Bible Readings for July 11, 2015

Today our passages are 1 Chronicles 11:1–12:18; Acts 28:1-31; Psalm 9:1-12; and Proverbs 19:1-3. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. 

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1 Chronicles 11-12:18 (Contemporary English Version)

1 Chronicles 11

David Becomes King of Israel

(2 Samuel 5.1-3)

 ¹Israel's leaders met with David at Hebron and said, "We are your relatives, ²and we know that you have led our army into battle, even when Saul was still our king. The LORD God has promised that you would rule our country and take care of us like a shepherd. ³So we have come to crown you king of Israel."    David made an agreement with the leaders and asked the LORD to be their witness. Then the leaders poured olive oil on David's head to show that he was now king of Israel. This happened just as the LORD's prophet Samuel had said.
   

David Captures Jerusalem

(2 Samuel 5.6-10)

 ⁴Jerusalem was called Jebus at the time, and David led Israel's army to attack the town. ⁵The Jebusites said, "You won't be able to get in here!" But David captured the fortress of Mount Zion, which is now called the City of David.     ⁶David had told his troops, "The first soldier to kill a Jebusite will become my army commander." And since Joab son of Zeruiah attacked first, he became commander.
    ⁷Later, David moved to the fortress--that's why it's called the City of David. ⁸He had the city rebuilt, starting at the landfill on the east side. ^[a] Meanwhile, Joab supervised the repairs to the rest of the city. ⁹David became a great and strong ruler, because the LORD All-Powerful was on his side.
   

The Three Warriors

(2 Samuel 23.8-17)

 ¹⁰The LORD had promised that David would become king, and so everyone in Israel gave David their support. Certain warriors also helped keep his kingdom strong.     ¹¹The first of these warriors was Jashobeam the son of Hachmoni, the leader of the Three Warriors. ^[b] In one battle he killed three hundred men with his spear. ¹²Another one of the Three Warriors was Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite. ¹³During a battle against the Philistines at Pas-Dammim, all the Israelite soldiers ran away, ¹⁴except Eleazar, who stayed with David. They took their positions in a nearby barley field and defeated the Philistines! The LORD gave Israel a great victory that day.
    ¹⁵One time the Three Warriors ^[c] went to meet David among the rocks at Adullam Cave. The Philistine army had set up camp in Rephaim Valley ¹⁶and had taken over Bethlehem. David was in a fortress, ¹⁷and he said, "I'm very thirsty. I wish I had a drink of water from the well by the gate to Bethlehem." ¹⁸The Three Warriors sneaked through the Philistine camp and got some water from the well near Bethlehem's gate. They took it back to David, but he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured out the water as a sacrifice to the LORD ¹⁹and said, "Drinking this water would be like drinking the blood of these men who risked their lives to get it for me."
   The Three Warriors did these brave deeds.
   

The Thirty Warriors

(2 Samuel 23.18-39)

 ²⁰Joab's brother Abishai was the leader of the Thirty Warriors, ^[d] and in one battle he killed three hundred men with his spear. He was just as famous as the Three Warriors ²¹and was more famous than the rest of the Thirty Warriors. He was their commander, but he never became one of the Three Warriors. ^[e] ²²Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a brave man from Kabzeel who did some amazing things. One time he killed two of Moab's best fighters, and one snowy day he went into a pit and killed a lion. ²³Another time he killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall and was armed with a spear. Benaiah only had a club, so he grabbed the spear from the Egyptian and killed him with it. ²⁴Benaiah did things like that; he was just as brave as the Three Warriors, ²⁵even though he never became one of them. And he was certainly as famous as the rest of the Thirty Warriors. So David made him the leader of his own bodyguard.     ^26-47Here is a list of the other famous warriors:
   Asahel the brother of Joab; Elhanan the son of Dodo from Bethlehem; Shammoth from Haror; Helez from Pelon; Ira the son of Ikkesh from Tekoa; Abiezer from Anathoth; Sibbecai the Hushathite; Ilai ^[f] the Ahohite; Maharai from Netophah; Heled the son of Baanah from Netophah; Ithai the son of Ribai from Gibeah in Benjamin; Benaiah from Pirathon; Hurai ^[g] from near the streams on Mount Gaash; Abiel from Arbah; Azmaveth from Baharum; Eliahba from Shaalbon; Hashem ^[h] the Gizonite; Jonathan the son of Shagee from Harar; Ahiam the son of Sachar the Hararite; Eliphal the son of Ur; Hepher from Mecherah; Ahijah from Pelon; Hezro from Carmel; Naarai the son of Ezbai; Joel the brother of Nathan; Mibhar the son of Hagri; Zelek from Ammon; Naharai from Beeroth who carried Joab's weapons; Ira the Ithrite; Gareb the Ithrite; Uriah the Hittite; Zabad the son of Ahlai; Adina the son of Shiza, a leader in the Reuben tribe, and thirty of his soldiers; Hanan the son of Maacah; Joshaphat from Mithan; Uzzia from Ashterah; Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham from Aroer; Jediael and Joha the sons of Shimri from Tiz; Eliel from Mahavah; Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam; Ithmah from Moab; Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel from Mezobah.

