Bible Readings for July 14, 2013

Today our passages are 1 Chronicles 16:37–18:17; Romans 2:1-24; Psalm 10:16-18; and Proverbs 19:8-9. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17 (Contemporary English Version)

David Appoints Worship Leaders at Jerusalem and Gibeon

 ³⁷David chose Asaph and the Levites in his clan to be in charge of the daily worship at the place where the sacred chest was kept. ³⁸Obed-Edom and sixty-eight of his relatives were their assistants, and Hosah and Obed-Edom the son of Jeduthun were the guards.     ³⁹David also chose Zadok the priest and his relatives who were priests to serve at the LORD's sacred tent at Gibeon. ⁴⁰They were to offer sacrifices on the altar every morning and evening, just as the LORD had commanded in the Law he gave Israel. ⁴¹Heman and Jeduthun were their assistants, as well as the other men who had been chosen to praise the LORD for his never-ending love. ⁴²Heman and Jeduthun were also responsible for blowing the trumpets, and for playing the cymbals and other instruments during worship at the tent. The Levites in Jeduthun's clan were the guards at Gibeon.
    ⁴³After that, everyone went home, and David went home to his family.
   

1 Chronicles 17

The LORD's Message to David

(2 Samuel 7.1-17)

 ¹Soon after David moved into his new palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Look around! I live in a palace made of cedar, but the sacred chest is kept in a tent."     ²Nathan replied, "The LORD is with you--do what you want."
    ³That night, the LORD told Nathan ⁴to go to David and tell him:
   David, you are my servant, so listen carefully: You are not the one to build a temple for me. ⁵I didn't live in a temple when I brought my people out of Egypt, and I don't live in one now. A tent has always been my home wherever I have gone with them. ⁶I chose special leaders and told them to be like shepherds for my people Israel. But did I ever say anything to even one of them about building a cedar temple for me?
    ⁷David, this is what I, the LORD All-Powerful, say to you. I brought you in from the fields where you took care of sheep, and I made you the leader of my people. ⁸Wherever you went, I helped you and destroyed your enemies right in front of your eyes. I have made you one of the most famous people in the world.
    ⁹I have given my people Israel a land of their own where they can live in peace. They will no longer have to tremble with fear--evil nations won't bother them, as they did ¹⁰when I let judges rule my people, and I will keep your enemies from attacking you.
   Now I promise that like you, your descendants will be kings. ¹¹I'll choose one of your sons to be king when you reach the end of your life and are buried beside your ancestors. I'll make him a strong ruler, ¹²and no one will be able to take his kingdom away from him. He will be the one to build a temple for me. ¹³I will be like a father to him, and he will be like a son to me. I will never put an end to my agreement with him, as I put an end to my agreement with Saul, who was king before you. ¹⁴I will make sure that your son and his descendants will rule my people and my kingdom forever.
    ¹⁵Nathan told David exactly what the LORD had said.
   

David Gives Thanks to the LORD

(2 Samuel 7.18-29)

 ¹⁶David went into the tent he had set up for the sacred chest. He sat there and prayed:    LORD God, my family and I don't deserve what you have already done for us, ¹⁷and yet you have promised to do even more for my descendants. You are treating me as if I am a very important person. ^{[a] 18}I am your servant, and you know my thoughts. What else can I say, except that you have honored me? ¹⁹It was your choice to do these wonderful things for me and to make these promises. ²⁰No other god is like you, LORD--you alone are God. Everything we have heard about you is true. ²¹And there is no other nation on earth like Israel, the nation you rescued from slavery in Egypt to be your own. You became famous by using great and wonderful miracles to force other nations and their gods out of your land, so that your people could live here. ²²You have chosen Israel to be your people forever, and you have become their God.
    ²³LORD God, please do what you promised me and my descendants. ²⁴Then you will be famous forever, and everyone will say, "The LORD All-Powerful rules Israel and is their God."
   My kingdom will be strong, ²⁵because you are my God, and you have promised that my descendants will be kings. That's why I have the courage to pray to you like this, even though I am only your servant.
    ²⁶You are the LORD God, and you have made this good promise to me. ²⁷Now please bless my descendants forever, and let them always be your chosen kings. You have already blessed my family, and I know you will bless us forever.
   

