Genesis 13 - 14, Matthew 10:24-11:30, Psalm 7

Abram and Lot Separate

13So Abram went up from Egypt to ^athe ¹Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

²Now Abram was ^avery rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. ³And he went ¹on his journeys from the ²Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, ^abetween Bethel and Ai, ⁴to the place of the ^aaltar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called upon the name of Yahweh.

⁵Now ^aLot, who was going with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶And ^athe land could not ¹sustain them ²while living together, ^bfor their possessions were so abundant that they were not able to live together. ⁷^aAnd there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now ^bthe Canaanite and the Perizzite were living then in the land.

⁸^aSo Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. ⁹“Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” ¹⁰Then Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the ¹^,^avalley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before Yahweh ^bdestroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like ^cthe garden of Yahweh, ^dlike the land of Egypt as you go to ^eZoar. ¹¹So Lot chose for himself all the ¹valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. ¹²Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived in ^athe cities of the ¹valley and moved his tents as far as Sodom. ¹³Now ^athe men of Sodom were evil and ^bsinners, exceedingly so, against Yahweh.

¹⁴And Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “^aNow lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, ^bnorthward and southward and eastward and westward; ¹⁵^afor all the land which you see, ^bI will give it to you and to your seed forever. ¹⁶“And I will make your seed ^aas the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your seed can also be numbered. ¹⁷“Arise, ^awalk about the land through its length and breadth; for ^bI will give it to you.” ¹⁸Then Abram moved his tent and came and lived by the ¹^,^aoaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built ^ban altar to Yahweh.

Kings of the Valley Take Lot

14And it happened in the days of Amraphel king of ^aShinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of ^bElam, and Tidal king of ¹Goiim, ²that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of ^aAdmah, and Shemeber king of ^bZeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, ^cZoar). ³All these ¹came as allies to ^athe valley of Siddim (that is, ^bthe Salt Sea). ⁴Now for twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵So in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and struck the ^aRephaim in ^bAshteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in ¹^,^cShaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶and the ^aHorites in their Mount Seir, as far as ^bEl-paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, ^aKadesh). And they struck all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who were living in ^bHazazon-tamar. ⁸And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arranged themselves for battle against them in ^athe valley of Siddim, ⁹against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of ¹Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five— ¹⁰now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits—and ^athe kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell ¹into them; but those who remained behind fled to the ^bhill country. ¹¹Then they took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply and departed. ¹²They also took Lot, ^aAbram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed; ^bnow he was living in Sodom.

¹³Then ¹a fugitive came and told Abram the ^aHebrew. Now he was dwelling by the ²^,^boaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were ³^,^cin a covenant with Abram. ¹⁴So Abram heard that ^ahis ¹relative had been taken captive, and he ²led out his trained men, ^bborn in his house, 318 in number, and went in pursuit as far as ^cDan. ¹⁵^aAnd he divided ¹his men against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is ²north of ^bDamascus. ¹⁶And he ^abrought back all the possessions, and he also brought back ^bhis ¹relative Lot with his possessions and also the women and the people.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷Then after he came back from striking down Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, ^athe king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, ^bthe King’s Valley). ¹⁸And ^aMelchizedek king of Salem brought out ^bbread and wine; now he was a ^cpriest of ¹God Most High. ¹⁹Then he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of ¹God Most High,²^,^aPossessor of heaven and earth;

²⁰And blessed be ¹God Most High,Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” ^aThen he gave him a tenth of all.

²¹And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the ¹people to me, but take the possessions for yourself.” ²²Then Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have ¹raised my hand to Yahweh ²^,^aGod Most High, ³^,^bpossessor of heaven and earth, ²³that ^aI will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, so that you would not say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴“¹I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, ^aAner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

The Meaning of Discipleship

²⁴“^aA ¹disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵“It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. ^aIf they have called the head of the house ¹^,^bBeelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

²⁶“Therefore do not ^afear them, ^bfor there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. ²⁷“^aWhat I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim ^bupon the housetops. ²⁸“And do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather ^afear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ¹^,^bhell. ²⁹“^aAre not two sparrows sold for an ¹assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰“But ^athe very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹“So do not fear; ^ayou are more valuable than many sparrows.

³²“Therefore ^aeveryone who ¹confesses Me before men, I will also confess ²him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³“But ^awhoever ¹denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴“^aDo not think that I came to ¹bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵“For I came to ^aset a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶and ^aa man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

³⁷“^aHe who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸“And ^ahe who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹“^aHe who has found his ¹life will lose it, and he who has lost his ²life for My sake will find it.

