Messianic devotional
Vayishlach
וַיִּשְׁלַח
Shabbat · November 28, 2026
Torah: Genesis 32:3–36:43 · Haftarah: Obadiah 1:1-21 · Brit Hadashah: Hebrews 11:11-20; Matthew 26:36-46
✦ The portion this week
Portion summary
Jacob sends messengers ahead to appease his brother Esau, then spends a night alone wrestling an unnamed man at the Jabbok, emerging wounded and renamed Yisrael. The brothers reconcile, but soon after, Jacob's daughter Dinah is violated at Shechem, and her brothers avenge her with deceit and slaughter. God calls Jacob back to Bethel to build an altar, Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin, and the portion closes with the genealogy of Esau's descendants, the Edomites.
The thread of the parashah
Every aliyah in Vayishlach turns on the same axis: a blessing already given must now be lived out through struggle. Jacob received the promise of Isaac's line at Bethel years earlier, but the promise does not exempt him from fear before Esau's four hundred men, nor from a night spent grappling with God in the dark, nor from grief at Shechem, nor from burying a wife on the road. The man at the Jabbok tells him plainly: "you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed" (Genesis 32:28). The new name is not a reward for avoiding the fight but the fruit of enduring it — and Jacob walks away limping, marked in his body for the rest of his life.
This is why the portion moves so quickly from wrestling to worship. At Bethel, Jacob does not merely receive a repeated promise — "your name will no longer be Jacob... your name will be Israel" (Genesis 35:10) — he responds by purifying his household of foreign gods, setting up a pillar, pouring out an offering. The struggle at Jabbok and the altar at Bethel are two halves of one movement: the wound that humbles, and the worship that follows.
The haftarah
Obadiah takes the family quarrel of Genesis and unfolds it into the far horizon of history. The Edom that Jacob placated with gifts and bowed to seven times becomes, generations later, the nation that stands aloof and gloats "in the day of their disaster" (Obadiah 1:12). What began as sibling rivalry hardens into settled enmity — pride in the clefts of the rocks, contempt for a brother's affliction. Yet the same chapter that indicts Edom ends where Bethel ends: not with Jacob's cunning but with God's rule. "The kingdom will belong to the LORD" (Obadiah 1:21) is Bethel's altar spoken over the nations.
Messiah in the portion
Jacob's night at the Jabbok and Yeshua's night in Gethsemane share the same shape: solitude, wrestling, and a dawn that must be faced. Jacob crosses his family over the stream and is "left all alone" (Genesis 32:24); Yeshua leaves the disciples sleeping and goes "a little farther" alone to pray (Matthew 26:39). Both pray for something to be otherwise — Jacob for deliverance from Esau's hand, Yeshua that the cup might pass — and both submit to what cannot be undone: "not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39) is Jacob's own capitulation, "I will not let you go unless you bless me" (Genesis 32:26), turned inside out. Jacob rises limping toward reconciliation with a brother; Yeshua rises to meet a betrayer and walks toward a far harder reconciliation, for the whole house of Esau and Jacob both.
Hebrews 11 frames Jacob's altars and tents as evidence of people who "were longing for a better country, a heavenly one" (Hebrews 11:16) — the same restlessness that had Jacob building pillars rather than cities, unlike Esau, who settled permanently in Seir (Genesis 36:8).
For the week
Build no altar without first wrestling honestly with what you fear, as Jacob did before Bethel. This week, before resolving a conflict or asking forgiveness, spend unhurried time alone in prayer naming the thing you are actually afraid of — then act.
AI-generated Messianic devotional reflection on the portion texts, checkable against the cited readings.
✦ Toraheach verse number opens its Hebrew interlinear
Aliyah 1 · Genesis 32:3-12
32:3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 32:4 He instructed them, “ You are to say to my master Esau, ‘ Your servant Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban and have remained there until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, menservants, and maidservants. I have sent this message to inform my master, so that I may find favor in your sight.’” 32:6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “ We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you — he and four hundred men with him.” 32:7 In great fear and distress, Jacob divided his people into two camps, as well as the flocks and herds and camels. 32:8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one camp, then the other camp can escape.” 32:9 Then Jacob declared, “ O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the LORD who told me, ‘ Go back to your country and to your kindred, and I will make you prosper,’ 32:10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid that he may come and attack me and the mothers and children with me. 32:12 But You have said, ‘ I will surely make you prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to count.’”
Aliyah 2 · Genesis 32:13-29
32:13 Jacob spent the night there, and from what he had brought with him, he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 32:14 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 32:15 30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to his servants in separate herds and told them, “Go on ahead of me, and keep some distance between the herds.” 32:17 He instructed the one in the lead, “ When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘ To whom do you belong, where are you going, and whose animals are these before you?’ 32:18 then you are to say, ‘ They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift, sent to my lord Esau. And behold, Jacob is behind us.’” 32:19 He also instructed the second, the third, and all those following behind the herds: “ When you meet Esau, you are to say the same thing to him. 32:20 You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “ I will appease Esau with the gift that is going before me. After that I can face him, and perhaps he will accept me.” 32:21 So Jacob ’s gifts went on before him, while he spent the night in the camp. Jacob Wrestles with God 32:22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions. 32:24 So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 32:25 When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he struck the socket of Jacob ’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled. 32:26 Then the man said, “ Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “ I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 32:27 “ What is your name?” the man asked. “ Jacob,” he replied. 32:28 Then the man said, “ Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.” 32:29 And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “ Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.
