God said to Abram, “You can know for sure that your descendants will live in a land that is not their own, where they will be slaves, and they will be oppressed for 400 years.
Then the Messenger of the Lord said to her, “You are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You will name him Ishmael [God Hears], because the Lord has heard your cry of distress.
I will make my promise to you and your descendants for generations to come as an everlasting promise. I will be your God and the God of your descendants.
and said, “I am taking an oath on my own name, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not refused to give me your son, your only son,
That night the Lord appeared to Isaac, and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and increase the number of your descendants for my servant Abraham’s sake.”
Live here in this land for a while, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give all these lands to you and your descendants. I will keep the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
The man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel [He Struggles With God], because you have struggled with God and with men—and you have won.”
God also said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fertile, and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from you.
God remembered Noah and all the wild and domestic animals with him in the ship. So God made a wind blow over the earth, and the water started to go down.
But the Lord was kind and merciful to the Israelites because of his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He didn’t want to destroy the Israelites, and even now he hasn’t turned away from them.
The Lord has not despised or been disgusted with the plight of the oppressed one. He has not hidden his face from that person. The Lord heard when that oppressed person cried out to him for help.
When we cried out to the Lord, he heard us, sent a messenger, and brought us out of Egypt. “Now we’re here in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.
But when the Lord appointed judges for the Israelites, he was with each judge. The Lord rescued them from their enemies as long as that judge was alive. The Lord was moved by the groaning of those who were tormented and oppressed.
“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the territory of Benjamin. Anoint him to be ruler of my people Israel. He will save my people from the Philistines because I’ve seen my people’s ⌞suffering⌟ and their cry has come to me.”