Bible Readings for September 8, 2019

Today our passages are Isaiah 1:1–2:22; 2 Corinthians 10:1-18; Psalm 52:1-9; and Proverbs 22:26-27. 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 Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Isaiah 1-2:22 (Contemporary English Version)

Isaiah 1

 ¹I am Isaiah, the son of Amoz.

   And this is the message ^[a] that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah: ^[b]

A Guilty Nation

 ²The LORD has said,

   "Listen, heaven and earth!

   The children I raised

   have turned against me.

    ³Oxen and donkeys know

   who owns and feeds them,

   but my people won't ever learn."

    ⁴Israel, you are a sinful nation

   loaded down with guilt.

   You are wicked and corrupt

   and have turned from the LORD,

   the holy God of Israel.

    ⁵Why be punished more?

   Why not give up your sin?

   Your head is badly bruised,

   and you are weak all over.

    ⁶From your head to your toes

   there isn't a healthy spot.

   Bruises, cuts, and open sores

   go without care

   or oil to ease the pain.   

A Country in Ruins

 ⁷Your country lies in ruins;

   your towns are in ashes.

   Foreigners and strangers

   take and destroy your land

   while you watch.

    ⁸Enemies surround Jerusalem,

   alone like a hut

   in a vineyard ^[c] or in a cucumber field.

    ⁹Zion would have disappeared

   like Sodom and Gomorrah, ^[d] if the LORD All-Powerful

   had not let a few

   of its people survive.   

Justice, Not Sacrifices

 ¹⁰You are no better

   than the leaders and people

   of Sodom and Gomorrah!

   So listen to the LORD God:

    ¹¹"Your sacrifices

   mean nothing to me.

   I am sick of your offerings

   of rams and choice cattle;

   I don't like the blood

   of bulls or lambs or goats.

    ¹²"Who asked you to bring all this

   when you come to worship me?

   Stay out of my temple!

    ¹³Your sacrifices are worthless,

   and incense is disgusting.

   I can't stand the evil you do

   on your New Moon Festivals

   or on your Sabbaths

   and other times of worship.

    ¹⁴I hate your New Moon Festivals

   and all others as well.

   They are a heavy burden

   I am tired of carrying.

    ¹⁵"No matter how much you pray,

   I won't listen.

   You are too violent.

    ¹⁶Wash yourselves clean!

   I am disgusted

   with your filthy deeds.

   Stop doing wrong

    ¹⁷and learn to live right.

   See that justice is done.

   Defend widows and orphans

   and help those in need." ^[e]

An Invitation from the LORD

 ¹⁸I, the LORD, invite you

   to come and talk it over.

   Your sins are scarlet red,

   but they will be whiter

   than snow or wool.

    ¹⁹If you willingly obey me,

   the best crops in the land

   will be yours.

    ²⁰But if you turn against me,

   your enemies will kill you.

   I, the LORD, have spoken.   

The LORD Condemns Jerusalem

 ²¹Jerusalem, you are like

   an unfaithful wife.

   Once your judges were honest

   and your people lived right;

   now you are a city

   full of murderers.

    ²²Your silver is fake,

   and your wine

   is watered down.

    ²³Your leaders have rejected me

   to become friends of crooks;

   your rulers are looking

   for gifts and bribes.

   Widows and orphans

   never get a fair trial.

    ²⁴I am the LORD All-Powerful,

   the mighty ruler of Israel,

   and I make you a promise:

   You are now my enemy,

   and I will show my anger

   by taking revenge on you.

    ²⁵I will punish you terribly

   and burn away everything

   that makes you unfit

   to worship me.

    ²⁶Jerusalem, I will choose

   judges and advisors

   like those you had before.

   Your new name will be

   "Justice and Faithfulness."   

The LORD Will Save Jerusalem

 ²⁷Jerusalem, you will be saved

   by showing justice; ^[f] Zion's people who turn to me

   will be saved

   by doing right.

    ²⁸But those rebellious sinners

   who turn against me, the LORD,

   will all disappear.

    ²⁹You will be made ashamed

   of those groves of trees

   where you worshiped idols.

    ³⁰You will be like a grove of trees

   dying in a drought.

    ³¹Your strongest leaders

   will be like dry wood

   set on fire by their idols. ^[g] No one will be able to help,

   as they all go up in flames.

   

Isaiah 2

Peace That Lasts Forever

 ¹This is the message ^[h] that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem: ²In the future, the mountain

   with the LORD's temple

   will be the highest of all.

   It will reach above the hills;

   every nation will rush to it.

    ³Many people will come and say,

   "Let's go to the mountain

   of the LORD God of Jacob

   and worship in his temple."

