But if not ...

Today's Readings and some other stuff

2012-02-01T15:53:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the last week's gap, some things have been tough around here. And yours truly, while missing no work, has been sick since last week. Been dragging myself around, in part out of what may be a misplaced instinct of loyalty. Can't help it, just part of the nature I guess.
Anyway, off to the shower and get ready routine in a few minutes But first, .......

The day's Old Testament reading is chapters 27 and 28 of the Exodus. It is difficult to overstate the importance of the whole book of the Exodus, it's echoes are still sounding today. And it is at this time that the Lord made known His commandments for His people. Ones that helped to define them. And us. And which they -- and we -- ignore to our peril.

Exodus 27

1	And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.
2	And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.
3	And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basins, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.
4	And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof.
5	And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.
6	And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.
7	And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it.
8	Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was showed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.
9	And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:
10	And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.
11	And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
12	And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.
13	And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.
14	The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
15	And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16	And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.
17	All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.
18	The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.
19	All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.
20	And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.
21	In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

Exodus 28

1	And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.
2	And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.
3	And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
4	And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
5	And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.
6	And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.
7	It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together.
8	And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
9	And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:
10	Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.
11	With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.
12	And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
13	And thou shalt make ouches of gold;
14	And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathed work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathed chains to the ouches.
15	And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.
16	Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.
17	And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.
18	And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
19	And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
20	And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.
21	And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.
22	And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathed work of pure gold.
23	And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
24	And thou shalt put the two wreathed chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate.
25	And the other two ends of the two wreathed chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it.
26	And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward.
27	And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.
28	And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.
29	And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.
30	And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.
31	And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue.
32	And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.
33	And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:
34	A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.
35	And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.
36	And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
37	And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be.
38	And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.
39	And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework.
40	And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.
41	And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
42	And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:
43	And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

The New Testament passage is verses 23-46 of the 21st chapter in the gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 21:23-46

23	And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?
24	And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
25	The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
26	But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
27	And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
28	But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
29	He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
30	And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
31	Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
32	For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
33	Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
34	And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.
35	And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
36	Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.
37	But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
38	But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
39	And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
40	When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?
41	They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.
42	Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
43	Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
44	And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
45	And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
46	But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

Today's Readings -- and things too -- 22 January 2012

2012-01-22T07:53:00.005-06:00

One of the real bad things about this long stretch of working the off-shifts is that it messes up your sleep cycle. Dear Wife and I actually got to spend some time together yesterday, and when the word came through that I'd get a night off, it was nice. Until she finally went to sleep around midnight. I snoozed until around 1 a.m.. And lay awake the rest of the night. Now she's up and around, and this is the time I am normally toddling off to bed. Except that I need to be over at church in about 90 minutes or so, which rather precludes that.

This morning we begin the readings in the book of the Exodus. And here we encounter one of those giants of the past, Moses. We will be seeing his name a lot for the next few months. We have seen Israel (Jacob) and his family come in to Egypt, there to take refuge from the famine in their part of the world, a relocation made possible by Joseph. Well and good. But fast forward to this account, and we see that a couple hundred years have passed, Israel's troupe are now in slavery to Pharaoh, and one might think that the Lord had abandoned them. Wrong! Now it is time to leave. Pharaoh doesn't quite see it that way. And so it begins. Unlikely people in impossible situations with gigantic missions from the Lord. Some things haven't changed.

Exodus 1

1	Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.
2	Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3	Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4	Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5	And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
6	And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
7	And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8	Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
9	And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
10	Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
11	Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12	But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
13	And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:
14	And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor.
15	And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
16	And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
17	But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
18	And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19	And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
20	Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21	And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
22	And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Exodus 2

1	And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
2	And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
3	And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
4	And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
5	And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.
6	And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.
7	Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
8	And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.
9	And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.
10	And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
11	And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12	And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
13	And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?
14	And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
15	Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
16	Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
17	And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18	And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?
19	And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.
20	And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.
21	And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
22	And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
23	And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24	And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25	And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Exodus 3

