Today's Readings and Stuff -- Saturday, 16 January 2021

Well, we're now in the second half of January.  In just over two weeks, Lord willing, we will have crossed into February.  Which, yes, is still one of the awful months whose name ends in -ary, but it's progress of a sort.  I note that sunset is about a minute later every day, which is a step forward that is most welcome.  

That's the good part, I guess.

The rest of the story, much of it anyway, is rather less positive..  Our country, our culture, our civilization is in chaos and upheaval.  The events of the week and weeks and months to come will probably make things considerably worse, worse than most of our fellows can imagine.  Although, unfortunately, some will greet the damage with cheers.  Initially, anyway.  Clearly, those things of this world that too many of us -- me included -- have come to regard as the natural order of things, are in flux to say the least.  This will probably get extremely ugly.

So, we need to be aware of where our help and our focus needs to be.  In all the chaos and fighting and fear, the Lord is sovereign and He loves us.  Which is a miracle in itself.  Jesus and the apostles didn't have a comfortable life either.  Why do we think we're entitled to one?

"Knowing You"

(see Philippians 3:7-11 )

All I once held dear Built my life upon All this world reverses And wants to own All I once thought gain I have counted loss Spent and worthless now Compared to this Now my heart's desire Is to know You more To be found in You And known as Yours To possess by faith What I could not earn All surpassing gift of righteousness Knowing You Jesus, knowing You There is no greater thing You're my all You're the best You're my joy my righteousness And I love You Lord Lord to know the power of Your risen life And to know You in Your sufferings To become like You In Your death my Lord So with You to live and never die Knowing You Jesus, knowing You There is no greater thing You're my all You're the best You're my joy my righteousness And I love you Lord Knowing You Jesus, knowing You There is no greater thing You're my all You're the best You're my joy my righteousness You're my all You're the best You're my joy my righteousness You're my all You're the best You're my joy my righteousness And I love You Lord And I love You Lord

All Of My Help Cometh From The Lord   (sorry for ad, it's skippable after 5 seconds)

see Psalm 121

Part The Waters / I Need Thee Every Hour

this is an interesting arrangement. 

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Lots here, and some of it doesn't put show some of these people in a very good light.  We see, often, the predictable and warned-of results of adopting the practices and beliefs of the heathen nations around them, often when they became neighbors.  But we see much the same in  our world today, including in all too many churches and supposedly Christian assemblies and associations.   Examples are not hard to find.  And, incidentally, such is also found in the more "liberal" Jewish groups as well.  Again, examples are not hard to find.

And, yet, somehow the Lord, knowing all of this well in advance, brought some wonderful things out of it.  For one example, consider the life of Perez, the product of the utterly reprehensible conduct of Judah and his son's widow, Tamar.  Lots of trickery and bad behavior.  But out of that came Perez.  Remember that name, and consider Matthew 1:3 and Luke 3:33.  Yes, that product of bad behavior, and with a woman from "those people", came an earthly ancestor of Jesus!  

The behavior of the sons of Jacob, selling their own brother into slavery (no, folks, American racists did NOT invent slavery, though some of the "progressives" insist to the contrary) honored no one.  Joseph ended up a slave in Egypt.  Doom and defeat, right?  No, part of the Lord's plan, as we shall see.  And Joseph's conduct in resisting temptation is a  model for all of us.

Genesis 38, 39, 40

GENESIS 38

Judah and Tamar

1At that time Judah left his brothers and settled near an Adullamite  named Hirah. 2There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua; he took her as a wife and slept with her. 3She conceived and gave birth to a son, and he named him Er.  4She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and named him Onan. 5She gave birth to another son and named him Shelah. It was at Chezib that   she gave birth to him.

6Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7Now Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, and the Lord put him to death.  8Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law  and produce offspring for your brother.”  9But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he released his semen on the ground so that he would not produce offspring for his brother. 10What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so He put him to death also.

11Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.”  For he thought, “He might die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.

12After a long time  Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah  to the sheepshearers. 13Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14So she took off her widow’s clothes, veiled her face,  covered herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim,  which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife. 15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

16He went over to her and said, “Come, let me sleep with you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. 

She said, “What will you give me for sleeping with me? ”

17“I will send you a young goat from my flock,” he replied.

But she said, “Only if you leave something with me until you send it.”

18“What should I give you? ” he asked.

She answered, “Your signet ring, your cord, and the staff in your hand.” So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she got pregnant by him. 19She got up and left, then removed her veil and put her widow’s clothes back on.

20When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get back the items he had left with the woman, he could not find her. 21He asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim? ”

“There has been no cult prostitute here,” they answered.

