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Luke 14:26
“ Anyone who comes to me must hate their father and mother. They must hate their wife and children. They must hate their brothers and sisters. And they must hate even their own life. Unless they do this, they can’t be my disciple.
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1 Kings 5 4
But now the Lord my God has given me peace and rest on every side. We don’t have any enemies. And we don’t have any other major problems either.
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Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives. Love them just as Christ loved the church. He gave himself up for her.
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Ephesians 3:19
And may you know his love, even though it can’t be known completely. Then you will be filled with everything God has for you.
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Ephesians 5:28-29
In the same way, husbands should love their wives. They should love them as they love their own bodies. Any man who loves his wife loves himself.After all, no one ever hated their own body. Instead, they feed and care for their body. And this is what Christ does for the church.
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Genesis 14:14-17
Abram heard that Lot had been captured. So he called out his 318 trained men. All of them were sons of his servants. Abram and his men chased their enemies as far as Dan.During the night Abram separated his men into groups. They attacked their enemies and drove them away. They chased them north of Damascus as far as Hobah.Abram took back everything the kings had taken. He brought back his nephew Lot and the things Lot owned. He also brought back the women and the other people.After Abram won the battle over Kedorlaomer and the kings who helped him, he returned home. The king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh. It was also called the King’s Valley.
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Psalms 139:21
Lord, I really hate those who hate you! I really hate those who rise up against you!
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2 Chronicles 20 1-2 Chronicles 20 30
After that, the Moabites, Ammonites and some Meunites went to war against Jehoshaphat.Some people came and told him,“ A huge army is coming from Edom to fight against you. They have come across the Dead Sea. They are already in Hazezon Tamar.” Hazezon Tamar is also called En Gedi.Jehoshaphat was alarmed. So he decided to ask the Lord for advice. He told all the people of Judah to go without eating.The people came together to ask the Lord for help. In fact, they came from every town in Judah to pray to him.Then Jehoshaphat stood up among the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He was in front of the new courtyard at the Lord’ s temple.He said,“ Lord, you are the God of our people who lived long ago. You are the God who is in heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You are strong and powerful. No one can fight against you and win.Our God, you drove out the people who lived in this land. You drove them out to make room for your people Israel. You gave this land forever to those who belong to the family line of your friend Abraham.They have lived in this land. They’ve built a temple here for your Name. They have said,‘ Suppose trouble comes on us. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a punishing sword, or plague or hunger. We’ll serve you. We’ll stand in front of this temple where your Name is. We’ll cry out to you when we’re in trouble. Then you will hear us. You will save us.’“ But here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. You wouldn’t allow Israel to march in and attack their territory when the Israelites came from Egypt. So Israel turned away from them. They didn’t destroy them.See how they are paying us back. They are coming to drive us out. They want to take over the land you gave us as our share.Our God, won’t you please judge them? We don’t have the power to face this huge army that’s attacking us. We don’t know what to do. But we’re looking to you to help us.”All the men of Judah stood there in front of the Lord. Their wives, children and little ones were with them.Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel. He was standing among the people of Israel. He was the son of Zechariah. Zechariah was the son of Benaiah. Benaiah was the son of Jeiel. Jeiel was the son of Mattaniah. Jahaziel was a Levite. He was from the family line of Asaph.Jahaziel said,“ King Jehoshaphat, listen! All you who live in Judah and Jerusalem, listen! The Lord says to you,‘ Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope because of this huge army. The battle is not yours. It is God’s.Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley in the Desert of Jeruel.You will not have to fight this battle. Take your positions. Stand firm. You will see how the Lord will save you. Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. Go out and face them tomorrow. The Lord will be with you.’ ”Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face toward the ground. