Bible Readings for December 15, 2015

Today our passages are Micah 1:1–4:13; Revelation 6:1-17; Psalm 134:1-3; and Proverbs 30:1-4. 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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Micah 1-4:13 (Contemporary English Version)

Micah 1

 ¹I am Micah from Moresheth. ^[a] And this is the message about Samaria and Jerusalem ^[b] that the LORD gave to me when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah ^[c] were the kings of Judah.

Judgment on Samaria

 ²Listen, all of you!    Earth and everything on it,
   pay close attention.
   The LORD God accuses you
   from his holy temple. ^{[d] 3}And he will come down
   to crush underfoot
   every pagan altar.
    ⁴Mountains will melt
   beneath his feet
   like wax beside a fire.
   Valleys will vanish like water
   rushing down a ravine.
    ⁵This will happen because of
   the terrible sins of Israel,
   the descendants of Jacob.
   Samaria has led Israel to sin,
   and pagan altars at Jerusalem
   have made Judah sin.
    ⁶So the LORD will leave Samaria
   in ruins--
   merely an empty field
   where vineyards are planted.
   He will scatter its stones
   and destroy its foundations.
    ⁷Samaria's idols will be smashed,
   and the wages
   of temple prostitutes ^[e] will be destroyed by fire.
   Silver and gold from those idols
   will then be used
   by foreigners
   as payment for prostitutes.
   

Judah Is Doomed

 ⁸Because of this tragedy, ^[f] I go barefoot and naked.    My crying and weeping
   sound like howling wolves
   or ostriches.
    ⁹The nation is fatally wounded.
   Judah is doomed.
   Jerusalem will fall.
    ¹⁰Don't tell it in Gath!
   Don't even cry.
   Instead, roll in the dust
   at Beth-Leaphrah. ^{[g] 11}Depart naked and ashamed,
   you people of Shaphir. ^[h] The town of Bethezel ^[i] mourns because no one from Zaanan ^[j] went out to help. ^{[k] 12}Everyone in Maroth ^[l] hoped for the best,
   but the LORD sent disaster
   down on Jerusalem.
    ¹³Get the war chariots ready,
   you people of Lachish. ^[m] You led Jerusalem into sin,
   just as Israel did. ^{[n] 14}Now you will have to give
   a going-away gift ^[o] to Moresheth. ^[p] Israel's kings will discover
   that they cannot trust
   the town of Achzib. ^{[q] 15}People of Mareshah, ^[r] the LORD will send someone
   to capture your town.
   Then Israel's glorious king
   will be forced to hide
   in Adullam Cave. ^{[s] 16}Judah, shave your head
   as bald as a buzzard
   and start mourning.
   Your precious children ^[t] will be dragged off
   to a foreign country.
   

Micah 2

Punishment for Those Who Abuse Their Power

 ¹Doomed! You're doomed!    At night you lie in bed,
   making evil plans.
   And when morning comes,
   you do what you've planned
   because you have the power.
    ²You grab any field or house
   that you want;
   you cheat families
   out of homes and land.
    ³But here is what the LORD says:
   "I am planning trouble for you.
   Your necks will be caught
   in a noose,
   and you will be disgraced
   in this time of disaster."
    ⁴When that happens,
   this sorrowful song
   will be sung about you:
   "Ruined! Completely ruined!
   The LORD has taken our land
   and given it to traitors." ^{[u] 5}And so you will never again
   own property
   among the LORD's people.
    ⁶"Enough of your preaching!"
   That's what you tell me.
   "We won't be disgraced,
   so stop preaching!"
    ⁷Descendants of Jacob,
   is it right for you to claim
   that the LORD did what he did
   because he was angry?
   Doesn't he always bless
   those who do right?
    ⁸My people, you have even stolen
   clothes right off the backs
   of your unsuspecting soldiers
   returning home from battle.
    ⁹You take over lovely homes
   that belong to the women
   of my nation.
   Then you cheat their children
   out of the inheritance
   that comes from the LORD. ^{[v] 10}Get out of here, you crooks!
   You'll find no rest here.
   You're not fit to belong
   to the LORD's people,
   and you will be destroyed. ^{[w] 11}The only prophet you want
   is a liar who will say,
   "Drink and get drunk!"
   

A Promise of Hope

 ¹²I, the LORD, promise    to bring together
   the people of Israel
   who have survived.
   I will gather them,
   just as a shepherd
   brings sheep together,
   and there will be many.
    ¹³I will break down the gate
   and lead them out--
   then I will be their king.
   

