Today our passages are Isaiah 28:14–30:11; Galatians 3:23–4:31; Psalm 62:1-12; and Proverbs 23:19-21. 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 28:14-30:11 (Contemporary English Version)
False Security Is Fatal
14You rulers of Jerusalem
do nothing but sneer;
now you must listen
to what the LORD says.
15Do you think you have
an agreement with death
and the world of the dead?
Why do you trust in your lies
to keep you safe from danger
and the mighty flood?
16And so the LORD says,
"I'm laying a firm foundation
for the city of Zion.
It's a valuable cornerstone
proven to be trustworthy;
no one who trusts it
will ever be disappointed.
17Justice and fairness
will be the measuring lines
that help me build."
Hailstones and floods
will destroy and wash away
your shelter of lies.
18Your agreement with death
and the world of the dead
will be broken.
Then angry, roaring waves
will sweep over you.
19Morning, noon, and night
an overwhelming flood
will wash you away.
The terrible things that happen
will teach you this lesson:
20Your bed is too short,
your blanket too skimpy. [a]
21The LORD will fiercely attack
will do something surprising,
not what you expect.
22So you had better stop
sneering
or you will be in worse shape
than ever before.
I heard the LORD All-Powerful
threaten the whole country
with destruction.
All Wisdom Comes from the LORD
23Pay close attention
to what I am saying.
24Farmers don't just plow
and break up the ground.
25When a field is ready,
they scatter the seeds
of dill and cumin;
they plant the seeds
of wheat and barley
in the proper places.
26They learn this from their
God.
27After dill and cumin
have been harvested,
the stalks are pounded,
not run over with a wagon.
28Wheat and barley are pounded,
but not beaten to pulp;
they are run over with a wagon,
but not ground to dust.
29This wonderful knowledge
comes
from the LORD All-Powerful,
who has such great wisdom.
Isaiah 29
Jerusalem Will Suffer
The LORD said:
1Jerusalem, city of David,
the place of my altar, [d]
you are in for trouble!
Celebrate your festivals
year after year.
2I will still make you suffer,
and your people will cry
when I make an altar of you. [e]
3I will surround you and prepare
to attack from all sides. [f]
4From deep in the earth,
you will call out for help
with only a faint whisper.
5Then your cruel enemies
will suddenly be swept away
like dust in a windstorm.
6I, the LORD All-Powerful,
will come to your rescue
with a thundering earthquake
and a fiery whirlwind.
7Every brutal nation
that attacks Jerusalem
and makes it suffer
will disappear like a dream
when night is over.
8Those nations that attack
Mount Zion
will suffer from hunger
and thirst.
They will dream of food and drink
but wake up weary and hungry
and thirsty as ever.
Prophets Who Fool Themselves
9Be shocked and stunned,
you prophets!
Refuse to see.
Get drunk and stagger,
but not from wine.
10The LORD has made you drowsy;
he put you into a deep sleep
and covered your head.
11Now his message is like a
sealed letter to you. Some of you say, "We can't read it, because it's sealed."
12Others say, "We can't read it,
because we don't know how to read."
13The Lord has said:
"These people praise me
with their words,
but they never really
think about me.
They worship me by repeating
rules
made up by humans.
14So once again I will do
things
that shock and amaze them,
and I will destroy the wisdom
of those who claim to know
and understand."
15You are in for trouble,
if you try to hide your plans
from the LORD!
Or if you think what you do
in the dark can't be seen.
16You have it all backwards.
A clay dish doesn't say
to the potter,
"You didn't make me.
You don't even know how."
Hope for the Future
17Soon the forest of Lebanon
will become a field with crops,
thick as a forest. [g]
18The deaf will be able to hear
whatever is read to them;
the blind will be freed
from a life of darkness.
19The poor and the needy
will celebrate and shout
because of the LORD,
the holy God of Israel.
20All who are cruel and
arrogant
will be gone forever.
Those who live by crime
will disappear,
21together with everyone
who tells lies in court
and keeps innocent people
from getting a fair trial.
22The LORD who rescued Abraham
has this to say
about Jacob's descendants:
"They will no longer
be ashamed and disgraced.
23When they see how great
I have made their nation,
they will praise and honor me,
the holy God of Israel.