22So the Adullamite returned to Judah, saying, “I couldn’t find her, and furthermore, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’ ”

23Judah replied, “Let her keep the items for herself; otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”

24About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law, Tamar, has been acting like a prostitute, and now she is pregnant.”

“Bring her out! ” Judah said. “Let her be burned to death! ” 

25As she was being brought out, she sent her father-in-law this message: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these items belong.” And she added, “Examine them. Whose signet ring, cord, and staff are these? ”

26Judah recognized them and said, “She is more in the right  than I,  since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her intimately again.

27When the time came for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 28As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand, and the midwife took it and tied a scarlet thread around it, announcing, “This one came out first.” 29But then he pulled his hand back, and his brother came out. Then she said, “You have broken out first! ” So he was named Perez.   30Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread tied to his hand, came out, and was named Zerah. 

GENESIS 39

Joseph in Potiphar’s House

1Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites  who had brought him there. 2The Lord was with Joseph,  and he became a successful man, serving  in the household of his Egyptian master. 3When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful,  4Joseph found favor in his master’s sight  and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority.  5From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph.  The Lord’s blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields. 6He left all that he owned under Joseph’s authority;  he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.  7After some time  his master’s wife looked longingly at Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”

8But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority.  9No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God? ” 

10Although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused  to go to bed with her. 11Now one day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there.  12She grabbed him by his garment and said, “Sleep with me! ” But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. 13When she saw that he had left his garment with her and had run outside, 14she called the household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “my husband brought a Hebrew man to make fools of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, and I screamed as loud as I could. 15When he heard me screaming for help,  he left his garment with me and ran outside.”

16She put Joseph’s garment beside her until his master came home. 17Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought to us came to make a fool of me, 18but when I screamed for help,  he left his garment with me and ran outside.”

19When his master heard the story his wife told him — “These are the things your slave did to me” — he was furious 20and had him thrown into prison,  where the king’s prisoners were confined. So Joseph was there in prison.

Joseph in Prison

21But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him.  He granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.  22The warden put all the prisoners who were in the prison under Joseph’s authority,  and he was responsible for everything that was done there. 23The warden did not bother with anything under Joseph’s authority,  because the Lord was with him, and the Lord made everything that he did successful. 

GENESIS 40

Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners’ Dreams

1After this, the Egyptian king’s cupbearer  and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard  in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to them, and he became their personal attendant. And they were in custody for some time. 

5The Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker, who were confined in the prison, each had a dream. Both had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning. 6When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they looked distraught. 7So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today? ” 

8“We had dreams,” they said to him, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” 

9So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine in front of me. 10On the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

12“This is its interpretation,”  Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 13In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head  and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand the way you used to when you were his cupbearer. 14But when all goes well for you, remember that I was with you. Please show kindness to me by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. 15For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews,  and even here I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon.” 

16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was positive, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream. Three baskets of white bread were on my head. 17In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18“This is its interpretation,” Joseph replied. “The three baskets are three days. 19In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head — from off you — and hang you on a tree.  Then the birds will eat the flesh from your body.” 

20On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he gave a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.  21Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position as cupbearer, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22But Pharaoh hanged  the chief baker, just as Joseph had explained to them. 23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. 

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Matthew 12:22-50

MATTHEW 12

A House Divided

22Then a demon-possessed man  who was blind and unable to speak was brought to Him. He healed him, so that the man  could both speak and see.  23And all the crowds were astounded and said, “Perhaps this is the Son of David! ” 

24When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 

25Knowing their thoughts,  He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26If Satan  drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges.  28If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.  29How can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up  the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30Anyone who is not with Me is against Me,  and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters. 31Because of this,  I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy,  but the blasphemy against  the Spirit will not be forgiven.  32Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man,  it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. 

A Tree and Its Fruit

33“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad  and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  34Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow  of the heart. 35A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good,  and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil.  36I tell you that on the day of judgment  people will have to account  for every careless word they speak.  37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 

39But He answered them,  “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  40For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights,  so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it,  because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation; and look — something greater than Jonah is here!  42The queen of the south  will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look — something greater than Solomon is here!

An Unclean Spirit’s Return

43“When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any.  44Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ And returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. 45Then off it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man’s last condition is worse than the first.  That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.”

True Relationships

46He  was still speaking to the crowds when suddenly His mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to Him.  47Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.” 

48But He replied to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers? ” 49And stretching out His hand toward His disciples,  He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, that person is My brother and sister and mother.”