Friday, 10 Tevet 5784 / December 22, 2023
Day 356 Readings
Torah: Parshat Vayigash, 6th Portion Bereshit (Genesis) 46:28-47:10
Genesis 46
New American Standard Bible 1995
28 Now he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 Joseph [a]prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; as soon as he appeared [b]before him, he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time. 30 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.” 31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me; 32 and the men are shepherds, for they have been [c]keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you shall say, ‘Your servants have been [d]keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ that you may [e]live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is [f]loathsome to the Egyptians.”
Genesis 47
Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen
1 Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen.” 2 He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.” 4 They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants [g]live in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh said to [h]Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is [i]at your disposal; [j]settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them [k]live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then [l]put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and [m]presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many [n]years have you lived?” 9 So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The [o]years of my sojourning are one hundred and [p]thirty; few and [q]unpleasant have been the [r]years of my life, nor have they [s]attained the [t]years [u]that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.” 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from [v]his presence.
Bible Study Together
2 Samuel 6:17-19
New American Standard Bible 1995
17 So they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent which David had pitched for it; and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offering, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 19 Further, he distributed to all the people, to all the multitude of Israel, both to men and women, a cake of bread and one of dates and one of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed each to his house.
1 Chronicles 16
New American Standard Bible 1995
A Tent for the Ark
1 And they brought in the ark of God and placed it inside the tent which David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 When David had finished offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord. 3 He distributed to everyone of Israel, both man and woman, to everyone a loaf of bread and a portion of meat and a raisin cake.
4 He appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, even to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel: 5 Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, then [a]Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom and Jeiel, with musical instruments, harps, lyres; also Asaph played loud-sounding cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests blew trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God.
7 Then on that day David first assigned [b]Asaph and his [c]relatives to give thanks to the Lord.
Psalm of Thanksgiving
8 Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;Make known His deeds among the peoples.9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;[d]Speak of all His [e]wonders.10 [f]Glory in His holy name;Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.11 Seek the Lord and His strength;Seek His face continually.12 Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done,His marvels and the judgments from His mouth,13 O seed of Israel His servant,Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!14 He is the Lord our God;His judgments are in all the earth.15 Remember His covenant forever,The word which He commanded to a thousand generations,16 The covenant which He made with Abraham,And His oath to Isaac.17 He also confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,To Israel as an everlasting covenant,18 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan,As the portion of your inheritance.”19 When they were only a few in number,Very few, and strangers in it,20 And they wandered about from nation to nation,And from one kingdom to another people, 21 He permitted no man to oppress them,And He reproved kings for their sakes, saying, 22 “Do not touch My anointed ones,And do My prophets no harm.” 23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. 24 Tell of His glory among the nations,His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;He also is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are [g]idols,But the Lord made the heavens.27 Splendor and majesty are before Him,Strength and joy are in His place.28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;Bring an [h]offering, and come before Him;Worship the Lord in [i]holy array. 30 Tremble before Him, all the earth;Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”32 Let the sea [j]roar, and [k]all it contains;Let the field exult, and all that is in it.33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the Lord;For He is coming to judge the earth.34 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;For His lovingkindness is everlasting.35 Then say, “Save us, O God of our salvation,And gather us and deliver us from the nations,To give thanks to Your holy name,And [l]glory in Your praise.”36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,From everlasting even to everlasting.
Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.
Matthew 19:16-30
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Rich Young Ruler
16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be [a]complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The Disciples’ Reward
27 Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on [b]His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother [c]or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive [d]many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.
365 Daily Kingdom Living
Lord, Keep Us From Snares
There are many traps and snares by the enemy to make us fall. The easiest time to fall is when we are proud. The hardest time to fall is when we are humble. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and stay humble before Him. Let us stay away from the path of evildoers.
Prayer: Lord, please keep me away from the traps and snares of the enemy. Help me stay away from the path of evildoers. My eyes are upon You, my Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Scripture
Zechariah 3
New American Standard Bible 1995
Joshua, the High Priest
1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and [a]Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. 4 He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and [b]will clothe you with festal robes.” 5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.
6 And the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here.
The Branch
8 Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the [d]Branch. 9 For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10 ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
Revelation 13
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Beast from the Sea
1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the [a]seashore.
Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. 2 And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. 3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been [b]slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; 4 they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” 5 There was given to him a mouth speaking [c]arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who [d]dwell in heaven.
7 It was also given to him to make war with the [e]saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been [f]written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone [g]is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the [h]perseverance and the faith of the [i]saints.
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast [j]in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform [k]in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life. 15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even [l]speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, [m]to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is [n]six hundred and sixty-six.
Psalm 141
New American Standard Bible 1995
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You! 2 May my prayer be [a]counted as incense before You;The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering. 3 Set a guard, O Lord, [b]over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. 4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice deeds [c]of wickedness With men who do iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous smite me [d]in kindness and reprove me;It is oil upon the head;Do not let my head refuse it,[e]For still my prayer is [f]against their wicked deeds. 6 Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock,And they hear my words, for they are pleasant. 7 As when one plows and breaks open the earth, Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of [g]Sheol.
8 For my eyes are toward You, O [h]God, the Lord; In You I take refuge; do not [i]leave me defenseless. 9 Keep me from the [j]jaws of the trap which they have set for me, And from the snares of those who do iniquity. 10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,While I pass by [k]safely.
Proverbs 30:17
New American Standard Bible 1995
17 The eye that mocks a fatherAnd [a]scorns a mother,The ravens of the valley will pick it out,And the young eagles will eat it.