   The LORD will teach us his Law

   from Jerusalem,

   and we will obey him.

    ⁴He will settle arguments

   between nations.

   They will pound their swords

   and their spears

   into rakes and shovels;

   they will never make war

   or attack one another.

    ⁵People of Israel, let's live

   by the light of the LORD.   

Following Sinful Customs

 ⁶Our LORD, you have deserted

   your people, Israel,

   because they follow customs

   of nations from the east.

   They worship Philistine gods

   and are close friends

   of foreigners. ^[i] ⁷They have endless treasures

   of silver and gold;

   they have countless horses

   and war chariots.

    ⁸Everywhere in the country

   they worship the idols

   they have made.

    ⁹And so, all of them

   will be ashamed and disgraced.

   Don't help them!   

A Day of Judgment

 ¹⁰Every one of you,

   go hide among the rocks

   and in the ground,

   because the LORD is fearsome,

   marvelous, and glorious.

    ¹¹When the LORD comes,

   everyone who is proud

   will be made humble,

   and the LORD alone

   will be honored.

    ¹²The LORD All-Powerful

   has chosen a day

   when those who are proud

   and conceited

   will be put down.

    ¹³The tall and towering

   cedars of Lebanon

   will be destroyed.

   So will the oak trees of Bashan,

    ¹⁴all high mountains and hills,

    ¹⁵every strong fortress,

    ¹⁶all the seagoing ships, ^[j] and every beautiful boat.

    ¹⁷When that day comes,

   everyone who is proud

   will be put down.

   Only the LORD will be honored.

    ¹⁸Idols will be gone for good.

    ¹⁹You had better hide

   in caves and holes--

   the LORD will be fearsome,

   marvelous, and glorious

   when he comes to terrify

   people on earth.

    ²⁰On that day everyone will throw

   to the rats and bats

   their idols of silver and gold

   they made to worship.

    ²¹The LORD will be fearsome,

   marvelous, and glorious

   when he comes to terrify

   people on earth--

   they will hide in caves

   and in the hills.

    ²²Stop trusting the power

   of humans.

   They are all going to die,

   so how can they help?

   

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 1:1 message: Or "vision."
2. Isaiah 1:1 kings of Judah: Uzziah (783-742 B.C.); Jotham (742-735 B.C.); Ahaz (735-715 B.C.); Hezekiah (715-687 B.C.).
3. Isaiah 1:8 a hut in a vineyard: When it was almost time for grapes to ripen, farmers would put up a temporary shelter or hut in the field or vineyard and stay there to keep thieves and wild animals away.
4. Isaiah 1:9 Sodom and Gomorrah: Two ancient cities of Palestine that God destroyed because the people were so wicked (see Genesis 19.1-29).
5. Isaiah 1:17 and help those in need: Or "and punish cruel people."
6. Isaiah 1:27 by showing justice: Or "by my saving power."
7. Isaiah 1:31 Your. . . idols: Or "Your wealth will be like dry wood, set on fire by its owners."
8. Isaiah 2:1 message: See the note at 1.1.
9. Isaiah 2:6 because. . . foreigners: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10. Isaiah 2:16 seagoing ships: The Hebrew text has "ships of Tarshish," which may have been a Phoenician city in Spain. "Ships of Tarshish" probably means large, seagoing ships.

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2 Corinthians 10:1-18 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Corinthians 10

Paul Defends His Work for Christ

 ¹Do you think I am a coward when I am with you and brave when I am far away? Well, I ask you to listen, because Christ himself was humble and gentle. ²Some people have said that we act like the people of this world. So when I arrive, I expect I will have to be firm and forceful in what I say to them. Please don't make me treat you that way. ³We live in this world, but we don't act like its people ⁴or fight our battles with the weapons of this world. Instead, we use God's power that can destroy fortresses. We destroy arguments ⁵and every bit of pride that keeps anyone from knowing God. We capture people's thoughts and make them obey Christ. ⁶And when you completely obey him, we will punish anyone who refuses to obey.

    ⁷You judge by appearances. ^[a] If any of you think you are the only ones who belong to Christ, then think again. We belong to Christ as much as you do. ⁸Maybe I brag a little too much about the authority that the Lord gave me to help you and not to hurt you. Yet I am not embarrassed to brag. ⁹And I am not trying to scare you with my letters. ¹⁰Some of you are saying, "Paul's letters are harsh and powerful. But in person, he is a weakling and has nothing worth saying." ¹¹Those people had better understand that when I am with you, I will do exactly what I say in my letters. ¹²We won't dare compare ourselves with those who think so much of themselves. But they are foolish to compare themselves with themselves. ¹³We won't brag about something we don't have a right to brag about. We will only brag about the work that God has sent us to do, and you are part of that work. ¹⁴We are not bragging more than we should. After all, we did bring the message about Christ to you.

