Podcasts about judeans

(5:16) Bible Study: Isaiah 49:1-6 Father explains this reading. John 13:21-33, 36-38 Father explains this passage and the strange customs of the time. (22:39) Break 1 (25:16) Letters: What is the difference between the Jews and Judeans? How bad is the sin of rebellion? Father answers these and other questions. Send him a letter at simon@relevantradio.com (34:25) Break 2 (38:57) Word of the Day Island (40:24) Phones: Jeff -Why in Palm Sunday Mass, they have the whole passion narrative? Why don’t we just stay with Palm Sunday narrative since we are going to go through the passion narrative on Holy Thursday and Good Friday? Second question. David - My family got invited to a Hindu wedding, are there any rituals of a Hindu wedding that we as Catholics should not be part of?

Jesus is nearing Jerusalem when some in the crowd bring up agruesome tragedy—Galileans slaughtered by Pontius Pilate, their blood mingledwith their sacrifices. Pilate, a harsh Roman governor, was notorious forclashing with the Jews. He brought Roman ensigns into the Holy City, seizedtemple funds for an aqueduct, and quelled protests with violence. Thisatrocity, possibly during a feast when nationalism surged, saw soldiers strikedown unarmed Galileans at the altar—a shocking sacrilege. The crowd, especiallythe Pharisees and Judeans, assumed these Galileans were worse sinners,deserving such a fate. They expected Jesus to agree. Instead,Jesus replies, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than allother Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unlessyou repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:2-3). Then He brings itcloser to home: “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killedthem, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt inJerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”(Luke 13:4-5). The Siloam tower collapse—workers killed on Pilate's aqueductproject—stung the Judeans. They'd judged those victims too, thinking they gotwhat they deserved for working with Pilate. Jesusflips the script. He doesn't defend Pilate or the Galileans, nor does He diveinto political debates. He lifts the issue higher: tragedy isn't always divinepunishment. The Galileans weren't worse sinners; the Siloam workers weren'tuniquely guilty. Suffering doesn't always mark God's wrath—Job's friendsmisjudged that, and so did the crowd. Even Jesus, sinless, suffered. If everydisaster signaled sin, how would we explain the trials of prophets, apostles,or Christ Himself? Jesus debunks their logic, then drives deeper: all aresinners, and all face judgment unless they repent. The real question isn't “Whydid they die?” but “Why are you still alive?” Thisurgency echoes through Scripture. Jesus' first message was “Repent, for thekingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). His last, to the church inLaodicea, was “Be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:19). Paul preached “repentancetoward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). The Greekword for repentance, metanoia, means a change of mind and heart—a turning fromsin to God. It's not just confessing; it's forsaking sin and trusting Jesus.The Bible calls for repentance 969 times—it hasn't dropped out of God's vocabulary,even if it's faded from ours. TheGalileans' fate and Siloam's collapse foreshadowed a greater judgment—likeJerusalem's fall to Rome in AD 70. Jesus' warning was clear: repent now, orperish. Today, we're tempted to judge others' misfortunes—“They had itcoming”—while dodging our own guilt. But Jesus cuts through: “Unless yourepent.” We're all in the same boat—one death per person. “Now is the day ofsalvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). As Jesus neared the cross, He urged thecrowd—and us—to wake up, stop pointing fingers, and turn to Him. He didn'tpromise a life free of towers or tyrants, but a way to stand forgiven beforeGod. ClosingChallengeHaveyou truly repented—changed your mind about sin, owning your guilt before God?This week, pick one area needing a turn—maybe a hidden sin, a bitter attitude,or a neglected faith. Confess it, turn from it, and trust Jesus to transformyou. Don't delay; the time to repent is now. PrayerLordJesus, thank You for Your urgent call to repentance, preached from Your firstwords to Your last. Forgive us for judging others instead of facing our ownsin. Stir our hearts with metanoia—a true change toward You. Help us turn fromsin, place our faith in You, and live as Your children. Give us courage to acttoday, trusting Your mercy. Bless us as we follow You to the cross and beyond.Amen.

