Tuesday \u00a0 *( Genesis 31: Jacob flees Laban after God has blessed him with most of the offspring of Laban’s flocks)<\/p>\n
25\u00a0<\/sup>So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.<\/span><\/p>\n 26\u00a0<\/sup>And Laban said to Jacob: \u201cWhat have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken<\/i> with the sword? <\/span> 27\u00a0<\/sup>Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? <\/span> 28\u00a0<\/sup>And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so<\/i> doing. <\/span> 29\u00a0<\/sup>It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, \u2018Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.\u2019 <\/span> 30\u00a0<\/sup>And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father\u2019s house, but<\/i> why did you steal my gods?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 31\u00a0<\/sup>Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, \u201cBecause I was afraid, for I said, \u2018Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.\u2019 <\/span> 32\u00a0<\/sup>With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it<\/i> with you.\u201d For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.<\/span><\/p>\n 33\u00a0<\/sup>And Laban went into Jacob\u2019s tent, into Leah\u2019s tent, and into the two maids\u2019 tents, but he did not find them.<\/i> Then he went out of Leah\u2019s tent and entered Rachel\u2019s tent. <\/span> 34\u00a0<\/sup>Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel\u2019s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them.<\/i> <\/span> 35\u00a0<\/sup>And she said to her father, \u201cLet it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is<\/i> with me.\u201d And he searched but did not find the household idols.<\/span><\/p>\n 36\u00a0<\/sup>Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: \u201cWhat is<\/i> my trespass? What is<\/i> my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? <\/span> 37\u00a0<\/sup>Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it<\/i> here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! <\/span> 38\u00a0<\/sup>These twenty years I have been<\/i> with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. <\/span> 39\u00a0<\/sup>That which was torn by beasts<\/i> I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether<\/i> stolen by day or stolen by night. <\/span> 40\u00a0<\/sup>There<\/i> I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. <\/span> 41\u00a0<\/sup>Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. <\/span> 42\u00a0<\/sup>Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you<\/i> last night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Wednesday \u00a0 (Genesis 33 – Esau has forgiven Jacob after many years)<\/p>\n Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. <\/span> 2\u00a0<\/sup>And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. <\/span> 3\u00a0<\/sup>Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.<\/span><\/p>\n 4\u00a0<\/sup>But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. <\/span> 5\u00a0<\/sup>And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, \u201cWho are<\/i> these with you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So he said, \u201cThe children whom God has graciously given your servant.\u201d <\/span> 6\u00a0<\/sup>Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down. <\/span> 7\u00a0<\/sup>And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.<\/span><\/p>\n 8\u00a0<\/sup>Then Esau said, \u201cWhat do<\/i> you mean by<\/i> all this company which I met?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And he said, \u201cThese are<\/i> to find favor in the sight of my lord.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 9\u00a0<\/sup>But Esau said, \u201cI have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 10\u00a0<\/sup>And Jacob said, \u201cNo, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. <\/span> 11\u00a0<\/sup>Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.\u201d So he urged him, and he took it.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n 12\u00a0<\/sup>Then Esau said, \u201cLet us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Thursday<\/p>\n Genesis 35<\/p>\n 9\u00a0<\/sup>Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. <\/span> 10\u00a0<\/sup>And God said to him, \u201cYour name is<\/i> Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.\u201d So He called his name Israel. <\/span> 11\u00a0<\/sup>Also God said to him: \u201cI am<\/i> God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. <\/span> 12\u00a0<\/sup>The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.\u201d <\/span> 13\u00a0<\/sup>Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. <\/span> 14\u00a0<\/sup>So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. <\/span> 15\u00a0<\/sup>And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.<\/span><\/p>\n Friday \u00a0(Genesis 27: \u00a0Joseph’s brother’s begin to hate him)<\/p>\n Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. <\/span> 2\u00a0<\/sup>This is<\/i> the history of Jacob.<\/span><\/p>\n Joseph, being<\/i> seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was<\/i> with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father\u2019s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.<\/span><\/p>\n 3\u00a0<\/sup>Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was<\/i> the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many<\/i> colors. <\/span> 4\u00a0<\/sup>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.<\/span><\/p>\n 5\u00a0<\/sup>Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it<\/i> to his brothers; and they hated him even more. <\/span> 6\u00a0<\/sup>So he said to them, \u201cPlease hear this dream which I have dreamed: <\/span> 7\u00a0<\/sup>There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 8\u00a0<\/sup>And his brothers said to him, \u201cShall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?\u201d So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.<\/span><\/p>\n Saturday<\/p>\n Genesis 37<\/p>\n 18\u00a0<\/sup>Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. <\/span> 19\u00a0<\/sup>Then they said to one another, \u201cLook, this dreamer is coming! <\/span> 20\u00a0<\/sup>Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, \u2018Some wild beast has devoured him.\u2019 We shall see what will become of his dreams!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 21\u00a0<\/sup>But Reuben heard it,<\/i> and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, \u201cLet us not kill him.\u201d <\/span> 22\u00a0<\/sup>And Reuben said to them, \u201cShed no blood, but<\/i> cast him into this pit which is<\/i> in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him\u201d\u2014that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.<\/span><\/p>\n 23\u00a0<\/sup>So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of<\/i> his tunic, the tunic of many<\/i> colors that was<\/i> on him. <\/span> 24\u00a0<\/sup>Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was<\/i> empty; there was<\/i> no water in it.<\/span><\/p>\n 25\u00a0<\/sup>And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them<\/i> down to Egypt. <\/span> 26\u00a0<\/sup>So Judah said to his brothers, \u201cWhat profit is there<\/i> if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? <\/span> 27\u00a0<\/sup>Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is<\/i> our brother and<\/i> our flesh.\u201d And his brothers listened. <\/span> 28\u00a0<\/sup>Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers<\/i> pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels<\/i> of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\n 29\u00a0<\/sup>Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was<\/i> not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. <\/span> 30\u00a0<\/sup>And he returned to his brothers and said, \u201cThe lad is<\/i> no more;<\/i> and I, where shall I go?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 31\u00a0<\/sup>So they took Joseph\u2019s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. <\/span> 32\u00a0<\/sup>Then they sent the tunic of many<\/i> colors, and they brought it<\/i> to their father and said, \u201cWe have found this. Do you know whether it is<\/i> your son\u2019s tunic or not?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 33\u00a0<\/sup>And he recognized it and said, \u201cIt is<\/i> my son\u2019s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tuesday \u00a0 *( Genesis 31: Jacob flees Laban after God has blessed him with most of the offspring of Laban’s flocks) 25\u00a0So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-orthodox-daily-devotional","has_no_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2552,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2551\/revisions\/2552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthodoxinsight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}