Bible Readings for January 31. 2015

Today our passages are Exodus 12:14–13:16; Matthew 20:29–21:22; Psalm 25:16-22; and Proverbs 6:12-15. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.  

---

Exodus 12:14-13:16 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁴Remember this day and celebrate it each year as a festival in my honor. ¹⁵For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. And on the first of these seven days, you must remove all yeast from your homes. If you eat anything made with yeast during this festival, you will no longer be part of Israel. ¹⁶Meet together for worship on the first and seventh days of the festival. The only work you are allowed to do on either of these two days is that of preparing the bread.
¹⁷Celebrate this Festival of Thin Bread as a way of remembering the day that I brought your families and tribes out of Egypt. And do this each year. ¹⁸Begin on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month by eating bread made without yeast. Then continue this celebration until the evening of the twenty-first day. ¹⁹During these seven days no yeast is allowed in anyone's home, whether they are native Israelites or not. If you are caught eating anything made with yeast, you will no longer be part of Israel. ²⁰Stay away from yeast, no matter where you live. No one is allowed to eat anything made with yeast!
²¹Moses called the leaders of Israel together and said:
Each family is to pick out a sheep and kill it for Passover. ²²Make a brush from a few small branches of a hyssop plant and dip the brush in the bowl that has the blood of the animal in it. Then brush some of the blood above the door and on the posts at each side of the door of your house. After this, everyone is to stay inside.
²³During that night the LORD will go through the country of Egypt and kill the first-born son in every Egyptian family. He will see where you have put the blood, and he will not come into your house. His angel that brings death will pass over and not kill your first-born sons.
^24-25After you have entered the country promised to you by the LORD, you and your children must continue to celebrate Passover each year. ²⁶Your children will ask you, " What are we celebrating?" ²⁷And you will answer, " The Passover animal is killed to honor the LORD. We do these things because on that night long ago the LORD passed over the homes of our people in Egypt. He killed the first-born sons of the Egyptians, but he saved our children from death."
After Moses finished speaking, the people of Israel knelt down and worshiped the LORD. ²⁸Then they left and did what Moses and Aaron had told them to do.

Death for the First-Born Sons

²⁹At midnight the LORD killed the first-born son of every Egyptian family, from the son of the king ^[a] to the son of every prisoner in jail. He also killed the first-born male of every animal that belonged to the Egyptians. ³⁰That night the king, his officials, and everyone else in Egypt got up and started crying bitterly. In every Egyptian home, someone was dead.

The People of Israel Escape from Egypt

³¹During the night the king ^[b] sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, " Get your people out of my country and leave us alone! Go and worship the LORD, as you have asked. ³²Take your sheep, goats, and cattle, and get out. But ask your God to be kind to me." ³³The Egyptians did everything they could to get the Israelites to leave their country fast. They said, " Please hurry and leave. If you don't, we will all be dead." ³⁴So the Israelites quickly made some bread dough and put it in pans. But they did not mix any yeast in the dough to make it rise. They wrapped cloth around the pans and carried them on their shoulders. ³⁵The Israelites had already done what Moses had told them to do. They had gone to their Egyptian neighbors and asked for gold and silver and for clothes. ³⁶The LORD had made the Egyptians friendly toward the people of Israel, and they gave them whatever they asked for. In this way they carried away the wealth of the Egyptians when they left Egypt.
³⁷The Israelites walked from the city of Rameses to the city of Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand of them, not counting women and children. ³⁸Many other people went with them as well, and there were also a lot of sheep, goats, and cattle. ³⁹They left Egypt in such a hurry that they did not have time to prepare any food except the bread dough made without yeast. So they baked it and made thin bread.
^40-41The LORD's people left Egypt exactly four hundred thirty years after they had arrived. ⁴²On that night the LORD kept watch for them, and on this same night each year Israel will always keep watch in honor of the LORD.