24Everyone who is confused
will understand,
and all who have complained
will obey my teaching."
Isaiah 30
Don't Expect Help from Egypt
1This is the LORD's message for his rebellious people:
"You follow your own plans
instead of mine;
you make treaties
without asking me,
and you keep on sinning.
2You trust Egypt for
protection.
So you refuse my advice
and send messengers to Egypt
to beg their king for help.
3You will be disappointed,
completely disgraced
for trusting Egypt.
4The king's power reaches
from the city of Zoan
as far south as Hanes. [h]
5But Egypt can't protect you,
and to trust that nation
is useless and foolish."
6This is a message
about the animals
of the Southern Desert:
You people carry treasures
on donkeys and camels.
You travel to a feeble nation
through a troublesome desert
filled with lions
and flying fiery dragons.
7Egypt can't help you!
That's why I call that nation
a helpless monster."[i]
Israel Refuses To Listen
8The LORD told me to write down his message for his people, so that it would be there forever. 9They have turned against the LORD and can't be trusted. They have refused his teaching 10and have said to his messengers and prophets:
Don't tell us what God has shown you and don't preach the truth. Just say
what we want to hear, even if it's false. 11Stop telling us what God has said! We don't want to hear
any more about the holy God of Israel.
Footnotes:
- Isaiah 28:20 Your bed. . . skimpy: Isaiah quotes a popular saying to teach that the treaty made with Egypt (verse 18) cannot give the nation security from its enemies.
- Isaiah 28:21 Mount Perazim: This may refer to David's defeat of the Philistines at Baal Perazim (2 Samuel 5.17-21).
- Isaiah 28:21 Gibeon Valley: This refers to Joshua's victory at Gibeon (Joshua 10.1-11).
- Isaiah 29:1 the place of my altar: One possible meaning for "ariel, ariel" of the Hebrew text. In Hebrew "ariel" can mean "God's hero" or "God's lion" or "God's altar."
- Isaiah 29:2 when. . . you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- Isaiah 29:3 from all sides: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. One ancient translation has "like David."
- Isaiah 29:17 with. . . forest: Or "and Mount Carmel will be covered with forests."
- Isaiah 30:4 Zoan. . . Hanes: Or "Your messengers have reached the city of Zoan and gone as far as Hanes." Zoan was in northeast Egypt; Hanes was to the south.
- Isaiah 30:7 a helpless monster: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Galatians 3:23-4:31 (Contemporary English Version)
23The Law controlled us and kept us
under its power until the time came when we would have faith. 24In fact, the Law was our teacher. It was
supposed to teach us until we had faith and were acceptable to God. 25But once a person has learned to have
faith, there is no more need to have the Law as a teacher.
26All of you are God's children
because of your faith in Christ Jesus. 27And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put
on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes. 28Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal
with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a
man or a woman. 29So if you belong to
Christ, you are now part of Abraham's family, [a]
and you will be given what God has promised.
Galatians 4
1Children who are under age are no better off than slaves, even though everything their parents own will someday be theirs. 2This is because children are placed in the care of guardians and teachers until the time their parents have set. 3That is how it was with us. We were like children ruled by the powers of this world.
4But when the time was right,
God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him. His Son obeyed the Law, 5so he could set us free from the Law, and
we could become God's children. 6Now
that we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.
And his Spirit tells us that God is our Father. 7You are no longer slaves. You are God's children, and you
will be given what he has promised.
Paul's Concern for the Galatians
8Before you knew God, you were slaves of gods that are not real. 9But now you know God, or better still, God knows you. How can you turn back and become the slaves of those weak and pitiful powers? [b] 10You even celebrate certain days, months, seasons, and years. 11I am afraid I have wasted my time working with you. 12My friends, I beg you to be like me, just as I once tried to be like you. Did you mistreat me 13when I first preached to you? No you didn't, even though you knew I had come there because I was sick. 14My illness must have caused you some trouble, but you didn't hate me or turn me away because of it. You welcomed me as though I were one of God's angels or even Christ Jesus himself. 15Where is that good feeling now? I am sure that if it had been possible, you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me. 16Am I now your enemy, just because I told you the truth?
