Every Woman's Bible Journaling Edition, Filament Enabled - Book - Page 9
66
W H AT T H E B I B L E SAYS A B O U T
We Work and Rest
Following God’s
Rhythms
You have expert goldsmiths
and silversmiths and workers
of bronze and iron. Now
begin the work, and may the
Lord be with you!
You have six days each week
for your ordinary work, but
the seventh day must be a
Sabbath day of complete rest,
a holy day dedicated to the
Lord. E X O D U S 3 5 : 2
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were
working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that
the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that
the Master you are serving is Christ. C O L O S S I A N S 3 : 2 3 - 2 4
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT . . .
Get Skilled
God blessed the seventh
day and declared it holy,
because it was the day when
he rested from all his work of
creation. G E N E S I S 2 : 3
We Work for the Real Boss
67
She is energetic
and strong
Work
1 CHRONICLES 22:16
Do you see any truly
competent workers? They
will serve kings rather than
working for ordinary people.
For all who have entered into
God’s rest have rested from
their labors, just as God did
after creating the world.
Sometimes it helps to look at the big picture. This feature
illuminates key themes throughout the Bible, especially
themes of interest to women, by gathering key verses all in
one place. Consider these pages to be a starting place for
your study of each topic.
Our First “Job Description”
God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the
earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in
the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
GENESIS 1:28
PROVERBS 22:29
The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend
and watch over it. G E N E S I S 2 : 1 5
HEBREWS 4:10
Work Hard
A Prayer for
Our Work
Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.
May the Lord our God show
us his approval and make our
efforts successful. Yes, make
our efforts successful!
Work Justly
Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay. L E V I T I C U S 1 9 : 1 3
PSALM 90:17
As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit, so workers who protect their employer’s
interests will be rewarded. P R O V E R B S 2 7 : 1 8
PROVERBS 10:4
A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the
hands to rest—then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
PROVERBS 24:33-34
She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. P R O V E R B S 3 1 : 1 7
How We Work Matters More Than Where We Work
Work willingly
at whatever
you do . . .
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather
than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your
reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. C O L O S S I A N S 3 : 2 3 -2 4
Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with
your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will
respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:11-12
GeneSIS 14
SA R A I A N D A B R A M ’ S T R AV E L S
Hattusha
GeneSIS 2
)
(northern Ur)
Haran
DAYS O F C R E AT I O N
Aleppo
Nineveh
Empty
CHAOS
Sea
Formless
Abram, Sarai, their extended
family, and their servants walked
from Ur to Haran (600 miles),
on to Canaan (400 miles), then
down to Egypt (325 miles), and
back to Canaan again. How
many steps do you walk a day?
Women worldwide walk 5,000
steps daily. If Sarai had done
that, it would have taken her
660 days to complete this route.
URARTU (AR
AR
AT
6
Insight
Hamath
Asshur
(Genesis 1:6-8)
Water, Sky
r ra
i te
HEAVENS
M
ed
(Genesis 1:14-19)
Sun, Moon, Stars
DAY 5
WATER
AND SKY
(Genesis 1:20-23)
Birds, Fish
EARTH
(Genesis 1:24-31)
Animals, Humans
Filled
COSMOS
DAY 7
(Genesis 2:2-3)
Rest
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be
fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern
it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the
sky, and all the animals that scurry along the
ground.”
29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you
every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth
and all the fruit trees for your food. 30And I
have given every green plant as food for all
the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the
small animals that scurry along the ground—
everything that has life.” And that is what
happened.
31 Then God looked over all he had made, and
he saw that it was very good!
And evening passed and morning came,
marking the sixth day.
So the creation of the heavens and the earth
and everything in them was completed. 2 On
the seventh day God had finished his work of
creation, so he rested* from all his work. 3And
God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy,
because it was the day when he rested from all
his work of creation.
2
This is the account of the creation of the heavens
and the earth.
4
The Man and Woman in Eden
When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 neither wild plants nor grains were growing
on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain
to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the G
soil.
e n6eInstead,
S I S 3 8 springs* came up from the
2:2 Or ceased; also in 2:3. 2:6 Or mist.
2:2 God did not rest because he was tired. He rested because
his creative work was finished. He rested the way a king rests on
his throne when his dominion is at peace. The creation week is a
Damascus
ARABIAN
DESERT
200
400 Mi
0
300
600 Km
model for us to emulate. None of us can work nonstop. We need
regular periods of rest. Genesis 1:1–2:3 invites us to pattern our
work week after God’s.