Instructions for Passover

⁴³The LORD gave Moses and Aaron the following instructions for celebrating Passover: No one except Israelites may eat the Passover meal.
⁴⁴Your slaves may eat the meal if they have been circumcised, ⁴⁵but no foreigners who work for you are allowed to have any.
⁴⁶The entire meal must be eaten inside, and no one may leave the house during the celebration.
No bones of the Passover lamb may be broken. ⁴⁷And all Israelites must take part in the meal.
⁴⁸If anyone who isn't an Israelite wants to celebrate Passover with you, every man and boy in that family must first be circumcised. Then they may join in the meal, just like native Israelites. No uncircumcised man or boy may eat the Passover meal! ⁴⁹This law applies both to native Israelites and to those foreigners who live among you.
⁵⁰The Israelites obeyed everything the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron to tell them. ⁵¹And on that same day the LORD brought Israel's families and tribes out of Egypt.

Exodus 13

Dedication of the First-Born

¹The LORD said to Moses, ²" Dedicate to me the first-born son of every family and the first-born males of your flocks and herds. These belong to me."

The Festival of Thin Bread

^3-4Moses said to the people: Remember this day in the month of Abib. ^[c] It is the day when the LORD's mighty power rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves. Do not eat anything made with yeast. ⁵The LORD promised your ancestors that he would bring you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. It is a land rich with milk and honey. Each year during the month of Abib, celebrate these events in the following way: ⁶For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast, and on the seventh day you are to celebrate a festival in honor of the LORD. ⁷During those seven days, you must not eat anything made with yeast or even have yeast anywhere near your homes. ⁸Then on the seventh day you must explain to your children that you do this because the LORD brought you out of Egypt.
⁹This celebration will be like wearing a sign on your hand or on your forehead, because then you will pass on to others the teaching of the LORD, whose mighty power brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰Celebrate this festival each year at the same time.
¹¹The LORD will give you the land of the Canaanites, just as he promised you and your ancestors. ¹²From then on, you must give him every first-born son from your families and every first-born male from your animals, because these belong to him. ¹³You can save the life of a first-born donkey ^[d] by sacrificing a lamb; if you don't, you must break the donkey's neck. You must save every first-born son. ¹⁴In the future your children will ask what this ceremony means. Explain it to them by saying, " The LORD used his mighty power to rescue us from slavery in Egypt. ¹⁵The king ^[e] stubbornly refused to set us free, so the LORD killed the first-born male of every animal and the first-born son of every Egyptian family. This is why we sacrifice to the LORD every first-born male of every animal and save every first-born son." ¹⁶This ceremony will serve the same purpose as a sign on your hand or on your forehead to tell how the LORD's mighty power rescued us from Egypt.

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 12:29the king: See the note at 1.11.
2. Exodus 12:31the king: See the note at 1.11.
3. Exodus 13:3Abib: Or Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.
4. Exodus 13:13donkey: This was the only " unclean" animal that had to be saved; the first-born of all " clean" animals (sheep, goats, cattle) had to be sacrificed. Donkeys were important because they were the basic means of transportation.
5. Exodus 13:15The king: See the note at 1.11.

---

Matthew 20:29-21:22 (Contemporary English Version)

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

(Mark 10.46-52; Luke 18.35-43)

²⁹Jesus was followed by a large crowd as he and his disciples were leaving Jericho. ³⁰Two blind men were sitting beside the road. And when they heard that Jesus was coming their way, they shouted, "Lord and Son of David, ^[a] have pity on us!" ³¹The crowd told them to be quiet, but they shouted even louder, "Lord and Son of David, have pity on us!" ³²When Jesus heard them, he stopped and asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"
³³They answered, "Lord, we want to see!"
³⁴Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Right away they could see, and they became his followers.