1 Chronicles 12

David's Men at Ziklag

 ¹Some time earlier, David had gone to live in the town of Ziklag to escape from King Saul. While David was there, several brave warriors joined him to help fight his battles. ^[i]

Warriors from the Benjamin tribe

 ² Several of these warriors were from King Saul's own tribe of Benjamin. They were experts at using a bow and arrows, and they could shoot an arrow or sling a stone with either hand. ^3-7Their leaders were Ahiezer and Joash, the sons of Shemaah from Gibeah. Here is a list of those men from Benjamin: Jeziel and Pelet the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah and Jehu from Anathoth; Ishmaiah from Gibeon, who was the leader of the Thirty Warriors; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah; Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, and Shephatiah from Haruph; Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam from the Korah clan; Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham from Gedor.    

Warriors from the Gad tribe

 ⁸ Men from the tribe of Gad also joined David at his fortress in the desert and served as his warriors. They were also brave soldiers--fierce as lions and quick as gazelles. They were always prepared to fight with shields and spears. ^9-13There were eleven of them, ranked in the following order: Ezer the leader, then Obadiah, Eliab, Mishmannah, Jeremiah, Attai, Eliel, Johanan, Elzabad, Jeremiah, and Machbannai.     ¹⁴All these men were army officers; some were high-ranking officers over a thousand troops, and others were officers over a hundred troops. ¹⁵Earlier, they had crossed the Jordan River when it flooded, and they chased out the people who lived in the valleys on each side of the river.
   

Warriors from the Benjamin and Judah tribes

 ¹⁶ One time a group of men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah went to the fortress where David was staying. ¹⁷David met them outside and said, "If you are coming as friends to fight on my side, then stay and join us. But if you try to turn me over to my enemies, the God our ancestors worshiped will punish you, because I have done nothing wrong."     ¹⁸Amasai, who later became the leader of the Thirty Warriors, was one of these men who went to David. God's Spirit took control of him, and he said, "We will join you, David son of Jesse! You and your followers will always be successful, because God fights on your side."
   So David agreed to let them stay, and he even put them in charge of his soldiers who raided enemy villages.
   

Footnotes:

1. 1 Chronicles 11:8 the landfill on the east side: The Hebrew text has "the Millo," which probably refers to a landfill to strengthen and extend the hill where the city was built.
2. 1 Chronicles 11:11 the Three Warriors: One ancient translation and 2 Samuel 23.8; Hebrew "the Thirty Warriors." The "Three Warriors" was the most honored group of warriors and may have been part of the "Thirty Warriors." "Three" and "thirty" are spelled almost the same in Hebrew, so there is some confusion in the manuscripts as to which group is being talked about in some places in the following lists.
3. 1 Chronicles 11:15 the Three Warriors: Hebrew "three of the thirty most important warriors."
4. 1 Chronicles 11:20 the Thirty Warriors: One ancient translation; Hebrew "the Three Warriors." The "Thirty Warriors" was the second most honored group of warriors and may have also been officers in the army.
5. 1 Chronicles 11:21 Warriors: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of these verses.
6. 1 Chronicles 11:26 Ilai: Or "Zalmon" (see 2 Samuel 23.24-39).
7. 1 Chronicles 11:26 Hurai: Or "Hiddai" (see 2 Samuel 23.24-39).
8. 1 Chronicles 11:26 Hashem: One ancient translation; Hebrew "the sons of Hashem."
9. 1 Chronicles 12:1 David had gone. . . battles: Ziklag was the Philistine town that King Achish of Gath gave David in return for his loyalty (see 1 Samuel 27.6). This happened during the time that David was living as an outlaw, so the events in this chapter actually took place before chapter 11 when David became king of Israel.

