May you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies.

Genesis 24:32-67
Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.” 
Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”
But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.”
And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies.
The steward's gifts in verses 53 seal the betrothal. It is a fitting conclusion that God, who has so clearly guided at every stage, should set his seal on the marriage in the deep love of Isaac for this remarkable young woman.
Why?
Honesty servant of Abraham didn't forget what his mission was. Before eats he has to said the mission and God's way to be there. And he did not delay his journey one more day and go back to his home town with Rebekah.
Laban and Bethuel's family knew this is the way of the Lord for them so they agree with this marriage, and Rebekah agrees to go with the servant of the next day.
Blessing is important as they blessed to Rebekah,  may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the cities of their enemies. 
Rebekah is a role under God's arrangement, the same as we are a role under God's mind. Actually, we can do nothing, we are experience God's grace and great so we involved in God's s works.
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利百加繼承了撒拉的地位
忠心的僕人把主人的事放在首位
為何經文要如此重複說一次，神不會講廢話。似乎神迫不及待的讓神的應許成就。
我們今天事奉是為了誰？我們常常要與人配搭，應調整我們自己，以神的事優先。
不可耽延，耶和華已經給我通達的路，任何人都會捨不得親情。多住幾天可能變數更多。親情也不能耽誤神的工作。既然知道神的心意就要一無反顧去做。
婚姻是神賜福的更是神得以成就的心意。關係到神的應許成就，我們禱告求這求那，更重要是成就神的計畫。事業，家庭，學業是否與神的國度有關？
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How?
Do not grap but follow the way of the Lord arranges for me.

Wonder travel to find wife for Isaac

Genesis 24:1-31
God, he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”
Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.
Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”
Abraham is an old man. Isaac is unmarried. The fulfillment of the promise depends on a wife, and children, for Isaac: a wife essentially of God's choosing, from within the family of God's people. The story that follows is one of the loveliest in the Old Testament. It reflects the traditional Eastern arranged marriage. The characters of the faithful steward and of Rebecca herself shine through the narrative敘述.
Why?
Abraham has faith that his son's wife will be chosen by the Lord. so he let his servant went back to his hometown to find a girl for his son Isaac.
God listen to his servant's pray and led the way to the home of Rebecca.
Seeking the way of the Lord and be in God's blessing there will be wonderful results come.
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1.顯出亞伯拉罕對盟約的忠心
    為以撒找妻子，一定要回本地本家找。Why?他老家的人都信耶和華嗎？不見得。但是迦南地的人一定不是敬畏耶和華。以撒可能無法影響他妻子，反而會被影響。因為他們是寄居在這裏。找一位熟悉他們信仰的家族，可以被亞伯拉罕家影響，且她遠離她的家，就不會受娘家影響。如果以撒去妻子老家受到神的應許白費、以撒也會受到家鄉人的影響。亞伯拉罕的設想很周到。
只要照著神的應許來禱告一定會蒙應允。整個事情其實神已經安排了，好像我們做什麼，其實不然，我們只是去接收成果。神為了要我們經歷神的同在、神的大能。
2. 千里姻緣一線牽，主的安排。神將適合的人放在適合的地方
主一定會預備的。忠心僕人的禱告，立即蒙應允。僕人做一個求印證的禱告。打水是很辛苦的，不會自己打嗎？利百加立即且用手托在手上，請喝。且為駱駝打水喝。一隻駱駝喝95公升的水，十隻要喝950公升，相當於一噸的水。利百加顯然早就預備好了。以撒在這裏對於他娶妻一點意見都沒有。喜歡那一種的，有何才能，皮膚如何?如亞當當初沉睡了，完全讓神安排。利百加平日預備成為他人的妻，適合別人的人。預備自己成為適合某個地方成為幫助別人的人。不僅婚姻，工作、服事都是如此。
亞伯拉罕也要付代價，可能僕人找不到，可能必須再次預備差遣僕人再去。
主必定差遣僕人在我們面前預備。
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How?
Faith is fully relying on God's arrangement and give up my own way.