    ¹⁵We don't brag about what others have done, as if we had done those things ourselves. But I hope that as you become stronger in your faith, we will be able to reach many more of the people around you. ^[b] That has always been our goal. ¹⁶Then we will be able to preach the good news in other lands where we cannot take credit for work someone else has already done. ¹⁷The Scriptures say, "If you want to brag, then brag about the Lord." ¹⁸You may brag about yourself, but the only approval that counts is the Lord's approval.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Corinthians 10:7 You judge by appearances: Or "Take a close look at yourselves."
2. 2 Corinthians 10:15 we will be able to reach many more of the people around you: Or "you will praise us even more because of our work among you."

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Psalm 52:1-9 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 52

(A special psalm by David for the music leader. He wrote this when Doeg from Edom went to Saul and said, "David has gone to Ahimelech's house.")

God Is in Control

 ¹You people may be strong

   and brag about your sins,

   but God can be trusted

   day after day.

    ²You plan brutal crimes,

   and your lying words cut

   like a sharp razor.

    ³You would rather do evil

   than good,

   and tell lies

   than speak the truth.

    ⁴You love to say cruel things,

   and your words are a trap.

    ⁵God will destroy you forever!

   He will grab you and drag you

   from your homes.

   You will be uprooted

   and left to die.

    ⁶When good people see

   this fearsome sight,

   they will laugh and say,

    ⁷"Just look at them now!

   Instead of trusting God,

   they trusted their wealth

   and their cruelty."

    ⁸But I am like an olive tree

   growing in God's house,

   and I can count on his love

   forever and ever.

    ⁹I will always thank God

   for what he has done;

   I will praise his good name

   when his people meet.

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Proverbs 22:26-27 (Contemporary English Version)

-3-

 ²⁶ Don't guarantee to pay

   someone else's debt.

    ²⁷If you don't have the money,

   you might lose your bed.

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Verse of the Day

“You are my God. Show me what you want me to do, and let your gentle Spirit lead me in the right path.” - Psalm 143:10

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

German organic chemist, August Kekulé wrote, “Let us learn to dream, gentlemen, and then perhaps we shall learn the truth . . . but let us beware of publishing our dreams before they have been put to the proof by the waking understanding.”

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A Joke for Today

A man is sent to prison for the first time. At night, the lights in the cell block are turned off, and his cellmate goes over to the bars and yells, "Number twelve!" The whole cell block breaks out laughing. A few minutes later, somebody else in the cell block yells, "Number four!" Again, the whole cell block breaks out laughing.

The new guy asks his cellmate what's going on. "Well," says the older prisoner, "we've all been in this here prison for so long, we all know the same jokes. So we just yell out the number instead of saying the whole joke."

So the new guy walks up to the bars and yells, "Number twenty-nine!" This time the whole cell block rocks with the loudest laughter, prisoners rolling on the floor laughing hysterically.

When the guffaws die down, the bewildered new guy turns to the older prisoner and asks, "How come you guys were laughing so hard this time?"

"Oh," says the older man wiping tears from his eyes, "we'd never heard that one before."

Bible Readings for November 15, 2018

Today our passages are Ezekiel 31:1–32:32; Hebrews 12:14-29; Psalm 113:1–114:8; and Proverbs 27:18-20. 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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Ezekiel 31-32:32 (The Message)

