Bible Readings for June 10, 2014

Today our passages are 1 Kings 7:1-51; Acts 7:30-50; Psalm 128:1-6; and Proverbs 16:31-33. 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.

 

---

1 Kings 7:1-51 (The Message)

1 Kings 7

 ^1-5 It took Solomon another thirteen years to finish building his own palace complex. He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. There were four rows of cedar columns supporting forty-five cedar beams, fifteen in each row, and then roofed with cedar. Windows in groupings of three were set high in the walls on either side. All the doors were rectangular and arranged symmetrically.  ⁶ He built a colonnaded courtyard seventy-five feet long and forty-five wide. It had a roofed porch at the front with ample eaves.
 ⁷ He built a court room, the Hall of Justice, where he would decide judicial matters, and paneled it with cedar.
 ⁸ He built his personal residence behind the Hall on a similar plan. Solomon also built another one just like it for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married.
 ^9-12 No expense was spared—everything here, inside and out, from foundation to roof was constructed using high-quality stone, accurately cut and shaped and polished. The foundation stones were huge, ranging in size from twelve to fifteen feet, and of the very best quality. The finest stone was used above the foundation, shaped to size and trimmed with cedar. The courtyard was enclosed with a wall made of three layers of stone and topped with cedar timbers, just like the one in the porch of The Temple of God.

^13-14 King Solomon sent to Tyre and asked Hiram (not the king; another Hiram) to come. Hiram's mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. His father was a Tyrian and a master worker in bronze. Hiram was a real artist—he could do anything with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the bronze work.
 ^15-22 First he cast two pillars in bronze, each twenty-seven feet tall and eighteen feet in circumference. He then cast two capitals in bronze to set on the pillars; each capital was seven and a half feet high and flared at the top in the shape of a lily. Each capital was dressed with an elaborate filigree of seven braided chains and a double row of two hundred pomegranates, setting the pillars off magnificently. He set the pillars up in the entrance porch to The Temple; the pillar to the south he named Security (Jachin) and the pillar to the north Stability (Boaz). The capitals were in the shape of lilies.
 ^22-24 When the pillars were finished, Hiram's next project was to make the Sea—an immense round basin of cast metal fifteen feet in diameter, seven and a half feet tall, and forty-five feet in circumference. Just under the rim there were two bands of decorative gourds, ten gourds to each foot and a half. The gourds were cast in one piece with the Sea.
 ^25-26 The Sea was set on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; the bulls faced outward supporting the Sea on their hindquarters. The Sea was three inches thick and flared at the rim like a cup, or like a lily. It held about 11,500 gallons.
 ^27-33 Hiram also made ten washstands of bronze. Each was six feet square and four and a half feet tall. They were made like this: Panels were fastened to the uprights. Lions, bulls, and cherubim were represented on the panels and uprights. Beveled wreath-work bordered the lions and bulls above and below. Each stand was mounted on four bronze wheels with bronze axles. The uprights were cast with decorative relief work. Each stand held a basin on a circular engraved support a foot and a half deep set on a pedestal two and a quarter feet square. The washstand itself was square. The axles were attached under the stand and the wheels fixed to them. The wheels were twenty-seven inches in diameter; they were designed like chariot wheels. Everything—axles, rims, spokes, and hubs—was of cast metal.
 ^34-37 There was a handle at the four corners of each washstand, the handles cast in one piece with the stand. At the top of the washstand there was a ring about nine inches deep. The uprights and handles were cast with the stand. Everything and every available surface was engraved with cherubim, lions, and palm trees, bordered by arabesques. The washstands were identical, all cast in the same mold.
 ^38-40 He also made ten bronze washbasins, each six feet in diameter with a capacity of 230 gallons, one basin for each of the ten washstands. He arranged five stands on the south side of The Temple and five on the north. The Sea was placed at the southeast corner of The Temple. Hiram then fashioned the various utensils: buckets and shovels and bowls.
 ^40-45 Hiram completed all the work he set out to do for King Solomon on The Temple of God:
   two pillars;
   two capitals on top of the pillars;
   two decorative filigrees for the capitals;
   four hundred pomegranates for the two filigrees
      (a double row of pomegranates for each filigree);
   ten washstands each with its washbasin;
   one Sea;
   twelve bulls under the Sea;
   miscellaneous buckets, shovels, and bowls.
 ^45-47 All these artifacts that Hiram made for King Solomon for The Temple of God were of burnished bronze. He cast them in clay in a foundry on the Jordan plain between Succoth and Zarethan. These artifacts were never weighed—there were far too many! Nobody has any idea how much bronze was used.
 ^48-50 Solomon was also responsible for all the furniture and accessories in The Temple of God:
   the gold Altar;
   the gold Table that held the Bread of the Presence;
   the pure gold candelabras, five to the right and five to the
      left in front of the Inner Sanctuary;
   the gold flowers, lamps, and tongs;
   the pure gold dishes, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and
      censers;
   the gold sockets for the doors of the Inner Sanctuary, the Holy of
      Holies, used also for the doors of the Main Sanctuary.
 ⁵¹ That completed all the work King Solomon did on The Temple of God. He then brought in the items consecrated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the artifacts. He placed them all in the treasury of God's Temple.