The field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites

Genesis 23:1-20
Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”
He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”
No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”
Ephron answered Abraham, “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.
Abraham, as a resident alien, has no right to land. He 'has not received the thins promised' . and must bargain even for a place to bury his wife. This chapter and chapter 21 record the first legal rights of Abraham's family in Canaan.
The Hittites occupying the Hebron area may have been early settlers drawn south by trade from the Hittite Empire in Turkey. The deal is vividly described, conforming in detail to Hittite law ( the mention of the trees, the weighing of the silver by current standards, and the proclamation in the presence of witnesses at the city gate.
Family tombs, often caves or cut from rock, were also customary. The traditional site of the burial-cave at Hebron is today covered by a mosque, for Islan holds Abraham in high regard.
Why?
Abraham are a mighty prince among Hittites the Canaanite. They treated Abraham with respect. But Abraham insisted to pay and get the property to bury Sarah. This is the first property of land to Abraham.
Even Abraham has not gotten the promised land, but this is the first land he got.
Abraham has a good reputation so Hittites like help him. This is a Christian should show up in his behavior better than any others.
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赫人只願意借墳地給亞伯拉罕使用，在我的墳地埋葬你的死人，地還是他們的。亞伯拉罕表明要有地的所有權。一定要用買的，不要用借用或是送的，亞伯拉罕不想欠別人人情，不要擔心以後被要回去。不希望他的富足是因為赫人使他富足，使他抬不地頭，我們是靠誰富足，靠自己能力，別人、家族。是只靠神富足。他認定神一定會將這地賜給他，所以不將撒拉埋葬在這裏。會買地置產也是為將來神會賜福給的產業。
400色客勒很貴，大衛有用50色客勒買起建聖殿，撒馬利亞城用6000色客勒買的。所以可見這個價格是漫天要價，亞伯拉罕完全沒有還價，且馬上付現。這就是他願意投資在永恆的居所。
我們是否願意將一生跟隨耶穌的道路，即投資在永恆的產業中投資。所以亞伯拉罕不要借用，不要贈送，願意花極高代價來買永恆的產業，應許之地。
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How?
Help me Lord, for I am weak and a stranger in this world, may your blessing and Holy Spirit lead me in my life, give me strength to honor your Holy Name.

Love God more than his grace

Genesis 22:1-24
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,  I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me.”
There is surely nothing in Abraham's previous experience of God to make him think that God would want child-sacrifice. For him, as for every reader from then to now, the devastating words with which the story begins come as a most dreadful shock: "Take your son, your only son, whom you love so much'. What kind of God is this God we thought we knew? The instruction is more puzzling still, since all God's promises are vested in Isaac. How could God require his death?
The end of the story enables us to breathe again. God does not want child sacrifice. God provides, and the two return together. The issue is clearly presented as one of trust. Is Abraham willing to offer up the one who is more precious to him than all the world? Will he trust God with Isaac? He has previously failed to trust God for his own safety: twice we have seen him selfishly put Sarah's life at risk. But now he trusts where he cannot understand, And in the offering of his only son, he mirrors the far more costly self-offering of God in Jesus.
And what of Isaac? Did he struggle or argue? In the telling, his tole is passive, not active; an acceptance of suffering - like that of the servant of the Lord in Isaiah 53: like Jesus who went willingly to death.
Why?
This the faith of Abraham shows God is top in his life more than his loved son, Isaac.
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亞伯拉罕信心的最高表現
1.奉獻最愛
    奉獻如果不是我最愛的，唯獨某件東西不能奉獻的，就是神要的。真奉獻是給自己最愛的。神會預備，神如何預備，我們不知道，也不用去想。信心不是容易的事
2.放下反而得到更多。亞伯拉罕發現什麼都沒有失去。我們有什麼東西留下不給神。神不是要奪人所愛，神要人完全的愛神勝過一切。其實我們什麼也不會失去。如果我們不能放下，神就要我們繼續學這個功課。
3.為了試驗亞伯拉罕，所以有此作為。亞伯拉罕沒有和神討價還價
   21章要放下比較容易，因為是人員的恩典、成就。22章放下神給的恩典。神的恩典為什麼要還給神。我們不能愛神的恩典，超過愛神。如果我們愛恩典，我們得到的只停留在這個恩典，以後就沒有了。不能因為愛恩典，忘了神。不能因為父母給錢，只愛錢，不要父母。
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How?
Abraham is a real father of faith to all of us.

