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Table of Scripture Readings for the Story
Week 2 - Advent 2
A Sack of Grain
Sunday - God's Providence
Genesis 37, 39:1-50:21
 Genesis
37:1 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien,
the land of Canaan. 2 This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph,
being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he
was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and
Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved
Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his
old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 4 But when his
brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they
hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. 5 Once Joseph had a
dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He
said to them, "Listen to this dream that I dreamed. 7 There we were,
binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright;
then your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf." 8 His
brothers said to him, "Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to
have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more because of his dreams
and his words. 9 He had another dream, and told it to his brothers,
saying, "Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven
stars were bowing down to me." 10 But when he told it to his father and to
his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, "What kind of dream
is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and
your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?" 11 So his brothers were
jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. 12 Now his
brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel
said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem?
Come, I will send you to them." He answered, "Here I am." 14 So he said to
him, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and
bring word back to me." So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came
to Shechem, 15 and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked
him, "What are you seeking?" 16 "I am seeking my brothers," he said; "tell
me, please, where they are pasturing the flock." 17 The man said, "They
have gone away, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph
went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. 18 They saw him from a
distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19
They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us
kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild
animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams."
21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying,
"Let us not take his life." 22 Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw
him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him"-- that
he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. 23 So
when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long
robe with sleeves that he wore; 24 and they took him and threw him into a
pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then they sat down to
eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,
with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it
down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if
we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the
Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own
flesh." And his brothers agreed. 28 When some Midianite traders passed by,
they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the
Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. 29
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he
tore his clothes. 30 He returned to his brothers, and said, "The boy is
gone; and I, where can I turn?" 31 Then they took Joseph's robe,
slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They had the long
robe with sleeves taken to their father, and they said, "This we have
found; see now whether it is your son's robe or not." 33 He recognized it,
and said, "It is my son's robe! A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is
without doubt torn to pieces." 34 Then Jacob tore his garments, and put
sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons
and all his daughters sought to comfort him; but he refused to be
comforted, and said, "No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning."
Thus his father bewailed him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in
Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.
Genesis
39:1 Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of
Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the
Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The LORD was with Joseph,
and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian
master. 3 His master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD
caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in
his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him
in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in
his house and over all that he had, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house
for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in
house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge; and,
with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. 7 And after a time his master's
wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, "Lie with me." 8 But he refused and
said to his master's wife, "Look, with me here, my master has no concern
about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my
hand. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back
anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could
I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" 10 And although she
spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or
to be with her. 11 One day, however, when he went into the house to do his
work, and while no one else was in the house, 12 she caught hold of his
garment, saying, "Lie with me!" But he left his garment in her hand, and
fled and ran outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her
hand and had fled outside, 14 she called out to the members of her
household and said to them, "See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew
to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud
voice; 15 and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his
garment beside me, and fled outside." 16 Then she kept his garment by her
until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying,
"The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to
insult me; 18 but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his
garment beside me, and fled outside." 19 When his master heard the words
that his wife spoke to him, saying, "This is the way your servant treated
me," he became enraged. 20 And Joseph's master took him and put him into
the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined; he
remained there in prison. 21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him
steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. 22 The
chief jailer committed to Joseph's care all the prisoners who were in the
prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The
chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph's care, because
the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.
Genesis
40:1 Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his
baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his
two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and he put them
in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where
Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them,
and he waited on them; and they continued for some time in custody. 5 One
night they both dreamed-- the cupbearer and the baker of the king of
Egypt, who were confined in the prison-- each his own dream, and each
dream with its own meaning. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he
saw that they were troubled. 7 So he asked Pharaoh's officers, who were
with him in custody in his master's house, "Why are your faces downcast
today?" 8 They said to him, "We have had dreams, and there is no one to
interpret them." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong
to God? Please tell them to me." 9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream
to Joseph, and said to him, "In my dream there was a vine before me, 10
and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its
blossoms came out and the clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh's cup
was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup,
and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand." 12 Then Joseph said to him, "This
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; and
you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you
were his cupbearer. 14 But remember me when it is well with you; please do
me the kindness to make mention of me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of
this place. 15 For in fact I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews;
and here also I have done nothing that they should have put me into the
dungeon." 16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was
favorable, he said to Joseph, "I also had a dream: there were three cake
baskets on my head, 17 and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of
baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on
my head." 18 And Joseph answered, "This is its interpretation: the three
baskets are three days; 19 within three days Pharaoh will lift up your
head-- from you!-- and hang you on a pole; and the birds will eat the
flesh from you." 20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he
made a feast for all his servants, and lifted up the head of the chief
cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 He
restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing, and he placed the cup in
Pharaoh's hand; 22 but the chief baker he hanged, just as Joseph had
interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph,
but forgot him.
Genesis
41:1 After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by
the Nile, 2 and there came up out of the Nile seven sleek and fat cows,
and they grazed in the reed grass. 3 Then seven other cows, ugly and thin,
came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the
bank of the Nile. 4 The ugly and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat
cows. And Pharaoh awoke. 5 Then he fell asleep and dreamed a second time;
seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. 6 Then
seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them. 7 The
thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and
it was a dream. 8 In the morning his spirit was troubled; so he sent and
called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told
them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "I remember my faults today.
10 Once Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me and the chief
baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 We dreamed
on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own meaning. 12
A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard.
When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an
interpretation to each according to his dream. 13 As he interpreted to us,
so it turned out; I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged."
14 Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was hurriedly brought out of the
dungeon. When he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in
before Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, and
there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that
when you hear a dream you can interpret it." 16 Joseph answered Pharaoh,
"It is not I; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer." 17 Then Pharaoh
said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile; 18
and seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed
grass. 19 Then seven other cows came up after them, poor, very ugly, and
thin. Never had I seen such ugly ones in all the land of Egypt. 20 The
thin and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows, 21 but when they had
eaten them no one would have known that they had done so, for they were
still as ugly as before. Then I awoke. 22 I fell asleep a second time and
I saw in my dream seven ears of grain, full and good, growing on one
stalk, 23 and seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind,
sprouting after them; 24 and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good
ears. But when I told it to the magicians, there was no one who could
explain it to me." 25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Pharaoh's dreams are
one and the same; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26
The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven
years; the dreams are one. 27 The seven lean and ugly cows that came up
after them are seven years, as are the seven empty ears blighted by the
east wind. They are seven years of famine. 28 It is as I told Pharaoh; God
has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 There will come seven
years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. 30 After them
there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be
forgotten in the land of Egypt; the famine will consume the land. 31 The
plenty will no longer be known in the land because of the famine that will
follow, for it will be very grievous. 32 And the doubling of Pharaoh's
dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it
about. 33 Now therefore let Pharaoh select a man who is discerning and
wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh proceed to
appoint overseers over the land, and take one-fifth of the produce of the
land of Egypt during the seven plenteous years. 35 Let them gather all the
food of these good years that are coming, and lay up grain under the
authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36 That
food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine
that are to befall the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish
through the famine." 37 The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants.