---

Acts 7:30-50 (The Message)

 ^30-32"Forty years later, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to him in the guise of flames of a burning bush. Moses, not believing his eyes, went up to take a closer look. He heard God's voice: 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Frightened nearly out of his skin, Moses shut his eyes and turned away.
 ^33-34"God said, 'Kneel and pray. You are in a holy place, on holy ground. I've seen the agony of my people in Egypt. I've heard their groans. I've come to help them. So get yourself ready; I'm sending you back to Egypt.'
 ^35-39"This is the same Moses whom they earlier rejected, saying, 'Who put you in charge of us?' This is the Moses that God, using the angel flaming in the burning bush, sent back as ruler and redeemer. He led them out of their slavery. He did wonderful things, setting up God-signs all through Egypt, down at the Red Sea, and out in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to his congregation, 'God will raise up a prophet just like me from your descendants.' This is the Moses who stood between the angel speaking at Sinai and your fathers assembled in the wilderness and took the life-giving words given to him and handed them over to us, words our fathers would have nothing to do with.
 ^39-41"They craved the old Egyptian ways, whining to Aaron, 'Make us gods we can see and follow. This Moses who got us out here miles from nowhere—who knows what's happened to him!' That was the time when they made a calf-idol, brought sacrifices to it, and congratulated each other on the wonderful religious program they had put together.
 ^42-43"God wasn't at all pleased; but he let them do it their way, worship every new god that came down the pike—and live with the consequences, consequences described by the prophet Amos:

   Did you bring me offerings of animals and grains
      those forty wilderness years, O Israel?
   Hardly. You were too busy building shrines
      to war gods, to sex goddesses,
   Worshiping them with all your might.
      That's why I put you in exile in Babylon.
 ^44-47"And all this time our ancestors had a tent shrine for true worship, made to the exact specifications God provided Moses. They had it with them as they followed Joshua, when God cleared the land of pagans, and still had it right down to the time of David. David asked God for a permanent place for worship. But Solomon built it.
 ^48-50"Yet that doesn't mean that Most High God lives in a building made by carpenters and masons. The prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote,

   "Heaven is my throne room;
      I rest my feet on earth.
   So what kind of house
      will you build me?" says God.
   "Where I can get away and relax?
      It's already built, and I built it."

---

Psalm 128:1-6 (The Message)

Psalm 128

A Pilgrim Song

 ^1-2 All you who fear God, how blessed you are! how happily you walk on his smooth straight road!
   You worked hard and deserve all you've got coming.
      Enjoy the blessing! Revel in the goodness!

 ^3-4 Your wife will bear children as a vine bears grapes,
      your household lush as a vineyard,
   The children around your table
      as fresh and promising as young olive shoots.
   Stand in awe of God's Yes.
      Oh, how he blesses the one who fears God!

 ^5-6 Enjoy the good life in Jerusalem
      every day of your life.
   And enjoy your grandchildren.
      Peace to Israel!

 

---

 

Proverbs 16:31-33 (The Message)

 ³¹ Gray hair is a mark of distinction,
   the award for a God-loyal life.

 ³² Moderation is better than muscle,
   self-control better than political power.

 ³³ Make your motions and cast your votes,
   but God has the final say.

---

Verse of the Day

“Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you.” - Colossians 3:13

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

---

 

Thought for the Day

 

American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc., Mary Kay Ash wrote, “If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you’re right.”

Bible Readings for May 10, 2014

Today our passages are 1 Samuel 8:1–9:27; John 6:22-42; Psalm 106:32-48; and Proverbs 14:34-35. 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.

