Bible Readings for March 16, 2016

Today our passages are Numbers 24:1–25:18; Luke 2:1-35; Psalm 59:1-17; and Proverbs 11:14. 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.

---

Numbers 24-25:18 (The Message)

Numbers 24

 ^1-3 By now Balaam realized that God wanted to bless Israel. So he didn't work in any sorcery as he had done earlier. He turned and looked out over the wilderness. As Balaam looked, he saw Israel camped tribe by tribe. The Spirit of God came on him, and he spoke his oracle-message:

 ^3-9 Decree of Balaam son of Beor,
      yes, decree of a man with 20/20 vision;
   Decree of a man who hears God speak,
      who sees what The Strong God shows him,
   Who falls on his face in worship,
      who sees what's really going on.

   What beautiful tents, Jacob,
      oh, your homes, Israel!
   Like valleys stretching out in the distance,
      like gardens planted by rivers,
   Like sweet herbs planted by the gardener God,
      like red cedars by pools and springs,
   Their buckets will brim with water,
      their seed will spread life everywhere.
   Their king will tower over Agag and his ilk,
      their kingdom surpassingly majestic.
   God brought them out of Egypt,
      rampaging like a wild ox,
   Gulping enemies like morsels of meat,
      crushing their bones, snapping their arrows.
   Israel crouches like a lion and naps,
      king-of-the-beasts—who dares disturb him?
   Whoever blesses you is blessed,
      whoever curses you is cursed.  ^10-11 Balak lost his temper with Balaam. He shook his fist. He said to Balaam: "I got you in here to curse my enemies and what have you done? Blessed them! Blessed them three times! Get out of here! Go home! I told you I would pay you well, but you're getting nothing. You can blame God."
 ^12-15 Balaam said to Balak, "Didn't I tell you up front when you sent your emissaries, 'Even if Balak gave me his palace stuffed with silver and gold, I couldn't do anything on my own, whether good or bad, that went against God's command'? I'm leaving for home and my people, but I warn you of what this people will do to your people in the days to come." Then he spoke his oracle-message:

 ^15-19 Decree of Balaam son of Beor,
      decree of the man with 20/20 vision,
   Decree of the man who hears godly speech,
      who knows what's going on with the High God,
   Who sees what The Strong God reveals,
      who bows in worship and sees what's real.
   I see him, but not right now,
      I perceive him, but not right here;
   A star rises from Jacob
      a scepter from Israel,
   Crushing the heads of Moab,
      the skulls of all the noisy windbags;
   I see Edom sold off at auction,
      enemy Seir marked down at the flea market,
      while Israel walks off with the trophies.
   A ruler is coming from Jacob
      who'll destroy what's left in the city.

²⁰ Then Balaam spotted Amalek and delivered an oracle-message. He said,

   Amalek, you're in first place among nations right now,
      but you're going to come in last, ruined.

^21-22 He saw the Kenites and delivered his oracle-message to them:

   Your home is in a nice secure place,
      like a nest high on the face of a cliff.
   Still, you Kenites will look stupid
      when Asshur takes you prisoner.

^23-24 Balaam spoke his final oracle-message:

   Doom! Who stands a chance
      when God starts in?
   Sea-Peoples, raiders from across the sea,
      will harass Asshur and Eber,
   But they'll also come to nothing,
      just like all the rest.
 ²⁵ Balaam got up and went home. Balak also went on his way.

