Through the Bible – Day 14

₁God told Jacob, “Return to Bethel, where I appeared to you when you were running from your brother Esau. Make your home there and build an altar for me.”

₂Jacob said to his family and to everyone else who was travelling with him:

₄So everyone gave Jacob their idols and their earrings, and he buried them under the oak tree near Shechem.

₅While Jacob and his family were travelling through Canaan, God terrified the people in the towns so much that no one dared bother them. ₆Finally, they reached Bethel, also known as Luz. ₇Jacob built an altar there and called it “God of Bethel”, because that was the place where God had appeared to him when he was running from Esau. ₈While they were there, Rebekah's personal servant Deborah died. They buried her under an oak tree and called it “Weeping Oak”.

_9-11After Jacob came back to the land of Canaan, God appeared to him again. This time he gave Jacob a new name and blessed him by saying:

₁₃After God had gone, ₁₄Jacob set up a large rock, so that he would remember what had happened there. Then he poured wine and olive oil on the rock to show that it was dedicated to God, ₁₅and he named the place Bethel.

₁₆Jacob and his family had left Bethel and were still a long way from Ephrath, when the time came for Rachel's baby to be born. ₁₇She was having a rough time, but the woman who was helping her said, “Don't worry! It's a boy.” ₁₈Rachel was at the point of death, and just before dying, she said, “I'll name him Benoni.” But Jacob called him Benjamin.

₁₉Rachel was buried beside the road to Ephrath, which is also called Bethlehem. ₂₀Jacob set up a tombstone over her grave, and it is still there. ₂₁Jacob, also known as Israel, travelled to the south of Eder Tower, where he set up camp.

₂₂During their time there, Jacob's eldest son Reuben slept with Bilhah, who was one of Jacob's other wives. And Jacob found out about it.

_23-26Jacob had twelve sons while living in northern Syria. His firstborn Reuben was the son of Leah, who later gave birth to Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Leah's servant Zilpah had two sons: Gad and Asher.

Jacob and his wife Rachel had Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel's servant woman Bilhah had two more sons: Dan and Naphtali.

₂₇Jacob went to his father Isaac at Hebron, also called Mamre or Kiriath-Arba, where Isaac's father Abraham had lived as a foreigner. _28-29Isaac died at the ripe old age of one hundred and eighty, then his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

₁Esau, also known as Edom, had many descendants. ₂He married three Canaanite women: the first was Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; the second was Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; ₃the third was Basemath, who was Ishmael's daughter and Nebaioth's sister.

_4-5Esau and his three wives had five sons while in Canaan. Adah's son was Eliphaz; Basemath's son was Reuel; Oholibamah's three sons were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

₆Esau took his children and wives, his relatives and servants, his animals and possessions he had got while in Canaan, and moved far from Jacob. ₇He did this because the land was too crowded and could not support him and his brother with their flocks and herds. ₈That's why Esau made his home in the hill country of Seir.

_9-14Esau lived in the hill country of Seir and was the ancestor of the Edomites. Esau had three wives: Adah, Basemath, and Oholibamah. Here is a list of his descendants: Esau and Adah had a son named Eliphaz, whose sons were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. Timna was the other wife of Esau's son Eliphaz, and she had a son named Amalek.

Esau and Basemath had a son named Reuel, whose sons were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

Esau and Oholibamah had three sons: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

₁₅Esau and Adah's eldest son was Eliphaz, and the clans that descended from him were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ₁₆Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These and Esau's other descendants lived in the land of Edom.

₁₇The clans that descended from Esau and Basemath's son Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

₁₈The clans that descended from Esau and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. ₁₉All of these clans descended from Esau, who was known as Edom.

₂₀Seir was from the Horite tribe that had lived in Edom before the time of Esau. The clans that had descended from him were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ₂₁Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

₂₂Lotan's sons were Hori and Heman; his sister was Timna.

₂₃Shobal's sons were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

₂₄Zibeon's sons were Aiah and Anah—the same Anah who found an oasis in the desert while taking the donkeys of his father out to pasture.

₂₅Anah's children were Dishon and Oholibamah.

₂₆Dishon's sons were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

₂₇Ezer's sons were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

₂₈Dishan's sons were Uz and Aran.

₂₉The clans of the Horites were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ₃₀Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan, and they lived in the land of Seir.

_31-39Before there were kings in Israel, the following kings ruled Edom one after another:

₄₀The clans that descended from Esau took their names from their families and the places where they lived. They are Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ₄₁Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ₄₂Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ₄₃Magdiel, and Iram. These clans descended from Esau, who was known as Edom, the father of the Edomites. They took their names from the places where they settled.

₁After Jesus left, he went to Judea and then on to the other side of the River Jordan. Once again large crowds came to him, and as usual, he taught them.

₂Some Pharisees wanted to test Jesus. So they came up to him and asked if it was right for a man to divorce his wife. ₃Jesus asked them, “What does the Law of Moses say about that?”

₄They answered, “Moses allows a man to write out divorce papers and send his wife away.”

₅Jesus replied, “Moses gave you this law because you are so heartless. ₆But in the beginning God made a man and a woman. ₇That's why a man leaves his father and mother and gets married. ₈He becomes like one person with his wife. Then they are no longer two people, but one. ₉And no one should separate a couple that God has joined together.”

₁₀When Jesus and his disciples were back in the house, they asked him about what he had said. ₁₁He told them, “A man who divorces his wife and marries someone else is unfaithful to his wife. ₁₂A woman who divorces her husband and marries again is also unfaithful.”

₁₃Some people brought their children to Jesus so that he could bless them by placing his hands on them. But his disciples told the people to stop bothering him.

₁₄When Jesus saw this, he became angry and said, “Let the children come to me! Don't try to stop them. People who are like these little children belong to the kingdom of God. ₁₅I promise you that you cannot get into God's kingdom, unless you accept it the way a child does.” ₁₆Then Jesus took the children in his arms and blessed them by placing his hands on them.

₁₇As Jesus was walking down a road, a man ran up to him. He knelt down, and asked, “Good teacher, what can I do to have eternal life?”

₁₈Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. ₁₉You know the commandments. ‘Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Do not cheat. Respect your father and mother.’ ”

₂₀The man answered, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these commandments since I was a young man.”

₂₁Jesus looked closely at the man. He liked him and said, “There's one thing you still need to do. Go and sell everything you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come with me.”

₂₂When the man heard Jesus say this, he went away gloomy and sad because he was very rich.

₂₃Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “It's hard for rich people to get into God's kingdom!” ₂₄The disciples were shocked to hear this. So Jesus told them again, “It's terribly hard to get into God's kingdom! ₂₅In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God's kingdom.”