1	Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2	And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3	And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4	And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5	And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6	Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
7	And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8	And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9	Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10	Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
11	And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12	And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13	And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14	And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15	And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
16	Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
17	And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
18	And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
19	And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
20	And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.
21	And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty.
22	But every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

This evening, the reading is verses 21-39 from the 15th chapter in the Gospel of Matthew. Some things here. We start with Jesus doing a miracle to help a woman from the wrong side of the tracks. Not a Hebrew, one of "those people" who had no claim on the Lord's mercy. Jesus saw it differently. I'm glad of that. Then He went on to another miracle. We recently saw Jesus feed the 5,000 men (and and unknown number of women and children). We see here that He does something similar, but with a few differences. This time it was 4,000 instead. What is more striking is that these were, again, not of The Chosen.

Matthew 15:21-39

21	Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22	And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23	But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24	But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25	Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26	But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27	And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
28	Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
29	And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
30	And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:
31	Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
32	Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33	And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34	And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35	And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36	And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37	And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38	And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
39	And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- 21 January 2012

2012-01-21T18:01:00.006-06:00

Well, it is Saturday. I was supposed to work tonight, but the Word went out earlier that there has been a MAJOR problem at the plant, the 1st shift left at the half-way point and the night turn (meaning me) was cancelled. Make it up next week, I guess. So I actually get to spend the evening with Dear Wife.
The HR Manager's call that was promised for yesterday did not happen, but the headhunter did, and we have a phone interview set for Monday or Tuesday. A long road is ahead of us, but it's nice to be thought well of. Hasn't happened much over the last few years.

The Old Testament reading is chapters 49 and 50 of the Genesis. There is a whole lot here. But first, recall where we've been so far. We began before the beginning of the world. Indeed, we see here the Lord God at the beginning of Time, as He will be at Time's end. We have come from those ringing words, "In the beginning, GOD!..." and all the way to established civilizations in places like Egypt. And He has kept His eye on His people, all the way to now. And to our day as well. So recall that.
But also note Joseph's words to his brothers in verse 20. Joseph had every right to be furious with his brothers, and had the power to exact vengeance. Who would not be tempted? But he was wise enough to see the Lord's working in this. All this was to get the Children of Israel into a place of safe refuge in Egypt. It buys them time to grow. For a time. Beginning tomorrow, we will see His plan to get them back out as we look at the Exodus.

Genesis 49

1	And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
2	Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
3	Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4	Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
5	Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6	O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall.
7	Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8	Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9	Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10	The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11	Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12	His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13	Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
14	Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
15	And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
16	Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17	Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
18	I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
19	Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20	Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21	Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
22	Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
23	The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24	But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
25	Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26	The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
27	Benjamin shall raven as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
28	All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
29	And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30	In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
31	There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
32	The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
33	And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

Genesis 50

1	And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
2	And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
3	And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
4	And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
5	My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
6	And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
7	And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
8	And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
9	And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
10	And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
11	And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.
12	And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
13	For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
14	And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
15	And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
16	And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17	So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
18	And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19	And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20	But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
21	Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
22	And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
23	And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
24	And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25	And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26	So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

This evening's reading is verses 1-20 of chapter 15 of the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 15:1-20

1	Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2	Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3	But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4	For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
5	But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
6	And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
7	Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8	This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9	But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
10	And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
11	Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
12	Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
13	But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
14	Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
15	Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16	And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17	Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18	But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19	For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20	These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- 20 January 2012

2012-01-20T06:50:00.004-06:00

Gaaa!! Another long night is behind me. Still have two more, tonight and Saturday as well. Weary, I am. This is wearing me down. I was contacted yesterday by a recruiter who advised me that I should be getting a call this afternoon from the HR manager at a manufacturer in NE Arkansas, wanting to talk about a job that would be more along the lines of my experience, and not incidentally would pay roughly twice my current income. A tempting potential, certainly. But we shall see, I've had too many hopes dashed. Perhaps we are where the Lord wants us to remain. His call, I am not driving this bus.

This morning's reading is chapters 46, 47, and 48 of the Genesis. Jacob, now named Israel, is reunited with his long-lost son.