Ezekiel 31

The Funeral of the Big Tree

 ^1-9 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, God's Message came to me: "Son of man, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt, that pompous old goat:    "'Who do you, astride the world,
   think you really are?
Look! Assyria was a Big Tree, huge as a Lebanon cedar,
   beautiful limbs offering cool shade,
Skyscraper high,
   piercing the clouds.
The waters gave it drink,
   the primordial deep lifted it high,
Gushing out rivers around
   the place where it was planted,
And then branching out in streams
   to all the trees in the forest.
It was immense,
   dwarfing all the trees in the forest—
Thick boughs, long limbs,
   roots delving deep into earth's waters.
All the birds of the air
   nested in its boughs.
All the wild animals
   gave birth under its branches.
All the mighty nations
   lived in its shade.
It was stunning in its majesty—
   the reach of its branches!
   the depth of its water-seeking roots!
Not a cedar in God's garden came close to it.
   No pine tree was anything like it.
Mighty oaks looked like bushes
   growing alongside it.
Not a tree in God's garden
   was in the same class of beauty.
I made it beautiful,
   a work of art in limbs and leaves,
The envy of every tree in Eden,
   every last tree in God's garden.'"
 ^10-13 Therefore, God, the Master, says, "'Because it skyscrapered upward, piercing the clouds, swaggering and proud of its stature, I turned it over to a world-famous leader to call its evil to account. I'd had enough. Outsiders, unbelievably brutal, felled it across the mountain ranges. Its branches were strewn through all the valleys, its leafy boughs clogging all the streams and rivers. Because its shade was gone, everybody walked off. No longer a tree—just a log. On that dead log birds perch. Wild animals burrow under it.
 ¹⁴ "'That marks the end of the "big tree" nations. No more trees nourished from the great deep, no more cloud-piercing trees, no more earthborn trees taking over. They're all slated for death—back to earth, right along with men and women, for whom it's "dust to dust."
 ^15-17 "'The Message of God, the Master: On the day of the funeral of the Big Tree, I threw the great deep into mourning. I stopped the flow of its rivers, held back great seas, and wrapped the Lebanon mountains in black. All the trees of the forest fainted and fell. I made the whole world quake when it crashed, and threw it into the underworld to take its place with all else that gets buried. All the trees of Eden and the finest and best trees of Lebanon, well-watered, were relieved—they had descended to the underworld with it—along with everyone who had lived in its shade and all who had been killed.
 ¹⁸ "'Which of the trees of Eden came anywhere close to you in splendor and size? But you're slated to be cut down to take your place in the underworld with the trees of Eden, to be a dead log stacked with all the other dead logs, among the other uncircumcised who are dead and buried.
    "'This means Pharaoh, the pompous old goat.
    "'Decree of God, the Master.'" 

Ezekiel 32

A Cloud Across the Sun

 ^1-2 In the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, God's Message came to me: "Son of man, sing a funeral lament over Pharaoh king of Egypt. Tell him:    "'You think you're a young lion
   prowling through the nations.
You're more like a dragon in the ocean,
   snorting and thrashing about.
 ^3-10 "'God, the Master, says:
   "'I'm going to throw my net over you
   —many nations will get in on this operation—
   and haul you out with my dragnet.
I'll dump you on the ground
   out in an open field
And bring in all the crows and vultures
   for a sumptuous carrion lunch.
I'll invite wild animals from all over the world
   to gorge on your guts.
I'll scatter hunks of your meat in the mountains
   and strew your bones in the valleys.
The country, right up to the mountains,
   will be drenched with your blood,
   your blood filling every ditch and channel.
When I blot you out,
   I'll pull the curtain on the skies
   and shut out the stars.
I'll throw a cloud across the sun
   and turn off the moonlight.
I'll turn out every light in the sky above you
   and put your land in the dark.
         Decree of God, the Master.
I'll shake up everyone worldwide
   when I take you off captive to strange and far-off countries.
I'll shock people with you.
   Kings will take one look and shudder.
I'll shake my sword
   and they'll shake in their boots.
On the day you crash, they'll tremble,
   thinking, "That could be me!" 

To Lay Your Pride Low

 ^11-15 "'God, the Master, says:    "'The sword of the king of Babylon
   is coming against you.
I'll use the swords of champions
   to lay your pride low,
Use the most brutal of nations
   to knock Egypt off her high horse,
   to puncture that hot-air pomposity.
I'll destroy all their livestock
   that graze along the river.
Neither human foot nor animal hoof
   will muddy those waters anymore.
I'll clear their springs and streams,
   make their rivers flow clean and smooth.
         Decree of God, the Master.
When I turn Egypt back to the wild
   and strip her clean of all her abundant produce,
When I strike dead all who live there,
   then they'll realize that I am God.'
 ¹⁶"This is a funeral song. Chant it.
   Daughters of the nations, chant it.
Chant it over Egypt for the death of its pomp."
   Decree of God, the Master.
 ^17-19In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the first month, God's Message came to me:
   "Son of man, lament over Egypt's pompous ways.
   Send her on her way.
Dispatch Egypt
   and her proud daughter nations
To the underworld,
   down to the country of the dead and buried.
Say, 'You think you're so high and mighty?
   Down! Take your place with the heathen in that unhallowed grave!'
 ^20-21 "She'll be dumped in with those killed in battle. The sword is bared. Drag her off in all her proud pomp! All the big men and their helpers down among the dead and buried will greet them: 'Welcome to the grave of the heathen! Join the ranks of the victims of war!'
 ^22-23 "Assyria is there and its congregation, the whole nation a cemetery. Their graves are in the deepest part of the underworld, a congregation of graves, all killed in battle, these people who terrorized the land of the living.
 ^24-25 "Elam is there in all her pride, a cemetery—all killed in battle, dumped in her heathen grave with the dead and buried, these people who terrorized the land of the living. They carry their shame with them, along with the others in the grave. They turned Elam into a resort for the pompous dead, landscaped with heathen graves, slaughtered in battle. They once terrorized the land of the living. Now they carry their shame down with the others in deep earth. They're in the section set aside for the slain in battle.
 ^26-27 "Meshech-tubal is there in all her pride, a cemetery in uncircumcised ground, dumped in with those slaughtered in battle—just deserts for terrorizing the land of the living. Now they carry their shame down with the others in deep earth. They're in the section set aside for the slain. They're segregated from the heroes, the old-time giants who entered the grave in full battle dress, their swords placed under their heads and their shields covering their bones, those heroes who spread terror through the land of the living.
 ²⁸ "And you, Egypt, will be dumped in a heathen grave, along with all the rest, in the section set aside for the slain.
 ²⁹ "Edom is there, with her kings and princes. In spite of her vaunted greatness, she is dumped in a heathen grave with the others headed for the grave.
 ³⁰ "The princes of the north are there, the whole lot of them, and all the Sidonians who carry their shame to their graves—all that terror they spread with their brute power!—dumped in unhallowed ground with those killed in battle, carrying their shame with the others headed for deep earth.
 ³¹ "Pharaoh will see them all and, pompous old goat that he is, take comfort in the company he'll keep—Pharaoh and his slaughtered army. Decree of God, the Master.
 ³² "I used him to spread terror in the land of the living and now I'm dumping him in heathen ground with those killed by the sword—Pharaoh and all his pomp. Decree of God, the Master."