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Acts 28:1-31 (Contemporary English Version)

Acts 28

On the Island of Malta

 ¹When we came ashore, we learned that the island was called Malta. ²The local people were very friendly, and they welcomed us by building a fire, because it was rainy and cold.     ³After Paul had gathered some wood and had put it on the fire, the heat caused a snake to crawl out, and it bit him on the hand. ⁴When the local people saw the snake hanging from Paul's hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer! He didn't drown in the sea, but the goddess of justice will kill him anyway."
    ⁵Paul shook the snake off into the fire and wasn't harmed. ⁶The people kept thinking that Paul would either swell up or suddenly drop dead. They watched him for a long time, and when nothing happened to him, they changed their minds and said, "This man is a god."
    ⁷The governor of the island was named Publius, and he owned some of the land around there. Publius was very friendly and welcomed us into his home for three days. ⁸His father was in bed, sick with fever and stomach trouble, and Paul went to visit him. Paul healed the man by praying and placing his hands on him.
    ⁹After this happened, everyone on the island brought their sick people to Paul, and they were all healed. ¹⁰The people were very respectful to us, and when we sailed, they gave us everything we needed.
   

From Malta to Rome

 ¹¹Three months later we sailed in a ship that had been docked at Malta for the winter. The ship was from Alexandria in Egypt and was known as "The Twin Gods." ^[a] ¹²We arrived in Syracuse and stayed for three days. ¹³From there we sailed to Rhegium. The next day a south wind began to blow, and two days later we arrived in Puteoli. ¹⁴There we found some of the Lord's followers, who begged us to stay with them. A week later we left for the city of Rome. ¹⁵Some of the followers in Rome heard about us and came to meet us at the Market of Appius and at the Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.    

Paul in Rome

 ¹⁶We arrived in Rome, and Paul was allowed to live in a house by himself with a soldier to guard him.     ¹⁷Three days after we got there, Paul called together some of the Jewish leaders and said:
   My friends, I have never done anything to hurt our people, and I have never gone against the customs of our ancestors. But in Jerusalem I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. ¹⁸They looked into the charges against me and wanted to release me. They found that I had not done anything deserving death. ¹⁹The Jewish leaders disagreed, so I asked to be tried by the Emperor.
   But I don't have anything to say against my own nation. ²⁰I am bound by these chains because of what we people of Israel hope for. That's why I have called you here to talk about this hope of ours.
    ²¹The leaders replied, "No one from Judea has written us a letter about you. And not one of them has come here to report on you or to say anything against you. ²²But we would like to hear what you have to say. We understand that people everywhere are against this new group."
    ²³They agreed on a time to meet with Paul, and many of them came to his house. From early morning until late in the afternoon, Paul talked to them about God's kingdom. He used the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets ^[b] to try to win them over to Jesus. ²⁴Some of the leaders agreed with what Paul said, but others did not. ²⁵Since they could not agree among themselves, they started leaving. But Paul said, "The Holy Spirit said the right thing when he sent Isaiah the prophet ²⁶to tell our ancestors,
   `Go to these people
   and tell them:
   You will listen and listen,
   but never understand.
   You will look and look,
   but never see.
    ²⁷All of you
   have stubborn hearts.
   Your ears are stopped up,
   and your eyes are covered.
   You cannot see or hear
   or understand.
   If you could,
   you would turn to me,
   and I would heal you.' "
    ^28-29Paul said, "You may be sure that God wants to save the Gentiles! And they will listen." ^[c] ³⁰For two years Paul stayed in a rented house and welcomed everyone who came to see him. ³¹He bravely preached about God's kingdom and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ, and no one tried to stop him.
   

Footnotes:

1. Acts 28:11 known as "The Twin Gods": Or "carried on its bow a wooden carving of the Twin Gods." These gods were Castor and Pollux, two of the favorite gods among sailors.
2. Acts 28:23 Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets: The Jewish Bible, that is, the Old Testament.
3. Acts 28:28 And they will listen: Some manuscripts add, "After Paul said this, the people left, but they got into a fierce argument among themselves."