38 Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find anyone else like this-- one
in whom is the spirit of God?" 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God
has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40
You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as
you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you."
41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of
Egypt." 42 Removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on
Joseph's hand; he arrayed him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold
chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in the chariot of his
second-in-command; and they cried out in front of him, "Bow the knee!"
Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover Pharaoh said to
Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand
or foot in all the land of Egypt." 45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name
Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of
On, as his wife. Thus Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt. 46
Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of
Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through
all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven plenteous years the earth
produced abundantly. 48 He gathered up all the food of the seven years
when there was plenty in the land of Egypt, and stored up food in the
cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it. 49
So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance-- like the sand of the sea--
that he stopped measuring it; it was beyond measure. 50 Before the years
of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera,
priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, "For,"
he said, "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's
house." 52 The second he named Ephraim, "For God has made me fruitful in
the land of my misfortunes." 53 The seven years of plenty that prevailed
in the land of Egypt came to an end; 54 and the seven years of famine
began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country,
but throughout the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 When all the land of
Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to
all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do." 56 And since
the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the
storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the
land of Egypt. 57 Moreover, all the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy
grain, because the famine became severe throughout the world.
Genesis
42:1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his
sons, "Why do you keep looking at one another? 2 I have heard," he said,
"that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we
may live and not die." 3 So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy
grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with
his brothers, for he feared that harm might come to him. 5 Thus the sons
of Israel were among the other people who came to buy grain, for the
famine had reached the land of Canaan. 6 Now Joseph was governor over the
land; it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's
brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the
ground. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated
them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. "Where do you come from?"
he said. They said, "From the land of Canaan, to buy food." 8 Although
Joseph had recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Joseph
also remembered the dreams that he had dreamed about them. He said to
them, "You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land!" 10
They said to him, "No, my lord; your servants have come to buy food. 11 We
are all sons of one man; we are honest men; your servants have never been
spies." 12 But he said to them, "No, you have come to see the nakedness of
the land!" 13 They said, "We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons
of a certain man in the land of Canaan; the youngest, however, is now with
our father, and one is no more." 14 But Joseph said to them, "It is just
as I have said to you; you are spies! 15 Here is how you shall be tested:
as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest
brother comes here! 16 Let one of you go and bring your brother, while the
rest of you remain in prison, in order that your words may be tested,
whether there is truth in you; or else, as Pharaoh lives, surely you are
spies." 17 And he put them all together in prison for three days. 18 On
the third day Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear
God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here where
you are imprisoned. The rest of you shall go and carry grain for the
famine of your households, 20 and bring your youngest brother to me. Thus
your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they agreed to do
so. 21 They said to one another, "Alas, we are paying the penalty for what
we did to our brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we
would not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us." 22 Then
Reuben answered them, "Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you
would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood." 23 They
did not know that Joseph understood them, since he spoke with them through
an interpreter. 24 He turned away from them and wept; then he returned and
spoke to them. And he picked out Simeon and had him bound before their
eyes. 25 Joseph then gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return
every man's money to his sack, and to give them provisions for their
journey. This was done for them. 26 They loaded their donkeys with their
grain, and departed. 27 When one of them opened his sack to give his
donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money at the top of the
sack. 28 He said to his brothers, "My money has been put back; here it is
in my sack!" At this they lost heart and turned trembling to one another,
saying, "What is this that God has done to us?" 29 When they came to their
father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to
them, saying, 30 "The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us, and
charged us with spying on the land. 31 But we said to him, 'We are honest
men, we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one
is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of
Canaan.' 33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I
shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me,
take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. 34 Bring
your youngest brother to me, and I shall know that you are not spies but
honest men. Then I will release your brother to you, and you may trade in
the land.'" 35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each one's sack
was his bag of money. When they and their father saw their bundles of
money, they were dismayed. 36 And their father Jacob said to them, "I am
the one you have bereaved of children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no
more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has happened to me!" 37
Then Reuben said to his father, "You may kill my two sons if I do not
bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to
you." 38 But he said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his brother
is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should come to him on the journey
that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to
Sheol."
Genesis
43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 And when they had eaten
up the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them,
"Go again, buy us a little more food." 3 But Judah said to him, "The man
solemnly warned us, saying, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother
is with you.' 4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and
buy you food; 5 but if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the
man said to us, 'You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with
you.'" 6 Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man
that you had another brother?" 7 They replied, "The man questioned us
carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, 'Is your father still
alive? Have you another brother?' What we told him was in answer to these
questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, 'Bring your brother
down'?" 8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the boy with me, and
let us be on our way, so that we may live and not die-- you and we and
also our little ones. 9 I myself will be surety for him; you can hold me
accountable for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before
you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 If we had not delayed, we
would now have returned twice." 11 Then their father Israel said to them,
"If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the
land in your bags, and carry them down as a present to the man-- a little
balm and a little honey, gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take
double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned
in the top of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take your
brother also, and be on your way again to the man; 14 may God Almighty
grant you mercy before the man, so that he may send back your other
brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am
bereaved." 15 So the men took the present, and they took double the money
with them, as well as Benjamin. Then they went on their way down to Egypt,
and stood before Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to
the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an
animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon." 17 The
man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph's house. 18 Now the
men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they
said, "It is because of the money, replaced in our sacks the first time,
that we have been brought in, so that he may have an opportunity to fall
upon us, to make slaves of us and take our donkeys." 19 So they went up to
the steward of Joseph's house and spoke with him at the entrance to the
house. 20 They said, "Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy
food; 21 and when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and
there was each one's money in the top of his sack, our money in full
weight. So we have brought it back with us. 22 Moreover we have brought
down with us additional money to buy food. We do not know who put our
money in our sacks." 23 He replied, "Rest assured, do not be afraid; your
God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your sacks for
you; I received your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24 When
the steward had brought the men into Joseph's house, and given them water,
and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys
fodder, 25 they made the present ready for Joseph's coming at noon, for
they had heard that they would dine there. 26 When Joseph came home, they
brought him the present that they had carried into the house, and bowed to
the ground before him. 27 He inquired about their welfare, and said, "Is
your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?" 28
They said, "Your servant our father is well; he is still alive." And they
bowed their heads and did obeisance. 29 Then he looked up and saw his
brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, "Is this your youngest
brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!" 30 With
that, Joseph hurried out, because he was overcome with affection for his
brother, and he was about to weep. So he went into a private room and wept
there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and controlling himself he
said, "Serve the meal." 32 They served him by himself, and them by
themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the
Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to
the Egyptians. 33 When they were seated before him, the firstborn
according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, the
men looked at one another in amazement. 34 Portions were taken to them
from Joseph's table, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any
of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.
