Putting Down Roots

     In the next four chapters, we find some familiar stories. Isaac is born despite the age of his parents. He grows in to a teenager. God tests Abraham's faith by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac to him. Abraham's faith stands up to the challenge and Isaac is spared.

     But there are other events going on that aren't as commonly told. In the 20th chapter, Abraham tries to pass his wife off as his sister again. This time to a Philistine king. It seems that Abraham's faith is not always as it should be. (Hence, the test with Isaac.) The resolution of this conflict ended with a treaty of non-aggression.                                                                                                                    The miraculous birth of Isaac in the next chapter cemented the power of his God in the minds of his neighbors. In the 23rd chapter, when Sarah died, they acknowledged God's power in the negotiation for a burial place. They conned him into buying a whole plot of land (rather than a tomb) at an exorbitant price. Little did they know that they had played into God's plan for Abraham and his descendants. God had promised the land of Canaan to him.

     God can use anyone and everything to carry out his will.