Then Abimelech and Phicol spoke with Abraham. Phicol was the commander of Abimelech’s army. They said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.
The Lord spoke to Isaac that night. The Lord said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid. I am with you, and I will bless you. I will make your family great. I will do this because of my servant Abraham.”
And then Jacob saw the Lord standing by the ladder. The Lord said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. I will give you the land that you are lying on now. I will give this land to you and to your children.
“I am with you, and I will protect you every place you go. And I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised.”
I pray that God will bless you and your children the same way he blessed Abraham. And I pray that you will own the land where you live. This is the land God gave to Abraham.”
I am the God who came to you at Bethel. At that place, you made an altar. You poured olive oil on the altar. And you made a promise to me. Now I want you to be ready to go back to the country where you were born.’”
Then they began traveling back to the land of Canaan where his father lived. All the flocks of animals that Jacob owned walked ahead of them. He carried everything that he had gotten while he lived in Paddan Aram.
You have been very kind to me. You did many good things for me. The first time I traveled across the Jordan River, I owned nothing—only my walking stick. But now I own enough things to have two full groups.
Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! Lord, you told me to come back to my country and to my family. You said that you would do good to me.
God said to Jacob, “Go to the town of Bethel. [200] Live there and make an altar [201] for worship. Remember El, [202] the God who appeared [203] to you there when you were running away from your brother Esau. Make your altar to worship that God there.”
We will leave here and go to Bethel. In that place, I will build an altar to the God who helped me during my time of trouble. And that God has been with me everywhere I went.”
When Joseph was near death, he said to his brothers, “My time to die is almost here. But I know that God will take care of you and lead you out of this country. God will lead you to the land he promised to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
God said, “You can do it because I will be with you! This will be the proof that I am sending you: After you lead the people out of Egypt, you will come and worship me on this mountain!”
Don’t worry, I am with you.\par Don’t be afraid, I am your God.\par I will make you strong.\par I will help you.\par I will support you with my good\par right hand.\par