Bible Journaling - Genesis 22 & 23

In today's Bible Journaling blog, we say good bye to Sarah as she passes away at the ripe age of 127. In the process, we gain a little insight into the bartering process that existed in the area where Abraham had settled upon God's instruction. But before we do any of that, we first take a look at one of the biggest tests of faith ever recorded in the Bible - Abraham is instructed to go and sacrifice Isaac.

Genesis 22 and 23 look like this in the Inspire Praise Bible.

I coat the pages with Zellen Clear Gesso.

This is what the pages look like once dry.

I colour the illustration in the right margin with Artist's Pitt pens and Metallic pens.

I include Pigma Micron pens in the collection of pens I use to colour the illustration.

Further colouring sees me using ProMarkers as well.

I continue colouring the illustration.

I put the final touches on the colouring.

This is what the pages look like when I am done colouring the illustration.

By the time I return to these pages, I have already put a sticker on the left side page as I finished chapter 21. My pages now look like this.

The picture in the right margin already has an illustration of the test of faith that Abraham was subjected to, and I opt not to repeat a similar illustration in my journaling. Instead, I opt to draw an angel in the clouds when he calls down to stay Abraham's hand as he is getting ready to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham had lived for many years with the promises of a great number of descendants who would inherit the land he was instructed to occupy. As he and Sarah aged, he must have become desperate. Between the two of them, they even hatched up a plan of their own to ensure the outcome and fulfilling of God's promises. Ishmael was born. However, God made it clear that His promises would be fulfilled through a son born to Sarah. The unimaginable happened and Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Then God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham did not argue with God. Abraham did not point out that this would be contrary to what God had promised. Abraham did not try to bargain with God. Abraham simply trusted God and set off to do as he was instructed to do. I can not help but feel admiration for his faith. This was a man who had come to know that the promises belonged to God. It did not require his efforts to bring it to fruition. It only required his obedience and faith. It is only in complete submission that we can truly live in the complete will of God. We need to practice submission of our thoughts, ideas, ideals, dreams, hopes, intellect, opinions, possessions, relationships, and every other aspect of our lives, to God. Then the road is open for God to bless us as He intended to do when He created us. I draw the angel speaking to Abraham from heaven, in pencil.

I then colour the illustration with Inktense pencils and paint it with water to dissolve the ink.

I decide to colour the area under the 'angel' blue to indicate the fact that he is looking down from heaven.

Sarah passes away in chapter 23. Abraham then bargains with the Hittites living in the area to acquire a cave in which to lay her body. This was the way that bodies were disposed of in those days and in that area. The bargaining process is also true to the culture of the area, we are told by scholars of the Bible and its cultures and traditions. A cave does not represent death to me, and I therefore opt to rather draw a headstone to illustrate the fact that Sarah had passed away. This illustration largely ignores the text of the chapter, but it still serves as a better visual reminder to me personally as to what the chapter is about. I draw the headstone in pencil.

I colour the illustration with Derwent Inktense pencils which I paint with water afterwards.

I add some vegetation surrounding the headstone.

I then use a Faber-Castell Artist's Pitt Pen to journal some key information on the stone.

When I am done with these two chapters, my pages look like this.

You can watch a short compilation video of the steps above on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/MNn1LX6O8Qk

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2005,2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois, 60188. All rights reserved.

Inspire PRAISE South Africa edition copyright 2017 by Christian Art Publishers, PO Box 1599, Vereeniging, 1930, RSA. All rights reserved.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy my books here:
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