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Hebrews 12:14-29 (The Message)

 ^14-17Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears. 

An Unshakable Kingdom

 ^18-21Unlike your ancestors, you didn't come to Mount Sinai—all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble—to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop. When they heard the words—"If an animal touches the Mountain, it's as good as dead"—they were afraid to move. Even Moses was terrified.  ^22-24No, that's not your experience at all. You've come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. You've come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel's—a homicide that cried out for vengeance—became a proclamation of grace.
 ^25-27So don't turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn't get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time—he's told us this quite plainly—he'll also rock the heavens: "One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern." The phrase "one last shaking" means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.
 ^28-29Do you see what we've got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He's actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won't quit until it's all cleansed. God himself is Fire!

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Psalm 113-114:8 (The Message)

Psalm 113

    Hallelujah! You who serve God, praise God!
      Just to speak his name is praise!
   Just to remember God is a blessing—
      now and tomorrow and always.
   From east to west, from dawn to dusk,
      keep lifting all your praises to God!

 ^4-9 God is higher than anything and anyone,
      outshining everything you can see in the skies.
   Who can compare with God, our God,
      so majestically enthroned,
   Surveying his magnificent
      heavens and earth?
   He picks up the poor from out of the dirt,
      rescues the wretched who've been thrown out with the trash,
   Seats them among the honored guests,
      a place of honor among the brightest and best.
   He gives childless couples a family,
      gives them joy as the parents of children.
   Hallelujah!

Psalm 114

    After Israel left Egypt, the clan of Jacob left those barbarians behind;
   Judah became holy land for him,
      Israel the place of holy rule.
   Sea took one look and ran the other way;
      River Jordan turned around and ran off.
   The mountains turned playful and skipped like rams,
      the hills frolicked like spring lambs.
   What's wrong with you, Sea, that you ran away?
      and you, River Jordan, that you turned and ran off?
   And mountains, why did you skip like rams?
      and you, hills, frolic like spring lambs?
   Tremble, Earth! You're in the Lord's presence!
      in the presence of Jacob's God.
   He turned the rock into a pool of cool water,
      turned flint into fresh spring water.

 

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Proverbs 27:18-20 (The Message)

If you care for your orchard, you’ll enjoy its fruit;

if you honor your boss, you’ll be honored.

Just as water mirrors your face,

so your face mirrors your heart.

Hell has a voracious appetite,

and lust just never quits.

 

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Verse of the Day

 

“I am in deep distress, but I love your teachings.” - Psalm 119:143 

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American artist, Georgia O'Keeffe wrote, “I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught.”

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A Joke for Today

The hunched-back man decides very reluctantly, that he should go see a doctor after a few too many people have started to comment on his back.

Doctor: I need for you to get undressed, sir.

(Hunchback removes jacket and then stops) 

Hunchback: I really don't like getting undressed, doctor.

Doctor: If you want me to examine your back you'll have to get undressed.

(Hunchback removes his shirt but leaves his t-shirt on) 

Hunchback: I don't like showing people my back. They always laugh at me.

Doctor: Do you want me to examine your back or not?

