Matthew 5:1-12 Acts 6 Psalms 10 Genesis 25-26
Matthew 5:1-12
The Sermon on the Mount
1One day as the crowds were gathering, Jesus went up the mountainside with his disciples and sat down to teach them.
The Beatitudes
2This is what he taught them: 3"God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them. 4God blesses those who mourn,for they will be comforted. 5God blesses those who are gentle and lowly,for the whole earth will belong to them. 6God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice,for they will receive it in full. 7God blesses those who are merciful,for they will be shown mercy. 8God blesses those whose hearts are pure,for they will see God. 9God blesses those who work for peace,for they will be called the children of God. 10God blesses those who are persecuted because they live for God,for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 11"God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers. 12Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted, too.
Acts 6
Seven Men Chosen to Serve
1But as the believers* rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. Those who spoke Greek complained against those who spoke Hebrew, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. 2So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers."We apostles should spend our time preaching and teaching the word of God, not administering a food program," they said. 3"Now look around among yourselves, brothers, and select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. We will put them in charge of this business. 4Then we can spend our time in prayer and preaching and teaching the word." 5This idea pleased the whole group, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (a Gentile convert to the Jewish faith, who had now become a Christian). 6These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. 7God's message was preached in ever-widening circles. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.
Stephen Is Arrested
8Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10None of them was able to stand against the wisdom and Spirit by which Stephen spoke. 11So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, "We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God." 12Naturally, this roused the crowds, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. 13The lying witnesses said, "This man is always speaking against the Temple and against the law of Moses. 14We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us." 15At this point everyone in the council stared at Stephen because his face became as bright as an angel's.
Psalms 10
1O LORD, why do you stand so far away?Why do you hide when I need you the most?
2Proud and wicked people viciously oppress the poor.Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.
3For they brag about their evil desires;they praise the greedy and curse the LORD.
4These wicked people are too proud to seek God.They seem to think that God is dead.
5Yet they succeed in everything they do.They do not see your punishment awaiting them.They pour scorn on all their enemies.
6They say to themselves, "Nothing bad will ever happen to us!We will be free of trouble forever!"
7Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats.Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.
8They lurk in dark alleys,murdering the innocent who pass by. They are always searchingfor some helpless victim.
9Like lions they crouch silently,waiting to pounce on the helpless. Like hunters they capture their victimsand drag them away in nets.
10The helpless are overwhelmed and collapse;they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.
11The wicked say to themselves, "God isn't watching!He will never notice!"
12Arise, O LORD!Punish the wicked, O God!Do not forget the helpless!
13Why do the wicked get away with cursing God?How can they think, "God will never call us to account"?
14But you do see the trouble and grief they cause.You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you.You are the defender of orphans.
15Break the arms of these wicked, evil people!Go after them until the last one is destroyed!
16The LORD is king forever and ever!Let those who worship other gods be swept from the land.
17LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless.Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them.
18You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,so people can no longer terrify them.
Genesis 25-26
The Death of Abraham
1Now Abraham married again. Keturah was his new wife, 2and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan's two sons were Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 4Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah. 5Abraham left everything he owned to his son Isaac. 6But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to the east, away from Isaac. 7Abraham lived for 175 years, 8and he died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. 10This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites, where he had buried his wife Sarah. 11After Abraham's death, God poured out rich blessings on Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahairoi in the Negev.
Ishmael's Descendants
12This is the history of the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant. 13Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael's descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Abdeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes that bore their names, listed according to the places they settled and camped. 17Ishmael finally died at the age of 137 and joined his ancestors in death. 18Ishmael's descendants were scattered across the country from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. The clans descended from Ishmael camped close to one another.
The Births of Jacob and Esau
19This is the history of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. 20When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban. 21Isaac pleaded with the LORD to give Rebekah a child because she was childless. So the LORD answered Isaac's prayer, and his wife became pregnant with twins. 22But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. "Why is this happening to me?" she asked. 23And the LORD told her, "The sons in your womb will become two rival nations. One nation will be stronger than the other; the descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son." 24And when the time came, the twins were born. 25The first was very red at birth. He was covered with so much hair that one would think he was wearing a piece of clothing. So they called him Esau. 26Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau's heel. So they called him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
Esau Sells His Birthright
27As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open fields, while Jacob was the kind of person who liked to stay at home. 28Isaac loved Esau in particular because of the wild game he brought home, but Rebekah favored Jacob. 29One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home exhausted and hungry from a hunt. 30Esau said to Jacob, "I'm starved! Give me some of that red stew you've made." (This was how Esau got his other name, Edom--"Red.") 31Jacob replied, "All right, but trade me your birthright for it." 32"Look, I'm dying of starvation!" said Esau. "What good is my birthright to me now?" 33So Jacob insisted, "Well then, swear to me right now that it is mine." So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his younger brother. 34Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright.
