I am he – Day 2

₁₈Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable companion to help him.” ₁₉So he took some soil from the ground and formed all the animals and all the birds. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and that is how they all got their names. ₂₀So the man named all the birds and all the animals; but not one of them was a suitable companion to help him.

₂₁Then the LORD God made the man fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh. ₂₂He formed a woman out of the rib and brought her to him. ₂₃Then the man said,

₆₇Then Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in, and she became his wife. Isaac loved Rebecca, and so he was comforted for the loss of his mother.

₂₀Jacob worked seven years so that he could have Rachel, and the time seemed like only a few days to him, because he loved her.

₂But because there is so much immorality, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband. ₃A man should fulfil his duty as a husband, and a woman should fulfil her duty as a wife, and each should satisfy the other's needs. ₄A wife is not the master of her own body, but her husband is; in the same way a husband is not the master of his own body, but his wife is. ₅Do not deny yourselves to each other, unless you first agree to do so for a while in order to spend your time in prayer; but then resume normal marital relations. In this way you will be kept from giving in to Satan's temptation because of your lack of self-control.

₂₅Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it.

₂₈Men ought to love their wives just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. ₂₉(People never hate their own bodies. Instead, they feed them and take care of them, just as Christ does the church; ₃₀for we are members of his body.) ₃₁As the scripture says, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.” ₃₂There is a deep secret truth revealed in this scripture, which I understand as applying to Christ and the church. ₃₃But it also applies to you: every husband must love his wife as himself, and every wife must respect her husband.

₂₁The time came again for Elkanah and his family to go to Shiloh and offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and the special sacrifice he had promised. ₂₂But this time Hannah did not go. She told her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will take him to the house of the LORD, where he will stay all his life.”

₄“Israel, remember this! The LORD — and the LORD alone — is our God. ₅Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ₆Never forget these commands that I am giving you today. ₇Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. ₈Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. ₉Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

₄Job's sons used to take it in turns to give a feast, to which all the others would come, and they always invited their three sisters to join them. ₅The morning after each feast, Job would get up early and offer sacrifices for each of his children in order to purify them. He always did this because he thought that one of them might have sinned by insulting God unintentionally.

₄Parents, do not treat your children in such a way as to make them angry. Instead, bring them up with Christian discipline and instruction.

₈Pay attention to what your father and mother tell you, my child. ₉Their teaching will improve your character as a handsome turban or a necklace improves your appearance.

₂₁Parents, do not irritate your children, or they will become discouraged.

₃₀While they were on their way home, David was told: “Absalom has killed all your sons — not one of them is left!” ₃₁The king stood up, tore his clothes in sorrow, and threw himself to the ground. The servants who were there with him tore their clothes also. ₃₂But Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shammah, said, “Your Majesty, they haven't killed all your sons. Only Amnon is dead. You could tell by looking at Absalom that he had made up his mind to do this from the time that Amnon raped his sister Tamar. ₃₃So don't believe the news that all your sons are dead; only Amnon was killed.”

₃₄In the meantime Absalom had fled.

Just then the soldier on sentry duty saw a large crowd coming down the hill on the road from Horonaim. He went to the king and reported what he had seen.

₁Joab knew that King David missed Absalom very much,

₅He gave orders to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake don't harm the young man Absalom.” And all the troops heard David give this command to his officers.

₂₂Eli was now very old. He kept hearing about everything his sons were doing to the Israelites and that they were even sleeping with the women who worked at the entrance to the Tent of the LORD's presence. ₂₃So he said to them, “Why are you doing these things? Everybody tells me about the evil you are doing. ₂₄Stop it, my sons! This is an awful thing the people of the LORD are talking about! ₂₅If anyone sins against someone else, God can defend him; but who can defend someone who sins against the LORD?”

But they would not listen to their father, for the LORD had decided to kill them.

₈Moses told Jethro everything that the LORD had done to the king and the people of Egypt in order to rescue the Israelites. He also told him about the hardships the people had faced on the way and how the LORD had saved them. ₉When Jethro heard all this, he was happy ₁₀and said, “Praise the LORD, who saved you from the king and the people of Egypt! Praise the LORD, who saved his people from slavery!

₁₉Now let me give you some good advice, and God will be with you. It is right for you to represent the people before God and bring their disputes to him.

₁₈Then Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go back to my relatives in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” Jethro agreed and said goodbye to him.

₅Jethro came with Moses' wife and her two sons into the desert where Moses was camped at the holy mountain. ₆He had sent word to Moses that they were coming, ₇so Moses went out to meet him, bowed before him, and kissed him. They asked about each other's health and then went into Moses' tent. ₈Moses told Jethro everything that the LORD had done to the king and the people of Egypt in order to rescue the Israelites. He also told him about the hardships the people had faced on the way and how the LORD had saved them. ₉When Jethro heard all this, he was happy ₁₀and said, “Praise the LORD, who saved you from the king and the people of Egypt! Praise the LORD, who saved his people from slavery! ₁₁Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods, because he did this when the Egyptians treated the Israelites with such contempt.”

₁₇Friends always show their love. What are relatives for if not to share trouble?

₇After the LORD had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you did not speak the truth about me, as my servant Job did. ₈Now take seven bulls and seven rams to Job and offer them as a sacrifice for yourselves. Job will pray for you, and I will answer his prayer and not disgrace you as you deserve. You did not speak the truth about me as he did.”

₉Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar did what the LORD had told them to do, and the LORD answered Job's prayer.

₁₀Then, after Job had prayed for his three friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had had before.

₁₇People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron.

₃₃Who will accuse God's chosen people? God himself declares them not guilty! ₃₄Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right-hand side of God, pleading with him for us! ₃₅Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death?