Daily Devotions · January 10
Reading for January 10
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Genesis 25–26 · Psalm 6 · Luke 10
Genesis 25–26 · Psalm 6 · Luke 10, Berean Standard Bible
Genesis 25
Now Abraham had taken another wife, named Keturah, 2 and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. 5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east. 7 Abraham lived a total of 175 years. 8 And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. 10 This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi. 12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their villages and encampments—twelve princes of their tribes. 17 Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. Then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers. 19 This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So Rebekah went to inquire of the LORD, 23 and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” 24 When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. 25 The first one came out red, covered with hair like a fur coat; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. 28 Because Isaac had a taste for wild game, he loved Esau; but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 One day, while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” (That is why he was also called Edom.) 31 “First sell me your birthright,” Jacob replied. 32 “Look,” said Esau, “I am about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?” 33 “Swear to me first,” Jacob said. So Esau swore to Jacob and sold him the birthright. 34 Then Jacob gave some bread and lentil stew to Esau, who ate and drank and then got up and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis 26
Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you. 3 Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.” 8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.” 10 “What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 12 Now Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him, 13 and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy. 14 He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15 So the Philistines took dirt and stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham. 16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Depart from us, for you are much too powerful for us.” 17 So Isaac left that place and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. And he gave these wells the same names his father had given them. 19 Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth and said, “At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.” 23 From there Isaac went up to Beersheba, 24 and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.” 25 So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. His servants also dug a well there. 26 Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 “Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.” 28 “We can plainly see that the LORD has been with you,” they replied. “We recommend that there should now be an oath between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you 29 that you will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only good to you, sending you on your way in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.” 30 So Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31 And they got up early the next morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. 32 On that same day, Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We have found water!” they told him. 33 So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba. 34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
Psalm 6
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath. 2 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony. 3 My soul is deeply distressed. How long, O LORD, how long? 4 Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul; save me because of Your loving devotion. 5 For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol? 6 I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. 7 My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes. 8 Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard my weeping. 9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.
Luke 10
After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit. 2 And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Carry no purse or bag or sandals. Do not greet anyone along the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, begin by saying, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house. 8 If you enter a town and they welcome you, eat whatever is set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ 10 But if you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go into the streets and declare, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. 13 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! 16 Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.” 17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” 18 So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 21 At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight. 22 All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” 23 Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” 25 One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus said. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, when a Levite came to that spot and saw him, he passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he said, ‘and on my return I will repay you for any additional expense.’ 36 Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 “The one who showed him mercy,” replied the expert in the law. Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” 38 As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things. 42 But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Your SOAP journal
Write your SOAP here. Tap any verse in the reading to add it to Scripture. Your journal saves on this device only, so no one else sees it.
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Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.