Today's Readings and Stuff -- Tuesday, 12 January 2021

We are now well past the 1/3 point in the month of January.  Progress, yes, though a very long way to go until the ice giants who inflict this region are -- temporarily at least -- banished from the landscape.  So that is A Very Good Thing.

Other than that, well, one struggles to find positive signs in our land.  I realize that, in comparison to the conditions of the Early Church, we have it pretty good all in all.  But having spent too many years as a data analyst and investigator, there are some pretty awful patterns to be seen.  The Lord is in control, certainly, and He is good all the time, even when the circumstances aren't.  But the road ahead is likely to be bumpy.  We are duty bound to make certain that those who will shortly be taking our places are fully prepared.

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GENESIS 29

Jacob Meets Rachel

1Jacob resumed his journey  and went to the eastern country.   2He looked and saw a well in a field. Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it because the sheep were watered from this well. A large stone covered the opening of the well. 3When all the flocks  were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the opening of the well and water the sheep. The stone was then placed back on the well’s opening.

4Jacob asked the men at the well, “My brothers! Where are you from? ”

“We’re from Haran,” they answered.

5“Do you know Laban grandson of Nahor? ” Jacob asked them.

They answered, “We know him.”

6“Is he well? ” Jacob asked.

“Yes,” they said, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with his sheep.”

7Then Jacob said, “Look, it is still broad daylight. It’s not time for the animals to be gathered. Water the flock, then go out and let them graze.”

8But they replied, “We can’t until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening. Then we will water the sheep.”

9While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10As soon as Jacob saw his uncle Laban’s daughter Rachel with his sheep,  he went up and rolled the stone from the opening and watered his uncle Laban’s sheep. 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept loudly.  12He told Rachel that he was her father’s relative, Rebekah’s son. She ran and told her father.

Jacob Deceived

13When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him, hugged him, and kissed him. Then he took him to his house, and Jacob told him all that had happened.

14Laban said to him, “Yes, you are my own flesh and blood.”  

After Jacob had stayed with him a month, 15Laban said to him, “Just because you’re my relative, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

16Now Laban had two daughters: the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel. 17Leah had ordinary  eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful. 18Jacob loved Rachel, so he answered Laban, “I’ll work for you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 

19Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay with me.” 20So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

21Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is completed. I want to sleep with  her.” 22So Laban invited all the men of the place to a feast. 23That evening, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her. 24And Laban gave his slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her slave.

25When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Wasn’t it for Rachel that I worked for you? Why have you deceived me? ”

26Laban answered, “It is not the custom in this place to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. 27Complete this week of wedding celebration, and we will also give you this younger one in return for working yet another seven years for me.”

28And Jacob did just that. He finished the week of celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29And Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. 30Jacob slept with Rachel also, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years. 

Jacob’s Sons

31When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved,  He opened her womb;  but Rachel was unable to conceive.  32Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben,  for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction;  surely my husband will love me now.”

33She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am unloved and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 

34She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi. 

35And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah.   Then Leah stopped having children.

GENESIS 30

1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die! ”  she said to Jacob.

2Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in God’s place, who has withheld children  from you? ”

3Then she said, “Here is my slave Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me   so that through her I too can build a family.” 4So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. 5Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; yes, He has heard me and given me a son,” and she named him Dan. 

7Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8Rachel said, “In my wrestlings with God,  I have wrestled with my sister and won,” and she named him Naphtali. 

9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11Then Leah said, “What good fortune! ”  and she named him Gad. 

12When Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, 13Leah said, “I am happy that the women call me happy,”  so she named him Asher. 

14Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field.  When he brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15But Leah replied to her, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes? ”

“Well,” Rachel said, “you can sleep with him tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

16When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

17God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband,” and she named him Issachar. 

19Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20“God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun.  21Later, Leah bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

22Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb.  23She conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my shame.”  24She named him Joseph:  “May the Lord add another son to me.” 

Jacob’s Flocks Multiply

25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so that I can return to my homeland. 26Give me my wives and my children that I have worked for, and let me go.  You know how hard I have worked for you.”

27But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” 28Then Laban said, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.” 

29So Jacob said to him, “You know what I have done for you and your herds.  30For you had very little before I came, but now your wealth has increased. The Lord has blessed you because of me. And now, when will I also do something for my own family? ”

31Laban asked, “What should I give you? ”

And Jacob said, “You don’t need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock. 32Let me go through all your sheep today and remove every sheep that is speckled or spotted, every dark-colored sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the female goats. Such will be my wages. 33In the future when you come to check on my wages, my honesty will testify for me. If I have any female goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not black, they will be considered stolen.”

34“Good,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

35That day Laban removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats — every one that had any white on it — and every dark-colored one among the lambs, and he placed his sons in charge of them. 36He put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Jacob, meanwhile, was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flock.

37Jacob then took branches of fresh poplar, almond, and plane wood, and peeled the bark, exposing white stripes on the branches. 38He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep — in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink. 39The flocks bred in front of the branches and bore streaked, speckled, and spotted young.  40Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked and the completely dark sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn’t put them with Laban’s sheep.

41Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches. 42As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. 43And the man became very rich.  He had many flocks, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. 

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MATTHEW 10

Commissioning the Twelve

1Summoning His 12 disciples,  He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every  disease and sickness.  2These are the names of the 12 apostles: 

First, Simon, who is called Peter,

and Andrew his brother;

James the son of Zebedee,

and John his brother;

3Philip and Bartholomew; 

Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;

James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 

4Simon the Zealot,  and Judas Iscariot, 

who also betrayed Him. 

5Jesus sent out these 12 after giving them instructions: “Don’t take the road leading to other nations, and don’t enter any Samaritan  town. 6Instead, go to the lost sheep  of the house of Israel.  7As you go, announce this: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’  8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, drive out demons.  You have received free of charge; give free of charge. 9Don’t take along gold, silver, or copper for your money-belts.  10Don’t take a traveling bag for the road, or an extra shirt, sandals, or a walking stick, for the worker  is worthy of his food.

11“When you enter any town or village, find out who is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12Greet a household when you enter it,  13and if the household is worthy, let your peace be on it. But if it is unworthy, let your peace return to you.  14If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet  when you leave that house or town. 15I assure you: It will be more tolerable on the day of judgment  for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. 

Persecutions Predicted

16“Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves.  17Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins  and flog you in their synagogues,  beware of them. 18You will even be brought before governors and kings because of Me, to bear witness to them and to the nations.  19But when they hand you over, don’t worry about how or what you should speak.  For you will be given what to say at that hour, 20because you are not speaking, but the Spirit  of your Father is speaking through you. 

21“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will even rise up against their parents and have them put to death.  22You will be hated by everyone because of My name.  But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.   23When they persecute you in one town, escape to another.  For I assure you: You will not have covered the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes

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