Bible Readings for September 24, 2016

Today our passages are Isaiah 43:14–45:10; Ephesians 3:1-21; Psalm 68:1-18; and Proverbs 24:1-2. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

 

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Isaiah 43:14-45:10 (The Message)

You Didn't Even Do the Minimum

^14-15God, your Redeemer,
The Holy of Israel, says:
"Just for you, I will march on Babylon.
I'll turn the tables on the Babylonians.
Instead of whooping it up,
they'll be wailing.
I am God, your Holy One,
Creator of Israel, your King." ^16-21This is what God says,
the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
they lie down and then can't get up;
they're snuffed out like so many candles:
"Forget about what's happened;
don't keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new.
It's bursting out! Don't you see it?
There it is! I'm making a road through the desert,
rivers in the badlands.
Wild animals will say 'Thank you!'
—the coyotes and the buzzards—
Because I provided water in the desert,
rivers through the sun-baked earth,
Drinking water for the people I chose,
the people I made especially for myself,
a people custom-made to praise me.
^22-24"But you didn't pay a bit of attention to me, Jacob.
You so quickly tired of me, Israel.
You wouldn't even bring sheep for offerings in worship.
You couldn't be bothered with sacrifices.
It wasn't that I asked that much from you.
I didn't expect expensive presents.
But you didn't even do the minimum—
so stingy with me, so closefisted.
Yet you haven't been stingy with your sins.
You've been plenty generous with them—and I'm fed up.
²⁵"But I, yes I, am the one
who takes care of your sins—that's what I do.
I don't keep a list of your sins.
^26-28"So, make your case against me. Let's have this out.
Make your arguments. Prove you're in the right.
Your original ancestor started the sinning,
and everyone since has joined in.
That's why I had to disqualify the Temple leaders,
repudiate Jacob and discredit Israel."

Isaiah 44

Proud to Be Called Israel

^1-5 "But for now, dear servant Jacob, listen—
yes, you, Israel, my personal choice.
God who made you has something to say to you;
the God who formed you in the womb wants to help you.
Don't be afraid, dear servant Jacob,
Jeshurun, the one I chose.
For I will pour water on the thirsty ground
and send streams coursing through the parched earth.
I will pour my Spirit into your descendants
and my blessing on your children.
They shall sprout like grass on the prairie,
like willows alongside creeks.
This one will say, 'I am God's,'
and another will go by the name Jacob;
That one will write on his hand 'God's property'—
and be proud to be called Israel." ^6-8God, King of Israel,
your Redeemer, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, says:
"I'm first, I'm last, and everything in between.
I'm the only God there is.
Who compares with me?
Speak up. See if you measure up.
From the beginning, who else has always announced what's coming?
So what is coming next? Anybody want to venture a try?
Don't be afraid, and don't worry:
Haven't I always kept you informed, told you what was going on?
You're my eyewitnesses:
Have you ever come across a God, a real God, other than me?
There's no Rock like me that I know of."

Lover of Emptiness

^9-11All those who make no-god idols don't amount to a thing, and what they work so hard at making is nothing. Their little puppet-gods see nothing and know nothing—they're total embarrassments! Who would bother making gods that can't do anything, that can't "god"? Watch all the no-god worshipers hide their faces in shame. Watch the no-god makers slink off humiliated when their idols fail them. Get them out here in the open. Make them face God-reality. ¹²The blacksmith makes his no-god, works it over in his forge, hammering it on his anvil—such hard work! He works away, fatigued with hunger and thirst.
^13-17The woodworker draws up plans for his no-god, traces it on a block of wood. He shapes it with chisels and planes into human shape—a beautiful woman, a handsome man, ready to be placed in a chapel. He first cuts down a cedar, or maybe picks out a pine or oak, and lets it grow strong in the forest, nourished by the rain. Then it can serve a double purpose: Part he uses as firewood for keeping warm and baking bread; from the other part he makes a god that he worships—carves it into a god shape and prays before it. With half he makes a fire to warm himself and barbecue his supper. He eats his fill and sits back satisfied with his stomach full and his feet warmed by the fire: "Ah, this is the life." And he still has half left for a god, made to his personal design—a handy, convenient no-god to worship whenever so inclined. Whenever the need strikes him he prays to it, "Save me. You're my god."
^18-19Pretty stupid, wouldn't you say? Don't they have eyes in their heads? Are their brains working at all? Doesn't it occur to them to say, "Half of this tree I used for firewood: I baked bread, roasted meat, and enjoyed a good meal. And now I've used the rest to make an abominable no-god. Here I am praying to a stick of wood!"
²⁰This lover of emptiness, of nothing, is so out of touch with reality, so far gone, that he can't even look at what he's doing, can't even look at the no-god stick of wood in his hand and say, "This is crazy."
^21-22"Remember these things, O Jacob.
Take it seriously, Israel, that you're my servant.
I made you, shaped you: You're my servant.
O Israel, I'll never forget you.
I've wiped the slate of all your wrongdoings.
There's nothing left of your sins.
Come back to me, come back.
I've redeemed you."
²³High heavens, sing!
God has done it.
Deep earth, shout!
And you mountains, sing!
A forest choir of oaks and pines and cedars!
God has redeemed Jacob.
God's glory is on display in Israel.
²⁴God, your Redeemer,
who shaped your life in your mother's womb, says:
"I am God. I made all that is.
With no help from you I spread out the skies
and laid out the earth."
^25-28He makes the magicians look ridiculous
and turns fortunetellers into jokes.
He makes the experts look trivial
and their latest knowledge look silly.
But he backs the word of his servant
and confirms the counsel of his messengers.
He says to Jerusalem, "Be inhabited,"
and to the cities of Judah, "Be rebuilt,"
and to the ruins, "I raise you up."
He says to Ocean, "Dry up.
I'm drying up your rivers."
He says to Cyrus, "My shepherd—
everything I want, you'll do it."
He says to Jerusalem, "Be built,"
and to the Temple, "Be established."

