Atheism and Liberal, Missouri by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1447

Atheism and Liberal, Missouri

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

In the summer of 1880, George H. Walser founded the town of Liberal in southwest Missouri. Named after the Liberal League in Lamar, Missouri (to which the town’s organizer belonged), Walser’s objective was “to found a town without a church, [w]here unbelievers could bring up their children without religious training,” and where Christians were not allowed (Thompson, 1895; Becker, 1895). “His idea was to build up a town that should exclusively be the home of Infidels...a town that should have neither God, Hell, Church, nor Saloon” (Brand, 1895). Some of the early inhabitants of Liberal even encouraged other infidels to move to their town by publishing an advertisement which boasted that Liberal “is the only town of its size in the United States without a priest, preacher, church, saloon, God, Jesus, hell or devil” (Keller, 1885, p. 5). Walser and his “freethinking” associates were openly optimistic about their new town. Excitement was in the air, and atheism was at its core. They believed that their godless town of “sober, trustworthy and industrious” individuals would thrive for years on end. But, as one young resident of that town, Bessie Thompson, wrote about Liberal in 1895, “...like all other unworthy causes, it had its day and passed away.” Bessie did not mean that the actual town of Liberal ceased to exist, but that the idea of having a “good, godless” city is a contradiction in terms. A town built upon “trustworthy” atheistic ideals eventually will reek of the rotten, immoral fruits of infidelity. Such fruits were witnessed and reported firsthand by Clark Braden in 1885.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Saturday, May 2, 1885

Braden was an experienced preacher, debater, and author. In his lifetime, he presented more than 3,000 lectures, and held more than 130 regular debates—eighteen of which were with the Mormons (Carpenter, 1909, pp. 324-325). In 1872, Braden even challenged the renowned agnostic Robert Ingersoll to debate, to which Ingersoll reportedly responded, “I am not such a fool as to debate. He would wear me out” (Haynes, 1915, pp. 481-482). Although Braden was despised by some, his skills in writing and public speaking were widely known and acknowledged. In February 1885, Clark Braden introduced himself to the townspeople of Liberal (Keller, 1885, p. 5; Moore, 1963, p. 38), and soon thereafter he wrote about what he had seen.

In an article that appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on May 2, 1885, titled “An Infidel Experiment,” Braden reported the following.

The boast about the sobriety of the town is false. But few of the infidels are total abstainers. Liquor can be obtained at three different places in this town of 300 inhabitants. More drunken infidels can be seen in a year in Liberal than drunken Christians among one hundred times as many church members during the same time. Swearing is the common form of speech in Liberal, and nearly every inhabitant, old and young, swears habitually. Girls and boys swear on the streets, playground, and at home. Fully half of the females will swear, and a large number swear habitually.... Lack of reverence for parents and of obedience to them is the rule. There are more grass widows, grass widowers and people living together, who have former companions living, than in any other town of ten times the population.... A good portion of the few books that are read are of the class that decency keeps under lock and key....

These infidels...can spend for dances and shows ten times as much as they spend on their liberalism. These dances are corrupting the youth of the surrounding country with infidelity and immorality. There is no lack of loose women at these dances.

Since Liberal was started there has not been an average of one birth per year of infidel parents. Feticide is universal. The physicians of the place say that a large portion of their practice has been trying to save females from consequences of feticide. In no town is slander more prevalent, or the charges more vile. If one were to accept what the inhabitants say of each other, he would conclude that there is a hell, including all Liberal, and that its inhabitants are the devils (as quoted in Keller, 1885, p. 5).

According to Braden, “[s]uch are the facts concerning this infidel paradise.... Every one who has visited Liberal, and knows the facts, knows that such is the case” (p. 5).

