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First Reading: Genesis Chapter 19 and 20Genesis 19
19:1 Sodom's Depravity
Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the
gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself
with his face toward the ground. 2 And he said, "Here now, my lords, please
turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then
you may rise early and go on your way."
And they said,"No, but we will spend the night in the open square."
3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house.
Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old
and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they
called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight?
Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally."
6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and
said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 8 See now, I have two
daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and
you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is
the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof."
9 And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one came
in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with
you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came
near to break down the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled
Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 And they struck the men
who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so
that they became weary trying to find the door.
12 Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
(Matt 11:23,24; Luke 17:28-32)
Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your
sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city take them out
of this place! 13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against
them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to
destroy it."
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters,
and said,"Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this
city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying,"Arise,
take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in
the punishment of the city." 16 And while he lingered, the men took hold
of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being
merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 So
it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said,"Escape
for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape
to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."
18 Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords! 19 Indeed now, your servant
has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have
shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some
evil overtake me and I die. 20 See now, this city is near enough to flee to,
and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?)
and my soul shall live."
21 And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also,
in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. 22 Hurry,
escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there."
Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. 24 Then the LORD
rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.
25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities,
and what grew on the ground.
26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before
the LORD. 28 Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land
of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like
the smoke of a furnace. 29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities
of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of
the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.
30 The Descendants of Lot
Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters
were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters
dwelt in a cave. 31 Now the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father
is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of
all the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with
him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father." 33 So they made their
father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father,
and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
34 It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, "Indeed
I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and
you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father."
35 Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose
and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37 The firstborn
bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this
day. 38 And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he
is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.
Genesis 20
20:1 Abraham and Abimelech
And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and
Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife,"She is
my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him,"Indeed
you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's
wife."
4 But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, "Lord, will You slay
a righteous nation also? 5 Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she,
even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and
innocence of my hands I have done this."
6 And God said to him in a dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the
integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore
I did not let you touch her. 7 Now therefore, restore the man's wife; for he
is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not
restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."
8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told
all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. 9 And
Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? How
have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?
You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done." 10 Then Abimelech
said to Abraham, "What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?"
11 And Abraham said, "Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not
in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. 12 But indeed she
is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of
my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And it came to pass, when God caused me
to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, 'This is your kindness
that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, "He
is my brother."'"
14 Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them
to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, "See,
my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you." 16 Then to Sarah he
said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed
this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody."
Thus she was rebuked.
17 So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female
servants. Then they bore children; 18 for the LORD had closed up all the wombs
of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
Matthew 9
9:1 Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic
(Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26)
So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2 Then behold,
they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith,
He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven
you."
3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!"
4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your
hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say,
'Arise and walk'? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth
to forgive sins" then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take
up your bed, and go to your house." 7 And he arose and departed to his
house.
8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given
such power to men.
9 Matthew the Tax Collector
(Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32)
As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax
office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed
Him.
10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many
tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your
Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no
need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means:
'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous,
but sinners, to repentance."
14 Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting
(Mark 2:18-22; Luke 5:33-39)
Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying,"Why do we and the Pharisees
fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"
15 And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as
long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom
will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece
of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment,
and the tear is made worse. 17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins,
or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.
But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
18 A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
(Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56)
While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him,
saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and
she will live." 19 So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.
20 And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from
behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, "If
only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well." 22 But Jesus turned
around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your
faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour.
23 When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the
noisy crowd wailing, 24 He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not
dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. 25 But when the crowd was
put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And
the report of this went out into all that land.
27 Two Blind Men Healed
When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and
saying,"Son of David, have mercy on us!"
28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus
said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it
be to you." 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them,
saying, "See that no one knows it." 31 But when they had departed,
they spread the news about Him in all that country.
32 A Mute Man Speaks
As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed.
33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled,
saying, "It was never seen like this in Israel!"
34 But the Pharisees said,"He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons."
35 The Compassion of Jesus
(Luke 10:2,3)
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease
among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion
for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
37 Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but
the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into His harvest."
BIBLE SUPERSTARS
NOAH
Part 2 of 2
When Noah was 600 years old, he and his family and the animals entered the ark. They lived and stayed on the ark for about a year while the rains came and flood waters first rose and then finally receded. Compare Genesis 7:11 and 8:13 &14. Finally God told Noah that they could leave the ark. And then God made a promise to Noah:
"Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life." Genesis 9:14-15
As with many other Superstars of the Bible, Noah received an everlasting promise from God. One of the great themes of the Bible are these promises of God. Watch for them as you read.
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