Isaac Deceives Abimelech
1Now a severe famine struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham's time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived. 2The LORD appeared to him there and said, "Do not go to Egypt. 3Do as I say, and stay here in this land. If you do, I will be with you and bless you. I will give all this land to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. 4I will cause your descendants* to become as numerous as the stars, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants* all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 5I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, regulations, and laws." 6So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7And when the men there asked him about Rebekah, he said, "She is my sister." He was afraid to admit that she was his wife. He thought they would kill him to get her, because she was very beautiful. 8But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out a window and saw Isaac fondling Rebekah. 9Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, "She is obviously your wife! Why did you say she was your sister?""Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me," Isaac replied. 10"How could you treat us this way!" Abimelech exclaimed. "Someone might have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin." 11Then Abimelech made a public proclamation: "Anyone who harms this man or his wife will die!"
Conflict over Water Rights
12That year Isaac's crops were tremendous! He harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the LORD blessed him. 13He became a rich man, and his wealth only continued to grow. 14He acquired large flocks of sheep and goats, great herds of cattle, and many servants. Soon the Philistines became jealous of him, 15and they filled up all of Isaac's wells with earth. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham. 16And Abimelech asked Isaac to leave the country. "Go somewhere else," he said, "for you have become too rich and powerful for us." 17So Isaac moved to the Gerar Valley and lived there instead. 18He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham's death. Isaac renamed them, using the names Abraham had given them. 19His shepherds also dug in the Gerar Valley and found a gushing spring. 20But then the local shepherds came and claimed the spring. "This is our water," they said, and they argued over it with Isaac's herdsmen. So Isaac named the well "Argument," because they had argued about it with him. 21Isaac's men then dug another well, but again there was a fight over it. So Isaac named it "Opposition." 22Abandoning that one, he dug another well, and the local people finally left him alone. So Isaac called it "Room Enough," for he said, "At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be able to thrive." 23From there Isaac moved to Beersheba, 24where the LORD appeared to him on the night of his arrival. "I am the God of your father, Abraham," he said. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant." 25Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug a well.
A Treaty with Abimelech
26One day Isaac had visitors from Gerar. King Abimelech arrived with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander. 27"Why have you come?" Isaac asked them. "This is obviously no friendly visit, since you sent me from your land in a most unfriendly way." 28They replied, "We can plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we decided we should have a treaty, a covenant between us. 29Swear that you will not harm us, just as we did not harm you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the LORD has blessed you!" 30So Isaac prepared a great feast for them, and they ate and drank in preparation for the treaty ceremony. 31Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath of nonaggression. Then Isaac sent them home again in peace. 32That very day Isaac's servants came and told him about a well they had dug. "We've found water!" they said. 33So Isaac named the well "Oath," and from that time to this, the town that grew up there has been called Beersheba--"well of the oath." 34At the age of forty, Esau married a young woman named Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35But Esau's wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.
The Sermon on the Mount
1One day as the crowds were gathering, Jesus went up the mountainside with his disciples and sat down to teach them.
The Beatitudes
2This is what he taught them: 3"God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them. 4God blesses those who mourn,for they will be comforted. 5God blesses those who are gentle and lowly,for the whole earth will belong to them. 6God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice,for they will receive it in full. 7God blesses those who are merciful,for they will be shown mercy. 8God blesses those whose hearts are pure,for they will see God. 9God blesses those who work for peace,for they will be called the children of God. 10God blesses those who are persecuted because they live for God,for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 11"God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers. 12Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted, too.
Acts 6
Seven Men Chosen to Serve
1But as the believers* rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. Those who spoke Greek complained against those who spoke Hebrew, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. 2So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers."We apostles should spend our time preaching and teaching the word of God, not administering a food program," they said. 3"Now look around among yourselves, brothers, and select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. We will put them in charge of this business. 4Then we can spend our time in prayer and preaching and teaching the word." 5This idea pleased the whole group, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (a Gentile convert to the Jewish faith, who had now become a Christian). 6These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. 7God's message was preached in ever-widening circles. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.
Stephen Is Arrested
8Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10None of them was able to stand against the wisdom and Spirit by which Stephen spoke. 11So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, "We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God." 12Naturally, this roused the crowds, the elders, and the teachers of religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high council. 13The lying witnesses said, "This man is always speaking against the Temple and against the law of Moses. 14We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs Moses handed down to us." 15At this point everyone in the council stared at Stephen because his face became as bright as an angel's.
Psalms 10
1O LORD, why do you stand so far away?Why do you hide when I need you the most?
2Proud and wicked people viciously oppress the poor.Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.
3For they brag about their evil desires;they praise the greedy and curse the LORD.
4These wicked people are too proud to seek God.They seem to think that God is dead.
5Yet they succeed in everything they do.They do not see your punishment awaiting them.They pour scorn on all their enemies.
6They say to themselves, "Nothing bad will ever happen to us!We will be free of trouble forever!"
7Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats.Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.
8They lurk in dark alleys,murdering the innocent who pass by. They are always searchingfor some helpless victim.
9Like lions they crouch silently,waiting to pounce on the helpless. Like hunters they capture their victimsand drag them away in nets.
10The helpless are overwhelmed and collapse;they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.
11The wicked say to themselves, "God isn't watching!He will never notice!"
12Arise, O LORD!Punish the wicked, O God!Do not forget the helpless!
13Why do the wicked get away with cursing God?How can they think, "God will never call us to account"?