In Luke 13 the enemies of the Lord maliciously attack him by drawing his attention to the Galileans, who Pilate had slaughtered as they were sacrificing in Jerusalem. Jesus tells his audience of Judeans of a recent event where a wall in Siloam – Jerusalem's backyard – fell on many Judeans. Did it happen because they were bad sinners? No, on both counts – but both tragedies provided opportunities for reflection and repentance. This is followed in chapter 13 by the parable of the barren fig tree which represents Israel's failure to bring forth fruit to God. Jesus next, on the Sabbath day heals a woman with an unclean spirit. The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven come next in the record. Then the record speaks of the parable of the narrow door, through which every disciple must strive to enter. Our Lord Jesus Christ laments over Jerusalem – to be torn down stone by stone as the leprous house. He will be welcomed in the Kingdom, when they would say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (Psalm 118 verse 26). Chapter 14 of Luke begins with Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath day. That man had clearly been planted as a test for Jesus. Would he heal on the Sabbath day? The Lord was invited to speak at a dinner for Pharisees and Jesus gives advice in the parable of the wedding feast. Then came another parable about the great banquet to which each invited class found excuses not to attend. These people who were called by the gospel to come to the wedding feast of the Son of God all adjudged themselves unworthy of eternal life in the kingdom. As a result of their rejection we have graciously been offered a place. Two parables follow which tell us that as disciples of Jesus we must about count the cost of discipleship and wholeheartedly pursue that goal. Every disciple of our Lord must accept the peace that our Sovereign offers to us through the emissaries of the gospel and then make peace with Him: Ephesians 2 verses 11 to 22. The chapter concludes with the need for zest and salt among our Master's disciples. Salt speaks of sincerity in Christ's disciples as we are told in 1 Corinthians 5 verses 6 to 8.

Numbers 3 briefly tells us of the genealogy of Aaron, the High Priest, and of his 4 sons (two of whom Nadab and Abihu, were slain by Yahweh on the opening day of the Tabernacle) – the priests – the other 2 sons being Eleazar and Ithamar. Verses 5-39 outlines the duties of the Levites. As a result of their faithfulness, in the tragedy of the idolatry associated with the golden calf, the Levites became the ministers who acted for the LORD and in service of the Tabernacle. The Levites answered Yahweh's call: “Who is on My side?” There were 3 sons born to Levi, who was Jacob's 3rd son. Levi's sons were Gershom, Kohath and Merari. These were responsible for the carrying of the Tabernacle and its furniture. The special items of furniture were carried by the Kohathites. The numbers of adult males for the 3 clans is stated in the record. Verses 40 to 51 speaks of the redemption of the firstborn males of the Levites and of their cattle. The valuation for the male Levites was 5 shekels of silver per person. Psalm 148 completes the Deuteronomy Psalms. The writer, in verses 1 to 12, calls upon every created being to praise Yahweh. Even the inanimate natural created objects to praise the Almighty Creator. Verses 13 and 14 tell us that the greatest praise is due to the LORD because of the redemptive work of our God in raising up “a horn of salvation” for His people Israel and for His saints (the faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ). Note how these words are quoted by Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, in Luke 1 verses 68 and 69. Psalms 149 and 150 are the conclusion to the Psalms; just as Psalms 1 and 2 were the introduction. The Book of Psalms is brought to a crescendo in these two Psalms (149 and 150). Psalms 149 and 2 are companion Psalms which carry the same essential message – the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ will be established by the power of the Almighty. None can prevent the kingdom from coming; and the Almighty's wisdom is to be found among those who submit to the divine authority: all resistance will be totally crushed. So the two Psalms bookend the Book of the Psalms. Psalm 149 calls upon the righteous to be glad and rejoice in their king. The humble will extol the triumph of their God. Together with their praises is a readiness to avenge all wickedness in high places (2 Corinthians 10:4-6). Psalm 150 is a song that was accompanied by a massive orchestra composed of all manner of instruments. It calls upon everything with breath to praise the Name of Yahweh. Every verse of the song commences with Hallelujah, meaning praise Yah; and the Psalm concludes with Hallelujah. Let everyone of us praise God with our lips; but more importantly let us glorify Him by the way we live. In Luke 13 the enemies of the Lord maliciously attack him by drawing his attention to the Galileans, who Pilate had slaughtered as they were sacrificing in Jerusalem. Jesus tells his audience of Judeans of a recent event where a wall in Siloam – Jerusalem's backyard – fell on many Judeans. Did it happen because they were bad sinners? No, on both counts – but both tragedies provided opportunities for reflection and repentance. This is followed in chapter 13 by the parable of the barren fig tree which represents Israel's failure to bring forth fruit to God. Jesus next, on the Sabbath day heals a woman with an unclean spirit. The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven come next in the record. Then the record speaks of the parable of the narrow door, through which every disciple must strive to enter. Our Lord Jesus Christ laments over Jerusalem – to be torn down stone by stone as the leprous house. He will be welcomed in the Kingdom, when they would say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (Psalm 118 verse 26). Chapter 14 of Luke begins with Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath day. That man had clearly been planted as a test for Jesus. Would he heal on the Sabbath day? The Lord was invited to speak at a dinner for Pharisees and Jesus gives advice in the parable of the wedding feast. Then came another parable about the great banquet to which each invited class found excuses not to attend. These people who were called by the gospel to come to the wedding feast of the Son of God all adjudged themselves unworthy of eternal life in the kingdom. As a result of their rejection we have graciously been offered a place. Two parables follow which tell us that as disciples of Jesus we must about count the cost of discipleship and wholeheartedly pursue that goal. Every disciple of our Lord must accept the peace that our Sovereign offers to us through the emissaries of the gospel and then make peace with Him: Ephesians 2 verses 11 to 22. The chapter concludes with the need for zest and salt among our Master's disciples. Salt speaks of sincerity in Christ's disciples as we are told in 1 Corinthians 5 verses 6 to 8.