Genesis 46

1	And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
2	And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
3	And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
4	I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
5	And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
6	And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:
7	His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
8	And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn.
9	And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.
10	And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.
11	And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12	And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.
13	And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.
14	And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.
15	These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
16	And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
17	And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.
18	These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.
19	The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.
20	And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.
21	And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.
22	These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
23	And the sons of Dan; Hushim.
24	And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.
25	These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.
26	All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six;
27	And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
28	And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.
29	And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
30	And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.
31	And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and show Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me;
32	And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.
33	And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?
34	That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

Genesis 47

1	Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
2	And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
3	And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.
4	They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
5	And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
6	The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
7	And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8	And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?
9	And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
10	And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11	And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12	And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.
13	And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
14	And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
15	And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
16	And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
17	And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
18	When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:
19	Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
20	And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.
21	And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
22	Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
23	Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
24	And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
25	And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
26	And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.
27	And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
28	And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
29	And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:
30	But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
31	And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.

Genesis 48

1	And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
2	And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
3	And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
4	And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
5	And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
6	And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
7	And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
8	And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?
9	And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
10	Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
11	And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed.
12	And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
13	And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.
14	And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
15	And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
16	The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
17	And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
18	And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
19	And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
20	And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21	And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
22	Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

This evening's reading is verses 22-36 of John 4. Yes, you are better off in a storm with Jesus in the boat, than on shore without Him. Ask me how I know.

Matthew 14:22-36

22	And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
23	And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
24	But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
25	And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26	And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27	But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28	And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29	And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30	But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31	And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32	And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
33	Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
34	And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.
35	And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased;
36	And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- 19 January 2012

2012-01-19T06:32:00.006-06:00

Back from a long night. Try to get some sleep in just a bit. Still in a sleep-deprivation mode, so perhaps a bit might be recovered. Perhaps.

This morning's reading is chapters 44 and 45 of the Genesis. Here we see this part of God's plan working out as Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers. In the middle of all that has gone on, we now see that the Lord has provided a place of refuge for His people. He works like that some times, I can personally testify to that. He has moved us from one place to another, and through those moments has allowed some things to take place that absolutely could not have happened in any other way. I've seen it.

Genesis 44

1	And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.
2	And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.
3	As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.
4	And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?
5	Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
6	And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.
7	And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:
8	Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold?
9	With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.
10	And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.
11	Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.
12	And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
13	Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.
14	And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.
15	And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?
16	And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.
17	And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
18	Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.
19	My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
20	And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.
21	And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.
22	And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.
23	And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.
24	And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25	And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.
26	And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.
27	And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:
28	And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:
29	And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
30	Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
31	It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
32	For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.
33	Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.
34	For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

Genesis 45

1	Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2	And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3	And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4	And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5	Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6	For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7	And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8	So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9	Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10	And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
11	And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
12	And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
13	And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
14	And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15	Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
16	And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
17	And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
18	And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
19	Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20	Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
21	And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
22	To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
23	And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
24	So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
25	And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
26	And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
27	And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:
28	And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

This evening, verses 1-21 of the 14th chapter in the Gospel of Matthew. Two big things here in particular. The second, the one we rightly pay attention to, is Jesus feeding the 5,000 men (and women and children as well) from the "seed" of five loaves and two fish. God's miraculous provision, and worth recalling.
But before that, the death of the Lord's faithful servant (and Jesus' cousin), John the Baptist. There are those who will teach and preach the line that the Lord's people will not know pain, or loss, or indeed anything but happiness and prosperity. It's a lie. The Lord's people should indeed know JOY, but JOY and Happiness are not the same thing. I am sure that John was not real eager to be put to death, yet I am also sure that he knows joy right now. Makes a difference. I can not help reflecting on the "coincidence" that both accounts occur within a few lines of each other.

