The Gospel in Galatians

The Two Covenants

Lesson #10 for September 2, 2017

Galatians 4:21-31; Genesis 1:28; 2:2-3; 3:15; 15:1-6; 17:15-19; Exodus 6:2-8; 19:3-6[1].

1.    This lesson deals with the ideas involved in covenant. Covenants are agreements or promises between two or more people or two or more groups of people. There are three major covenants mentioned in the Old Testament: 1) The original covenant with Abram/Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 17:1-14)[2]; 2) The covenant with the children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:7-8; 24:3,7)[3]; and 3) The covenant with the children of Israel at the time of their Babylonian captivity (Jeremiah 31:31-34). We usually speak of only two covenants because the renewed covenant to the children of Israel at the time of the Babylonian captivity was largely a repeat of the covenant with Abraham back in the beginning.

Christians who reject the authority of the Old Testament often see the giving of the law on Sinai as inconsistent with the gospel. They conclude that the covenant given on Sinai represents an era, a dispensation, from a time in human history when salvation was based on obedience to the law. But because the people failed to live up to the demands of the law, God (they say) ushered in a new covenant, a covenant of grace through the merits of Jesus Christ. This, then, is their understanding of the two covenants: the old based on law, and the new based on grace.—Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sabbath, August 26.

2.    What was the essential difference between the Sinai covenant-which is often referred to as the first, or “old,” covenant-and the “new” covenant given at the time of the Babylonian captivity and repeated several times in the New Testament? The real difference between the two was who was making the promises. Our Christian friends usually see these two covenants as the representations of how God has related to His people in two different time periods. But, the essential difference between the two covenants is the relationship between the two covenanting parties rather than the time period.

3.    Back in the very beginning, Cain represented a kind of old or first covenant relationship with God. He wanted to please God by something that he could do himself, a kind of do-it-yourself religion. By contrast, Abel trusted God and had a new covenant relationship, following God’s instructions and trusting God and God’s grace for their relationship. Cain’s approach was a selfish one: I can do it myself, the way I choose. Abel’s approach was a trusting one: He chose to do things God’s way. Didn’t each of them bring his own possession to offer as a sacrifice?

4.    Read Galatians 4:21-31[4]. This is a difficult passage. Some consider it to be the most difficult passage in all of Galatians. It involved people doing things which seem very strange to our modern thinking. Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham as a secondary wife or concubine in order to claim Hagar’s child as her own. Once again, Sarah was trying to work things out for herself. She had stopped having periods, and there was no sign of the promised son.

5.    God and Abraham sealed an agreement by passing between animals that had been cut in half. Thus, we have the expression from the Old Testament “cutting an agreement.” The implication was that just as one killed animals to seal the agreement, he would be subject to death if he broke that agreement. Was this whole sequence real? Or, did Abraham just see it in vision? It must have been real because Abraham had to protect those cut pieces of meat from the vultures.

6.    Look at some of the passages in the Old Testament that speak about the covenants God made with His people. See Genesis 12:2-3; 2 Samuel 7:12-17; Isaiah 11; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:26-28; 37:22-28[5].

7.    The very first agreement that God had with human beings was in the Garden of Eden. (See Genesis 1 & 2[6].) It involved several things: 1) Having children to spread out and occupy the earth, 2) Working during six days of the week, 3) Resting on the Sabbath, and 4) Staying away from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. While they were still in the Garden of Eden, it was natural for Adam and Eve to be obedient and follow God’s will in every detail of their lives. But, sin changed all that. Natural obedience to God became impossible. In order to restore a relationship with God, God’s grace entered the picture.

8.    Read Genesis 3:15[7]. What is implied in this verse? It is often called the first gospel promise. Do you see any hints of the gospel in this verse? God had said that “sin leads to death.” (Genesis 2:17)[8] Satan responded by saying: “No it doesn’t. God is lying to you.” (Genesis 3:1-4)[9] The essence of the gospel is the good news about Who is telling us the truth.