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him

Genesis 21:1-34
Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” 
The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.  But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”
After the treaty had been made at Beersheba, Abimelek and Phicol the commander of his forces returned to the land of the Philistines. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
Beersheba can mean well of seven or well of the oath.
Twenty-five years have passed since the promise was first made. Isaac's elderly parents are naturally overjoyed at his birth. Sarah's demand that Hagar and Ishmael be sent sway runs counter to custom, and Abraham needs a word from God before he will agree. Galatians 4L22 shows why the rift was inevitable. God's care for Ishmael, although he was not the child of the promise, once more shines through. Outcast by Sarah and Abraham, he is not cast out by God. On the contrary, 'God was with the child as he grew up'
Water has always been precious to the herdsmen in the dry climate of southern Palestine. Monthly rainfall in this area drops from 100mm in January to nothing at all in the four summer months. So Abraham's dispute over the well at Beersheba is not surprising. Abimelech may be a Philistine title for 'king', rather than a personal name.
Why?
God's promise comes true 25 years later. SO the word of the Lord is always true.
Because Ishmael is the offspring of Abraham, God's blessing is with Ishmael.
Sarah get away Hagar and Ishmael seem envy foreigner to share his heritage, but it is God's blessing that this is the blessing to God's people, Israelite.
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1.亞伯拉罕兩個兒子如何處理?
   撒拉從暗笑到喜笑。經歷了神的應許。怎麼才能領受恩典，領受恩典要如何使恩典維持下去。
2.神如何指引
    撒拉的想法雖然是出於自私，但是卻與神一樣。以實馬利是人的錯誤留下的痕跡，也不要讓錯誤的結果影響到神作為的干擾。舊的不能影響新的。以實馬利是人的方法生的，以撒是神的作為生的。如果留下以實馬利是留下靠自己的作為。我們不能一邊靠人一邊靠神。亞當用葉子遮羞自己的羞恥，人用功德、苦行想來遮掩自己的罪。神要人將這些人為的遮蔽攝去，不顧面子在神面前是何等羞恥、不配的。不能又用自己的方法，又用神的方法，最後一定是人的方法會取代人的方法。以實馬利是爭戰的，以撒是安靜的，屬神的。趕出以實馬利、夏甲要很大的決心，放下我們目前擁有的很難。趕出去以人的想法來看真的沒有愛、沒有親情、很殘酷。怎麼忍心。但是這都不是理由。神會看顧、帶領。放下來的神會自己成全。
3.亞伯拉罕令人折服
   敬畏神的人，令亞米比勒折服。在夏甲的處理後，神要賜亞伯拉罕土地。一個有軍隊、有權勢的人，居然要和一個弱小的國家來求和、立約，除非他們看見這個國家，這個人背後有很大的靠山。
我們希望別人看重台灣、強化軍隊、發展經濟都沒有用。敬畏神, 沒有軍隊，沒有經濟, 才是讓人尊敬我們的方法
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How?
God's promise never fails, God's word is my way and blessing.

Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.”

