which one God meant), and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” That was an extremely tough blow. He had no son for almost 90 years and then he gets one, Ishmael. He gets all comfortable with that, and then God gives him the right one, Isaac. He gets all comfortable with that, and now God asks him to give that up. How many of us would be arguing and bargaining with God right about now ? Not Abraham. ...

  Good morning. It came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham saying, “ God is with you in all that you do; now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.” This means that Abraham had been living near Abimelech for quite some time. He has seen that God was with Abraham, and he is afraid that God will take Abraham’s side in any dispute. Abraham swears it. The two of them get into a dispute about who owns a well that is dug. Water is more important in that area than many different treasures. Father with You on our side, we don ’ t need an army.

  Good morning. When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes. At this point, I ’ m probably thinking “ God, why did You make me go back when I ran away before ? ” Then she went and sat down opposite him, for she said, “ Do not let me see the boy die”. She lifted up her voice and wept. God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called Hagar from heaven and said to her, “ What is the matter with you, Hagar ? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad (Ishmael means “God hears”) where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink. He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt (which is where she was from). Father even when things look their darkest, we can trust You that everything will work out the way You want it ...

  Good morning. Sarah saw the son of Hagar mocking. She said Abraham, “ Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac “ . Remember that normally the oldest son gets a double portion of the inheritance. Because Hagar was not his wife, this may not have held true. Paul uses this situation in the book of Galatians. The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son. But God said to Abraham, “ Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her for through Isaac your descendants shall be named. And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendent “ . Abraham rose early in the morning (when he obeyed God, he always did it immediately) and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, gave her the boy, and sent her away. She wandered about in the wilderness. Previously she had run away because of Sarah ’ s treatment of her; now she is being sent away...

  Good morning. Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised. Someone once said that when you see the word therefore in the Scriptures you need to ask yourself what is it there for ? The same thing can sometimes be said of the word “then”. You should ask yourself what happened that precipitated the “ then “ ? Why didn’t God do it sooner ? If Sarah had been pregnant or already had Isaac, all that happened with Abimelech, including all that he gave Abraham, would not have occurred. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. God only does things at the appointed time. Father help us to be willing to wait for Your appointed time for things that You promised us to happen.

  Good morning. Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. This is the same thing that happened in Egypt when Abraham acquired Hagar. When later we see Isaac doing the same thing, we begin to wonder… “My land is before you; settle wherever you please “ . To Sarah: “ I have given your brother 1000 pieces of silver; it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared “ . Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham ’ s wife. That ’ s how Abimelech knew that something was wrong. Even though we may prosper when we do something that is questionable, that does not mean that it has God ’ s approval. Father help us to seek Your guidance and not try to figure out everything on our own.

  Good morning. Abimelech said to Abraham, “ What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin ? You have done to me things that ought not to be done. What have you encountered, that you have done this thing “ ? “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. When God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I asked her to say this”. The Bible does not comment on whether or not what Abraham did was right – it simply tells it like it was. We will never know what would ’ ve happened had Abraham simply trusted completely in God to take care of him and Sarah. Father help us to completely trust in You and Your way of doing things.

  Good morning. Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, to Gerar. Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “ She is my sister “ . So Abimelech King of Gerar sent and took Sarah (remember Sarah at this time was getting old, and yet he still wanted her as a wife). But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “ You are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married “ . Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “ Lord, will you slay a nation, even though blameless! Did he not himself say to me she is my sister ? And she said he is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I ’ ve done this “ . “I know that you did, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Restore the man ’ s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours. Father continue to g...

  Good morning. Abraham called the name of his son Isaac (which means, “ he laughs “ ) . Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, “ God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me “ . Remember that Sarah laughed when she heard the Lord talking to Abraham about her bearing a son.  “ Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children ? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age “. Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. [My Bible says that it was common for that to happen at the age of two or three]. Everything was hunky-dory, right ? Fireworks will come next time. Father continue to bring healing and fulfillment to the family of the reader.

Good morning. Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised. Someone once said that when you see the word therefore in the Scriptures you need to ask yourself what is it there for ? The same thing can sometimes be said of the word “then”. You should ask yourself what happened that precipitated the “ then “ ? Why didn’t God do it sooner ? If Sarah had been pregnant or already had Isaac, all that happened with Abimelech, including all that he gave Abraham, would not have occurred. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. God only does things at the appointed time. Father help us to be willing to wait for Your appointed time for things that You promised us to happen.

  Good morning. Abimelech then took sheep and oxen and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. This is the same thing that happened in Egypt when Abraham acquired Hagar. When later we see Isaac doing the same thing, we begin to wonder… “My land is before you; settle wherever you please “ . To Sarah: “ I have given your brother 1000 pieces of silver; it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared “ . Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham ’ s wife. That ’ s how Abimelech knew that something was wrong. Even though we may prosper when we do something that is questionable, that does not mean that it has God ’ s approval. Father help us to seek Your guidance and not try to figure out everything on our own.

  Good morning. Abimelech said to Abraham, “ What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin ? You have done to me things that ought not to be done. What have you encountered, that you have done this thing “ ? “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. When God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I asked her to say this”. The Bible does not comment on whether or not what Abraham did was right – it simply tells it like it was. We will never know what would ’ ve happened had Abraham simply trusted completely in God to take care of him and Sarah. Father help us to completely trust in You and Your way of doing things.

  Good morning. Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, to Gerar. Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “ She is my sister “ . So Abimelech King of Gerar sent and took Sarah (remember Sarah at this time was getting old, and yet he still wanted her as a wife). But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “ You are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married “ . Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “ Lord, will you slay a nation, even though blameless! Did he not himself say to me she is my sister ? And she said he is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I ’ ve done this “ . “I know that you did, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Restore the man ’ s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours. Father continue to g...

  Good morning. Lot went up from Zoar (the small town that Lot asked the angel if they could go there), and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. Then the firstborn said to the younger, “ Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth.” Of course that was not true, but it may have seemed like it with all the fire and brimstone. “Come let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our family through our father “ . This is an indication of just how corrupt Sodom was, that she would even think of something that horrendous. They did, and both of them had children by their father. One of the children was Moab and the other was Ammon. The nations that came from these two will be seen again later. Father thank You that You show us the right way for the fulfillment of Your promises to us.

  Good morning. Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the Lord; and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley, and he saw the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace. We saw that it was when morning dawned that the angels brought Lot and his family out of the city. It was a little later when the fire and brimstone came. Abraham was anxious to see what occurred to Lot and the cities. Most likely there was a great display in the sky which was visible even to Abraham. Then it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot  lived.  Lot received grace because of his uncle’s righteousness. Even our families can receive grace from God because of our righteousness in Jesus. Father help us to live our lives in righteousness so that even our relatives can rec...