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Psalm 9:1-12 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 9

(A psalm by David for the music leader. To the tune "The Death of the Son.")

Sing Praises to the LORD

 ¹I will praise you, LORD,    with all my heart
   and tell about the wonders
   you have worked.
    ²God Most High, I will rejoice;
   I will celebrate and sing
   because of you.
    ³When my enemies face you,
   they run away and stumble
   and are destroyed.
    ⁴You take your seat as judge,
   and your fair decisions prove
   that I was in the right.
    ⁵You warn the nations
   and destroy evil people;
   you wipe out their names
   forever and ever.
    ⁶Our enemies are destroyed
   completely for all time.
   Their cities are torn down,
   and they will never
   be remembered again.
    ⁷You rule forever, LORD,
   and you are on your throne,
   ready for judgment.
    ⁸You judge the world fairly
   and treat all nations
   with justice.
    ⁹The poor can run to you
   because you are a fortress
   in times of trouble.
    ¹⁰Everyone who honors your name
   can trust you,
   because you are faithful
   to all who depend on you.
    ¹¹You rule from Zion, LORD,
   and we sing about you
   to let the nations know
   everything you have done.
    ¹²You did not forget
   to punish the guilty
   or listen to the cries
   of those in need.

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Proverbs 19:1-3 (Contemporary English Version)

Proverbs 19

It's Wise To Be Patient

 ¹It's better to be poor    and live right
   than to be a stupid liar.
    ²Willingness and stupidity
   don't go well together.
   If you are too eager,
   you will miss the road.
    ³We are ruined
   by our own stupidity,
   though we blame the LORD.

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Verse of the Day

“LORD God, you stretched out your mighty arm and made the sky and the earth. You can do anything.” - Jeremiah 32:17

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

English churchman and historian, Thomas Fuller wrote, “Care and diligence bring luck.”

Bible Readings for September 3, 2014

Today our passages are Ecclesiastes 4:1–6:12; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:7; Psalm 47:1-9; and Proverbs 22:16. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

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Ecclesiastes 4-6:12 (The Message)

Ecclesiastes 4

Slow Suicide

^1-3 Next I turned my attention to all the outrageous violence that takes place on this planet—the tears of the victims, no one to comfort them; the iron grip of oppressors, no one to rescue the victims from them. So I congratulated the dead who are already dead instead of the living who are still alive. But luckier than the dead or the living is the person who has never even been, who has never seen the bad business that takes place on this earth. ⁴ Then I observed all the work and ambition motivated by envy. What a waste! Smoke. And spitting into the wind.

⁵ The fool sits back and takes it easy,
His sloth is slow suicide.

⁶ One handful of peaceful repose
Is better than two fistfuls of worried work—
More spitting into the wind.

Why Am I Working Like a Dog?

^7-8 I turned my head and saw yet another wisp of smoke on its way to nothingness: a solitary person, completely alone—no children, no family, no friends—yet working obsessively late into the night, compulsively greedy for more and more, never bothering to ask, "Why am I working like a dog, never having any fun? And who cares?" More smoke. A bad business.

^9-10 It's better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there's no one to help, tough!

¹¹ Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.

¹² By yourself you're unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped. ^13-16 A poor youngster with some wisdom is better off than an old but foolish king who doesn't know which end is up. I saw a youth just like this start with nothing and go from rags to riches, and I saw everyone rally to the rule of this young successor to the king. Even so, the excitement died quickly, the throngs of people soon lost interest. Can't you see it's only smoke? And spitting into the wind?

Ecclesiastes 5

God's in Charge, Not You

¹ Watch your step when you enter God's house.
Enter to learn. That's far better than mindlessly offering
a sacrifice,
Doing more harm than good.

² Don't shoot off your mouth, or speak before you think.
Don't be too quick to tell God what you think he wants to hear.
God's in charge, not you—the less you speak, the better.

³ Overwork makes for restless sleep.
Overtalk shows you up as a fool.

^4-5 When you tell God you'll do something, do it—now.
God takes no pleasure in foolish gabble. Vow it, then do it.
Far better not to vow in the first place than to vow and not pay up.