Isaiah 45

The God Who Forms Light and Darkness

^1-7 God's Message to his anointed, to Cyrus, whom he took by the hand
To give the task of taming the nations,
of terrifying their kings—
He gave him free rein,
no restrictions:
"I'll go ahead of you,
clearing and paving the road.
I'll break down bronze city gates,
smash padlocks, kick down barred entrances.
I'll lead you to buried treasures,
secret caches of valuables—
Confirmations that it is, in fact, I, God,
the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
It's because of my dear servant Jacob,
Israel my chosen,
That I've singled you out, called you by name,
and given you this privileged work.
And you don't even know me!
I am God, the only God there is.
Besides me there are no real gods.
I'm the one who armed you for this work,
though you don't even know me,
So that everyone, from east to west, will know
that I have no god-rivals.
I am God, the only God there is.
I form light and create darkness,
I make harmonies and create discords.
I, God, do all these things. ^8-10"Open up, heavens, and rain.
Clouds, pour out buckets of my goodness!
Loosen up, earth, and bloom salvation;
sprout right living.
I, God, generate all this.
But doom to you who fight your Maker—
you're a pot at odds with the potter!
Does clay talk back to the potter:
'What are you doing? What clumsy fingers!'
Would a sperm say to a father,
'Who gave you permission to use me to make a baby?'
Or a fetus to a mother,
'Why have you cooped me up in this belly?'"

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Ephesians 3:1-21 (The Message)

Ephesians 3

The Secret Plan of God

^1-3This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief. ^4-6As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
^7-8This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
^8-10And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
^11-13All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we're free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don't let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!
^14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
^20-21God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

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Psalm 68:1-18 (The Message)

Psalm 68

A David Psalm

^1-4 Up with God! Down with his enemies!
Adversaries, run for the hills!
Gone like a puff of smoke,
like a blob of wax in the fire—
one look at God and the wicked vanish.
When the righteous see God in action
they'll laugh, they'll sing,
they'll laugh and sing for joy.
Sing hymns to God;
all heaven, sing out;
clear the way for the coming of Cloud-Rider.
Enjoy God,
cheer when you see him!

^5-6 Father of orphans,
champion of widows,
is God in his holy house.
God makes homes for the homeless,
leads prisoners to freedom,
but leaves rebels to rot in hell.

^7-10 God, when you took the lead with your people,
when you marched out into the wild,
Earth shook, sky broke out in a sweat;
God was on the march.
Even Sinai trembled at the sight of God on the move,
at the sight of Israel's God.
You pour out rain in buckets, O God;
thorn and cactus become an oasis
For your people to camp in and enjoy.
You set them up in business;
they went from rags to riches.

^11-14 The Lord gave the word;
thousands called out the good news:
"Kings of the armies
are on the run, on the run!"
While housewives, safe and sound back home,
divide up the plunder,
the plunder of Canaanite silver and gold.
On that day that Shaddai scattered the kings,
snow fell on Black Mountain.

^15-16 You huge mountains, Bashan mountains,
mighty mountains, dragon mountains.
All you mountains not chosen,
sulk now, and feel sorry for yourselves,
For this is the mountain God has chosen to live on;
he'll rule from this mountain forever.

^17-18 The chariots of God, twice ten thousand,
and thousands more besides,
The Lord in the lead, riding down Sinai—
straight to the Holy Place!
You climbed to the High Place, captives in tow,
your arms full of booty from rebels,
And now you sit there in state,
God, sovereign God!

 

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Proverbs 24:1-2 (The Message)

Proverbs 24

Intelligence Outranks Muscle

19

^1-2 Don't envy bad people; don't even want to be around them.
All they think about is causing a disturbance;
all they talk about is making trouble.

 

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Verse of the Day

 

“Keep on being brave! It will bring you great rewards. Learn to be patient, so that you will please God and be given what he has promised.” - Hebrews 10:35-36

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

French poet, journalist, and novelist, Anatole France wrote, “It is by acts and not by ideas that people live.”

Bible Readings for April 16, 2016

Today our passages are Joshua 13:1–14:15; Luke 18:1-17; Psalm 85:1-13; and Proverbs 13:7-8. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal.

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Joshua 13-14:15 (The Message)

Joshua 13

The Receiving of the Land

^1-6When Joshua had reached a venerable age, God said to him, "You've had a good, long life, but there is a lot of land still to be taken. This is the land that remains: all the districts of the Philistines and Geshurites; the land from the Shihor River east of Egypt to the border of Ekron up north, Canaanite country (there were five Philistine tyrants—in Gaza, in Ashdod, in Ashkelon, in Gath, in Ekron); also the Avvim from the south; all the Canaanite land from Arah (belonging to the Sidonians) to Aphek at the Amorite border; the country of the Gebalites; all Lebanon eastward from Baal Gad in the shadow of Mount Hermon to the Entrance of Hamath; all who live in the mountains, from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim; all the Sidonians.
^6-7 "I myself will drive them out before the People of Israel. All you have to do is allot this land to Israel as an inheritance, as I have instructed you. Do it now: Allot this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh."

Land East of the Jordan

⁸ The other half-tribe of Manasseh, with the Reubenites and Gadites, had been given their inheritance by Moses on the other side of the Jordan eastward. Moses the servant of God gave it to them. ^9-13 This land extended from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the city in the middle of the valley, taking in the entire tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon, and all the towns of Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and out to the border of the Ammonites. It also included Gilead, the country of the people of Geshur and Maacah, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah—the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He was one of the last survivors of the Rephaim. Moses had defeated them and taken their land. The People of Israel never did drive out the Geshurites and the Maacathites—they're still there, living in Israel.
¹⁴ Levi was the only tribe that did not receive an inheritance. The Fire-Gift-Offerings to God, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as he told them.