Numbers 25

The Orgy at Shittim

 ^1-3 While Israel was camped at Shittim (Acacia Grove), the men began to have sex with the Moabite women. It started when the women invited the men to their sex-and-religion worship. They ate together and then worshiped their gods. Israel ended up joining in the worship of the Baal of Peor. God was furious, his anger blazing out against Israel.  ⁴ God said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of Israel and kill them by hanging, leaving them publicly exposed in order to turn God's anger away from Israel."
 ⁵ Moses issued orders to the judges of Israel: "Each of you must execute the men under your jurisdiction who joined in the worship of Baal Peor."
 ^6-9 Just then, while everyone was weeping in penitence at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, an Israelite man, flaunting his behavior in front of Moses and the whole assembly, paraded a Midianite woman into his family tent. Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw what he was doing, grabbed his spear, and followed them into the tent. With one thrust he drove the spear through the two of them, the man of Israel and the woman, right through their private parts. That stopped the plague from continuing among the People of Israel. But 24,000 had already died.
 ^10-13 God spoke to Moses: "Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has stopped my anger against the People of Israel. Because he was as zealous for my honor as I myself am, I didn't kill all the People of Israel in my zeal. So tell him that I am making a Covenant-of-Peace with him. He and his descendants are joined in a covenant of eternal priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the People of Israel."
 ^14-15 The name of the man of Israel who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the head of the Simeonite family. And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
 ^16-18 God spoke to Moses: "From here on make the Midianites your enemies. Fight them tooth and nail. They turned out to be your enemies when they seduced you in the business of Peor and that woman Cozbi, daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed at the time of the plague in the matter of Peor."

---

Luke 2:1-35 (The Message)

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

 ^1-5About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

 ^6-7While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

An Event for Everyone

 ^8-12There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."

 ^13-14At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:

   Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
   Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.

 ^15-18As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.

 ^19-20Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!

Blessings

 ²¹When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.

 ^22-24Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God as commanded in God's Law: "Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God," and also to sacrifice the "pair of doves or two young pigeons" prescribed in God's Law.

 ^25-32In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:

   God, you can now release your servant;
      release me in peace as you promised.
   With my own eyes I've seen your salvation;
      it's now out in the open for everyone to see:
   A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
      and of glory for your people Israel.

 ^33-35Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,

   This child marks both the failure and
      the recovery of many in Israel,
   A figure misunderstood and contradicted—
      the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
   But the rejection will force honesty,
      as God reveals who they really are.

---

Psalm 59:1-17 (The Message)

Psalm 59

 ^1-2 My God! Rescue me from my enemies, defend me from these mutineers.
   Rescue me from their dirty tricks,
      save me from their hit men.

 ^3-4 Desperadoes have ganged up on me,
      they're hiding in ambush for me.
   I did nothing to deserve this, God,
      crossed no one, wronged no one.
   All the same, they're after me,
      determined to get me.

 ^4-5 Wake up and see for yourself! You're God,
      God-of-Angel-Armies, Israel's God!
   Get on the job and take care of these pagans,
      don't be soft on these hard cases.

 ^6-7 They return when the sun goes down,
      They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.
      Then suddenly they're all at the gate,
      Snarling invective, drawn daggers in their teeth.
      They think they'll never get caught.

 ^8-10 But you, God, break out laughing;
      you treat the godless nations like jokes.
   Strong God, I'm watching you do it,
      I can always count on you.
   God in dependable love shows up on time,
      shows me my enemies in ruin.

 ^11-13 Don't make quick work of them, God,
      lest my people forget.
   Bring them down in slow motion,
      take them apart piece by piece.
   Let all their mean-mouthed arrogance
      catch up with them,
   Catch them out and bring them down
      —every muttered curse
      —every barefaced lie.
   Finish them off in fine style!
      Finish them off for good!
   Then all the world will see
      that God rules well in Jacob,
      everywhere that God's in charge.

 ^14-15 They return when the sun goes down,
      They howl like coyotes, ringing the city.
      They scavenge for bones,
      And bite the hand that feeds them.

 ^16-17 And me? I'm singing your prowess,
      shouting at cockcrow your largesse,
   For you've been a safe place for me,
      a good place to hide.
   Strong God, I'm watching you do it,
      I can always count on you—
      God, my dependable love.

A David Psalm, When He Fought Against

    Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah and Joab Killed Twelve Thousand Edomites at the Valley of Salt

 

---

Proverbs 11:14 (The Message)

 ¹⁴ Without good direction, people lose their way;
   the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.

---

Verse of the Day

“God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient.” - Colossians 3:12

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

---

 

Thought for the Day

The sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded, Siddhartha Gautama wrote, “To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance.”

Bible Readings for May 3, 2014

Today our passages are Judges 17:1–18:31; John 3:1-21; Psalm 104:1-23; and Proverbs 14:20-21. 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.