Matthew 14:1-21

1	At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,
2	And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
3	For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.
4	For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
5	And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
6	But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
7	Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
8	And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.
9	And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.
10	And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
11	And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.
12	And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
13	When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.
14	And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
15	And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16	But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
17	And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
18	He said, Bring them hither to me.
19	And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
20	And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
21	And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

Today's Readings, and stuff too -- 18 January 2012

2012-01-18T16:17:00.002-06:00

Ugghh! Wednesday now, mid-week for most people, barely begun for yours truly.
Yesterday's meeting went semi-OK. I finally got to meet with the newest engineering manager. Topic was intra-departmental communications and his determination to improve it. Fine by me. So I communicated. Told him that I was 45 months into a two or three month short term assignment, in my 27th month of a "short stint" on nights, and greatly desiring opportunities within the organization, preferably at another location. I think that there is quite a lot that he had never been told. Since he's been in the position since around August and this is our first meeting, I have to regard much of that as being his responsibility. Anyway, I am still employed, but at this point that is a day-to-day thing.

The Old Testament reading for the day is chapters 42 and 43 of the Genesis. We start to see God's plan working out. Joseph, once sold into slavery by his own brothers, is uniquely placed to support his family, which he is starting to realize even if they don't know it. Yet.

Genesis 42

1	Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
2	And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
3	And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
4	But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
5	And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6	And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
7	And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
8	And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
9	And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
10	And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
11	We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
12	And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
13	And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
14	And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
15	Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
16	Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
17	And he put them all together into ward three days.
18	And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
19	If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
20	But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
21	And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
22	And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
23	And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
24	And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.
25	Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.
26	And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.
27	And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth.
28	And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?
29	And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,
30	The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
31	And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:
32	We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
33	And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:
34	And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffic in the land.
35	And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
36	And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
37	And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
38	And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

Genesis 43

1	And the famine was sore in the land.
2	And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.
3	And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
4	If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:
5	But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
6	And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?
7	And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
8	And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.
9	I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:
10	For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.
11	And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:
12	And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:
13	Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
14	And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
15	And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
16	And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
17	And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
18	And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.
19	And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,
20	And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
21	And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.
22	And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.
23	And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.
24	And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.
25	And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26	And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.
27	And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
28	And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
29	And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
30	And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
31	And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
32	And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
33	And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marveled one at another.
34	And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

The New Testament reading is verses 33-58 of the 13th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 13:33-58

33	Another 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.
34	All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35	That 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.
36	Then 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.
37	He 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.
51	Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
52	Then 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.
53	And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54	And 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?
55	Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56	And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57	And 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.
58	And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Today's Readings and stuff -- 17 January 2012

2012-01-17T13:24:00.002-06:00

Tuesday and back at it. It was nice, having a 3-day weekend. Don't often get that, and it will be a good while before another one comes along. Before I go to work this afternoon, I "get" to make a 2-hour 90 nuke round trip to our home office for a meeting I've been summoned to, held with our latest engineering manager. I have no idea what the situation is, and for all I know I may be unemployed by day's end. So perhaps the headhunter calls that interrupted my sleep were fortuitous.

The Old Testament reading for the day is chapter 41 of the Genesis. Joseph is coming into his own in Pharaoh;s circle.

Genesis 41

1	And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
2	And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favored kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
3	And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favored and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
4	And the ill favored and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favored and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
5	And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
6	And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
7	And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.
8	And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
9	Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:
10	Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker:
11	And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.
12	And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.
13	And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.
14	Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
15	And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.
16	And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
17	And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
18	And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favored; and they fed in a meadow:
19	And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favored and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
20	And the lean and the ill favored kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:
21	And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
22	And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good:
23	And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:
24	And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
25	And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath showed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26	The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
27	And the seven thin and ill favored kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.
28	This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he showeth unto Pharaoh.
29	Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
30	And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;
31	And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.
32	And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
33	Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34	Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.
35	And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.
36	And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.
37	And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
38	And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
39	And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
40	Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
41	And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
42	And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
43	And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
44	And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
45	And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
46	And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
47	And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.
48	And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.
49	And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.
50	And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.
51	And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.
52	And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
53	And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.
54	And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
55	And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.
56	And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.
57	And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.