⁶ Don't let your mouth make a total sinner of you.
When called to account, you won't get by with
"Sorry, I didn't mean it."
Why risk provoking God to angry retaliation?

⁷ But against all illusion and fantasy and empty talk
There's always this rock foundation: Fear God!

A Salary of Smoke

^8-9 Don't be too upset when you see the poor kicked around, and justice and right violated all over the place. Exploitation filters down from one petty official to another. There's no end to it, and nothing can be done about it. But the good earth doesn't cheat anyone—even a bad king is honestly served by a field.

¹⁰ The one who loves money is never satisfied with money,
Nor the one who loves wealth with big profits. More smoke.

¹¹ The more loot you get, the more looters show up.
And what fun is that—to be robbed in broad daylight?

¹² Hard and honest work earns a good night's sleep,
Whether supper is beans or steak.
But a rich man's belly gives him insomnia.

^13-17 Here's a piece of bad luck I've seen happen:
A man hoards far more wealth than is good for him
And then loses it all in a bad business deal.
He fathered a child but hasn't a cent left to give him.
He arrived naked from the womb of his mother;
He'll leave in the same condition—with nothing.
This is bad luck, for sure—naked he came, naked he went.
So what was the point of working for a salary of smoke?
All for a miserable life spent in the dark?

Make the Most of What God Gives

^18-20 After looking at the way things are on this earth, here's what I've decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that's about it. That's the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what's given and delighting in the work. It's God's gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It's useless to brood over how long we might live.

Ecclesiastes 6

Things Are Bad

^1-2 I looked long and hard at what goes on around here, and let me tell you, things are bad. And people feel it. There are people, for instance, on whom God showers everything—money, property, reputation—all they ever wanted or dreamed of. And then God doesn't let them enjoy it. Some stranger comes along and has all the fun. It's more of what I'm calling smoke. A bad business. ^3-5 Say a couple have scores of children and live a long, long life but never enjoy themselves—even though they end up with a big funeral! I'd say that a stillborn baby gets the better deal. It gets its start in a mist and ends up in the dark—unnamed. It sees nothing and knows nothing, but is better off by far than anyone living.
⁶ Even if someone lived a thousand years—make it two thousand!—but didn't enjoy anything, what's the point? Doesn't everyone end up in the same place?

⁷ We work to feed our appetites;
Meanwhile our souls go hungry.
^8-9 So what advantage has a sage over a fool, or over some poor wretch who barely gets by? Just grab whatever you can while you can; don't assume something better might turn up by and by. All it amounts to anyway is smoke. And spitting into the wind.

¹⁰ Whatever happens, happens. Its destiny is fixed.
You can't argue with fate.
^11-12 The more words that are spoken, the more smoke there is in the air. And who is any better off? And who knows what's best for us as we live out our meager smoke-and-shadow lives? And who can tell any of us the next chapter of our lives?

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2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7 (The Message)

^14-18Don't become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:

"I'll live in them, move into them;
I'll be their God and they'll be my people.
So leave the corruption and compromise;
leave it for good," says God.
"Don't link up with those who will pollute you.
I want you all for myself.
I'll be a Father to you;
you'll be sons and daughters to me."
The Word of the Master, God.

2 Corinthians 7

¹ With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let's make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let's make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God.

More Passionate, More Responsible

^2-4Trust us. We've never hurt a soul, never exploited or taken advantage of anyone. Don't think I'm finding fault with you. I told you earlier that I'm with you all the way, no matter what. I have, in fact, the greatest confidence in you. If only you knew how proud I am of you! I am overwhelmed with joy despite all our troubles. ^5-7When we arrived in Macedonia province, we couldn't settle down. The fights in the church and the fears in our hearts kept us on pins and needles. We couldn't relax because we didn't know how it would turn out. Then the God who lifts up the downcast lifted our heads and our hearts with the arrival of Titus. We were glad just to see him, but the true reassurance came in what he told us about you: how much you cared, how much you grieved, how concerned you were for me. I went from worry to tranquility in no time!

