Bible Readings for November 6, 2017

Today our passages are Ezekiel 14:12–16:42; Hebrews 7:18-28; Psalm 106:1-12; and Proverbs 27:4-6.  The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Steet, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Ezekiel 14:12-16:42 (Contemporary English Version)

Judgment on a Sinful Nation

 ¹²The LORD God said:    ¹³Ezekiel, son of man, suppose an entire nation sins against me, and I punish it by destroying the crops and letting its people and livestock starve to death. ¹⁴Even if Noah, Daniel, ^a] and Job were living in that nation, their faithfulness would not save anyone but themselves. ¹⁵Or suppose I punish a nation by sending wild animals to eat people and scare away every passerby, so that the land becomes a barren desert. ¹⁶As surely as I live, I promise that even if these three men lived in that nation, their own children would not be spared. The three men would live, but the land would be an empty desert.
    ¹⁷Or suppose I send an enemy to attack a sinful nation and kill its people and livestock. ¹⁸If these three men were in that nation when I punished it, not even their children would be spared. Only the three men would live.
    ¹⁹And suppose I am so angry that I send a deadly disease to wipe out the people and livestock of a sinful nation. ²⁰Again, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were living there, I, the LORD, promise that the children of these faithful men would also die. Only the three of them would be spared.
    ²¹I am the LORD God, and I promise to punish Jerusalem severely. I will send war, starvation, wild animals, and deadly disease to slaughter its people and livestock. ²²And those who survive will be taken from their country and led here to Babylonia. Ezekiel, when you see how sinful they are, you will know why I did all these things to Jerusalem. ²³You will be convinced that I, the LORD God, was right in doing what I did.
   

Ezekiel 15

Jerusalem Is a Useless Vine

 ¹Some time later, the LORD said:    ²Ezekiel, son of man, what happens to the wood of a grapevine after the grapes have been picked? It isn't like other trees in the forest, ³because the wood of a grapevine can't be used to make anything, not even a small peg to hang things on. ⁴It can only be used as firewood. But after its ends are burnt and its middle is charred, it can't be used for anything. ⁵The wood is useless before it is burned, and afterwards, it is completely worthless.
    ⁶I, the LORD God, promise that just as the wood of a grapevine is burned as firewood, ⁷I will punish the people of Jerusalem with fire. Some of them have escaped one destruction, but soon they will be completely burned. And when that happens, you, Ezekiel, will know that I am the LORD. ⁸I will make their country an empty wasteland, because they have not been loyal to me. I, the LORD God, have spoken.
   

Ezekiel 16

Jerusalem Is Unfaithful

 ¹The LORD said:    ²Ezekiel, son of man, remind the people of Jerusalem of their disgusting sins ³and tell them that I, the LORD God, am saying:
   Jerusalem, you were born in the country where Canaanites lived. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. ^b] 4When you were born, no one cut you loose from your mother or washed your body. No one rubbed your skin with salt and olive oil, ^c] and wrapped you in warm blankets. ⁵Not one person loved you enough to do any of these things, and no one even felt sorry for you. You were despised, thrown into a field, and forgotten. ⁶I saw you lying there, rolling around in your own blood, and I couldn't let you die. ⁷I took care of you, like someone caring for a tender, young plant. You grew up to be a beautiful young woman with perfect breasts and long hair, but you were still naked.
    ⁸When I saw you again, you were old enough to have sex. So I covered your naked body with my own robe. ^d] Then I solemnly promised that you would belong to me and that I, the LORD God, would take care of you. ⁹I washed the blood off you and rubbed your skin with olive oil. ¹⁰I gave you the finest clothes and the most expensive robes, ^e] as well as sandals made from the best leather. ¹¹I gave you bracelets, a necklace, ¹²a ring for your nose, some earrings, and a beautiful crown. ¹³Your jewelry was gold and silver, and your clothes were made of only the finest material and embroidered linen. Your bread was baked from fine flour, and you ate honey and olive oil. You were as beautiful as a queen, ¹⁴and everyone on earth knew it. I, the LORD God, had helped you become a lovely young woman. ¹⁵You learned that you were attractive enough to have any man you wanted, so you offered yourself to every passerby. ^f] 16You made shrines for yourself and decorated them with some of your clothes. That's where you took your visitors to have sex with them. These things should never have happened! ^g] 17You made idols out of the gold and silver jewelry I gave you, then you sinned by worshiping those idols. ¹⁸You dressed them in the clothes you got from me, and you offered them the olive oil and incense I gave you. ¹⁹I supplied you with fine flour, olive oil, and honey, but you sacrificed it all as offerings to please those idols. I, the LORD God, watched this happen. ²⁰But you did something even worse than that--you sacrificed your own children to those idols! ²¹You slaughtered my children, so you could offer them as sacrifices. ²²You were so busy sinning and being a prostitute that you refused to think about the days when you were young and were rolling around naked in your own blood.
    ²³Now I, the LORD God, say you are doomed! Not only did you do these evil things, ²⁴but you also built places on every street corner ²⁵where you disgraced yourself by having sex with anyone who walked by. And you did that more and more every day! ²⁶To make me angry, you even offered yourself to Egyptians, who were always ready to sleep with you.
    ²⁷So I punished you by letting those greedy Philistine enemies take over some of your territory. But even they were offended by your disgusting behavior.
    ²⁸You couldn't get enough sex, so you chased after Assyrians and slept with them. You still weren't satisfied, ²⁹so you went after Babylonians. But those merchants could not satisfy you either.
    ³⁰I, the LORD God, say that you were so disgusting that you would have done anything to get what you wanted. ^h] 31You had sex on every street corner, and when you finished, you refused to accept money. That's worse than being a prostitute! ³²You are nothing but an unfaithful wife who would rather have sex with strangers than with your own husband. ³³Prostitutes accept money for having sex, but you bribe men from everywhere to have sex with you. ³⁴You're not like other prostitutes. Men don't ask you for sex--you offer to pay them!

