Visions from the Lord

2 Corinthians 12 I have to brag. There is nothing to be gained by it, but I must brag about the visions and other things that the Lord has shown me. ²I know about one of Christ's followers who was taken up into the third heaven fourteen years ago. I don't know if the man was still in his body when it happened, but God certainly knows.
³As I said, only God really knows if this man was in his body at the time. ⁴But he was taken up into paradise, where he heard things that are too wonderful to tell. ⁵I will brag about that man, but not about myself, except to say how weak I am.
⁶Yet even if I did brag, I would not be foolish. I would simply be speaking the truth. But I will try not to say too much. That way, none of you will think more highly of me than you should because of what you have seen me do and say. ⁷Of course, I am now referring to the wonderful things I saw. One of Satan's angels was sent to make me suffer terribly, so that I would not feel too proud.
⁸Three times I begged the Lord to make this suffering go away. ⁹But he replied, "My kindness is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak." So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. ¹⁰Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong.

Paul's Concern for the Lord's Followers at Corinth

¹¹I have been making a fool of myself. But you forced me to do it, when you should have been speaking up for me. I may be nothing at all, but I am as good as those super apostles. ¹²When I was with you, I was patient and worked all the powerful miracles and signs and wonders of a true apostle. ¹³You missed out on only one blessing that the other churches received. That is, you didn't have to support me. Forgive me for doing you wrong.
¹⁴I am planning to visit you for the third time. But I still won't make a burden of myself. What I really want is you, and not what you have. Children are not supposed to save up for their parents, but parents are supposed to take care of their children. ¹⁵So I will gladly give all that I have and all that I am. Will you love me less for loving you too much? ¹⁶You agree that I wasn't a burden to you. Maybe that's because I was trying to catch you off guard and trick you. ¹⁷Were you cheated by any of those I sent to you? ¹⁸I urged Titus to visit you, and I sent another follower with him. But Titus didn't cheat you, and we felt and behaved the same way he did.
¹⁹Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? Actually, we have been speaking to God as followers of Christ. But, my friends, we did it all for your good.
²⁰I am afraid that when I come, we won't be pleased with each other. I fear that some of you may be arguing or jealous or angry or selfish or gossiping or insulting each other. I even fear that you may be proud and acting like a mob. ²¹I am afraid God will make me ashamed when I visit you again. I will feel like crying because many of you have never given up your old sins. You are still doing things that are immoral, indecent, and shameful.

1 CHRONICLES

The Descendants of Adam
(Genesis 5.1-32; 10.1-32; 11.10-32)

1 Chronicles 1 ^1-4Adam was the father of Seth, and his descendants were Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah, who had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
⁵Japheth was the father of Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras, and they were the ancestors of the kingdoms named after them. ⁶Gomer was the ancestor of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. ⁷Javan was the ancestor of Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
⁸Ham was the father of Ethiopia, Egypt, Put, and Canaan, and they were the ancestors of the kingdoms named after them. ⁹Ethiopia was the ancestor of Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteca. Raamah was the ancestor of Sheba and Dedan. ¹⁰Ethiopia was also the father of Nimrod, the world's first mighty warrior. ¹¹Egypt was the ancestor of Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, ¹²Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim, the ancestor of the Philistines. ¹³Canaan's oldest son was Sidon; his other son was Heth. ^14-16Canaan was also the ancestor of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.
¹⁷Shem was the ancestor of Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech; they were the ancestors of the kingdoms named after them. ¹⁸Arpachshad was Shelah's father and Eber's grandfather. ¹⁹Eber named his first son Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided into tribal regions. Eber's second son was Joktan, ^20-23the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Ebal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab.
^24-27Shem's descendants included Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, and Abram, later renamed Abraham.

Abraham's Family
(Genesis 25.1-4, 12-16)

²⁸Abraham was the father of Isaac and Ishmael.
^29-31Ishmael had twelve sons, who were born in the following order: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
³²Abraham and his slave woman Keturah had six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. ³³Midian was the father of Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.

