One Year Pray for America Bible - Flipbook - Page 76
January 18
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They are like jewels on a
necklace.
They keep you safe on your way,
and your feet will not stumble.
You can go to bed without fear;
you will lie down and sleep
soundly.
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26
You need not be afraid of sudden
disaster
or the destruction that comes
upon the wicked,
for the Lord is your security.
He will keep your foot from
being caught in a trap.
Lord, Jesus was right: No divided kingdom can thrive—
including ours. Inspire our leaders to model a way out of
this thicket of divisiveness we are ensnared in. May their
gracious words and reasoned actions inspire heartfelt
unity. Amen.
GENESIS 37:1–38:30
So Jacob settled again in the land of
Canaan, where his father had lived as
a foreigner.
2 This is the account of Jacob and his
family. When Joseph was seventeen
years old, he o
ften tended his father’s
flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bil
hah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported
to his father some of the bad things his
brothers were doing.
3 Jacob* loved Joseph more than any
of his other children because Joseph
had been born to him in his old age. So
one day Jacob had a special gift made
for Joseph—a beautiful robe.* 4 But his
brothers hated Joseph because their
father loved him more than the rest of
them. They couldn’t say a kind word
to him.
5 One night Joseph had a dream, and
when he told his brothers about it,
they hated him more than ever. 6 “Listen to this dream,” he said. 7 “We were
out in the field, tying up bundles of
grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up,
and your bundles all gathered around
and bowed low before mine!”
8 His brothers responded, “So you
think you will be our king, do you? Do
you actually think you will reign over
us?” And they hated him all the more
because of his dreams and the way he
talked about them.
9 Soon Jo
seph had another dream,
and again he told his brothers about
it. “Listen, I have had another dream,”
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JANUARY
he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven
stars bowed low before me!”
10 This time he told the dream to his
father as well as to his brothers, but
his father scolded him. “What kind of
dream is that?” he asked. “Will your
mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground
before you?” 11 But while his brothers
were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.
12 Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers
went to pasture their father’s flocks
at Shechem. 13 When they had been
gone for some time, Jacob said to Jo
seph, “Your brothers are pasturing
the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and
I will send you to them.”
“I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied.
14 “Go and see how your brothers
and the flocks are getting along,”
Jacob said. “Then come back and
bring me a report.” So Jacob sent him
on his way, and Joseph traveled to
Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.
15 When he arrived there, a man
from the area noticed him wandering
around the countryside. “What are
you looking for?” he asked.
16 “I’m looking for my brothers,”
Joseph replied. “Do you know where
they are pasturing their sheep?”
17 “Yes,” the man told him. “They
have moved on from here, but I heard
them say, ‘Let’s go on to Dothan.’” So
Joseph followed his brothers to Do
than and found them there.