Reuben

^15-22 To the tribe of Reuben, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the land from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the town in the middle of the valley, including the tableland around Medeba;
Heshbon on the tableland with all its towns (Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on Valley Mountain, Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth Jeshimoth);
and all the cities of the tableland, the whole kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled at Heshbon, whom Moses put to death along with the princes of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who lived in that country, all puppets of Sihon. (In addition to those killed in battle, Balaam son of Beor, the soothsayer, was put to death by the People of Israel.) ²³ The boundary for the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan River. This was the inheritance of the Reubenites, their villages and cities, according to their clans.

Gad

^24-27 To the tribe of Gad, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the territory of Jazer and all the towns of Gilead and half the Ammonite country as far as Aroer near Rabbah;
the land from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the region of Debir;
in the valley: Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the east side of the Jordan, north to the end of the Sea of Kinnereth). ²⁸ This was the inheritance of the Gadites, their cities and villages, clan by clan.

Half-Tribe of Manasseh

^29-31 To the half-tribe of Manasseh, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the land stretching out from Mahanaim;
all of Bashan, which is the entire kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the settlements of Jair in Bashan—sixty towns in all.
Half of Gilead with Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan, belong to the descendants of Makir, a son of Manasseh (in other words, the half-tribe of the children of Makir) for their clans. ^32-33 This is the inheritance that Moses gave out when he was on the plains of Moab across the Jordan east of Jericho. But Moses gave no inheritance to the tribe of Levi. God, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as he told them.

Joshua 14

Land West of the Jordan

^1-2Here are the inheritance allotments that the People of Israel received in the land of Canaan. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the family clans made the allotments. Each inheritance was assigned by lot to the nine and a half tribes, just as God had commanded Moses. ^3-4 Moses had given the two and a half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan, but hadn't given an inheritance to the Levites, as he had to the others. Because the sons of Joseph had become two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, they gave no allotment to the Levites; but they did give them cities to live in with pasture rights for their flocks and herds.
⁵ The People of Israel followed through exactly as God had commanded Moses. They apportioned the land.

Caleb

^6-12 The people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite spoke: "You'll remember what God said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me back at Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of God sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. And I brought back an honest and accurate report. My companions who went with me discouraged the people, but I stuck to my guns, totally with God, my God. That was the day that Moses solemnly promised, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance, you and your children's, forever. Yes, you have lived totally for God.' Now look at me: God has kept me alive, as he promised. It is now forty-five years since God spoke this word to Moses, years in which Israel wandered in the wilderness. And here I am today, eighty-five years old! I'm as strong as I was the day Moses sent me out. I'm as strong as ever in battle, whether coming or going. So give me this hill country that God promised me. You yourself heard the report, that the Anakim were there with their great fortress cities. If God goes with me, I will drive them out, just as God said." ^13-14 Joshua blessed him. He gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite still today, because he gave himself totally to God, the God of Israel.
¹⁵ The name of Hebron used to be Kiriath Arba, named after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.
And the land had rest from war.

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Luke 18:1-17 (The Message)

Luke 18

The Story of the Persistent Widow

^1-3Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, "There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: 'My rights are being violated. Protect me!'

^4-5"He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, 'I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won't quit badgering me, I'd better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I'm going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.'"

^6-8Then the Master said, "Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won't step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won't he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?"

The Story of the Tax Man and the Pharisee

^9-12He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: 'Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.'

¹³"Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, 'God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.'"

¹⁴Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

^15-17People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. "Let these children alone. Don't get between them and me. These children are the kingdom's pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."

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Psalm 85:1-13 (The Message)

Psalm 85

A Korah Psalm

^1-3 God, you smiled on your good earth! You brought good times back to Jacob!
You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people,
you put their sins far out of sight.
You took back your sin-provoked threats,
you cooled your hot, righteous anger.
^4-7 Help us again, God of our help;
don't hold a grudge against us forever.
You aren't going to keep this up, are you?
scowling and angry, year after year?
Why not help us make a fresh start—a resurrection life?
Then your people will laugh and sing!
Show us how much you love us, God!
Give us the salvation we need!

^8-9 I can't wait to hear what he'll say.
God's about to pronounce his people well,
The holy people he loves so much,
so they'll never again live like fools.
See how close his salvation is to those who fear him?
Our country is home base for Glory!

^10-13 Love and Truth meet in the street,
Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss!
Truth sprouts green from the ground,
Right Living pours down from the skies!
Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty;
our land responds with Bounty and Blessing.
Right Living strides out before him,
and clears a path for his passage.

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Proverbs 13:7-8 (The Message)

⁷ A pretentious, showy life is an empty life;
a plain and simple life is a full life.

⁸ The rich can be sued for everything they have,
but the poor are free of such threats.

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Verse of the Day

“[Love]Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands.” - Romans 13:8

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

French poet, journalist, and novelist, Anatole France wrote, “The acquisition of any knowledge is always of use to the intellect, because it may thus drive out useless things and retain the good. For nothing can be loved or hated unless it is first known.”

Bible Readings for September 24, 2014

Today our passages are Isaiah 43:14–45:10; Ephesians 3:1-21; Psalm 68:1-18; and Proverbs 24:1-2. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. 

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Isaiah 43:14-45:10 (The Message)

You Didn't Even Do the Minimum

^14-15God, your Redeemer,
The Holy of Israel, says:
"Just for you, I will march on Babylon.
I'll turn the tables on the Babylonians.
Instead of whooping it up,
they'll be wailing.
I am God, your Holy One,
Creator of Israel, your King." ^16-21This is what God says,
the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
they lie down and then can't get up;
they're snuffed out like so many candles:
"Forget about what's happened;
don't keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new.
It's bursting out! Don't you see it?
There it is! I'm making a road through the desert,
rivers in the badlands.
Wild animals will say 'Thank you!'
—the coyotes and the buzzards—
Because I provided water in the desert,
rivers through the sun-baked earth,
Drinking water for the people I chose,
the people I made especially for myself,
a people custom-made to praise me.
^22-24"But you didn't pay a bit of attention to me, Jacob.
You so quickly tired of me, Israel.
You wouldn't even bring sheep for offerings in worship.
You couldn't be bothered with sacrifices.
It wasn't that I asked that much from you.
I didn't expect expensive presents.
But you didn't even do the minimum—
so stingy with me, so closefisted.
Yet you haven't been stingy with your sins.
You've been plenty generous with them—and I'm fed up.
²⁵"But I, yes I, am the one
who takes care of your sins—that's what I do.
I don't keep a list of your sins.
^26-28"So, make your case against me. Let's have this out.
Make your arguments. Prove you're in the right.
Your original ancestor started the sinning,
and everyone since has joined in.
That's why I had to disqualify the Temple leaders,
repudiate Jacob and discredit Israel."

