Monday, 7 Kislev 5784 / November 20, 2023
Day 324 Readings
Torah: Vayeitzei, 2nd Portion Bereshit (Genesis) 29:1-17
New American Standard Bible
Jacob Meets Rachel
1 Then Jacob [a]set out on his journey, and went to the land of the [b]people of the east. 2 He looked, and [c]saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, because they watered the flocks from that well. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.
4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” 5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 6 And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is his daughter Rachel coming with the sheep.” 7 Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and raised his voice and wept. 12 Jacob told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.
13 So when Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Then he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, “You certainly are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in figure and appearance.
Bible Study Together
Psalm 119:1-32
New American Standard Bible
Meditations and Prayers Relating to the Law of God.
Aleph
1 Blessed are those whose way is [a]blameless,Who walk in the Law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who comply with His [b]testimonies,And seek Him with all their heart.
3 They also do no injustice;They walk in His ways.
4 You have [c]ordained Your precepts,[d]That we are to keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be establishedTo keep Your statutes!
6 Then I will not be ashamedWhen I look at all Your commandments.
7 I will give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,When I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep Your statutes;Do not utterly abandon me!
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.
10 With all my heart I have sought You;Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
11 I have treasured Your word in my heart,So that I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, Lord;Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,[e]As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your preceptsAnd [f]regard Your ways.
16 I shall [g]delight in Your statutes;I will not forget Your word.
Gimel
17 Deal generously with Your servant,That I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your Law.
19 I am a stranger on the earth;Do not hide Your commandments from me.
20 My soul is crushed [h]with longingFor Your ordinances at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, [i]the cursed,Who wander from Your commandments.
22 Take disgrace and contempt away from me,For I comply with Your testimonies.
23 Even though rulers sit and speak against me,Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
24 Your testimonies also are my delight;They are [j]my advisers.
Daleth
25 My soul clings to the dust;Revive me according to Your word.
26 I have told of my ways, and You have answered me;Teach me Your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts, And I will meditate on Your wonders.
28 My soul [k]weeps because of grief;Strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove the false way from me,And graciously grant me Your Law.
30 I have chosen the faithful way;I have [l]placed Your judgments before me.
31 I cling to Your testimonies;Lord, do not put me to shame!
32 I shall run the way of Your commandments,For You will enlarge my heart.
365 Daily Kingdom Living
Have Full Confidence In The Lord
Confidence can come from our knowledge, relationship with important people, perhaps our boss, our supervisors, our elders, or it can come from money, our position or society status. King David’s confidence came from God alone. Paul’s confidence came from the power of the Holy Spirit. How about you? Where does your confidence come from? From people or money, or does it come from Jesus?
Prayer: Thank you for giving us intellectual thinking, knowledge and education. Lord, help us to fully trust in You and lay all our confidence in you instead of our knowledge, background, possessions or people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Scripture
Ezekiel 41
The Inner Temple
41 Then he brought me to the sanctuary, and he measured the side pillars: six [a]cubits wide on each side was the width of the [b]side pillar. 2 The width of the entrance was ten cubits and the [c]sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side. He also measured [d]the length of the sanctuary, forty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits. 3 Then he went [e]inside and measured each side pillar of the doorway, two cubits, and the doorway, six cubits high; and the width of the doorway, seven cubits. 4 And he measured its length, twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits, before the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”
Ezekiel 42
20 He measured it [at]on the four sides; it had a wall all around, the length five hundred rods and the width five hundred, to divide between the holy and the [au]common.
James 4
New American Standard Bible
Things to Avoid
1 [a]What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? [b]Is the source not your pleasures that wage war in [c]your body’s parts? 2 You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask [d]with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request [e]on your pleasures. 4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose, “[f]He [g]jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit therefore to God. But [h]resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you [i]double-minded. 9 Be miserable, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11 Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. The one who speaks against a brother or sister, or judges his brother or sister, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you, [j]judging your neighbor?
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 [k]Yet you do not know [l]what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. 15 [m]Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your [n]arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 So for one who knows the [o]right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.
Psalm 118:8-29
New American Standard Bible
8 It is better to take refuge in the LordThan to trust in people.
9 It is better to take refuge in the LordThan to trust in noblemen.
10 All nations surrounded me;In the name of the Lord I will certainly fend them off.
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;In the name of the Lord I will certainly fend them off.
12 They surrounded me like bees;They were extinguished like a fire of thorn bushes;In the name of the Lord I will certainly fend them off.
13 You pushed me violently so that I [a]was falling,But the Lord helped me.
14 [b]The Lord is my strength and song,And He has become my salvation.
15 The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;The right hand of the Lord performs valiantly.
16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted;The right hand of the Lord performs valiantly.
17 I will not die, but live,And tell of the works of [c]the Lord.
18 [d]The Lord has disciplined me severely,But He has not turned me over to death.
19 Open the gates of righteousness to me;I will enter through them, I will give thanks to [e]the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;The righteous will enter through it.
21 I will give thanks to You, for You have answered me,And You have become my salvation.
22 A stone which the builders rejectedHas become the [f]chief cornerstone.
23 This came about from the Lord;It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the Lord has made;Let’s rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please, O Lord, do save us;Please, O Lord, do send prosperity!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and He has given us light;Bind the festival sacrifice [g]to the horns of the altar with cords. 28 You are my God, and I give thanks to You;You are my God, I exalt You.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;For His mercy is everlasting.
Proverbs 28:2
2 Due to a [a]wrongdoing of [b]a land its leaders are many, But by a person of understanding and knowledge, so it endures.