THE PROMISE SEALED WITH AN OATH

. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

ABRAHAM READY TO OFFER ISAAC

God said, “Take now your son, your only son [of promise], whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

A TREATY WITH ABIMELCH

And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.

GOD PROTECTS HAGAR AND ISMAEL

God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from where he is [resting].
Get up, help the boy up, and hold him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation.”
Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the [empty] skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

THE BIRTH OF ISAAC

The LORD graciously remembered and visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for her as He had promised.
So Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.
Abraham named his son Isaac (laughter), the son to whom Sarah gave birth.

GOD DESTROYS SODOM AND GOMORRAH

Abraham started out early the next morning to the place where he [only the day before] had stood before the LORD;
and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley [of the Dead Sea]; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a kiln (pottery furnace).

THE LORD APPEARED TO ABRAHAM AT MAMRE

When Abraham raised his eyes and looked up, behold, three men were standing [a little distance] from him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed down [with his face] to the ground,
and Abraham said, “My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass by your servant