Bible Readings for July 19, 2015

Today our passages are 1 Chronicles 28:1–29:30; Romans 5:6-21; Psalm 15:1-5; and Proverbs 19:18-19. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. 

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1 Chronicles 28-29:30 (Contemporary English Version)

1 Chronicles 28

David Gives Solomon the Plans for the Temple

 ¹David called a meeting in Jerusalem for all of Israel's leaders, including the tribal leaders, the government officials, the army commanders, the officials in charge of the royal property and livestock, the palace officials, and the brave warriors.     ²After everyone was there, David stood up and said:
   Listen to me, my people. I wanted to build a place where the sacred chest would be kept, so we could go there and worship the LORD our God. I have prepared all the supplies for building a temple, ³but the LORD has refused to let me build it, because he said I have killed too many people in battle.
    ⁴The LORD God chose Judah to be the leading tribe in Israel. Then from Judah, he chose my father's family, and from that family, he chose me to be the king of Israel, and he promised that my descendants will also rule as kings. ⁵The LORD has blessed me with many sons, but he chose my son Solomon to be the next king of Israel. ⁶The LORD said to me, "Your son Solomon will build my temple, and it will honor me. Solomon will be like a son to me, and I will be like a father to him. ⁷If he continues to obey my laws and commands, his kingdom will never end."
    ⁸My friends, you are the LORD's people. And now, with God as your witness, I want you to promise that you will do your best to obey everything the LORD God has commanded us. Then this land will always belong to you and your descendants.
    ⁹Solomon, my son, worship God and obey him with all your heart and mind, just as I have done. He knows all your thoughts and your reasons for doing things, and so if you turn to him, he will hear your prayers. But if you ignore him, he will reject you forever. ¹⁰The LORD has chosen you to build a temple for worshiping him. Be confident and do the work you have been assigned.
    ¹¹After David finished speaking, he gave Solomon the plans for building the main rooms of the temple, including the porch, the storerooms, the rooms upstairs and downstairs, as well as the most holy place. ¹²He gave Solomon his plans for the courtyards and the open areas around the temple, and for the rooms to store the temple treasures and gifts that had been dedicated to God.
    ¹³David also gave Solomon his plans for dividing the priests and the Levites into groups, as well as for the work that needed to be done at the temple and for taking care of the objects used for worship. ¹⁴He told Solomon how much gold and silver was to be used in making the sacred objects, ¹⁵including the lampstands and lamps, ¹⁶the gold table which held the sacred loaves of bread, the tables made of silver, ¹⁷the meat forks, the bowls and cups, ¹⁸the gold incense altar, and the gold statue of a chariot for the winged creatures which were on the lid of the sacred chest.
    ¹⁹David then said to Solomon:
   The LORD showed me how his temple is to be built. ²⁰But you must see that everything is done according to these plans. Be confident, and never be afraid of anything or get discouraged. The LORD my God will help you do everything needed to finish the temple, so it can be used for worshiping him. ²¹The priests and Levites have been assigned their duties, and all the skilled workers are prepared to do their work. The people and their leaders will do anything you tell them.
   

1 Chronicles 29

Gifts for Building the Temple

 ¹David told the crowd:    God chose my son Solomon to build the temple, but Solomon is young and has no experience. This is not just any building--this is the temple for the LORD God! ²That's why I have done my best to get everything Solomon will need to build it--gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, onyx, turquoise, colored gems, all kinds of precious stones, and marble.
    ³Besides doing all that, I have promised to give part of my own gold and silver as a way of showing my love for God's temple. ⁴Almost one hundred twenty tons of my finest gold and over two hundred fifty tons of my silver will be used to decorate its walls ⁵and to make the gold and silver objects. Now, who else will show their dedication to the LORD by giving gifts for building his temple?
    ⁶After David finished speaking, the family leaders, the tribal leaders, the army commanders, and the government officials voluntarily gave gifts ⁷for the temple. These gifts included almost two hundred tons of gold, three hundred eighty tons of silver, almost seven hundred tons of bronze, and three thousand seven hundred fifty tons of iron. ⁸Everyone who owned precious stones also donated them to the temple treasury, where Jehiel from the Levite clan of Gershon guarded them.
    ⁹David and the people were very happy that so much had been given to the LORD, and they all celebrated.
   

