Shabbat, 20 Kislev 5785 / December 21, 2024
Day 354 ESV Readings
Torah: Parshat Vayeishev, 7th Portion (Bereshit (Genesis) 40:1-40:23)
Genesis 40
Complete Jewish Bible
1 (vii) Some time later it came about that the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker gave offense to their lord the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh became angry with his two officers the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 3 So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, in the same place where Yosef was kept. 4 The captain of the guard charged Yosef to be with them, and he became their attendant while they remained in prison.
5 One night the two of them, the king of Egypt’s cupbearer and his baker, there in prison, both had dreams, each dream with its own meaning. 6 Yosef came in to them in the morning and saw that they looked sad. 7 He asked Pharaoh’s officers there with him in the prison of his master’s house, “Why are you looking so sad today?” 8 They said to him, “We each had a dream, and there’s no one around who can interpret it.” Yosef said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”
9 Then the chief cupbearer told Yosef his dream: “In my dream, there in front of me was a vine, 10 and the vine had three branches. The branches budded, then it suddenly began to blossom, and finally clusters of ripe grapes appeared. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh.” 12 Yosef said to him, “Here is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office: you will be giving Pharaoh his cup as you used to when you were his cupbearer. 14 But remember me when it goes well with you; and show me kindness, please; and mention me to Pharaoh, so that he will release me from this prison. 15 For the truth is that I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here too I have done nothing wrong that would justify putting me in this dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Yosef, “I too saw in my dream: there were three baskets of white bread on my head. 17 In the uppermost basket there were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.” 18 Yosef answered, “Here is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from off of you — he will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”
(Maftir) 20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he gave a party for all his officials, and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his officials. 21 He restored the chief cupbearer back to his position, so that he again gave Pharaoh his cup. 22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Yosef had interpreted to them. 23 Nevertheless, the chief cupbearer didn’t remember Yosef, but forgot him.
Haftarah Vayeshev: ‘Amos (Amos) 2:6–3:8
Amos 2:6-3:8
Complete Jewish Bible
6 Here is what Adonai says:
“For Isra’el’s three crimes, no, four — I will not reverse it —because they sell the upright for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes, 7 grinding the heads of the poor in the dust and pushing the lowly out of the way; father and son sleep with the same girl, profaning my holy name; 8 lying down beside any altar on clothes taken in pledge; drinking wine in the house of their God bought with fines they imposed.
9 “I destroyed the Emori before them; though tall as cedars and strong as oaks, I destroyed their fruit above and their root below. 10 More than that, I brought you up from Egypt, led you forty years in the desert, so that you could have the Emori’s land. 11 I raised up some of your sons to be prophets, other young men of yours to be n’zirim. People of Isra’el! Isn’t that true?” asks Adonai. 12 But you gave the n’zirim wine to drink and ordered the prophets, ‘Don’t prophesy!’ 13 “Enough! I will make all this crush you, just as a cart overloaded with grain crushes what’s under it. 14 Even the swift won’t be able to flee; the strong won’t be able to use their strength, the warriors won’t save themselves. 15 Archers won’t be able to stand, the fastest runners won’t save themselves, those on horses won’t save themselves. 16 On that day even the bravest warriors will throw off their weapons and flee,” says Adonai.
Acts 3
1 “Listen to this word which Adonai has spoken against you, people of Isra’el, against the entire family that I brought up from the land of Egypt:
2 “Of all the families on earth, only you have I intimately known. This is why I will punish you for all your crimes.” 3 Do two people travel together without having so agreed?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? Does a young lion growl in his lair if it has caught nothing? 5 Does a bird get caught in a trap on the ground if it hasn’t been baited? Does a trap spring up from the ground when it has taken nothing?
6 When the shofar is blown in the city, don’t the people tremble? Can disaster befall a city without Adonai’s having done it?
7 Adonai, God, does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared. Who will not fear? Adonai, God, has spoken. Who will not prophesy?
B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Vayeshev: Acts 7:9–16 (specifically vv. 9–10)
Acts 7:9-16
English Standard Version
9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
This WORD in Amos and Acts because when Kim and I prayed on Deric's birthday, she received word from the LORD for me saying: "Do not dwell in your sadness or present feelings, but look forward to what I am about to bless you with" and I received the WORD but the sadness was still there and I have been crying on Thursday and Friday yesterday because I am grieving over Stephen. But when I received the WORD on Wednesday, I felt like Jacob whose been grieving for Joseph (my husband) because he thought he was dead, and when Joseph summoned him to Egypt, he did not want to believe until he saw the chariots (wagons) Joseph sent for him to ride on.
Genesis 45
ESV
25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
So he mustered his strength to go saying: It must be true, I shall go and see my son before I die" I felt like Jacob today, GOD is giving me word through Kim, it's like Judah telling Jacob from Joseph and his spirit doesn't revive until he sees the chariots (wagons), the proofs that Joseph had indeed sent for him, and when Kim delivered to me the LORD's word, I reacted like Jacob, I don't want the strength to believe yet still I mustered my strength to have faith even though I don't see any proofs of chariots waiting for me. And these chariots reminded me of the verse in the Song of Solomon 6:
[She]
11 I had gone down to the nut orchardto see the fresh green plants in the valley,to see if the vine had budded,or if the pomegranate trees were in bloom.12 Before I knew it, I found myselfin a chariot, and with me was a prince.
Bible Study Together
Daniel 11
English Standard Version
The Kings of the South and the North
1 “And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.
2 “And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. 4 And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.
5 “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. 6 After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported[a] her in those times.
7 “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. 8 He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. 9 Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.
10 “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. 11 Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. 12 And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 13 For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years[b] he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.
14 “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. 15 Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. 16 But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand. 17 He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom,[c] but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. 18 Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed,[d] he shall turn his insolence back upon him. 19 Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.
20 “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. 21 In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22 Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. 23 And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. 24 Without warning he shall come into the richest parts[e] of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers' fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. 25 And he shall stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him. 26 Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed. 28 And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land.
2 Thessalonians 1
English Standard Version
Greeting
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,[a] as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.
The Judgment at Christ's Coming
5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from[b] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
ESV Readings
Scripture
Psalms 140
English Standard Version
Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually.
3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's, and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah
4 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net;[a] beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah
6 I say to the Lord, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
7 O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; do not further their[b] evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah
9 As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
10 Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise!
11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!
12 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.
Job 29
Isaiah 51:1-23
Isaiah 52:1-12
Revelation 11