Daily Readings for the week of July 5th
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Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah
So he said, "I am Abraham's servant.
The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.
And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and he has given him all that he has.
My master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live,
but you shall go to my father's house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.'
"I came today to the spring and said, 'O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going!
I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, "Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,"
and who will say to me, "Drink, and I will draw for your camels also" --let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master's son.'
"Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.'
She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will also water your camels.' So I drank, and she also watered the camels.
Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms.
Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son.
Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left."
And they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will."
So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham's servant and his men.
And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads; may your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes."
Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man, and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi and was settled in the Negeb.
Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field, and, looking up, he saw camels coming.
And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel
and said to the servant, "Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So she took her veil and covered herself.
And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
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God has anointed you
Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father's house,
and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him;
Daughter Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people
with all kinds of wealth. The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;
in many-colored robes she is led to the king; behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.
In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons; you will make them princes in all the earth.
I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations; therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
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Song of love
The voice of my beloved! Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, there he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away,
for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
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The king comes in peace
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.
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God is full of compassion
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.
The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.
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The struggle within the self
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good.
But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me.
For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability.
For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.
Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.
For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self,
but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
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The yoke of discipleship
"But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.'
"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon';
the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;
yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