Isaiah 44

Proud to Be Called Israel

^1-5 "But for now, dear servant Jacob, listen—
yes, you, Israel, my personal choice.
God who made you has something to say to you;
the God who formed you in the womb wants to help you.
Don't be afraid, dear servant Jacob,
Jeshurun, the one I chose.
For I will pour water on the thirsty ground
and send streams coursing through the parched earth.
I will pour my Spirit into your descendants
and my blessing on your children.
They shall sprout like grass on the prairie,
like willows alongside creeks.
This one will say, 'I am God's,'
and another will go by the name Jacob;
That one will write on his hand 'God's property'—
and be proud to be called Israel." ^6-8God, King of Israel,
your Redeemer, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, says:
"I'm first, I'm last, and everything in between.
I'm the only God there is.
Who compares with me?
Speak up. See if you measure up.
From the beginning, who else has always announced what's coming?
So what is coming next? Anybody want to venture a try?
Don't be afraid, and don't worry:
Haven't I always kept you informed, told you what was going on?
You're my eyewitnesses:
Have you ever come across a God, a real God, other than me?
There's no Rock like me that I know of."

Lover of Emptiness

^9-11All those who make no-god idols don't amount to a thing, and what they work so hard at making is nothing. Their little puppet-gods see nothing and know nothing—they're total embarrassments! Who would bother making gods that can't do anything, that can't "god"? Watch all the no-god worshipers hide their faces in shame. Watch the no-god makers slink off humiliated when their idols fail them. Get them out here in the open. Make them face God-reality. ¹²The blacksmith makes his no-god, works it over in his forge, hammering it on his anvil—such hard work! He works away, fatigued with hunger and thirst.
^13-17The woodworker draws up plans for his no-god, traces it on a block of wood. He shapes it with chisels and planes into human shape—a beautiful woman, a handsome man, ready to be placed in a chapel. He first cuts down a cedar, or maybe picks out a pine or oak, and lets it grow strong in the forest, nourished by the rain. Then it can serve a double purpose: Part he uses as firewood for keeping warm and baking bread; from the other part he makes a god that he worships—carves it into a god shape and prays before it. With half he makes a fire to warm himself and barbecue his supper. He eats his fill and sits back satisfied with his stomach full and his feet warmed by the fire: "Ah, this is the life." And he still has half left for a god, made to his personal design—a handy, convenient no-god to worship whenever so inclined. Whenever the need strikes him he prays to it, "Save me. You're my god."
^18-19Pretty stupid, wouldn't you say? Don't they have eyes in their heads? Are their brains working at all? Doesn't it occur to them to say, "Half of this tree I used for firewood: I baked bread, roasted meat, and enjoyed a good meal. And now I've used the rest to make an abominable no-god. Here I am praying to a stick of wood!"
²⁰This lover of emptiness, of nothing, is so out of touch with reality, so far gone, that he can't even look at what he's doing, can't even look at the no-god stick of wood in his hand and say, "This is crazy."
^21-22"Remember these things, O Jacob.
Take it seriously, Israel, that you're my servant.
I made you, shaped you: You're my servant.
O Israel, I'll never forget you.
I've wiped the slate of all your wrongdoings.
There's nothing left of your sins.
Come back to me, come back.
I've redeemed you."
²³High heavens, sing!
God has done it.
Deep earth, shout!
And you mountains, sing!
A forest choir of oaks and pines and cedars!
God has redeemed Jacob.
God's glory is on display in Israel.
²⁴God, your Redeemer,
who shaped your life in your mother's womb, says:
"I am God. I made all that is.
With no help from you I spread out the skies
and laid out the earth."
^25-28He makes the magicians look ridiculous
and turns fortunetellers into jokes.
He makes the experts look trivial
and their latest knowledge look silly.
But he backs the word of his servant
and confirms the counsel of his messengers.
He says to Jerusalem, "Be inhabited,"
and to the cities of Judah, "Be rebuilt,"
and to the ruins, "I raise you up."
He says to Ocean, "Dry up.
I'm drying up your rivers."
He says to Cyrus, "My shepherd—
everything I want, you'll do it."
He says to Jerusalem, "Be built,"
and to the Temple, "Be established."

Isaiah 45

The God Who Forms Light and Darkness

^1-7 God's Message to his anointed, to Cyrus, whom he took by the hand
To give the task of taming the nations,
of terrifying their kings—
He gave him free rein,
no restrictions:
"I'll go ahead of you,
clearing and paving the road.
I'll break down bronze city gates,
smash padlocks, kick down barred entrances.
I'll lead you to buried treasures,
secret caches of valuables—
Confirmations that it is, in fact, I, God,
the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
It's because of my dear servant Jacob,
Israel my chosen,
That I've singled you out, called you by name,
and given you this privileged work.
And you don't even know me!
I am God, the only God there is.
Besides me there are no real gods.
I'm the one who armed you for this work,
though you don't even know me,
So that everyone, from east to west, will know
that I have no god-rivals.
I am God, the only God there is.
I form light and create darkness,
I make harmonies and create discords.
I, God, do all these things. ^8-10"Open up, heavens, and rain.
Clouds, pour out buckets of my goodness!
Loosen up, earth, and bloom salvation;
sprout right living.
I, God, generate all this.
But doom to you who fight your Maker—
you're a pot at odds with the potter!
Does clay talk back to the potter:
'What are you doing? What clumsy fingers!'
Would a sperm say to a father,
'Who gave you permission to use me to make a baby?'
Or a fetus to a mother,
'Why have you cooped me up in this belly?'"

