Thursday, 18 Cheshvan 5784 / November 2, 2023
Day 306 Readings
Torah: Vayeira, 5th Portion Bereshit (Genesis) 21:5-21
Genesis 21:5-21
New American Standard Bible
5 Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh [a]with me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son in his old age.”
8 And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
Sarah Turns against Hagar
9 Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking Isaac. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be an heir with my son [b]Isaac!” 11 The matter [c]distressed Abraham greatly because of his son Ishmael. 12 But God said to Abraham, “[d]Do not be distressed because of the boy and your slave woman; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac [e]your descendants shall be named. 13 And of the son of the slave woman I will make a nation also, because he is your [f]descendant.” 14 So Abraham got up early in the morning and took bread and a [g]skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was used up, she [h]left the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “May I not [i]see the boy die!” And she sat opposite him, and raised her voice and wept. 17 God heard the boy crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “[j]What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him by [k]the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the [l]skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
20 And God was with the boy, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Bible Study Together
Ruth 1:6-2:23
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the land of Moab, because she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them food. 7 So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to [a]your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 May the Lord grant that you may find a place of rest, each one in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they raised their voices and wept. 10 However, they said to her, “No, but we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12 Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I were even to have a husband tonight and also give birth to sons, 13 would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is much more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has come out against me.”
Ruth’s Loyalty
14 And they raised their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord do so to me, and worse, if anything but death separates [b]me from you.” 18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her about it.
19 So they both went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and [c]the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 But she said to them, “Do not call me [d]Naomi; call me [e]Mara, for [f]the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and [g]the Almighty has afflicted me?”
22 So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth Gleans in Boaz’s Field
2 Now Naomi had [h]a relative of her husband, a [i]man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain following one in whose eyes I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she left and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and [j]she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was [k]in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant [l]in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “[m]Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but join my young women here. 9 Keep your eyes on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have ordered the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the [n]water jars and drink from what the servants draw.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. 12 May the Lord reward your [o]work, and may your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken [p]kindly to your servant, though I am not like one of your female servants.”
14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “[q]Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. 15 When she got up to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not [r]insult her. 16 Also you are to purposely slip out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it so that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an [s]ephah of barley. 18 And she picked it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took some out and gave [t]Naomi what she had left after [u]she was satisfied. 19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn His kindness from the living and from the dead.” Again Naomi said to her, “The man is our relative; he is one of our redeemers.” 21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “[v]Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You are to stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.’” 22 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, so that others do not assault you in another field.” 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Luke 11:14-32
New King James Version
A House Divided Cannot Stand
14 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by [a]Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
16 Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. 17 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. 22 But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his [b]spoils. 23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
An Unclean Spirit Returns
24 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
Keeping the Word
27 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”
28 But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Seeking a Sign
29 And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah [c]the prophet. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
365 Daily Kingdom Living
Not Even Photo-shopped!
A beautiful picture is painted before us in this Psalm as we see God's creative handiwork in the heavens, seas, animals, trees, and even the water cycle (remember Science class?). Can you "see" the Divine order and wisdom of the world we live in? Everything is taken care of, including creatures and non-living things. Our limited human understanding is overwhelmed by His goodness and power. Let us worship Him in the beauty of His majesty and wonder. He is worthy of honour and praise!
Prayer: We lift up Your Name, Jesus, higher and higher, for You are the Creator of heaven and earth! Thank you for allowing us to see your majesty, beauty, and workmanship. Only You create such wonder and majesty! In Jesus' name, Amen.
Scripture
Ezekiel 4
7 “Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. 8 And surely I will [a]restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege.
9 “Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it. 11 You shall also drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight.”
13 Then the Lord said, “So shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.”
Ezekiel 5
11 ‘Therefore, as I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you; My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. 12 One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
13 ‘Thus shall My anger be spent, and I will cause My fury to rest upon them, and I will be avenged; and they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them. 14 Moreover I will make you a waste and a reproach among the nations that are all around you, in the sight of all who pass by.
15 ‘So [e]it shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 When I send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread. 17 So I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ ”
Ezekiel 6
1 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3 and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: “Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your [f]high places. 4 Then your altars shall be desolate, your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5 And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars. 6 In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the [g]high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 7 The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
8 “Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries. 9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.”
11 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Pound[h] your fists and stamp your feet, and say, ‘Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! For they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 12 He who is far off shall die by the pestilence, he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged shall die by the famine. Thus will I spend My fury upon them. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when their slain are among their idols all around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every thick oak, wherever they offered sweet incense to all their idols. 14 So I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land desolate, yes, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblah, in all their dwelling places. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ” ’ ”
Hebrews 4
The Promise of Rest
1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, [a]not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath,‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ”
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”
6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,Do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if [b]Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
The Word Discovers Our Condition
11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Our Compassionate High Priest
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Psalm 104
New King James Version
Praise to the Sovereign Lord for His Creation and Providence
104 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great:You are clothed with honor and majesty,2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.
3 He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,Who makes the clouds His chariot,Who walks on the wings of the wind,4 Who makes His angels spirits,His [a]ministers a flame of fire.
5 You who [b]laid the foundations of the earth,So that it should not be moved forever,6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;The waters stood above the mountains.7 At Your rebuke they fled;At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.8 [c]They went up over the mountains;They went down into the valleys,To the place which You founded for them.9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over,That they may not return to cover the earth.
10 He sends the springs into the valleys;They flow among the hills.11 They give drink to every beast of the field;The wild donkeys quench their thirst.12 By them the birds of the heavens have their home;They sing among the branches.13 He waters the hills from His upper chambers;The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,And vegetation for the service of man,That he may bring forth food from the earth,15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man,Oil to make his face shine,And bread which strengthens man’s heart.16 The trees of the Lord are full of sap,The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,17 Where the birds make their nests;The stork has her home in the fir trees.18 The high hills are for the wild goats;The cliffs are a refuge for the rock[d] badgers.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons;The sun knows its going down.20 You make darkness, and it is night,In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.21 The young lions roar after their prey,And seek their food from God.22 When the sun rises, they gather togetherAnd lie down in their dens.23 Man goes out to his workAnd to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works!In wisdom You have made them all.The earth is full of Your possessions—25 This great and wide sea,In which are innumerable teeming things,Living things both small and great.26 There the ships sail about;There is that Leviathan[e]Which You have [f]made to play there.
27 These all wait for You,That You may give them their food in due season.28 What You give them they gather in;You open Your hand, they are filled with good.29 You hide Your face, they are troubled;You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;And You renew the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;May the Lord rejoice in His works.32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles;He touches the hills, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.34 May my meditation be sweet to Him;I will be glad in the Lord.35 May sinners be consumed from the earth,And the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul![g]Praise the Lord!
Proverbs 26:27
New King James Version
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,And he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.