As one can imagine, Braden’s comments did not sit well with some of the townspeople of Liberal. In fact, a few days after Braden’s observations appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he was arrested for criminal libel and tried on May 18, 1885. According to Braden, “After the prosecution had presented their evidence, the case was submitted to the jury without any rebutting evidence by the defence (sic), and the jury speedily brought in a verdict of ‘No cause for action’ ” (as quoted in Mouton, n.d., pp. 36-37). Unfortunately for Braden, however, the controversy was not over. On the following day (May 19, 1885), a civil suit was filed by one of the townsmen—S.C. Thayer, a hotel operator in Liberal. The petition for damages of $25,000 alleged that Clark Braden and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an article in which they had made false, malicious, and libelous statements against the National Hotel in Liberal, managed by Mr. Thayer. He claimed that Braden’s remarks, published in the St. Louise Post-Dispatch on May 2, 1885, “greatly and irreparably injured and ruined” his business (Thayer v. Braden). However, when the prosecution learned that the defense was thoroughly prepared to prove that Liberal was a den of infamy, and that its hotels were little more than houses of prostitution, the suit was dismissed on September 17, 1886 by the plaintiff at his own cost (Thayer v. Braden). Braden was exonerated in everything he had written. Indeed, the details Braden originally reported about Liberal, Missouri, on May 2, 1885 were found to be completely factual.

It took only a few short years for Liberal’s unattractiveness and inconsistency to be exposed. People cannot exclude God from the equation, and expect to remain a “sober, trustworthy” town. Godlessness equals unruliness, which in turn makes a repugnant, immoral people. The town of Liberal was a failure. Only five years after its establishment, Braden indicated that “[n]ine-tenths of those now in town would leave if they could sell their property. More property has been lost by locating in the town than has been made in it.... Hundreds have been deceived and injured and ruined financially” (Keller, p. 5). Apparently, “doing business with the devil” did not pay the kind of dividends George Walser (the town’s founder) and the early inhabitants of Liberal desired. It appears that even committed atheists found living in Liberal in the early days intolerable. Truly, as has been observed in the past, “An infidel surrounded by Christians may spout his infidelity and be able to endure it, but a whole town of atheists is too horrible to contemplate.” It is one thing to espouse a desire to live in a place where there is no God, but it is an entirely different thing for such a place actually to exist. For it to become a reality is more than the atheist can handle. Adolf Hitler took atheism to its logical conclusion in Nazi Germany, and created a world that even most atheists detested. Although atheists want no part of living according to the standards set out by Jesus and His apostles in the New Testament, the real fruits of evolutionary atheism also are too horrible for them to contemplate.

Although the town of Liberal still exists today (with a population of about 800 people), and although vestiges of its atheistic heritage are readily apparent, it is not the same town it was in 1895. At present, at least seven religious groups associated with Christianity exist within this city that once banned Christianity and all that it represents. Numerous other churches meet in the surrounding areas. According to one of the religious leaders in the town, “a survey of Liberal recently indicated that 50% of the people are actively involved with some church” (Abbott, 2003)—a far cry from where Liberal began.

There is no doubt that the moral, legal, and educational systems of Liberal, Missouri, in the twenty-first century are the fruits of biblical teaching, not atheism. When Christianity and all of the ideals that the New Testament teaches are effectively put into action, people will value human life, honor their parents, respect their neighbors, and live within the moral guidelines given by God in the Bible. A city comprised of faithful Christians would be mostly void of such horrors as sexually transmitted diseases, murder, drunken fathers who beat their wives and children, drunk drivers who turn automobiles into lethal weapons, and heartache caused by such things as divorce, adultery, and covetousness. (Only those who broke God’s commandments intended for man’s benefit would cause undesirable fruit to be reaped.)

On the other hand, when atheism and all of its tenets are taken to their logical conclusion, people will reap some of the same miserable fruit once harvested by the early citizens of Liberal, Missouri (and sadly, some of the same fruit being reaped by many cities in the world today). Men and women will attempt to cover up sexual sins by aborting babies, children will disrespect their parents, students will “run wild” at home and in school because of the lack of discipline, and “sexual freedom” (which leads to sexually transmitted diseases) will be valued, whereas human life will be devalued. Such are the fruits of atheism: a society in which everyone does that which is right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6)—a society in which no sensible person wants to live.

REFERENCES

Abbott, Phil (2003), Christian Church, Liberal, Missouri, telephone conversation, April 7.