Genesis 20:1-18
Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.”
Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again.
Many take this story as a duplicate of 12:10-20, though Abraham would not be the first to repeat a sin in testing circumstances. Nor is he the only person to have been put to shame twice before those with 'no fear of God' to guide their actions. Abimelech comes out of this more honorably than the man of faith. Once again we are held in suspense. Will God allow Abraham's folly to wreck his plan at the eleventh hour?
Why?
Abraham once again does the same folly things as he was in Egypt. Abraham feared he may be killed for his wife Sarah. Sarah was 89 years old but she was still beautiful. Abraham was 99 years old. 13 years ago Abraham has a son, Ishmael.
Once time God saved Abraham in the dream of Abimelech.
Because Abraham is chosen by the Lord, but face to the dead, Abraham lost his faith to the Lord. This is his weakness in his life.
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亞伯拉罕一直過不了關的是沒有兒子和面臨生死關頭。我們也是否和亞伯拉罕一樣嗎？我們每個基督徒也都是相信神的。但是面臨許多關頭有誰可以勝過。這位被稱為信心之父，也有跌倒的時候。勉勵我們即使跌倒仍然要站立起來，神一定保守看顧。他沒有兒子，神一定會保守他的性命。應許還沒有實現，其實是在保護我們。
我們在一些犯難中一直想做些事情才會放心，常常做了反而壞了事情。人要插手幫助神反而更糟。有生命危險也是他自己想的。面臨困難我們沒有作為嗎？不是，但是我們當心正手潔！不要讓神擔心，不要走世界的路，違背神的旨意，走在神的心意中。神必保守看顧。
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How?
All of us has weakness in our life, pray to the Lord and keep our faith to the Lord.

Close kin to Israel

Genesis 19:30-38
Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.  One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth.  Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”
So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi ; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.
Close kin to Israel, these two tribes occupying land to the east of the Jordan and Dead Sea worshipped other gods and were frequently denounced by the prophets. Despite their sordid beginnings, alienation was not inevitable, as the story of Ruth makes gloriously clear.
Why?
After the disaster happened on Sodoma Lor afraid to die so he moved to the mountains. But for their heart is not God so sordid things happened and there were two tribes began, Moabites and Ammonites and became enemies of Israelite in history.
If they turn to the Lord there is a way to Lot's family, they may come to their uncle Abraham, but they did not.
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所多瑪對羅得的影響1.被城吸引、眷戀。離神何等遠 2.兩個女兒對性觀念如此隨便。用自己的方法留後代。毫無羞恥之心。也是受所多瑪影響。 3.羅得常常喝的爛醉，生活和所多瑪人一樣。幾時躺下、起來都不知道，竟然都不知情。羅得對此事也毫無感覺，覺得太平常了。連續兩個晚上都不知道嗎？
摩押：從父親來的兒子   便阿閔（亞捫）：我親屬的兒子，沒有記念是父親，故意將羅得是父親的事抹去一切化為烏有，後代背負無情無義，亂倫的惡名
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How?
Don't go on the wrong way and do the wrong things, God is waiting for our heart turns to Him.
Confess our sins for all of us are sinners.