The Reward of Service

⁴⁰“^aHe who receives you receives Me, and ^bhe who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ⁴¹“^aHe who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴²“And ^awhoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these ¹little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

Questions from John the Baptist

11¹^,^aNow it happened that when Jesus had finished ²giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there ^bto teach and ³preach in their cities.

²^aNow when ^bJohn in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples ³and said to Him, “Are You ^athe One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?” ⁴And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵^athe blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the ^bpoor have the ¹gospel preached to them. ⁶“And blessed is he ¹who ^adoes not ²take offense at Me.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John the Baptist

⁷Now as these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into ^athe wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸“¹But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ ²palaces! ⁹“¹But what did you go out to see? ^aA prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ¹⁰“This is the one about whom it ¹is written, ‘^aBehold, I send My messenger ²ahead of You,Who will prepare Your way before You.’

¹¹“Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is ¹least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹²“^aAnd from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven ¹suffers violence, and violent men ²take it by force. ¹³“For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴“And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is ^aElijah who ¹was to come. ¹⁵“^aHe who has ears to hear, ¹let him hear.

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children, ¹⁷and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not ¹mourn.’ ¹⁸“For John came neither ^aeating nor ^bdrinking, and they say, ‘^cHe has a demon!’ ¹⁹“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a ¹drunkard, ^aa friend of tax collectors and ²sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated ³by her deeds.”

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

²⁰Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His ¹^,^amiracles were done, because they did not repent. ²¹“^aWoe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, ^bBethsaida! For if the ¹miracles had occurred in ^cTyre and ^dSidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in ²^,^esackcloth and ashes. ²²“Nevertheless I say to you, ^ait will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in ^bthe day of judgment than for you. ²³“And ^aCapernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will ^bdescend to ^cHades; for if the ¹miracles had occurred in ^dSodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴“Nevertheless I say to you that ^ait will be more tolerable for the land of ^bSodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

Come to Me

²⁵^aAt that ¹time Jesus said, “I praise You, ^bFather, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^cYou have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. ²⁶“Yes, ^aFather, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. ²⁷“^aAll things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father ^bexcept the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

²⁸“^aCome to Me, all ¹who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹“Take My yoke upon you and ^alearn from Me, for I am ¹gentle and humble in heart, and ^byou will find rest for your souls. ³⁰“For ^aMy yoke is ¹easy and My burden is light.”

In You I Have Taken Refuge

A ¹Shiggaion of David, which he sang to Yahweh concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.

O Yahweh my God, ^ain You I have taken refuge;Save me from all those who pursue me, and ^bdeliver me,²Lest he tear ¹my soul ^alike a lion,Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.³O Yahweh my God, if I have done this,If there is ^ainjustice in my hands,⁴If I have ^arewarded evil to him who ¹is at peace with me,Or have ^bplundered my adversary without cause,⁵Let the enemy pursue ¹my soul and overtake ²it;And let him trample my life down to the groundAnd cause my glory to dwell in the dust. ³ Selah.⁶^aArise, O Yahweh, in Your anger;^bLift up Yourself against ^cthe fury of my adversaries,And ^darouse Yourself ¹for me; You have appointed judgment.⁷Let the congregation of the ^apeoples encompass You,And over ¹them return on high.⁸Yahweh ^ajudges the peoples;¹^,^bGive justice to me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.⁹O let ^athe evil of the wicked come to an end, but ^bestablish the righteous;For the righteous God ^ctests the hearts and ¹minds.¹⁰My ^ashield is ¹with God,Who ^bsaves the upright in heart.¹¹God is a ^arighteous judge,And a God who has ^bindignation every day.¹²If ¹a man ^adoes not repent, He will ^bsharpen His sword;He has ^cbent His bow and prepared it.¹³He has also prepared ¹for Himself deadly weapons;He makes His ^aarrows fiery shafts.¹⁴Behold, he travails with wickedness,And he ^aconceives mischief and gives birth to falsehood.¹⁵He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,And has ^afallen into the hole which he made.¹⁶His ^amischief will return upon his own head,And his ^bviolence will descend upon ¹his own skull.¹⁷I will give thanks to Yahweh ^aaccording to His righteousnessAnd will ^bsing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High.