Barnes, Pamela (2003), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, telephone conversation, March 12.

Becker, Hathe (1895), “Liberal,” Liberal Enterprise, December 5,12, [On-line], URL: http://lyndonirwin.com/libhist1.htm.

Brand, Ida (1895), “Liberal,” Liberal Enterprise, December 5,12, [On-line], URL: http://lyndonirwin.com/libhist1.htm.

Carpenter, L.L. (1909), “The President’s Address,” in Centennial Convention Report, ed. W.R. Warren, (Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Company), pp. 317-332. [On-line], URL: http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/wwarren/ccr/CCR15B.HTM.

Haynes, Nathaniel S. (1915), History of the Disciples of Christ in Illinois 1819-1914 (Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Company), [On-line], URL: http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/nhaynes/hdcib/braden01.htm, 1996.

Keller, Samuel (1885), “An Infidel Experiment,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Special Correspondence with Clark Braden, May 2, p. 5.

Moore, J.P. (1963), This Strange Town—Liberal, Missouri (Liberal, MO: The Liberal News).

Mouton, Boyce (no date), George H. Walser and Liberal, Missouri: An Historical Overview.

Thayer, S.C. v. Clark Braden, et. al. Filed on May 19, 1885 in Barton County Missouri. Dismissed September 10, 1886.

Thompson, Bessie (1895), “Liberal,” Liberal Enterprise, December 5,12, [On-line], URL: http://lyndonirwin.com/libhist1.htm.

"THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS" A Warning Against Willful Sin (10:26-39) by Mark Copeland

"THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS"

A Warning Against Willful Sin (10:26-39)

INTRODUCTION

1. Immediately following a gracious exhortation to draw near to God and
   hold fast the confession of our hope, we find an ominous warning...
   a. It is a warning against "willful sin" - He 10:26-39
   b. It speaks of reaching a terrible state in which:
      1) "there longer remains a sacrifice for sins"
      2) There is "a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation"

2. Is this a warning for Christians?  Some would say no...
   a. They believe in the doctrine "once saved, always saved"
   b. Who hold that true Christians:
      1) Cannot so sin to point of being eternally lost
      2) If they begin to sin to the point where they might be lost,
         God will intervene and take their life to prevent it from happening

3. Does the Bible teach "once saved, always saved"?
   a. It teaches "the security of the believer" (i.e., those who remain
      faithful are secure)
   b. But it also teaches that a "believer" can become an "unbeliever",
      at which point a person has every reason to fear for his or her
      salvation! - cf. He 3:12-14

4. The possibility of apostasy is taught in the Bible, especially in
   "The Epistle To Hebrews"...
   a. We have already seen several warnings implying this possibility:
      1) A warning against drifting - He 2:1-4
      2) A warning against departing - He 3:12-14
      3) A warning against disobedience - He 4:11
      4) A warning against dullness, leading to apostasy - He 5:11-6:6
   b. But perhaps now, with "A Warning Against Willful Sin", we learn
      the real danger of losing our salvation if we despise what we
      have received! - He 10:26-39

[To see if that is really what the Bible teaches, let's begin by considering...]

I. WHAT IT MEANS TO "SIN WILLFULLY" (26)

   A. COMPARE OTHER TRANSLATIONS...
      1. "If we deliberately keep on sinning..." (NIV)
      2. "For if we willfully persist in sin..." (NRSV)
      3. "For if we go on sinning willfully..." (NASB)

   B. THE SENSE OF THE GREEK IS ONE OF REPEATED ACTION...
      1. Implying not an "act" of sin, but a "state" of sin
         a. All Christians have moments of weakness, or ignorantly sin - 1Jn 1:8-10
         b. It is not "inadvertent" sin, but "deliberate" sin that is under consideration
      2. A "state" in which one...
         a. Knows the truth - cf. He 10:26b
         b. Yet chooses to deliberately and continuously persist in sin!

   C. CAN A TRUE CHRISTIAN EVER REACH THIS POINT?  YES...
      1. Note the pronoun "we" (the author includes himself in the
         warning) - He 10:26a
      2. He later describes one who was sanctified by "the blood of the
         covenant" - He 10:29
      -- This warning is directed to those who have been sanctified by
         the blood of Jesus!

