GENESIS 31:17- 32:12
MATTHEW 10:24- 11:6
PSALM 13:1- 6
PROVERBS 3:16- 18
So Jacob put his wives and children on camels. 18 He drove the flocks in front of him-- all the livestock he had acquired at Paddan- aram-- and set out on his journey to the land of Canaan, where his father, Isaac, lived. 19 At the time they left, Laban was some distance away, shearing his sheep. Rachel stole her father's household gods and took them with her. 20 They set out secretly and never told Laban they were leaving. 21 Jacob took all his possessions with him and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the territory of Gilead. 22 Laban didn't learn of their flight for three days. 23 But when he did, he gathered a group of his relatives and set out in hot pursuit. He caught up with them seven days later in the hill country of Gilead. 24 But the previous night God had appeared to Laban in a dream. "Be careful about what you say to Jacob!" he was told. 25 So when Laban caught up with Jacob as he was camped in the hill country of Gilead, he set up his camp not far from Jacob's. 26 "What do you mean by sneaking off like this?" Laban demanded. "Are my daughters prisoners, the plunder of war, that you have stolen them away like this? 27 Why did you slip away secretly? I would have given you a farewell party, with joyful singing accompanied by tambourines and harps. 28 Why didn't you let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren and tell them good- bye? You have acted very foolishly! 29 I could destroy you, but the God of your father appeared to me last night and told me, `Be careful about what you say to Jacob! '30 I know you feel you must go, and you long intensely for your childhood home, but why have you stolen my household gods?" 31 "I rushed away because I was afraid," Jacob answered. "I said to myself, `He'll take his daughters from me by force.' 32 But as for your household gods, let the person who has taken them die! If you find anything that belongs to you, I swear before all these relatives of ours, I will give it back without question." But Jacob didn't know that Rachel had taken them. 33 Laban went first into Jacob's tent to search there, then into Leah's, and then he searched the tents of the two concubines, but he didn't find the gods. Finally, he went into Rachel's tent. 34 Rachel had taken the household gods and had stuffed them into her camel saddle, and now she was sitting on them. So although Laban searched all the tents, he couldn't find them. 35 "Forgive my not getting up, Father," Rachel explained. "I'm having my monthly period." So despite his thorough search, Laban didn't find them. 36 Then Jacob became very angry. "What did you find?" he demanded of Laban. "What is my crime? You have chased me as though I were a criminal. 37 You have searched through everything I own. Now show me what you have found that belongs to you! Set it out here in front of us, before our relatives, for all to see. Let them decide who is the real owner! 38" Twenty years I have been with you, and all that time I cared for your sheep and goats so they produced healthy offspring. In all those years I never touched a single ram of yours for food. 39 If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, did I show them to you and ask you to reduce the count of your flock? No, I took the loss! You made me pay for every animal stolen from the flocks, whether the loss was my fault or not. 40 I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through cold and sleepless nights. 41 Yes, twenty years-- fourteen of them earning your two daughters, and six years to get the flock. And you have reduced my wages ten times! 42 In fact, except for the grace of God-- the God of my grandfather Abraham, the awe- inspiring God of my father, Isaac-- you would have sent me off without a penny to my name. But God has seen your cruelty and my hard work. That is why he appeared to you last night and vindicated me. "43 Then Laban replied to Jacob," These women are my daughters, and these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks and all that you have-- all are mine. But what can I do now to my own daughters and grandchildren? 44 Come now, and we will make a peace treaty, you and I, and we will live by its terms. "45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument. 46 He also told his men to gather stones and pile them up in a heap. Jacob and Laban then sat down beside the pile of stones to share a meal. 47 They named it" Witness Pile, "which is Jegar- sahadutha in Laban's language and Galeed in Jacob's. 48" This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of our agreement, "Laban said. 49 This place was also called Mizpah, for Laban said," May the LORD keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this treaty when we are out of each other's sight. 50 I won't know about it if you are harsh to my daughters or if you take other wives, but God will see it. 51 This heap of stones and this pillar 52 stand between us as a witness of our vows. I will not cross this line to harm you, and you will not cross it to harm me. 53 I call on the God of our ancestors-- the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor-- to punish either one of us who harms the other. "So Jacob took an oath before the awesome God of his father, Isaac, to respect the boundary line. 54 Then Jacob presented a sacrifice to God and invited everyone to a feast. Afterward they spent the night there in the hills. 55 Laban got up early the next morning, and he kissed his daughters and grandchildren and blessed them. Then he returned home. 32:1 AS Jacob and his household started on their way again, angels of God came to meet him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed," This is God's camp! "So he named the place Mahanaim. 3 Jacob now sent messengers to his brother, Esau, in Edom, the land of Seir. 4 He told them," Give this message to my master Esau:`Humble greetings from your servant Jacob! I have been living with Uncle Laban until recently, 5 and now I own oxen, donkeys, sheep, goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform you of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to us. '"6 The messengers returned with the news that Esau was on his way to meet Jacob-- with an army of four hundred men! 7 Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps. 8 He thought," If Esau attacks one group, perhaps the other can escape. "9 Then Jacob prayed," O God of my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac-- O LORD, you told me to return to my land and to my relatives, and you promised to treat me kindly. 10 I am not worthy of all the faithfulness and unfailing love you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home, I owned nothing except a walking stick, and now my household fills two camps! 11 O LORD, please rescue me from my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to kill me, along with my wives and children. 12 But you promised to treat me kindly and to multiply my descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore-- too many to count. "
" A student is not greater than the teacher. A servant is not greater than the master. 25 The student shares the teacher's fate. The servant shares the master's fate. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, how much more will it happen to you, the members of the household! 26 But don't be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything will be revealed; all that is secret will be made public. 27 What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ears, shout from the housetops for all to hear! 28 "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows. 32" If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will openly acknowledge that person before my Father in heaven. 33 But if anyone denies me here on earth, I will deny that person before my Father in heaven. 34 "Don't imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! No, I came to bring a sword. 35 I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter- in- law against her mother- in- law. 36 Your enemies will be right in your own household! 37 If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. 38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it. 40" Anyone who welcomes you is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me. 41 If you welcome a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will receive the same reward a prophet gets. And if you welcome good and godly people because of their godliness, you will be given a reward like theirs. 42 And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded. "11:1 WHEN Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went off teaching and preaching in towns throughout the country. 2 John the Baptist, who was now in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, 3" Are you really the Messiah we've been waiting for, or should we keep looking for someone else? "4 Jesus told them," Go back to John and tell him about what you have heard and seen-- 5 the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. 6 And tell him:`God blesses those who are not offended by me.' "
For the choir director:A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever?
How long will you look the other way?
2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
3 Turn and answer me, O LORD my God!
Restore the light to my eyes, or I will die.
4 Don't let my enemies gloat, saying," We have defeated him! "
Don't let them rejoice at my downfall.
5 But I trust in your unfailinglove.
I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
6 I will sing to the LORD
because he has been so good to me.
She [wisdom] offers you life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left. She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying. Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly
