Today's Readings and Stuff -- Wednesday, 06 January 2021

 Well, the Awful Day (one of them) has arrived.  I feel like the heathens have poised to take over.  Which is pretty much the truth. Can't blame heathens for being heathens:  it's what they are.  I *do* blame the supposed Believers for smoothing their way.  This will get bad, real bad, real fast.  And, yes, I do believe in miracles and I know that none of this has taken the Lord by surprise.  He's very much aware of things.  But that doesn't mean we're going to like all of what is in store.  Prayer,  much prayer, fervent sincere prayer is always in order anyway.  We need to ramp it up.

Our "day" today is listed as being 9 hours 20 minutes, with tomorrow gaining another 1 minute 5 seconds.  I would much prefer 13 or 14 hours, if not more.  Just hang on.

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GENESIS 15

The Abrahamic Covenant

1After these events, the word of the Lord came  to Abram in a vision:

Do not be afraid,  Abram.

I am your shield; 

your reward will be very great.

2But Abram said, “Lord God, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? ”  3Abram continued, “Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in  my house will be my heir.”

4Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body  will be your heir.” 5He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.” 

6Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness. 

7He also said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 

8But he said, “Lord God, how can I know  that I will possess it? ”

9He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

10So he brought all these to Him, split them down the middle, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut up the birds.  11Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12As the sun was setting, a deep sleep  fell on Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.

13Then the Lord said to Abram,  “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be foreigners  in a land that does not belong to them; they will be enslaved and oppressed  400 years.  14However, I will judge the nation they serve,  and afterward they will go out with many possessions.  15But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.  16In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”  

17When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals. 18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring,  from the brook of Egypt  to the Euphrates River:  19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, 21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

GENESIS 16

Hagar and Ishmael

1Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.  3So Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan 10 years. 4He slept with  Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she treated her mistress with contempt. 5Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering!  I put my slave in your arms,  and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you.” 

6Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your hands; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.

7The Angel of the Lord  found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going? ”

She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”

9Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment.”  10The Angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring,  and they will be too many to count.”

11Then the Angel of the Lord said to her:

You have conceived and will have a son.

You will name him Ishmael, 

for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction.

12This man will be like a wild donkey.

His hand will be against everyone,

and everyone’s hand will be against him;

he will live at odds with  all his brothers. 

13So she called the Lord who spoke to her: The God Who Sees,  for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen  the One who sees me? ”  14That is why she named the spring, “A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”  It is located between Kadesh and Bered.

15So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son Hagar had. 16Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

GENESIS 17

Covenant Circumcision

1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty.  Live in My presence and be blameless.  2I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”

3Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him: 4“As for Me, My covenant is with you: you will become the father of many nations.  5Your name will no longer be Abram,  but your name will be Abraham,  for I will make you the father of many nations.  6I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. 7I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your future offspring throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant  to be your God and the God of your offspring after you.  8And to you and your future offspring  I will give the land where you are residing — all the land of Canaan — as an eternal possession,  and I will be their God.”

9God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep My covenant. 10This is My covenant, which you are to keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every one of your males must be circumcised. 11You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and you.   12Throughout your generations, every male among you at eight days old is to be circumcised.  This includes a slave born in your house and one purchased with money from any foreigner. The one who is not your offspring, 13a slave born in your house, as well as one purchased with money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. 14If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

15God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah  will be her name. 16I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her.  I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

17Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed  and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth? ” 18So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael were acceptable to You! ”

19But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac.  I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his future offspring. 20As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father 12 tribal leaders,  and I will make him into a great nation. 21But I will confirm My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”  22When He finished talking with him, God withdrew  from Abraham. 

23Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house or purchased with his money — every male among the members of Abraham’s household — and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, just as God had said to him. 24Abraham was 99 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised, 25and his son Ishmael was 13 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. 26On that same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. 27And all the men of his household — both slaves born in his house and those purchased with money from a foreigner — were circumcised with him.

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MATTHEW 5

Adultery in the Heart

27“You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.   28But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  29If your right eye causes you to sin,  gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell!

Divorce Practices Censured

31“It was also said, Whoever divorces  his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.   32But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality,  causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 

Tell the Truth

33“Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors,  You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.   34But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35or by the earth, because it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.  36Neither should you swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37But let your word ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.’  Anything more than this is from the evil one. 

Go the Second Mile

38“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.   39But I tell you, don’t resist  an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  40As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt,  let him have your coat  as well. 41And if anyone forces  you to go one mile, go with him two. 42Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 

Love Your Enemies

43“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor   and hate your enemy. 44But I tell you, love your enemies  and pray for those who  persecute you,  45so that you may be  sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  46For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary?   Don’t even the Gentiles  do the same? 48Be perfect,  therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.