Today's Readings and Stuff -- Tuesday, 08 January 2013

What a day!  Long and tiring.  Spent my lunch hour parked in a local shopping center doing a telephone interview with a company back in western Ohio.  Would be a good opportunity, pay a LOT more than what I now make, and put us closer to much of the family.  Not next door, but a good 600 miles closer than we are now.  We shall see.  I am still waiting for word on a similar interview for another potential employer that would put us 300 miles closer yet.  Had hoped to do an on-site with the latter over the Christmas holiday, but that didn't happen.  So we shall see what the Lord has in mind for us.

The morning reading was chapters 20,21, 22 of the Genesis.  We see the birth of Isaac in Abraham and Sarah's old age.  Leading, among other things, to the sundered relation of the half brothers, Isaac and Ishmael, a hatred that exists to this very day, and probably will until The End.

Genesis 20

1	And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
2	And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
3	But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.
4	But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, LORD, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
5	Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
6	And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
7	Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
8	Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
9	Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
10	And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
11	And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
12	And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
13	And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
14	And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
15	And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.
16	And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
17	So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
18	For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

Genesis 21

1	And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
2	For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
3	And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
4	And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5	And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
6	And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
7	And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
8	And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
9	And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
10	Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
11	And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.
12	And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
13	And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
14	And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15	And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
16	And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
17	And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18	Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
19	And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
20	And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
21	And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
22	And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
23	Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.
24	And Abraham said, I will swear.
25	And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.
26	And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.
27	And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
28	And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
29	And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
30	And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.
31	Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.
32	Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
33	And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
34	And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines' land many days.

Genesis 22

1	And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2	And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
3	And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4	Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5	And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
6	And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7	And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8	And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9	And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10	And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11	And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12	And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
13	And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
14	And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
15	And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16	And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17	That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18	And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
19	So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
20	And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor;
21	Huz his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram,
22	And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
23	And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah did bear to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
24	And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.

The evening reading is chapter 7 in the Gospel of Matthew.  Jesus concludes what we now call the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 7  

1	Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2	For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3	And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4	Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5	Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
6	Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
7	Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8	For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9	Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10	Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11	If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
12	Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
13	Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14	Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
15	Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16	Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17	Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18	A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19	Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20	Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21	Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22	Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23	And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24	Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25	And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26	And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27	And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28	And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29	For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.