Esau's Family
(Genesis 36.1-14)

³⁴Abraham's son Isaac was the father of Esau and Jacob. ³⁵Esau was the father of Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. ³⁶Eliphaz was the father of Teman, Omar, Zephi, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek. ³⁷Reuel was the father of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

The First Edomites and Their Kings
(Genesis 36.20-43)

³⁸Seir was the father of Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. ³⁹Lotan was the father of Hori and Homam; Lotan's sister was Timna. ⁴⁰Shobal was the father of Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. Zibeon was the father of Aiah and Anah.
⁴¹Anah was the father of Dishon and the grandfather of Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ⁴²Ezer was the father of Bilhan, Zaavan, and Jaakan. Dishan was the father of Uz and Aran.
⁴³Before kings ruled in Israel, Bela son of Beor ruled the country of Edom from its capital of Dinhabah. ⁴⁴After Bela's death, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became king. ⁴⁵After Jobab's death, Husham from the land of Teman became king. ⁴⁶After Husham's death, Hadad son of Bedad became king and ruled from Avith. Earlier, Bedad had defeated the Midianites in the territory of Moab. ⁴⁷After Hadad's death, Samlah from Masrekah became king; ⁴⁸after Samlah's death, Shaul from the town of Rehoboth on the Euphrates River became king; ⁴⁹and after Shaul's death, Baal Hanan son of Achbor became king. ⁵⁰After Baal Hanan's death, Hadad ruled from Pai. His wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Mezahab.
⁵¹The Edomite clans were Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁵²Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁵³Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁵⁴Magdiel, and Iram.

The Descendants of Judah

1 Chronicles 2 ^1-2Jacob was the father of twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
³Judah and his Canaanite wife Bathshua had three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. But the LORD had Er put to death, because he disobeyed and did what the LORD hated. ⁴Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar also had two sons: Perez and Zerah.
⁵Perez was the father of Hezron and Hamul. ⁶Zerah was the father of Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda. ⁷Achan, who was a descendant of Zerah and the son of Carmi, caused trouble for Israel, because he kept for himself things that belonged only to the LORD. ⁸Ethan's son was Azariah.

The Ancestors of King David

⁹Hezron was the father of Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb. ¹⁰Ram was the father of Amminadab and the grandfather of Nahshon, a tribal leader of Judah. ¹¹Nahshon's descendants included Salma, Boaz, ¹²Obed, and Jesse. ^13-15Jesse had seven sons, who were born in the following order: Eliab, Abinadab, Shimea, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem, and David. ¹⁶Jesse also had two daughters: Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah was the mother of Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. ¹⁷Abigail's husband was Jether, who was a descendant of Ishmael, and their son was Amasa.

The Descendants of Hezron

¹⁸Hezron's son Caleb married Azubah, and their daughter was Jerioth, the mother of Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. ¹⁹After the death of Azubah, Caleb married Ephrath. Their son Hur ²⁰was the father of Uri and the grandfather of Bezalel.
²¹When Hezron was sixty years old, he married the daughter of Machir, who settled the region of Gilead. Their son Segub ²²was the father of Jair, who ruled twenty-three villages in the region of Gilead. ²³Some time later the nations of Geshur and Aram captured sixty towns in that region, including the villages that belonged to Jair, as well as the town of Kenath and the nearby villages. Everyone from the region of Gilead was a descendant of Machir.
²⁴After the death of Hezron, Caleb married Ephrath his father's wife. Their son was Ashhur, who later settled the town of Tekoa.

The Descendants of Jerahmeel

²⁵Jerahmeel, Hezron's oldest son, was the father of Ram, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. ²⁶Jerahmeel had a second wife, Atarah, who gave birth to Onam. ²⁷Ram was the father of Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. ²⁸Onam was the father of Shammai and Jada.
Shammai was the father of Nadab and Abishur. ²⁹Abishur married Abihail, and their two sons were Ahban and Molid. ³⁰Nadab was the father of Seled and Appaim. Seled had no children; ³¹Appaim's son was Ishi, the father of Sheshan and the grandfather of Ahlai.
³²Jada was the father of Jether and Jonathan. Jether had no children, ³³but Jonathan had two sons: Peleth and Zaza.
^34-35Sheshan had no sons, and so he let one of his daughters marry Jarha, his Egyptian slave. Their son was Attai, ³⁶the father of Nathan and the grandfather of Zabad. ^37-41Zabad's descendants included Ephlal, Obed, Jehu, Azariah, Helez, Eleasah, Sismai, Shallum, Jekamiah, and Elishama.

