Thursday, 17 Kislev 5784 / November 30, 2023
Dday 334 Readings
Torah: Vayishlach, 5th Portion Bereshit (Genesis) 34:1-35:11
Genesis 35
Jacob Moves to Bethel
1 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled [q]from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Remove the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; 3 and let’s arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me on the day of my distress and has been with me [r]wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which [s]they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the [t]oak which was near Shechem.
5 As they journeyed, there was [u]a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 Then he built an altar there, and called the place [v]El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled [w]from his brother. 8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and it was named [x]Allon-bacuth.
Jacob Is Named Israel
9 Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob;[y]You shall no longer be called Jacob,But Israel shall be your name.” So He called [z]him Israel. 11 God also said to him, “I am [aa]God Almighty;Be fruitful and multiply;A nation and a multitude of nations shall [ab]come from you,And kings shall [ac]come from [ad]you.
Bible Study Together
1 Samuel 23
6 Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. 7 When it was reported to Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has handed him over to me, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars.” 8 So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. 9 But David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “Lord God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down just as Your servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, please, tell Your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will hand you over.” 13 Then David and his men, about six hundred, rose up and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When it was reported to Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up [c]the pursuit. 14 David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul searched for him every day, but God did not hand him over to him.
24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of [i]Jeshimon. 25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they informed David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard about it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. 26 Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to apprehend them. 27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have launched an attack against the land!” 28 So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to confront the Philistines; therefore they called that place [j]the Rock of Division. 29 [k]And David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.
Luke 14:25-35
New American Standard Bible
Discipleship Tested
25 Now [a]large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not [b]hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not [c]give up all his own possessions.
34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be [d]seasoned? 35 It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. The one who has ears to hear, [e]let him hear.”
365 Daily Kingdom Living
Created … For Relationship
When God created the world and everything in it, it was all good … except for one thing. The writer of Genesis notes: “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Gen. 2:18). A pet dog would not suffice; a favourite cat wasn’t enough. For that matter, God recognized that even having a loving God nearby would not give Adam what he needed in Eve. We were created by a loving God for loving relationships. It started at Creation and will continue beyond the end of the world as we know it.
Prayer: Father God, I’m learning more about the priority you put on relationships. I can see the importance of fellowship, sincere care and honest communication with my brothers and sisters. Help me to show them my sincerity and your love more effectively. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Scripture
Daniel 7
The Ancient of Days Reigns
9 “I kept lookingUntil thrones were set up,And the Ancient of Days took His seat;His garment was white as snow,And the hair of His head like pure wool.His throne was [h]ablaze with flames,Its wheels were a burning fire.10 A river of fire was flowingAnd coming out from before Him;Thousands upon thousands were serving Him,And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;The court [i]convened,And the books were opened.
11 Then I kept looking because of the sound of the [j]boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was killed, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning [k]fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.
The Son of Man Presented
13 “I kept looking in the night visions,And behold, with the clouds of heavenOne like a son of man was coming,And He came up to the Ancient of DaysAnd was presented before Him.14 And to Him was given dominion,Honor, and [l]a kingdom,So that all the peoples, nations, and populations of all [m]languagesMight serve Him.His dominion is an everlasting dominionWhich will not pass away;And His kingdom is oneWhich will not be destroyed.
The Vision Interpreted
15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within [n]me, and the visions [o]in my mind kept alarming me. 16 I approached one of those who were standing by and began requesting of him the [p]exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: 17 ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. 18 But the [q]saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and take possession of the kingdom forever, [r]for all ages to come.’
19 “Then I desired to know the [s]exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all [t]the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet, 20 and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three of the horns fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts, and [u]which was larger in appearance than its associates. 21 I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the [v]saints and prevailing against them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was [w]passed in favor of the [x]saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the [y]saints took possession of the kingdom.
23 “This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth and trample it down and crush it. 24 As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will [z]humble three kings. 25 And he will [aa]speak against the Most High and wear down the [ab]saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and [ac]they will be handed over to him for a [ad]time, [ae]times, and half a [af]time. 26 But the court will [ag]convene for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, [ah]annihilated and destroyed [ai]forever. 27 Then the [aj]sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the [ak]saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the empires will serve and obey Him.’
28 “[al]At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my [am]face became pale, but I kept the matter [an]to myself.”
1 John 1
New American Standard Bible
The Incarnate Word
1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was revealed to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
God Is Light
5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
Psalm 119:153-176
New American Standard Bible
Resh
153 Look at my affliction and rescue me, For I have not forgotten Your Law. 154 Plead my cause and redeem me;Revive me according to Your [a]word. 155 Salvation is far from the wicked,For they do not seek Your statutes. 156 [b]Great are Your mercies, Lord; Revive me according to Your judgments. 157 Many are my persecutors and my enemies, Yet I do not turn aside from Your testimonies. 158 I see the treacherous and loathe them, Because they do not keep Your word. 159 Consider how I love Your precepts;Revive me, Lord, according to Your faithfulness. 160 The sum of Your word is truth,And every one of Your righteous judgments is everlasting.
Shin
161 Rulers persecute me without cause,But my heart stands in awe of Your words. 162 I rejoice at Your [c]word,Like one who finds great plunder. 163 I hate and loathe falsehood,But I love Your Law. 164 Seven times a day I praise YouBecause of Your righteous judgments. 165 Those who love Your Law have great peace,And [d]nothing causes them to stumble. 166 I hope for Your salvation, Lord, And do Your commandments. 167 My soul keeps Your testimonies,And I love them exceedingly. 168 I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,For all my ways are before You.
Tav
169 Let my cry [e]come before You, Lord;Give me understanding according to Your word. 170 Let my pleading come before You;Save me according to Your [f]word. 171 Let my lips pour out praise,For You teach me Your statutes. 172 Let my tongue sing about Your [g]word,For all Your commandments are righteousness. 173 Let Your hand be [h]ready to help me,For I have chosen Your precepts. 174 I long for Your salvation, Lord,And Your Law is my delight. 175 Let my soul live that it may praise You,And let Your ordinances help me. 176 I have wandered about like a lost sheep; search for Your servant,For I do not forget Your commandments.
Proverbs 28:21-22
New American Standard Bible
21 To [a]show partiality is not good,Because for a piece of bread a man will do wrong. 22 A person with an evil eye hurries after wealth And does not know that poverty will come upon him.