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Psalm 47:1-9 (The Message)

Psalm 47

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah

^1-9 Applause, everyone. Bravo, bravissimo! Shout God-songs at the top of your lungs!
God Most High is stunning,
astride land and ocean.
He crushes hostile people,
puts nations at our feet.
He set us at the head of the line,
prize-winning Jacob, his favorite.
Loud cheers as God climbs the mountain,
a ram's horn blast at the summit.
Sing songs to God, sing out!
Sing to our King, sing praise!
He's Lord over earth,
so sing your best songs to God.
God is Lord of godless nations—
sovereign, he's King of the mountain.
Princes from all over are gathered,
people of Abraham's God.
The powers of earth are God's—
he soars over all.

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Proverbs 22:16 (The Message)

¹⁶ Exploit the poor or glad-hand the rich—whichever,
you'll end up the poorer for it.

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Verse of the Day

“[It Is Best To Obey the LORD]with this message: People of Israel, I am the holy LORD God, the one who rescues you. For your own good, I teach you, and I lead you along the right path.” - Isaiah 48:17

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

English churchman and historian, Thomas Fuller wrote, “Vows made in storms are forgotten in calm.”

Bible Readings for April 10, 2013

Today our passages are Joshua 3:1-4:24; Luke 14:7-35; Psalm 80:1-19; and Proverbs 12:27-28. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

 

Joshua 3-4:24 (Contemporary English Version)

Joshua 3

Israel Crosses the Jordan River

 ¹Early the next morning, Joshua and the Israelites packed up and left Acacia. They went to the Jordan River and camped there that night. ²Two days later ^[a] their leaders went through the camp, ^3-4shouting, " When you see some of the priests ^[b] carrying the sacred chest, you'll know it is time to cross to the other side. You've never been there before, and you won't know the way, unless you follow the chest. But don't get too close! Stay about half a mile back." ⁵Joshua told the people, " Make yourselves acceptable ^[c] to worship the LORD, because he is going to do some amazing things for us." ⁶Then Joshua turned to the priests and said, " Take the chest and cross the Jordan River ahead of us." So the priests picked up the chest by its carrying poles and went on ahead.     ⁷The LORD told Joshua, " Beginning today I will show the people that you are their leader, and they will know that I am helping you as I helped Moses. ⁸Now, tell the priests who are carrying the chest to go a little way into the river and stand there."
    ⁹Joshua spoke to the people:
   Come here and listen to what the LORD our God said he will do! ¹⁰The Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites control the land on the other side of the river. But the living God will be with you and will force them out of the land when you attack. And now, God is going to prove that he's powerful enough to force them out. ^11-13Just watch the sacred chest that belongs to the LORD, the ruler of the whole earth. As soon as the priests carrying the chest step into the Jordan, the water will stop flowing and pile up as if someone had built a dam across the river.
   The LORD has also said that each of the twelve tribes should choose one man to represent it.
    ¹⁴The Israelites packed up and left camp. The priests carrying the chest walked in front, ¹⁵until they came to the Jordan River. The water in the river had risen over its banks, as it often does in springtime. ^[d] But as soon as the feet of the priests touched the water, ^16-17the river stopped flowing, and the water started piling up at the town of Adam near Zarethan. No water flowed toward the Dead Sea, and the priests stood in the middle of the dry riverbed near Jericho while everyone else crossed over.

Joshua 4

The People Set Up a Monument

 ¹After Israel had crossed the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua:     ^2-3Tell ^[e] one man from each of the twelve tribes to pick up a large rock from where the priests are standing. Then have the men set up those rocks as a monument at the place where you camp tonight. ⁴Joshua chose twelve men; he called them together, ⁵and told them:
   Go to the middle of the riverbed where the sacred chest is, and pick up a large rock. Carry it on your shoulder to our camp. There are twelve of you, so there will be one rock for each tribe. ^6-7Someday your children will ask, " Why are these rocks here?" Then you can tell them how the water stopped flowing when the chest was being carried across the river. These rocks will always remind our people of what happened here today.
    ⁸The men followed the instructions that the LORD had given Joshua. They picked up twelve rocks, one for each tribe, and carried them to the camp, where they put them down.
    ⁹Joshua had some other men set up a monument next to the place where the priests were standing. This monument was also made of twelve large rocks, and it is still there in the middle of the river.
   