This is the talk from our 10:45 service on Sunday 2nd March 2025. The reading was Jeremiah 31:31-34. In this talk, David explores the new covenant that God offers through the prophet Jeremiah. Despite the Judeans' past wrongdoings and the dire consequences they faced, God promises to forgive them, write his law on their hearts, and enable them to know him intimately. David connects this promise to Jesus' words at the Last Supper and Paul's teachings in Romans, showing how this new covenant is now available to all who put their trust in Christ. The talk invites listeners to seek God's forgiveness, desire what he wants, and grow in knowing him personally and through the community of believers.

In this episode we explain how the deity-of-Christ interpretation of John's Gospel is wrong. Three, Yea verily Four Keys to Understanding John's Gospel 1.       The Purpose statement of the author, John 20:30-31 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”   The original target audience of the Gospel of John was Israelites in the Diaspora. John wrote to convince and help them to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  See more below.   2.      In John's Gospel, Jesus declares that he is a man who told the truth which he heard from God. John 8:40, “but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.” Jesus differentiates himself from God. Jesus is a man, not a god-man, not one person of God who is incarnated in a human nature.  Jesus states that he is a human being, a man who declares the truth that heard from someone else, specifically, from God.    3.      In John's Gospel, Jesus declared that the Father is the only true God. John 17:1-3 “Father… this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. The God that was speaking and working in and through the man Jesus was the Father. Christology of John is agency, not incarnation.  Jesus as God's unique human son was sent by God and as such represented God, is to be regarded as the very presence of God (the Father) who sent him.   4.      John is an Israelite, writing to Israelites. He is not writing originally to Gentiles. a.      Metaphors, figurative language. John 10:6 (context is the thief vs. the shepherd), “This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.”   John 16:25, "I have said these things to you in figures of speech.”   Come into the world, come down from heaven, “This is the bread that has come down from heaven” (6:50) “the bread I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (Joh 6:51) Jesus' flesh literally descended from heaven?   “The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from man” (Mar 11:30) means “Was John's baptism of heavenly or of human origin?”  (Mar 11:30) b.      “Jews” means “Judeans”. “He came to his own, but his own received him not”. Samaritans, and Israelites in Galilee and Perea accepted him. c.      “world” does not mean planet earth, but the Israelite world. The world that God loved (John 3:16), is Israel.   Resources: In the Gospel of John the “Jews” are Judeans, Not All “Jews” https://landandbible.blogspot.com/2022/02/in-gospel-of-john-jews-are-judeans-not.html   The “Greeks” in John's Gospel are Greek Speaking Israelites, not Gentiles https://landandbible.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-greeks-hellenists-in-gospel-of-john.html What About John 1:1? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw44JRTIiV0