Matthew 21

Jesus Enters Jerusalem

(Mark 11.1-11; Luke 19.28-38; John 12.12-19)

¹When Jesus and his disciples came near Jerusalem, he went to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives and sent two of them on ahead. ²He told them, "Go into the next village, where you will at once find a donkey and her colt. Untie the two donkeys and bring them to me. ³If anyone asks why you are doing that, just say, `The Lord <sup>[b]</sup> needs them.' Right away he will let you have the donkeys." <sup>4</sup>So God's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, <sup>5</sup>"Announce to the people
of Jerusalem:
`Your king is coming to you!
He is humble
and rides on a donkey.
He comes on the colt
of a donkey.' "
⁶The disciples left and did what Jesus had told them to do. ⁷They brought the donkey and its colt and laid some clothes on their backs. Then Jesus got on.
⁸Many people spread clothes in the road, while others put down branches ^[c] which they had cut from trees. ⁹Some people walked ahead of Jesus and others followed behind. They were all shouting, "Hooray ^[d] for the Son of David! ^[e] God bless the one who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Hooray for God
in heaven above!"
¹⁰When Jesus came to Jerusalem, everyone in the city was excited and asked, "Who can this be?"
¹¹The crowd answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

Jesus in the Temple

(Mark 11.15-19; Luke 19.45-48; John 2.13-22)

¹²Jesus went into the temple and chased out everyone who was selling or buying. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of the ones who were selling doves. ¹³He told them, "The Scriptures say, `My house should be called a place of worship.' But you have turned it into a place where robbers hide." <sup>14</sup>Blind and lame people came to Jesus in the temple, and he healed them. <sup>15</sup>But the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses were angry when they saw his miracles and heard the children shouting praises to the Son of David. <sup>16</sup>The men said to Jesus, "Don't you hear what those children are saying?"
"Yes, I do!" Jesus answered. "Don't you know that the Scriptures say, `Children and infants will sing praises'?" ¹⁷Then Jesus left the city and went out to the village of Bethany, where he spent the night.

Jesus Puts a Curse on a Fig Tree

(Mark 11.12-14,20-24)

¹⁸When Jesus got up the next morning, he was hungry. He started out for the city, ¹⁹and along the way he saw a fig tree. But when he came to it, he found only leaves and no figs. So he told the tree, "You will never again grow any fruit!" Right then the fig tree dried up. ²⁰The disciples were shocked when they saw how quickly the tree had dried up. ²¹But Jesus said to them, "If you have faith and don't doubt, I promise that you can do what I did to this tree. And you will be able to do even more. You can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. ²²If you have faith when you pray, you will be given whatever you ask for."

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 20:30Son of David: See the note at 9.27.
2. Matthew 21:3The Lord: Or "The master of the donkeys."
3. Matthew 21:8spread clothes. . . put down branches: This was one way that the Jewish people welcomed a famous person.
4. Matthew 21:9Hooray: This translates a word that can mean "please save us." But it is most often used as a shout of praise to God.
5. Matthew 21:9Son of David: See the note at 9.27.

---

Psalm 25:16-22 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁶I am lonely and troubled.
Show that you care
and have pity on me.
¹⁷My awful worries keep growing.
Rescue me from sadness.
¹⁸See my troubles and misery
and forgive my sins.
¹⁹Look at all my enemies!
See how much they hate me.
²⁰I come to you for shelter.
Protect me, keep me safe,
and don't disappoint me.
²¹I obey you with all my heart,
and I trust you, knowing
that you will save me.
²²Our God, please save Israel
from all of its troubles.

---

Proverbs 6:12-15 (Contemporary English Version)

¹²Worthless liars go around
¹³winking
and giving signals
to deceive others.
¹⁴They are always thinking up
something cruel and evil,
and they stir up trouble.
¹⁵But they will be struck
by sudden disaster
and left without a hope.

---

Verse of the Day

“You willingly forgive, and your love is always there for those who pray to you.” - Psalm 86:5

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

---

 

Thought for the Day

 

American science fiction writer, Robert A. Heinlein wrote, “I never learned from a man who agreed with me.”

