The Bible contains a special Book of Job, which tells the story of this long-suffering man. Job lived in Arabia, about the time of Abraham. He was known both for his wealth and for his special charity. For his piety, God blessed Job with family happiness. He had seven sons and three daughters, all of whom lived in brotherly love and harmony. But this happiness and this virtue of Job aroused against him the envy of the enemy of the human race. Once, appearing before the Lord, the devil began to slander Job, as if he revered God only because he had so many blessings from Him. "Make an experiment," said this slanderer to God, "take away everything from him, and You will see that he will deny You!" And one day, when all the children of Job were feasting with their elder brother, and he himself remained at home, suddenly one messenger after another ran to Job, the first of whom reported that robbers had attacked the flocks of his oxen and donkeys, and, having killed the servants, had stolen all the cattle; another says that all his flocks with shepherds were burned by fire that fell from heaven; the third reports that the Chaldeans have stolen all his camels and killed the bailiffs; finally, the fourth comes running with the news that the house in which Job's children were feasting has collapsed like a whirlwind, and they all perished under the ruins. Hearing all these terrible news, Job fell to the ground before the Lord and said: "Naked I came out of my mother's womb, naked and I will depart! The Lord gave, and the Lord took back! Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

Not having had time to shake the faith of the pious Job with such temptations, Satan again slanders him before God, saying that it is not difficult for a person to endure losses as long as he himself is safe and healthy. "But only touch his body," he said, "and you will see that he will deny You!" Suddenly, the most severe leprosy covered Job's entire body. Everyone left him; there were only three friends who came to visit him, but they were horrified to see how he, sitting on a festering potter, scraped his scabs with a potsherd. His wife herself, losing patience, began to annoy him with reproaches for his faith and piety, which did not save him from such a misfortune. But Job answered her: "You speak like a madwoman. If we have received happiness at the hands of God, then should we not also endure misfortune?" For this reason the Lord rewarded him twice for all his losses. Having restored him to health, God also restored his wealth. Seven sons and three daughters were born to him again, and he lived another 140 years in happiness and piety.

7. Призвание Авраама

Аврам родился недолго спустя после смерти Ноя, в десятом колене от Сима. В то время люди разделились уже на многие народы и между ними распространилось идолопоклонство. Посему Господь сказал Авраму: «Выйди из отечества твоего, и от рода твоего, и от дома отца твоего, и иди в страну, которую Я покажу тебе. Я произведу из тебя великий народ, и благословлю тебя, и возвеличу имя твое, и ты будешь благословен. Я благословлю и тех, которые тебя благословят, и прокляну клянущих тебя! И благословятся о тебе все племена земные». Повинуясь воле Божией, Аврам вышел из страны своей, имея от роду семьдесят пять лет; с ним вышел и Лот, племянник его.

Но вот, когда они пришли в землю Ханаанскую, между пастухами Аврамовыми и пастухами Лотовыми начались распри из-за пажитей, потому что и у того, и у другого было чрезвычайно много скота и им становилось тесно на одном месте. Тогда Аврам сказал Лоту: «Да не будет распри между мною и тобою, между пастухами твоими и моими, ибо мы братья. Не вся ли земля открыта для тебя? Расстанемся же мы с тобою! Хочешь ты пойти налево, тогда я пойду направо; или пойди направо; а я налево». Тогда Лот избрал для себя прекрасную долину, в которой лежали Содом и Гоморра; Аврам же остался жить в земле Ханаанской.

8. Вера Авраама

Раз Авраму было откровение от Бога в видении ночью, и он слышал голос, который говорил ему: «Не бойся, Аврам, Я твой защитник, и великая тебе будет награда от Меня». Аврам же отвечал: «Владыко Господи! Что Ты еще дашь мне, когда я бездетен и мой слуга будет наследником после меня?» Но глас Божий уверял его, что не останется он без наследника и, вызвав его под открытое небо, говорил: «Посмотри на небо и сочти эти звезды! Можешь ли ты сосчитать их? Таково будет семя твое!» Тогда Аврам поверил Богу, и за то оправдал его Господь. Но прошло много времени, а обещание Господне не исполнялось. Авраму уже было 99 лет, а Сарре 89, и все еще детей у них не было. Тогда Господь снова явился Авраму и сказал: «Я твой Бог, благоугождай Мне и будь непорочен. Я поставлю с тобою завет Мой и умножу тебя в народ великий. Посему не называйся более Аврамом, да будет тебе имя Авраам, ибо Я определил сделать тебя отцом многих народов». И знамением Своего завета положил Бог обрезание.