The geography of first-century Israel plays a crucial role in understanding Jesus's ministry and the biblical text's context. When John writes that "Jesus went into Galilee," have you ever wondered where Jesus was before that? What was happening geographically when John the Baptist was baptizing and when Jesus called His first disciples? In this lesson, we'll explore the three major regions of first-century Israel: Judea in the south, Galilee in the north, and Samaria in the middle. These areas weren't just names on a map—they were home to distinct cultural and religious dynamics that deeply influenced the message and mission of Jesus. We'll also tackle a critical misunderstanding in John's Gospel. When John speaks of those who opposed Jesus, he uses a term that is often translated as "the Jews" in English. But does this refer to all Jewish people, or is he specifically pointing to the Judeans—those in the south near Jerusalem and the Temple authorities? This distinction has significant implications, especially given how the text has been misread throughout church history. Join us as we delve into the geographical, cultural, and theological layers of the Gospel of John to gain fresh insights into Jesus' ministry and message. ----------------------------------- www.figtreeteaching.com Support Fig Tree Ministries: https://donorbox.org/support-figtree-ministries Fig Tree Amazon Portal: https://amzn.to/3USMelI Lesson Handout: https://www.figtreeteaching.com/blog/the-jews-or-judeans-john-pt-16 Explore my digital notes on the Gospel of John, now available at the links below: Notes on John 1:43-52: https://www.figtreeteaching.com/blog/notes-on-john-143-52 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7mh4v8e7FDwOoPhQd7bz7Y YouTube: https://youtu.be/4FUOf3_IxCY Learn about the Zealots: Introduction to the Zealots: https://youtu.be/I5l47CP64KQ Politics that drove the Zealots: https://youtu.be/cp-yXWuFop0 The Zealous Disciples: https://youtu.be/Zlwcw6R_euQ

Welcome to the entire book of "Obadiah," as part of Day 160 for the "Bible In..." series. Be captivated by the pages on this little journey through the timeless account of when the LORD called the prophet Obadiah in Judah, to prophesy how God was going to judge their enemy, the house of Esau or Edom, for doing nothing (and more) on the day of Judah's invasion, during King Jehoiachin's reign, by the Babylonians (which the LORD allowed after repeated attempts to give mercy and patience for the Judeans to repent for worshiping other demon gods and idols, but they would not.). After prayer and a brief background on Obadiah, we will embark on these precious pearls of scripture, in the entire 2-page book of Obadiah. This long from video is sprinkled with English captions - a little here and a little there! ** You may find that using headphones enhances your listening experience.** *** Please note that I recorded a separate audio as a voiceover to the backdrop B-roll of when I actually was also reading this precious little book.*** Obadiah https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Obadiah&version=NIV Let the combination of calming vocals and Scripture, create a serene ambiance. My prayer is to bring comfort and inspire spiritual connection through the power of Scripture, with The Holy Trinity. Thank you for joining me. If you found this Obadiah portion as comforting as I did, please subscribe to my channel for more content. Blessings. Playlist for Bible In Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2AAQ3d9DfvCv0U0oQ59Wak1KlZTGG-Od PS - Subscribers - Blessings to you and thank YOU for filling a jumbo jet of 540 souls. :) #obadiah #captions #femininity #prophecyfulfilled #destructionofEdom #fatherGod #jesuschrist #love #raptureofbride #offerings #tenderness #softrelaxing #booktuber #audio #softspoken #female #bibletuber #relaxation #meditation #healing #calm #mindfulness #spirituality #bible #faith #inspiration #serenity #peaceful #Christianity #devotional #biblereadingforsleep #bibleseries

