Bible Readings for January 27, 2015

Today our passages are Exodus 4:1–5:21; Matthew 18:1-22; Psalm 22:19-31; and Proverbs 5:15-21. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.  

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Exodus 4-5:21 (Contemporary English Version)

Exodus 4

The LORD Gives Great Power to Moses

 ¹Moses asked the LORD, " Suppose everyone refuses to listen to my message, and no one believes that you really appeared to me?"     ²The LORD answered, " What's that in your hand?"
   " A walking stick," Moses replied.
    ³" Throw it down!" the LORD commanded. So Moses threw the stick on the ground. It immediately turned into a snake, and Moses jumped back.
    ⁴" Pick it up by the tail!" the LORD told him. And when Moses did this, the snake turned back into a walking stick.
    ⁵" Do this," the LORD said, " and the Israelites will believe that you have seen me, the God who was worshiped by their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
    ⁶Next, the LORD commanded Moses, " Put your hand inside your shirt." Moses obeyed, and when he took it out, his hand had turned white as snow--like someone with leprosy. ^{[a] 7}" Put your hand back inside your shirt," the LORD told him. Moses did so, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.
    ^8-9Then the LORD said, " If no one believes either of these miracles, take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground. The water will immediately turn into blood."
    ¹⁰Moses replied, " I have never been a good speaker. I wasn't one before you spoke to me, and I'm not one now. I am slow at speaking, and I can never think of what to say."
    ¹¹But the LORD answered, " Who makes people able to speak or makes them deaf or unable to speak? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Don't you know that I am the one who does these things? ¹²Now go! When you speak, I will be with you and give you the words to say."
    ¹³Moses begged, " LORD, please send someone else to do it."
    ¹⁴The LORD became irritated with Moses and said:
   What about your brother Aaron, the Levite? I know he is a good speaker. He is already on his way here to visit you, and he will be happy to see you again. ^15-16Aaron will speak to the people for you, and you will be like me, telling Aaron what to say. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will tell each of you what to do. ¹⁷Now take this walking stick and use it to perform miracles.
   

Moses Returns to Egypt

 ¹⁸Moses went to his father-in-law Jethro and asked, " Please let me return to Egypt to see if any of my people are still alive."    " All right," Jethro replied. " I hope all goes well."
    ¹⁹But even before this, the LORD had told Moses, " Leave the land of Midian and return to Egypt. Everyone who wanted to kill you is dead." ²⁰So Moses put his wife and sons on donkeys and headed for Egypt, holding the walking stick that had the power of God.
    ²¹On the way the LORD said to Moses:
   When you get to Egypt, go to the king and work the miracles I have shown you. But I will make him so stubborn that he will refuse to let my people go. ²²Then tell him that I have said, " Israel is my first-born son, ²³and I commanded you to release him, so he could worship me. But you refused, and now I will kill your first-born son."
   

Zipporah's Son Is Circumcised

 ²⁴One night while Moses was in camp, the LORD was about to kill him. ²⁵But Zipporah ^[b] circumcised her son with a flint knife. She touched his ^[c] legs with the skin she had cut off and said, " My dear son, this blood will protect you." ^{[d] 26}So the LORD did not harm Moses. Then Zipporah said, " Yes, my dear, you are safe because of this circumcision." ^[e]

Aaron Is Sent To Meet Moses

 ²⁷The LORD sent Aaron to meet Moses in the desert. So Aaron met Moses at Mount Sinai ^[f] and greeted him with a kiss. ²⁸Moses told Aaron what God had sent him to say; he also told him about the miracles God had given him the power to perform. ²⁹Later they brought together the leaders of Israel, ³⁰and Aaron told them what the LORD had sent Moses to say. Then Moses worked the miracles for the people, ³¹and everyone believed. They bowed down and worshiped the LORD because they knew that he had seen their suffering and was going to help them.    