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

Genesis 19:1-29
When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”
“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”
But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate.
“Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.
When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. 
By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them. Every man in the city is implicated in this terrible intended gang-rape - not one supports Lot's protest against the infringement of the most sacred laws of hospitality, not to say humanity. God had clear evidence that the outcry against Sodom was justified.
Why?
Treat nice and welcome traveler has mercy to men. All of us are a traveler in the world.
Lot is the only one righteous man in Sodoma and for Abraham so angels save Lor and his family.
Stay in the square is hard to rest and without invited by this town.
From this statement, we see the evil behavior in Sodom and Gomorrah is evident.
Listen to the word of God relative to our life and safety, Lor's wife looked back she could not be saved from disaster.
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義人如果執意留在敗壞之城，也不是真的義人。何況有這麼多惡人在該城，所以亞伯拉罕沒有繼續求。
天使不願在罪惡之城住下，不似去亞伯拉罕的家。
讓我們認識他們，意思是要和他們同房，發生性關係。
為何羅得可以犧牲他自己女兒，救這兩個外來寄居者，因為他受到當地人的想法影響。
羅得敬畏耶和華，卻漸漸挪移帳棚到所多瑪，羅得是世俗化的基督徒。 正如今天許多基督徒也是如此。
許多人也是世俗化，恩典、福音、救恩的門在眼前，卻看不到。這些要救羅得的人，好像在救他們。羅得沒有見證、榜樣因此無法說動他的女婿，你和我們都一樣啊！
如果我們沒有愛主的榜樣，怎能帶領人信主，弟兄姊妹也都在看。
羅得的產業都在這裏，他也是很不想走。我們可以放下一切，走屬天的道路。天使硬是拉著他走。有時神強迫我們向前走，為了不讓我們遇見災難，硬拖羅得走。
羅得想走近的路，不想去山上走山路，走平原去個小城，想要過自己的生活，再次找回自己的產業，山上沒有發展性。我們求那個不是最好的，卻以為神聽禱告、去做見證。如羅得仍然徘徊在世界的生活，眼前問題解決，他就要走自己的路了，對主是有所保留的。求神解決我眼前的問題就好了，之後還是走自己的路。羅得的妻子捨不得，要回頭看，神就讓她站立著永遠看，永遠留戀他們的埃及。神垂聽我們的禱告不一定好的，要學習耶穌，不要依我的意思，照你的意思成就。神要給我們更好的。要我們得著生命，且更美好。求神開我們眼睛，雖然看不到前面，但是卻是最好的。讓我不要愛世界。
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How?
God is full of love and righteousness. Obey the word of the Lord is blessing way.

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Genesis 18:1-33
The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.  Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.  Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”
Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”
He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
Abraham welcomed a stranger and, all unknowingly, took the Lord himself into his home. The lavish welcome and provision are typical of hospitality amongst nomadic desert people even today. The 'morsel of bread' offered to the guests turns out to be a meal of fresh cakes, curds and milk, and the best veal. The words 'Is anything too hard for the Lord' reveal the visitor's true identity, and Sarah's reveal the visitor's true identity, and Sarah's incredulous laughter changes to fear.
Abraham's prayer gives an insight into the quality of his relationship with God. No wonder 2 Chronicles 20:7 describes him as God's friend'. God must know for himself the truth about Sodom and Gomorrah; hearsay will not do. Abraham leaps to the conclusion that judgment is inevitable, yet he knows it is against God's nature to condemn the innocent. He feels his way forward, not changing God's mind, but growing ever more certain that ' the judge of all the earth' will do what is just. In the went, though Sodom could not produce even ten 'innocent' people, God saved four - Lot, his wife and two daughters.
Why?
Welcome strangers might invite angles of the Lord into our home, so this is a custom to Israelite.
Is anything too hard for the Lord? No. my Lord is Almighty God.
To be a blameless man before the Lord.  Trust in the Lord and follow his word.
God is full of love and is righteous to everyone in the world. The judgment came upon Sodom and Gomorrah is for their sin was so great.
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神向亞伯拉罕顯現，藉三個旅人來顯現。三個人沒說誰，神以人形顯現。以這個方式顯現最親近且自然。一開始可能以為是天使，後來才知道是神。
心裏暗笑，沒有笑出來，外表也看不出來。但是神知道，看到了。因為他們不認為可能。
撒拉也看到自己的不信而懼怕，不是不信，實在是人的軟弱。神不受環境的影響，沒有不可能的事。
羅馬書4:19：亞伯拉罕所信的是從死復活、從無到有。
我所要做的事，豈能不讓亞伯拉罕知道呢?亞伯拉罕為所多瑪求，神豈會將惡人、義人一地滅掉嗎？他知道神是公義的。與神談是沒有心機的，不像一般殺價。又像朋友。讓我們信不是因為可能，讓我們與神相處，可以親近？
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How?
The Covid-19 came upon the world for God's judgment and warning. 