Once more the Lord appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mamre. It was noon, and Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent. Raising his eyes, he saw three men at some distance from him. Rising from his seat, he hastened to meet them and, bowing down to the ground, said: "Lord! If I have found grace before Thee, do not pass by Thy servant. Allow me to bring water and wash your feet, and in the meantime you will rest under this tree." Then he went into Sarah's tent and said to her: "Quickly knead and bake unleavened bread"; and he himself ran to his flock, and there he chose the best calf, and bade it be cooked quickly, and brought milk and butter, and offered it to his guests, and they began to eat. Then the Lord said to Abraham: "Next year I will come to you again, about this time, and then Sarah will bear you a son." Sarah, who was standing at the door of the tent, heard this and laughed. The Lord said: "Why does Sarah laugh? Is there anything impossible for God?" Sarah would not confess, saying, "I did not laugh"; but He said to her, "No, you were laughing!" and so Sarah was ashamed of her unbelief.

Then Abraham's guests arose and went to Sodom; Abraham saw them off. At the same time, the Lord said: "Will I hide from Abraham what I want to do? For I know that he commands his children and all his household to keep the ways of the Lord and to do justice and righteousness." Then the Lord revealed to Abraham that He wanted to visit the Sodomites as a punishment for their sins. Hearing this, Abraham began to intercede for them: "Are there not fifty righteous men among them? But thou, O Lord, shalt not do this, neither shalt destroy the righteous with the wicked." To this the Lord said to him: "If I had found fifty righteous men there, I would have left all the place for the sake of these fifty." But Abraham asked again: "What if forty-five? And encouraged by the merciful answer of the Lord, he continued further: "But perhaps there will be forty of them there?" – "But if there are thirty?" – "What if twenty?" – "What if ten?" And the Lord said: "I will not destroy them for the sake of ten!"

9. Sodom and Gomorrah

It was evening when two angels come to Sodom. Lot, taking them for simple travelers, went out to meet them and earnestly asked them to spend the night with him, to which they agreed. But the inhabitants of Sodom approached Lot's house by night, demanding that the two strangers be handed over to them. In their rage they were about to break into his house by force, when suddenly they were struck blind by the angels, so that they could not find the door in Lot's house. Then the strangers said to Lot: "If you have a loved one in this city, bring him out from here, for we have been sent from God to destroy this place!"

As soon as dawn broke, the angels began to hurry Lot; and as he tarried, they took him, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand, and led them hastily out of the city, saying, "Save your life, and do not look back, do not stop in all this country." The sun had hardly risen when Lot entered Zoar. Then the Lord poured down a rain of fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah, and laid waste all that country. On the place where once there was a beautiful valley, now stands the Dead, or Salty, Sea. To this day, the sad and gloomy appearance of this country serves as a striking testimony to how terribly God punishes iniquity. Here is Lot's wife, who, contrary to the angel's command, looked back, stands like a pillar of salt as a monument to the punished crime.

10. Izmail

Abraham was 86 years old when his first son was born to Hagar, named Ishmael. Another 14 years passed, and the Lord visited Sarah; she bore Abraham a son, who was named Isaac. But since the son of the handmaid began to offend his brother Isaac, Sarah began to say to Abraham: "Drive away this servant with her son." It was sad for Abraham to hear these words, but God said to him: "Do not be offended by what is before Ishmael and your handmaid. In whatever Sarah says to you about them, listen to her. For in Isaac thy seed shall be called. But also from the son of this handmaid I will bring forth a great nation, for he also is of thy seed."