Bible Readings for January 1, 2014

Today our passages are Genesis 1:1–2:25; Matthew 1:1–2:12; Psalm 1:1-6; and Proverbs 1:1-6. The readings are from the  The Message  by Eugene H. Peterson.

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Genesis 1-2:25 (The Message)

Genesis 1

Heaven and Earth

 ^1-2First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

 ^3-5 God spoke: "Light!"
      And light appeared.
   God saw that light was good
      and separated light from dark.
   God named the light Day,
      he named the dark Night.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day One.

 ^6-8 God spoke: "Sky! In the middle of the waters;
      separate water from water!"
   God made sky.
   He separated the water under sky
      from the water above sky.
   And there it was:
      he named sky the Heavens;
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Two.

 ^9-10 God spoke: "Separate!
      Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
   Land, appear!"
      And there it was.
   God named the land Earth.
      He named the pooled water Ocean.
   God saw that it was good.

 ^11-13 God spoke: "Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
      of seed-bearing plants,
   Every sort of fruit-bearing tree."
      And there it was.
   Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
      all varieties,
   And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
      God saw that it was good.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Three.

 ^14-15 God spoke: "Lights! Come out!
      Shine in Heaven's sky!
   Separate Day from Night.
      Mark seasons and days and years,
   Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth."
      And there it was.

 ^16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
      to take charge of Day,
   The smaller to be in charge of Night;
      and he made the stars.
   God placed them in the heavenly sky
      to light up Earth
   And oversee Day and Night,
      to separate light and dark.
   God saw that it was good.
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Four.

 ^20-23 God spoke: "Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
      Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!"
   God created the huge whales,
      all the swarm of life in the waters,
   And every kind and species of flying birds.
      God saw that it was good.
   God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
      Birds, reproduce on Earth!"
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Five.

 ^24-25 God spoke: "Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
      cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds."
   And there it was:
      wild animals of every kind,
   Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
      God saw that it was good.

 ^26-28 God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them
      reflecting our nature
   So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
      the birds in the air, the cattle,
   And, yes, Earth itself,
      and every animal that moves on the face of Earth."
   God created human beings;
      he created them godlike,
   Reflecting God's nature.
      He created them male and female.
   God blessed them:
      "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
   Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
      for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

 ^29-30 Then God said, "I've given you
      every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
   And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
      given them to you for food.
   To all animals and all birds,
      everything that moves and breathes,
   I give whatever grows out of the ground for food."
      And there it was.

 ³¹ God looked over everything he had made;
      it was so good, so very good!
   It was evening, it was morning—
   Day Six.

Genesis 2

    Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail.

 ^2-4 By the seventh day
      God had finished his work.
   On the seventh day
      he rested from all his work.
   God blessed the seventh day.
      He made it a Holy Day
   Because on that day he rested from his work,
      all the creating God had done.

   This is the story of how it all started,
      of Heaven and Earth when they were created.

Adam and Eve

^5-7 At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground—God hadn't yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground (the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)—God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!

 ^8-9 Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.

 ^10-14 A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

 ¹⁵ God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.

 ^16-17 God commanded the Man, "You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don't eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you're dead."

 ^18-20 God said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion." So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn't find a suitable companion.

 ^21-22 God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.

    ^23-25 The Man said,
   "Finally! Bone of my bone,
      flesh of my flesh!
   Name her Woman
      for she was made from Man."
      Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.
      The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.

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Matthew 1-2:12 (The Message)

Matthew 1

    The family tree of Jesus Christ, David's son, Abraham's son: ^2-6Abraham had Isaac, Isaac had Jacob,
   Jacob had Judah and his brothers,
   Judah had Perez and Zerah (the mother was Tamar),
   Perez had Hezron,
   Hezron had Aram,
   Aram had Amminadab,
   Amminadab had Nahshon,
   Nahshon had Salmon,
   Salmon had Boaz (his mother was Rahab),
   Boaz had Obed (Ruth was the mother),
   Obed had Jesse,
   Jesse had David,
         and David became king.  ^6-11David had Solomon (Uriah's wife was the mother),
   Solomon had Rehoboam,
   Rehoboam had Abijah,
   Abijah had Asa,
   Asa had Jehoshaphat,
   Jehoshaphat had Joram,
   Joram had Uzziah,
   Uzziah had Jotham,
   Jotham had Ahaz,
   Ahaz had Hezekiah,
   Hezekiah had Manasseh,
   Manasseh had Amon,
   Amon had Josiah,
   Josiah had Jehoiachin and his brothers,
      and then the people were taken into the Babylonian exile.
^12-16When the Babylonian exile ended,
   Jeconiah had Shealtiel,
   Shealtiel had Zerubbabel,
   Zerubbabel had Abiud,
   Abiud had Eliakim,
   Eliakim had Azor,
   Azor had Zadok,
   Zadok had Achim,
   Achim had Eliud,
   Eliud had Eleazar,
   Eleazar had Matthan,
   Matthan had Jacob,
   Jacob had Joseph, Mary's husband,
      the Mary who gave birth to Jesus,
      the Jesus who was called Christ.
¹⁷There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David,
      another fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile,
      and yet another fourteen from the Babylonian exile to Christ.

The Birth of Jesus

 ^18-19The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.  ^20-23While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—'God saves'—because he will save his people from their sins." This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term:

   Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
   They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us").
 ^24-25Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.

Matthew 2

Scholars from the East

 ^1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod's kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, "Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We're on pilgrimage to worship him."  ^3-4When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?"
 ^5-6They told him, "Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly:

   It's you, Bethlehem, in Judah's land,
      no longer bringing up the rear.
   From you will come the leader
      who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel."
 ^7-8Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, "Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I'll join you at once in your worship."
 ^9-10Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
 ¹¹They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
 ¹²In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.

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Psalm 1:1-6 (The Message)

Psalm 1

   How well God must like you— you don't hang out at Sin Saloon, you don't slink along Dead-End Road,
   you don't go to Smart-Mouth College.

 ^2-3 Instead you thrill to God's Word,
      you chew on Scripture day and night.
   You're a tree replanted in Eden,
      bearing fresh fruit every month,
   Never dropping a leaf,
      always in blossom.

 ^4-5 You're not at all like the wicked,
      who are mere windblown dust—
   Without defense in court,
      unfit company for innocent people.

 ⁶ God charts the road you take.
   The road they take is Skid Row.

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Proverbs 1:1-6 (The Message)

Proverbs 1

Wise Sayings of Solomon

A Manual for Living

 ^1-6 These are the wise sayings of Solomon,
   David's son, Israel's king—
Written down so we'll know how to live well and right,
   to understand what life means and where it's going;
A manual for living,
   for learning what's right and just and fair;
To teach the inexperienced the ropes
   and give our young people a grasp on reality.
There's something here also for seasoned men and women,
   still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—
Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate,
   the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.