---

Judges 17-18:31 (The Message)

Judges 17

Micah

 ^1-2 There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Micah. He said to his mother, "Remember that 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you? I overheard you when you pronounced your curse. Well, I have the money; I stole it. But now I've brought it back to you."     His mother said, "God bless you, my son!"
 ^3-4 As he returned the 1,100 silver pieces to his mother, she said, "I had totally consecrated this money to God for my son to make a statue, a cast god." Then she took 200 pieces of the silver and gave it to a sculptor and he cast them into the form of a god.
 ⁵ This man, Micah, had a private chapel. He had made an ephod and some teraphim-idols and had ordained one of his sons to be his priest.
 ⁶ In those days there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing.

^7-8 Meanwhile there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah and from a family of Judah. He was a Levite but was a stranger there. He left that town, Bethlehem in Judah, seeking his fortune. He got as far as the hill country of Ephraim and showed up at Micah's house.
 ⁹ Micah asked him, "So where are you from?"
    He said, "I'm a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I'm on the road, looking for a place to settle down."
 ¹⁰ Micah said, "Stay here with me. Be my father and priest. I'll pay you ten pieces of silver a year, whatever clothes you need, and your meals."
 ^11-12 The Levite agreed and moved in with Micah. The young man fit right in and became one of the family. Micah appointed the young Levite as his priest. This all took place in Micah's home.
 ¹³ Micah said, "Now I know that God will make things go well for me— why, I've got a Levite for a priest!"

Judges 18

 ¹ In those days there was no king in Israel. But also in those days, the tribe of Dan was looking for a place to settle down. They hadn't yet occupied their plot among the tribes of Israel.  ^2-3 The Danites sent out five robust warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to look over the land and see what was out there suitable for their families. They said, "Go and explore the land."
    They went into the hill country of Ephraim and got as far as the house of Micah. They camped there for the night. As they neared Micah's house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They went over and said to him, "How on earth did you get here? What's going on? What are you doing here?"
 ⁴ He said, "One thing led to another: Micah hired me and I'm now his priest."
 ⁵ They said, "Oh, good—inquire of God for us. Find out whether our mission will be a success."
 ⁶ The priest said, "Go assured. God's looking out for you all the way."
 ⁷ The five men left and headed north to Laish. They saw that the people there were living in safety under the umbrella of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. They had everything going for them. But the people lived a long way from the Sidonians to the west and had no treaty with the Arameans to the east.
 ⁸ When they got back to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked, "So, how did you find things?"
 ^9-10 They said, "Let's go for it! Let's attack. We've seen the land and it is excellent. Are you going to just sit on your hands? Don't dawdle! Invade and conquer! When you get there, you'll find they're sitting ducks, totally unsuspecting. Wide open land—God is handing it over to you, everything you could ever ask for."
 ^11-13 So six hundred Danite men set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed to the teeth. Along the way they made camp at Kiriath Jearim in Judah. That is why the place is still today called Dan's Camp—it's just west of Kiriath Jearim. From there they proceeded into the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah's house.
 ¹⁴ The five men who earlier had explored the country of Laish told their companions, "Did you know there's an ephod, teraphim-idols, and a cast god-sculpture in these buildings? What do you think? Do you want to do something about it?"
 ^15-18 So they turned off the road there, went to the house of the young Levite at Micah's place and asked how things had been with him. The six hundred Danites, all well-armed, stood guard at the entrance to the gate while the five scouts who had gone to explore the land went in and took the carved idol, the ephod, the teraphim-idols, and the god-sculpture. The priest was standing at the gate entrance with the six hundred armed men. When the five went into Micah's house and took the carved idol, the ephod, the teraphim-idols, and the sculpted god, the priest said to them, "What do you think you're doing?"
 ¹⁹ They said to him, "Hush! Don't make a sound. Come with us. Be our father and priest. Which is more important, that you be a priest to one man or that you become priest to a whole tribe and clan in Israel?"
 ²⁰ The priest jumped at the chance. He took the ephod, the teraphim-idols, and the idol and fell in with the troops.
 ^21-23 They turned away and set out, putting the children, the cattle, and the gear in the lead. They were well on their way from Micah's house before Micah and his neighbors got organized. But they soon overtook the Danites. They shouted at them. The Danites turned around and said, "So what's all the noise about?"
 ²⁴ Micah said, "You took my god, the one I made, and you took my priest. And you marched off! What do I have left? How can you now say, 'What's the matter?'"
 ²⁵ But the Danites answered, "Don't yell at us; you just might provoke some fierce, hot-tempered men to attack you, and you'll end up an army of dead men."
 ²⁶ The Danites went on their way. Micah saw that he didn't stand a chance against their arms. He turned back and went home.
 ²⁷ So they took the things that Micah had made, along with his priest, and they arrived at Laish, that city of quiet and unsuspecting people. They massacred the people and burned down the city.
 ^28-29 There was no one around to help. They were a long way from Sidon and had no treaty with the Arameans. Laish was in the valley of Beth Rehob. When they rebuilt the city they renamed it Dan after their ancestor who was a son of Israel, but its original name was Laish.
 ^30-31 The Danites set up the god-figure for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his descendants were priests to the tribe of Dan down to the time of the land's captivity. All during the time that there was a sanctuary of God in Shiloh, they kept for their private use the god-figure that Micah had made.

