Gen 34:1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.
Gen 34:2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.
Gen 34:3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.
Gen 34:4 So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife.”
Gen 34:5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.
Gen 34:6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.
Gen 34:7 The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done.
Gen 34:8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife.
Gen 34:9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.
Gen 34:10 You shall dwell with us, and the land shall be open to you. Dwell and trade in it, and get property in it.”
Gen 34:11 Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.
Gen 34:12 Ask me for as great a bride price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.”
Gen 34:13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah.
Gen 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.
Gen 34:15 Only on this condition will we agree with you–that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised.
Gen 34:16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people.
Gen 34:17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.”
Gen 34:18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem.
Gen 34:19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house.
Gen 34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying,
Gen 34:21 “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters.
Gen 34:22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people–when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised.
Gen 34:23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.”
Gen 34:24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
Gen 34:25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males.
Gen 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away.
Gen 34:27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.
Gen 34:28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field.
Gen 34:29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.
Gen 34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.”
Gen 34:31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”

Gen 35:1 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
Gen 35:2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves and change your garments.
Gen 35:3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”
Gen 35:4 So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree that was near Shechem.
Gen 35:5 And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
Gen 35:6 And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him,
Gen 35:7 and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.
Gen 35:8 And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So he called its name Allon-bacuth.
Gen 35:9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.
Gen 35:10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel.
Gen 35:11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.
Gen 35:12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”
Gen 35:13 Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him.
Gen 35:14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.
Gen 35:15 So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.
Gen 35:16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor.
Gen 35:17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.”
Gen 35:18 And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.
Gen 35:19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem),
Gen 35:20 and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.
Gen 35:21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.
Gen 35:22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
Gen 35:23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
Gen 35:24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
Gen 35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant: Dan and Naphtali.
Gen 35:26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
Gen 35:27 And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.
Gen 35:28 Now the days of Isaac were 180 years.
Gen 35:29 And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Psa 18:25 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
Psa 18:26 with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
Psa 18:27 For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.
Psa 18:28 For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
Psa 18:29 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
Psa 18:30 This God–his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
Psa 18:31 For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?–
Psa 18:32 the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.
Psa 18:33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.
Psa 18:34 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Psa 18:35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great.
Psa 18:36 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.
Psa 18:37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed.
Psa 18:38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet.
Psa 18:39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.
Psa 18:40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed.
Psa 18:41 They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
Psa 18:42 I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
Psa 18:43 You delivered me from strife with the people; you made me the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.
Psa 18:44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me; foreigners came cringing to me.
Psa 18:45 Foreigners lost heart and came trembling out of their fortresses.
Psa 18:46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation–
Psa 18:47 the God who gave me vengeance and subdued peoples under me,
Psa 18:48 who delivered me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you rescued me from the man of violence.
Psa 18:49 For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name.
Psa 18:50 Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.

Mat 22:1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying,
Mat 22:2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son,
Mat 22:3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.
Mat 22:4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’
Mat 22:5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,
Mat 22:6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
Mat 22:7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
Mat 22:8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.
Mat 22:9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’
Mat 22:10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Mat 22:11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.
Mat 22:12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Mat 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words.
Mat 22:16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.
Mat 22:17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
Mat 22:18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
Mat 22:19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.
Mat 22:20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
Mat 22:21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Mat 22:22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
Mat 22:23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question,
Mat 22:24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’
Mat 22:25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.
Mat 22:26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh.
Mat 22:27 After them all, the woman died.
Mat 22:28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”
Mat 22:29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
Mat 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
Mat 22:31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God:
Mat 22:32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”
Mat 22:33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
Mat 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.
Mat 22:35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.
Mat 22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
Mat 22:37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the great and first commandment.
Mat 22:39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Mat 22:41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,
Mat 22:42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.”
Mat 22:43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
Mat 22:44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’?
Mat 22:45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
Mat 22:46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

On this day...

• Course Syllabus - 2011
• Cremation & the Devil - 2011
• The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered - 2011
• DISCERNMENT - 2011
• Information Overload - 2011
• Is God evil? - 2011
• January 23 - 2010
• January 22 - 2010
• January 21 - 2010
• January 20 - 2010