14But you do see the trouble and grief they cause.You take note of it and punish them. The helpless put their trust in you.You are the defender of orphans.
15Break the arms of these wicked, evil people!Go after them until the last one is destroyed!
16The LORD is king forever and ever!Let those who worship other gods be swept from the land.
17LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless.Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them.
18You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,so people can no longer terrify them.
Genesis 25-26
The Death of Abraham
1Now Abraham married again. Keturah was his new wife, 2and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan's two sons were Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 4Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah. 5Abraham left everything he owned to his son Isaac. 6But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to the east, away from Isaac. 7Abraham lived for 175 years, 8and he died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. 10This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites, where he had buried his wife Sarah. 11After Abraham's death, God poured out rich blessings on Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahairoi in the Negev.
Ishmael's Descendants
12This is the history of the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant. 13Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael's descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Abdeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes that bore their names, listed according to the places they settled and camped. 17Ishmael finally died at the age of 137 and joined his ancestors in death. 18Ishmael's descendants were scattered across the country from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. The clans descended from Ishmael camped close to one another.
The Births of Jacob and Esau
19This is the history of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. 20When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban. 21Isaac pleaded with the LORD to give Rebekah a child because she was childless. So the LORD answered Isaac's prayer, and his wife became pregnant with twins. 22But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. "Why is this happening to me?" she asked. 23And the LORD told her, "The sons in your womb will become two rival nations. One nation will be stronger than the other; the descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son." 24And when the time came, the twins were born. 25The first was very red at birth. He was covered with so much hair that one would think he was wearing a piece of clothing. So they called him Esau. 26Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau's heel. So they called him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
Esau Sells His Birthright
27As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open fields, while Jacob was the kind of person who liked to stay at home. 28Isaac loved Esau in particular because of the wild game he brought home, but Rebekah favored Jacob. 29One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home exhausted and hungry from a hunt. 30Esau said to Jacob, "I'm starved! Give me some of that red stew you've made." (This was how Esau got his other name, Edom--"Red.") 31Jacob replied, "All right, but trade me your birthright for it." 32"Look, I'm dying of starvation!" said Esau. "What good is my birthright to me now?" 33So Jacob insisted, "Well then, swear to me right now that it is mine." So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his younger brother. 34Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright.
Isaac Deceives Abimelech
1Now a severe famine struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham's time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived. 2The LORD appeared to him there and said, "Do not go to Egypt. 3Do as I say, and stay here in this land. If you do, I will be with you and bless you. I will give all this land to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father. 4I will cause your descendants* to become as numerous as the stars, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants* all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 5I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, regulations, and laws." 6So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7And when the men there asked him about Rebekah, he said, "She is my sister." He was afraid to admit that she was his wife. He thought they would kill him to get her, because she was very beautiful. 8But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out a window and saw Isaac fondling Rebekah. 9Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, "She is obviously your wife! Why did you say she was your sister?""Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me," Isaac replied. 10"How could you treat us this way!" Abimelech exclaimed. "Someone might have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin." 11Then Abimelech made a public proclamation: "Anyone who harms this man or his wife will die!"
Conflict over Water Rights
12That year Isaac's crops were tremendous! He harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the LORD blessed him. 13He became a rich man, and his wealth only continued to grow. 14He acquired large flocks of sheep and goats, great herds of cattle, and many servants. Soon the Philistines became jealous of him, 15and they filled up all of Isaac's wells with earth. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham. 16And Abimelech asked Isaac to leave the country. "Go somewhere else," he said, "for you have become too rich and powerful for us." 17So Isaac moved to the Gerar Valley and lived there instead. 18He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham's death. Isaac renamed them, using the names Abraham had given them. 19His shepherds also dug in the Gerar Valley and found a gushing spring. 20But then the local shepherds came and claimed the spring. "This is our water," they said, and they argued over it with Isaac's herdsmen. So Isaac named the well "Argument," because they had argued about it with him. 21Isaac's men then dug another well, but again there was a fight over it. So Isaac named it "Opposition." 22Abandoning that one, he dug another well, and the local people finally left him alone. So Isaac called it "Room Enough," for he said, "At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be able to thrive." 23From there Isaac moved to Beersheba, 24where the LORD appeared to him on the night of his arrival. "I am the God of your father, Abraham," he said. "Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant." 25Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug a well.
A Treaty with Abimelech
26One day Isaac had visitors from Gerar. King Abimelech arrived with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander. 27"Why have you come?" Isaac asked them. "This is obviously no friendly visit, since you sent me from your land in a most unfriendly way." 28They replied, "We can plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we decided we should have a treaty, a covenant between us. 29Swear that you will not harm us, just as we did not harm you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the LORD has blessed you!" 30So Isaac prepared a great feast for them, and they ate and drank in preparation for the treaty ceremony. 31Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath of nonaggression. Then Isaac sent them home again in peace. 32That very day Isaac's servants came and told him about a well they had dug. "We've found water!" they said. 33So Isaac named the well "Oath," and from that time to this, the town that grew up there has been called Beersheba--"well of the oath." 34At the age of forty, Esau married a young woman named Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35But Esau's wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.
posted by John MacAdam at 16.2.06
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