Jerusalem Must Be Punished

The LORD said:

 ³⁵Jerusalem, you prostitute, listen to me. ³⁶You chased after lovers, then took off your clothes and had sex. You even worshiped disgusting idols and sacrificed your own children as offerings to them. ³⁷So I, the LORD God, will gather every one of your lovers, those you liked and those you hated. They will stand around you, and I will rip off your clothes and let all of those lovers stare at your nakedness. ³⁸I will find you guilty of being an unfaithful wife and a murderer, and in my fierce anger I will sentence you to death! ³⁹Then I will hand you over to your lovers, who will tear down the places where you had sex. They will take your clothes and jewelry, leaving you naked and empty-handed.    ⁴⁰Your lovers and an angry mob will stone you to death; they will cut your dead body into pieces ⁴¹and burn down your houses. Other women will watch these terrible things happen to you. I promise to stop you from being a prostitute and paying your lovers for sex.
    ⁴²Only then will I calm down and stop being angry and jealous.

Footnotes:

1. Ezekiel 14:14 Daniel: Or "Danel," possibly a well-known hero or wise man.
2. Ezekiel 16:3 Amorite. . . Hittite: People who lived in Canaan before the Israelites and who worshiped idols.
3. Ezekiel 16:4 rubbed your skin with salt and olive oil: People believed this toughened the skin of the babies.
4. Ezekiel 16:8 I covered your naked body with my own robe: To show that he would protect and take care of her.
5. Ezekiel 16:10 most expensive robes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
6. Ezekiel 16:15 so you offered yourself to every passerby: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Ezekiel 16:16 These things should never have happened: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8. Ezekiel 16:30 wanted: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 30.

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Hebrews 7:18-28 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁸In this way a weak and useless command was put aside, ¹⁹because the Law cannot make anything perfect. At the same time, we are given a much better hope, and it can bring us close to God.
    ^20-21God himself made a promise when this priest was appointed. But he did not make a promise like this when the other priests were appointed. The promise he made is,
   "I, the Lord, promise that you
   will be a priest forever!
   And I will never
   change my mind!"
    ²²This means that Jesus guarantees us a better agreement with God. ²³There have been a lot of other priests, and all of them have died. ²⁴But Jesus will never die, and so he will be a priest forever! ²⁵He is forever able to save ^a] the people he leads to God, because he always lives to speak to God for them. ²⁶Jesus is the high priest we need. He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners. Jesus is honored above all beings in heaven, ²⁷and he is better than any other high priest. Jesus doesn't need to offer sacrifices each day for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He offered a sacrifice once for all, when he gave himself. ²⁸The Law appoints priests who have weaknesses. But God's promise, which came later than the Law, appoints his Son. And he is the perfect high priest forever.
   