Genesis
44:1 Then he commanded the steward of his house, "Fill the men's sacks
with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the top
of his sack. 2 Put my cup, the silver cup, in the top of the sack of the
youngest, with his money for the grain." And he did as Joseph told him. 3
As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their
donkeys. 4 When they had gone only a short distance from the city, Joseph
said to his steward, "Go, follow after the men; and when you overtake
them, say to them, 'Why have you returned evil for good? Why have you
stolen my silver cup? 5 Is it not from this that my lord drinks? Does he
not indeed use it for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.'" 6
When he overtook them, he repeated these words to them. 7 They said to
him, "Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your
servants that they should do such a thing! 8 Look, the money that we found
at the top of our sacks, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan;
why then would we steal silver or gold from your lord's house? 9 Should it
be found with any one of your servants, let him die; moreover the rest of
us will become my lord's slaves." 10 He said, "Even so; in accordance with
your words, let it be: he with whom it is found shall become my slave, but
the rest of you shall go free." 11 Then each one quickly lowered his sack
to the ground, and each opened his sack. 12 He searched, beginning with
the eldest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was found in
Benjamin's sack. 13 At this they tore their clothes. Then each one loaded
his donkey, and they returned to the city. 14 Judah and his brothers came
to Joseph's house while he was still there; and they fell to the ground
before him. 15 Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done?
Do you not know that one such as I can practice divination?" 16 And Judah
said, "What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear
ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; here we are then,
my lord's slaves, both we and also the one in whose possession the cup has
been found." 17 But he said, "Far be it from me that I should do so! Only
the one in whose possession the cup was found shall be my slave; but as
for you, go up in peace to your father." 18 Then Judah stepped up to him
and said, "O my lord, let your servant please speak a word in my lord's
ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are like Pharaoh
himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father or a
brother?' 20 And we said to my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a
young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead; he alone is
left of his mother's children, and his father loves him.' 21 Then you said
to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, so that I may set my eyes on
him.' 22 We said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father, for if he
should leave his father, his father would die.' 23 Then you said to your
servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see
my face no more.' 24 When we went back to your servant my father we told
him the words of my lord. 25 And when our father said, 'Go again, buy us a
little food,' 26 we said, 'We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother
goes with us, will we go down; for we cannot see the man's face unless our
youngest brother is with us.' 27 Then your servant my father said to us,
'You know that my wife bore me two sons; 28 one left me, and I said,
Surely he has been torn to pieces; and I have never seen him since. 29 If
you take this one also from me, and harm comes to him, you will bring down
my gray hairs in sorrow to Sheol.' 30 Now therefore, when I come to your
servant my father and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound
up in the boy's life, 31 when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will
die; and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our
father with sorrow to Sheol. 32 For your servant became surety for the boy
to my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear
the blame in the sight of my father all my life.' 33 Now therefore, please
let your servant remain as a slave to my lord in place of the boy; and let
the boy go back with his brothers. 34 For how can I go back to my father
if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the suffering that would come
upon my father."
Genesis
45:1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who
stood by him, and he cried out, "Send everyone away from me." So no one
stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he
wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh
heard it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still
alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at
his presence. 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And
they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into
Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because
you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the
famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years
in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God sent me before
you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many
survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a
father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land
of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your
son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not
delay. 10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near
me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your
flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you
there-- since there are five more years of famine to come-- so that you
and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.' 12
And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my
own mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father how greatly I am
honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father
down here." 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept,
while Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and
wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. 16 When the
report was heard in Pharaoh's house, "Joseph's brothers have come,"
Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to
your brothers, 'Do this: load your animals and go back to the land of
Canaan. 18 Take your father and your households and come to me, so that I
may give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you may enjoy the fat of
the land.' 19 You are further charged to say, 'Do this: take wagons from
the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your
father, and come. 20 Give no thought to your possessions, for the best of
all the land of Egypt is yours.'" 21 The sons of Israel did so. Joseph
gave them wagons according to the instruction of Pharaoh, and he gave them
provisions for the journey. 22 To each one of them he gave a set of
garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five
sets of garments. 23 To his father he sent the following: ten donkeys
loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with
grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24 Then he sent
his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving he said to them, "Do
not quarrel along the way." 25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to
their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 And they told him, "Joseph is
still alive! He is even ruler over all the land of Egypt." He was stunned;
he could not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of
Joseph that 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 Israel
said, "Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I must go and see him before
I die."
Genesis
46:1 When Israel set out on his journey with all that he had and came
to Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 God
spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he
said, "Here I am." 3 Then he said, "I am God, the God of your father; do
not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation
there. 4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring
you up again; and Joseph's own hand shall close your eyes." 5 Then Jacob
set out from Beer-sheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father
Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had
sent to carry him. 6 They also took their livestock and the goods that
they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they came into Egypt, Jacob
and all his offspring with him, 7 his sons, and his sons' sons with him,
his daughters, and his sons' daughters; all his offspring he brought with
him into Egypt. 8 Now these are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his
offspring, who came to Egypt. Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, 9 and the
children of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The children of
Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a
Canaanite woman. 11 The children of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12
The children of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan
died in the land of Canaan); and the children of Perez were Hezron and
Hamul. 13 The children of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron. 14
The children of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel 15 (these are the sons
of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter
Dinah; in all his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three). 16 The
children of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17
The children of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister
Serah. The children of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel 18 (these are the
children of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and these she
bore to Jacob-- sixteen persons). 19 The children of Jacob's wife Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin. 20 To Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh
and Ephraim, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to
him. 21 The children of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi,
Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard 22 (these are the children of Rachel, who
were born to Jacob-- fourteen persons in all). 23 The children of Dan:
Hashum. 24 The children of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem 25
(these are the children of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel,
and these she bore to Jacob-- seven persons in all). 26 All the persons
belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own offspring, not
including the wives of his sons, were sixty-six persons in all. 27 The
children of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two; all the
persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy. 28 Israel
sent Judah ahead to Joseph to lead the way before him into Goshen. When
they came to the land of Goshen, 29 Joseph made ready his chariot and went
up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. He presented himself to him, fell
on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. 30 Israel said to Joseph,
"I can die now, having seen for myself that you are still alive." 31
Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up
and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's
household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 The men are
shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought
their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.' 33 When Pharaoh
calls you, and says, 'What is your occupation?' 34 you shall say, 'Your
servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now,
both we and our ancestors'-- in order that you may settle in the land of
Goshen, because all shepherds are abhorrent to the Egyptians."