Micah 3

Evil Rulers and Lying Prophets

 ¹Listen to me,    you rulers of Israel!
   You know right from wrong,
    ²but you prefer to do evil
   instead of what is right.
   You skin my people alive.
   You strip off their flesh,
    ³break their bones,
   cook it all in a pot,
   and gulp it down.
    ⁴Someday you will beg the LORD
   to help you,
   but he will turn away
   because of your sins.
    ⁵You lying prophets promise
   security for anyone
   who gives you food,
   but disaster for anyone
   who refuses to feed you.
   Here is what the LORD says
   to you prophets:
    ⁶"You will live in the dark,
   far from the sight of the sun,
   with no message from me.
    ⁷You prophets and fortunetellers
   will all be disgraced,
   with no message from me."
    ⁸But the LORD has filled me
   with power and his Spirit.
   I have been given the courage
   to speak about justice
   and to tell you people of Israel
   that you have sinned.
    ⁹So listen to my message,
   you rulers of Israel!
   You hate justice
   and twist the truth.
    ¹⁰You make cruelty and murder
   a way of life in Jerusalem.
    ¹¹You leaders accept bribes
   for dishonest decisions.
   You priests and prophets
   teach and preach,
   but only for money.
   Then you say,
   "The LORD is on our side.
   No harm will come to us."
    ¹²And so, because of you,
   Jerusalem will be plowed under
   and left in ruins.
   Thorns will cover the mountain
   where the temple now stands.
   

Micah 4

Peace and Prosperity

 ¹In the future, the mountain    with the LORD's temple
   will be the highest of all.
   It will reach above the hills,
   and every nation
   will rush to it.
    ²People of many nations
   will come and say,
   "Let's go up to the mountain
   of the LORD God of Jacob
   and worship in his temple."
   The LORD will teach us his Law
   from Jerusalem,
   and we will obey him.
    ³He will settle arguments
   between distant
   and powerful nations.
   They will pound their swords
   and their spears
   into rakes and shovels;
   they will never again make war
   or attack one another.
    ⁴Everyone will find rest
   beneath their own fig trees
   or grape vines,
   and they will live in peace.
   This is a solemn promise
   of the LORD All-Powerful.
    ⁵Others may follow their gods,
   but we will always follow
   the LORD our God.
   

The LORD Will Lead His People Home

 ⁶The LORD said:    At that time
   I will gather my people--
   the lame and the outcasts,
   and all into whose lives
   I have brought sorrow.
    ⁷Then the lame and the outcasts
   will belong to my people
   and become a strong nation.
   I, the LORD, will rule them
   from Mount Zion forever.
    ⁸Mount Zion in Jerusalem,
   guardian of my people,
   you will rule again.
    ⁹Jerusalem, why are you crying?
   Don't you have a king?
   Have your advisors gone?
   Are you suffering
   like a woman in childbirth?
    ¹⁰Keep on groaning with pain,
   you people of Jerusalem!
   If you escape from your city
   to the countryside,
   you will still be taken
   as prisoners to Babylonia.
   But later I will rescue you
   from your enemies.
    ¹¹Zion, because of your sins
   you are surrounded
   by many nations who say,
   "We can hardly wait
   to see you disgraced." ^{[x] 12}But they don't know
   that I, the LORD,
   have gathered them here
   to grind them like grain.
    ¹³Smash them to pieces, Zion!
   I'll let you be like a bull
   with iron horns
   and bronze hoofs.
   Crush those nations
   and bring their wealth to me,
   the LORD of the earth.
   

Footnotes:

1. Micah 1:1 Moresheth: A town in southern Judah not far from Gath. In verse 14 it is called Moresheth-Gath.
2. Micah 1:1 Samaria and Jerusalem: Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom (Israel), and Jerusalem was the capital of the southern kingdom (Judah).
3. Micah 1:1 Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah: Jotham, the son of Uzziah, ruled Judah 740-736 B.C.; Ahaz, the son of Jotham, ruled 736-716 B.C.; Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, ruled 716-687 B.C.
4. Micah 1:2 holy temple: Possibly the one in heaven, though it may be the Jerusalem temple.
5. Micah 1:7 wages of temple prostitutes: At pagan temples, people had sex with prostitutes as a way of worshiping the idols, and the money earned in this way was used to support the pagan religion.
6. Micah 1:8 this tragedy: Either the destruction of Samaria (verses 6,7) or the coming destruction of Judah and Jerusalem.
7. Micah 1:10 Gath. . . Beth-Leaphrah: Gath was a Philistine city; Beth-Leaphrah is unknown, but in Hebrew it sounds like "House of Dust."
8. Micah 1:11 Shaphir: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew "Shaphir" means "beautiful."
9. Micah 1:11 Bethezel: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew "Bethezel" means "house next door."
10. Micah 1:11 Zaanan: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew "Zaanan" means "one who goes out."
11. Micah 1:11 The town. . . help: Or "No one from Zaanan refused to desert their town, and Bethezel mourns because it is left undefended."
12. Micah 1:12 Maroth: Mentioned only here in the Old Testament; in Hebrew "Maroth" means "bitter."
13. Micah 1:13 Lachish: The chief city of southwest Judah, about thirty miles from Jerusalem.
14. Micah 1:13 led. . . sin. . . did: Or "You led Jerusalem and Israel into sin." In Hebrew "Lachish" sounds like "a team of horses (that pulls a war chariot)." And the sin may be that Lachish led the nation to trust the power of war chariots instead of the LORD. But the sin could be idolatry or some false teachings that were brought in from Egypt by way of Lachish.
15. Micah 1:14 going-away gift: The gift (dowry) that a bride's father gave her when she left the home of her parents to live with the family of her husband. In Hebrew the word for "bride" or "fiancee" sounds like "Moresheth."
16. Micah 1:14 Moresheth: Hebrew "Moresheth-Gath"; the home of Micah (see verse 1).
17. Micah 1:14 Achzib: Meaning "lie" or "deception" was near Adullam Cave (verse 15), where David hid from King Saul (see 1 Samuel 22.1,2). Micah probably means that the people of Israel (including their king) will have to run for their lives, but will find that all hope for escape is merely a "lie" (see verse 15).
18. Micah 1:15 Mareshah: Sounds something like the Hebrew word for "conqueror" and was only a few miles northeast of Lachish.
19. Micah 1:15 Adullam Cave: See the note at 1.14.
20. Micah 1:16 precious children: The towns mentioned in verses 10-15.
21. Micah 2:4 The LORD. . . traitors: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
22. Micah 2:9 inheritance. . . LORD: The Hebrew text has "my glory," which refers to the inheritance of land that the LORD had promised his people.
23. Micah 2:10 destroyed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
24. Micah 4:11 We. . . disgraced: Or "We'll pull up your skirt and expose your nakedness!"

