Divine Encounters and Miracles in Biblical Stories

1. Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and … journeyed to the region of Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor. He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city. It was evening, the time when the women would go out to draw water. He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. Be faithful to my master Abraham. Here I am, standing by the spring, and the daughters of the people who live in the town are coming out to draw water. I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah with her water jug on her shoulder… She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. Abraham’s servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.”“Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. When she had done so, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” She quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. Silently the man watched her with interest to determine if the Lord had made his journey successful or not. Excerpts from Genesis 24:10-21(NET)

2. Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined… At the end of two full years Pharaoh had a dream. As he was standing by the Nile, seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river. The bad-looking, thin cows ate the seven fine-looking, fat cows. … Joseph said to Pharaoh, … “God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. But seven years of famine will occur after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. … The dream was repeated to Pharaoh because the matter has been decreed by God, and God will make it happen soon…” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning as you are! You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. Only I, the king, will be greater than you.” Excerpts from Genesis 39:20-41:40 (NET)

3. Praise the Lord, O my soul! Do not forget all his kind deeds! He is the one who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases… Psalm 103:2-3(NET)

4. Certainly you made my mind and heart; you wove me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13(NET)

5. He covers the sky with clouds, provides the earth with rain, and causes grass to grow on the hillsides. Psalm 147:8(NET) Do any of the worthless idols of the nations cause rain to fall? Do the skies themselves send showers? Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? So we put our hopes in you because you alone do all this. Jeremiah 14:22(NET)

6. Then Nebuchadnezzar … ordered strong soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. … those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the furnace of blazing fire while still securely bound. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and quickly got up. He said to his ministers, “Wasn’t it three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied to the king, “For sure, O king.” He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!” Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire. He called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out! Come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire. Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically unharmed by the fire. The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them! Excerpts from Daniel 3:19-28(NET)

7.  …As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed them. Two blind men were sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!” The crowd scolded them to get them to be quiet. But they shouted even more loudly, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” Jesus stopped, called them, and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.”Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. Matthew 20:29-34(NET)

8. As the night was ending, Jesus came to them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the water they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out with fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them: “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” Peter said to him, “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.” So he said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they went up into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:25-33(NET)

9. Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.”“We will go with you,” they replied. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already very early morning, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you don’t have any fish, do you?” They replied, “No.” He told them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they threw the net, and were not able to pull it in because of the large number of fish. John 21:3-6(NET)

10. After we had safely reached shore, we learned that the island was called Malta. The local inhabitants showed us extraordinary kindness, for they built a fire and welcomed us all because it had started to rain and was cold. When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. When the local people saw the creature hanging from Paul’s hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself has not allowed him to live!” However, Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. But they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. Acts 28:1-6(NET) *Note: Venomous snakes sometimes give "dry bites," releasing no venom

11. For review: • Abraham's servant finding a wife for Isaac (excerpts from Genesis 24:10-21) • Pharaoh's dream and Joseph's release from prison (excerpts from Genesis 39:20-41:40) • The immune system fighting off disease (Psalm 103:2-3) • The development of a baby in the womb (Psalm 139:13) • The water cycle producing rain (Psalm 147:8; Jeremiah 14:22) • Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace (excerpts from Daniel 3:19-28) • Jesus healing blind people (Matthew 20:29-34) • Jesus and Peter walking on water (Matthew 14:25-33) • Jesus and the large catch of fish (John 21:3-6) • Paul surviving a viper bite (Acts 28:1-6)