Genesis
47:1 So Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers, with
their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land
of Canaan; they are now in the land of Goshen." 2 From among his brothers
he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh said to his
brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your
servants are shepherds, as our ancestors were." 4 They said to Pharaoh,
"We have come to reside as aliens in the land; for there is no pasture for
your servants' flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan.
Now, we ask you, let your servants settle in the land of Goshen." 5 Then
Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6
The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in
the best part of the land; let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you
know that there are capable men among them, put them in charge of my
livestock." 7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him
before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How
many are the years of your life?" 9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of
my earthly sojourn are one hundred thirty; few and hard have been the
years of my life. They do not compare with the years of the life of my
ancestors during their long sojourn." 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and
went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11 Joseph settled his father and
his brothers, and granted them a holding in the land of Egypt, in the best
part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed. 12
And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's
household with food, according to the number of their dependents. 13 Now
there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe. The
land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14
Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and in the
land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought; and Joseph
brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 15 When the money from the land of
Egypt and from the land of Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to
Joseph, and said, "Give us food! Why should we die before your eyes? For
our money is gone." 16 And Joseph answered, "Give me your livestock, and I
will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone."
17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph; and Joseph gave them food in
exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. That year
he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock. 18 When
that year was ended, they came to him the following year, and said to him,
"We can not hide from my lord that our money is all spent; and the herds
of cattle are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but
our bodies and our lands. 19 Shall we die before your eyes, both we and
our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We with our land will
become slaves to Pharaoh; just give us seed, so that we may live and not
die, and that the land may not become desolate." 20 So Joseph bought all
the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold their fields,
because the famine was severe upon them; and the land became Pharaoh's. 21
As for the people, he made slaves of them from one end of Egypt to the
other. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had
a fixed allowance from Pharaoh, and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh
gave them; therefore they did not sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to
the people, "Now that I have this day bought you and your land for
Pharaoh, here is seed for you; sow the land. 24 And at the harvests you
shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own, as
seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as
food for your little ones." 25 They said, "You have saved our lives; may
it please my lord, we will be slaves to Pharaoh." 26 So Joseph made it a
statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that
Pharaoh should have the fifth. The land of the priests alone did not
become Pharaoh's. 27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the
region of Goshen; and they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and
multiplied exceedingly. 28 Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen
years; so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred
forty-seven years. 29 When the time of Israel's death drew near, he called
his son Joseph and said to him, "If I have found favor with you, put your
hand under my thigh and promise to deal loyally and truly with me. Do not
bury me in Egypt. 30 When I lie down with my ancestors, carry me out of
Egypt and bury me in their burial place." He answered, "I will do as you
have said." 31 And he said, "Swear to me"; and he swore to him. Then
Israel bowed himself on the head of his bed.
Genesis
48:1 After this Joseph was told, "Your father is ill." So he took with
him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 When Jacob was told, "Your son
Joseph has come to you," he summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And
Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of
Canaan, and he blessed me, 4 and said to me, 'I am going to make you
fruitful and increase your numbers; I will make of you a company of
peoples, and will give this land to your offspring after you for a
perpetual holding.' 5 Therefore your two sons, who were born to you in the
land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are now mine; Ephraim and
Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 As for the
offspring born to you after them, they shall be yours. They shall be
recorded under the names of their brothers with regard to their
inheritance. 7 For when I came from Paddan, Rachel, alas, died in the land
of Canaan on the way, while there was still some distance to go to Ephrath;
and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem). 8 When
Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?" 9 Joseph said to his
father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." And he said,
"Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them." 10 Now the eyes of
Israel were dim with age, and he could not see well. So Joseph brought
them near him; and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 Israel said to
Joseph, "I did not expect to see your face; and here God has let me see
your children also." 12 Then Joseph removed them from his father's knees,
and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 Joseph took them both,
Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh in his left
hand toward Israel's right, and brought them near him. 14 But Israel
stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was
the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his
hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 He blessed Joseph, and said,
"The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who
has been my shepherd all my life to this day, 16 the angel who has
redeemed me from all harm, bless the boys; and in them let my name be
perpetuated, and the name of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac; and let them
grow into a multitude on the earth." 17 When Joseph saw that his father
laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took
his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18
Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father! Since this one is the
firstborn, put your right hand on his head." 19 But his father refused,
and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, and he
also shall be great. Nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater
than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations." 20 So he
blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will invoke blessings,
saying, 'God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.'" So he put Ephraim
ahead of Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, "I am about to die, but
God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your
ancestors. 22 I now give to you one portion more than to your brothers,
the portion that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and
with my bow."
Genesis
49:1 Then Jacob called his sons, and said: "Gather around, that I may
tell you what will happen to you in days to come. 2 Assemble and hear, O
sons of Jacob; listen to Israel your father. 3 Reuben, you are my
firstborn, my might and the first fruits of my vigor, excelling in rank
and excelling in power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall no longer excel
because you went up onto your father's bed; then you defiled it-- you went
up onto my couch! 5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are
their swords. 6 May I never come into their council; may I not be joined
to their company-- for in their anger they killed men, and at their whim
they hamstrung oxen. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their
wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in
Israel. 8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the
neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. 9
Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He
crouches down, he stretches out like a lion, like a lioness-- who dares
rouse him up? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's
staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and the obedience
of the peoples is his. 11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's
colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his robe in
the blood of grapes; 12 his eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth
whiter than milk. 13 Zebulun shall settle at the shore of the sea; he
shall be a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon. 14 Issachar
is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds; 15 he saw that a
resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant; so he bowed his
shoulder to the burden, and became a slave at forced labor. 16 Dan shall
judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a snake
by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so
that its rider falls backward. 18 I wait for your salvation, O LORD. 19
Gad shall be raided by raiders, but he shall raid at their heels. 20
Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall provide royal delicacies. 21
Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears lovely fawns. 22 Joseph is a
fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the
wall. 23 The archers fiercely attacked him; they shot at him and pressed
him hard. 24 Yet his bow remained taut, and his arms were made agile by
the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the
Rock of Israel, 25 by the God of your father, who will help you, by the
Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of
the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26
The blessings of your father are stronger than the blessings of the
eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills; may they be on
the head of Joseph, on the brow of him who was set apart from his
brothers. 27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the
prey, and at evening dividing the spoil." 28 All these are the twelve
tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he
blessed them, blessing each one of them with a suitable blessing. 29 Then
he charged them, saying to them, "I am about to be gathered to my people.
