18 January 2020

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Saturday, 18 January 2020

Grrrr
I had spent a good while earlier today pouring out some stuff that was vry meaningful to me.  One bad keypress --  I guess -- and it all vanished.  This blogger system is not always user-friendly. 

Ice and snow last night, some melting and rain today.  And a low tonight of 22°. with tomorrow's so-called high not much better.  We may stay off the roads tomorrow.

Next-door niece is at some confab.  She is an unpaid coach to the group of junior cheerleaders for the local school.  One of the past coaches and current coach "mom" died suddenly this week, leaving a couple of kids.  No one has said the cause of death publicly, but the obit in the paper said the family was encouraging contributions to a local anti-drug group, so the suspicion is that she had a fatal overdose.  Lots of that has been going on around the area.  I've been seeing such for more than 45 years in several parts of the country, and have seen the pain at VERY close range. 

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Genesis 35

1And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth–el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
2Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
3And let us arise, and go up to Beth–el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
4And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
5And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
6So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Beth–el, he and all the people that were with him.
7And he built there an altar, and called the place El–beth–el: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
8But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Beth–el under an oak: and the name of it was called Allon–bachuth.
9And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Paddan–aram, and blessed him.
10And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
11And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
12And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
13And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
14And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
15And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Beth–el.
16And they journeyed from Beth–el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
17And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
18And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben–oni: but his father called him Benjamin.
19And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth–lehem.
20And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
21And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
22And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
23The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:
24The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:
25And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
26And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Paddan–aram.
27And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
28And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.
29And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.



Genesis 36

1Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.
2Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;
3And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth.
4And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel;
5And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.
6And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.
7For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.
8Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.
9And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:
10These are the names of Esau's sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau.
11And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.
12And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife.
13And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife.
14And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bare to Esau Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah.
15These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,
16Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons of Adah.
17And these are the sons of Reuel Esau's son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife.
18And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau's wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife.
19These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.
20These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah,
21And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.
22And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna.
23And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
24And these are the children of Zibeon; both Aiah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
25And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.
26And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran.
27The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan.
28The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran.
29These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah,
30Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.
31And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.
32And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
33And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.
34And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead.
35And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith.
36And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead.
37And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.
38And Saul died, and Baal–hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead.
39And Baal–hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
40And these are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth,
41Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon,
42Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar,
43Duke Magdiel, duke Iram: these be the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites.

17 January 2020

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 17 January 2020

Another "interesting" day.  Started with Wife waking up really early, like 05:50 early.  So, feeling a little bit better than she has for the last several weeks (the meds are, thank You Lord!) starting to have some effect.  So from bed at one end of the hovel to the newly-remodeled bathroom and tub at the other end.  LOONG soak and some hand-held showering.  She wanted to do it all so hair could dry before heading off to the doctor visit in late mornning.  Knowing that she has trouble getting back out of the tub, that meant that Yours Truly had to roust himself for the just-in-case., and good that I did.  So, after that, some coffee and something to eat.  I got to get a quickie shower also, for which I am most grateful.  Then, deailing with last night's deposits of ice and snow.  So I "got" to shovel a path to the vehicle.  Unfreeze both front doors, scrape ice & snow off, etc.
We headed out about an hour before the appointment with a just-in-case attitude.  Made it in plenty of time.  Which meant, of course, that she didn't get called in until half an hour after the appointed time.  A lesson there, probably.
Back home, call pharmacy to ensure that the prescriptions are being filled.  Well, two are.  The other three, no word yet from doctor, so they were messaging the doctor.  Two hours later, wanting to be there & back before darkness fell on the icy roads, I headed out (alone).  Got a few fill-in items that we needed anyway.  Then approached the pharmacy.  The two meds we knew about were ready.  The others, STILL no response from doctor office, and doc and staff gone for the day (and the weekend).  Can't push the ocean back with a fork, so I got those two and came home.
Such fun we have!  But we have food and a bed and a bath tub.  Grateful for all.  Using them too.


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I came across something interesting yesterday afternoon while taking a break from some other duties.
Some may be familiar with Ray VanderLaan's "That The World May Know" works.  They have opened some doors of understanding for me for more than 20 years, and I'm deeply grateful  His work has spun off several others heading along the same lines, making clear some of the inner meanings of the Biblical teachings, including the words of Jesus, that drew upon the life in that land which lent some richness to the parables.  One of those doing this is Lois Tverberg at the En-Gedi Resource Center.  So far so good?  Now, refer to John 7:38 and Jeremiah 17, referring particularly to the appearance of a tree with beautiful fruits, that were and are empty and hollow inside.  THAT is a matter for a series of sermons and lessons, indeed.  Go here and read the article.  (URL is https://engediresourcecenter.com/2019/06/07/where-is-the-juice/?fbclid=IwAR2orlo62z7sz7iGtG3CFqDwlINXUJF_PFpwq_JvwRAj6CwVRhop3S7JP-I       if you have trouble )




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Genesis 33

1And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
2And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
3And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
4And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
5And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
6Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
7And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
8And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.
9And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.
10And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
11Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.
12And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
13And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.
14Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.
15And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.
16So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.
17And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
18And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan–aram; and pitched his tent before the city.
19And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money.
20And he erected there an altar, and called it El–elohe–Israel.



Genesis 34

1And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
2And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
3And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.
4And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
5And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.
6And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.
7And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done.
8And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.
9And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.
10And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.
11And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.
12Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.
13And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:
14And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:
15But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;
16Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
17But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
18And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.
19And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father.
20And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
21These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
22Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.
23Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us.
24And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
25And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
26And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.
27The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
28They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,
29And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
30And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
31And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?



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Psalm 13
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
1How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
2How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
3Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
6I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.



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Matthew 13

1The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
24Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
31Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
33Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
34All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
36Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
51Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
52Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
53And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.