---

1 Samuel 8-9:27 (The Message)

1 Samuel 8

Rejecting God as the King

 ^1-3When Samuel got to be an old man, he set his sons up as judges in Israel. His firstborn son was named Joel, the name of his second, Abijah. They were assigned duty in Beersheba. But his sons didn't take after him; they were out for what they could get for themselves, taking bribes, corrupting justice.  ^4-5 Fed up, all the elders of Israel got together and confronted Samuel at Ramah. They presented their case: "Look, you're an old man, and your sons aren't following in your footsteps. Here's what we want you to do: Appoint a king to rule us, just like everybody else."
 ⁶ When Samuel heard their demand—"Give us a king to rule us!"—he was crushed. How awful! Samuel prayed to God.
 ^7-9 God answered Samuel, "Go ahead and do what they're asking. They are not rejecting you. They've rejected me as their King. From the day I brought them out of Egypt until this very day they've been behaving like this, leaving me for other gods. And now they're doing it to you. So let them have their own way. But warn them of what they're in for. Tell them the way kings operate, just what they're likely to get from a king."
 ^10-18 So Samuel told them, delivered God's warning to the people who were asking him to give them a king. He said, "This is the way the kind of king you're talking about operates. He'll take your sons and make soldiers of them—chariotry, cavalry, infantry, regimented in battalions and squadrons. He'll put some to forced labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and others to making either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury. He'll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses and cooks. He'll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He'll tax your harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy. Your prize workers and best animals he'll take for his own use. He'll lay a tax on your flocks and you'll end up no better than slaves. The day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this king you so much want for yourselves. But don't expect God to answer."
 ^19-20 But the people wouldn't listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We will have a king to rule us! Then we'll be just like all the other nations. Our king will rule us and lead us and fight our battles."
 ^21-22 Samuel took in what they said and rehearsed it with God. God told Samuel, "Do what they say. Make them a king."
    Then Samuel dismissed the men of Israel: "Go home, each of you to your own city."

1 Samuel 9

Saul—Head and Shoulders Above the Crowd

 ^1-2 There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin named Kish. He was the son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, great-grandson of Becorath, great-great-grandson of Aphiah—a Benjaminite of stalwart character. He had a son, Saul, a most handsome young man. There was none finer—he literally stood head and shoulders above the crowd!  ^3-4 Some of Kish's donkeys got lost. Kish said to his son, "Saul, take one of the servants with you and go look for the donkeys." Saul took one of the servants and went to find the donkeys. They went into the hill country of Ephraim around Shalisha, but didn't find them. Then they went over to Shaalim—no luck. Then to Jabin, and still nothing.
 ⁵ When they got to Zuph, Saul said to the young man with him, "Enough of this. Let's go back. Soon my father is going to forget about the donkeys and start worrying about us."
 ⁶ He replied, "Not so fast. There's a holy man in this town. He carries a lot of weight around here. What he says is always right on the mark. Maybe he can tell us where to go."
 ⁷ Saul said, "If we go, what do we have to give him? There's no more bread in our sacks. We've nothing to bring as a gift to the holy man. Do we have anything else?"
 ^8-9 The servant spoke up, "Look, I just happen to have this silver coin! I'll give it to the holy man and he'll tell us how to proceed!" (In former times in Israel, a person who wanted to seek God's word on a matter would say, "Let's visit the Seer," because the one we now call "the Prophet" used to be called "the Seer.")
 ¹⁰ "Good," said Saul, "let's go." And they set off for the town where the holy man lived.
 ¹¹ As they were climbing up the hill into the town, they met some girls who were coming out to draw water. They said to them, "Is this where the Seer lives?"
 ^12-13 They answered, "It sure is—just ahead. Hurry up. He's come today because the people have prepared a sacrifice at the shrine. As soon as you enter the town, you can catch him before he goes up to the shrine to eat. The people won't eat until he arrives, for he has to bless the sacrifice. Only then can everyone eat. So get going. You're sure to find him!"
 ¹⁴ They continued their climb and entered the city. And then there he was—Samuel!—coming straight toward them on his way to the shrine!
 ^15-16 The very day before, God had confided in Samuel, "This time tomorrow, I'm sending a man from the land of Benjamin to meet you. You're to anoint him as prince over my people Israel. He will free my people from Philistine oppression. Yes, I know all about their hard circumstances. I've heard their cries for help."
 ¹⁷ The moment Samuel laid eyes on Saul, God said, "He's the one, the man I told you about. This is the one who will keep my people in check."
 ¹⁸ Saul came up to Samuel in the street and said, "Pardon me, but can you tell me where the Seer lives?"
 ^19-20 "I'm the Seer," said Samuel. "Accompany me to the shrine and eat with me. In the morning I'll tell you all about what's on your mind, and send you on your way. And by the way, your lost donkeys—the ones you've been hunting for the last three days—have been found, so don't worry about them. At this moment, Israel's future is in your hands."
 ²¹ Saul answered, "But I'm only a Benjaminite, from the smallest of Israel's tribes, and from the most insignificant clan in the tribe at that. Why are you talking to me like this?"
 ^22-23 Samuel took Saul and his servant and led them into the dining hall at the shrine and seated them at the head of the table. There were about thirty guests. Then Samuel directed the chef, "Bring the choice cut I pointed out to you, the one I told you to reserve."
 ²⁴ The chef brought it and placed it before Saul with a flourish, saying, "This meal was kept aside just for you. Eat! It was especially prepared for this time and occasion with these guests."
    Saul ate with Samuel—a memorable day!
 ²⁵ Afterward they went down from the shrine into the city. A bed was prepared for Saul on the breeze-cooled roof of Samuel's house.
 ²⁶ They woke at the break of day. Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get up and I'll send you off." Saul got up and the two of them went out in the street.
 ²⁷ As they approached the outskirts of town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell your servant to go on ahead of us. You stay with me for a bit. I have a word of God to give you."

