Daily Devotions · January 19
Reading for January 19
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Genesis 47–48 · Psalm 10 · Luke 19
Genesis 47–48 · Psalm 10 · Luke 19, Berean Standard Bible
Genesis 47
So Joseph went and told Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.” 2 And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. 3 “What is your occupation?” Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers. “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our fathers.” 4 Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a time, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please allow your servants to settle in the land of Goshen.” 5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you, 6 the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.” 7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 “How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked. 9 “My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.” 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from his presence. 11 So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 Joseph also provided his father and brothers and all his father’s household with food for their families. 13 There was no food, however, in all that region, because the famine was so severe; the lands of Egypt and Canaan had been exhausted by the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were buying, and he brought it into Pharaoh’s palace. 15 When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our funds have run out!” 16 “Then bring me your livestock,” said Joseph. “Since the money is gone, I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. Throughout that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock. 18 When that year was over, they came to him the second year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord that our money is gone and all our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Purchase us and our land in exchange for food. Then we, along with our land, will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.” 20 So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not acquire the priests’ portion of the land, for it had been given to them by Pharaoh. They ate the rations that Pharaoh supplied; so they did not sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land. 24 At harvest time, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and food for yourselves and your households and children.” 25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor in our lord’s eyes, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” 26 So Joseph established a law that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh, and it is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh. 27 Now the Israelites settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and became fruitful and increased greatly in number. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years. 29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me with them.” Joseph answered, “I will do as you have requested.” 31 “Swear to me,” Jacob said. So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.
Genesis 48
Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up in bed. 3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me 4 and told me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you; I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6 Any children born to you after them shall be yours, and they shall be called by the names of their brothers in the territory they inherit. 7 Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem). 8 When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, “They are the sons God has given me in this place.” So Jacob said, “Please bring them to me, that I may bless them.” 10 Now Israel’s eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly see. Joseph brought his sons to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them. 11 “I never expected to see your face again,” Israel said to Joseph, “but now God has let me see your children as well.” 12 Then Joseph removed his sons from his father’s knees and bowed facedown. 13 And Joseph took both of them—with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand—and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, 16 the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.” 17 When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was displeased and took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s. 18 “Not so, my father!” Joseph said. “This one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused. “I know, my son, I know!” he said. “He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great; nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So that day Jacob blessed them and said: “By you shall Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 And to you, as one who is above your brothers, I give the ridge of land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
Psalm 10
Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble? 2 In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise. 3 For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. 4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God. 5 He is secure in his ways at all times; Your lofty judgments are far from him; he sneers at all his foes. 6 He says to himself, “I will not be moved; from age to age I am free of distress.” 7 His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue. 8 He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless. 9 He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net. 10 They are crushed and beaten down; the helpless fall prey to his strength. 11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.” 12 Arise, O LORD! Lift up Your hand, O God! Do not forget the helpless. 13 Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.” 14 But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found. 16 The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations perish from His land. 17 You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will incline Your ear, 18 to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed, that the men of the earth may strike terror no more.
Luke 19
Then Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who was very wealthy. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him, since Jesus was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully. 7 And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” 11 While the people were listening to this, Jesus proceeded to tell them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought the kingdom of God would appear imminently. 12 So He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return. 13 Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Conduct business with this until I return,’ he said. 14 But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ 15 When he returned from procuring his kingship, he summoned the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what each one had earned. 16 The first servant came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has produced ten more minas.’ 17 His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 The second servant came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And to this one he said, ‘You shall have authority over five cities.’ 20 Then another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 For I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not deposit my money in the bank, and upon my return I could have collected it with interest?’ 24 Then he told those standing by, ‘Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ 25 ‘Master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ 26 He replied, ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more; but the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’” 28 After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent out two of His disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 So those who were sent went out and found it just as Jesus had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 “The Lord needs it,” they answered. 35 Then they led the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over it, and put Jesus on it. 36 As He rode along, the people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.” 41 As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it 42 and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will level you to the ground—you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” 45 Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling there. 46 He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” 47 Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were intent on killing Him. 48 Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.
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.
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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.
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