Today our passages are Isaiah 19:1–21:17; Galatians 2:1-16; Psalm 59:1-17; and Proverbs 23:13-14. 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 Steet, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.
Isaiah 19-21:17 (Contemporary English Version)
Isaiah 19
Egypt Will Be Punished
1This is a message about Egypt:
The LORD comes to Egypt,
riding swiftly on a cloud.
The people are weak from fear.
Their idols tremble
as he approaches and says,
2"I
will punish Egypt
with civil war--
neighbors, cities, and kingdoms
will fight each other.
3"Egypt will be discouraged
when I confuse their plans.
They will try to get advice
from their idols,
from the spirits of the dead,
and from fortunetellers.
4I
will put the Egyptians
under the power of a cruel,
heartless king.
I, the LORD All-Powerful,
have promised this."
Trouble along the Nile
5The Nile River will dry up
and become parched land.
6Its streams will stink,
Egypt will have no water,
and the reeds and tall grass
will dry up.
7Fields along the Nile
will be completely barren;
every plant will disappear.
8Those who fish in the Nile
will be discouraged
and mourn.
9None of the cloth makers [a]
will know what to do,
and they will turn pale. [b]
10Weavers will be confused;
paid workers will cry and mourn.
Egypt's Helpless Leaders
11The king's officials in Zoan [c] are foolish themselves
and give stupid advice.
How can they say to him,
"We are very wise,
and our families go back
to kings of long ago?"
12Where are those wise men now?
If they can, let them say
what the LORD All-Powerful
intends for Egypt.
13The royal officials in Zoan
and in Memphis
are foolish and deceived.
The leaders in every state
have given bad advice
to the nation.
14The LORD has confused Egypt;
its leaders have made it stagger
and vomit like a drunkard.
15No one in Egypt can do a thing,
no matter who they are.
16When the LORD All-Powerful punishes Egypt with his mighty
arm, the Egyptians will become terribly weak and will tremble with fear. 17They will be so terrified of Judah that
they will be frightened by the very mention of its name. This will happen
because of what the LORD All-Powerful is planning against Egypt.
The LORD Will Bless Egypt, Assyria, and Israel
18The time is coming when Hebrew will be spoken in five Egyptian cities, and their people will become followers of the LORD. One of these cities will be called City of the Sun. [d] 19In the heart of Egypt an altar will be set up for the LORD; at its border a shrine will be built to honor him. 20These will remind the Egyptians that the LORD All-Powerful is with them. And when they are in trouble and ask for help, he will send someone to rescue them from their enemies. 21The LORD will show the Egyptians who he is, and they will know and worship the LORD. They will bring him sacrifices and offerings, and they will keep their promises to him. 22After the LORD has punished Egypt, the people will turn to him. Then he will answer their prayers, and the Egyptians will be healed.
23At that time a good road will run from Egypt to Assyria.
The Egyptians and the Assyrians will travel back and forth from Egypt to
Assyria, and they will worship together. 24Israel will join with these two countries. They will be a
blessing to everyone on earth, 25then
the LORD All-Powerful will bless them by saying,
"The Egyptians are my people.
I created the Assyrians
and chose the Israelites."
Isaiah 20
Isaiah Acts Out the Defeat of Egypt and Ethiopia
1King Sargon of Assyria gave orders for his army commander to capture the city of Ashdod. [e] 2About this same time the LORD had told me, "Isaiah, take off everything, including your sandals!" I did this and went around naked and barefoot 3for three years. Then the LORD said:
What Isaiah has done is a warning to Egypt and
Ethiopia. [f]
4Everyone in these two countries will
be led away naked and barefoot by the king of Assyria. Young or old, they will
be taken prisoner, and Egypt will be disgraced. 5They will be confused and frustrated, because they
depended on Ethiopia and bragged about Egypt. 6When this happens, the people who live along the coast
[g]
will say, "Look what happened to them! We ran to them for safety, hoping they
would protect us from the king of Assyria. But now, there is no escape for us."
Isaiah 21
The Fall of Babylonia (21.1 Babylonia: King Cyrus and his army of Medes and Persians captured the city of Babylon in 539 B.C.)