9.    Does crushing the serpent’s head sound like the gospel? In what sense is war between the serpent and the woman a foretaste of the gospel or good news? These words were addressed to the serpent. So, is it true that the gospel was first preached to the serpent?

10.    Why did God give circumcision to Abraham and his family? The most likely reason was so that young “Jewish” males could not hide their true identity if they went to the fertility cult religious services and got involved with those sexual orgies. Did circumcision still serve that role or function in the days of Paul? There was certainly a lot of sexuality, and there were many sexual perversions connected with the worship of the pagan gods in cities like Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, and probably Rome. Furthermore, if one went to the gym to exercise, he did it in the nude. So, everyone could see if he was circumcised as a Jew.

11.    Does practicing circumcision represent a do-it-yourself religion? Surely, that was not God’s original intent. It is interesting to notice that Abraham and Ishmael were the first two men in Abraham’s line to be circumcised. This occurred before Isaac was born. (Genesis 17:23) Is that why circumcision is associated with Ishmael’s name in our passage for today? Eight-day-old boys certainly do not circumcise themselves! So, in what sense is circumcision connected with do-it-yourself religion? Abraham and Ishmael were the do-it-yourself pair that thought they were going to be God’s appointed people. In Paul’s day, were the Judaizers and others like them circumcising their children and being circumcised themselves because they believed they were pleasing God? How many other Old Testament experiences and stories would fall into the category of attempting to please God? Why were male babies circumcised on the eighth day? Because of the way the liver works when a baby is born, the blood clotting is usually best on that day.

12.    Were the children of Israel attempting to please God when they promised to do everything He had told them to do? (Exodus 19:8; 24:3,7)[10] Did they really have any idea what they were promising? They heard it first from God. Then, they heard it from Moses. Then, Moses wrote it down and read it to them again. Did any of them know how quickly they would fail?

13.    Are there any hints in our religion today that might suggest we are trying a do-it-yourself religion? Do we ever get tired of waiting for God? Do we sometimes think that our idea of timing is better than God’s idea of timing? If we choose to wait for God to lead the way, does that help us to grow patience, love, and faith?

14.    Look specifically at the promises God made to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 12:1-5[11].

How did Abraham respond? God was making some astounding promises to Abraham. Why do you think Abraham was chosen? Was Abraham just randomly chosen? And why did Abraham choose to go? Would you have gone? Did Abraham recognize in those promises his responsibility to reach out to other families and individuals? Was another selected before Abraham and declined to follow God? Did-and does-God reach out to everyone?

15.    Clearly, the central pillar of God’s promises to Abraham necessitated the birth of a son and heir. After 10 years with no sign of any heir and with Sarah no longer having periods, didn’t it seem like God’s promises were not reliable? Do you think that Abraham had been praying to God and asking questions? Are questions the same as doubts?

16.    Look at the way God sealed this settlement/covenant with Abraham as recorded in Genesis 15:7-18[12]. Why did God come down and symbolically pass between the cut halves of animals to try to convince Abraham that He was serious about His covenant? What is your understanding of the timing of Genesis 15:12 and Genesis 15:17? Was this covenant sealed in a vision? In what way did God appear as a smoking oven and a flaming torch and pass between those divided animals? Did anyone other than Abraham see that experience? Or, did Abraham see it only in vision? Why did God choose to represent His presence by a smoking portable fire pot and a flaming torch? Are these examples of the lengths to which God will go to reach out to humans? Were these the usual ways that covenants were sealed in the days of Abraham?

17.    Today, if God appeared to you in vision and said that He wanted to make a covenant with you, would you want it to be drawn up by an attorney and signed by God? Or, would a verbal agreement be adequate?

18.    How often does God ask us to believe things which seem impossible? Didn’t the possibility of Sarah having a child seem more and more remote as the years went by? What did the universe think as they watched that series of events? Does it seem likely right now that the United States will join with the Catholic Church to lead the world in opposing God’s true people? Does that seem possible right now?