Exodus 5

Moses and Aaron Go to the King of Egypt

 ¹Moses and Aaron went to the king ^[g] of Egypt and told him, " The LORD God says, Let my people go into the desert, so they can honor me with a celebration there. " ²" Who is this LORD and why should I obey him?" the king replied. " I refuse to let you and your people go!"     ³They answered, " The LORD God of the Hebrews, has appeared to us. Please let us walk three days into the desert where we can offer sacrifices to him. If you don't, he may strike us down with terrible troubles or with war."
    ^4-5The king said, " Moses and Aaron, why are you keeping these people from working? Look how many you are keeping from doing their work. Now everyone get back to work!"
    ⁶That same day the king gave orders to his slave bosses and to the men directly in charge of the Israelite slaves. He told them:
    ⁷Don't give the slaves any more straw ^[h] to put in their bricks. Force them to find their own straw wherever they can, ⁸but they must make the same number of bricks as before. They are lazy, or else they would not beg me to let them go and sacrifice to their God. ⁹Make them work so hard that they won't have time to listen to these lies. ¹⁰The slave bosses and the men in charge of the slaves went out and told them, " The king says he will not give you any more straw. ¹¹Go and find your own straw wherever you can, but you must still make as many bricks as before."
    ¹²The slaves went all over Egypt, looking for straw. ¹³But the slave bosses were hard on them and kept saying, " Each day you have to make as many bricks as you did when you were given straw." ¹⁴The bosses beat the men in charge of the slaves and said, " Why didn't you force the slaves to make as many bricks yesterday and today as they did before?"
    ¹⁵Finally, the men in charge of the slaves went to the king and said, " Why are you treating us like this? ¹⁶No one brings us any straw, but we are still ordered to make the same number of bricks. We are beaten with whips, and your own people are to blame."
    ¹⁷The king replied, " You are lazy--nothing but lazy! That's why you keep asking me to let you go and sacrifice to your LORD. ¹⁸Get back to work! You won't be given straw, but you must still make the same number of bricks."
    ¹⁹The men knew they were in deep trouble when they were ordered to make the same number of bricks each day. ²⁰After they left the king, they went to see Moses and Aaron, who had been waiting for them. ²¹Then the men said, " We hope the LORD will punish both of you for making the king and his officials hate us. Now they even have an excuse to kill us."
   

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 4:6 leprosy: The word translated " leprosy" was used for many different kinds of skin diseases.
2. Exodus 4:25 Zipporah: The wife of Moses (see 2.16-21).
3. Exodus 4:25 his: Either Moses or the boy.
4. Exodus 4:25 My dear son. . . you: Or " My dear husband, you are a man of blood" (meaning Moses).
5. Exodus 4:26 you are. . . circumcision: Or " you are a man of blood."
6. Exodus 4:27 Mount Sinai: Hebrew " the mountain of God."
7. Exodus 5:1 the king: See the note at 1.11.
8. Exodus 5:7 straw: The straw made the mud bricks stronger and kept them from shrinking, cracking, or losing their shape.

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Matthew 18:1-22 (Contemporary English Version)

Matthew 18

Who Is the Greatest?

(Mark 9.33-37; Luke 9.46-48)

 ¹About this time the disciples came to Jesus and asked him who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ²Jesus called a child over and had the child stand near him. ³Then he said:    I promise you this. If you don't change and become like a child, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. ⁴But if you are as humble as this child, you are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵And when you welcome one of these children because of me, you welcome me.
   

Temptations To Sin

(Mark 9.42-48; Luke 17.1,2)

 ⁶It will be terrible for people who cause even one of my little followers to sin. Those people would be better off thrown into the deepest part of the ocean with a heavy stone tied around their necks! ⁷The world is in for trouble because of the way it causes people to sin. There will always be something to cause people to sin, but anyone who does this will be in for trouble.     ⁸If your hand or foot causes you to sin, chop it off and throw it away! You would be better off to go into life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the fire that never goes out. ⁹If your eye causes you to sin, poke it out and get rid of it. You would be better off to go into life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fires of hell.
   