Bury me with my ancestors-- in the cave in the field of Ephron the
Hittite, 30 in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land
of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a
burial site. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac
and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah-- 32 the field
and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites." 33 When
Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed,
breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
Genesis
50:1 Then Joseph threw himself on his father's face and wept over him
and kissed him. 2 Joseph commanded the physicians in his service to embalm
his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel; 3 they spent forty days in
doing this, for that is the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians
wept for him seventy days. 4 When the days of weeping for him were past,
Joseph addressed the household of Pharaoh, "If now I have found favor with
you, please speak to Pharaoh as follows: 5 My father made me swear an
oath; he said, 'I am about to die. In the tomb that I hewed out for myself
in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.' Now therefore let me go
up, so that I may bury my father; then I will return." 6 Pharaoh answered,
"Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear to do." 7 So Joseph
went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh,
the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as
well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's
household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in
the land of Goshen. 9 Both chariots and charioteers went up with him. It
was a very great company. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad,
which is beyond the Jordan, they held there a very great and sorrowful
lamentation; and he observed a time of mourning for his father seven days.
11 When the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw the mourning on the
threshing floor of Atad, they said, "This is a grievous mourning on the
part of the Egyptians." Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim; it is
beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had instructed them.
13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of
the field at Machpelah, the field near Mamre, which Abraham bought as a
burial site from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After he had buried his father,
Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with
him to bury his father. 15 Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph's
brothers said, "What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us
back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?" 16 So they approached
Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this instruction before he died, 17 'Say
to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong
they did in harming you.' Now therefore please forgive the crime of the
servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
18 Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, "We are
here as your slaves." 19 But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid! Am I
in the place of God? 20 Even though you intended to do harm to me, God
intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is
doing today. 21 So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your
little ones." In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.
Burning Bush
Monday - Moses and God's Leadership
Exodus
2:1-4:20
 Exodus
2:1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman.
2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine
baby, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer she
got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she
put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the
river. 4 His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.
5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her
attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and
sent her maid to bring it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child. He was
crying, and she took pity on him, "This must be one of the Hebrews'
children," she said. 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall
I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for
you?" 8 Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Yes." So the girl went and called
the child's mother. 9 Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and
nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the
child and nursed it. 10 When the child grew up, she brought him to
Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses,
"because," she said, "I drew him out of the water." 11 One day, after
Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor.
He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsfolk. 12 He looked
this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in
the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting;
and he said to the one who was in the wrong, "Why do you strike your
fellow Hebrew?" 14 He answered, "Who made you a ruler and judge over us?
Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid
and thought, "Surely the thing is known." 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he
sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land
of Midian, and sat down by a well. 16 The priest of Midian had seven
daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their
father's flock. 17 But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got
up and came to their defense and watered their flock. 18 When they
returned to their father Reuel, he said, "How is it that you have come
back so soon today?" 19 They said, "An Egyptian helped us against the
shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock." 20 He said to
his daughters, "Where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to
break bread." 21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his
daughter Zipporah in marriage. 22 She bore a son, and he named him Gershom;
for he said, "I have been an alien residing in a foreign land." 23 After a
long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their
slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to
God. 24 God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God looked upon the Israelites, and God took
notice of them.
Exodus
4:1 Then Moses answered, "But suppose they do not believe me or listen
to me, but say, 'The LORD did not appear to you.'" 2 The LORD said to him,
"What is that in your hand?" He said, "A staff." 3 And he said, "Throw it
on the ground." So he threw the staff on the ground, and it became a
snake; and Moses drew back from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach
out your hand, and seize it by the tail"-- so he reached out his hand and
grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand-- 5 "so that they may
believe that the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." 6 Again, the
LORD said to him, "Put your hand inside your cloak." He put his hand into
his cloak; and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, as white as
snow. 7 Then God said, "Put your hand back into your cloak"-- so he put
his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored
like the rest of his body-- 8 "If they will not believe you or heed the
first sign, they may believe the second sign. 9 If they will not believe
even these two signs or heed you, you shall take some water from the Nile
and pour it on the dry ground; and the water that you shall take from the
Nile will become blood on the dry ground." 10 But Moses said to the LORD,
"O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now
that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of
tongue." 11 Then the LORD said to him, "Who gives speech to mortals? Who
makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now
go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak." 13
But he said, "O my Lord, please send someone else." 14 Then the anger of
the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, "What of your brother
Aaron, the Levite? I know that he can speak fluently; even now he is
coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad. 15
You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with
your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. 16 He
indeed shall speak for you to the people; he shall serve as a mouth for
you, and you shall serve as God for him. 17 Take in your hand this staff,
with which you shall perform the signs." 18 Moses went back to his
father-in-law Jethro and said to him, "Please let me go back to my kindred
in Egypt and see whether they are still living." And Jethro said to Moses,
"Go in peace." 19 The LORD said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt; for
all those who were seeking your life are dead." 20 So Moses took his wife
and his sons, put them on a donkey and went back to the land of Egypt; and
Moses carried the staff of God in his hand.
Exodus
3:1 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the
priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to
Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him
in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet
it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at
this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." 4 When the LORD
saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush,
"Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then he said, "Come no closer!
Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing
is holy ground." 6 He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his
face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then the LORD said, "I have
observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry
on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8 and I
have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up
out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and
honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the
Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 The cry of the Israelites
has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So
come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out
of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to
Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" 12 He said, "I will be
with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you:
when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on
this mountain." 13 But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and
say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask
me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" 14 God said to Moses,
"I AM WHO I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites,
'I AM has sent me to you.'" 15 God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say
to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This
is my name forever, and this my title for all generations. 16 Go and
assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your
ancestors, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me,
saying: I have given heed to you and to what has been done to you in
Egypt. 17 I declare that I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt,
to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites,
the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.' 18
They will listen to your voice; and you and the elders of Israel shall go
to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews,
has met with us; let us now go a three days' journey into the wilderness,
so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.' 19 I know, however, that
the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.
20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that
I will perform in it; after that he will let you go. 21 I will bring this
people into such favor with the Egyptians that, when you go, you will not
go empty-handed; 22 each woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman living
in the neighbor's house for jewelry of silver and of gold, and clothing,
and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters; and so you
shall plunder the Egyptians."
Lamb
Tuesday - Israelites Passover and Exodus
Exodus
12:1-14:31
 Exodus
12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 2 This
month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first
month of the year for you. 3 Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on
the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb
for each household. 4 If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it
shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be
divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. 5 Your lamb
shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep
or from the goats. 6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this
month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it
at twilight. 7 They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two
doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall
eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with
unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in
water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs.
10 You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that
remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 This is how you shall eat it:
your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand;
and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. 12 For I
will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down
every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on
all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13 The
blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the
blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike
the land of Egypt. 14 This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You
shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations
you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat
unleavened bread; on the first day you shall remove leaven from your
houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the
seventh day shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall
hold a solemn assembly, and on the seventh day a solemn assembly; no work
shall be done on those days; only what everyone must eat, that alone may
be prepared by you. 17 You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread,
for on this very day I brought your companies out of the land of Egypt:
you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a perpetual
ordinance. 18 In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day
until the evening of the twenty-first day, you shall eat unleavened bread.