(Very reluctantly, the hunchback removes his t-shirt)

Doctor: Ah...just how long is it since you were in school?

Hunchback: Gosh, over 20 years, doctor. Why?

Doctor: Did you ever wonder all those years what happened to your backpack?

Bible Readings for May 6, 2018

Today our passages are Ruth 2:1–4:22; John 4:43-54; Psalm 105:16-36; and Proverbs 14:26-27. 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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Ruth 2-4:22 (The Message)

Ruth 2

 ¹It so happened that Naomi had a relative by marriage, a man prominent and rich, connected with Elimelech's family. His name was Boaz.  ² One day Ruth, the Moabite foreigner, said to Naomi, "I'm going to work; I'm going out to glean among the sheaves, following after some harvester who will treat me kindly." Naomi said, "Go ahead, dear daughter."
 ^3-4 And so she set out. She went and started gleaning in a field, following in the wake of the harvesters. Eventually she ended up in the part of the field owned by Boaz, her father-in-law Elimelech's relative. A little later Boaz came out from Bethlehem, greeting his harvesters, "God be with you!" They replied, "And God bless you!"
 ⁵ Boaz asked his young servant who was foreman over the farm hands, "Who is this young woman? Where did she come from?"
 ^6-7 The foreman said, "Why, that's the Moabite girl, the one who came with Naomi from the country of Moab. She asked permission. 'Let me glean,' she said, 'and gather among the sheaves following after your harvesters.' She's been at it steady ever since, from early morning until now, without so much as a break."
 ^8-9 Then Boaz spoke to Ruth: "Listen, my daughter. From now on don't go to any other field to glean—stay right here in this one. And stay close to my young women. Watch where they are harvesting and follow them. And don't worry about a thing; I've given orders to my servants not to harass you. When you get thirsty, feel free to go and drink from the water buckets that the servants have filled."
 ¹⁰ She dropped to her knees, then bowed her face to the ground. "How does this happen that you should pick me out and treat me so kindly—me, a foreigner?"
 ^11-12 Boaz answered her, "I've heard all about you—heard about the way you treated your mother-in-law after the death of her husband, and how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and have come to live among a bunch of total strangers. God reward you well for what you've done—and with a generous bonus besides from God, to whom you've come seeking protection under his wings."
 ¹³ She said, "Oh sir, such grace, such kindness—I don't deserve it. You've touched my heart, treated me like one of your own. And I don't even belong here!"
 ¹⁴ At the lunch break, Boaz said to her, "Come over here; eat some bread. Dip it in the wine."
    So she joined the harvesters. Boaz passed the roasted grain to her. She ate her fill and even had some left over.
 ^15-16 When she got up to go back to work, Boaz ordered his servants: "Let her glean where there's still plenty of grain on the ground—make it easy for her. Better yet, pull some of the good stuff out and leave it for her to glean. Give her special treatment."
 ^17-18 Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. When she threshed out what she had gathered, she ended up with nearly a full sack of barley! She gathered up her gleanings, went back to town, and showed her mother-in-law the results of her day's work; she also gave her the leftovers from her lunch.
 ¹⁹ Naomi asked her, "So where did you glean today? Whose field? God bless whoever it was who took such good care of you!"
    Ruth told her mother-in-law, "The man with whom I worked today? His name is Boaz."
 ²⁰ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "Why, God bless that man! God hasn't quite walked out on us after all! He still loves us, in bad times as well as good!"
    Naomi went on, "That man, Ruth, is one of our circle of covenant redeemers, a close relative of ours!"
 ²¹ Ruth the Moabitess said, "Well, listen to this: He also told me, 'Stick with my workers until my harvesting is finished.'"
 ²² Naomi said to Ruth, "That's wonderful, dear daughter! Do that! You'll be safe in the company of his young women; no danger now of being raped in some stranger's field."
 ²³ So Ruth did it—she stuck close to Boaz's young women, gleaning in the fields daily until both the barley and wheat harvesting were finished. And she continued living with her mother-in-law. 