19.    Why is it so difficult for human beings to be patient and let God work things out according to His schedule? What is the relationship between faith and patience?

20.    Read Galatians 5:22-23[13]. Notice that the final word in the King James Version in the series of the fruit of the Spirit is temperance, but the word really means self-control. Does self-control have anything to do with do-it-yourself religion?

21.    When Sarah stopped having periods, Abraham and Sarah become desperate to have a child? What do you think Abraham and Sarah said to each other when they realized that Sarah was not having periods any more? Where did Hagar come from? Is it possible that Abraham and Sarah got Hagar when they were in Egypt? Did Pharaoh give Hagar to Sarah because he was hoping to marry Sarah? What led Sarah to suggest to Abraham that he should take Hagar as a concubine or secondary wife? This seems very strange to us. But, in those days, it was very important to have a male heir that could carry on the family name, and this was one of the accepted ways to get an heir.

22.    After Ishmael was a teenager, God finally took action. Read Genesis 17:15-19; 18:10-15; and Hebrews 11:11-12[14]. Clearly, Sarah was past the normal time for childbearing. Isaac was a miraculous baby. Notice that both Abraham (Genesis 17:17[15]) and Sarah (Genesis 18:9-15[16]) laughed at God’s suggestion that they could have a child of their own! Is that why they named the baby “Isaac” which means “Laughter” or “He laughs”? How often are we tempted to rush ahead with our own fulfillments or plans instead of waiting for God’s plan?

Do we lack faith? Or, does God want us to do what we can, and then, He will help us with what we cannot do for ourselves?

23.    Many people in our day who are in stressful or extreme situations promise God all kinds of things if He will just get them out of trouble. To what kind of religious experience does that lead? Are such people hoping to do something to please God so He will do what they want Him to do? Doesn’t that sound like an old-covenant kind of arrangement? Think of the children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai. When God shook the mountain and there was a black cloud at the top spitting out lightning, don’t you think that you would have promised almost anything?

24.    When Isaac was about 20 years of age, Abraham received that very strange message from God to take him out and sacrifice him. (Genesis 22[17]) Why did God ask Abraham to do such a thing? Did it take a lot of trust (faith) in God to do that?

25.    What do you think Satan had to say to the universe after the fiasco with Hagar and Ishmael? (Genesis 16[18]) What did Satan say when Abraham on two different occasions lied, saying Sarah was his sister? (Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-18[19]) God had called Abraham His friend. Can’t you just see Satan laughing and making fun of God and Abraham because of Their relationship? But, Abraham finally learned to wait patiently on God and to follow God’s instructions. What do we learn about the relationship between Abraham and God from the experience on Mount Moriah? See Patriarchs and Prophets 154,155. Would we be able to withstand an experience like that?

Abraham’s great act of faith stands like a pillar of light, illuminating the pathway of God’s servants in all succeeding ages. Abraham did not seek to excuse himself from doing the will of God. During that three days’ journey he had sufficient time to reason, and to doubt God, if he was disposed to doubt.

He might have reasoned that the slaying of his son would cause him to be looked upon as a murderer, a second Cain; that it would cause his teaching to be rejected and despised; and thus destroy his power to do good to his fellow men....

The sacrifice required of Abraham was not alone for his own good, nor solely for the benefit of succeeding generations; but it was also for the instruction of the sinless intelligences of heaven and of other worlds.

The field of the controversy between Christ and Satan-the field on which the plan of redemption is wrought out-is the lesson book of the universe. Because Abraham had [155] shown a lack of faith in God’s promises, Satan had accused him before the angels and before God of having failed to comply with the conditions of the covenant, and as unworthy of its blessings.

God desired to prove the loyalty of His servant before all heaven, to demonstrate that nothing less than perfect obedience can be accepted, and to open more fully before them the plan of salvation.