19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; for whoever
eats what is leavened shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel,
whether an alien or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing
leavened; in all your settlements you shall eat unleavened bread. 21 Then
Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go, select lambs
for your families, and slaughter the passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of
hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and
the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go
outside the door of your house until morning. 23 For the LORD will pass
through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel
and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over that door and will not
allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down. 24 You shall
observe this rite as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children. 25
When you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised,
you shall keep this observance. 26 And when your children ask you, 'What
do you mean by this observance?' 27 you shall say, 'It is the passover
sacrifice to the LORD, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in
Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.'" And the
people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites went and did just as
the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. 29 At midnight the LORD struck
down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh
who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the
dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. 30 Pharaoh arose in the
night, he and all his officials and all the Egyptians; and there was a
loud cry in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead. 31 Then
he summoned Moses and Aaron in the night, and said, "Rise up, go away from
my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD, as you said.
32 Take your flocks and your herds, as you said, and be gone. And bring a
blessing on me too!" 33 The Egyptians urged the people to hasten their
departure from the land, for they said, "We shall all be dead." 34 So the
people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls
wrapped up in their cloaks on their shoulders. 35 The Israelites had done
as Moses told them; they had asked the Egyptians for jewelry of silver and
gold, and for clothing, 36 and the LORD had given the people favor in the
sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And so
they plundered the Egyptians. 37 The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to
Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A
mixed crowd also went up with them, and livestock in great numbers, both
flocks and herds. 39 They baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they
had brought out of Egypt; it was not leavened, because they were driven
out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for
themselves. 40 The time that the Israelites had lived in Egypt was four
hundred thirty years. 41 At the end of four hundred thirty years, on that
very day, all the companies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
42 That was for the LORD a night of vigil, to bring them out of the land
of Egypt. That same night is a vigil to be kept for the LORD by all the
Israelites throughout their generations. 43 The LORD said to Moses and
Aaron: This is the ordinance for the passover: no foreigner shall eat of
it, 44 but any slave who has been purchased may eat of it after he has
been circumcised; 45 no bound or hired servant may eat of it. 46 It shall
be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the animal outside the
house, and you shall not break any of its bones. 47 The whole congregation
of Israel shall celebrate it. 48 If an alien who resides with you wants to
celebrate the passover to the LORD, all his males shall be circumcised;
then he may draw near to celebrate it; he shall be regarded as a native of
the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it; 49 there shall be
one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you. 50 All the
Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. 51 That
very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, company
by company.
Exodus
13:1 The LORD said to Moses: 2 Consecrate to me all the firstborn;
whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human
beings and animals, is mine. 3 Moses said to the people, "Remember this
day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, because
the LORD brought you out from there by strength of hand; no leavened bread
shall be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. 5 When
the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the
Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your ancestors
to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this
observance in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and
on the seventh day there shall be a festival to the LORD. 7 Unleavened
bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen in
your possession, and no leaven shall be seen among you in all your
territory. 8 You shall tell your child on that day, 'It is because of what
the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' 9 It shall serve for you as
a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the
teaching of the LORD may be on your lips; for with a strong hand the LORD
brought you out of Egypt. 10 You shall keep this ordinance at its proper
time from year to year. 11 "When the LORD has brought you into the land of
the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and has given it to
you, 12 you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All
the firstborn of your livestock that are males shall be the LORD's. 13 But
every firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem
it, you must break its neck. Every firstborn male among your children you
shall redeem. 14 When in the future your child asks you, 'What does this
mean?' you shall answer, 'By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of
Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to
let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from
human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the
LORD every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons
I redeem.' 16 It shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an emblem on
your forehead that by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt."
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the
land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, "If
the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt." 18
So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness toward the
Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for
battle. 19 And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a
solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, "God will surely take notice of
you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here." 20 They set out
from Succoth, and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The
LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along
the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that
they might travel by day and by night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by
day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
Exodus
14:1 Then the LORD said to Moses: 2 Tell the Israelites to turn back
and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of
Baal-zephon; you shall camp opposite it, by the sea. 3 Pharaoh will say of
the Israelites, "They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness
has closed in on them." 4 I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will
pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his
army; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD. And they did so. 5
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of
Pharaoh and his officials were changed toward the people, and they said,
"What have we done, letting Israel leave our service?" 6 So he had his
chariot made ready, and took his army with him; 7 he took six hundred
picked chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all
of them. 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he
pursued the Israelites, who were going out boldly. 9 The Egyptians pursued
them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, his chariot drivers and his army;
they overtook them camped by the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the
Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the
LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt
that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done
to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the very thing we told you
in Egypt, 'Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have
been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."
13 But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see
the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the
Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. 14 The LORD will
fight for you, and you have only to keep still." 15 Then the LORD said to
Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. 16
But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and
divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. 17 Then
I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after
them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army,
his chariots, and his chariot drivers. 18 And the Egyptians shall know
that I am the LORD, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his
chariots, and his chariot drivers." 19 The angel of God who was going
before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of
cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20 It
came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud
was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come
near the other all night. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the
sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and
turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22 The
Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for
them on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued, and went
into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot
drivers. 24 At the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud
looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into
panic. 25 He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with
difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for the
LORD is fighting for them against Egypt." 26 Then the LORD said to Moses,
"Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon
the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers." 27 So Moses
stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its
normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the LORD tossed the
Egyptians into the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots
and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them
into the sea; not one of them remained. 29 But the Israelites walked on
dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their
right and on their left. 30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the
Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel
saw the great work that the LORD did against the Egyptians. So the people
feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.