The People of Israel Set Up Camp at Gilgal

 ^10-13The army got ready for battle and crossed the Jordan. They marched quickly past the sacred chest ^[f] and into the desert near Jericho. Forty thousand soldiers from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh ^[g] led the way, as Moses had ordered. ^[h] The priests stayed right where they were until the army had followed the orders that the LORD had given Moses and Joshua. Then the army watched as the priests carried the chest the rest of the way across.     ^14-18" Joshua," the LORD said, " have the priests come up from the Jordan and bring the chest with them." So Joshua went over to the priests and told them what the LORD had said. And as soon as the priests carried the chest past the highest place that the floodwaters of the Jordan had reached, the river flooded its banks again.
   That's how the LORD showed the Israelites that Joshua was their leader. ^[i] For the rest of Joshua's life, they respected him as they had respected Moses. ¹⁹It was the tenth day of the first month ^[j] of the year when Israel crossed the Jordan River. They set up camp at Gilgal, which was east of the land controlled by Jericho. ²⁰The men who had carried the twelve rocks from the Jordan brought them to Joshua, and they made them into a monument. ²¹Then Joshua told the people: Years from now your children will ask you why these rocks are here. ^22-23Tell them, " The LORD our God dried up the Jordan River so we could walk across. He did the same thing here for us that he did for our people at the Red Sea, ^[k] ²⁴because he wants everyone on earth to know how powerful he is. And he wants us to worship only him."

Footnotes:

1. Joshua 3:2 Two days later: The Hebrew text has " At the end of three days," two days after they had set up camp.
2. Joshua 3:3 the priests: The Hebrew text has " the priests, the Levites" ; priests belonged to the tribe of Levi.
3. Joshua 3:5 Make yourselves acceptable: People had to do certain things to make themselves acceptable to worship the LORD (see Leviticus 7.20,21; 15.2,33; 22.4-8; Deuteronomy 23.10,11).
4. Joshua 3:15 springtime: Or " harvest time" ; the grain harvest was in late spring.
5. Joshua 4:2 Joshua. . . Tell: Or " Joshua, you and the other leaders must tell."
6. Joshua 4:10 the sacred chest: The Hebrew text has " the LORD." The army was marching past the sacred chest, which was a symbol of God's throne on earth (see 1 Samuel 4.4 and Exodus 25.10-22; 37.1-9).
7. Joshua 4:10 Forty thousand soldiers from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh: Or " There were forty thousand soldiers altogether, and those from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh."
8. Joshua 4:10 Moses. . . ordered: See Numbers 32.16-32; Joshua 1.12-16.
9. Joshua 4:14 leader: See 3.7.
10. Joshua 4:19 first month: Abib (also called Nisan), the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.
11. Joshua 4:22 Red Sea: See the note at 2.10.

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Luke 14:7-35 (Contemporary English Version)

How To Be a Guest

 ⁷Jesus saw how the guests had tried to take the best seats. So he told them:     ⁸When you are invited to a wedding feast, don't sit in the best place. Someone more important may have been invited. ⁹Then the one who invited you will come and say, "Give your place to this other guest!" You will be embarrassed and will have to sit in the worst place.
    ¹⁰When you are invited to be a guest, go and sit in the worst place. Then the one who invited you may come and say, "My friend, take a better seat!" You will then be honored in front of all the other guests. ¹¹If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.
    ¹²Then Jesus said to the man who had invited him:
   When you give a dinner or a banquet, don't invite your friends and family and relatives and rich neighbors. If you do, they will invite you in return, and you will be paid back. ¹³When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴They cannot pay you back. But God will bless you and reward you when his people rise from death.
   

The Great Banquet

(Matthew 22.1-10)

 ¹⁵After Jesus had finished speaking, one of the guests said, "The greatest blessing of all is to be at the banquet in God's kingdom!"     ¹⁶Jesus told him:
   A man once gave a great banquet and invited a lot of guests. ¹⁷When the banquet was ready, he sent a servant to tell the guests, "Everything is ready! Please come."
    ¹⁸One guest after another started making excuses. The first one said, "I bought some land, and I've got to look it over. Please excuse me."
    ¹⁹Another guest said, "I bought five teams of oxen, and I need to try them out. Please excuse me."
    ²⁰Still another guest said, "I have just gotten married, and I can't be there."
    ²¹The servant told his master what happened, and the master became so angry that he said, "Go as fast as you can to every street and alley in town! Bring in everyone who is poor or crippled or blind or lame."
    ²²When the servant returned, he said, "Master, I've done what you told me, and there is still plenty of room for more people."
    ²³His master then told him, "Go out along the back roads and fence rows and make people come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴Not one of the guests I first invited will get even a bite of my food!"
   