1This is a message about a desert beside the sea: [h] Enemies from a hostile nation
attack
like a whirlwind
from the Southern Desert.
2What a horrible vision
was shown to me--
a vision of betrayal
and destruction.
Tell Elam and Media [i] to
surround
and attack
the Babylonians.
The LORD has sworn to end
the suffering they caused.
3I'm in terrible pain
like a woman giving birth.
I'm shocked and hurt so much
that I can't hear or see.
4My
head spins; I'm horrified!
Early evening, my favorite time,
has become a nightmare.
5In
Babylon the high officials
were having a feast.
They were eating and drinking,
when someone shouted,
"Officers, take your places!
Grab your shields."
6The LORD said to me,
"Send guards
to find out
what's going on.
7When they see cavalry troops
and columns of soldiers
on donkeys and camels,
tell them to be ready!"
8Then a guard [j]
said, "I have stood day and night
on this watchtower, Lord.
9Now I see column after column
of cavalry troops."
Right away someone shouted,
"Babylon has fallen!
Every idol in the city
lies broken on the ground."
10Then I said, "My people,
you have suffered terribly,
but I have a message for you
from the LORD All-Powerful,
the God of Israel."
How Much Longer?
11This is a message about Dumah:
From the country of Seir, [k]
someone shouts to me,
"Guard, how much longer
before daylight?"
12From my guard post, I answered,
"Morning will soon be here,
but night will return.
If you want to know more,
come back later."
13This is a message for Arabs
who live in the barren desert
in the region of Dedan: [l]
You must order your caravans
14to bring water for those
who are thirsty.
You people of Tema [m]
must bring food
for the hungry refugees.
15They are worn out and weary
from being chased by enemies
with swords and arrows.
16The Lord said to me:
A year from now the glory of the people of
Kedar [n]
will all come to an end, just as a worker's contract ends after a year. 17Only a few of their warriors will be left
with bows and arrows. This is a promise that I, the LORD God of Israel, have
made.
Footnotes:
- Isaiah 19:9 cloth makers: Cloth was made from several kinds of plants that grew in the fields along the Nile.
- Isaiah 19:9 turn pale: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Isaiah 19:11 Zoan: The city of Tanis in the Nile delta.
- Isaiah 19:18 City of the Sun: Some manuscripts of the Standard Hebrew Text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and one ancient translation; most manuscripts of the Standard Hebrew Text have "City of Destruction." This probably refers to Heliopolis which means "City of the Sun" (see Jeremiah 43.13).
- Isaiah 20:1 Ashdod: King Sargon II of Assyria captured this Philistine city in 711 B.C.
- Isaiah 20:3 Ethiopia: See the note at 11.11.
- Isaiah 20:6 people. . . coast: Probably the Philistines.
- Isaiah 21:1 This. . . sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. The prophet may be speaking of Babylonia as a desert, because of the terrible punishment God will bring on it. The southern part of Babylonia on the Persian Gulf was sometimes called "the land beside the sea."
- Isaiah 21:2 Elam and Media: People from the Iranian highlands; the capital of Elam was Susa, in the hill country east of Babylon.
- Isaiah 21:8 guard: The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text has "lion."
- Isaiah 21:11 Dumah. . . Seir: Dumah was an oasis in the Arabian desert. One ancient translation has "Edom," which may be what is meant. Seir is a mountainous region of Edom southwest of the Dead Sea.
- Isaiah 21:13 Dedan: A region in northwest Arabia.
- Isaiah 21:14 Tema: A region in north Arabia.
- Isaiah 21:16 Kedar: A region in the Arabian desert.
Galatians 2:1-16 (Contemporary English Version)
Galatians 2
1Fourteen years later I went to Jerusalem with Barnabas. I also took along Titus. 2But I went there because God had told me to go, and I explained the good news that I had been preaching to the Gentiles. Then I met privately with the ones who seemed to be the most important leaders. I wanted to make sure that my work in the past and my future work would not be for nothing.
3Titus went to Jerusalem with me. He was a Greek, but still
he wasn't forced to be circumcised. 4We went there because of those who pretended to be
followers and had sneaked in among us as spies. They had come to take away the
freedom that Christ Jesus had given us, and they were trying to make us their
slaves. 5But we wanted you to have the
true message. That's why we didn't give in to them, not even for a second.