Tablets of the Torah
Wednesday - God Giving the Torah at Sinai
Exodus
19:1-20:20
 Exodus
19:1 On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the
land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2
They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and
camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 3
Then Moses went up to God; the LORD called to him from the mountain,
saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the
Israelites: 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore
you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you
obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession
out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, 6 but you shall
be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that
you shall speak to the Israelites." 7 So Moses came, summoned the elders
of the people, and set before them all these words that the LORD had
commanded him. 8 The people all answered as one: "Everything that the LORD
has spoken we will do." Moses reported the words of the people to the
LORD. 9 Then the LORD said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense
cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so
trust you ever after." When Moses had told the words of the people to the
LORD, 10 the LORD said to Moses: "Go to the people and consecrate them
today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and prepare for the
third day, because on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount
Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You shall set limits for the
people all around, saying, 'Be careful not to go up the mountain or to
touch the edge of it. Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death. 13
No hand shall touch them, but they shall be stoned or shot with arrows;
whether animal or human being, they shall not live.' When the trumpet
sounds a long blast, they may go up on the mountain." 14 So Moses went
down from the mountain to the people. He consecrated the people, and they
washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, "Prepare for the third
day; do not go near a woman." 16 On the morning of the third day there was
thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a
blast of a trumpet so loud that all the people who were in the camp
trembled. 17 Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They
took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was
wrapped in smoke, because the LORD had descended upon it in fire; the
smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook
violently. 19 As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses
would speak and God would answer him in thunder. 20 When the LORD
descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, the LORD summoned
Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 Then the LORD said
to Moses, "Go down and warn the people not to break through to the LORD to
look; otherwise many of them will perish. 22 Even the priests who approach
the LORD must consecrate themselves or the LORD will break out against
them." 23 Moses said to the LORD, "The people are not permitted to come up
to Mount Sinai; for you yourself warned us, saying, 'Set limits around the
mountain and keep it holy.'" 24 The LORD said to him, "Go down, and come
up bringing Aaron with you; but do not let either the priests or the
people break through to come up to the LORD; otherwise he will break out
against them." 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Exodus
20:1 Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the LORD your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you
shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an
idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is
on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall
not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous
God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the
fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but showing steadfast love to
the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the
LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. 8 Remember the sabbath
day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10
But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do
any work-- you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your
livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the
LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested
the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and
consecrated it. 12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days
may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 13 You shall
not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 You shall not
covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or
male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your
neighbor. 18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the
sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and
trembled and stood at a distance, 19 and said to Moses, "You speak to us,
and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die." 20
Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test
you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin."
Ram’s Horn Trumpet
Thursday - The Fall of Jericho
Joshua 1:1-11,
and 6:1-20
 Joshua
1:1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD spoke
to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying, 2 "My servant Moses is
dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the
land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. 3 Every place that the
sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to
Moses. 4 From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river,
the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the
west shall be your territory. 5 No one shall be able to stand against you
all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I
will not fail you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous; for you
shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their
ancestors to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being
careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses
commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so
that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 This book of the law shall
not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so
that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in
it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be
successful. 9 I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be
frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you
go." 10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 "Pass through
the camp, and command the people: 'Prepare your provisions; for in three
days you are to cross over the Jordan, to go in to take possession of the
land that the LORD your God gives you to possess.'"
Joshua
6:1 Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the Israelites;
no one came out and no one went in. 2 The LORD said to Joshua, "See, I
have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers. 3 You
shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus
you shall do for six days, 4 with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of
rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the
city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When they make a
long blast with the ram's horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the
trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall
of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight
ahead." 6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them,
"Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven
trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark of the LORD." 7 To the people
he said, "Go forward and march around the city; have the armed men pass on
before the ark of the LORD." 8 As Joshua had commanded the people, the
seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the LORD
went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the
LORD following them. 9 And the armed men went before the priests who blew
the trumpets; the rear guard came after the ark, while the trumpets blew
continually. 10 To the people Joshua gave this command: "You shall not
shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall you utter a word, until the
day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout." 11 So the ark of the LORD
went around the city, circling it once; and they came into the camp, and
spent the night in the camp. 12 Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and
the priests took up the ark of the LORD. 13 The seven priests carrying the
seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD passed on,
blowing the trumpets continually. The armed men went before them, and the
rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets blew
continually. 14 On the second day they marched around the city once and
then returned to the camp. They did this for six days. 15 On the seventh
day they rose early, at dawn, and marched around the city in the same
manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the
city seven times. 16 And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown
the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given
you the city. 17 The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the
LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her
in her house shall live because she hid the messengers we sent. 18 As for
you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet
and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object
for destruction, bringing trouble upon it. 19 But all silver and gold, and
vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the LORD; they shall go into the
treasury of the LORD." 20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were
blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised
a great shout, and the wall fell down flat; so the people charged straight
ahead into the city and captured it.
Clay Water Pitcher
Friday - Unlikely Heroes
Judges 2:6-23, 6:1-6,
and 11:8-28
 Judges
2:6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the Israelites all went to their
own inheritances to take possession of the land. 7 The people worshiped
the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who
outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done
for Israel. 8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age
of one hundred ten years. 9 So they buried him within the bounds of his
inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of
Mount Gaash. 10 Moreover, that whole generation was gathered to their
ancestors, and another generation grew up after them, who did not know the
LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did
what was evil in the sight of the LORD and worshiped the Baals; 12 and
they abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them
out of the land of Egypt; they followed other gods, from among the gods of
the peoples who were all around them, and bowed down to them; and they
provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD, and worshiped Baal
and the Astartes. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel,
and he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them, and he sold them
into the power of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer
withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the
LORD was against them to bring misfortune, as the LORD had warned them and
sworn to them; and they were in great distress. 16 Then the LORD raised up
judges, who delivered them out of the power of those who plundered them.
17 Yet they did not listen even to their judges; for they lusted after
other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in
which their ancestors had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the
LORD; they did not follow their example. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up
judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he delivered them from
the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD would be
moved to pity by their groaning because of those who persecuted and
oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they would relapse and
behave worse than their ancestors, following other gods, worshiping them
and bowing down to them. They would not drop any of their practices or
their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against
Israel; and he said, "Because this people have transgressed my covenant
that I commanded their ancestors, and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will
no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when
he died." 22 In order to test Israel, whether or not they would take care
to walk in the way of the LORD as their ancestors did, 23 the LORD had
left those nations, not driving them out at once, and had not handed them
over to Joshua.
Judges
6:1 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the
LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 The hand of Midian
prevailed over Israel; and because of Midian the Israelites provided for
themselves hiding places in the mountains, caves and strongholds. 3 For
whenever the Israelites put in seed, the Midianites and the Amalekites and
the people of the east would come up against them. 4 They would encamp
against them and destroy the produce of the land, as far as the
neighborhood of Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, and no sheep or
ox or donkey. 5 For they and their livestock would come up, and they would
even bring their tents, as thick as locusts; neither they nor their camels
could be counted; so they wasted the land as they came in. 6 Thus Israel
was greatly impoverished because of Midian; and the Israelites cried out
to the LORD for help.
Judges
11:8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "Nevertheless, we have now
turned back to you, so that you may go with us and fight with the
Ammonites, and become head over us, over all the inhabitants of Gilead." 9
Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you bring me home again to
fight with the Ammonites, and the LORD gives them over to me, I will be
your head." 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD will
be witness between us; we will surely do as you say." 11 So Jephthah went
with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over
them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah. 12 Then
Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, "What is
there between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my
land?" 13 The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah,
"Because Israel, on coming from Egypt, took away my land from the Arnon to
the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably." 14 Once
again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites 15 and said to
him: "Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the
land of the Ammonites, 16 but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went
through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. 17 Israel then
sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Let us pass through your
land'; but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent to the king
of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. 18 Then
they journeyed through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and
the land of Moab, arrived on the east side of the land of Moab, and camped
on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab,
for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. 19 Israel then sent messengers to
King Sihon of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, 'Let
us pass through your land to our country.' 20 But Sihon did not trust
Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people
together, and encamped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel. 21 Then the LORD,
the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel,
and they defeated them; so Israel occupied all the land of the Amorites,
who inhabited that country. 22 They occupied all the territory of the
Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the
Jordan. 23 So now the LORD, the God of Israel, has conquered the Amorites
for the benefit of his people Israel. Do you intend to take their place?
