Monday, 28 Kislev 5784 / December 11, 2023
Day 345 Readings
Torah: Mikeitz, 2nd Portion Bereshit (Genesis) 41:15-38
(A: ii) 15 Pharaoh said to Yosef, “I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; but I’ve heard it said about you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.” 16 Yosef answered Pharaoh, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer that will set his mind at peace.” (S: ii) 17 Pharaoh said to Yosef, “In my dream, I stood at the edge of the river; 18 and there came up out of the river seven cows, fat and sleek; and they began feeding in the swamp grass. 19 After them, there came up out of the river seven more cows, poor, miserable-looking and lean — I’ve never seen such bad-looking cows in all the land of Egypt! 20 Then the lean and miserable-looking cows ate up the first seven fat cows. 21 But after they had eaten them up, one couldn’t tell that they had eaten them; because they were as miserable-looking as before. At this point I woke up. 22 But I dreamed again and saw seven full, ripe ears of grain growing out of a single stalk. 23 After them, seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprang up. 24 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven ripe ears. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”
25 Yosef said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are the same: God has told Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain are seven years — the dreams are the same. 27 Likewise the seven lean and miserable-looking cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind — there will be seven years of famine. 28 This is what I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Here it is: there will be seven years of abundance throughout the whole land of Egypt; 30 but afterwards, there will come seven years of famine; and Egypt will forget all the abundance. The famine will consume the land, 31 and the abundance will not be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, because it will be truly terrible. 32 Why was the dream doubled for Pharaoh? Because the matter has been fixed by God, and God will shortly cause it to happen.
33 “Therefore, Pharaoh should look for a man both discreet and wise to put in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Pharaoh should do this, and he should appoint supervisors over the land to receive a twenty percent tax on the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should gather all the food produced during these good years coming up and set aside grain under the supervision of Pharaoh to be used for food in the cities, and they should store it. 36 This will be the land’s food supply for the seven years of famine that will come over the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish as a result of the famine.”
37 The proposal seemed good both to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 Pharaoh said to his officials, “Can we find anyone else like him? The Spirit of God lives in him!”
Bible Study Together
Day 345 Readings
1 Chronicles 10
13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had [d]committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. 14 But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
1 Chronicles 12:20-22
New American Standard Bible
20 As he was going to Ziklag, men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, [a]captains of thousands who belonged to Manasseh. 21 They helped David against the band of raiders, for they were all valiant mighty men, and were captains in the army. 22 For day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army like the army of God.
1 Samuel 31:1-13
11 Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard [e]what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men got up and walked all night, and they took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. 13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.
365 Daily Kingdom Living
Can You Hear It?
Are you listening? The ‘revelation’ of Jesus Christ begins with these messages to seven churches in Asia Minor (today’s Turkey). They may have been actual messages directed to those assemblies by John, or projective ‘types’ of the church in the future, or simply instructions to the church at large. Regardless, we need to read carefully and listen to what God is revealing.
Prayer: Father God, as your Word speaks to me, open my mind and heart. Help me to be sensitive to what it says and apply it to my own life and circumstances. If our church has the weaknesses of some of these churches John is writing to, may we attend to those quickly. Help us conform to the instructions you gave us to follow in the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Scripture
Amos 4
11 “I overthrew some of you,As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning;Yet you have not returned to Me,”Says the Lord.
12 “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel;Because I will do this to you,Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
13 For behold,He who forms mountains,And creates the [e]wind,Who declares to man what [f]his thought is,And makes the morning darkness,Who treads the high places of the earth—The Lord God of hosts is His name.
Amos 5
A Call to Repentance
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
“Seek Me and live; 5 But do not seek Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,And Bethel shall come to nothing. 6 Seek the Lord and live,Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,And devour it,With no one to quench it in Bethel—7 You who turn justice to wormwood,And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
8 He made the Pleiades and Orion;He turns the shadow of death into morningAnd makes the day dark as night;He calls for the waters of the seaAnd pours them out on the face of the earth;The Lord is His name.9 He [g]rains ruin upon the strong,So that fury comes upon the fortress.
10 They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.11 Therefore, because you [h]tread down the poorAnd take grain [i]taxes from him,Though you have built houses of hewn stone,Yet you shall not dwell in them;You have planted [j]pleasant vineyards,But you shall not drink wine from them.12 For I know your manifold transgressionsAnd your mighty sins:Afflicting the just and taking bribes;Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time,For it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil,That you may live;So the Lord God of hosts will be with you,As you have spoken.15 Hate evil, love good;Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hostsWill be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Amos 6
Warnings to Zion and Samaria
6 Woe to you who are at ease in Zion,And trust in Mount Samaria,Notable persons in the chief nation,To whom the house of Israel comes!2 Go over to Calneh and see;And from there go to Hamath the great;Then go down to Gath of the Philistines.Are you better than these kingdoms?Or is their territory greater than your territory?
3 Woe to you who put far off the day of doom,Who cause the seat of violence to come near;4 Who lie on beds of ivory,Stretch out on your couches,Eat lambs from the flockAnd calves from the midst of the stall;5 Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments,And invent for yourselves musical instruments like David;6 Who drink wine from bowls,And anoint yourselves with the best ointments,But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.7 Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives,And those who recline at banquets shall be removed.
8 The Lord God has sworn by Himself,The Lord God of hosts says:“I abhor the pride of Jacob,And hate his palaces;Therefore I will deliver up the cityAnd all that is in it.”
Revelation 2:12-29
New American Standard Bible
Message to Pergamum
15 So you too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will wage war against them with the sword of My mouth. 17 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it.’
Message to Thyatira
18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
The Son of God, who has [b]eyes like a flame of fire, and [c]feet like burnished bronze, says this:
25 Nevertheless what you have, hold firmly until I come. 26 The one who overcomes, and the one who keeps My deeds until the end, I will give him authority over the [j]nations; 27 and he shall [k]rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are shattered, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Psalms 130
Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.
A Song of Ascents.
1 Out of the depths I have cried to You, Lord. 2 Lord, hear my voice!Let Your ears be attentive To the sound of my pleadings. 3 If You, [a]Lord, were to keep account of guilty deeds, Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with You, So that You may be [b]revered.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,And I [c]wait for His word. 6 My soul waits in hope for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Yes, more than the watchmen for the morning. 7 Israel, wait for the Lord;For with the Lord there is mercy,And with Him is abundant redemption. 8 And He will redeem Israel From all his guilty deeds.
Proverbs 29:19-20
New American Standard Bible
19 A slave will not be instructed by words alone;For though he understands, there will be no response.20 Do you see a person who is hasty with his words?There is more hope for a fool than for him.