Footnotes:

1. Hebrews 7:25 forever able to save: Or "able to save forever."

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Psalm 106:1-12 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 106

A Nation Asks for Forgiveness

 ¹We will celebrate   and praise you, LORD!
   You are good to us,
   and your love never fails.
    ²No one can praise you enough
   for all of the mighty things
   you have done.
    ³You bless those people
   who are honest and fair
   in everything they do.
    ⁴Remember me, LORD,
   when you show kindness
   by saving your people.
    ⁵Let me prosper with the rest
   of your chosen ones,
   as they celebrate with pride
   because they belong to you.
    ⁶We and our ancestors
   have sinned terribly.
    ⁷When they were in Egypt,
   they paid no attention
   to your marvelous deeds
   or your wonderful love.
   And they turned against you
   at the Red Sea. ^a] 8But you were true to your name,
   and you rescued them to prove
   how mighty you are.
    ⁹You said to the Red Sea,
   "Dry up!"
   Then you led your people across
   on land as dry as a desert.
    ¹⁰You saved all of them
    ¹¹and drowned every one
   of their enemies.
    ¹²Then your people trusted you
   and sang your praises.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 106:7 Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph " Sea of Reeds," one of the marshes or fresh water lakes near the eastern part of the Nile Delta. This identification is based on Exodus 13.17--14.9, which lists the towns on the route of the Israelites before crossing the sea. In the Greek translation of the Scriptures made about 200 (B).(C)., the " Sea of Reeds" was named " Red Sea."

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Proverbs 27:4-6 (Contemporary English Version)

⁴An angry person is dangerous,
   but a jealous person
   is even worse.
    ⁵A truly good friend
   will openly correct you.
    ⁶You can trust a friend
   who corrects you,
   but kisses from an enemy
   are nothing but lies.

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Verse of Day

“and by what Christ has done, God has shown us his own mysterious ways. Then when the time is right, God will do all that he has planned, and Christ will bring together everything in heaven and on earth.” - Ephesians 1:9-10

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Austrian philosophical writer, Robert Musil wrote, “Philosophers are people who do violence, but have no army at their disposal, and so subjugate the world by locking it into a system.”

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A Joke for Today

A man placed some flowers on the grave of his dearly departed mother and started back toward his car when his attention was diverted to another man kneeling at a grave. The man seemed to be praying with profound intensity and kept repeating, "Why did you have to die? Why did you have to die?" The first man approached him and said, "Sir, I don't wish to interfere with your private grief, but this demonstration of pain is more than I've ever seen before. For whom do you mourn so deeply? A child? A parent?" The mourner took a moment to collect himself, then replied, "My wife's first husband."

Bible Reading for August 12, 2014

Today our passages are Nehemiah 3:15–5:13; 1 Corinthians 7:25-40; Psalm 32:1-11; and Proverbs 21:5-7. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. If you missed a day, you can find all the readings at our blog, The Bible in a Year.

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Nehemiah 3:15-5:13 (The Message)

 ¹⁵ The Fountain Gate was rebuilt by Shallun son of Col-Hozeh, mayor of the Mizpah district; he repaired it, roofed it, hung its doors, and installed its bolts and bars. He also rebuilt the wall of the Pool of Siloam at the King's Garden as far as the steps that go down from the City of David.
 ¹⁶ After him came Nehemiah son of Azbuk, mayor of half the district of Beth Zur. He worked from just in front of the Tomb of David as far as the Pool and the House of Heroes.
 ^17-18 Levites under Rehum son of Bani were next in line. Alongside them, Hashabiah, mayor of half the district of Keilah, represented his district in the rebuilding. Next to him their brothers continued the rebuilding under Binnui son of Henadad, mayor of the other half-district of Keilah.
 ^19-23 The section from in front of the Ascent to the Armory as far as the Angle was rebuilt by Ezer son of Jeshua, the mayor of Mizpah. From the Angle to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest was done by Baruch son of Zabbai. Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, took it from the door of Eliashib's house to the end of Eliashib's house. Priests from the neighborhood went on from there. Benjamin and Hasshub worked on the wall in front of their house, and Azariah son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, did the work alongside his house.
 ^24-27 The section from the house of Azariah to the Angle at the Corner was rebuilt by Binnui son of Henadad. Palal son of Uzai worked opposite the Angle and the tower that projects from the Upper Palace of the king near the Court of the Guard. Next to him Pedaiah son of Parosh and The Temple support staff who lived on the hill of Ophel worked up to the point opposite the Water Gate eastward and the projecting tower. The men of Tekoa did the section from the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel.
 ^28-30 Above the Horse Gate the priests worked, each priest repairing the wall in front of his own house. After them Zadok son of Immer rebuilt in front of his house and after him Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate; then Hananiah son of Shelemiah and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph; then Meshullam son of Berekiah rebuilt the wall in front of his storage shed.
 ^31-32 Malkijah the goldsmith repaired the wall as far as the house of The Temple support staff and merchants, up to the Inspection Gate, and the Upper Room at the Corner. The goldsmiths and the merchants made the repairs between the Upper Room at the Corner and the Sheep Gate.