6Some of them were supposed to be important leaders, but I
didn't care who they were. God doesn't have any favorites! None of these
so-called special leaders added anything to my message. 7They realized that God had sent me with the good news for
Gentiles, and that he had sent Peter with the same message for Jews. 8God, who had sent Peter on a mission to
the Jews, was now using me to preach to the Gentiles.
9James, Peter, and John realized that God had given me the
message about his undeserved kindness. And these men are supposed to be the
backbone of the church. They even gave Barnabas and me a friendly handshake.
This was to show that we would work with Gentiles and that they would work with
Jews. 10They only asked us to remember
the poor, and that was something I had always been eager to do.
Paul Corrects Peter at Antioch
11When Peter came to Antioch, I told him face to face that he was wrong. 12He used to eat with Gentile followers of the Lord, until James sent some Jewish followers. Peter was afraid of the Jews and soon stopped eating with Gentiles. 13He and the other Jews hid their true feelings so well that even Barnabas was fooled. 14But when I saw that they were not really obeying the truth that is in the good news, I corrected Peter in front of everyone and said:
Peter, you are a Jew, but you live like a
Gentile. So how can you force Gentiles to live like Jews?
15We are Jews by birth and are not sinners like Gentiles.
16But we know that God accepts only
those who have faith in Jesus Christ. No one can please God by simply obeying
the Law. So we put our faith in Christ Jesus, and God accepted us because of our
faith.
Psalm 59:1-17 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 59
(For the music leader. To the tune "Don't Destroy." (Psalm 59 Don't Destroy: See the note at Psalm 57.) A special psalm by David when Saul had David's house watched so that he could kill him.)
A Prayer for Protection
1Save me, God! Protect me
from enemy attacks!
2Keep me safe from brutal people
who want to kill me.
3Merciless enemies, LORD,
are hiding and plotting,
hoping to kill me.
I have not hurt them
in any way at all.
4But they are ready to attack.
Do something! Help me!
Look at what's happening.
5LORD God All-Powerful,
you are the God of Israel.
Punish the other nations
and don't pity those terrible
and rebellious people.
6My
enemies return at evening,
growling like dogs
roaming the city.
7They curse and their words
cut like swords,
as they say to themselves,
"No one can hear us!"
8You, LORD, laugh at them
and sneer at the nations.
9You are my mighty fortress,
and I depend on you.
10You love me and will let me
see my enemies defeated.
11Don't kill them,
or everyone may forget!
Just use your mighty power
to make them tremble
and fall.
You are a shield
for your people.
12My enemies are liars!
So let them be trapped
by their boastful lies.
13Get angry and destroy them.
Leave them in ruin.
Then all the nations will know
that you rule in Israel.
14Those liars return at evening,
growling like dogs
roaming the city.
15They search for scraps of food,
and they snarl
until they are stuffed.
16But I will sing about
your strength, my God,
and I will celebrate
because of your love.
You are my fortress,
my place of protection
in times of trouble.
17I
will sing your praises!
You are my mighty fortress,
and you love me.
Proverbs 23:13-14 (Contemporary English Version)
-12-
13 Don't fail to correct
your children.
You won't kill them
by being firm,
14and it may even
save their lives.
“and are sure that God loves us. God is love. If
we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God, and he will
stay one with us.” - 1 John 4:16
Today's passage is from
the Contemporary English Version.
Thought for the DayBritish churchman, bishop of Rochester from 1793, Samuel Horsley wrote, “Wonder, connected with a principle of rational curiosity, is the source of all knowledge and discovery, and it is a principle even of piety; but wonder which ends in wonder, and is satisfied with wonder, is the quality of an idiot.”
A Joke for Today
A farmer was driving along the road with a load of fertilizer. A little boy, playing in front of his house, saw him and called, "What've you got in your truck?""Fertilizer," the farmer replied.
"What are you going to do with it?" asked the little boy.
"Put it on strawberries," answered the farmer.
"You ought to live here," the little boy advised him. "We put sugar and cream on ours."
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