Daily Readings for Saturday, 4 July 2015

Daily Readings for Saturday, 4 July 2015
Independence Day (USA)
Genesis 27:1 In the course of time, after Yitz’chak had grown old and his eyes dim, so that he couldn’t see, he called ‘Esav his older son and said to him, “My son?” and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 “Look, I’m old now, I don’t know when I will die. 3 Therefore, please take your hunting gear — your quiver of arrows and your bow; go out in the country, and get me some game. 4 Make it tasty, the way I like it; and bring it to me to eat. Then I will bless you [as firstborn], before I die.”
5 Rivkah was listening when Yitz’chak spoke to his son ‘Esav. So when ‘Esav went out to the country to hunt for game and bring it back,
15 Next, Rivkah took ‘Esav her older son’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on Ya‘akov her younger son; 16 and she put the skins of the goats on his hands and on the smooth parts of his neck. 17 Then she gave the tasty food and the bread she had prepared to her son Ya‘akov.
18 He went to his father and said, “My father?” He replied, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” 19 Ya‘akov said to his father, “I am ‘Esav your firstborn. I’ve done what you asked me to do. Get up now, sit down, eat the game, and then give me your blessing.” 20 Yitz’chak said to his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Adonai your God made it happen that way.” 21 Yitz’chak said to Ya‘akov, “Come here, close to me, so I can touch you, my son, and know whether you are in fact my son ‘Esav or not.” 22 Ya‘akov approached Yitz’chak his father, who touched him and said, “The voice is Ya‘akov’s voice, but the hands are ‘Esav’s hands.” 23 However, he didn’t detect him; because his hands were hairy like his brother ‘Esav’s hands; so he gave him his blessing. 24 He asked, “Are you really my son ‘Esav?” And he replied, “I am.” 25 He said, “Bring it here to me, and I will eat my son’s game, so that I can give you my blessing.” So he brought it up to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Yitz’chak said to him, “Come close now, and kiss me, my son.” 27 He approached and kissed him. Yitz’chak smelled his clothes and blessed Ya‘akov with these words: “See, my son smells like a field which Adonai has blessed. (vi) 28 So may God give you dew from heaven, the richness of the earth, and grain and wine in abundance. 29 May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be lord over your kinsmen, let your mother’s descendants bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”
Psalm 135: Halleluyah!
(1) Give praise to the name of Adonai!
Servants of Adonai, give praise!
2 You who stand in the house of Adonai,
in the courtyards of the house of our God,
3 praise Yah, for Adonai is good;
sing to his name, because it is pleasant.
4 For Yah chose Ya‘akov for himself,
Isra’el as his own unique treasure.
5 I know that Adonai is great,
that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Adonai does whatever pleases him,
in heaven, on earth, in the seas, in all the depths.

Matthew 9:14 Next, Yochanan’s talmidim came to him and asked, “Why is it that we and the P’rushim fast frequently, but your talmidim don’t fast at all?” 15 Yeshua said to them, “Can wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them; then they will fast. 16 No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunk cloth, because the patch tears away from the coat and leaves a worse hole. 17 Nor do people put new wine in old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine spills and the wineskins are ruined. No, they pour new wine into freshly prepared wineskins, and in this way both are preserved.”
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