Bible Readings for September 18, 2015

Today our passages are Isaiah 28:14–30:11; Galatians 3:23–4:31; Psalm 62:1-12; and Proverbs 23:19-21. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal. 

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Isaiah 28:14-30:11 (Contemporary English Version)

False Security Is Fatal

 ¹⁴You rulers of Jerusalem    do nothing but sneer;
   now you must listen
   to what the LORD says.
    ¹⁵Do you think you have
   an agreement with death
   and the world of the dead?
   Why do you trust in your lies
   to keep you safe from danger
   and the mighty flood?
    ¹⁶And so the LORD says,
   "I'm laying a firm foundation
   for the city of Zion.
   It's a valuable cornerstone
   proven to be trustworthy;
   no one who trusts it
   will ever be disappointed.
    ¹⁷Justice and fairness
   will be the measuring lines
   that help me build."
   Hailstones and floods
   will destroy and wash away
   your shelter of lies.
    ¹⁸Your agreement with death
   and the world of the dead
   will be broken.
   Then angry, roaring waves
   will sweep over you.
    ¹⁹Morning, noon, and night
   an overwhelming flood
   will wash you away.
   The terrible things that happen
   will teach you this lesson:
    ²⁰Your bed is too short,
   your blanket too skimpy. ^{[a] 21}The LORD will fiercely attack
   as he did at Mount Perazim ^[b] and in Gibeon Valley. ^[c] But this time the LORD
   will do something surprising,
   not what you expect.
    ²²So you had better stop sneering
   or you will be in worse shape
   than ever before.
   I heard the LORD All-Powerful
   threaten the whole country
   with destruction.
   

All Wisdom Comes from the LORD

 ²³Pay close attention    to what I am saying.
    ²⁴Farmers don't just plow
   and break up the ground.
    ²⁵When a field is ready,
   they scatter the seeds
   of dill and cumin;
   they plant the seeds
   of wheat and barley
   in the proper places.
    ²⁶They learn this from their God.
    ²⁷After dill and cumin
   have been harvested,
   the stalks are pounded,
   not run over with a wagon.
    ²⁸Wheat and barley are pounded,
   but not beaten to pulp;
   they are run over with a wagon,
   but not ground to dust.
    ²⁹This wonderful knowledge comes
   from the LORD All-Powerful,
   who has such great wisdom.
   

Isaiah 29

Jerusalem Will Suffer

The LORD said:

 ¹Jerusalem, city of David,    the place of my altar, ^[d] you are in for trouble!
   Celebrate your festivals
   year after year.
    ²I will still make you suffer,
   and your people will cry
   when I make an altar of you. ^{[e] 3}I will surround you and prepare
   to attack from all sides. ^{[f] 4}From deep in the earth,
   you will call out for help
   with only a faint whisper.
    ⁵Then your cruel enemies
   will suddenly be swept away
   like dust in a windstorm.
    ⁶I, the LORD All-Powerful,
   will come to your rescue
   with a thundering earthquake
   and a fiery whirlwind.
    ⁷Every brutal nation
   that attacks Jerusalem
   and makes it suffer
   will disappear like a dream
   when night is over.
    ⁸Those nations that attack
   Mount Zion
   will suffer from hunger
   and thirst.
   They will dream of food and drink
   but wake up weary and hungry
   and thirsty as ever.
   

Prophets Who Fool Themselves

 ⁹Be shocked and stunned,    you prophets!
   Refuse to see.
   Get drunk and stagger,
   but not from wine.
    ¹⁰The LORD has made you drowsy;
   he put you into a deep sleep
   and covered your head.
    ¹¹Now his message is like a sealed letter to you. Some of you say, "We can't read it, because it's sealed." ¹²Others say, "We can't read it, because we don't know how to read."
    ¹³The Lord has said:
   "These people praise me
   with their words,
   but they never really
   think about me.
   They worship me by repeating
   rules
   made up by humans.
    ¹⁴So once again I will do things
   that shock and amaze them,
   and I will destroy the wisdom
   of those who claim to know
   and understand."
    ¹⁵You are in for trouble,
   if you try to hide your plans
   from the LORD!
   Or if you think what you do
   in the dark can't be seen.
    ¹⁶You have it all backwards.
   A clay dish doesn't say
   to the potter,
   "You didn't make me.
   You don't even know how."
   