This evening, verses 1-32 of Matthew 13

Matthew 13:1-32

1	The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2	And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3	And 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.
10	And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11	He 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.
24	Another 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.
31	Another 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.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- 16 January 2012

2012-01-16T09:16:00.006-06:00

Today is MLK Day, and I have it off. Kinda nice, this business of having a 3-day weekend with Dear Wife. We get so little "us" time, at a point in our lives where we are 'empty nesters' and expected a rather different life than what we have. But it's better than many have had. We shall count our blessings, we do it too rarely. Both my grandfathers, two of my uncles, and two of my aunts, did not live so long as I have already done.

This morning's reading is chapters 38, 39, and 40 of the Genesis. Joseph is the focus of the last two of these. Sold into slavery by his own brothers, thrown into prison -- and it was not "Club Fed", I assure you -- on the word of a spiteful person, and yet it was all part of God's plan. Some times the bad circumstances are a means to a better end. Not always easy to recall when you're in the midst of it, but true. Trust me on that one!

Genesis 38

1	And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
2	And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.
3	And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.
4	And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
5	And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.
6	And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
7	And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
8	And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
9	And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
10	And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.
11	Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
12	And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13	And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.
14	And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
15	When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
16	And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?
17	And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?
18	And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
19	And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
20	And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not.
21	Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
22	And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
23	And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
24	And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
25	When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
26	And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.
27	And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.
28	And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.
29	And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.
30	And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

Genesis 39

1	And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither.
2	And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3	And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4	And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
5	And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
6	And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored.
7	And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
8	But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
9	There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
10	And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
11	And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
12	And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
13	And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
14	That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:
15	And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.
16	And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.
17	And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:
18	And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.
19	And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
20	And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
21	But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
22	And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.
23	The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.

Genesis 40

1	And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.
2	And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
3	And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
4	And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.
5	And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.
6	And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.
7	And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day?
8	And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
9	And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
10	And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:
11	And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
12	And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:
13	Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.
14	But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:
15	For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
16	When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:
17	And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.
18	And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:
19	Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
20	And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
21	And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand:
22	But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23	Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

The evening's reading is verses 22-50 of Matthew 12.

Matthew 12:22-50

22	Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
23	And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
24	But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
25	And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26	And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
27	And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
28	But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29	Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
30	He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
31	Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32	And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
33	Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
34	O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35	A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36	But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37	For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
38	Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39	But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40	For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41	The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
42	The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
43	When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44	Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45	Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
46	While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47	Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48	But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49	And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50	For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- 15 January 2012

2012-01-15T07:57:00.004-06:00

Happy Sunday!!

Off to church in a bit. Dear Wife is looking poorly, and will be staying in bed another day. Life around here can be, and often is, difficult. But I guess the Lord knows what He's doing.

Today is also the day set apart in many churches as "Sanctity of Human Life Sunday", a day to reflect upon the coarsening of our culture and the devaluation of the person that has as some of its symptoms the plague of abortion and the growing acceptance of euthanasia as will be seen in the Death Panels that are inherent to Obamacare. You'll see.

The reading for this morning is chapters 36 and 37 of the Genesis. We began with those words, "In the beginning, 'GOD ...", have seen the Fall, the Flood, Babel, and the introduction of the Abrahamic covenant. Now Isaac/Israel is The Old Man. And now we see the start of the story of Joseph. Realize that, while the narrative has focused upon Abraham and his descendants, there's been stuff going on elsewhere. Like the establishment of the Egyptian civilization. Or those in far-off places like Babylon, China, and Europe. Though, to be fair, many of these we might not call all that civilized. Now we will see Abraham's descendants start to encounter those other nations.

Genesis 36

1	Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.
2	Esau 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;
3	And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth.
4	And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel;
5	And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.
6	And 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.
7	For 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.
8	Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.
9	And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:
10	These 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.
11	And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz.
12	And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife.
13	And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife.
14	And 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.
15	These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,
16	Duke 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.
17	And 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.
18	And 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.
19	These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are their dukes.
20	These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah,
21	And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.
22	And the children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna.
23	And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
24	And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father.
25	And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.
26	And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran.
27	The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan.
28	The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran.
29	These are the dukes that came of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah,
30	Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan: these are the dukes that came of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir.
31	And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.
32	And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
33	And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.
34	And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead.
35	And 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.
36	And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead.
37	And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead.
38	And Saul died, and Baalhanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead.
39	And Baalhanan 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.
40	And 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,
41	Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon,
42	Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar,
43	Duke 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.