Nehemiah 4

"I Stationed Armed Guards"

 ^1-2When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he exploded in anger, vilifying the Jews. In the company of his Samaritan cronies and military he let loose: "What are these miserable Jews doing? Do they think they can get everything back to normal overnight? Make building stones out of make-believe?"  ³ At his side, Tobiah the Ammonite jumped in and said, "That's right! What do they think they're building? Why, if a fox climbed that wall, it would fall to pieces under his weight."

^4-5 Nehemiah prayed, "Oh listen to us, dear God. We're so despised: Boomerang their ridicule on their heads; have their enemies cart them off as war trophies to a land of no return; don't forgive their iniquity, don't wipe away their sin—they've insulted the builders!"
 ⁶ We kept at it, repairing and rebuilding the wall. The whole wall was soon joined together and halfway to its intended height because the people had a heart for the work.
 ^7-9 When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairs of the walls of Jerusalem were going so well—that the breaks in the wall were being fixed—they were absolutely furious. They put their heads together and decided to fight against Jerusalem and create as much trouble as they could. We countered with prayer to our God and set a round-the-clock guard against them.
 ¹⁰ But soon word was going around in Judah,
   The builders are pooped,
      the rubbish piles up;
   We're in over our heads,
      we can't build this wall.
 ^11-12 And all this time our enemies were saying, "They won't know what hit them. Before they know it we'll be at their throats, killing them right and left. That will put a stop to the work!" The Jews who were their neighbors kept reporting, "They have us surrounded; they're going to attack!" If we heard it once, we heard it ten times.
 ^13-14 So I stationed armed guards at the most vulnerable places of the wall and assigned people by families with their swords, lances, and bows. After looking things over I stood up and spoke to the nobles, officials, and everyone else: "Don't be afraid of them. Put your minds on the Master, great and awesome, and then fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes."
 ^15-18 Our enemies learned that we knew all about their plan and that God had frustrated it. And we went back to the wall and went to work. From then on half of my young men worked while the other half stood guard with lances, shields, bows, and mail armor. Military officers served as backup for everyone in Judah who was at work rebuilding the wall. The common laborers held a tool in one hand and a spear in the other. Each of the builders had a sword strapped to his side as he worked. I kept the trumpeter at my side to sound the alert.
 ^19-20 Then I spoke to the nobles and officials and everyone else: "There's a lot of work going on and we are spread out all along the wall, separated from each other. When you hear the trumpet call, join us there; our God will fight for us."
 ²¹ And so we kept working, from first light until the stars came out, half of us holding lances.
 ²² I also instructed the people, "Each person and his helper is to stay inside Jerusalem—guards by night and workmen by day."
 ²³ We all slept in our clothes—I, my brothers, my workmen, and the guards backing me up. And each one kept his spear in his hand, even when getting water.

Nehemiah 5

The "Great Protest"