“I am God Almighty[a]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless."

Genesis 17:1-27
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him. “I am God Almighty[a]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.  No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
The covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner.
As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.
Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,  and his son Ishmael was thirteen;  Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day.
God confirms the covenant once again, giving new names to Abram and Sarai. Most ancient peoples, including the Hebrews, attached great significance to the names of people and places. People's names often said something about their origins or expressed a prayer. The change of name here indicates a new beginning. So Abram is changed to Abraham. and Sarai becomes Sarah.
The physical sign of circumcision gathers not only Abraham but also Ishmael and the whole multi-racial household into the covenant. Twenty-four years after the departure from Harran the birth of Sarah's son Isaac is announced.
Why?
Abram was 99 years old when God said to him, he will have his son and called him Issac. This is the work of God and the time of the Lord. To man, it is impossible to be a father. this is the promise of the Lord to Abraham.
God makes a covenant - circumcision in his people as a sign of the covenant.
Each name has its meaning before the Lord. for we are the sons of the Lord.
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神吩咐亞伯拉罕行割禮，為了以實馬利有13年沒有和亞伯蘭說話。這裏的立約神有要求。信必須完全依靠、完全信服，不另外想辦法，完全按照神。完全的放心。耶和華說我是全能的神，當在我面前做完全人。神是全能的，可靠的，人可以放心，做完全不是瑕疵無暇，完全相信神，面對面困難仍然能夠站穩。
v4-8 應許的內容，提到國度、君王，土地，後裔。有後裔，國度、君王、土地才能永久擁有。
v9-14 割禮不是以色列人專有的。用這個禮做記號、除去肉體、血氣的依靠。反應了夏甲事件。男人要做頭，在神面前也不能做頭，割禮象徵除去男人的象徵才能依靠神。受割禮很痛，必須下決心，也是隱蔽的地方在神面前完全敞開。提醒人要放下自己做頭的身份，才能真正做王、君王、掌權。在耶和華面前沒有主人，都是僕人，每個人都要受割禮。
v15-19 將以撒的事啟示出來。亞伯蘭信心的弱點仍然無法相信他妻子會生孩子。神是使無變有的神。
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How?
God is my Lord, my shield and my fortress. Praise to the Lord and give thanks to the Lord.

So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael

Genesis 16:1-16
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Saral devises her own way of making God's promise come true. Childless herself, she falls back on custom, giving her slave-girl to Abram. But human emotions in such a situation are complex and the unhappy sequel is not surprising.
Why?
Abram and Sarai used their way and mind to respond to God's promise. They made their own decision but it causes this family unhappy.
God's promise will be done but we need to wait and endure some difficult situation.
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信心需要去操練，經歷。
亞伯拉罕信心脆弱，需要幫忙他。他一直沒有兒子是他信心最弱地方。他一直在降低應許的強度。神說從你所生的，沒有說從那個女人生的。從夏甲生也算是我的兒子。亞伯蘭在迦南那裏已經十年，生以實馬利，已經86歲，表達10年沒有顯示應許實現的徵兆，愈來愈不可能實現，這表示這才是神應許的實現。這件事他真的做錯了。直到他獻兒子以撒時信心真正成熟。
整個事件的發動增者看來是撒來的主意，看來是神使我不生，好像要幫忙神讓應許實現。神不建立我，我自己想辦法。想要被建立，結果反而被渺視，連自己的下女都看不起她。此時才想起神，當神不如我意時，我自己處理。不要干涉我的心態。直到搞垮了才求神來解決。撒萊正如許多基督徒的想法。
夏甲是最有信心的人，唯一錯的是小看自己的主人。神要她回去撒萊回去，回去是忍氣吞聲，很不容易，僕人逃跑回去有可能被殺。神並且給她應許。神要她伏在撒萊的手下，是最順服的且有信心的顯現，（連怪怪癖的也要順服）。她會有兒子，表示她會安全的、平安的。
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How?
Be patient, for God's promise and blessing will come true. God's word never fails. God is always with us when we walk in God's way and trust in Him.

