Then Abraham noticed a ram whose horns were caught in a bush. So Abraham went and took the ram. He offered it, instead of his son, as a sacrifice to God.
So Gideon built an altar there to worship the Lord and named it “The Lord is Peace.” It still stands in the city of Ophrah, where the Abiezer family lives.
After this Samuel set up a special stone to help people remember what God did. Samuel put the stone between Mizpah and Shen and named the stone “Stone of Help.” Samuel said, “The Lord helped us all the way to this place.”
Without a doubt, the secret of our life of worship is great: Christ was shown to us in human form; the Spirit proved that he was right; he was seen by angels. The message about him was told to the nations; people in the world believed in him; he was taken up to heaven in glory.
“The Lord will judge his people. They are his servants, and he will show them mercy. He will see that their power is gone. He will see that they are all helpless— the slaves and free people too.
The Word became a man and lived among us. We saw his divine greatness—the greatness that belongs to the only Son of the Father. The Word was full of grace and truth.
Cry out, you people of Jerusalem, and feel the pain, as if you were giving birth. You must go out of the city and live in the fields. You will go away to Babylon, but you will also be saved from that place. The Lord will come and rescue you there. He will take you away from your enemies.
Early in the morning, you and your men should go back to the city I gave you. Don’t pay attention to the bad things the captains say about you. You are a good man, but you must leave as soon as there is enough light in the morning.”