Being a Disciple

(Matthew 10.37,38)

 ²⁵Large crowds were walking along with Jesus, when he turned and said:     ²⁶You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot come with me unless you love me more than you love your own life.
    ²⁷You cannot be my disciple unless you carry your own cross and come with me.
    ²⁸Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. What is the first thing you will do? Won't you sit down and figure out how much it will cost and if you have enough money to pay for it? ²⁹Otherwise, you will start building the tower, but not be able to finish. Then everyone who sees what is happening will laugh at you. ³⁰They will say, "You started building, but could not finish the job."
    ³¹What will a king do if he has only ten thousand soldiers to defend himself against a king who is about to attack him with twenty thousand soldiers? Before he goes out to battle, won't he first sit down and decide if he can win? ³²If he thinks he won't be able to defend himself, he will send messengers and ask for peace while the other king is still a long way off. ³³So then, you cannot be my disciple unless you give away everything you own.
   

Salt and Light

(Matthew 5.13; Mark 9.50)

 ³⁴Salt is good, but if it no longer tastes like salt, how can it be made to taste salty again? ³⁵It is no longer good for the soil or even for the manure pile. People simply throw it out. If you have ears, pay attention!

 

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Psalm 80:1-19 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 80

(A psalm by Asaph for the music leader. To the tune "Lilies of the Agreement.")

Help Our Nation

 ¹Shepherd of Israel, you lead    the descendants of Joseph,
   and you sit on your throne
   above the winged creatures. ^[a] Listen to our prayer
   and let your light shine
    ²for the tribes of Ephraim,
   Benjamin, and Manasseh.
   Save us by your power.
    ³Our God, make us strong again!
   Smile on us and save us.
    ⁴LORD God All-Powerful,
   how much longer
   will the prayers of your people
   make you angry?
    ⁵You gave us tears for food,
   and you made us drink them
   by the bowlful.
    ⁶Because of you,
   our enemies who live nearby
   laugh and joke about us.
    ⁷But if you smile on us,
   we will be saved.
    ⁸We were like a grapevine
   you brought out of Egypt.
   You chased other nations away
   and planted us here.
    ⁹Then you cleared the ground,
   and we put our roots deep,
   spreading over the land.
    ¹⁰Shade from this vine covered
   the mountains.
   Its branches
   climbed
   the mighty cedars
    ¹¹and stretched to the sea;
   its new growth reached
   to the river. ^[b] ¹²Our Lord, why have you
   torn down the wall
   from around the vineyard?
   You let everyone who walks by
   pick the grapes.
    ¹³Now the vine is gobbled down
   by pigs from the forest
   and other wild animals.
    ¹⁴God All-Powerful,
   please do something!
   Look down from heaven
   and see what's happening
   to this vine.
    ¹⁵With your own hands
   you planted its roots,
   and you raised it
   as your very own.
    ¹⁶Enemies chopped the vine down
   and set it on fire.
   Now show your anger
   and destroy them.
    ¹⁷But help the one who sits
   at your right side, ^[c] the one you raised
   to be your own.
    ¹⁸Then we will never turn away.
   Put new life into us,
   and we will worship you.
    ¹⁹LORD God All-Powerful,
   make us strong again!
   Smile on us and save us.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 80:1 winged creatures: Two winged creatures made of gold were on the top of the sacred chest and were symbols of the LORD's throne on earth (see Exodus 25.18).
2. Psalm 80:11 the sea. . . the river: The Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates River were part of the ideal boundaries for Israel.
3. Psalm 80:17 right side: See the note at 16.11.

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Proverbs 12:27-28 (Contemporary English Version)

²⁷Anyone too lazy to cook
   will starve,
   but a hard worker
   is a valuable treasure. ^[a] ²⁸Follow the road to life,
   and you won't be bothered
   by death.
   

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 12:27 but. . . treasure: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Verse of the Day

 

“Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.” - Romans 5:6-8

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

English churchman and historian Thomas Fuller wrote, “If you have one true friend you have more than your share.”