---

John 3:1-21 (The Message)

John 3

Born from Above

 ^1-2 There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it."

 ³Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to—to God's kingdom."

 ⁴"How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born-from-above' talk?"

 ^5-6Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the 'wind-hovering-over-the-water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.

 ^7-8"So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above'—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God."

 ⁹Nicodemus asked, "What do you mean by this? How does this happen?"

 ^10-12Jesus said, "You're a respected teacher of Israel and you don't know these basics? Listen carefully. I'm speaking sober truth to you. I speak only of what I know by experience; I give witness only to what I have seen with my own eyes. There is nothing secondhand here, no hearsay. Yet instead of facing the evidence and accepting it, you procrastinate with questions. If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don't believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can't see, the things of God?

 ^13-15"No one has ever gone up into the presence of God except the One who came down from that Presence, the Son of Man. In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life.

 ^16-18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

 ^19-21"This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is."

---

Psalm 104:1-23 (The Message)

Psalm 104

    O my soul, bless God! God, my God, how great you are!
      beautifully, gloriously robed,
   Dressed up in sunshine,
      and all heaven stretched out for your tent.
   You built your palace on the ocean deeps,
      made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings.
   You commandeered winds as messengers,
      appointed fire and flame as ambassadors.
   You set earth on a firm foundation
      so that nothing can shake it, ever.
   You blanketed earth with ocean,
      covered the mountains with deep waters;
   Then you roared and the water ran away—
      your thunder crash put it to flight.
   Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out
      in the places you assigned them.
   You set boundaries between earth and sea;
      never again will earth be flooded.
   You started the springs and rivers,
      sent them flowing among the hills.
   All the wild animals now drink their fill,
      wild donkeys quench their thirst.
   Along the riverbanks the birds build nests,
      ravens make their voices heard.
   You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns;
      earth is supplied with plenty of water.
   You make grass grow for the livestock,
      hay for the animals that plow the ground.

 ^14-23 Oh yes, God brings grain from the land,
      wine to make people happy,
   Their faces glowing with health,
      a people well-fed and hearty.
   God's trees are well-watered—
      the Lebanon cedars he planted.
   Birds build their nests in those trees;
      look—the stork at home in the treetop.
   Mountain goats climb about the cliffs;
      badgers burrow among the rocks.
   The moon keeps track of the seasons,
      the sun is in charge of each day.
   When it's dark and night takes over,
      all the forest creatures come out.
   The young lions roar for their prey,
      clamoring to God for their supper.
   When the sun comes up, they vanish,
      lazily stretched out in their dens.
   Meanwhile, men and women go out to work,
      busy at their jobs until evening.

---

Proverbs 14:20-21 (The Message)

 ²⁰ An unlucky loser is shunned by all,
   but everyone loves a winner.

 ²¹ It's criminal to ignore a neighbor in need,
   but compassion for the poor—what a blessing!

---

Verse of the Day

“Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying.” - Romans 12:12

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

---

Thought for the Day

The sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded, Siddhartha Gautama wrote, “The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground.”