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Ephesians 3:1-21 (The Message)

Ephesians 3

The Secret Plan of God

^1-3This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you're familiar with the part I was given in God's plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief. ^4-6As you read over what I have written to you, you'll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I've been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board.
^7-8This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.
^8-10And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
^11-13All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we're free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don't let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!
^14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
^20-21God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

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Psalm 68:1-18 (The Message)

Psalm 68

A David Psalm

^1-4 Up with God! Down with his enemies!
Adversaries, run for the hills!
Gone like a puff of smoke,
like a blob of wax in the fire—
one look at God and the wicked vanish.
When the righteous see God in action
they'll laugh, they'll sing,
they'll laugh and sing for joy.
Sing hymns to God;
all heaven, sing out;
clear the way for the coming of Cloud-Rider.
Enjoy God,
cheer when you see him!

^5-6 Father of orphans,
champion of widows,
is God in his holy house.
God makes homes for the homeless,
leads prisoners to freedom,
but leaves rebels to rot in hell.

^7-10 God, when you took the lead with your people,
when you marched out into the wild,
Earth shook, sky broke out in a sweat;
God was on the march.
Even Sinai trembled at the sight of God on the move,
at the sight of Israel's God.
You pour out rain in buckets, O God;
thorn and cactus become an oasis
For your people to camp in and enjoy.
You set them up in business;
they went from rags to riches.

^11-14 The Lord gave the word;
thousands called out the good news:
"Kings of the armies
are on the run, on the run!"
While housewives, safe and sound back home,
divide up the plunder,
the plunder of Canaanite silver and gold.
On that day that Shaddai scattered the kings,
snow fell on Black Mountain.

^15-16 You huge mountains, Bashan mountains,
mighty mountains, dragon mountains.
All you mountains not chosen,
sulk now, and feel sorry for yourselves,
For this is the mountain God has chosen to live on;
he'll rule from this mountain forever.

^17-18 The chariots of God, twice ten thousand,
and thousands more besides,
The Lord in the lead, riding down Sinai—
straight to the Holy Place!
You climbed to the High Place, captives in tow,
your arms full of booty from rebels,
And now you sit there in state,
God, sovereign God!

 

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Proverbs 24:1-2 (The Message)

Proverbs 24

Intelligence Outranks Muscle

19

^1-2 Don't envy bad people; don't even want to be around them.
All they think about is causing a disturbance;
all they talk about is making trouble.

 

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Verse of the Day

 

“Keep on being brave! It will bring you great rewards. Learn to be patient, so that you will please God and be given what he has promised.” - Hebrews 10:35-36

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

French poet, journalist, and novelist, Anatole France wrote, “It is by acts and not by ideas that people live.”

Bible Readings for April 16, 2014

Today our passages are Joshua 13:1–14:15; Luke 18:1-17; Psalm 85:1-13; and Proverbs 13:7-8. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you missed a day, you can find all the readings at our blog, The Bible in a Year.

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Joshua 13-14:15 (The Message)

Joshua 13

The Receiving of the Land

^1-6When Joshua had reached a venerable age, God said to him, "You've had a good, long life, but there is a lot of land still to be taken. This is the land that remains: all the districts of the Philistines and Geshurites; the land from the Shihor River east of Egypt to the border of Ekron up north, Canaanite country (there were five Philistine tyrants—in Gaza, in Ashdod, in Ashkelon, in Gath, in Ekron); also the Avvim from the south; all the Canaanite land from Arah (belonging to the Sidonians) to Aphek at the Amorite border; the country of the Gebalites; all Lebanon eastward from Baal Gad in the shadow of Mount Hermon to the Entrance of Hamath; all who live in the mountains, from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim; all the Sidonians.
^6-7 "I myself will drive them out before the People of Israel. All you have to do is allot this land to Israel as an inheritance, as I have instructed you. Do it now: Allot this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh."

Land East of the Jordan

⁸ The other half-tribe of Manasseh, with the Reubenites and Gadites, had been given their inheritance by Moses on the other side of the Jordan eastward. Moses the servant of God gave it to them. ^9-13 This land extended from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the city in the middle of the valley, taking in the entire tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon, and all the towns of Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, and out to the border of the Ammonites. It also included Gilead, the country of the people of Geshur and Maacah, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah—the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He was one of the last survivors of the Rephaim. Moses had defeated them and taken their land. The People of Israel never did drive out the Geshurites and the Maacathites—they're still there, living in Israel.
¹⁴ Levi was the only tribe that did not receive an inheritance. The Fire-Gift-Offerings to God, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as he told them.

Reuben

^15-22 To the tribe of Reuben, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the land from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the town in the middle of the valley, including the tableland around Medeba;
Heshbon on the tableland with all its towns (Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on Valley Mountain, Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth Jeshimoth);
and all the cities of the tableland, the whole kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled at Heshbon, whom Moses put to death along with the princes of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who lived in that country, all puppets of Sihon. (In addition to those killed in battle, Balaam son of Beor, the soothsayer, was put to death by the People of Israel.) ²³ The boundary for the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan River. This was the inheritance of the Reubenites, their villages and cities, according to their clans.

Gad

^24-27 To the tribe of Gad, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the territory of Jazer and all the towns of Gilead and half the Ammonite country as far as Aroer near Rabbah;
the land from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the region of Debir;
in the valley: Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the east side of the Jordan, north to the end of the Sea of Kinnereth). ²⁸ This was the inheritance of the Gadites, their cities and villages, clan by clan.