1 Chronicles 18

A List of David's Victories in War

(2 Samuel 8.1-14)

 ¹Later, David attacked and defeated the Philistines. He captured their town of Gath and the nearby villages.     ²David also defeated the Moabites, and so they had to accept him as their ruler and pay taxes to him.
    ³While King Hadadezer of Zobah was trying to gain control of the territory near the Euphrates River, David met him in battle at Hamath and defeated him. ⁴David captured one thousand chariots, seven thousand chariot drivers, and twenty thousand soldiers. And he crippled all but one hundred of the horses.
    ⁵When troops from the Syrian kingdom of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, David killed twenty-two thousand of them. ⁶Then David stationed some of his troops in Damascus, and the people there had to accept David as their ruler and pay taxes to him.
   Everywhere David went, the LORD helped him win battles.
    ⁷Hadadezer's officers had carried gold shields, but David took these shields and brought them back to Jerusalem. ⁸He also took a lot of bronze from the cities of Tibhath and Cun, which had belonged to Hadadezer. Later, Solomon used this bronze to make the large bowl called the Sea, and to make the pillars and other furnishings for the temple.
    ^9-10King Tou of Hamath and King Hadadezer had been enemies. So when Tou heard that David had defeated Hadadezer's whole army, he sent his son Hadoram to congratulate David on his victory. Hadoram also brought him gifts made of gold, silver, and bronze. ¹¹David gave these gifts to the LORD, just as he had done with the silver and gold he had captured from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek.
    ¹²Abishai the son of Zeruiah defeated the Edomite army in Salt Valley and killed eighteen thousand of their troops. ¹³Then he stationed troops in Edom, and the people there had to accept David as their ruler.
   Everywhere David went, the LORD gave him victory in war.
   

A List of David's Officials

(2 Samuel 8.15-18)

 ¹⁴David ruled all Israel with fairness and justice.     ¹⁵Joab the son of Zeruiah was the commander in chief of the army.
   Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud kept the government records.
    ¹⁶Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests.
   Shavsha was the secretary.
    ¹⁷Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was the commander of David's bodyguard. ^[b] David's sons were his highest-ranking officials.
   

Footnotes:

1. 1 Chronicles 17:17 You are treating me. . . person: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. 1 Chronicles 18:17 David's bodyguard: The Hebrew text has "the Cherethites and the Pelethites," who were foreign soldiers hired by David to be his bodyguard.

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Romans 2:1-24 (Contemporary English Version)

Romans 2

God's Judgment Is Fair

 ¹Some of you accuse others of doing wrong. But there is no excuse for what you do. When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things. ²We know that God is right to judge everyone who behaves in this way. ³Do you really think God won't punish you, when you behave exactly like the people you accuse? ⁴You surely don't think much of God's wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don't you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him?     ⁵But you are stubborn and refuse to turn to God. So you are making things even worse for yourselves on that day when he will show how angry he is and will judge the world with fairness. ⁶God will reward each of us for what we have done. ⁷He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor, and life that lasts forever. ⁸But he will show how angry and furious he can be with every selfish person who rejects the truth and wants to do evil. ⁹All who are wicked will be punished with trouble and suffering. It doesn't matter if they are Jews or Gentiles. ¹⁰But all who do right will be rewarded with glory, honor, and peace, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. ¹¹God doesn't have any favorites!
    ¹²Those people who don't know about God's Law will still be punished for what they do wrong. And the Law will be used to judge everyone who knows what it says. ¹³God accepts those who obey his Law, but not those who simply hear it.
    ¹⁴Some people naturally obey the Law's commands, even though they don't have the Law. ¹⁵This proves that the conscience is like a law written in the human heart. And it will show whether we are forgiven or condemned, ¹⁶when God appoints Jesus Christ to judge everyone's secret thoughts, just as my message says.
   

The Jews and the Law

 ¹⁷Some of you call yourselves Jews. You trust in the Law and take pride in God. ¹⁸By reading the Scriptures you learn how God wants you to behave, and you discover what is right. ¹⁹You are sure that you are a guide for the blind and a light for all who are in the dark. ²⁰And since there is knowledge and truth in God's Law, you think you can instruct fools and teach young people.     ²¹But how can you teach others when you refuse to learn? You preach that it is wrong to steal. But do you steal? ²²You say people should be faithful in marriage. But are you faithful? You hate idols, yet you rob their temples. ²³You take pride in the Law, but you disobey the Law and bring shame to God. ²⁴It is just as the Scriptures tell us, "You have made foreigners say insulting things about God."

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Psalm 10:16-18 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁶Our LORD, you will always rule,
   but nations will vanish
   from the earth.
    ¹⁷You listen to the longings
   of those who suffer.
   You offer them hope,
   and you pay attention
   to their cries for help.
    ¹⁸You defend orphans
   and everyone else in need,
   so that no one on earth
   can terrify others again.

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Proverbs 19:8-9 (Contemporary English Version)

⁸Do yourself a favor
   by having good sense--
   you will be glad you did.
    ⁹Dishonest witnesses and liars
   will be destroyed.

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Verse of the Day

“If you obey me, I will keep loving you, just as my Father keeps loving me, because I have obeyed him.” - John 15:10

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer Amos Bronson Alcott wrote, “The less routine the more life.”