Genesis 37

1	And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
2	These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
3	Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors.
4	And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
5	And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
6	And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7	For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8	And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9	And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10	And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11	And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
12	And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
13	And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
14	And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15	And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
16	And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
17	And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
18	And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19	And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20	Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
21	And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
22	And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
23	And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him;
24	And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
25	And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
26	And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
27	Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
28	Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
29	And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
30	And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
31	And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
32	And they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.
33	And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
34	And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
35	And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
36	And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.

This evening, verses 1-21 of the 12th chapter in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 12:1-21

1	At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.
2	But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3	But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4	How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5	Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6	But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
7	But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8	For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
9	And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
10	And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
11	And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
12	How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
13	Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
14	Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
15	But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;
16	And charged them that they should not make him known:
17	That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
18	Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
19	He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
20	A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
21	And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- 14 January 2012

2012-01-14T07:34:00.003-06:00

Happy Saturday! I finally get a day off!
Of course, I have been summoned to an Important Meeting at our head office on Tuesday, so perhaps I'll end up with a whole lot more days off. Once can never tell, swimming among the sharks as I seem to have been doing for quite a while now.
Dear Wife remains quite ill, I suspect that she is going into yet another bout of pneumonia, something she gets around three times a year, and is "due" for another round, I guess. This life we have is not always an easy one.

The Old Testament reading for the day is chapters 33, 34, and 35 of the Genesis. Jacob has come home, bringing his wives, his concubines, his sons, and his flocks and herds. And has returned to, well, something. It may be home, and Dad (Isaac) is there, but it ain't heaven. There is trouble still, but the Lord is still around an still has a plan involving Jacob, now renamed Israel.

Genesis 33

1	And 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.
2	And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
3	And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
4	And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
5	And 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.
6	Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
7	And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
8	And 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.
9	And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.
10	And 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.
11	Take, 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.
12	And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
13	And 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.
14	Let 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.
15	And 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.
16	So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.
17	And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
18	And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.
19	And 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.
20	And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.

Genesis 34

1	And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
2	And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
3	And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel.
4	And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.
5	And 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.
6	And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.
7	And 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.
8	And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.
9	And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.
10	And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein.
11	And 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.
12	Ask 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.
13	And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:
14	And 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:
15	But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;
16	Then 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.
17	But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
18	And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.
19	And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honorable than all the house of his father.
20	And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,
21	These 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.
22	Only 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.
23	Shall 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.
24	And 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.
25	And 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.
26	And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.
27	The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
28	They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,
29	And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
30	And 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.
31	And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

Genesis 35

1	And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
2	Then 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:
3	And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; 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.
4	And 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.
5	And 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.
6	So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.
7	And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
8	But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.
9	And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
10	And 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.
11	And 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;
12	And 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.
13	And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
14	And 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.
15	And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.
16	And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor.
17	And it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
18	And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
19	And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
20	And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
21	And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
22	And 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:
23	The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:
24	The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:
25	And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
26	And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid: Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.
27	And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arba, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
28	And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.
29	And 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.

The New Testament reading is chapter 11 in the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 11

1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.
2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- 13 January 2012

2012-01-13T15:17:00.001-06:00

Friday the 13th, and short shrift, sorry. Off to work in a bit.

The Old Testament reading is chapters 31 and 32 of the Genesis. Jacob heads back home, meets an Angel, gets a new name. Quite a lot of change in just few words.

