Tuesday, 1 Kislev 5784 / November 14, 2023
Day 318 Readings
Torah: Toldot, 3rd Portion Bereshit (Genesis) 26:13-22
Genesis 26:13-32
New King James Version
13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”
17 Then Isaac departed from there and [a]pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.
19 Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well [b]Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name [c]Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name [d]Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”
28 But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a [e]covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ ”
30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.”
Bible Study Together
Psalm 82
New King James Version
A Plea for Justice
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 God stands in the congregation of [a]the mighty;He judges among the [b]gods.
2 How long will you judge unjustly,And show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 [c]Defend the poor and fatherless;Do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 Deliver the poor and needy;Free them from the hand of the wicked.
5 They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are [d]unstable.
6 I said, “You are [e]gods,And all of you are children of the Most High.
7 But you shall die like men,And fall like one of the princes.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;For You shall inherit all nations.
Psalm 121
New King James Version
God the Help of Those Who Seek Him
A Song of Ascents.
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to [a]be moved;He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your [b]keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall [c]preserve you from all evil;He shall preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve[d] your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.
1 Samuel 11:1-15
6 Then the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and [a]he became very angry. 7 He then took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out as one person. 8 He [b]counted them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah, thirty thousand. 9 They said to the messengers who had come, “This is what you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will be saved.’” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they rejoiced. 10 Then the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good [c]to you.” 11 The next morning Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch, and struck and killed the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ [d]Bring the men, so that we may put them to death!” 13 But Saul said, “Not a single person shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has brought about [e]victory in Israel.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they also offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
John 10:22-42
Jesus Asserts His Deity
22 At that time the [c]Feast of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area, in the portico of Solomon. 24 The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long [d]will You keep us in suspense? If You are the [e]Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 [f]My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are [g]one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus replied to them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law: ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be nullified), 36 are you saying of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may [h]know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” 39 Therefore they were seeking again to arrest Him, and He eluded their grasp.
40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He stayed there. 41 Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in Him there.
365 Daily Kingdom Living
A Firm Heart
Our heart functions to keep us alive. Thus the Bible teaches this: ‘Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life.’ (Proverbs 4:23). One way to keep our heart strong and healthy is to establish it in the Lord so we will have solid trust and a firm footing in Him when uncertainty comes.
Prayer: Lord, a heart trusting and established in You is firm in faith and can wait on You. Increase my faith so I can trust You totally and not look at myself or the external circumstances. Thank you for Your protection. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Scripture
Ezekiel 29
19 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her wealth and capture her spoils and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he [u]performed, because they acted for Me,” declares the Lord God.
21 “On that day I will make a horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will [v]open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 30
19 So I will execute judgments on Egypt,And they will know that I am the Lord.”’”
Victory for Babylon
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been bound up [at]for healing [au]or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong and the broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. 24 For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groans of a wounded man. 25 So I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fail. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he reaches out with it against the land of Egypt. 26 When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
Hebrews 12:1-17
Jesus, the Example
1 Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking only at Jesus, the [a]originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary [b]and lose heart.
A Father’s Discipline
4 You have not yet resisted [c]to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,Nor faint when you are punished by Him;6 For whom the Lord loves He disciplines,And He punishes every son whom He accepts.”
7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had [d]earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of [e]spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11 For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
12 Therefore, [f]strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is impaired may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
14 Pursue peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that there be no sexually immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.
Psalms 112
New American Standard Bible
Prosperity of One Who Fears the Lord.
1 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!Blessed is a person who [c]fears the Lord,Who greatly delights in His commandments.2 His [d]descendants will be mighty [e]on the earth;The generation of the upright will be blessed.3 Wealth and riches are in his house,And his righteousness endures forever.4 Light shines in the darkness for the upright;He is gracious, compassionate, and righteous.5 It goes well for a person who is gracious and lends;He will [f]maintain his cause in judgment.6 For he will never be shaken;The righteous will be [g]remembered forever.
7 He will not fear bad news;His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.8 His heart is firm, he will not fear,[h]But will look with satisfaction on his enemies.9 [i]He has given freely to the poor,His righteousness endures forever;His horn will be exalted in honor.
10 The wicked will see it and be [j]vexed,He will gnash his teeth and melt away;The desire of the wicked will perish.
Psalms 113
The Lord Exalts the Humble.
1 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!Praise Him, you servants of the Lord,Praise the name of the Lord.
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time on and forever.
3 From [c]the rising of the sun to its setting, The name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is high above all nations;His glory is above the heavens.
5 Who is like the Lord our God,Who is enthroned on high,
6 Who looks far down toThe heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust,He lifts the needy from the garbage heap,
8 To seat them with noblemen,With the noblemen of His people.
9 He has the infertile woman live in the house As a joyful mother of children.[d]Praise [e]the Lord!
Proverbs 27:17
New American Standard Bible
17 As iron sharpens iron,So one person sharpens another.