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem also bowed down. They worshiped the Lord.Then some Levites from the families of Kohath and Korah stood up. They praised the Lord, the God of Israel. They praised him with very loud voices.Early in the morning all the people left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they started out, Jehoshaphat stood up. He said,“ Judah, listen to me! People of Jerusalem, listen to me! Have faith in the Lord your God. He’ll take good care of you. Have faith in his prophets. Then you will have success.”Jehoshaphat asked the people for advice. Then he appointed men to sing to the Lord. He wanted them to praise the Lord because of his glory and holiness. They marched out in front of the army. They said,“ Give thanks to the Lord. His faithful love continues forever.”They began to sing and praise him. Then the Lord hid some men and told them to wait. He wanted them to attack the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. They had gone into Judah and attacked it. But they lost the battle.The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir. They destroyed them. They put an end to them. When they finished killing the men from Seir, they destroyed one another.The men of Judah came to the place that looks out over the desert. They turned to look down at the huge army. But all they saw was dead bodies lying there on the ground. No one had escaped.So Jehoshaphat and his men went down there to carry off anything of value. Among the dead bodies they found a large amount of supplies, clothes and other things of value. There was more than they could take away. There was so much it took three days to collect all of it.On the fourth day they gathered together in the Valley of Berakah. There they praised the Lord. That’s why it’s called the Valley of Berakah to this day.Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned to Jerusalem. They were filled with joy. Jehoshaphat led them. The Lord had made them happy because all their enemies were dead.They entered Jerusalem and went to the Lord’ s temple. They were playing harps, lyres and trumpets.All the surrounding kingdoms began to have respect for God. They had heard how the Lord had fought against Israel’s enemies.The kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace. His God had given him peace and rest on every side.
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Ezekiel 16:8
“‘ “Later, I was passing by again. I looked at you. I saw that you were old enough for love. So I married you and took good care of you. I covered your naked body. I made a firm promise to you. I entered into a covenant with you. And you became mine,” announces the Lord and King.
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2 Chronicles 19 2
Jehu the prophet went out to meet him. He was the son of Hanani. Jehu said to the king,“ You shouldn’t help evil people. You shouldn’t love those who hate the Lord. The Lord is angry with you.
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2 Samuel 10 6-2 Samuel 10 19
The Ammonites realized that what they had done had made David very angry with them. So they hired 20,000 Aramean soldiers who were on foot. The soldiers came from Beth Rehob and Zobah. The Ammonites also hired the king of Maakah and 1,000 men. And they hired 12,000 men from Tob.David heard about it. So he sent Joab out with the entire army of Israel’s fighting men.The Ammonites marched out. They took up their battle positions at the entrance of their city gate. The Arameans of Zobah and Rehob gathered their troops together in the open country. So did the men of Tob and Maakah.Joab saw that there were lines of soldiers in front of him and behind him. So he chose some of the best troops in Israel. He sent them to march out against the Arameans.He put the rest of the men under the command of his brother Abishai. Joab sent them to march out against the Ammonites.He said,“ Suppose the Arameans are too strong for me. Then you must come and help me. But suppose the Ammonites are too strong for you. Then I’ll come and help you.Be strong. Let’s be brave as we fight for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what he thinks is best.”Then Joab and the troops with him marched out to attack the Arameans. They ran away from him.The Ammonites realized that the Arameans were running away. So they ran away from Abishai. They went inside the city. After Joab had fought against the Ammonites, he went back to Jerusalem.The Arameans saw that they had been driven away by Israel. So they brought their troops together.Hadadezer had some Arameans brought from east of the Euphrates River. They went to Helam under the command of Shobak. He was the commander of Hadadezer’s army.David was told about it. So he gathered the whole army of Israel together. They went across the Jordan River to Helam. The Arameans lined up their soldiers to go to war against David. They began to fight against him.But then they ran away from Israel. David killed 700 of their chariot riders. He killed 40,000 of their soldiers who were on foot. He also struck down Shobak, the commander of their army. Shobak died there.All the kings who were under the rule of Hadadezer saw that Israel had won the battle over them. So they made a peace treaty with the Israelites. They were brought under Israel’s rule. After that, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.
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Revelation 2:2
‘ I know what you are doing. You work long and hard. I know you can’t put up with evil people. You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not. You have found out that they are liars.