Aliyah 3 · Genesis 32:30–33:5
32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “ Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” 32:31 The sun rose above him as he passed by Penuel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon which is at the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck near that tendon. 33:1 Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. 33:2 He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph at the rear. 33:3 But Jacob himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. 33:4 Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept. 33:5 When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “ Who are these with you?” Jacob answered, “These are the children God has graciously given your servant.”
Aliyah 4 · Genesis 33:6-20
33:6 Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down. 33:7 Leah and her children also approached and bowed down, and then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down. 33:8 “ What do you mean by sending this whole company to meet me?” asked Esau. “ To find favor in your sight, my lord,” Jacob answered. 33:9 “ I already have plenty, my brother,” Esau replied. “ Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 But Jacob insisted, “ No, please! If I have found favor in your sight, then receive this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face of God, since you have received me favorably. 33:11 Please accept my gift that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” So Jacob pressed him until he accepted. 33:12 Then Esau said, “ Let us be on our way, and I will go ahead of you.” 33:13 But Jacob replied, “ My lord knows that the children are frail, and I must care for sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard for even a day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Please let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a comfortable pace for the livestock and children, until I come to my lord at Seir.” 33:15 “ Let me leave some of my people with you,” Esau said. But Jacob replied, “ Why do that? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 33:16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir, 33:17 but Jacob went on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth. Jacob Settles in Shechem 33:18 After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city. 33:19 And the plot of ground where he pitched his tent, he purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem ’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. 33:20 There he set up an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
Aliyah 5 · Genesis 34:1–35:11
34:1 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force. 34:3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly. 34:4 So Shechem told his father Hamor, “ Get me this girl as a wife.” 34:5 Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent about it until they returned. 34:6 Meanwhile, Shechem ’s father Hamor came to speak with Jacob. 34:7 When Jacob ’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob ’s daughter — a thing that should not be done. 34:8 But Hamor said to them, “ My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us; give us your daughters, and take our daughters for yourselves. 34:10 You may settle among us, and the land will be open to you. Live here, move about freely, and acquire your own property.” 34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “ Grant me this favor, and I will give you whatever you ask. 34:12 Demand a high dowry and an expensive gift, and I will give you whatever you ask. Only give me the girl as my wife!” The Revenge of Dinah’s Brothers 34:13 But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob ’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully. 34:14 “ We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “ To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us. 34:15 We will consent to this on one condition, that you become circumcised like us — every one of your males. 34:16 Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We will dwell among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you will not agree to be circumcised, then we will take our sister and go.” 34:18 Their offer seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 34:19 The young man, who was the most respected of all his father’s household, did not hesitate to fulfill this request, because he was delighted with Jacob ’s daughter. 34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and addressed the men of their city: 34:21 “ These men are at peace with us. Let them live and trade in our land; indeed, it is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage and give our daughters to them. 34:22 But only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us and be one people: if all our men are circumcised as they are. 34:23 Will not their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell among us.” 34:24 All the men who went out of the city gate listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male of the city was circumcised. 34:25 Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob ’s sons ( Dinah ’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male. 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah out of Shechem ’s house, and went away. 34:27 Jacob ’s other sons came upon the slaughter and looted the city, because their sister had been defiled. 34:28 They took their flocks and herds and donkeys, and everything else in the city or in the field. 34:29 They carried off all their possessions and women and children, and they plundered everything in their houses. 34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “ You have brought trouble upon me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people of this land. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.” 34:31 But they replied, “ Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?” 35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “ Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “ Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments. 35:3 Then let us arise and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to God, who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.” 35:4 So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem. 35:5 As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob ’s sons. 35:6 So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz ( that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 35:7 There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother. 35:8 Now Deborah, Rebekah ’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bachuth. 35:9 After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 35:10 And God said to him, “ Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel. 35:11 And God told him, “ I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation —even a company of nations — shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you.
