GENESIS 26:17- 27:46
MATTHEW 9:1- 17
PSALM 10:16- 18
PROVERBS 3:9- 10
So Isaac moved to the Gerar Valley and lived there instead. 18 He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham's death. Isaac renamed them, using the names Abraham had given them. 19 His shepherds also dug in the Gerar Valley and found a gushing spring. 20 But then the local shepherds came and claimed the spring. "This is our water," they said, and they argued over it with Isaac's herdsmen. So Isaac named the well "Argument," because they had argued about it with him. 21 Isaac's men then dug another well, but again there was a fight over it. So Isaac named it "Opposition." 22 Abandoning that one, he dug another well, and the local people finally left him alone. So Isaac called it "Room Enough," for he said, "At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be able to thrive." 23 From there Isaac moved to Beersheba, 24 where the LORD appeared to him on the night of his arrival. "I am the God of your father, Abraham," he said. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant." 25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug a well. 26 One day Isaac had visitors from Gerar. King Abimelech arrived with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander. 27 "Why have you come?" Isaac asked them. "This is obviously no friendly visit, since you sent me from your land in a most unfriendly way." 28 They replied, "We can plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we decided we should have a treaty, a covenant between us. 29 Swear that you will not harm us, just as we did not harm you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the LORD has blessed you!" 30 So Isaac prepared a great feast for them, and they ate and drank in preparation for the treaty ceremony. 31 Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath of nonaggression. Then Isaac sent them home again in peace. 32 That very day Isaac's servants came and told him about a well they had dug. "We've found water!" they said. 33 So Isaac named the well "Oath," and from that time to this, the town that grew up there has been called Beersheba-- "well of the oath." 34 At the age of forty, Esau married a young woman named Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 But Esau's wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah. 27:1 WHEN Isaac was old and almost blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, "My son?" "Yes, Father?" Esau replied. 2 "I am an old man now," Isaac said, "and I expect every day to be my last. 3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows out into the open country, and hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare it just the way I like it so it's savory and good, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die." 5 But Rebekah overheard the conversation. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6 she said to her son Jacob, "I overheard your father asking Esau 7 to prepare him a delicious meal of wild game. He wants to bless Esau in the LORD's presence before he dies. 8 Now, my son, do exactly as I tell you. 9 Go out to the flocks and bring me two fine young goats. I'll prepare your father's favorite dish from them. 10 Take the food to your father; then he can eat it and bless you instead of Esau before he dies." 11 "But Mother!" Jacob replied. "He won't be fooled that easily. Think how hairy Esau is and how smooth my skin is! 12 What if my father touches me? He'll see that I'm trying to trick him, and then he'll curse me instead of blessing me." 13 "Let the curse fall on me, dear son," said Rebekah. "Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats." 14 So Jacob followed his mother's instructions, bringing her the two goats. She took them and cooked a delicious meat dish, just the way Isaac liked it. 15 Then she took Esau's best clothes, which were there in the house, and dressed Jacob with them. 16 She made him a pair of gloves from the hairy skin of the young goats, and she fastened a strip of the goat's skin around his neck. 17 Then she gave him the meat dish, with its rich aroma, and some freshly baked bread. 18 Jacob carried the platter of food to his father and said, "My father?" "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it-- Esau or Jacob?" 19 Jacob replied, "It's Esau, your older son. I've done as you told me. Here is the wild game, cooked the way you like it. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing." 20 Isaac asked, "How were you able to find it so quickly, my son?" "Because the LORD your God put it in my path!" Jacob replied. 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come over here. I want to touch you to make sure you really are Esau." 22 So Jacob went over to his father, and Isaac touched him. "The voice is Jacob's, but the hands are Esau's," Isaac said to himself. 23 But he did not recognize Jacob because Jacob's hands felt hairy just like Esau's. So Isaac pronounced his blessing on Jacob. 24 "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "Yes, of course," Jacob replied. 25 Then Isaac said, "Now, my son, bring me the meat. I will eat it, and then I will give you my blessing." So Jacob took the food over to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. Then Isaac said, 26 "Come here and kiss me, my son." 27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, "The smell of my son is the good smell of the open fields that the LORD has blessed. 28 May God always give you plenty of dew for healthy crops and good harvests of grain and wine. 29 May many nations become your servants. May you be the master of your brothers. May all your mother's sons bow low before you. All who curse you are cursed, and all who bless you are blessed." 30 As soon as Isaac had blessed Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunting trip. 31 Esau prepared his father's favorite meat dish and brought it to him. Then he said, "I'm back, Father, and I have the wild game. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing." 32 But Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "Why, it's me, of course!" he replied. "It's Esau, your older son." 33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, "Then who was it that just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him with an irrevocable blessing before you came." 34 When Esau understood, he let out a loud and bitter cry. "O my father, bless me, too!" he begged. 35 But Isaac said, "Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has carried away your blessing." 36 Esau said bitterly, "No wonder his name is Jacob, for he has deceived me twice, first taking my birthright and now stealing my blessing. Oh, haven't you saved even one blessing for me?" 37 Isaac said to Esau, "I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine-- what is there left to give?" 38 Esau pleaded, "Not one blessing left for me? O my father, bless me, too!" Then Esau broke down and wept. 39 His father, Isaac, said to him, "You will live off the land and what it yields, 40 and you will live by your sword. You will serve your brother for a time, but then you will shake loose from him and be free." 41 Esau hated Jacob because he had stolen his blessing, and he said to himself, "My father will soon be dead and gone. Then I will kill Jacob." 42 But someone got wind of what Esau was planning and reported it to Rebekah. She sent for Jacob and told him, "Esau is threatening to kill you. 43 This is what you should do. Flee to your uncle Laban in Haran. 44 Stay there with him until your brother's fury is spent. 45 When he forgets what you have done, I will send for you. Why should I lose both of you in one day?" 46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm sick and tired of these local Hittite women. I'd rather die than see Jacob marry one of them."
Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Take heart, son! Your sins are forgiven." 3 "Blasphemy! This man talks like he is God!" some of the teachers of religious law said among themselves. 4 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, "Why are you thinking such evil thoughts? 5 Is it easier to say, `Your sins are forgiven 'or `Get up and walk'? 6 I will prove that I, the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, take your mat, and go on home, because you are healed!" 7 And the man jumped up and went home! 8 Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen right before their eyes. They praised God for sending a man with such great authority. 9 As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax- collection booth. "Come, be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. 10 That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners. 11 The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?" they asked his disciples. 12 When he heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don't need a doctor-- sick people do." 13 Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture:`I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices. 'For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough." 14 One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't fast?" 15 Jesus responded, "Should the wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Someday he will be taken from them, and then they will fast. 16 And who would patch an old garment with unshrunk cloth? For the patch shrinks and pulls away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger hole than before. 17 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. That way both the wine and the wineskins are preserved."
The LORD is king forever and ever!
Let those who worship other gods be swept from the land.
17 LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them.
18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,
so people can no longer terrify them.
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine
MATTHEW 9:1- 17
PSALM 10:16- 18
PROVERBS 3:9- 10
So Isaac moved to the Gerar Valley and lived there instead. 18 He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham's death. Isaac renamed them, using the names Abraham had given them. 19 His shepherds also dug in the Gerar Valley and found a gushing spring. 20 But then the local shepherds came and claimed the spring. "This is our water," they said, and they argued over it with Isaac's herdsmen. So Isaac named the well "Argument," because they had argued about it with him. 21 Isaac's men then dug another well, but again there was a fight over it. So Isaac named it "Opposition." 22 Abandoning that one, he dug another well, and the local people finally left him alone. So Isaac called it "Room Enough," for he said, "At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be able to thrive." 23 From there Isaac moved to Beersheba, 24 where the LORD appeared to him on the night of his arrival. "I am the God of your father, Abraham," he said. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant." 25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug a well. 26 One day Isaac had visitors from Gerar. King Abimelech arrived with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander. 27 "Why have you come?" Isaac asked them. "This is obviously no friendly visit, since you sent me from your land in a most unfriendly way." 28 They replied, "We can plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we decided we should have a treaty, a covenant between us. 29 Swear that you will not harm us, just as we did not harm you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the LORD has blessed you!" 30 So Isaac prepared a great feast for them, and they ate and drank in preparation for the treaty ceremony. 31 Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath of nonaggression. Then Isaac sent them home again in peace. 32 That very day Isaac's servants came and told him about a well they had dug. "We've found water!" they said. 33 So Isaac named the well "Oath," and from that time to this, the town that grew up there has been called Beersheba-- "well of the oath." 34 At the age of forty, Esau married a young woman named Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 But Esau's wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah. 27:1 WHEN Isaac was old and almost blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, "My son?" "Yes, Father?" Esau replied. 2 "I am an old man now," Isaac said, "and I expect every day to be my last. 3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows out into the open country, and hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare it just the way I like it so it's savory and good, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die." 5 But Rebekah overheard the conversation. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6 she said to her son Jacob, "I overheard your father asking Esau 7 to prepare him a delicious meal of wild game. He wants to bless Esau in the LORD's presence before he dies. 8 Now, my son, do exactly as I tell you. 9 Go out to the flocks and bring me two fine young goats. I'll prepare your father's favorite dish from them. 10 Take the food to your father; then he can eat it and bless you instead of Esau before he dies." 11 "But Mother!" Jacob replied. "He won't be fooled that easily. Think how hairy Esau is and how smooth my skin is! 12 What if my father touches me? He'll see that I'm trying to trick him, and then he'll curse me instead of blessing me." 13 "Let the curse fall on me, dear son," said Rebekah. "Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats." 14 So Jacob followed his mother's instructions, bringing her the two goats. She took them and cooked a delicious meat dish, just the way Isaac liked it. 15 Then she took Esau's best clothes, which were there in the house, and dressed Jacob with them. 16 She made him a pair of gloves from the hairy skin of the young goats, and she fastened a strip of the goat's skin around his neck. 17 Then she gave him the meat dish, with its rich aroma, and some freshly baked bread. 