A New Covenant Jeremiah 36 Jeremiah 36:1-7 1 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll, and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations from the time I first spoke to you during Josiah's reign until today. 3 Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disaster I am planning to bring on them, each one of them will turn from his evil way. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.” 4 So Jeremiah summoned Baruch son of Neriah. At Jeremiah's dictation, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah. 5 Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted; I cannot enter the temple of the Lord, 6 so you must go and read from the scroll—which you wrote at my dictation—the words of the Lord in the hearing of the people at the temple of the Lord on a day of fasting. Read his words in the hearing of all the Judeans who are coming from their cities. 7 Perhaps their petition will come before the Lord, and each one will turn from his evil way, for the anger and fury that the Lord has pronounced against this people are intense.” Jeremiah 36:19-31 19 The officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide and tell no one where you are.” 20 Then, after depositing the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, the officials came to the king at the courtyard and reported everything in the hearing of the king. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi then read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing by the king. 22 Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning in front of him. 23 As soon as Jehudi would read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut the scroll with a scribe's knife and throw the columns into the fire in the hearth until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the hearth. 24 As they heard all these words, the king and all his servants did not become terrified or tear their clothes. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll, he did not listen to them. 26 Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah, but the Lord hid them. 27 After the king had burned the scroll and the words Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll, and once again write on it the original words that were on the original scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned. 29 You are to proclaim concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have burned the scroll, asking, “Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause it to be without people or animals?” 30 Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David's throne, and his corpse will be thrown out to be exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night. 31 I will punish him, his descendants, and his officers for their iniquity. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the people of Judah all the disaster, which I warned them about but they did not listen.'” We are the community that accepts the burden of struggling with this text on behalf of all humanity–sometimes working with it, sometimes struggling against it. We have the text—or better yet, the text has us. It reveals the world as it truly is: alive and full of wonder, yet marked by brokenness, loss, and sin. But it also reminds us that this is a world where God continually speaks.

Elitist intellectuals are drawn to the concept of a psychological trap because others' suffering entertains them and because their perception of another's supposed trap reinforces their sense of self-importance and permanence. Poor Sartre, poor DNC, poor duopoly.“The fool says in his heart, There is no Judge.”I agree, Jean-Paul: for your spiritual children, there can be “No Exit.”The local Judean elders, who should be hearing and repeating Jesus's words, are more concerned with manipulating the goodwill of their Roman occupiers to further their political agenda. In turn, the Roman servant, manipulated by the elders, shows zeal for the Torah. Still, his life remains in disrepair because the people of the Synagogue love their “nation” and their shiny new Synagogue more than the words—the debarim—of Isaiah.What right do the Judeans have to call anyone “worthy” or good? Their human judgment, assessment, and feedback “build” a house that Jesus does not enter and a Synagogue that ultimately rejects him.Is there an exit from Sartre's hell? Yes. Clearly. French existentialism, like postmodernism, is silly.There is only one Judge.Stop listening to the people of Capernaum and start following Jesus. Imitate the obedience of the Centurion, who did not accept accolades from the people of Judaea but received instead the one vote that counts.This week, I discuss Luke 7:1-10. Show Notesי-ק-ר (yod-qof-resh) / و-ق-ر (waw-qaf-ra)ἔντιμος (éntimos) “precious,” “honored,” “honorable in rank” (Luke 7:2) aligns with יקר (yāqār) in Hebrew, which can function as “heavy,” “valuable,” “honored,” “dignified,” “dear,” or—relevant to Luke 7:2, 1 Peter 2:4 and 1 Peter 2:6—“precious.” The Arabic root و-ق-ر (waw-qaf-ra) implies dignity, and can funtion as “to honor.”وَقَار (waqār) — Dignity or solemnity. This word is often used to describe a person's respectful or dignified demeanor.وَقِرَ (waqira) — To be weighty or important. In this form, it implies something substantial or of significant value.وَقَّرَ (waqqara) — To honor or respect. This is the form II verb (with shadda on the middle letter), meaning “to show respect or honor,” often used in contexts where someone honors or reveres another.تَوْقِير (tawqīr) — Reverence or high regard. This noun, derived from form II of the root, refers to the act of showing respect or esteem, often used in formal or respectful contexts.مُتَوَقِّر (mutawaqqir) — Dignified or solemn person. This adjective describes a person who carries themselves with dignity, calmness, and respectability.وَقُور (waqūr) — A dignified or composed person. This adjective describes someone who possesses an aura of respect, often used for people who are calm, collected, and reverent.The Hebrew root רפא (rafa) is rich in function related to healing, repairing, and recovering, extending across various Semitic languages. Arabic uses the verb رفع, (rafa‘a) “to mend or repair,” with a similar connotation. "And say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, Just so will I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter's vessel, which cannot again be repaired (לְהֵרָפֵא, leheraphe) and they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place for burial.'" (Jeremiah 19:11 )ח-ו-ר (ḥet-waw-resh) / ح-ر-ر (ḥāʾ-rāʾ-rāʾ)ἔντιμος (éntimos) also aligns to חֹר (ḥor), “free,” or “noble” حُرّ (ḥurr) freebornحرية (ḥurriya) “freedom” or “libertyحرر (ḥarrara): To liberate or set freeἔντιμος appears only in Luke 7:2, 1 Peter 2:4, 1 Peter 2:6 and Philippians 2:29.  ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