Genesis 31

1	And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory.
2	And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
3	And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
4	And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,
5	And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.
6	And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.
7	And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
8	If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ring-streaked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ring-streaked.
9	Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
10	And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ring-streaked, speckled, and grizzled.
11	And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.
12	And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ring-streaked, speckled, and grizzled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.
13	I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.
14	And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?
15	Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.
16	For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children's: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.
17	Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;
18	And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
19	And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's.
20	And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.
21	So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.
22	And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.
23	And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.
24	And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
25	Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.
26	And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?
27	Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
28	And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.
29	It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
30	And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
31	And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.
32	With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
33	And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.
34	Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.
35	And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched but found not the images.
36	And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?
37	Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.
38	This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
39	That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.
40	Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
41	Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.
42	Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
43	And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?
44	Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
45	And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.
46	And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.
47	And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.
48	And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;
49	And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.
50	If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.
51	And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee:
52	This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.
53	The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.
54	Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.
55	And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.

Genesis 32

1	And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2	And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3	And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
4	And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
5	And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
6	And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
7	Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
8	And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
9	And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
10	I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
11	Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
12	And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
13	And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;
14	Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
15	Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.
16	And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
17	And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
18	Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.
19	And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.
20	And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
21	So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.
22	And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
23	And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
24	And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
25	And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
26	And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27	And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28	And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29	And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
30	And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
31	And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
32	Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.

The New Testament reading is verses 24-42 of Matthew chapter 10.

Matthew 10:24-42

24	The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
25	It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?
26	Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
27	What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
28	And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29	Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30	But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31	Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
32	Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33	But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
34	Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
35	For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36	And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
37	He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38	And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
39	He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
40	He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
41	He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
42	And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- 12 January 2012

2012-01-12T16:04:00.001-06:00

It's Thursday, so apparently we are making some progress going through the week. Doesn't feel all that much like an accomplishment, but the calendar says so, so we will take it. Had some conversations yesterday and earlier today with yet another executive recruiter, talking to me about something not too far from the New Madrid area. That is up on the Arkansas-Missouri-Tennessee-Kentucky area, a real seismic zone. They're talking a salary roughly twice my current one, and the chance to actually accomplish something, and the combination of the two is quite tempting. But we shall see. In the meantime, I've been summoned to a meeting at our company's head office for Tuesday, which always makes for worry and stress. This has been a bumpy ride over the last 7 years or so, and perhaps it will become more so. We shall see.

This morning's reading is chapters 29 and 30 of the Genesis, further in the life and times of Jacob. He has run off to his mother's family and there acquires quite a lot. Like two wives and two concubines as well. Gets a lot of kids out of it, but lays up future trouble as well.

Genesis 29

1	Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.
2	And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth.
3	And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place.
4	And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.
5	And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him.
6	And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep.
7	And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them.
8	And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep.
9	And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep; for she kept them.
10	And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.
11	And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.
12	And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father.
13	And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.
14	And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.
15	And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?
16	And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
17	Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favored.
18	And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.
19	And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.
20	And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.
21	And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
22	And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
23	And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
24	And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid.
25	And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?
26	And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
27	Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28	And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29	And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
30	And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
31	And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
32	And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.
33	And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.
34	And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.
35	And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.

Genesis 30

1	And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
2	And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
3	And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
4	And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
5	And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
6	And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.
7	And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
8	And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
9	When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
10	And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.
11	And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
12	And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.
13	And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
14	And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.
15	And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.
16	And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
17	And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
18	And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.
19	And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
20	And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
21	And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
22	And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
23	And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:
24	And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
25	And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
26	Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
27	And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
28	And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
29	And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
30	For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
31	And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.
32	I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.
33	So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
34	And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
35	And he removed that day the he goats that were ring-streaked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
36	And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
37	And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
38	And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
39	And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ring-streaked, speckled, and spotted.
40	And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ring-streaked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.
41	And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.
42	But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
43	And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

This evening, verses 1-23 of the 10th chapter of Matthew's gospel.

Matthew 10:1-23

1	And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
2	Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3	Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
4	Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
5	These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6	But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7	And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
8	Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
9	Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
10	Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
11	And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.
12	And when ye come into an house, salute it.
13	And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14	And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15	Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
16	Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17	But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
18	And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
19	But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20	For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
21	And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22	And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
23	But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.