18 Jacob carried the platter of food to his father and said, "My father?" "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it-- Esau or Jacob?" 19 Jacob replied, "It's Esau, your older son. I've done as you told me. Here is the wild game, cooked the way you like it. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing." 20 Isaac asked, "How were you able to find it so quickly, my son?" "Because the LORD your God put it in my path!" Jacob replied. 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come over here. I want to touch you to make sure you really are Esau." 22 So Jacob went over to his father, and Isaac touched him. "The voice is Jacob's, but the hands are Esau's," Isaac said to himself. 23 But he did not recognize Jacob because Jacob's hands felt hairy just like Esau's. So Isaac pronounced his blessing on Jacob. 24 "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "Yes, of course," Jacob replied. 25 Then Isaac said, "Now, my son, bring me the meat. I will eat it, and then I will give you my blessing." So Jacob took the food over to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. Then Isaac said, 26 "Come here and kiss me, my son." 27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, "The smell of my son is the good smell of the open fields that the LORD has blessed. 28 May God always give you plenty of dew for healthy crops and good harvests of grain and wine. 29 May many nations become your servants. May you be the master of your brothers. May all your mother's sons bow low before you. All who curse you are cursed, and all who bless you are blessed." 30 As soon as Isaac had blessed Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunting trip. 31 Esau prepared his father's favorite meat dish and brought it to him. Then he said, "I'm back, Father, and I have the wild game. Sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing." 32 But Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "Why, it's me, of course!" he replied. "It's Esau, your older son." 33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, "Then who was it that just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him with an irrevocable blessing before you came." 34 When Esau understood, he let out a loud and bitter cry. "O my father, bless me, too!" he begged. 35 But Isaac said, "Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has carried away your blessing." 36 Esau said bitterly, "No wonder his name is Jacob, for he has deceived me twice, first taking my birthright and now stealing my blessing. Oh, haven't you saved even one blessing for me?" 37 Isaac said to Esau, "I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine-- what is there left to give?" 38 Esau pleaded, "Not one blessing left for me? O my father, bless me, too!" Then Esau broke down and wept. 39 His father, Isaac, said to him, "You will live off the land and what it yields, 40 and you will live by your sword. You will serve your brother for a time, but then you will shake loose from him and be free." 41 Esau hated Jacob because he had stolen his blessing, and he said to himself, "My father will soon be dead and gone. Then I will kill Jacob." 42 But someone got wind of what Esau was planning and reported it to Rebekah. She sent for Jacob and told him, "Esau is threatening to kill you. 43 This is what you should do. Flee to your uncle Laban in Haran. 44 Stay there with him until your brother's fury is spent. 45 When he forgets what you have done, I will send for you. Why should I lose both of you in one day?" 46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm sick and tired of these local Hittite women. I'd rather die than see Jacob marry one of them."
Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Take heart, son! Your sins are forgiven." 3 "Blasphemy! This man talks like he is God!" some of the teachers of religious law said among themselves. 4 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, "Why are you thinking such evil thoughts? 5 Is it easier to say, `Your sins are forgiven 'or `Get up and walk'? 6 I will prove that I, the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, take your mat, and go on home, because you are healed!" 7 And the man jumped up and went home! 8 Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen right before their eyes. They praised God for sending a man with such great authority. 9 As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax- collection booth. "Come, be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. 10 That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners. 11 The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?" they asked his disciples. 12 When he heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don't need a doctor-- sick people do." 13 Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture:`I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices. 'For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough." 14 One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't fast?" 15 Jesus responded, "Should the wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Someday he will be taken from them, and then they will fast. 16 And who would patch an old garment with unshrunk cloth? For the patch shrinks and pulls away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger hole than before. 17 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. That way both the wine and the wineskins are preserved."
The LORD is king forever and ever!
Let those who worship other gods be swept from the land.
17 LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them.
18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,
so people can no longer terrify them.
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine
