Sunday
Continuing with the Old Testament highlights this week…

Genesis:  the Flood continued:  And after that forty days were passed, Noe, opening the window of the ark, sent forth a raven, which went forth and did not return till the waters were dried up upon the earth. He sent forth also a dove after him, to see if the waters had now ceased upon the face of the earth; but she, not finding where her foot might rest, returned to him into the ark; for the waters were upon the whole earth; and he put forth his hand and caught her, and brought her into the ark. And having waited yet seven other days, he again sent forth the dove out of the ark; and she came to him in the evening, carrying a bough of an olive tree, with green leaves in her mouth. Noe therefore understood that the waters were ceased upon the earth. And he stayed yet another seven days; and he sent forth the dove which returned not any more unto him. And Noe, opening the covering of the ark, looked and saw the face of the earth was dried.
And God spoke to Noe, saying, “Go out of the ark, thou and thy wife, thy sons, and the wives of thy sons with thee; and all living things that are with thee of all flesh, as well in fowls as in beasts, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, bring out with thee; and go ye out upon the earth, and increase and multiply upon it.” And they went forth.
Prayer:   O Lord, lead me not into temptation.

O Lord, grant me good thoughts.  (Hourly prayers or St John Chrysostom)

Monday

The Flood cont…

And Noe built an altar unto the Lord; and taking of all cattle and fowls that were clean,11 offered holo¬ causts12 upon the altar. And the Lord smelled13 a sweet savor, and said, “I will no more curse the earth for the sake of man; for the imagination and the thought of man’s heart are prone to evil from his youth; therefore I will no more destroy every living soul as I have done. All the days of the earth, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, night and day, shall not cease.”
And God blessed Noe and his sons. And He said to them, “Increase and multiply and fill the earth. And
Noe After the Deluge.
I will establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall be no more destroyed with the waters of a flood; neither shall there be from henceforth a flood to waste the earth.”
And the sons of Noe, who came out of the ark,  were Sem, Cham, and Japhet; and from these was all man¬ kind spread over the whole earth.

Prayer:  O Lord, grant me tears, and remembrance of death, and compunction.

O Lord, grant me the thought of confessing my sins.
Tuesday

The Patriarchs of Israel: Now among the descendants of Sem, there was one whose name was Thare* And Thare went forth, with his family, from Ur of the Chal¬ dees, where they lived, to go into the land of Chanaan;1
The Departure of Abram.
and they came as far as Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Thare were two hundred and five years;2 and he died in Haran.3 And his son’s name was Abram.
And the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father’s house, and come into the land which I shall show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation; and I will bless thee and magnify thy name; and thou shalt be blessed; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed.”4
So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him; and he took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother’s son, and all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls which they had gotten in Haran, and they went out to go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, 44To thy seed will I give this land. ” And Abram built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And Melchisedech,5 the king of Salem,6 bringing forth bread and wine, (for he was the Priest of the Most High God) blessed Abram, and said, 44 Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, who created heaven and earth; and blessed be the Most High God by whose protection the enemies are in thy hands.” And Abram dwelled in the land of Chanaan.

Prayer: O Lord, grant me humility, chastity, and obedience.

O Lord, grant me patience, courage, and meekness.

 

Wednesday

Genesis cont…And the Lord appeared to Abraham7 in the Vale of Mambre, as he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day. And when he had lifted up his eyes there appeared to him three men standing near him; and as soon as he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground. And he said, 4kLord, if I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant, but I will fetch a little water and wash ye your feet; and rest ye under the tree, and I will set a morsel of bread, and
strengthen ye your heart; afterwards you shall pass on, for therefore you are come aside to your servant/’
And they said, “Do as thou hast spoken/’
Abraham therefore made haste into the tent to Sara,8 and said to her, “Make haste; temper together three measures of flour, and make cakes upon the hearth.”
And he himself ran to the herd, and took from thence a calf, very tender and very good, and gave it to a young man, who made haste and boiled it. He took also butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and set before them; but he stood beside them under the tree.
And when they had eaten they said to him, “Where is Sara, thy wife?”
He answered, “Lo, she is in the tent.”

Prayer:  O Lord, implant in me the root of good, Thy fear in my heart.

O Lord, vouchsafe me to love Thee with all my soul and thoughts, and in all things to do Thy will.

Thursday
Story of Abraham cont…And he said to him, 441 will return and come to thee at this time, life accompanying, and Sara, thy wife, shall have a son.”
Now Sara and Abraham were both old, and far advanced in years; and Sara laughed secretly.
And the Lord said to Abraham, 44 Why did Sara laugh, saying, ‘Shall I who am an old woman, bear a child indeed.’ Is there anything hard to God? Accord¬ ing to appointment, I will return to thee at this time, life accompanying, and Sara shall have a son. ”
And the Lord visited Sara as He had promised, and fulfilled what He had spoken. And she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the time that God had foretold her. And Abraham called the name of the son, whom Sara bore him, Isaac.

 

Prayer: O Lord, protect me from evil men, and demons, and passions, and from every other unseemly thing.

O Lord, Thou knowest that Thou doest as Thou wilt: Thy will be done also in me a sinner; for blessed art Thou unto the ages. Amen.

 

Friday

Challenge to Abraham:  After these things God tempted10 Abraham, and said to him, 44 Abraham, Abra¬ ham.”
And he answered, “Here I am.”
He said to him, 44Take thy only begotten son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of vision,11 and there thou shalt offer him for a holocaust upon one of the mountains which I shall show thee. ”
So Abraham, rising up in the night, saddled his ass, and took with him two young men, and Isaac, his son; and when he had cut wood for the holocaust, he went his way to the place which God had commanded him.
And the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the place afar off; and he said to his young men, 44Stay you
here with the ass; I and the boy will go with speed as far as yonder, and after we have worshipped, will return to you. ” And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he himself carried in his hands fire and a sword.
And as they two went on together,
Isaac said to his father, “My Fa¬ ther.”
And he answer¬ ed, “What wilt thou, my son?”
“ Behold,” said he, “fire and wood; where is the victim for the holocaust?”
And Abraham said, “ God will pro¬ vide himself a vic¬ tim for a holocaust, my son. ”

Prayer:     Lord if it be that I have done a good thing I thank Thee for by Thy Grace is has been done.

Saturday

Abraham and Isaac cont… So they went on together, and came to the place which God had shown him, where he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it. And when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar, upon the pile of wood; and he put forth his hand and took the sword, to sacrifice his son.  And behold, an angel of the Lord from heaven called to him saying, “Abraham, Abraham.”
And he answered, “Here I am.”
And he said to him, “Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou anything to him; now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for My sake.” And Abraham lifting up his eyes, saw behind his back a ram amongst the briers, sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son.12
And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven saying, “By My own self have I sworn, saith the Lord: Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for My sake, I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore; thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the world be blessed, because thou hast obeyed My voice.”
And Abraham returned to his young men, and they went to Bersabee together; and he dwelled there.

Prayer:   Lord have mercy upon us, Christ have mercy upon us, Lord have mercy upon us.