And an angel of the Lord came to her by a fountain of water in the waste land, by the fountain on the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's servant, where have you come from and where are you going? And she said, I am running away from Sarai, my master's wife. read more. And the angel said to her, Go back, and put yourself under her authority. And the angel of the Lord said, Your seed will be greatly increased so that it may not be numbered. And the angel of the Lord said, See, you are with child and will give birth to a son, to whom you will give the name Ishmael, because the ears of the Lord were open to your sorrow. And he will be like a mountain ass among men; his hand will be against every man and every man's hand against him, and he will keep his place against all his brothers. And to the Lord who was talking with her she gave this name, You are a God who is seen; for she said, Have I not even here in the waste land had a vision of God and am still living?

But the voice of the angel of the Lord came from heaven, saying, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Let not your hand be stretched out against the boy to do anything to him; for now I am certain that the fear of God is in your heart, because you have not kept back your son, your only son, from me. read more. And lifting up his eyes, Abraham saw a sheep fixed by its horns in the brushwood: and Abraham took the sheep and made a burned offering of it in place of his son. And Abraham gave that place the name Yahweh-yireh: as it is said to this day, In the mountain the Lord is seen. And the voice of the angel of the Lord came to Abraham a second time from heaven, Saying, I have taken an oath by my name, says the Lord, because you have done this and have not kept back from me your dearly loved only son, That I will certainly give you my blessing, and your seed will be increased like the stars of heaven and the sand by the seaside; your seed will take the land of those who are against them; And your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth, because you have done what I gave you orders to do.

And in my dream the angel of the Lord said to me, Jacob: and I said, Here am I. And he said, See how all the he-goats are banded and marked and coloured: for I have seen what Laban has done to you. read more. I am the God of Beth-el, where you put oil on the pillar and took an oath to me: now then, come out of this land and go back to the country of your birth.

Then Jacob was by himself; and a man was fighting with him till dawn. But when the man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob, he gave him a blow in the hollow part of his leg, so that his leg was damaged. read more. And he said to him, Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said, I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. Then he said, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel: for in your fight with God and with men you have overcome. Then Jacob said, What is your name? And he said, What is my name to you? Then he gave him a blessing. And Jacob gave that place the name of Peniel, saying, I have seen God face to face, and still I am living.

And the angel of the Lord was seen by him in a flame of fire coming out of a thorn-tree: and he saw that the tree was on fire, but it was not burned up. And Moses said, I will go and see this strange thing, why the tree is not burned up, read more. And when the Lord saw him turning to one side to see, God said his name out of the tree, crying, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Do not come near: take off your shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy. And he said, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses kept his face covered for fear of looking on God.

And God said to him, I AM WHAT I AM: and he said, Say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.

See, I am sending an angel before you, to keep you on your way and to be your guide into the place which I have made ready for you.

It was no sent one or angel, but he himself who was their saviour: in his love and in his pity he took up their cause, and he took them in his arms, caring for them all through the years.

At the end of forty years, an angel came to him in the waste land of Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn-tree. And Moses, seeing it, was full of wonder, and when he came up to have a nearer view of it, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying, read more. I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And Moses, shaking with fear, kept his eyes from looking at it. And the Lord said, Take off the shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy. Truly, I have seen the sorrows of my people in Egypt, and their cries have come to my ears, and I have come down to make them free: and now, come, I will send you to Egypt. This Moses, whom they would not have, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? him God sent to be a ruler and a saviour, by the hand of the angel whom he saw in the thorn-tree. This man took them out, having done wonders and signs in Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the waste land, for forty years. This is the same Moses, who said to the children of Israel, God will give you a prophet from among your brothers, like me. This is the man who was in the church in the waste land with the angel who was talking to him in Sinai, and with our fathers; and to him were given the living words of God, so that he might give them to you.

And an angel of the Lord came to her by a fountain of water in the waste land, by the fountain on the way to Shur.

Now the Lord came to him by the holy tree of Mamre, when he was seated in the doorway of his tent in the middle of the day;

And the Lord said, Why was Sarah laughing and saying, Is it possible for me, being old, to give birth to a child? Is there any wonder which the Lord is not able to do? At the time I said, in the spring, I will come back to you, and Sarah will have a child.

And the Lord went on his way when his talk with Abraham was ended, and Abraham went back to his place.

At the end of forty years, an angel came to him in the waste land of Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn-tree. And Moses, seeing it, was full of wonder, and when he came up to have a nearer view of it, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying, read more. I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And Moses, shaking with fear, kept his eyes from looking at it. And the Lord said, Take off the shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy. Truly, I have seen the sorrows of my people in Egypt, and their cries have come to my ears, and I have come down to make them free: and now, come, I will send you to Egypt. This Moses, whom they would not have, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? him God sent to be a ruler and a saviour, by the hand of the angel whom he saw in the thorn-tree. This man took them out, having done wonders and signs in Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the waste land, for forty years. This is the same Moses, who said to the children of Israel, God will give you a prophet from among your brothers, like me. This is the man who was in the church in the waste land with the angel who was talking to him in Sinai, and with our fathers; and to him were given the living words of God, so that he might give them to you.