Genesis 15
God’s Covenant with Abram
1 After these things the Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield and will be your exceedingly great reward.”
2 But Abram said, “Lord, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus, the son of Masek, my domestic maidservant?”
3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed, my household servant is my heir.”
4 And immediately the Voice of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but the One who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”†
5 Then He brought him outside and said to him, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your seed be.”†
6 And Abram believed God, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.†
7 Then He said to him, “I am the God who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”†
8 And he said, “Master and Lord, how will I know I will inherit it?”†
9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 So he brought all these to Him and cut them in half, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 Now around sunset, a trance fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.
13 Then He said to Abram, “Know for certain that your seed will be strangers in a land not their own, and will serve them; and they will afflict and humble them four hundred years.
14 Also, the nation they serve I will judge; and afterward, they shall come out with great possessions.
15 But as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace, buried in a good old age.
16 Then in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the sin of the Amorites is not yet filled up.”
17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down, that there was a flame, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and lamps of fire that passed between those divided pieces.
18 On the same day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I will give this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—
19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites,
20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Euaites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Psalms 17
33 It is God who girds me with power, And He made my way blameless;
34 Who makes my feet like a deer And sets me on high places;
35 Who teaches my hands to make war; And You make my arms a bronze bow;
36 And You gave me the shield of Your salvation; And Your right hand supported me; And Your instruction restored me to the end; And Your instruction will teach me.
37 You widened my steps under me, And my footsteps were not feeble.
38 I shall pursue my enemies and overtake them; And I shall not turn back until they faint;
39 I shall wound them until they cannot stand; They shall fall under my feet.
40 For You armed me with strength for war; You entangled under my feet all who rose up against me,
41 And You gave me the back of my enemies; And You destroyed all who hate me.
42 They cried out, but there was none to save them; Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
43 I will grind them fine, like the dust that blows in the wind; I will smooth them out, like mud in the streets.
44 Deliver me from the contradictions of the people; You will establish me as the head of the Gentiles; A people I never knew served me;
45 The moment they heard, they obeyed me; Sons who are strangers lied to me;
46 Sons who are strangers became old, And they became lame because of their beaten path.
47 The Lord lives, and blessed is my God. Let the salvation of my God be exalted,
48 The God who vindicates me, And who subdued the peoples under me,
49 My deliverer from the rage of my enemies; Because of those who rise up against me, You will exalt me; You will deliver me from the unrighteous man.
50 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the Gentiles, O Lord, And sing to Your name,
51 He who magnifies the salvation of His king And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his seed forever.”
Proverbs of Solomon 3
17 For length of days and years of life are in her right hand, And in her left hand are riches and glory;
18 Righteousness proceeds from her mouth, And she carries law and mercy upon her tongue.
19 Her ways are good ways, And all her paths are in peace.
20 She is a tree of life for all who cleave to her, And she is security for those who lean upon her as upon the Lord.
21 God by wisdom founded the earth And prepared the heavens with discernment.
22 With perception the depths were broken up, And the clouds flowed with dew.
Matthew 10
Encouragement to Fearless Witness
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!
26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.†
27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.†
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.†
35 For I have come to ‘ set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; †
36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’
37 He 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 he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.†
41 He 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 whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”