Half-Tribe of Manasseh

^29-31 To the half-tribe of Manasseh, clan by clan, Moses gave:
the land stretching out from Mahanaim;
all of Bashan, which is the entire kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the settlements of Jair in Bashan—sixty towns in all.
Half of Gilead with Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan, belong to the descendants of Makir, a son of Manasseh (in other words, the half-tribe of the children of Makir) for their clans. ^32-33 This is the inheritance that Moses gave out when he was on the plains of Moab across the Jordan east of Jericho. But Moses gave no inheritance to the tribe of Levi. God, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as he told them.

Joshua 14

Land West of the Jordan

^1-2Here are the inheritance allotments that the People of Israel received in the land of Canaan. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the family clans made the allotments. Each inheritance was assigned by lot to the nine and a half tribes, just as God had commanded Moses. ^3-4 Moses had given the two and a half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan, but hadn't given an inheritance to the Levites, as he had to the others. Because the sons of Joseph had become two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, they gave no allotment to the Levites; but they did give them cities to live in with pasture rights for their flocks and herds.
⁵ The People of Israel followed through exactly as God had commanded Moses. They apportioned the land.

Caleb

^6-12 The people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite spoke: "You'll remember what God said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me back at Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of God sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. And I brought back an honest and accurate report. My companions who went with me discouraged the people, but I stuck to my guns, totally with God, my God. That was the day that Moses solemnly promised, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance, you and your children's, forever. Yes, you have lived totally for God.' Now look at me: God has kept me alive, as he promised. It is now forty-five years since God spoke this word to Moses, years in which Israel wandered in the wilderness. And here I am today, eighty-five years old! I'm as strong as I was the day Moses sent me out. I'm as strong as ever in battle, whether coming or going. So give me this hill country that God promised me. You yourself heard the report, that the Anakim were there with their great fortress cities. If God goes with me, I will drive them out, just as God said." ^13-14 Joshua blessed him. He gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite still today, because he gave himself totally to God, the God of Israel.
¹⁵ The name of Hebron used to be Kiriath Arba, named after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.
And the land had rest from war.

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Luke 18:1-17 (The Message)

Luke 18

The Story of the Persistent Widow

^1-3Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, "There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: 'My rights are being violated. Protect me!'

^4-5"He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, 'I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won't quit badgering me, I'd better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I'm going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.'"

^6-8Then the Master said, "Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won't step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won't he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?"

The Story of the Tax Man and the Pharisee

^9-12He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people: "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: 'Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.'

¹³"Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, 'God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.'"

¹⁴Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

^15-17People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. "Let these children alone. Don't get between them and me. These children are the kingdom's pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."

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Psalm 85:1-13 (The Message)

Psalm 85

A Korah Psalm

^1-3 God, you smiled on your good earth! You brought good times back to Jacob!
You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people,
you put their sins far out of sight.
You took back your sin-provoked threats,
you cooled your hot, righteous anger.
^4-7 Help us again, God of our help;
don't hold a grudge against us forever.
You aren't going to keep this up, are you?
scowling and angry, year after year?
Why not help us make a fresh start—a resurrection life?
Then your people will laugh and sing!
Show us how much you love us, God!
Give us the salvation we need!

^8-9 I can't wait to hear what he'll say.
God's about to pronounce his people well,
The holy people he loves so much,
so they'll never again live like fools.
See how close his salvation is to those who fear him?
Our country is home base for Glory!

^10-13 Love and Truth meet in the street,
Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss!
Truth sprouts green from the ground,
Right Living pours down from the skies!
Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty;
our land responds with Bounty and Blessing.
Right Living strides out before him,
and clears a path for his passage.

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Proverbs 13:7-8 (The Message)

⁷ A pretentious, showy life is an empty life;
a plain and simple life is a full life.

⁸ The rich can be sued for everything they have,
but the poor are free of such threats.

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Verse of the Day

“[Love]Let love be your only debt! If you love others, you have done all that the Law demands.” - Romans 13:8

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

French poet, journalist, and novelist, Anatole France wrote, “An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don’t.”

Bible Readings for April 17, 2013

Today our passages are Joshua 15:1-63; Luke 18:18-43; Psalm 86:1-17; and Proverbs 13:9-10. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Joshua 15:1-63 (Contemporary English Version)

Joshua 15

Judah's Land

 ¹The clans of the Judah tribe were given land that went south along the border of Edom, and at its farthest point south it even reached the Zin Desert. ²Judah's southern border started at the south end of the Dead Sea. ³As it went west from there, it ran south of Scorpion Pass ^[a] to Zin, and then came up from the south to Kadesh-Barnea. It continued past Hezron up to Addar, turned toward Karka, ⁴and ran along to Azmon. After that, it followed the Egyptian Gorge and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This was also Israel's southern border. ⁵Judah's eastern border ran the full length of the Dead Sea.    The northern border started at the northern end of the Dead Sea. ^{[b] 6}From there it went west up to Beth-Hoglah, continued north of Beth-Arabah, and went up to the Monument of Bohan, ^[c] who belonged to the Reuben tribe. ⁷From there, it went to Trouble Valley ^[d] and Debir, ^[e] then turned north and went to Gilgal, ^[f] which is on the north side of the valley across from Adummim Pass. It continued on to Enshemesh, Enrogel, ⁸and up through Hinnom Valley on the land sloping south from Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem itself belonged to the Jebusites. Next, the border went up to the top of the mountain on the west side of Hinnom Valley and at the north end of Rephaim Valley. ⁹At the top of the mountain it turned and went to Nephtoah Spring and then to the ruins ^[g] on Mount Ephron. From there, it went to Baalah, which is now called Kiriath-Jearim. ¹⁰From Baalah the northern border curved west to Mount Seir and then ran along the northern ridge of Mount Jearim, where Chesalon is located. Then it went down to Beth-Shemesh ^[h] and over to Timnah. ¹¹It continued along to the hillside north of Ekron, curved around to Shikkeron, and then went to Mount Baalah. After going to Jabneel, the border finally ended at the Mediterranean Sea, ¹²which was Judah's western border. The clans of Judah lived within these borders.
   

