But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. Matthew 12:7
Genesis 35-36
Genesis 35
Jacob Makes an Altar in Bethel
1 God said to Jacob, “Get up. Go up to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there to the Lord, who appeared to you when you fled from the presence of Esau your brother.”
2 Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 Let us go up to Bethel. I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in my day of distress and was with me on the way which I went.”
4 They gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
5 They traveled, and a terror from God was on the cities that were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 He built an altar there and called the place El Beth El, because there God was revealed to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
8 Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under the oak tree, south of Bethel; so it was called Allon Bacuth (oak of weeping).
Jacob’s New Name: Israel
9 The Lord appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan Aram and blessed him. 10 The Lord said to him, “Your name is Jacob. Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but your name will be Israel.”
He named him Israel.
11 The Lord said to him, “I am the Lord Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will come from you, and kings will descend from you. 12 The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and to your offspring after you, I will give the land.”
13 Then God went up from the place where he had spoken with him.
14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him “Bethel.”
Birth of Benjamin and Death of Rachel
16 They traveled from Bethel. When it was still some distance to Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and her labor was difficult.
17 When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for now you will have another son.” 18 As her soul was departing (for she was dying), she named him Benoni, but his father named him Benjamin.
19 Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (also called Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a pillar on her grave, and the Pillar of Rachel’s grave is there to this day.
Jacob’s Descendants
21 Israel traveled and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben went in and slept with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it.
Now Jacob had twelve sons.
23 The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Bilhah (Rachel’s servant) were Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Zilpah (Leah’s servant) were Gad and Asher.
These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
Death of Isaac
27 Jacob came to Isaac his father, to Mamre, to Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac lived as foreigners.
28 Isaac was 180 years old. 29 Isaac gave up his spirit and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.
Genesis 36
Esau’s Descendants
1 Now this is the history of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).
2 Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon, the Hittite; and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the granddaughter of Zibeon, the Hivite; 3 and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau. Basemath bore Reuel. 5 Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, with his livestock, all his animals, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went to a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to live together, and the land in which they traveled could not sustain them because of their livestock. 8 Esau (that is, Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir.
9 This is the history of the generations of Esau, the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.
10 These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Adah, the wife of Esau; and Reuel, the son of Basemath, the wife of Esau.
11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 Timna was concubine to Eliphaz, Esau’s son, and she bore to Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the descendants of Adah, Esau’s wife.
13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the descendants of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife, Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the granddaughter of Zibeon: she bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau.
Chiefs of Edom
15 These are the chiefs among the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 16 chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These are the chiefs who descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Adah.
17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs who descended from Reuel in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. 18 These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These are the chiefs who descended from Esau’s wife, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah.
19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.
20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs who came of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom.
22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman. Lotan’s sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he fed the donkeys of his father Zibeon.
25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
29 These are the chiefs who descended from the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, and chief Dishan. These are the chiefs who descended from the Horites, according to their divisions in the land of Seir.
Kings of Edom
31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites.
32 Bela, the son of Beor, reigned in Edom. The name of his city was Dinhabah.
33 Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zerah of Bozrah, reigned in his place.
34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
35 Husham died, and Hadad, the son of Bedad, who struck Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his city was Avith.
36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.
37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth by the river, reigned in his place.
38 Shaul died, and Baal Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.
39 Baal Hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
40 These are the names of the chiefs who came from Esau, according to their families and their places, and by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 43 chief Magdiel, and chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements in the land of their possession. This is Esau, the father of the Edomites.
Matthew 12:1-21
The Lord of the Sabbath
1 At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Your disciples do 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, and those who were with him, 4 how he entered into the house of God and ate the show bread 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 day the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ a you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
9 He departed from there and went into their synagogue. 10 And there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” that they might accuse him.
11 He said to them, “What man is there among you, who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not grab 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 day.” 13 Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored whole, just like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.
Jesus Gently Leads Justice to Victory
15 Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him, and he healed all of them 16 and commanded them that they should not make him known, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
18 “My servant whom I have chosen;
my beloved in whom I delight:
I will put my Spirit on him.
He will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised blade of grass, he will not break off.
A weak flame, he will not quench,
until he leads justice to victory.
21 In His name, the nations will hope.” b
Psalm 15
Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill
A Psalm by David.
1 Lord, who can dwell in your sanctuary?
Who can live on your holy hill?
2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right,
and speaks truth in his heart;
3 he who does not slander with his tongue,
nor does harm to his friend,
nor slanders against his fellow man;
4 in whose eyes a vile man is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord;
he who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change;
5 he who does not lend out his money with interest,
nor take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be shaken.
Proverbs 3:21-26
21 My son, let them not depart from your eyes.
Keep sound wisdom and discretion:
22 so they will be life to your soul,
and grace for your neck.
23 Then you shall walk in your way securely.
Your foot won’t stumble.
24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid.
Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden panic,
nor of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes;
26 for the Lord will be your confidence,
and will keep your foot from being taken.