[When one persists in sin with "a high hand" (i.e., presumptuously, cf.
Num 15:30-31), they are in grave danger. This is especially true when
one is a Christian!  What sort of danger?  Consider...]

II. THE CONSEQUENCES OF "WILLFUL SIN" (26-27)

   A. THERE NO LONGER REMAINS A SACRIFICE FOR SIN...
      1. What sacrifice is under consideration here?  Christ's sacrifice!
      2. What sacrifice no longer remains?  Christ's sacrifice!
      -- The blood of Christ is no longer available for one who
         persists in "willful sin"!

   B. THAT WHICH DOES REMAIN...
      1. "a certain fearful expectation of judgment" - He 10:27a
         a. One can expect a judgment that is "certain"! - cf. He 9:27; Ac 17:30-31
         b. One can expect a judgment that is "fearful"!
            1) For we must answer to Christ Himself - cf. 2Co 5:10-11
            2) And we will be in the hands of the living God! - He 10: 30-31
      2. A "fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries" - He 10:27b
         a. A judgment involving "fire" (figurative, but torment just
            the same) - cf. Re 21:8
         b. A judgment involving "indignation" (the wrath of God) - cf. Ro 2:5-11
         c. Such a judgment will "devour" (not annihilate, but destroy) - Mt 10:28

[Such are the consequences of "willful sin", and the warning is directed to Christians!

Is God just to bring such a punishment upon His children who have been
redeemed by the blood of His Son?  Evidently so...]

III. THE JUSTIFICATION FOR PUNISHING "WILLFUL SIN" (28-31)

   A. WHAT WAS REQUIRED UNDER THE OLD COVENANT...
      1. Death without mercy! - He 10:28
      2. Such was the punishment for a particular kind of sin:
         a. Sin that was "deliberate"
            1) In which one "rejected Moses' law" (NKJV)
            2) In which one "despised Moses' law" (KJV)
         b. Sin that was "open"
            1) It had to be seen by two or more
            2) For death was not rendered unless there were "two or three witnesses"
         -- Again, it is sin with "a high hand" that is under discussion
      3. While there was mercy for sins of weakness or ignorance, there
         was none for open and deliberate sin under the Old Covenant!

   B. WHAT IS REQUIRED UNDER THE NEW COVENANT...
      1. One is worthy of "much worse punishment"! - He 10:29
         a. What could be worse than physical death?
         b. Only "fiery indignation"! (i.e., hell)
      2. Why?  Because a Christian who "sins willfully" has...
         a. "trampled the Son of God underfoot"
            1) The word "trampled" comes from katapateo {kat-ap-at-eh'-o}
            2) It "denotes contempt of the most flagrant kind" (MOFFAT)
            -- Such a person treats Jesus who died for him like dirt!
         b. "counted the blood of the covenant by which he was
            sanctified a common thing"
            1) The "blood of the covenant" clearly refers to Jesus'
               blood - He 9:14-22; 13:20
            2) It is by this blood one is "sanctified" (i.e., made a Christian)
            -- Such a person consider Jesus' blood a "common thing"!
         c. "insulted the Spirit of grace"
            1) Perhaps a reference to the Holy Spirit
               a) Through Whom the message of salvation was given - Jn 16:13-14
               b) Through Whom our sanctification takes place - 1Co 6:11; Tit 3:5-7
            2) Or perhaps referring to the spirit (disposition) of God's unmerited favor
            -- Whichever, a person who openly and deliberately sins
               "insults" God's grace!
      3. This passage clearly teaches two things:
         a. That a Christian can so sin as to reach this point of open
            rebellion against Jesus!
         b. That the punishment reserved for such is "worse than death"!

   C. THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH GOD'S NATURE...
      1. Isn't God a God of love?  Of course! - cf. 1Jn 4:8
      2. But He is also a God of justice, One who judges His people- He 10:30
         a. To who much is given, much is required - Lk 12:47-48
         b. Those who despise His love, set themselves up to be
            recipients of His wrath - Ro 2:4-6
      3. Therefore it truly is "a fearful thing to fall into the hands
         of the living God" - He 10:31; cf. He 12:28,29

[What can we do to ensure that we do not become guilty of "willful
sin"?  In the remaining verses of chapter ten, I believe we find the
answer...]