Caleb's Land

(Judges 1.12-15)

 ¹³Joshua gave Caleb some land among the people of Judah, as God had told him to do. Caleb's share was Hebron, which at that time was known as Arba's Town, ^[i] because Arba was the famous ancestor of the Anakim. ^{[j] 14}Caleb attacked Hebron and forced the three Anakim clans of ^[k] Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai to leave. ¹⁵Next, Caleb started a war with the town of Debir, which at that time was called Kiriath-Sepher. ¹⁶He told his men, " The man who captures Kiriath-Sepher can marry my daughter Achsah." ¹⁷Caleb's nephew Othniel ^[l] captured Kiriath-Sepher, and Caleb let him marry Achsah. ¹⁸Right after the wedding, Achsah started telling Othniel that he ^[m] ought to ask her father for a field. She went to see her father, and while she was getting down from ^[n] her donkey, Caleb asked her, " What's bothering you?" ¹⁹She answered, " I need your help. The land you gave me is in the Southern Desert, so I really need some spring-fed ponds ^[o] for a water supply." Caleb gave her a couple of small ponds, named Higher Pond and Lower Pond. ^[p]

Towns in Judah's Land

 ²⁰The following is a list of the towns in each region given to the Judah clans:     ^21-32The first region was located in the Southern Desert along the border with Edom, and it had the following twenty-nine towns with their surrounding villages:
   Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah, Aradah, ^[q] Kedesh, Hazor of Ithnan, ^[r] Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, Hazor-Hadattah, Kerioth-Hezron, which is also called Hazor, Amam, Shema, Moladah, Hazar-Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-Pelet, Hazar-Shual, Beersheba and its surrounding villages, ^[s] Baalah, Iim, Ezem, Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, Lebaoth, Shilhim, and Enrimmon. ^{[t] 33-36}The second region was located in the northern part of the lower foothills, and it had the following fourteen towns with their surrounding villages:
   Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, Zanoah, En-Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim.
    ^37-41The third region was located in the southern part of the lower foothills, and it had the following sixteen towns with their surrounding villages:
   Zenan, Hadashah, Migdalgad, Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel, Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, Cabbon, Lahmas, ^[u] Chitlish, Gederoth, Beth-Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah. ^42-44The fourth region was located in the central part of the lower foothills, and it had the following nine towns with their surrounding villages:
   Libnah, Ether, Ashan, Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah.
    ^45-47The fifth region was located along the Mediterranean seacoast, and it had the following towns with their surrounding settlements and villages:
   Ekron and the towns between there and the coast, Ashdod and the larger towns nearby, Gaza, the towns from Gaza to the Egyptian Gorge, and the towns along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
    ^48-51The sixth region was in the southwestern part of the hill country, and it had the following eleven towns with their surrounding villages:
   Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, Dannah, Kiriath-Sannah, which is now called Debir, Anab, Eshtemoh, ^[v] Anim, Goshen, Holon, and Giloh. ^52-54The seventh region was located in the south-central part of Judah's hill country, and it had the following nine towns with their surrounding villages:
   Arab, Dumah, ^[w] Eshan, Janim, Beth-Tappuah, Aphekah, Humtah, Kiriath-Arba, which is now called Hebron, and Zior. ^55-57The eighth region was located in the southeastern part of the hill country, and it had the following ten towns with their surrounding villages:
   Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel, ^[x] Jokdeam, ^[y] Zanoah, Kain, Gibeah, ^[z] and Timnah. ^58-59The ninth region was located in the central part of Judah's hill country, and it had the following six towns with their surrounding villages:
   Halhul, Beth-Zur, Gedor, Maarath, Beth-Anoth, and Eltekon.
   The tenth region was located in the north-central part of Judah's hill country, and it had the following eleven towns with their surrounding villages:
   Tekoa, Ephrath, which is also called Bethlehem, Peor, Etam, Culon, Tatam, Shoresh, Kerem, Gallim, Bether, and Manahath. ^{[aa] 60}The eleventh region was located in the northern part of Judah's hill country, and it had the following two towns with their surrounding villages:
   Rabbah, and Kiriath-Baal, which is also called Kiriath-Jearim.
    ^61-62The twelfth region was located in the desert along the Dead Sea, and it had the following six towns with their surrounding villages:
   Beth-Arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, Salt Town, and En-Gedi.
   

The Jebusites

 ⁶³The Jebusites lived in Jerusalem, and the people of the Judah tribe could not capture the city and get rid of them. That's why Jebusites still live in Jerusalem along with the people of Judah. ^[ab]

Footnotes:

1. Joshua 15:3 Scorpion Pass: Or " Akrabbim Pass."
2. Joshua 15:5 at. . . Dead Sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
3. Joshua 15:6 Monument of Bohan: Or " Bohan Rock," possibly a natural rock formation.
4. Joshua 15:7 Trouble Valley: Or " Achor Valley."
5. Joshua 15:7 Debir: Not the same town as in 10.38,39.
6. Joshua 15:7 Gilgal: Not the same " Gilgal" as in 4.19.
7. Joshua 15:9 ruins: Hebrew; one ancient translation " towns."
8. Joshua 15:10 Beth-Shemesh: Probably the same town as the Ir-Shemesh of 19.41-46. Two other towns were also named Beth-Shemesh (see 19.17-23 and 19.35-39).
9. Joshua 15:13 Arba's Town: See the note at 14.15.
10. Joshua 15:13 Anakim: See the note at 11.21.
11. Joshua 15:14 clans of: Or " warriors."
12. Joshua 15:17 Caleb's nephew Othniel: Hebrew " Othniel the son of Caleb's brother Kenaz."
13. Joshua 15:18 Achsah. . . Othniel. . . he: Hebrew; one manuscript of one ancient translation and two ancient translations of the parallel in Judges 1.14 " Othniel. . . Achsah. . . she."
14. Joshua 15:18 getting down from: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
15. Joshua 15:19 spring-fed ponds: Or " wells."
16. Joshua 15:19 small ponds. . . Pond. . . Pond: Or " wells. . . Well. . . Well."
17. Joshua 15:21 Aradah: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
18. Joshua 15:21 Hazor of Ithnan: One ancient translation; Hebrew " Hazor and Ithnan."
19. Joshua 15:21 its. . . villages: One ancient translation; Hebrew " Biziothiah."
20. Joshua 15:21 Enrimmon: One ancient translation; Hebrew " Ain and Rimmon."
21. Joshua 15:37 Lahmas: Most Hebrew manuscripts; many other Hebrew manuscripts and one manuscript of one ancient translation " Lahmam."
22. Joshua 15:48 Eshtemoh: Another spelling for the name Eshtemoa (see 21.9-19).
23. Joshua 15:52 Dumah: Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and one ancient translation " Rumah."
24. Joshua 15:55 Jezreel: Not the same Jezreel as in 19.17-23.
25. Joshua 15:55 Jokdeam: Hebrew; one ancient translation " Jorkeam."
26. Joshua 15:55 Gibeah: Not the same Gibeah as in 18.25-28.
27. Joshua 15:58 The tenth region. . . Manahath: One ancient translation; the Hebrew text does not have these words.
28. Joshua 15:63 Jebusites. . . Judah: Israel captured Jerusalem in King David's time, but even then the Jebusites were not forced to leave.