David Praises the LORD

 ¹⁰Then, in front of everyone, David sang praises to the LORD:    I praise you forever, LORD! You are the God our ancestor Jacob ^[a] worshiped. ¹¹Your power is great, and your glory is seen everywhere in heaven and on earth. You are king of the entire world, ¹²and you rule with strength and power. You make people rich and powerful and famous. ¹³We thank you, our God, and praise you. ¹⁴But why should we be happy that we have given you these gifts? They belong to you, and we have only given back what is already yours. ¹⁵We are only foreigners living here on earth for a while, just as our ancestors were. And we will soon be gone, like a shadow that suddenly disappears.
    ¹⁶Our LORD God, we have brought all these things for building a temple to honor you. They belong to you, and you gave them to us. ¹⁷But we are happy, because everyone has voluntarily given you these things. You know what is in everyone's heart, and you are pleased when people are honest. ¹⁸Always make us eager to give, and help us be faithful to you, just as our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob faithfully worshiped you. ¹⁹And give Solomon the desire to completely obey your laws and teachings, and the desire to build the temple for which I have provided these gifts.
    ²⁰David then said to the people, "Now it's your turn to praise the LORD, the God your ancestors worshiped!" So everyone praised the LORD, and they bowed down to honor him and David their king.
   

Solomon Is Crowned King

 ²¹The next day, the Israelites slaughtered a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, and they offered them as sacrifices to please the LORD, ^[b] along with offerings of wine. ²²The people were very happy, and they ate and drank there at the LORD's altar. That same day, Solomon was crowned king. The people celebrated and poured olive oil on Solomon's head to show that he would be their next king. They also poured oil on Zadok's head to show that he was their priest.     ²³So Solomon became king after David his father. Solomon was successful, and everyone in Israel obeyed him. ²⁴Every official and every soldier, as well as all of David's other sons, were loyal to him. ²⁵The LORD made Solomon a great king, and the whole nation was amazed at how famous he was. In fact, no other king of Israel was as great as Solomon.
   

David Dies

 ²⁶David the son of Jesse was king of Israel ²⁷for forty years. He ruled from Hebron for seven years and from Jerusalem for thirty-three years. ²⁸David was rich and respected and lived to be an old man. Then he died, and his son Solomon became king.     ²⁹Everything David did while he was king is included in the history written by the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. ³⁰They wrote about his powerful rule and about the things that happened not only to him, but also to Israel and the other nations.
   

Footnotes:

1. 1 Chronicles 29:10 Jacob: See the note at 1.34.
2. 1 Chronicles 29:21 sacrifices to please the LORD: See the note at 16.1.

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Romans 5:6-21 (Contemporary English Version)

⁶Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. ⁷No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. ⁸But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.
    ⁹But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life's blood, we will also be kept safe from God's anger. ¹⁰Even when we were God's enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son's life. ¹¹And in addition to everything else, we are happy because God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us.
   

Adam and Christ

 ¹²Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die. ¹³Sin was in the world before the Law came. But no record of sin was kept, because there was no Law. ¹⁴Yet death still had power over all who lived from the time of Adam to the time of Moses. This happened, though not everyone disobeyed a direct command from God, as Adam did.    In some ways Adam is like Christ who came later. ¹⁵But the gift that God was kind enough to give was very different from Adam's sin. That one sin brought death to many others. Yet in an even greater way, Jesus Christ alone brought God's gift of kindness to many people.
    ¹⁶There is a lot of difference between Adam's sin and God's gift. That one sin led to punishment. But God's gift made it possible for us to be acceptable to him, even though we have sinned many times. ¹⁷Death ruled like a king because Adam had sinned. But that cannot compare with what Jesus Christ has done. God has been so kind to us, and he has accepted us because of Jesus. And so we will live and rule like kings.
    ¹⁸Everyone was going to be punished because Adam sinned. But because of the good thing that Christ has done, God accepts us and gives us the gift of life. ¹⁹Adam disobeyed God and caused many others to be sinners. But Jesus obeyed him and will make many people acceptable to God.
    ²⁰The Law came, so that the full power of sin could be seen. Yet where sin was powerful, God's kindness was even more powerful. ²¹Sin ruled by means of death. But God's kindness now rules, and God has accepted us because of Jesus Christ our Lord. This means that we will have eternal life.

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Psalm 15:1-5 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 15

(A psalm by David.)

Who May Worship the LORD?

 ¹Who may stay in God's temple    or live on the holy mountain
   of the LORD?
    ²Only those who obey God
   and do as they should.
   They speak the truth
    ³and don't spread gossip;
   they treat others fairly
   and don't say cruel things.
    ⁴They hate worthless people,
   but show respect for all
   who worship the LORD.
   And they keep their promises,
   no matter what the cost.
    ⁵They lend their money
   without charging interest,
   and they don't take bribes
   to hurt the innocent.
   Those who do these things
   will always stand firm.

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Proverbs 19:18-19 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁸Correct your children
   before it's too late;
   if you don't punish them,
   you are destroying them.
    ¹⁹People with bad tempers
   are always in trouble,
   and they need help
   over and over again. ^[a]

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 19:19 and they. . . again: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Verse of the Day

“Don't be afraid. I am with you. Don't tremble with fear. I am your God. I will make you strong, as I protect you with my arm and give you victories.” - Isaiah 41:10

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American writer, Ralph Marston wrote, “What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.”