Ruth 3

 ^1-2One day her mother-in-law Naomi said to Ruth, "My dear daughter, isn't it about time I arranged a good home for you so you can have a happy life? And isn't Boaz our close relative, the one with whose young women you've been working? Maybe it's time to make our move. Tonight is the night of Boaz's barley harvest at the threshing floor.  ^3-4"Take a bath. Put on some perfume. Get all dressed up and go to the threshing floor. But don't let him know you're there until the party is well under way and he's had plenty of food and drink. When you see him slipping off to sleep, watch where he lies down and then go there. Lie at his feet to let him know that you are available to him for marriage. Then wait and see what he says. He'll tell you what to do."
 ⁵ Ruth said, "If you say so, I'll do it, just as you've told me."
 ⁶ She went down to the threshing floor and put her mother-in-law's plan into action.
 ⁷ Boaz had a good time, eating and drinking his fill—he felt great. Then he went off to get some sleep, lying down at the end of a stack of barley. Ruth quietly followed; she lay down to signal her availability for marriage.
 ⁸ In the middle of the night the man was suddenly startled and sat up. Surprise! This woman asleep at his feet!
 ⁹ He said, "And who are you?"
    She said, "I am Ruth, your maiden; take me under your protecting wing. You're my close relative, you know, in the circle of covenant redeemers—you do have the right to marry me."
 ^10-13 He said, "God bless you, my dear daughter! What a splendid expression of love! And when you could have had your pick of any of the young men around. And now, my dear daughter, don't you worry about a thing; I'll do all you could want or ask. Everybody in town knows what a courageous woman you are— a real prize! You're right, I am a close relative to you, but there is one even closer than I am. So stay the rest of the night. In the morning, if he wants to exercise his customary rights and responsibilities as the closest covenant redeemer, he'll have his chance; but if he isn't interested, as God lives, I'll do it. Now go back to sleep until morning."
 ¹⁴ Ruth slept at his feet until dawn, but she got up while it was still dark and wouldn't be recognized. Then Boaz said to himself, "No one must know that Ruth came to the threshing floor."
 ¹⁵ So Boaz said, "Bring the shawl you're wearing and spread it out."
    She spread it out and he poured it full of barley, six measures, and put it on her shoulders. Then she went back to town.
 ^16-17 When she came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "And how did things go, my dear daughter?"
    Ruth told her everything that the man had done for her, adding, "And he gave me all this barley besides—six quarts! He told me, 'You can't go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law!'"
 ¹⁸ Naomi said, "Sit back and relax, my dear daughter, until we find out how things turn out; that man isn't going to fool around. Mark my words, he's going to get everything wrapped up today." 

Ruth 4

 ¹ Boaz went straight to the public square and took his place there.    Before long the "closer relative," the one mentioned earlier by Boaz, strolled by.
    "Step aside, old friend," said Boaz. "Take a seat." The man sat down.
 ² Boaz then gathered ten of the town elders together and said, "Sit down here with us; we've got some business to take care of." And they sat down.
 ^3-4 Boaz then said to his relative, "The piece of property that belonged to our relative Elimelech is being sold by his widow Naomi, who has just returned from the country of Moab. I thought you ought to know about it. Buy it back if you want it—you can make it official in the presence of those sitting here and before the town elders. You have first redeemer rights. If you don't want it, tell me so I'll know where I stand. You're first in line to do this and I'm next after you."
    He said, "I'll buy it."
 ⁵ Then Boaz added, "You realize, don't you, that when you buy the field from Naomi, you also get Ruth the Moabite, the widow of our dead relative, along with the redeemer responsibility to have children with her to carry on the family inheritance."
 ⁶ Then the relative said, "Oh, I can't do that—I'd jeopardize my own family's inheritance. You go ahead and buy it—you can have my rights— I can't do it."

⁷ In the olden times in Israel, this is how they handled official business regarding matters of property and inheritance: a man would take off his shoe and give it to the other person. This was the same as an official seal or personal signature in Israel.
 ⁸ So when Boaz's "redeemer" relative said, "Go ahead and buy it," he signed the deal by pulling off his shoe.
 ^9-10 Boaz then addressed the elders and all the people in the town square that day: "You are witnesses today that I have bought from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech and Kilion and Mahlon, including responsibility for Ruth the foreigner, the widow of Mahlon—I'll take her as my wife and keep the name of the deceased alive along with his inheritance. The memory and reputation of the deceased is not going to disappear out of this family or from his hometown. To all this you are witnesses this very day."
 ^11-12 All the people in the town square that day, backing up the elders, said, "Yes, we are witnesses. May God make this woman who is coming into your household like Rachel and Leah, the two women who built the family of Israel. May God make you a pillar in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem! With the children God gives you from this young woman, may your family rival the family of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah."

¹³ Boaz married Ruth. She became his wife. Boaz slept with her. By God's gracious gift she conceived and had a son.
 ^14-15 The town women said to Naomi, "Blessed be God! He didn't leave you without family to carry on your life. May this baby grow up to be famous in Israel! He'll make you young again! He'll take care of you in old age. And this daughter-in-law who has brought him into the world and loves you so much, why, she's worth more to you than seven sons!"
 ¹⁶ Naomi took the baby and held him in her arms, cuddling him, cooing over him, waiting on him hand and foot.
 ¹⁷ The neighborhood women started calling him "Naomi's baby boy!" But his real name was Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.