17Those people may be paying
you a lot of attention, but it isn't for your good. They only want to keep you
away from me, so you will pay them a lot of attention. 18It is always good to give your attention to something
worthwhile, even when I am not with you. 19My children, I am in terrible pain until Christ may be
seen living in you. 20I wish I were
with you now. Then I would not have to talk this way. You really have me
puzzled.
Hagar and Sarah
21Some of you would like to be under the rule of the Law of Moses. But do you know what the Law says? 22In the Scriptures we learn that Abraham had two sons. The mother of one of them was a slave, while the mother of the other one had always been free. 23The son of the slave woman was born in the usual way. But the son of the free woman was born because of God's promise.
24All of this has another
meaning as well. Each of the two women stands for one of the agreements God made
with his people. Hagar, the slave woman, stands for the agreement that was made
at Mount Sinai. Everyone born into her family is a slave. 25Hagar also stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia [c]
and for the present city of Jerusalem. She [d]
and her children are slaves. 26But our
mother is the city of Jerusalem in heaven above, and she isn't a slave. 27The Scriptures say about her,
"You have never had children,
but now you can be glad.
You have never given birth,
but now you can shout.
Once you had no children,
but now you will have
more children
than a woman
who has been married
for a long time."
28My friends, you were born
because of this promise, just as Isaac was. 29But the child who was born in the natural way made
trouble for the child who was born because of the Spirit. The same thing is
happening today. 30The Scriptures say,
"Get rid of the slave woman and her son! He won't be given anything. The son of
the free woman will receive everything." 31My friends, we are children of the free woman and not of
the slave.
Footnotes:
- Galatians 3:29 you are now part of Abraham's family: Paul tells the Galatians that faith in Jesus Christ is what makes someone a true child of Abraham and of God (see the note at 3.7).
- Galatians 4:9 powers: Spirits were thought to control human lives and were believed to be connected with the movements of the stars.
- Galatians 4:25 Hagar also stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia: Some manuscripts have " Sinai is a mountain in Arabia." This sentence would then be translated: " Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, and Hagar stands for the present city of Jerusalem."
- Galatians 4:25 She: " Hagar" or " Jerusalem."
Psalm 62:1-12 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 62
(A psalm by David for Jeduthun, the music leader.)
God Is Powerful and Kind
1Only God can save me,
and the fortress
where I am secure.
3I feel like a shaky fence
or a sagging wall.
How long will all of you
attack and assault me?
4You want to bring me down
from my place of honor.
You love to tell lies,
and when your words are kind,
hatred hides in your heart.
5Only God gives inward peace,
and I depend on him.
6God alone is the mighty rock
that keeps me safe,
and he is the fortress
where I feel secure.
7God saves me and honors me.
He is that mighty rock
where I find safety.
8Trust God, my friends,
and always tell him
each one of your concerns.
God is our place of safety.
9We humans are only a breath;
none of us are truly great.
All of us together weigh less
than a puff of air.
10Don't trust in violence
or depend on dishonesty
or rely on great wealth.
11I heard God say two things:
"I am powerful,
12and I am very kind."
The Lord rewards each of us
according to what we do.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 62:1 calmly wait for: Or " am at peace with."
- Psalm 62:2 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.
Proverbs 23:19-21 (Contemporary English Version)
-15-
19 Listen to me, my children!
Be wise and have enough sense
to follow the right path.
20Don't be a heavy drinker
or stuff yourself with food.
21It will make you feel drowsy,
and you will end up poor
with only rags to wear.
“Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important
than yourselves. Care about them as much as you care about yourselves” - Philippians
2:3-4
Today's passage is from the Contemporary
English Version.
Thought for the Day
Canadian-born American cognitive scientist, psychologist, linguist, and popular science author, Steven Pinker wrote, “I think the reason that swearing is both so offensive and so attractive is that it is a way to push people's emotional buttons, and especially their negative emotional buttons. Because words soak up emotional connotations and are processed involuntarily by the listener, you can't will yourself not to treat the word in terms of what it means.”
A Joke for Today
)
A young man at this construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone based on his strength. He especially made fun of one of the older workman. After several minutes, the older worker had enough. "Why don't you put your money where you mouth is?" he said. "I'll bet a week's wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to the other building that you won't be able to wheel back."
"You're on, old man," the young man replied. "Let's see what you've got."
The old man reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then nodding to the young man, he said with a smile, "All right. Get in."
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