Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I’m going to give this land to your descendants.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
“He answered me, ‘I have been living the way the Lord wants me to. The Lord will send his angel with you to make your trip successful. You will get my son a wife from my relatives and from my father’s family.
God also said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fertile, and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from you.
May God Almighty make him merciful to you so that he will send your other brother and Benjamin ⌞home⌟ with you. If I lose my children, I lose my children.”
Then Jacob blessed Joseph, “May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac walked, may God, who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day,
⌞You’ll succeed⌟ because the Lord will keep the promise he made to me: ‘If your descendants are faithful to me with all their hearts and lives, you will never fail to have an heir on the throne of Israel.’
Solomon responded, “You’ve shown great love to my father David, who was your servant. He lived in your presence with truth, righteousness, and commitment. And you continued to show him your great love by giving him a son to sit on his throne today.
“Now, Lord God of Israel, keep your promise to my father David, your servant. You said, ‘You will never fail to have an heir sitting in front of me on the throne of Israel if your descendants are faithful to me as you have been faithful to me.’
Everyone who lives on earth is nothing compared to him. He does whatever he wishes with the army of heaven and with those who live on earth. There is no one who can oppose him or ask him, “What are you doing?”
You mortals, the Lord has told you what is good. This is what the Lord requires from you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to live humbly with your God.
This is the message of the one who hears God’s words, receives knowledge from the Most High, has a vision from the Almighty, and falls ⌞into a trance⌟ with his eyes open:
Love the Lord your God, obey him, and be loyal to him. This will be your way of life, and it will mean a long life for you in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Therefore, we must be thankful that we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Because we are thankful, we must serve God with fear and awe in a way that pleases him.