^18-22 This is the family tree of Perez: Perez had Hezron,
   Hezron had Ram,
   Ram had Amminadab,
   Amminadab had Nahshon,
   Nahshon had Salmon,
   Salmon had Boaz,
   Boaz had Obed,
   Obed had Jesse,
   and Jesse had David.

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John 4:43-54 (The Message)

 ^43-45After the two days he left for Galilee. Now, Jesus knew well from experience that a prophet is not respected in the place where he grew up. So when he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, but only because they were impressed with what he had done in Jerusalem during the Passover Feast, not that they really had a clue about who he was or what he was up to.

 ^46-48Now he was back in Cana of Galilee, the place where he made the water into wine. Meanwhile in Capernaum, there was a certain official from the king's court whose son was sick. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and asked that he come down and heal his son, who was on the brink of death. Jesus put him off: "Unless you people are dazzled by a miracle, you refuse to believe."

 ⁴⁹But the court official wouldn't be put off. "Come down! It's life or death for my son."

 ^50-51Jesus simply replied, "Go home. Your son lives."

   The man believed the bare word Jesus spoke and headed home. On his way back, his servants intercepted him and announced, "Your son lives!"

 ^52-53He asked them what time he began to get better. They said, "The fever broke yesterday afternoon at one o'clock." The father knew that that was the very moment Jesus had said, "Your son lives."

 ^53-54That clinched it. Not only he but his entire household believed. This was now the second sign Jesus gave after having come from Judea into Galilee.

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Psalm 105:16-36 (The Message)

 ^16-22 Then he called down a famine on the country,
      he broke every last blade of wheat.
   But he sent a man on ahead:
      Joseph, sold as a slave.
   They put cruel chains on his ankles,
      an iron collar around his neck,
   Until God's word came to the Pharaoh,
      and God confirmed his promise.
   God sent the king to release him.
      The Pharaoh set Joseph free;
   He appointed him master of his palace,
      put him in charge of all his business
   To personally instruct his princes
      and train his advisors in wisdom.

 ^23-42 Then Israel entered Egypt,
      Jacob immigrated to the Land of Ham.
   God gave his people lots of babies;
      soon their numbers alarmed their foes.
   He turned the Egyptians against his people;
      they abused and cheated God's servants.
   Then he sent his servant Moses,
      and Aaron, whom he also chose.
   They worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland,
      miracles in the Land of Ham.
   He spoke, "Darkness!" and it turned dark—
      they couldn't see what they were doing.
   He turned all their water to blood
      so that all their fish died;
   He made frogs swarm through the land,
      even into the king's bedroom;
   He gave the word and flies swarmed,
      gnats filled the air.
   He substituted hail for rain,
      he stabbed their land with lightning;
   He wasted their vines and fig trees,
      smashed their groves of trees to splinters;
   With a word he brought in locusts,
      millions of locusts, armies of locusts;
   They consumed every blade of grass in the country
      and picked the ground clean of produce;
   He struck down every firstborn in the land,
      the first fruits of their virile powers.
   He led Israel out, their arms filled with loot,
      and not one among his tribes even stumbled.
   Egypt was glad to have them go—
      they were scared to death of them.
   God spread a cloud to keep them cool through the day
      and a fire to light their way through the night;
   They prayed and he brought quail,
      filled them with the bread of heaven;
   He opened the rock and water poured out;
      it flowed like a river through that desert—
   All because he remembered his Covenant,
      his promise to Abraham, his servant.

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Proverbs 14:26-27 (The Message)

 ²⁶ The Fear-of-God builds up confidence,
   and makes a world safe for your children.

 ²⁷ The Fear-of-God is a spring of living water
   so you won't go off drinking from poisoned wells.

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Verse of the Day

“If you have sinned, you should tell each other what you have done. Then you can pray for one another and be healed. The prayer of an innocent person is powerful, and it can help a lot.” - James 5:16

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

German-Jewish political writer and satirist, Ludwig Börne wrote, “Getting rid of a delusion makes us wiser than getting hold of a truth.”

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A Joke for Today

There was a guy in the middle of the desert and his car broke down.

He started walking and he came to a monastery, where he asked them if he could borrow a mule.

The monks lent him one, and they explained that you had to say "Thank the Lord!" to make it go and "Amen!" to make it stop.

So the man said, "Thank the Lord, thank the Lord and thank the Lord!" and the mule took off! He was coming to the edge of a cliff and he forgot how to make it stop.

Finally, at the very edge he remembered, "Amen!" The guy was so relieved he shouted, "Thank the Lord!"