Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord Guards His People

A song for going up to worship.

Jacob and Laban’s Agreement

⁴³ Laban said to Jacob, “These girls are my daughters. Their children belong to me, and these flocks are mine. Everything you see here belongs to me, but I can do nothing to keep my daughters and their children. ⁴⁴ Let us make an agreement, and let us set up a pile of stones to remind us of it.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a large rock and set it up on its end. ⁴⁶ He told his relatives to gather rocks, so they took the rocks and piled them up; then they ate beside the pile. ⁴⁷ Laban named that place in his language A Pile to Remind Us, and Jacob gave the place the same name in Hebrew.

⁴⁸ Laban said to Jacob, “This pile of rocks will remind us of the agreement between us.” That is why the place was called A Pile to Remind Us. ⁴⁹ It was also called Mizpah,^[a] because Laban said, “Let the Lord watch over us while we are separated from each other. ⁵⁰ Remember that God is our witness even if no one else is around us. He will know if you harm my daughters or marry other women. ⁵¹ Here is the pile of rocks that I have put between us and here is the rock I set up on end. ⁵² This pile of rocks and this rock set on end will remind us of our agreement. I will never go past this pile to hurt you, and you must never come to my side of them to hurt me. ⁵³ Let the God of Abraham, who is the God of Nahor and the God of their ancestors, punish either of us if we break this agreement.”

So Jacob made a promise in the name of the God whom his father Isaac worshiped. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob killed an animal and offered it as a sacrifice on the mountain, and he invited his relatives to share in the meal. After they finished eating, they spent the night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them, and then he left to return home.

Jacob Meets Esau

32 When Jacob also went his way, the angels of God met him. ² When he saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.^[b]

A Worker Pleasing to God

¹⁴ Continue teaching these things, warning people in God’s presence not to argue about words. It does not help anyone, and it ruins those who listen. ¹⁵ Make every effort to give yourself to God as the kind of person he will approve. Be a worker who is not ashamed and who uses the true teaching in the right way. ¹⁶ Stay away from foolish, useless talk, because that will lead people further away from God. ¹⁷ Their evil teaching will spread like a sickness inside the body. Hymenaeus and Philetus are like that. ¹⁸ They have left the true teaching, saying that the rising from the dead has already taken place, and so they are destroying the faith of some people. ¹⁹ But God’s strong foundation continues to stand. These words are written on the seal: “The Lord knows those who belong to him,”^[a] and “Everyone who wants to belong to the Lord must stop doing wrong.”

²⁰ In a large house there are not only things made of gold and silver, but also things made of wood and clay. Some things are used for special purposes, and others are made for ordinary jobs. ²¹ All who make themselves clean from evil will be used for special purposes. They will be made holy, useful to the Master, ready to do any good work.

²² But run away from the evil desires of youth. Try hard to live right and to have faith, love, and peace, together with those who trust in the Lord from pure hearts. ²³ Stay away from foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they grow into quarrels. ²⁴ And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient. ²⁵ The Lord’s servant must gently teach those who disagree. Then maybe God will let them change their minds so they can accept the truth. ²⁶ And they may wake up and escape from the trap of the devil, who catches them to do what he wants.