The Descendants of Caleb

⁴²Caleb, Jerahmeel's brother, had the following descendants: Mesha, Ziph, Mareshah, Hebron, ⁴³and Hebron's four sons, Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. ⁴⁴Shema was the father of Raham and the grandfather of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai, ⁴⁵the grandfather of Maon, and the great-grandfather of Bethzur.
⁴⁶Ephah was one of Caleb's wives, and their sons were Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran named his son after his brother Gazez. ⁴⁷Ephah was the daughter of Jahdai, who was also the father of Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, and Shaaph.
⁴⁸Maacah was another of Caleb's wives, and their sons were Sheber and Tirhanah. ⁴⁹Later, they had two more sons: Shaaph the father of Madmannah, and Sheva the father of Machbenah and Gibea. Caleb's daughter was Achsah. ^50-51All of these were Caleb's descendants.
Hur, the oldest son of Caleb and Ephrath, had three sons: Shobal, Salma, and Hareph, who settled the town of Beth-Gader. ⁵²Shobal, who settled the town of Kiriath-Jearim, was the ancestor of Haroeh, half of the Menuhoth clan, ⁵³and the clans that lived near Kiriath-Jearim; they were the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites. The Zorathites and the Eshtaolites were descendants of the Mishraites.
⁵⁴Salma settled the town of Bethlehem and was the ancestor of the Netophathites, the people of Atroth-Bethjoab, half of the Manahathite clan, and the Zorites. ⁵⁵Salma was also the ancestor of the clans in Jabez that kept the court and government records; they were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. These clans were the descendants of Hammath the Kenite, who was also the ancestor of the Rechabites.

Habakkuk's Prayer

Habakkuk 3 This is my prayer:
²I know your reputation, LORD,
and I am amazed at what you have done.
Please turn from your anger and be merciful;
do for us what you did for our ancestors.

³You are the same Holy God
who came from Teman and Paran to help us.
The brightness of your glory covered the heavens,
and your praises were heard everywhere on earth.
⁴Your glory shone like the sun,
and light flashed from your hands,
hiding your mighty power.
⁵Dreadful diseases and plagues marched in front
and followed behind.
⁶When you stopped, the earth shook;
when you stared, nations trembled;
when you walked along your ancient paths,
eternal mountains and hills crumbled and collapsed.
⁷The tents of desert tribes in Cushan and Midian
were ripped apart.

⁸Our LORD, were you angry with the monsters
of the deep?
You attacked in your chariot and wiped them out.
⁹Your arrows were ready and obeyed your commands.

You split the earth apart with rivers and streams;
¹⁰mountains trembled at the sight of you;
rain poured from the clouds;
ocean waves roared and rose.
¹¹The sun and moon stood still,
while your arrows and spears flashed like lightning.

¹²In your furious anger, you trampled on nations
¹³to rescue your people and save your chosen one.
You crushed a nation's ruler
and stripped his evil kingdom of its power.
¹⁴His troops had come like a storm,
hoping to scatter us and glad to gobble us down.
To them we were refugees in hiding--
but you smashed their heads with their own weapons.
¹⁵Then your chariots churned the waters of the sea.

Habakkuk's Response to God's Message

¹⁶When I heard this message, I felt weak from fear,
and my lips quivered.
My bones seemed to melt, and I stumbled around.
But I will patiently wait.
Someday those vicious enemies will be struck by disaster.

Trust in a Time of Trouble

¹⁷Fig trees may no longer bloom,
or vineyards produce grapes;
olive trees may be fruitless,
and harvest time a failure;
sheep pens may be empty,
and cattle stalls vacant--
¹⁸but I will still celebrate
because the LORD God saves me.
¹⁹The LORD gives me strength.
He makes my feet as sure as those of a deer,
and he helps me stand on the mountains.

To the music director: Use stringed instruments.