January 11 - Evening
“The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’— he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there."
- Genesis 24:7
- Genesis 24:7
God Will Send His Angel Ahead of You
Abraham sent his servant back into the homeland of Haran and Mesopotamia to get a wife for Isaac. This woman will be asked to make a decision similar to Abraham's when he left the homeland to obey God and pursue the future plan of God.
The servant is told explicitly in Genesis 24:6 that under absolutely no condition is Isaac to return back into Haran or to the Land of the Chaldeans. Abraham literally said:
“Take my son back there? Absolutely not!”
Abraham is fully aware of the difficulty of this assignment given to his servant. Abraham realizes there will be obstacles such as family ties, inheritance issues, emotional connections, and much more, but he also knows that God has made a promise and that God is working a plan. Because of this knowledge of God's promise, Abraham has been able to live his life following God. Abraham recites his life of commitment to God’s promise and then makes a logical conclusion: since God had made this promise - “To your offspring I will give this land" - then, God must surely be planning on Abraham’s son, Isaac, continuing and prospering in the Promised Land.
With that knowledge and confidence (or, faith) Abraham reasons that God will provide the wife for his son and a mother for Abraham’s future generations. Because of this logic Abraham knows that God will make this happen. Abraham says confidently:
“He will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.”
Pantokrator (Gr) - Almighty (Eng) - pantokrator is a compound Greek word made up of pas which means “all,” or “every,” and, the Greek word kratos which means “power,” “strength,” “dominion.” In the Greek Septuagint the Hebrew word shaddai is always translated pantokrator to communicate the idea of omnipotence and sovereign power.
Do I know God's plans? Do I know God's promises?
If I know God's Word my confidence in his active involvement in my life would increase.
If I know God's Word my confidence in his active involvement in my life would increase.
Bible Reading Descriptions Here
Personal
Ask for Godly counsel and friends
Church
Leaders in community
Nation
Local school system
World
Christian young people
Someone to Quote
"Spiritual growth comes from the same Word that revealed spiritual salvation."
- Galyn Wiemers
- Galyn Wiemers
Something to Ponder
After Alexander the Great conquered the Middle East the Jews outside of Jerusalem soon began to speak Greek as their native language. This resulted in the loss of their ability to read and understand the Jewish scriptures written in Hebrew. Around 250 AD the scribes in Egypt assembled 70 scholars (“septuagint” means “seventy”) to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. This translation, called the Septuagint, was the scripture for the common Jew of Jesus day. In fact, Jesus used the Septuagint and the Apostles quote most frequently from the Septuagint in the New Testament. Included in the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls were manuscript fragments of the Septuagint from 200 BC. This means we possess manuscripts containing the prophecies about Jesus and his ministry from 200 years before Jesus fulfilled those Old Testament prophecies! Today the Greek Orthodox Church still uses the Septuagint as the official text of the Old Testament.
Here’s a Fact
Belshazzar’s royal palace in Babylon that was the site of the feast and handwriting on the wall in Daniel 5 has been located and excavated.
Proverb
"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom."
- Proverbs 11:2
- Proverbs 11:2
Coach’s Corner
Hard work towards an identified goal is the most important component of success.
Genesis 22
New International Version (NIV)
Abraham Tested
22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me.”
19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
Nahor’s Sons
20 Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.
Footnotes:
New International Version (NIV)
Abraham Tested
22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me.”
19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.
Nahor’s Sons
20 Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.
Footnotes:
- Genesis 22:13 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text a ram behind him
- Genesis 22:18 Or seed
- Genesis 22:18 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
Job 31
New International Version (NIV)
31
“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.
2
For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high?
3
Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?
4
Does he not see my ways and count my every step?
5
“If I have walked with falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit—
6
let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless—
7
if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled,
8
then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.
9
“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10
then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her.
11
For that would have been wicked, a sin to be judged.
12
It is a fire that burns to Destruction[a]; it would have uprooted my harvest.
13
“If I have denied justice to any of my servants, whether male or female, when they had a grievance against me,
14
what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account?
15
Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?
16
“If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,
17
if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless—
18
but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow—
19
if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments,
20
and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep,
21
if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court,
22
then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint.
23
For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.
24
“If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’
25
if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained,
26
if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
27
so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,
28
then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.
29
“If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him—
30
I have not allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a curse against their life—
31
if those of my household have never said, ‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’—
32
but no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler—
33
if I have concealed my sin as people do,[b] by hiding my guilt in my heart
34
because I so feared the crowd and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent and would not go outside—
35
(“Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing.
36
Surely I would wear it on my shoulder, I would put it on like a crown.
37
I would give him an account of my every step; I would present it to him as to a ruler.)—
38
“if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears,
39
if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,
40
then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Footnotes:
New International Version (NIV)
31
“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.
2
For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high?
3
Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?
4
Does he not see my ways and count my every step?
5
“If I have walked with falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit—
6
let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless—
7
if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled,
8
then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.
9
“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10
then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her.
11
For that would have been wicked, a sin to be judged.
12
It is a fire that burns to Destruction[a]; it would have uprooted my harvest.
13
“If I have denied justice to any of my servants, whether male or female, when they had a grievance against me,
14
what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account?
15
Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?
16
“If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,
17
if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless—
18
but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow—
19
if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments,
20
and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep,
21
if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court,
22
then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint.
23
For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.
24
“If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’
25
if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained,
26
if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
27
so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,
28
then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.
29
“If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him—
30
I have not allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a curse against their life—
31
if those of my household have never said, ‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’—
32
but no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler—
33
if I have concealed my sin as people do,[b] by hiding my guilt in my heart
34
because I so feared the crowd and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent and would not go outside—
35
(“Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing.
36
Surely I would wear it on my shoulder, I would put it on like a crown.
37
I would give him an account of my every step; I would present it to him as to a ruler.)—
38
“if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears,
39
if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,
40
then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Footnotes:
- Job 31:12 Hebrew Abaddon
- Job 31:33 Or as Adam did