The Lord’s Covenant With Abram

Genesis 15:1-21
But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”  And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.”  He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[d] be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi[e] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites,  Kadmonites,  Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
This time the covenant is not prefaced by a command. God listens to Abram's doubts and fears - I am childless: 'How can I be sure..." - and God's response is full of reassurance as he repeats his promises.
Why?
Abram doubted how he descendant will many as God's said for he was childless at that time. So God made a covenant with Abram. 
Because God's said and Abram believed so Abram is righteousness.
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神再次向重述亞伯蘭的約：不是全然相信，合理化是合人的理的模式來相信，想成他家中僕人的小孩。用人可以接受的方式來相信。只是這個應許打折扣了。神糾正他這個點。
信心的內容是按照神的話語來信，須要不斷調整我們自己。看似單純的信，當然也會懷疑，不是抗拒的懷疑，只是神如何成就我們不知道。願意信，就蒙神肯定。
應許一定會長實現，但是過程是辛苦的。牲畜切開時有鳥下來，被趕走，亞伯蘭也累到睡了，因此守約的過程是艱辛，坎坷。神告訴亞伯蘭後代要為奴400年，第二是在迦南地面對十民族的爭戰。告訴以色列人也告訴我們，經過坎坷，過去的都過了，以後也會過了。最難的死亡已經過了，後來的坎坷一定會過的。
為什麼要去埃及：成為單一信仰的民族，純正的信仰必須與這個世代分別。
為什麼要400年：施恩給迦南人，給他們機會悔改，不是他們命該被趕出去
             也是給以色列人操練的機會，可以進入應許之地。信心的內容出於神的話語。
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How?
Trust in God's word will be a blessing and righteousness man before the Lord.

Melchizedek king of Salem blessed Abram

Genesis 14:1-24
The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away.  They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High,  Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High,  who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’
In Abram's day, although a semi-nomadic existence was common. there was also settled life in villages and walled 'cities'. These were ruled over by local 'sheiks', who in turn were often vassals of more powerful kings.
The overlords of the five Dead Sea towns came from distant Elam and Babylonia, and from Anatolia. Trade-routes made travel and communication between the land of Abram's birth and Canaan relatively easy.
Why?
Lot loved the world when he was in trouble Abram rescued him and his nation. So Abram is blessed by the Lord,only 318 servants defeated five kings army.
Abram knew it's the blessing of the Lord,so he give tenth to 
Melchizedek. Who was the high priest of God.
Abram honored the name of theL Lord,his rich is God's blessing instead of anyone's favor. 
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1.四王與五王相爭:屬世法則，強者要弱者聽話，欺壓弱者弱者給好處給強者。屬靈法則:神也是強者要人聽話，為要給人好處。神讓人選擇
2. 亞伯蘭與羅得的選擇:富足的人反而要貧窮的來幫助他。誰是真正的富足呢？
誰才是得真自由:喜歡什麼拿什麼，結果是被擄，反而不自由。亞伯蘭好像不自由，卻最自由，最富足
3. 亞伯蘭救回羅得:亞伯蘭可以得城池，但是他沒有如此，因為神沒有此時指示他如此做取得土地。不要走在神前面。自作主張。亞伯蘭聽主安排似乎不自由卻可以救人得自由。
4. 麥基喜德知道神幫助亞伯蘭，亞伯蘭接受祝福，並謙卑下來。
5. 亞伯蘭不趁人之危取得好處。不與所多瑪王談條件，完全相信神的應許。不用自己去爭，也許他後代才能取得這土地。
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How?
Learn the trust in the Lord,God's promises never fail and comes truth. Don't look by this world but in God's word.