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Joshua 8:1-29
Then the Lord said to Joshua,“ Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. Go up and attack Ai. Take the whole army with you. I have handed the king of Ai over to you. I have given you his people, his city and his land.Remember what you did to Jericho and its king. You will do the same thing to Ai and its king. But this time you can keep for yourselves the livestock and everything else you take from them. Have some of your fighting men hide behind the city and take them by surprise.”So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose 30,000 of his best fighting men. He sent them out at night.He gave them orders. He said,“ Listen carefully to what I’m saying. You must hide behind the city. Don’t go very far away from it. All of you must be ready to attack it.I and all those with me will march up to the city. The men of Ai will come out to fight against us, just as they did before. Then we’ll run away from them.They’ll chase us until we’ve drawn them away from the city. They’ll say,‘ They are running away from us, just as they did before.’ When we run away from them,come out of your hiding place. Capture the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you.When you have taken it, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. Make sure you obey my orders.”Then Joshua sent them away. They went to the place where they had planned to hide. They hid in a place west of Ai. It was between Bethel and Ai. But Joshua spent that night with his troops.Early the next morning Joshua brought together his army. He and the leaders of Israel marched in front of them to Ai.The whole army that was with him marched up to the city. They stopped in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai. There was a valley between them and the city.Joshua had chosen about 5,000 soldiers. He had ordered them to hide in a place west of Ai. It was between Bethel and Ai.The men took up their battle positions. All the men in the camp north of the city took up their positions. So did those who were supposed to hide west of the city. That night Joshua went into the valley.The king of Ai saw what the troops with Joshua were doing. So the king and all his men hurried out of the city early in the morning. They marched out to meet Israel in battle. They went to a place that looked out over the Arabah Valley. The king didn’t know that some of Israel’s fighting men were hiding behind the city.Joshua and all his men let the men of Ai drive them back. The Israelites ran away toward the desert.All the men of Ai were called out to chase them. They chased Joshua. So they were drawn away from the city.Not even one man remained in Ai or Bethel. All of them went out to chase Israel. When they did, they left the city wide open.Then the Lord said to Joshua,“ Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand. I will give the city to you.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin in his hand.As soon as he did, the men hiding behind the city got up quickly. They came out of their hiding places and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it. They quickly set it on fire.The men of Ai looked back. They saw smoke rising up from the city into the sky. But they couldn’t escape in any direction. The Israelites had been running away toward the desert. But now they turned around to face those chasing them.Joshua and all his men saw that the men who had been hiding behind the city had captured it. They also saw that smoke was going up from it. So they turned around and attacked the men of Ai.The men who had set Ai on fire came out of the city. They also fought against the men of Ai. So the men of Ai were caught in the middle. The army of Israel was on both sides of them. Israel struck them down. They didn’t let anyone remain alive or get away.But they captured the king of Ai alive. They brought him to Joshua.Israel finished killing all the men of Ai. They destroyed them in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them. They struck down every one of them with their swords. Then all the Israelites returned to Ai. And they killed those who were left in it.The total number of men and women they killed that day was 12,000. The Israelites put to death all the people of Ai.Joshua continued to hold out his javelin toward Ai. He didn’t lower his hand until he and his men had totally destroyed everyone who lived there.But this time Israel kept for themselves the livestock and everything else they had taken from the city. The Lord had directed Joshua to let them do it.So Joshua burned down Ai. He tore it down so it could never be built again. It has been deserted to this very day.Joshua killed the king of Ai. He stuck a pole through the body. Then he set it up where people could see it. He left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered his men to remove the body from the pole. He told them to throw the body down at the entrance of the city gate. They put a large pile of rocks over the body. That pile is still there to this day.
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Titus 2:4
Then they can advise the younger women to love their husbands and children.
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Joshua 11:23
So Joshua captured the whole land, just as the Lord had directed Moses. Joshua gave the land to Israel as their very own. He divided it up and gave each tribe its share. Then the land had peace and rest.