“Anybody who
has survived
[her] childhood
has enough
information about
life to last . . . the
rest of [her] days.”
4/10/2025 12:16:53 PM
F L A N N E RY O’CO N N O R
(1925–1964) American novelist
and Christian
Joseph Sold into Slavery
When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they
made plans to kill him. 19“Here comes the dreamer!”
they said. 20“Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into
one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild
animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes
of his dreams!”
21 But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came
to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. 22“Why
should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into
this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll
die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was
secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him
to his father.
23 So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped
off the beautiful robe he was wearing. 24 Then they
grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. now the
cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 25Then,
just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up
and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming
toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders
taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from
Gilead down to egypt.
18
01_Gen_EWB_NLT_FEE.indd 58
14:14
Susa
Ur
(southern Ur)
steps
per day
660
days
far as you can see, to you and your descendants* as a
permanent possession. 16And I will give you so many
descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! 17 Go and walk through the land in
every direction, for I am giving it to you.”
18 So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled
near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he
built another altar to the Lord.
Abram Rescues Lot
About this time war broke out in the region.
King Amraphel of Babylonia,* King Arioch of
ellasar, King Kedorlaomer of elam, and King Tidal of
Goiim 2fought against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (also called Zoar).
3 This second group of kings joined forces in Siddim
Valley (that is, the valley of the Dead Sea*). 4For twelve
years they had been subject to King Kedorlaomer, but
in the thirteenth year they rebelled against him.
5 One year later Kedorlaomer and his allies arrived
and defeated the Rephaites at Ashteroth-karnaim,
the Zuzites at Ham, the emites at Shaveh-kiriathaim,
6 and the Horites at Mount Seir, as far as el-paran at
the edge of the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back
and came to en-mishpat (now called Kadesh) and
conquered all the territory of the Amalekites, and
also the Amorites living in Hazazon-tamar.
8 Then the rebel kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (also called Zoar) prepared
for battle in the valley of the Dead Sea.* 9 They fought
14
13:15 Hebrew seed; also in 13:16. 14:1 Hebrew Shinar; also in 14:9. 14:3 Hebrew Salt Sea. 14:8 Hebrew Siddim Valley (see 14:3);
also in 14:10.
58
Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by
killing our brother?
We’d have to cover
up the crime.*
01_Gen_EWB_NLT_FEE.indd
22
27 Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own
flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. 28So when
the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came
by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and
sold him to them for twenty pieces* of silver. And the
traders took him to egypt.
29 Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out
of the cistern. When he discovered that Joseph was
missing, he tore his clothes in grief. 30Then he went
back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone!
What will I do now?”
31 Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped
Joseph’s robe in its blood. 32 They sent the beautiful
robe to their father with this message: “Look at what
we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?”
33 Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he
said, “it is my son’s robe. A wild animal must have
eaten him. Joseph has clearly been torn to pieces!”
34 Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in
burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time.
35 His family all tried to comfort him, but he refused to
be comforted. “I will go to my grave* mourning for my
son,” he would say, and then he would weep.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianite traders* arrived in
egypt, where they sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer
of Pharaoh, the king of egypt. Potiphar was captain
of the palace guard.
Judah and Tamar
About this time, Judah left home and moved to
Adullam, where he stayed with a man named
Hirah. 2There he saw a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua, and he married her. When he slept with
her, 3she became pregnant and gave birth to a son,
and he named the boy er. 4Then she became pregnant
again and gave birth to another son, and she named
him Onan. 5And when she gave birth to a third son, she
named him Shelah. At the time of Shelah’s birth, they
were living at Kezib.
6 In the course of time, Judah arranged for his firstborn son, er, to marry a young woman named Tamar.
7 But er was a wicked man in the Lord’s sight, so the
Lord took his life. 8 Then Judah said to er’s brother
Onan, “Go and marry Tamar, as our law requires of
the brother of a man who has died. You must produce an heir for your brother.”
38
37:26 Hebrew cover his blood. 37:28 Hebrew 20 [shekels], about 8 ounces or 228 grams in weight. 37:35 Hebrew go down to Sheol.
37:36 Hebrew the Medanites. The relationship between the Midianites and Medanites is unclear; compare 37:28. See also 25:2.
