Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.
ou will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”
Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.
she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.
He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk.
“In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk.
Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it.
Moses Flees to Midian
One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.”
Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree.
They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.
And the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”
They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.
If, however, the sore is unchanged so far as the priest can see, and if black hair has grown in it, the affected person is healed. They are clean, and the priest shall pronounce them clean.
Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest.
The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines.
“‘During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over; they must let their hair grow long.
Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong.
and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied,
The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.
Land Still to Be Taken
When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.
Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.”
But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.
Saul’s Growing Fear of David
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.
When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”
He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish.
But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.
Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof, scorched before it grows up.
“This will be the sign for you, Hezekiah: “This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
When someone came and told David about the men, he sent messengers to meet them, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”
But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
The young men who had grown up with him replied, “The people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.
Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests?
The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of the great lions are broken.
Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water?
While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass.
Surely its life withers away, and from the soil other plants grow.
Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil,
My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow.
Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.
Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?
My skin grows black and peels; my body burns with fever.
“If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,
Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.
My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.
Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.
My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases;
From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
Psalm 102
A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.
Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you.
He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth:
May they be like grass on the roof, which withers before it can grow;
“Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one.
When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me.
So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.
He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare.
When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;
when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim;
when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint;
He
I went down to the grove of nut trees to look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom.
Friends
We have a little sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for?
I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.”
Not one of them grows tired or stumbles, not one slumbers or sleeps; not a belt is loosened at the waist, not a sandal strap is broken.
Their roar is like that of the lion, they roar like young lions; they growl as they seize their prey and carry it off with no one to rescue.
In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat.
though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain.
Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the descendants of Jacob: “No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will their faces grow pale.
This is what the Lord says to me: “As a lion growls, a great lion over its prey— and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against it, it is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor— so the Lord Almighty will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof, scorched before it grows up.
“This will be the sign for you, Hezekiah: “This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.
He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”
We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.
For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
Lions have roared; they have growled at him. They have laid waste his land; his towns are burned and deserted.
Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back.”
and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor.
“Prepare for battle against her! Arise, let us attack at noon! But, alas, the daylight is fading, and the shadows of evening grow long.
You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.
The mother of seven will grow faint and breathe her last. Her sun will set while it is still day; she will be disgraced and humiliated. I will put the survivors to the sword before their enemies,” declares the Lord.
Her people all roar like young lions, they growl like lion cubs.
He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones.
Because of this our hearts are faint, because of these things our eyes grow dim
I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.
“Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots.
All the trees of the forest will know that I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. “‘I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’”
By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud.
“On that day I will make a horn grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
The waters nourished it, deep springs made it grow tall; their streams flowed all around its base and sent their channels to all the trees of the field.
“‘They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but they are to keep the hair of their heads trimmed.
Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.
The high places of wickedness will be destroyed— it is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed.
Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey? Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?
Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant.
But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.
She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale.
“The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people.
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
The Parable of the Growing Seed
He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.
Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand,
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.