24 Should you not possess what your god Chemosh gives you to possess? And
should we not be the ones to possess everything that the LORD our God has
conquered for our benefit? 25 Now are you any better than King Balak son
of Zippor of Moab? Did he ever enter into conflict with Israel, or did he
ever go to war with them? 26 While Israel lived in Heshbon and its
villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that are
along the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within
that time? 27 It is not I who have sinned against you, but you are the one
who does me wrong by making war on me. Let the LORD, who is judge, decide
today for the Israelites or for the Ammonites." 28 But the king of the
Ammonites did not heed the message that Jephthah sent him.
Crown
Saturday - The Beginning of the Kingdom
1 Samuel
3:1-21, 7:1-8:22, and 9:15-10:9
 1
Samuel 3:1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli.
The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.
2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could
not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone
out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of
God was. 4 Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I
am!" 5 and ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he
said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down. 6 The
LORD called again, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said,
"Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie
down again." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the
LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The LORD called Samuel again, a
third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you
called me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. 9
Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you
shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went
and lay down in his place. 10 Now the LORD came and stood there, calling
as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is
listening." 11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, "See, I am about to do
something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it
tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken
concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 For I have told him that I
am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew,
because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14
Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house
shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever." 15 Samuel lay
there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD.
Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and
said, "Samuel, my son." He said, "Here I am." 17 Eli said, "What was it
that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more
also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you." 18 So Samuel
told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, "It is the
LORD; let him do what seems good to him." 19 As Samuel grew up, the LORD
was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all
Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet
of the LORD. 21 The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, for the LORD
revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
1
Samuel 7:1 And the people of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark
of the LORD, and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. They
consecrated his son, Eleazar, to have charge of the ark of the LORD. 2
From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time
passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the
LORD. 3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, "If you are returning
to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the
Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the LORD, and serve him
only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." 4 So
Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the LORD only.
5 Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the
LORD for you." 6 So they gathered at Mizpah, and drew water and poured it
out before the LORD. They fasted that day, and said, "We have sinned
against the LORD." And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. 7
When the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at
Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the
people of Israel heard of it they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 The
people of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our
God for us, and pray that he may save us from the hand of the
Philistines." 9 So Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it as a whole
burnt offering to the LORD; Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and
the LORD answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering,
the Philistines drew near to attack Israel; but the LORD thundered with a
mighty voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into
confusion; and they were routed before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel
went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as
far as beyond Beth-car. 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between
Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, "Thus far the
LORD has helped us." 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again
enter the territory of Israel; the hand of the LORD was against the
Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The towns that the Philistines had
taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel
recovered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was
peace also between Israel and the Amorites. 15 Samuel judged Israel all
the days of his life. 16 He went on a circuit year by year to Bethel,
Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he
would come back to Ramah, for his home was there; he administered justice
there to Israel, and built there an altar to the LORD.
1
Samuel 8:1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over
Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his
second, Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. 3 Yet his sons did not
follow in his ways, but turned aside after gain; they took bribes and
perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and
came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, "You are old and your sons do
not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like
other nations." 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us
a king to govern us." Samuel prayed to the LORD, 7 and the LORD said to
Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you;
for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king
over them. 8 Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up
out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also
they are doing to you. 9 Now then, listen to their voice; only-- you shall
solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign
over them." 10 So Samuel reported all the words of the LORD to the people
who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "These will be the ways of the
king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to
his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12
and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of
fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make
his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take
your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the
best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his
courtiers. 15 He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards
and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16 He will take your male
and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them
to his work. 17 He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be
his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom
you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that
day." 19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they
said, "No! but we are determined to have a king over us, 20 so that we
also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out
before us and fight our battles." 21 When Samuel had heard all the words
of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. 22 The LORD said
to Samuel, "Listen to their voice and set a king over them." Samuel then
said to the people of Israel, "Each of you return home."
1
Samuel 9:15 Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed to
Samuel: 16 "Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the
land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be ruler over my people
Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I
have seen the suffering of my people, because their outcry has come to
me." 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, "Here is the man of whom
I spoke to you. He it is who shall rule over my people." 18 Then Saul
approached Samuel inside the gate, and said, "Tell me, please, where is
the house of the seer?" 19 Samuel answered Saul, "I am the seer; go up
before me to the shrine, for today you shall eat with me, and in the
morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. 20
As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, give no further thought
to them, for they have been found. And on whom is all Israel's desire
fixed, if not on you and on all your ancestral house?" 21 Saul answered,
"I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my
family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why
then have you spoken to me in this way?" 22 Then Samuel took Saul and his
servant-boy and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the
head of those who had been invited, of whom there were about thirty. 23
And Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the portion I gave you, the one I
asked you to put aside." 24 The cook took up the thigh and what went with
it and set them before Saul. Samuel said, "See, what was kept is set
before you. Eat; for it is set before you at the appointed time, so that
you might eat with the guests." So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 When
they came down from the shrine into the town, a bed was spread for Saul on
the roof, and he lay down to sleep. 26 Then at the break of dawn Samuel
called to Saul upon the roof, "Get up, so that I may send you on your
way." Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. 27 As
they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to Saul,
"Tell the boy to go on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here
yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God."
1
Samuel 10:1 Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and
kissed him; he said, "The LORD has anointed you ruler over his people
Israel. You shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them
from the hand of their enemies all around. Now this shall be the sign to
you that the LORD has anointed you ruler over his heritage: 2 When you
depart from me today you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the
territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; they will say to you, 'The donkeys that
you went to seek are found, and now your father has stopped worrying about
them and is worrying about you, saying: What shall I do about my son?' 3
Then you shall go on from there further and come to the oak of Tabor;
three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying
three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a
skin of wine. 4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread,
which you shall accept from them. 5 After that you shall come to
Gibeath-elohim, at the place where the Philistine garrison is; there, as
you come to the town, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from
the shrine with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre playing in front of
them; they will be in a prophetic frenzy. 6 Then the spirit of the LORD
will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them
and be turned into a different person. 7 Now when these signs meet you, do
whatever you see fit to do, for God is with you. 8 And you shall go down
to Gilgal ahead of me; then I will come down to you to present burnt
offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. Seven days you shall wait,
until I come to you and show you what you shall do." 9 As he turned away
to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs were
fulfilled that day.
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