Heavenly beings were witnesses of the scene as the faith of Abraham and the submission of Isaac were tested. The trial was far more severe than that which had been brought upon Adam. Compliance with the prohibition laid upon our first parents involved no suffering, but the command to Abraham demanded the most agonizing sacrifice. All heaven beheld with wonder and admiration Abraham’s unfaltering obedience. All heaven applauded his fidelity. Satan’s accusations were shown to be false. God declared to His servant, “Now I know that thou fearest God [notwithstanding Satan’s charges], seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me.” [Genesis 22:12] God’s covenant, confirmed to Abraham by an oath before the intelligences of other worlds, testified that obedience will be rewarded.

It had been difficult even for the angels to grasp the mystery of redemption-to comprehend that the Commander of heaven, the Son of God, must die for guilty man. When the command was given to Abraham to offer up his son, the interest of all heavenly beings was enlisted. With intense earnestness they watched each step in the fulfillment of this command.

When to Isaac’s question, “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham made answer, “God will provide Himself a lamb;” [Genesis 22:7-8] and when the father’s hand was stayed as he was about to slay his son, and the ram which God had provided was offered in the place of Isaac-then light was shed upon the mystery of redemption, and even the angels understood more clearly the wonderful provision that God had made for man’s salvation. 1 Peter 1:12.—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 153.3155.2. [Bold type and Bible references in brackets are added; other words in brackets are in the original.]

26.    Notice specifically that God called on Abraham to demonstrate something for the benefit of the onlooking universe. Should that remind us of the story of Job? How did Moses understand these two stories? Remember that Moses wrote Genesis and Job while tending sheep in Midian before returning to Egypt? How well did Abraham and Moses understand the great controversy?

The long years amid desert solitudes were not lost. Not only was Moses gaining a preparation for the great work before him, but during this time, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote the book of Genesis and also the book of Job, which would be read with the deepest interest by the people of God until the close of time.—Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times,* February 19, 1880, par. 14; 3SDABC* 1140.3. [Bold type is added.]

27.    Paul then went on to compare the experience of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar with the experience of the children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai. What is the relationship between those two events?

28.    What kind of a relationship was God seeking to establish with His people at Sinai? (Exodus 6:2-8; 19:3-6; Deuteronomy 32:10-12)[20] These verses clearly spell out the idea that God wanted to make the children of Israel His Own special possession.

29.    Since Abraham and all of his male descendants and workers were circumcised and later those descendants were called to be God’s special possession, don’t you suppose that the Judaizers in Paul’s day said: “If you want to be a part of God’s special people and to be one of His special possessions, you must be circumcised as Abraham and his descendants were”? Wouldn’t that seem like a natural argument? In Paul’s day, who were the promised possessions of God? See 1 Peter 2:9[21]. Peter was using the words God had used to describe His chosen people at the foot of Mount Sinai and applying those words to the Christians of his day. Does God want to enter into a relationship with the Christian church similar to the relationship He had with the children of Israel in ancient times? (Compare Exodus 19:6.) Or, does God want to be our Friend?

30.    When God spoke to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai, did He suggest that they establish a covenant relationship? What was different about the promises made at Sinai versus the promises made earlier to Abraham? (Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:8; 24:3,7)[22] While it is true that God gave the children of Israel a lot of instructions about what He wanted them to do and not to do, it was the people who on three separate occasions promised to obey God. They did not wait to see God work out the details. They just promised to do it. Does that sound a little bit like the story of Hagar? “We can do whatever You ask us to do by ourselves!”

31.    What role did Hagar play in the whole story? Was she just a pawn? Was it the attitude of Hagar and Ishmael and their feelings about Isaac that made it necessary for them to leave the camp of Abraham? Clearly, Abraham and Sarah were the ones who caused the problem in the beginning. Hagar and Ishmael reaped the results of Abraham’s attempts at do-it-yourself religion. Once again, Satan must have laughed throughout the universe.

