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First Reading: Genesis Chapter 25 and 26Genesis 25
25:1 Abraham and Keturah
(1 Chron 1:32,33)
Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bore him Zimran,
Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan.
And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the sons of
Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children
of Keturah.
5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 But Abraham gave gifts to the
sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent
them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.
7 Abraham's Death and Burial
This is the sum of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: one hundred
and seventy-five years. 8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good
old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 And
his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before
Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 the field which
Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah
his wife. 11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed
his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.
12 The Families of Ishmael and Isaac
(1 Chron 1:29-31)
Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian,
Sarah's maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13 And these were the names of the sons
of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of
Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadar,
Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael and these
were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according
to their nations. 17 These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred
and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered
to his people. 18(They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt
as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren.
19 This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac
was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the
Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with
the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea,
and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within
her; and she said, "If all is well, why am I like this?" So she went
to inquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said to her:
"Two nations are in your womb,Two peoples shall be separated from your
body;One people shall be stronger than the other,And the older shall serve the
younger."
24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were
twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment
all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and
his hand took hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty
years old when she bore them.
27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but
Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he
ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Esau Sells His Birthright
(Heb 12:16)
Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary.
30 And Esau said to Jacob, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for
I am weary." Therefore his name was called Edom.
31 But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as of this day."
32 And Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright
to me?"
33 Then Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day."
So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau
bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus
Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis 26
26:1 Isaac and Abimelech
There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days
of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
2 Then the LORD appeared to him and said:"Do not go down to Egypt; live
in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with
you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and
I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make
your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants
all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;
5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes,
and My laws."
6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife.
And he said, "She is my sister"; for he was afraid to say, "She
is my wife," because he thought, "lest the men of the place kill me
for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold." 8 Now it came to pass,
when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked
through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah
his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Quite obviously she
is your wife; so how could you say, 'She is my sister'?"
Isaac said to him, "Because I said, 'Lest I die on account of her.'"
10 And Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people
might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us."
11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, "He who touches this man
or his wife shall surely be put to death."
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold;
and the LORD blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering
until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions
of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. 15 Now
the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father's servants had
dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth.
16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are much mightier
than we."
17 Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar,
and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug
in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after
the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called
them.
19 Also Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water
there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying,
"The water is ours." So he called the name of the well Esek, because
they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over
that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and
dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth,
because he said, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be
fruitful in the land."
23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the LORD appeared to him
the same night and said,"I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear,
for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant
Abraham's sake." 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of
the LORD, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.
26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends,
and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, "Why
have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?"
28 But they said, "We have certainly seen that the LORD is with you. So
we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us
make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have not
touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you
away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.'"
30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early
in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away,
and they departed from him in peace.
32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac's servants came and told him about
the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water."
33 So he called it Shebah. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this
day.
34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri
the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were
a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.
Matthew 12
12:1 Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
(Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5)
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples
were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees
saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful
to do on the Sabbath!"
3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry,
he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the
showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him,
but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath
the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 Yet I say
to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you
had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not
have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
9 Healing on the Sabbath
(Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11)
Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold,
there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying,"Is
it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" — that they might accuse Him.
11 Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep,
and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift
it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is
lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13 Then He said to the man, "Stretch
out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as
the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they
might destroy Him.
15 Behold, My Servant
But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed
Him, and He healed them all. 16 Yet He warned them not to make Him known, 17
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
18 "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,My Beloved in whom My soul is
well pleased!I will put My Spirit upon Him,And He will declare justice to the
Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel nor cry out,Nor will anyone hear His voice
in the streets. 20 A bruised reed He will not break,And smoking flax He will
not quench,Till He sends forth justice to victory; 21 And in His name Gentiles
will trust."
22 A House Divided Cannot Stand
(Mark 3:22-27; Luke 11:14-23)
Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He
healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the
multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast
out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided
against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against
itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.
How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by
whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But
if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come
upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods,
unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30
He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters
abroad.
31 The Unpardonable Sin
(Mark 3:28-30)
"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men,
but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who
speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks
against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or
in the age to come.
33 A Tree Known by Its Fruit
(Matt 7:15-20)
"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad
and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How
can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart
the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings
forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil
things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will
give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be
justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
38 The Scribes and Pharisees Ask for a Sign
(Luke 11:29-32)
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want
to see a sign from You."
39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation
seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet
Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great
fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of
the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation
and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed
a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up in the
judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of
the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is
here.
43 An Unclean Spirit Returns
(Luke 11:24-26)
"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places,
seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, 'I will return to my house from
which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself,
and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than
the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation."
46 Jesus' Mother and Brothers Send for Him
(Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21)
While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers
stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, "Look,
Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."
48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother
and who are My brothers?" 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples
and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the
will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."
BIBLE SUPERSTARS
ABRAHAM
Part 1 of 2
We first meet Abram (later renamed Abraham) in Genesis 11. He is listed as the oldest son of Terah of the descendents of Shem. Abram or Abraham is a key person in the unfolding of God's purpose. In Genesis 12 he is called from his home country to a land that God would show him. That land shown to Abraham by God is the central location of the unfolding of Biblical events known as Israel, The Promised Land, The Holy Land, etc.
God calls Abraham to leave his home and Abraham believes God and obeys. As a result of this Abraham received several promises from God which can be found in Genesis 12, 13, 15, 17, and 22. These promises can be summarized as follows:
At the time when Abram received the original promises he had no children and by the end of his life all the land he owned he had purchased to bury his wife Sarah. The rest of the Bible unfolds the story of the gospel message that Abraham heard in these promises.
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