---

John 6:22-42 (The Message)

 ^22-24The next day the crowd that was left behind realized that there had been only one boat, and that Jesus had not gotten into it with his disciples. They had seen them go off without him. By now boats from Tiberias had pulled up near where they had eaten the bread blessed by the Master. So when the crowd realized he was gone and wasn't coming back, they piled into the Tiberias boats and headed for Capernaum, looking for Jesus.

 ²⁵When they found him back across the sea, they said, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"

 ²⁶Jesus answered, "You've come looking for me not because you saw God in my actions but because I fed you, filled your stomachs—and for free.

The Bread of Life

 ²⁷"Don't waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and what he does are guaranteed by God the Father to last."

 ²⁸To that they said, "Well, what do we do then to get in on God's works?"

 ²⁹Jesus said, "Throw your lot in with the One that God has sent. That kind of a commitment gets you in on God's works."

 ^30-31They waffled: "Why don't you give us a clue about who you are, just a hint of what's going on? When we see what's up, we'll commit ourselves. Show us what you can do. Moses fed our ancestors with bread in the desert. It says so in the Scriptures: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

 ^32-33Jesus responded, "The real significance of that Scripture is not that Moses gave you bread from heaven but that my Father is right now offering you bread from heaven, the real bread. The Bread of God came down out of heaven and is giving life to the world."

 ³⁴They jumped at that: "Master, give us this bread, now and forever!"

 ^35-38Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don't really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don't let go. I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim but to accomplish the will of the One who sent me.

 ^39-40"This, in a nutshell, is that will: that everything handed over to me by the Father be completed—not a single detail missed—and at the wrap-up of time I have everything and everyone put together, upright and whole. This is what my Father wants: that anyone who sees the Son and trusts who he is and what he does and then aligns with him will enter real life, eternal life. My part is to put them on their feet alive and whole at the completion of time."

 ^41-42At this, because he said, "I am the Bread that came down from heaven," the Jews started arguing over him: "Isn't this the son of Joseph? Don't we know his father? Don't we know his mother? How can he now say, 'I came down out of heaven' and expect anyone to believe him?"

---

Psalm 106:32-48 (The Message)

 ^32-33 They angered God again at Meribah Springs;
      this time Moses got mixed up in their evil;
   Because they defied God yet again,
      Moses exploded and lost his temper.

 ^34-39 They didn't wipe out those godless cultures
      as ordered by God;
   Instead they intermarried with the heathen,
      and in time became just like them.
   They worshiped their idols,
      were caught in the trap of idols.
   They sacrificed their sons and daughters
      at the altars of demon gods.
   They slit the throats of their babies,
      murdered their infant girls and boys.
   They offered their babies to Canaan's gods;
      the blood of their babies stained the land.
   Their way of life stank to high heaven;
      they lived like whores.

 ^40-43 And God was furious—a wildfire anger;
      he couldn't stand even to look at his people.
   He turned them over to the heathen
      so that the people who hated them ruled them.
   Their enemies made life hard for them;
      they were tyrannized under that rule.
   Over and over God rescued them, but they never learned—
      until finally their sins destroyed them.

 ^44-46 Still, when God saw the trouble they were in
      and heard their cries for help,
   He remembered his Covenant with them,
      and, immense with love, took them by the hand.
   He poured out his mercy on them
      while their captors looked on, amazed.

 ^47-48 Save us, God, our God!
      Gather us back out of exile
   So we can give thanks to your holy name
      and join in the glory when you are praised!

   Blessed be God, Israel's God!
   Bless now, bless always!
   Oh! Let everyone say Amen!
   Hallelujah!

---

Proverbs 14:34-35 (The Message)

 ³⁴ God-devotion makes a country strong;
   God-avoidance leaves people weak.

 ³⁵ Diligent work gets a warm commendation;
   shiftless work earns an angry rebuke.

---

Verse of the Day

“If one of my followers sins against you, go and point out what was wrong. But do it in private, just between the two of you. If that person listens, you have won back a follower.” - Matthew 18:15

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

---

 

Thought for the Day

 

American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc., Mary Kay Ash wrote, “We fall forward to succeed.”