Bible Readings for July 18, 2014

Today our passages are 1 Chronicles 26:12–27:34; Romans 4:13–5:5; Psalm 14:1-7; and Proverbs 19:17. 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 Chronicles 26:12-27:34 (The Message)

^12-16 These teams of security guards, supervised by their leaders, kept order in The Temple of God, keeping up the traditions of their ancestors. They were all assigned to their posts by the same method regardless of the prominence of their families—each picked his gate assignment from a hat. Shelemiah was assigned to the East Gate; his son Zechariah, a shrewd counselor, got the North Gate. Obed-Edom got the South Gate; and his sons pulled duty at the storehouse. Shuppim and Hosah were posted to the West Gate and the Shalleketh Gate on the high road.
^16-18 The guards stood shoulder to shoulder: six Levites per day on the east, four per day on the north and on the south, and two at a time at the storehouse. At the open court to the west, four guards were posted on the road and two at the court.
¹⁹ These are the teams of security guards from the sons of Korah and Merari.

Financial Affairs: Accountants and Bookkeepers

^20-22 Other Levites were put in charge of the financial affairs of The Temple of God. From the family of Ladan (all Gershonites) came Jehieli, and the sons of Jehieli, Zetham and his brother Joel. They supervised the finances of the sanctuary of God. ^23-28 From the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: Shubael, descended from Gershom the son of Moses, was the chief financial officer. His relatives through Eliezer: his son Rehabiah, his son Jeshaiah, his son Joram, his son Zicri, and his son Shelomith. Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of valuables consecrated by David the king, family heads, and various generals and commanders from the army. They dedicated the plunder that they had gotten in war to the work of the worship of God. In addition, everything that had been dedicated by Samuel the seer, Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah—anything that had been dedicated, ever, was the responsibility of Shelomith and his family.
^29-30 From the family of the Izharites, Kenaniah and sons were appointed as officials and judges responsible for affairs outside the work of worship and sanctuary. From the family of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his relatives—1,700 well-qualified men—were responsible for administration of matters related to the worship of God and the king's work in the territory west of the Jordan.
^31-32 According to the family tree of the Hebronites, Jeriah held pride of place. In the fortieth year of David's reign (his last), the Hebron family tree was researched and outstanding men were found at Jazer in Gilead, namely, Jeriah and 2,700 men of his extended family: David the king made them responsible for administration of matters related to the worship of God and the work of the king in the territory east of the Jordan—the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

1 Chronicles 27

Military Organization

¹ Here is the listing of the sons of Israel by family heads, commanders and captains, and other officers who served the king in everything military. Army divisions were on duty a month at a time for the twelve months of the year. Each division comprised 24,000 men. ^2-3 First division, first month: Jashobeam son of Zabdiel was in charge with 24,000 men. He came from the line of Perez. He was over all the army officers during the first month.
⁴ The division for the second month: Dodai the Ahohite was in charge: 24,000 men; Mikloth was the leader of his division.
^5-6 Commander for the third month: Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest with 24,000 men. This was the same Benaiah who was a Mighty Man among the Thirty and their chief. His son Ammizabad was in charge of the division.
⁷ Fourth division for the fourth month: Asahel brother of Joab; his son Zebadiah succeeded him: 24,000 men.
⁸ Fifth division, fifth month: commander Shamhuth the Izrahite: 24,000 men.
⁹ Sixth division, sixth month: Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: 24,000 men.
¹⁰ Seventh division, seventh month: Helez the Pelonite, an Ephraimite: 24,000 men.
¹¹ Eighth division, eighth month: Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite: 24,000 men.
¹² Ninth division, ninth month: Abiezer the Anathothite, a Benjaminite: 24,000 men.
¹³ Tenth division, tenth month: Maharai the Netophathite, a Zerahite: 24,000 men.
¹⁴ Eleventh division, eleventh month: Benaiah the Pirathomite, an Ephraimite: 24,000 men.
¹⁵ Twelfth division, twelfth month: Heldai the Netophathite from the family of Othniel: 24,000 men.