32.    So, what was the application the Judaizers were trying to make? How did Paul counter it? Paul wanted it to be very clear that the Judaizers were trying to please God through a do-it-yourself kind of religion. Thus, the comparison with the story of Hagar. The Judaizers represented an illegitimate religion-a sort of relying on the flesh.

33.    Ishmael and Hagar were finally sent away because Ishmael was making fun of the young Isaac. (Genesis 21:8-10[23]) Of course, it would have been natural for Abraham and Sarah to bestow special favors on Isaac. After all, he was born miraculously as the heir of the promise. How do you think people responded when Sarah suddenly started saying, “I think I am pregnant”? How would you expect Ishmael and Hagar to feel about that sudden change in their status? Were Ishmael and Hagar actually hostile to Isaac? There are many examples in ancient times when people who aspired to high positions killed their competitors in order to eliminate them and secure their own position. (Compare Judges 9:1-6; and the story of King Herod the Great who killed many of his own relatives.) How can we-without being judgmental or prejudicial-reach out to those who are still caught up in a do-it-yourself mode of religion and convince them that God has a better plan for their lives?

© 2017, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged. *Electronic version.    Info@theox.org

1-Gal 4:21-31 NIV Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? (22) For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. (23) His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise. (24) These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. (25) Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. (26) But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. (27) For it is written: "Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child; shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband." (28) Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. (29) At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. (30) But what does Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son." (31) Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

Gen 1:28 NIV God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Gen 2:2-3 NIV By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. (3) Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Gen 3:15 NIV And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Gen 15:1-6 NIV After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." (2) But Abram said, "Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" (3) And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." (4) 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." (5) 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 be." (6) Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Gen 17:15-19 NIV God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. (16) 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." (17) Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" (18) And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!" (19) 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.

Exo 6:2-8 NIV God also said to Moses, "I am the LORD. (3) I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself fully known to them. (4) I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. (5) Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. (6) "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. (7) I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. (8) And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.'"

Exo 19:3-6 NIV Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: (4) 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. (5) Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, (6) you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."

2-Gen 12:1-3 NIV The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. (2) "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Gen 17:1-14 NIV When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. (2) Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." (3) Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, (4) "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. (5) No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. (6) I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. (7) I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. (8) The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." (9) Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. (10) This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. (11) You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. (12) 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--those who are not your offspring. (13) Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. (14) Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

3-Exo 19:7-8 NIV So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. (8) The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.

Exo 24:3 NIV When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do."

Exo 24:7 NIV Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey."

4-Gal 4:21-31 NIV Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? (22) For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. (23) His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise. (24) These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. (25) Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. (26) But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. (27) For it is written: "Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child; shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband." (28) Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. (29) At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. (30) But what does Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son." (31) Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

5-Gen 12:2-3 NIV "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

2Sa 7:12-17 NIV When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. (13) He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (14) I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. (15) But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. (16) Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'" (17) Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

Isa 11:1-16 NIV A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. (2) The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD-- (3) and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; (4) but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. (5) Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. (6) The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. (7) The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. (8) The infant will play near the cobra's den, the young child will put its hand into the viper's nest. (9) They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (10) In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. (11) In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. (12) He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. (13) Ephraim's jealousy will vanish, and Judah's enemies will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. (14) They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will subdue Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. (15) The LORD will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that anyone can cross over in sandals. (16) There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.

Jer 31:31-34 NIV "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. (32) It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. (33) "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. (34) No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Eze 36:26-28 NIV I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (27) And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (28) Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

Eze 37:22-28 NIV I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. (23) They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. (24) "'My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. (25) They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. (26) I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. (27) My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. (28) Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.'"