IV. THE SOLUTION TO AVOIDING "WILLFUL SIN" (32-39)

   A. REMEMBER YOUR EARLY CONFIDENCE...
      1. The writer reminds his readers of their "former days"...
         a. Those days after they were "illuminated" (enlightened)- He 10:32
            1) I.e., shortly after their conversion
            2) In the days of Justin (ca. 167 A.D.), this term was a synonym for baptism
         b. Those days in which they were "made a spectacle" - He 10:32-34
            1) By their own sufferings
            2) And by sharing in the sufferings of others, including those of the author
               a) In whom they had compassion in his chains
               b) In which they "joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods"
            -- Knowing that they had "a better and enduring possession" in heaven!
      2. It is such confidence they must be careful not to "cast away"  - He 10:35
         a. To "cast away" is the opposite of "hold fast"
         b. Only in "holding fast" our confidence is there "great  reward" - cf. He 3:6,14
      -- Likewise, we need to rekindle the fire of that newfound faith
         we had when we first responded to the gospel! - cf. Re 2:4-5

   B. ENDURE TO THE END...
      1. Endurance is needed to receive the promise - He 10:36
         a. For the Lord is coming - He 10:37
         b. And the just lives by faith - He 10:38
         -- If we draw back (become unfaithful), the Lord will not be
            pleased! ("My soul has no pleasure in him.")
      2. The author speaks of his own confidence - He 10:39
         a. He is not of those "who draw back to perdition" (who cast away their faith)
         b. But of those "who believe to saving of the soul" (who
            remain faithful to the end)
      -- We too need to "believe to the saving of the soul", or to put
         it in the words of Jesus, "be faithful unto death" - Re 2:10

CONCLUSION

1. We can look forward with great anticipation to the "saving of the soul", if we...
   a. Remember (and rekindle) that confidence early in our conversion
   b. Endure to the end with the faith that saves

2. But with "A Warning Against Willful Sin", we must never forget that one can...
   a. Fall from grace!
   b. Fall into the hands of the living God!
   -- Which is a terrifying thing!

3. How much better, though, to be "upheld" by the hand of God, as the
   Psalmist wrote:

   "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights
   in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
   For the LORD upholds him with His hand." - Ps 37:23,24

Such is the case of those who remain strong in their faith and trust in
the Lord.  Are we believing to the saving of the soul...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

 

Beyond sight by Gary Rose

From the parallel sand waves at the bottom of the picture, you can tell that the disturbance at the water’s surface is a wave headed for shore. That fish probably has no idea what is going on, much less what land or sky is. How much humans are like that fish; we see things around us but often do not understand the whole story. God’s creation is both complex and wondrous and over time human beings have come to know a great deal about it. Yet, there is another side to God’s handiwork, a side unseen by human eyes…

Creation is more than just what we can see

Colossians 1 (World English Bible)

¹² giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;  ¹³ who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love;  ¹⁴ in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins;  ¹⁵ who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him. (emphasis added)

A Spiritual realm exists, invisible to our eyes, yet real. I know this because the Bible says so and that is enough for me. And not all of that spirituality is good; for some of God’s wonderful creation have turned from following God (specifically Satan and his rebellious angels) and war against their creator and the summit of the Almighty's creation, mankind. Turning once again to the Bible, it says…

We are in a spiritual battle

Ephesians 6 (WEB)

 ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  ¹² For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.(emphasis added)  ¹³ Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.  ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  ¹⁵ and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace;  ¹⁶ above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.  ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  ¹⁸ with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints: 

If you love God and try to faithfully follow him, you will be hated by evil. But God just won’t leave us hanging there, without help, he has given us spiritual armor. Its up to us to use what our heavenly father has given us and to fight back against whatever evil comes our way. But even if we fall short of using everything God has given us for our protection, there is more than just the armor of listed in Ephesians chapter 6, much more. Consider the following verse…

