Bible Readings for April 22, 2015

Today our passages are Joshua 24:1-33; Luke 21:1-28; Psalm 89:38-52; and Proverbs 13:20-23. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. 

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Joshua 24:1-33 (Contemporary English Version)

Joshua 24

We Will Worship and Obey the LORD

 ¹Joshua called the tribes of Israel together for a meeting at Shechem. He had the leaders, including the old men, the judges, and the officials, come up and stand near the sacred tent. ^{[a] 2}Then Joshua told everyone to listen to this message from the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods. This continued until the time of your ancestor Terah and his two sons, Abraham and Nahor. ³But I brought Abraham across the Euphrates River and led him through the land of Canaan. I blessed him by giving him Isaac, the first in a line of many descendants. ⁴Then I gave Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau. I had Esau live in the hill country of Mount Seir, but your ancestor Jacob and his children went to live in Egypt.     ^5-6Later I sent Moses and his brother Aaron to help your people, and I made all those horrible things happen to the Egyptians. I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, but the Egyptians got in their chariots and on their horses and chased your ancestors, catching up with them at the Red Sea. ^{[b] 7}Your people cried to me for help, so I put a dark cloud between them and the Egyptians. Then I opened up the sea and let your people walk across on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, I commanded the sea to swallow them, and they drowned while you watched. You lived in the desert for a long time, ⁸then I brought you into the land east of the Jordan River. The Amorites were living there, and they fought you. But with my help, you defeated them, wiped them out, and took their land. ⁹King Balak decided that his nation Moab would go to war against you, so he asked Balaam ^[c] to come and put a curse on you. ¹⁰But I wouldn't listen to Balaam, and I rescued you by making him bless you instead of curse you. ¹¹You crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The rulers of Jericho fought you, and so did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I helped you defeat them all. ¹²Your enemies ran from you, but not because you had swords and bows and arrows. I made your enemies panic and run away, as I had done with the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River.
    ¹³You didn't have to work for this land--I gave it to you. Now you live in towns you didn't build, and you eat grapes and olives from vineyards and trees you didn't plant.
    ¹⁴Then Joshua told the people:
   Worship the LORD, obey him, and always be faithful. Get rid of the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. ¹⁵But if you don't want to worship the LORD, then choose right now! Will you worship the same idols your ancestors did? Or since you're living on land that once belonged to the Amorites, maybe you'll worship their gods. I won't. My family and I are going to worship and obey the LORD!
    ¹⁶The people answered:
   We could never worship other gods or stop worshiping the LORD. ¹⁷The LORD is our God. We were slaves in Egypt as our ancestors had been, but we saw the LORD work miracles to set our people free and to bring us out of Egypt. Even though other nations were all around us, the LORD protected us wherever we went. ¹⁸And when we fought the Amorites and the other nations that lived in this land, the LORD made them run away. Yes, we will worship and obey the LORD, because the LORD is our God.
    ¹⁹Joshua said:
   The LORD is fearsome; he is the one true God, and I don't think you are able to worship and obey him in the ways he demands. You would have to be completely faithful, and if you sin or rebel, he won't let you get away with it. ²⁰If you turn your backs on the LORD and worship the gods of other nations, the LORD will turn against you. He will make terrible things happen to you and wipe you out, even though he had been good to you before.
    ²¹But the people shouted, " We won't worship any other gods. We will worship and obey only the LORD!"
    ²²Joshua said, " You have heard yourselves say that you will worship and obey the LORD. Isn't that true?"
   " Yes, it's true," they answered.
    ²³Joshua said, " But you still have some idols, like those the other nations worship. Get rid of your idols! You must decide once and for all that you really want to obey the LORD God of Israel."
    ²⁴The people said, " The LORD is our God, and we will worship and obey only him."
    ²⁵Joshua helped Israel make an agreement with the LORD that day at Shechem. Joshua made laws for Israel ²⁶and wrote them down in The Book of the Law ^[d] of God. Then he set up a large stone under the oak tree at the place of worship in Shechem ²⁷and told the people, " Look at this stone. It has heard everything that the LORD has said to us. Our God can call this stone as a witness if we ever reject him." ²⁸Joshua sent everyone back to their homes.
   

Joshua, Joseph, and Eleazar Are Buried

 ²⁹Not long afterwards, the LORD's servant Joshua died at the age of one hundred ten. ³⁰The Israelites buried him in his own land at Timnath-Serah, north of Mount Gaash in the hill country of Ephraim.     ³¹As long as Joshua lived, Israel worshiped and obeyed the LORD. There were other leaders old enough to remember everything that the LORD had done for Israel. And for as long as these men lived, Israel continued to worship and obey the LORD.
    ³²When the people of Israel left Egypt, they brought the bones of Joseph along with them. They took the bones to the town of Shechem and buried them in the field that Jacob had bought for one hundred pieces of silver ^[e] from Hamor, the founder of Shechem. The town and the field both ^[f] became part of the land belonging to the descendants of Joseph. ³³When Eleazar the priest ^[g] died, he was buried in the hill country of Ephraim on a hill that belonged to his son Phinehas.

Footnotes:

1. Joshua 24:1 near. . . tent: Or " in front of the sacred chest" ; Hebrew " in the presence of God."
2. Joshua 24:5 Red Sea: See the note at 2.10.
3. Joshua 24:9 King Balak. . . Balaam: The Hebrew text has " King Balak the son of Zippor. . . Balaam the son of Beor."
4. Joshua 24:26 Law: See the note at 8.30-32.
5. Joshua 24:32 pieces of silver: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew word.
6. Joshua 24:32 town. . . both: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Joshua 24:33 Eleazar the priest: Hebrew " Eleazar the son of Aaron."