Hope for the Future

 ¹⁷Soon the forest of Lebanon    will become a field with crops,
   thick as a forest. ^{[g] 18}The deaf will be able to hear
   whatever is read to them;
   the blind will be freed
   from a life of darkness.
    ¹⁹The poor and the needy
   will celebrate and shout
   because of the LORD,
   the holy God of Israel.
    ²⁰All who are cruel and arrogant
   will be gone forever.
   Those who live by crime
   will disappear,
    ²¹together with everyone
   who tells lies in court
   and keeps innocent people
   from getting a fair trial.
    ²²The LORD who rescued Abraham
   has this to say
   about Jacob's descendants:
   "They will no longer
   be ashamed and disgraced.
    ²³When they see how great
   I have made their nation,
   they will praise and honor me,
   the holy God of Israel.
    ²⁴Everyone who is confused
   will understand,
   and all who have complained
   will obey my teaching."
   

Isaiah 30

Don't Expect Help from Egypt

 ¹This is the LORD's message for his rebellious people:    "You follow your own plans
   instead of mine;
   you make treaties
   without asking me,
   and you keep on sinning.
    ²You trust Egypt for protection.
   So you refuse my advice
   and send messengers to Egypt
   to beg their king for help.
    ³You will be disappointed,
   completely disgraced
   for trusting Egypt.
    ⁴The king's power reaches
   from the city of Zoan
   as far south as Hanes. ^{[h] 5}But Egypt can't protect you,
   and to trust that nation
   is useless and foolish."
    ⁶This is a message
   about the animals
   of the Southern Desert:
   You people carry treasures
   on donkeys and camels.
   You travel to a feeble nation
   through a troublesome desert
   filled with lions
   and flying fiery dragons.
    ⁷Egypt can't help you!
   That's why I call that nation
   a helpless monster."^[i]

Israel Refuses To Listen

 ⁸The LORD told me to write down his message for his people, so that it would be there forever. ⁹They have turned against the LORD and can't be trusted. They have refused his teaching ¹⁰and have said to his messengers and prophets:    Don't tell us what God has shown you and don't preach the truth. Just say what we want to hear, even if it's false. ¹¹Stop telling us what God has said! We don't want to hear any more about the holy God of Israel.
   

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 28:20 Your bed. . . skimpy: Isaiah quotes a popular saying to teach that the treaty made with Egypt (verse 18) cannot give the nation security from its enemies.
2. Isaiah 28:21 Mount Perazim: This may refer to David's defeat of the Philistines at Baal Perazim (2 Samuel 5.17-21).
3. Isaiah 28:21 Gibeon Valley: This refers to Joshua's victory at Gibeon (Joshua 10.1-11).
4. Isaiah 29:1 the place of my altar: One possible meaning for "ariel, ariel" of the Hebrew text. In Hebrew "ariel" can mean "God's hero" or "God's lion" or "God's altar."
5. Isaiah 29:2 when. . . you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
6. Isaiah 29:3 from all sides: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. One ancient translation has "like David."
7. Isaiah 29:17 with. . . forest: Or "and Mount Carmel will be covered with forests."
8. Isaiah 30:4 Zoan. . . Hanes: Or "Your messengers have reached the city of Zoan and gone as far as Hanes." Zoan was in northeast Egypt; Hanes was to the south.
9. Isaiah 30:7 a helpless monster: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Galatians 3:23-4:31 (Contemporary English Version)

²³The Law controlled us and kept us under its power until the time came when we would have faith. ²⁴In fact, the Law was our teacher. It was supposed to teach us until we had faith and were acceptable to God. ²⁵But once a person has learned to have faith, there is no more need to have the Law as a teacher.
    ²⁶All of you are God's children because of your faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes. ²⁸Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. ²⁹So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham's family, ^[a] and you will be given what God has promised.

Galatians 4

 ¹Children who are under age are no better off than slaves, even though everything their parents own will someday be theirs. ²This is because children are placed in the care of guardians and teachers until the time their parents have set. ³That is how it was with us. We were like children ruled by the powers of this world.     ⁴But when the time was right, God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him. His Son obeyed the Law, ⁵so he could set us free from the Law, and we could become God's children. ⁶Now that we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. And his Spirit tells us that God is our Father. ⁷You are no longer slaves. You are God's children, and you will be given what he has promised.
   