Tribal Administrators

^16-22 Administrators of the affairs of the tribes: for Reuben: Eliezer son of Zicri;
for Simeon: Shephatiah son of Maacah;
for Levi: Hashabiah son of Kemuel;
for Aaron: Zadok;
for Judah: Elihu, David's brother;
for Issachar: Omri son of Michael;
for Zebulun: Ishmaiah son of Obadiah;
for Naphtali: Jerimoth son of Azriel;
for Ephraim: Hoshea son of Azaziah;
for one half-tribe of Manasseh: Joel son of Pedaiah;
for the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead: Iddo son of Zechariah;
for Benjamin: Jaasiel son of Abner;
for Dan: Azarel son of Jeroham.
These are the administrative officers assigned to the tribes of Israel.
^23-24 David didn't keep a count of men under the age of twenty, because God had promised to give Israel a population as numerous as the stars in the sky. Joab son of Zeruiah started out counting the men, but he never finished. God's anger broke out on Israel because of the counting. As it turned out, the numbers were never entered into the court records of King David.

Supply Officers

²⁵ The king's storage facilities were supervised by Azmaveth son of Adiel. Jonathan son of Uzziah was responsible for the warehouses in the outlying areas. ²⁶ Ezri son of Kelub was in charge of the field workers on the farms.
²⁷ Shimei the Ramathite was in charge of the vineyards and Zabdi the Shiphmite was in charge of grapes for the wine vats.
²⁸ Baal-Hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore-fig trees in the western hills, and Joash was in charge of the olive oil.
²⁹ Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of herds grazing in Sharon and Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of herds in the valley.
^30-31 Obil the Ismaelite was in charge of the camels, Jehdeiah the Meronothite was in charge of the donkeys, and Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks.
These were the ones responsible for taking care of King David's property.

David's Counselors

³² Jonathan, David's uncle, a wise and literate counselor, and Jehiel son of Hacmoni, were responsible for rearing the king's sons. ^33-34 Ahithophel was the king's counselor; Hushai the Arkite was the king's friend. Ahithophel was later replaced by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar.
Joab was commander of the king's army.

---

Romans 4:13-5:5 (The Message)

^13-15That famous promise God gave Abraham—that he and his children would possess the earth—was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed. If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract! That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise—and God's promise at that—you can't break it.
¹⁶This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father—that's reading the story backward. He is our faith father.
^17-18We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, "You're going to have a big family, Abraham!"
^19-25Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right." But it's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.

Romans 5

Developing Patience

^1-2By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. ^3-5There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

---

Psalm 14:1-7 (The Message)

Psalm 14

A David Psalm

¹ Bilious and bloated, they gas, "God is gone."
Their words are poison gas,
fouling the air; they poison
Rivers and skies;
thistles are their cash crop.

² God sticks his head out of heaven.
He looks around.
He's looking for someone not stupid—
one man, even, God-expectant,
just one God-ready woman.

³ He comes up empty. A string
of zeros. Useless, unshepherded
Sheep, taking turns pretending
to be Shepherd.
The ninety and nine
follow their fellow.

⁴ Don't they know anything,
all these impostors?
Don't they know
they can't get away with this—
Treating people like a fast-food meal
over which they're too busy to pray?

^5-6 Night is coming for them, and nightmares,
for God takes the side of victims.
Do you think you can mess
with the dreams of the poor?
You can't, for God
makes their dreams come true.

⁷ Is there anyone around to save Israel?
Yes. God is around; God turns life around.
Turned-around Jacob skips rope,
turned-around Israel sings laughter.

 

---

Proverbs 19:17 (The Message)

¹⁷ Mercy to the needy is a loan to God,
and God pays back those loans in full.

---

Verse of the Day

“I will do right and praise you by learning to respect your perfect laws.” - Psalm 119:7

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

---

Thought for the Day

American science fiction writer, Robert A. Heinlein wrote, "Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."