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Revelation 6:1-17 (Contemporary English Version)

Revelation 6

Opening the Seven Seals

 ¹At the same time that I saw the Lamb open the first of the seven seals, I heard one of the four living creatures shout with a voice like thunder. It said, "Come out!" ²Then I saw a white horse. Its rider carried a bow and was given a crown. He had already won some victories, and he went out to win more.     ³When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come out!" ⁴Then another horse came out. It was fiery red. And its rider was given the power to take away all peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. He was also given a big sword.
    ⁵When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come out!" Then I saw a black horse, and its rider had a balance scale in one hand. ⁶I heard what sounded like a voice from somewhere among the four living creatures. It said, "A quart of wheat will cost you a whole day's wages! Three quarts of barley will cost you a day's wages too. But don't ruin the olive oil or the wine."
    ⁷When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come out!" ⁸Then I saw a pale green horse. Its rider was named Death, and Death's Kingdom followed behind. They were given power over one fourth of the earth, and they could kill its people with swords, famines, diseases, and wild animals.
    ⁹When the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of everyone who had been killed for speaking God's message and telling about their faith. ¹⁰They shouted, "Master, you are holy and faithful! How long will it be before you judge and punish the people of this earth who killed us?"
    ¹¹Then each of those who had been killed was given a white robe and told to rest for a little while. They had to wait until the complete number of the Lord's other servants and followers would be killed.
    ¹²When I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, I looked and saw a great earthquake. The sun turned as dark as sackcloth, ^[a] and the moon became as red as blood. ¹³The stars in the sky fell to earth, just like figs shaken loose by a windstorm. ¹⁴Then the sky was rolled up like a scroll, ^[b] and all mountains and islands were moved from their places. ¹⁵The kings of the earth, its famous people, and its military leaders hid in caves or behind rocks on the mountains. They hid there together with the rich and the powerful and with all the slaves and free people. ¹⁶Then they shouted to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us! Hide us from the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb. ¹⁷That terrible day has come! God and the Lamb will show their anger, and who can face it?"
   

Footnotes:

1. Revelation 6:12 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
2. Revelation 6:14 scroll: See the note at 5.1.

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Psalm 134:1-3 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 134

(A song for worship.)

Praising the LORD at Night

 ¹Everyone who serves the LORD,    come and offer praises.
   Everyone who has gathered
   in his temple tonight,
    ²lift your hands in prayer
   toward his holy place
   and praise the LORD.
    ³The LORD is the Creator
   of heaven and earth,
   and I pray that the LORD
   will bless you from Zion.

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Proverbs 30:1-4 (Contemporary English Version)

Proverbs 30

The Sayings of Agur

 ¹These are the sayings    and the message
   of Agur son of Jakeh.
   Someone cries out to God,
   "I am completely worn out!
   How can I last? ^{[a] 2}I am far too stupid
   to be considered human.
    ³I never was wise,
   and I don't understand
   what God is like."
    ⁴Has anyone gone up to heaven
   and come back down?
   Has anyone grabbed hold
   of the wind?
   Has anyone wrapped up the sea
   or marked out boundaries
   for the earth?
   If you know of any
   who have done such things,
   then tell me their names
   and their children's names.
   

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 30:1 last: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 1.

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Verse of the Day

 “Then the angel told Mary, "Don't be afraid! God is pleased with you, and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was. He will rule the people of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end.” - Luke 1:30-33

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Ernest Hemingway wrote, “I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?”