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Luke 21:1-28 (Contemporary English Version)

Luke 21

A Widow's Offering

(Mark 12.41-44)

 ¹Jesus looked up and saw some rich people tossing their gifts into the offering box. ²He also saw a poor widow putting in two pennies. ³And he said, "I tell you that this poor woman has put in more than all the others. ⁴Everyone else gave what they didn't need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had."    

The Temple Will Be Destroyed

(Matthew 24.1,2; Mark 13.1,2)

 ⁵Some people were talking about the beautiful stones used to build the temple and about the gifts that had been placed in it. Jesus said, ⁶"Do you see these stones? The time is coming when not one of them will be left in place. They will all be knocked down."    

Warning about Trouble

(Matthew 24.3-14; Mark 13.3-13)

 ⁷Some people asked, "Teacher, when will all this happen? How can we know when these things are about to take place?"     ⁸Jesus replied:
   Don't be fooled by those who will come and claim to be me. They will say, "I am Christ!" and "Now is the time!" But don't follow them. ⁹When you hear about wars and riots, don't be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end.
    ¹⁰Nations will go to war against one another, and kingdoms will attack each other. ¹¹There will be great earthquakes, and in many places people will starve to death and suffer terrible diseases. All sorts of frightening things will be seen in the sky.
    ¹²Before all this happens, you will be arrested and punished. You will be tried in your meeting places and put in jail. Because of me you will be placed on trial before kings and governors. ¹³But this will be your chance to tell about your faith.
    ¹⁴Don't worry about what you will say to defend yourselves. ¹⁵I will give you the wisdom to know what to say. None of your enemies will be able to oppose you or to say that you are wrong. ¹⁶You will be betrayed by your own parents, brothers, family, and friends. Some of you will even be killed. ¹⁷Because of me, you will be hated by everyone. ¹⁸But don't worry! ^{[a] 19}You will be saved by being faithful to me.

Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed

(Matthew 24.15-21; Mark 13.14-19)

 ²⁰When you see Jerusalem surrounded by soldiers, you will know that it will soon be destroyed. ²¹If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains. If you are in the city, leave it. And if you are out in the country, don't go back into the city. ²²This time of punishment is what is written about in the Scriptures. ²³It will be an awful time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children! Everywhere in the land people will suffer horribly and be punished. ²⁴Some of them will be killed by swords. Others will be carried off to foreign countries. Jerusalem will be overrun by foreign nations until their time comes to an end.    

When the Son of Man Appears

(Matthew 24.29-31; Mark 13.24-27)

 ²⁵Strange things will happen to the sun, moon, and stars. The nations on earth will be afraid of the roaring sea and tides, and they won't know what to do. ²⁶People will be so frightened that they will faint because of what is happening to the world. Every power in the sky will be shaken. ^{[b] 27}Then the Son of Man will be seen, coming in a cloud with great power and glory. ²⁸When all of this starts happening, stand up straight and be brave. You will soon be set free.

Footnotes:

1. Luke 21:18 But don't worry: The Greek text has " Not a hair of your head will be lost," which means, " There's no need to worry."
2. Luke 21:26 Every power in the sky will be shaken: In ancient times people thought that the stars were spiritual powers.

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Psalm 89:38-52 (Contemporary English Version)

³⁸You are now angry, God,
   and you have turned your back
   on your chosen king.
    ³⁹You broke off your agreement
   with your servant, the king,
   and you completely destroyed
   his kingdom.
    ⁴⁰The walls of his city
   have been broken through,
   and every fortress
   now lies in ruin.
    ⁴¹All who pass by
   take what they want,
   and nations everywhere
   joke about the king.
    ⁴²You made his enemies powerful
   and let them celebrate.
    ⁴³But you forced him to retreat
   because you did not fight
   on his side.
    ⁴⁴You took his crown ^[a] and threw his throne
   in the dirt.
    ⁴⁵You made an old man of him
   and put him to shame.
    ⁴⁶How much longer, LORD?
   Will you hide forever?
   How long will your anger
   keep burning like fire?
    ⁴⁷Remember, life is short! ^[b] Why did you empty our lives
   of all meaning?
    ⁴⁸No one can escape the power
   of death and the grave.
    ⁴⁹Our Lord, where is the love
   you have always shown
   and that you promised
   so faithfully to David?
    ⁵⁰Remember your servant, Lord!
   People make jokes about me,
   and I suffer many insults.
    ⁵¹I am your chosen one,
   but your enemies chase
   and make fun of me.
    ⁵²Our LORD, we praise you
   forever. Amen and amen.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 89:44 You took. . . crown: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. Psalm 89:47 Remember. . . short: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Proverbs 13:20-23 (Contemporary English Version)

²⁰Wise friends make you wise,
   but you hurt yourself
   by going around with fools.
    ²¹You are in for trouble
   if you sin,
   but you will be rewarded
   if you live right.
    ²²If you obey God,
   you will have something
   to leave your grandchildren.
   If you don't obey God,
   those who live right
   will get what you leave.
    ²³Even when the land of the poor
   produces good crops,
   they get cheated
   out of what they grow. ^[a]

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 13:23 grow: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 23.

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Verse of the Day

 

“God's eternal power and character cannot be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. That's why those people don't have any excuse.” - Romans 1:20

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church, and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state, Voltaire wrote, “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.”