Paul's Concern for the Galatians

 ⁸Before you knew God, you were slaves of gods that are not real. ⁹But now you know God, or better still, God knows you. How can you turn back and become the slaves of those weak and pitiful powers? ^{[b] 10}You even celebrate certain days, months, seasons, and years. ¹¹I am afraid I have wasted my time working with you. ¹²My friends, I beg you to be like me, just as I once tried to be like you. Did you mistreat me ¹³when I first preached to you? No you didn't, even though you knew I had come there because I was sick. ¹⁴My illness must have caused you some trouble, but you didn't hate me or turn me away because of it. You welcomed me as though I were one of God's angels or even Christ Jesus himself. ¹⁵Where is that good feeling now? I am sure that if it had been possible, you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶Am I now your enemy, just because I told you the truth?     ¹⁷Those people may be paying you a lot of attention, but it isn't for your good. They only want to keep you away from me, so you will pay them a lot of attention. ¹⁸It is always good to give your attention to something worthwhile, even when I am not with you. ¹⁹My children, I am in terrible pain until Christ may be seen living in you. ²⁰I wish I were with you now. Then I would not have to talk this way. You really have me puzzled.
   

Hagar and Sarah

 ²¹Some of you would like to be under the rule of the Law of Moses. But do you know what the Law says? ²²In the Scriptures we learn that Abraham had two sons. The mother of one of them was a slave, while the mother of the other one had always been free. ²³The son of the slave woman was born in the usual way. But the son of the free woman was born because of God's promise.     ²⁴All of this has another meaning as well. Each of the two women stands for one of the agreements God made with his people. Hagar, the slave woman, stands for the agreement that was made at Mount Sinai. Everyone born into her family is a slave. ²⁵Hagar also stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia ^[c] and for the present city of Jerusalem. She ^[d] and her children are slaves. ²⁶But our mother is the city of Jerusalem in heaven above, and she isn't a slave. ²⁷The Scriptures say about her,
   "You have never had children,
   but now you can be glad.
   You have never given birth,
   but now you can shout.
   Once you had no children,
   but now you will have
   more children
   than a woman
   who has been married
   for a long time."
    ²⁸My friends, you were born because of this promise, just as Isaac was. ²⁹But the child who was born in the natural way made trouble for the child who was born because of the Spirit. The same thing is happening today. ³⁰The Scriptures say, "Get rid of the slave woman and her son! He won't be given anything. The son of the free woman will receive everything." ³¹My friends, we are children of the free woman and not of the slave.
   

Footnotes:

1. Galatians 3:29 you are now part of Abraham's family: Paul tells the Galatians that faith in Jesus Christ is what makes someone a true child of Abraham and of God (see the note at 3.7).
2. Galatians 4:9 powers: Spirits were thought to control human lives and were believed to be connected with the movements of the stars.
3. Galatians 4:25 Hagar also stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia: Some manuscripts have " Sinai is a mountain in Arabia." This sentence would then be translated: " Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, and Hagar stands for the present city of Jerusalem."
4. Galatians 4:25 She: " Hagar" or " Jerusalem."

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Psalm 62:1-12 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 62

(A psalm by David for Jeduthun, the music leader.)

God Is Powerful and Kind

 ¹Only God can save me,

   and I calmly wait for ^[a] him. ²God alone is the mighty rock ^[b] that keeps me safe

   and the fortress

   where I am secure.

    ³I feel like a shaky fence

   or a sagging wall.

   How long will all of you

   attack and assault me?

    ⁴You want to bring me down

   from my place of honor.

   You love to tell lies,

   and when your words are kind,

   hatred hides in your heart.

    ⁵Only God gives inward peace,

   and I depend on him.

    ⁶God alone is the mighty rock

   that keeps me safe,

   and he is the fortress

   where I feel secure.

    ⁷God saves me and honors me.

   He is that mighty rock

   where I find safety.

    ⁸Trust God, my friends,

   and always tell him

   each one of your concerns.

   God is our place of safety.

    ⁹We humans are only a breath;

   none of us are truly great.

   All of us together weigh less

   than a puff of air.

    ¹⁰Don't trust in violence

   or depend on dishonesty

   or rely on great wealth.

    ¹¹I heard God say two things:

   "I am powerful,

    ¹²and I am very kind."

   The Lord rewards each of us

   according to what we do.

   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 62:1 calmly wait for: Or " am at peace with."
2. Psalm 62:2 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.

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Proverbs 23:19-21 (Contemporary English Version)

-15-

 ¹⁹ Listen to me, my children!    Be wise and have enough sense
   to follow the right path.
    ²⁰Don't be a heavy drinker
   or stuff yourself with food.
    ²¹It will make you feel drowsy,
   and you will end up poor
   with only rags to wear.

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Verse of the Day

“Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves. Care about them as much as you care about yourselves” - Philippians 2:3-4

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

English writer who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer, Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentional lying, that there is so much falsehood in the world.”