The Lost Sheep

(Luke 15.3-7)

 ^10-11Don't be cruel to any of these little ones! I promise you that their angels are always with my Father in heaven. ^{[a] 12}Let me ask you this. What would you do if you had a hundred sheep and one of them wandered off? Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go look for the one that had wandered away? ¹³I am sure that finding it would make you happier than having the ninety-nine that never wandered off. ¹⁴That's how it is with your Father in heaven. He doesn't want any of these little ones to be lost.

When Someone Sins

(Luke 17.3)

 ¹⁵If one of my followers ^[b] sins against you, go and point out what was wrong. But do it in private, just between the two of you. If that person listens, you have won back a follower. ¹⁶But if that one refuses to listen, take along one or two others. The Scriptures teach that every complaint must be proven true by two or more witnesses. ¹⁷If the follower refuses to listen to them, report the matter to the church. Anyone who refuses to listen to the church must be treated like an unbeliever or a tax collector. ^[c]

Allowing and Not Allowing

 ¹⁸I promise you that God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth, but he will not allow anything you don't allow. ¹⁹I promise that when any two of you on earth agree about something you are praying for, my Father in heaven will do it for you. ²⁰Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, ^[d] I am there with you.

An Official Who Refused To Forgive

 ²¹Peter came up to the Lord and asked, "How many times should I forgive someone ^[e] who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?" ²²Jesus answered:    Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times! ^[f]

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 18:10 in heaven: Some manuscripts add, "The Son of Man came to save people who are lost."
2. Matthew 18:15 followers: The Greek text has "brother," which is used here and elsewhere in this chapter to refer to a follower of Christ.
3. Matthew 18:17 tax collector: See the note at 5.46.
4. Matthew 18:20 in my name: Or "as my followers."
5. Matthew 18:21 someone: Or "a follower." See the note at 18.15.
6. Matthew 18:22 seventy-seven times: Or "seventy times seven." The large number means that one follower should never stop forgiving another.

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Psalm 22:19-31 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁹Don't stay far away, LORD!
   My strength comes from you,
   so hurry and help.
    ²⁰Rescue me from enemy swords
   and save me from those dogs.
    ²¹Don't let lions eat me.
   You rescued me from the horns
   of wild bulls,
    ²²and when your people meet,
   I will praise you, LORD.
    ²³All who worship the LORD,
   now praise him!
   You belong to Jacob's family
   and to the people of Israel,
   so fear and honor the LORD!
    ²⁴The LORD doesn't hate
   or despise the helpless
   in all of their troubles.
   When I cried out, he listened
   and did not turn away.
    ²⁵When your people meet,
   you will fill my heart
   with your praises, LORD,
   and everyone will see me
   keep my promises to you.
    ²⁶The poor will eat and be full,
   and all who worship you
   will be thankful
   and live in hope.
    ²⁷Everyone on this earth
   will remember you, LORD.
   People all over the world
   will turn and worship you,
    ²⁸because you are in control,
   the ruler of all nations.
    ²⁹All who are rich
   and have more than enough
   will bow down to you, Lord.
   Even those who are dying
   and almost in the grave
   will come and bow down.
    ³⁰In the future, everyone
   will worship
   and learn
   about you, our Lord.
    ³¹People not yet born
   will be told,
   "The Lord has saved us!"

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Proverbs 5:15-21 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁵You should be faithful
   to your wife,
   just as you take water
   from your own well. ^{[a] 16}And don't be like a stream
   from which just any woman
   may take a drink.
    ¹⁷Save yourself for your wife
   and don't have sex
   with other women.
    ¹⁸Be happy with the wife
   you married
   when you were young.
    ¹⁹She is beautiful and graceful,
   just like a deer;
   you should be attracted to her
   and stay deeply in love.
    ²⁰Don't go crazy over a woman
   who is unfaithful
   to her own husband!
    ²¹The LORD sees everything,
   and he watches us closely.
   

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 5:15 own well: In biblical times water was scarce and wells were carefully guarded.

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Verse of the Day

 

“We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will still be standing firm.” - Ephesians 6:12-13

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

Early Christian theologian and philosopher, Augustine of Hippo wrote, “Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.”