 ^1-2A great protest was mounted by the people, including the wives, against their fellow Jews. Some said, "We have big families, and we need food just to survive."  ³ Others said, "We're having to mortgage our fields and vineyards and homes to get enough grain to keep from starving."
 ^4-5 And others said, "We're having to borrow money to pay the royal tax on our fields and vineyards. Look: We're the same flesh and blood as our brothers here; our children are just as good as theirs. Yet here we are having to sell our children off as slaves—some of our daughters have already been sold—and we can't do anything about it because our fields and vineyards are owned by somebody else."
 ^6-7 I got really angry when I heard their protest and complaints. After thinking it over, I called the nobles and officials on the carpet. I said, "Each one of you is gouging his brother."
 ^7-8 Then I called a big meeting to deal with them. I told them, "We did everything we could to buy back our Jewish brothers who had to sell themselves as slaves to foreigners. And now you're selling these same brothers back into debt slavery! Does that mean that we have to buy them back again?"
    They said nothing. What could they say?
 ⁹ "What you're doing is wrong. Is there no fear of God left in you? Don't you care what the nations around here, our enemies, think of you?
 ^10-11 "I and my brothers and the people working for me have also loaned them money. But this gouging them with interest has to stop. Give them back their foreclosed fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes right now. And forgive your claims on their money, grain, new wine, and olive oil."
 ^12-13 They said, "We'll give it all back. We won't make any more demands on them. We'll do everything you say."
    Then I called the priests together and made them promise to keep their word. Then I emptied my pockets, turning them inside out, and said, "So may God empty the pockets and house of everyone who doesn't keep this promise—turned inside out and emptied."
    Everyone gave a wholehearted "Yes, we'll do it!" and praised God. And the people did what they promised.

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1 Corinthians 7:25-40 (The Message)

 ^25-28The Master did not give explicit direction regarding virgins, but as one much experienced in the mercy of the Master and loyal to him all the way, you can trust my counsel. Because of the current pressures on us from all sides, I think it would probably be best to stay just as you are. Are you married? Stay married. Are you unmarried? Don't get married. But there's certainly no sin in getting married, whether you're a virgin or not. All I am saying is that when you marry, you take on additional stress in an already stressful time, and I want to spare you if possible.
 ^29-31I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don't complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple —in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things—your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out.
 ^32-35I want you to live as free of complications as possible. When you're unmarried, you're free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master. Marriage involves you in all the nuts and bolts of domestic life and in wanting to please your spouse, leading to so many more demands on your attention. The time and energy that married people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming whole and holy instruments of God. I'm trying to be helpful and make it as easy as possible for you, not make things harder. All I want is for you to be able to develop a way of life in which you can spend plenty of time together with the Master without a lot of distractions.
 ^36-38If a man has a woman friend to whom he is loyal but never intended to marry, having decided to serve God as a "single," and then changes his mind, deciding he should marry her, he should go ahead and marry. It's no sin; it's not even a "step down" from celibacy, as some say. On the other hand, if a man is comfortable in his decision for a single life in service to God and it's entirely his own conviction and not imposed on him by others, he ought to stick with it. Marriage is spiritually and morally right and not inferior to singleness in any way, although as I indicated earlier, because of the times we live in, I do have pastoral reasons for encouraging singleness.
 ^39-40A wife must stay with her husband as long as he lives. If he dies, she is free to marry anyone she chooses. She will, of course, want to marry a believer and have the blessing of the Master. By now you know that I think she'll be better off staying single. The Master, in my opinion, thinks so, too.

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Psalm 32:1-11 (The Message)

Psalm 32

A David Psalm

 ¹ Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be— you get a fresh start,
      your slate's wiped clean.

 ² Count yourself lucky—
      God holds nothing against you
      and you're holding nothing back from him.

 ³ When I kept it all inside,
      my bones turned to powder,
      my words became daylong groans.

 ⁴ The pressure never let up;
      all the juices of my life dried up.

 ⁵ Then I let it all out;
      I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God."    Suddenly the pressure was gone—
      my guilt dissolved,
      my sin disappeared.

 ⁶ These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray;
      when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts
      we'll be on high ground, untouched.

 ⁷ God's my island hideaway,
      keeps danger far from the shore,
      throws garlands of hosannas around my neck.

 ⁸ Let me give you some good advice;
      I'm looking you in the eye
      and giving it to you straight:

 ⁹ "Don't be ornery like a horse or mule
      that needs bit and bridle
      to stay on track."

 ¹⁰ God-defiers are always in trouble;
      God-affirmers find themselves loved
      every time they turn around.

 ¹¹ Celebrate God.
      Sing together—everyone!
      All you honest hearts, raise the roof!

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Proverbs 21:5-7 (The Message)

 ⁵ Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run;
   hurry and scurry puts you further behind.

 ⁶ Make it to the top by lying and cheating;
   get paid with smoke and a promotion—to death!

 ⁷ The wicked get buried alive by their loot
   because they refuse to use it to help others.

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Verse of the Day

“You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own. God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God.” - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

Austrian writer, Robert Musil wrote, “If there is a sense of reality, there must also be a sense of possibility.”