We have Jesus with us

Romans 8   (WEB)

³⁸ For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

We may fail, but Jesus never will, believe that because its both true and right. If God is for us who can prevail against us. There is no power in any realm (physical or spiritual) that is greater than Christ Jesus our Lord. Some day we will see all of God’s creation with resurrected eyes, but until that day let us take heart that all the things mentioned so far are true. Yet, evil seems too powerful and we just not strong enough to overcome. Turning to the old testament, we are given an example of a revelation of the spiritual realm and its interaction with our own physical world…

Do not be afraid, numbers are irrelevant

2 Kings 6    (WEB)

  ⁹  The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you not pass such a place; for the Syrians are coming down there.”  ¹⁰ The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice.  ¹¹ The heart of the king of Syria was very troubled about this. He called his servants, and said to them, “Won’t you show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” 

  ¹²  One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 

  ¹³  He said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” 

It was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” 
  ¹⁴  Therefore he sent horses, chariots, and a great army there. They came by night, and surrounded the city.  ¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God had risen early, and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. His servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 

  ¹⁶  He answered, “Don’t be afraid; for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  ¹⁷ Elisha prayed, and said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see.” Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. (emphasis added) ¹⁸ When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” 

He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 

I await with eagerness a revelation of the true nature of all reality, just like the eyes of the young man that Elisha prayed for. When this does happen, I pray that you will rejoice with me for God’s true greatness will be revealed at the same time.

Then, we will know not only lies above that wave in the picture, but above the heavens as well. I can only wonder at the beauty I will see.

Bible Reading February 6, 7 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading February 6, 7 

World English Bible

Feb. 6

Genesis 37

Gen 37:1 Jacob lived in the land of his father's travels, in the land of Canaan.

Gen 37:2 This is the history of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father.

Gen 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a coat of many colors.

Gen 37:4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn't speak peaceably to him.

Gen 37:5 Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more.

Gen 37:6 He said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:

Gen 37:7 for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf."

Gen 37:8 His brothers said to him, "Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed have dominion over us?" They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words.

Gen 37:9 He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, "Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me."

Gen 37:10 He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to you to the earth?"

Gen 37:11 His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.

Gen 37:12 His brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.

Gen 37:13 Israel said to Joseph, "Aren't your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." He said to him, "Here I am."

Gen 37:14 He said to him, "Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again." So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

Gen 37:15 A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. The man asked him, "What are you looking for?"

Gen 37:16 He said, "I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock."

Gen 37:17 The man said, "They have left here, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.' " Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.

Gen 37:18 They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.

Gen 37:19 They said one to another, "Behold, this dreamer comes.

Gen 37:20 Come now therefore, and let's kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, 'An evil animal has devoured him.' We will see what will become of his dreams."

Gen 37:21 Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, "Let's not take his life."

Gen 37:22 Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him"--that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.

Gen 37:23 It happened, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him;

Gen 37:24 and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.

Gen 37:25 They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

Gen 37:26 Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

Gen 37:27 Come, and let's sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh." His brothers listened to him.

Gen 37:28 Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. They brought Joseph into Egypt.

Gen 37:29 Reuben returned to the pit; and saw that Joseph wasn't in the pit; and he tore his clothes.

Gen 37:30 He returned to his brothers, and said, "The child is no more; and I, where will I go?"

Gen 37:31 They took Joseph's coat, and killed a male goat, and dipped the coat in the blood.

Gen 37:32 They took the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, "We have found this. Examine it, now, whether it is your son's coat or not."

Gen 37:33 He recognized it, and said, "It is my son's coat. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces."

Gen 37:34 Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

Gen 37:35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, "For I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning." His father wept for him.

Gen 37:36 The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard.

Feb. 7

Genesis 38

Gen 38:1 It happened at that time, that Judah went down from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

Gen 38:2 Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her, and went in to her.

Gen 38:3 She conceived, and bore a son; and he named him Er.

Gen 38:4 She conceived again, and bore a son; and she named him Onan.