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Luke 18:18-43 (Contemporary English Version)

A Rich and Important Man

(Matthew 19.16-30; Mark 10.17-31)

 ¹⁸An important man asked Jesus, "Good Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?"     ¹⁹Jesus said, "Why do you call me good? Only God is good. ²⁰You know the commandments: `Be faithful in marriage. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Respect your father and mother.' "
    ²¹He told Jesus, "I have obeyed all these commandments since I was a young man."
    ²²When Jesus heard this, he said, "There is one thing you still need to do. Go and sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower." ²³When the man heard this, he was sad, because he was very rich.
    ²⁴Jesus saw how sad the man was. So he said, "It's terribly hard for rich people to get into God's kingdom! ²⁵In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God's kingdom."
    ²⁶When the crowd heard this, they asked, "How can anyone ever be saved?"
    ²⁷Jesus replied, "There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything."
    ²⁸Peter said, "Remember, we left everything to be your followers!"
    ²⁹Jesus answered, "You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or wife or brothers or family or children because of God's kingdom ³⁰will be given much more in this life. And in the future world they will have eternal life."
   

Jesus Again Tells about His Death

(Matthew 20.17-19; Mark 10.32-34)

 ³¹Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and said:    We are now on our way to Jerusalem. Everything that the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will happen there. ³²He will be handed over to foreigners, ^[a] who will make fun of him, mistreat him, and spit on him. ³³They will beat him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life. ³⁴The apostles did not understand what Jesus was talking about. They could not understand, because the meaning of what he said was hidden from them.
   

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

(Matthew 20.29-34; Mark 10.46-52)

 ³⁵When Jesus was coming close to Jericho, a blind man sat begging beside the road. ³⁶The man heard the crowd walking by and asked what was happening. ³⁷Some people told him that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸So the blind man shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, ^[b] have pity on me!" ³⁹The people who were going along with Jesus told the man to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, "Son of David, have pity on me!" ⁴⁰Jesus stopped and told some people to bring the blind man over to him. When the blind man was getting near, Jesus asked, ⁴¹"What do you want me to do for you?"    "Lord, I want to see!" he answered.
    ⁴²Jesus replied, "Look and you will see! Your eyes are healed because of your faith." ⁴³Right away the man could see, and he went with Jesus and started thanking God. When the crowds saw what happened, they praised God.
   

Footnotes:

1. Luke 18:32 foreigners: The Romans, who ruled Judea at this time.
2. Luke 18:38 Son of David: The Jewish people expected the Messiah to be from the family of King David, and for this reason the Messiah was often called the " Son of David."

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Psalm 86:1-17 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 86

(A prayer by David.)

A Prayer for Help

 ¹Please listen, LORD,    and answer my prayer!
   I am poor and helpless.
    ²Protect me and save me
   because you are my God.
   I am your faithful servant,
   and I trust you.
    ³Be kind to me!
   I pray to you all day.
    ⁴Make my heart glad!
   I serve you,
   and my prayer is sincere.
    ⁵You willingly forgive,
   and your love is always there
   for those who pray to you.
    ⁶Please listen, LORD!
   Answer my prayer for help.
    ⁷When I am in trouble, I pray,
   knowing you will listen.
    ⁸No other gods are like you;
   only you work miracles.
    ⁹You created each nation,
   and they will all bow down
   to worship and honor you.
    ¹⁰You perform great wonders
   because you alone are God.
    ¹¹Teach me to follow you,
   and I will obey your truth.
   Always keep me faithful.
    ¹²With all my heart I thank you.
   I praise you, LORD God.
    ¹³Your love for me is so great
   that you protected me
   from death and the grave.
    ¹⁴Proud and violent enemies,
   who don't care about you,
   have ganged up to attack
   and kill me.
    ¹⁵But you, the Lord God,
   are kind and merciful.
   You don't easily get angry,
   and your love
   can always be trusted.
    ¹⁶I serve you, LORD,
   and I am the child
   of one of your servants.
   Look on me with kindness.
   Make me strong and save me.
    ¹⁷Show that you approve of me!
   Then my hateful enemies
   will feel like fools,
   because you have helped
   and comforted me.

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Proverbs 13:9-10 (Contemporary English Version)

⁹The lamp of a good person
   keeps on shining;
   the lamp of an evil person
   soon goes out.
    ¹⁰Too much pride causes trouble.
   Be sensible and take advice.

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Verse of the Day

“[Christ Is God's Power and Wisdom]The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work.” - 1 Corinthians 1:18

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

French poet, journalist, and novelist Anatole France wrote, “The finest words in the world are only vain sounds, if you cannot comprehend them.”