6-Gen 1:1-31 NIV In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (2) Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (3) And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. (4) God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. (5) God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. (6) And God said, "Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water." (7) So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. (8) God called the vault "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. (9) And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. (10) God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. (11) Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. (12) The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (13) And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day. (14) And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, (15) and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. (16) God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. (17) God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, (18) to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. (19) And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day. (20) And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky." (21) So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (22) God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." (23) And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day. (24) And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. (25) God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (26) Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (27) So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (28) God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." (29) Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. (30) And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. (31) God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.

Gen 2:1-25 NIV Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. (2) By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. (3) Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (4) This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. (5) Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, (6) but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. (7) Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (8) Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. (9) The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (10) A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. (11) The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (12) (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) (13) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. (14) The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (15) The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (16) And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; (17) but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die." (18) The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." (19) Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. (20) So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. (21) So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. (22) Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. (23) The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." (24) That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. (25) Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

7-Gen 3:15 NIV And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

8-Gen 2:17 NIV but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die."

9-Gen 3:1-4 NIV Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (2) The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, (3) but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" (4) "You will not certainly die," the serpent said to the woman.

10-Exo 19:8 NIV The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.

Exo 24:3 NIV When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do."

Exo 24:7 NIV Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey."

11-Gen 12:1-5 NIV The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. (2) "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (4) So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. (5) He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

12-Gen 15:7-18 NIV He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." (8) But Abram said, "Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" (9) So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." (10) Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. (11) Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. (12) As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. (13) Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. (14) But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. (15) You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. (16) In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." (17) 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 of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates--

13-Gal 5:22-23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

14-Gen 17:15-19 NIV God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. (16) 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." (17) Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" (18) And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!" (19) 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.

Gen 18:10-15 NIV Then one of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. (11) Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. (12) So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?" (13) Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' (14) Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son." (15) Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Heb 11:11-12 NIV And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. (12) And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

15-Gen 17:17 NIV Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"

16-Gen 17:17 NIV Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"

17-Gen 22:1-24 NIV Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. (2) 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." (3) Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. (4) On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. (5) He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you." (6) 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, (7) Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" (8) Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. (9) 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. (10) Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. (11) But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. (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 have not withheld from me your son, your only son." (13) Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. (14) 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." (15) The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time (16) and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, (17) 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, (18) and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." (19) Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba. (20) Some time later Abraham was told, "Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: (21) Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), (22) Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel." (23) Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham's brother Nahor. (24) His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.

18-Gen 16:1-16 NIV Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; (2) 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. (4) He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. (5) Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me." (6) "Your slave is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. (7) The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. (8) And he said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered. (9) Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." (10) The angel added, "I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count." (11) The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. (12) He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." (13) She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." (14) That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. (15) So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. (16) Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

19-Gen 12:10-20 NIV Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. (11) As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. (12) When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. (13) Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you." (14) When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. (15) And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. (16) He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. (17) But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. (18) So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? (19) Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" (20) Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Gen 20:1-18 NIV 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, (2) and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. (3) But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman." (4) Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? (5) 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." (6) Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. (7) Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die." (8) Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. (9) Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, "What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done." (10) And Abimelek asked Abraham, "What was your reason for doing this?" (11) Abraham replied, "I said to myself, 'There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' (12) Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. (13) And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said to her, 'This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother."'" (14) Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. (15) And Abimelek said, "My land is before you; live wherever you like." (16) To Sarah he said, "I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated." (17) Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, (18) for the LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek's household from conceiving because of Abraham's wife Sarah.

20-Exo 6:2-8 NIV God also said to Moses, "I am the LORD. (3) I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself fully known to them. (4) I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. (5) Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. (6) "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. (7) I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. (8) And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.'"

Exo 19:3-6 NIV Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: (4) 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. (5) Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, (6) you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."

Deu 32:10-12 NIV In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, (11) like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. (12) The LORD alone led him; no foreign god was with him.

21-1Pe 2:9 NIV But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

22-Gen 12:1-3 NIV The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. (2) "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Exo 19:8 NIV The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.

Exo 24:3 NIV When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do."

Exo 24:7 NIV Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey."

23-Gen 21:8-10 NIV The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. (9) But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, (10) 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."

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