Aliyah 6 · Genesis 35:12–36:19
35:12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 35:13 Then God went up from the place where He had spoken with him. 35:14 So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him — a stone marker— and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil. 35:15 Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel. Benjamin Born, Rachel Dies 35:16 Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult. 35:17 During her severe labor, the midwife said to her, “ Do not be afraid, for you are having another son.” 35:18 And with her last breath — for she was dying — she named him Ben-oni. But his father called him Benjamin. 35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath ( that is, Bethlehem). 35:20 Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel ’s tomb to this day. The Sons of Jacob (1 Chronicles 2:1–2) 35:21 Israel again set out and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder. 35:22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father ’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons: 35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 35:24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 35:25 The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. 35:26 And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram. The Death of Isaac 35:27 Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Kiriath-arba ( that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 35:28 And Isaac lived 180 years. 35:29 Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. 36:1 This is the account of Esau ( that is, Edom). 36:2 Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, 36:3 and Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. 36:4 And Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath gave birth to Reuel, 36:5 and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 36:6 Later, Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the people of his household, along with his livestock, all his other animals, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan, and he moved to a land far away from his brother Jacob. 36:7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together; the land where they stayed could not support them because of their livestock. 36:8 So Esau ( that is, Edom) settled in the area of Mount Seir. 36:9 This is the account of Esau, the father of the Edomites, in the area of Mount Seir. 36:10 These are the names of Esau ’s sons: Eliphaz son of Esau ’s wife Adah, and Reuel son of Esau ’s wife Basemath. 36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 36:12 Additionally, Timna, a concubine of Esau ’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to Amalek. These are the grandsons of Esau ’s wife Adah. 36:13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They are the grandsons of Esau ’s wife Basemath. 36:14 These are the sons of Esau ’s wife Oholibamah ( daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon) whom she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 36:15 These are the chiefs among the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 36:16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. They are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom, and they are the grandsons of Adah. 36:17 These are the sons of Esau ’s son Reuel: Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. They are the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom, and they are the grandsons of Esau ’s wife Basemath. 36:18 These are the sons of Esau ’s wife Oholibamah: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. They are the chiefs descended from Esau ’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 36:19 All these are the sons of Esau ( that is, Edom), and they were their chiefs. The Descendants of Seir (1 Chronicles 1:38–42)
Aliyah 7 · Genesis 36:20-43
36:20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 36:21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. They are the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants of Seir in the land of Edom. 36:22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Timna was Lotan ’s sister. 36:23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 36:24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. ( This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness as he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.) 36:25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah. 36:26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 36:27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 36:28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 36:29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: Chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 36:30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. They are the chiefs of the Horites, according to their divisions in the land of Seir. The Kings of Edom (1 Chronicles 1:43–54) 36:31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites: 36:32 Bela son of Beor reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah. 36:33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place. 36:34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 36:35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place. And the name of his city was Avith. 36:36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place. 36:37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place. 36:38 When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Achbor reigned in his place. 36:39 When Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, Hadad reigned in his place. His city was named Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab. 36:40 These are the names of Esau ’s chiefs, according to their families and regions, by their names: Chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 36:41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 36:42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 36:43 Magdiel, and Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land they possessed. Esau was the father of the Edomites.
✦ Haftarah (Prophets)
1:1 This is the vision of Obadiah: This is what the Lord GOD says about Edom— We have heard a message from the LORD; an envoy has been sent among the nations to say, “ Rise up, and let us go to battle against her!”— 1:2 “ Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you will be deeply despised. 1:3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘ Who can bring me down to the ground?’ 1:4 Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD. 1:5 “If thieves came to you, if robbers by night — oh, how you will be ruined — would they not steal only what they wanted? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? 1:6 But how Esau will be pillaged, his hidden treasures sought out! 1:7 All the men allied with you will drive you to the border; the men at peace with you will deceive and overpower you. Those who eat your bread will set a trap for you without your awareness of it. 1:8 In that day, declares the LORD, will I not destroy the wise men of Edom and the men of understanding in the mountains of Esau? 1:9 Then your mighty men, O Teman, will be terrified, so that everyone in the mountains of Esau will be cut down in the slaughter. 1:10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever. 1:11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. 1:12 But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress. 1:13 You should not enter the gate of My people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over their affliction in the day of their disaster, nor loot their wealth in the day of their disaster. 1:14 Nor should you stand at the crossroads to cut off their fugitives, nor deliver up their survivors in the day of their distress. The Deliverance of Israel 1:15 For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head. 1:16 For as you drank on My holy mountain, so all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and gulp it down; they will be as if they had never existed. 1:17 But on Mount Zion there will be deliverance, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will reclaim their possession. 1:18 Then the house of Jacob will be a blazing fire, and the house of Joseph a burning flame; but the house of Esau will be stubble — Jacob will set it ablaze and consume it. Therefore no survivor will remain from the house of Esau.” For the LORD has spoken. 1:19 Those from the Negev will possess the mountains of Esau; those from the foothills will possess the land of the Philistines. They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead. 1:20 And the exiles of this host of the Israelites will possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath; and the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the cities of the Negev. 1:21 The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to rule over the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to the LORD.
✦ Brit Hadashah (Renewed Covenant)
11:11 By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. 11:12 And so from 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. 11:13 All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 11:14 Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. 11:15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 11:16 Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son, 11:18 even though God had said to him, “ Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” 11:19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death. The Faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (Genesis 27—50) 11:20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.
26:36 At that time Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He told them, “ Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 26:37 He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 26:38 Then He said to them, “ My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.” 26:39 Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “ My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” 26:40 Then Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. “ Were you not able to keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter. 26:41 “ Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” 26:42 A second time He went away and prayed, “ My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.” 26:43 And again Jesus returned and found them sleeping — for their eyes were heavy. 26:44 So He left them and went away once more and prayed a third time, saying the same thing. 26:45 Then He returned to the disciples and said, “ Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 26:46 Rise, let us go! See, My betrayer is approaching!” The Betrayal of Jesus (Mark 14:43–52; Luke 22:47–53; John 18:1–14)