37:25 The Ishmaelite traders carried spices to Egypt for embalming. From Jacob’s perspective, his son had already died. Ironically,
Genesis ends with Joseph embalmed in a coffin in Egypt (50:26),
but his sojourn there gave life. Through it, God preserved Joseph’s
life and the lives of his brothers and their families.
38:1-30 This story may seem like a random interruption to the
Joseph saga, but it provides a crucial piece of the story—Judah’s
EXODUS
maps, graphs, and illustrations help
us understand the Bible beyond
what words alone may offer. You’ll
find these where an illustration,
more information, or a cultural
insight can help you see beyond
the pages themselves to the real
world of the Bible.
26
01_Gen_EWB_NLT_FEE.indd 6
The
himself w ill
ig t
Just
stay calm.
Babylon
5,000
0
Abram had built the altar, and there he worshiped
the Lord again.
5 Lot, who was traveling with Abram, had also become very wealthy with flocks of sheep and goats,
herds of cattle, and many tents. 6But the land could not
support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and
herds living so close together. 7So disputes broke out
between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. (At that time
Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.)
8 Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all,
we are close relatives! 9The whole countryside is open
to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you
want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the
left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the
land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.”
10 Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was
well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord
or the beautiful land of egypt. (This was before the
Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11Lot chose
for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of
them. He went there with his flocks and servants and
parted company with his uncle Abram. 12So Abram
settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents
to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of
the plain. 13But the people of this area were extremely
wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord.
14After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram,
“Look as far as you can see in every direction—north
and south, east and west. 15I am giving all this land, as
DAY 6
DAY 3
(Genesis 1:9-13)
Sea, Land
Formed
ne
an
DAY 2
CANA
AN
DAY 4
DAY 1
(Genesis 1:3-5)
Light, Dark
I N S IG H T These charts,
22
Insight
character transformation. It had been Judah’s idea to sell his
brother Joseph into slavery, a move to profit from his disappearance (37:26-27). His claim to care about his brother in
37:27 rings hollow. However, by the end of the saga, Judah
had offered himself to be enslaved in place of his brother
Benjamin (44:30-34).
38:8-10 This custom is known as levirate marriage (from the
4/10/2025 12:17:26 PM
S H E SAYS Throughout the Bible, you’ll find powerful
quotes that capture the voices of Christian women across history.
These quotes show us how they lived out their faith across many
cultures and places. We gain inspiration from their words as
we hear from leaders of movements and church denominations,
singers and writers and artists, and missionaries and theologians.
We find strength from the variety of voices, reminding us that
women throughout history and from many walks of life have
much to say about how God is with us today, where we are.
4/10/2025 12:19:23 PM
S C RI P T U RE PAU S E
WORD S TO RE M E M B E R
Throughout this Bible, you’ll find
full-page script lettering of Bible
verses that inspire us. We hope
these pages give you space to
take a breath, spend a moment
reflecting on a brief Bible verse,
and experience the peace God’s
Word gives.
You will find highlighted portions of Scripture
throughout the Bible. We’ve spotlighted these
frequently cited passages so you can see what
verses draw the most interest from other readers.
And you may want to take some of these with you
into your days by committing them to memory.
livestock, And
allthat
the
wild animals on the earth,*
and
saw that it was good.
is what happened. The land produced
Then
God said, “Let us make human beings*
vegetation—all sorts
of seedbearing plants,
the small animals
that
scurry
along the
ground.”
in our image, to be like us. They will reign over
and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds
12
26
27
EWB_NLT.indb 117
4/11/2025 9:14:00 AM
produced plants and trees of the same kind. And
God saw that it was good.
13And evening passed and morning came,
marking the third day.
the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the
livestock,
So God created human beings* in his
o all the wild animals on the earth,* and
the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
image.
So God created human beings* in his own
image.
Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to
In theseparate
image
heLetcrea
In the image of God he created them;
the dayof
fromGod
the night.
them be
male and female he created them.
signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Let
male
and female he crea
1:1 Or In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, . . . Or When God began to create the heavens and the earth, . . .
27
14
15
1:26a Or man; Hebrew reads adam. 1:26b As in Syriac version; Hebrew reads all the earth. 1:27 Or the man; Hebrew reads ha-adam.
A12
d the earth, . . . Or When God began to create the hea
Some Christians read Genesis as a description of how God
1:27 Or the man;
brew reads all the1:1 earth.
1:22 In the context of his creative work, God blessed a few