Gen 38:5 She yet again bore a son, and named him Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bore him.

Gen 38:6 Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

Gen 38:7 Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Yahweh. Yahweh killed him.

Gen 38:8 Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her, and raise up seed to your brother."

Gen 38:9 Onan knew that the seed wouldn't be his; and it happened, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother.

Gen 38:10 The thing which he did was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he killed him also.

Gen 38:11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;" for he said, "Lest he also die, like his brothers." Tamar went and lived in her father's house.

Gen 38:12 After many days, Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite.

Gen 38:13 It was told Tamar, saying, "Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep."

Gen 38:14 She took off of her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she wasn't given to him as a wife.

Gen 38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

Gen 38:16 He turned to her by the way, and said, "Please come, let me come in to you," for he didn't know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"

Gen 38:17 He said, "I will send you a kid of the goats from the flock." She said, "Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?"

Gen 38:18 He said, "What pledge will I give you?" She said, "Your signet and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand." He gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him.

Gen 38:19 She arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

Gen 38:20 Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand, but he didn't find her.

Gen 38:21 Then he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the road?" They said, "There has been no prostitute here."

Gen 38:22 He returned to Judah, and said, "I haven't found her; and also the men of the place said, 'There has been no prostitute here.' "

Gen 38:23 Judah said, "Let her keep it, lest we be shamed. Behold, I sent this kid, and you haven't found her."

Gen 38:24 It happened about three months later, that it was told Judah, saying, "Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute; and moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution." Judah said, "Bring her forth, and let her be burnt."

Gen 38:25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, "By the man, whose these are, I am with child." She also said, "Please discern whose are these--the signet, and the cords, and the staff."

Gen 38:26 Judah acknowledged them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, because I didn't give her to Shelah, my son." He knew her again no more.

Gen 38:27 It happened in the time of her travail, that behold, twins were in her womb.

Gen 38:28 When she travailed, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, "This came out first."

Gen 38:29 It happened, as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out, and she said, "Why have you made a breach for yourself?" Therefore his name was called Perez.

Gen 38:30 Afterward his brother came out, that had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.

Feb. 6, 7

Matthew 19

Mat 19:1 It happened when Jesus had finished these words, he departed from Galilee, and came into the borders of Judea beyond the Jordan.

Mat 19:2 Great multitudes followed him, and he healed them there.

Mat 19:3 Pharisees came to him, testing him, and saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?"

Mat 19:4 He answered, "Haven't you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,

Mat 19:5 and said, 'For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall join to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh?'

Mat 19:6 So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, don't let man tear apart."

Mat 19:7 They asked him, "Why then did Moses command us to give her a bill of divorce, and divorce her?"

Mat 19:8 He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so.

Mat 19:9 I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when she is divorced commits adultery."

Mat 19:10 His disciples said to him, "If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry."

Mat 19:11 But he said to them, "Not all men can receive this saying, but those to whom it is given.

Mat 19:12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it."

Mat 19:13 Then little children were brought to him, that he should lay his hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.

Mat 19:14 But Jesus said, "Allow the little children, and don't forbid them to come to me; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones like these."

Mat 19:15 He laid his hands on them, and departed from there.

Mat 19:16 Behold, one came to him and said, "Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?"

Mat 19:17 He said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."

Mat 19:18 He said to him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, " 'You shall not murder.' 'You shall not commit adultery.' 'You shall not steal.' 'You shall not offer false testimony.'

Mat 19:19 'Honor your father and mother.' And, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "

Mat 19:20 The young man said to him, "All these things I have observed from my youth. What do I still lack?"

Mat 19:21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

Mat 19:22 But when the young man heard the saying, he went away sad, for he was one who had great possessions.

Mat 19:23 Jesus said to his disciples, "Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty.

Mat 19:24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God."

Mat 19:25 When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"

Mat 19:26 Looking at them, Jesus said, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Mat 19:27 Then Peter answered, "Behold, we have left everything, and followed you. What then will we have?"

Mat 19:28 Jesus said to them, "Most certainly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Mat 19:29 Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal life.

Mat 19:30 But many will be last who are first; and first who are last.