On this episode of the pod, my guest is David Cayley, a Toronto-based Canadian writer and broadcaster. For more than thirty years (1981-2012) he made radio documentaries for CBC Radio One's program Ideas, which premiered in 1965 under the title The Best Ideas You'll Hear Tonight. In 1966, at the age of twenty, Cayley joined the Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO), one of the many volunteer organizations that sprang up in the 1960's to promote international development. Two years later, back in Canada, he began to associate with a group of returned volunteers whose experiences had made them, like himself, increasingly quizzical about the idea of development. In 1968 in Chicago, he heard a lecture given by Ivan Illich and in 1970 he and others brought Illich to Toronto for a teach-in called “Crisis in Development.” This was the beginning of their long relationship: eighteen years later Cayley invited Illich to do a series of interviews for CBC Radio's Ideas. Cayley is the author of Ivan Illich: An Intellectual Journey (2022), Ideas on the Nature of Science (2009), The Rivers North of the Future: The Testament of Ivan Illich (2004), Puppet Uprising (2003),The Expanding Prison: The Crisis in Crime and Punishment and the Search for Alternatives (1998), George Grant in Conversation (1995), Northrop Frye in Conversation (1992), Ivan Illich in Conversation (1992), and The Age of Ecology (1990).Show Notes:The Early Years with Ivan IllichThe Good Samaritan StoryFalling out of a HomeworldThe Corruption of the Best is the Worst (Corruptio Optimi Pessima)How Hospitality Becomes HostilityHow to Live in ContradictionRediscovering the FutureThe Pilgrimage of SurpriseFriendship with the OtherHomework:Ivan Illich: An Intellectual Journey (Penn State Press) - Paperback Now Available!David Cayley's WebsiteThe Rivers North of the Future (House of Anansi Press)Ivan Illich | The Corruption of Christianity: Corruptio Optimi Pessima (2000)Charles Taylor: A Secular AgeTranscript:Chris: [00:00:00] Welcome, David, to the End of Tourism Podcast. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. David: Likewise. Thank you. Chris: I'm very grateful to have you joining me today. And I'm curious if you could offer our listeners a little glimpse into where you find yourself today and what the world looks like for you through the lenses of David Cayley.David: Gray and wet. In Toronto, we've had a mild winter so far, although we did just have some real winter for a couple of weeks. So, I'm at my desk in my house in downtown Toronto. Hmm. Chris: Hmm. Thank you so much for joining us, David. You know, I came to your work quite long ago.First through the book, The Rivers North of the Future, The Testament of Ivan Illich. And then through your long standing tenure as the host of CBC Ideas in Canada. I've also just finished reading your newest book, Ivan Illich, An Intellectual Journey. For me, which has been a clear and comprehensive homage [00:01:00] to that man's work.And so, from what I understand from the reading, you were a friend of Illich's as well as the late Gustavo Esteva, a mutual friend of ours, who I interviewed for the podcast shortly before his death in 2021. Now, since friendship is one of the themes I'd like to approach with you today, I'm wondering if you could tell us about how you met these men and what led you to writing a biography of the former, of Ivan.David: Well, let me answer about Ivan first. I met him as a very young man. I had spent two years living in northern Borneo, eastern Malaysia, the Malaysian state of Sarawak. As part of an organization called the Canadian University Service Overseas, which many people recognize only when it's identified with the Peace Corps. It was a similar initiative or the VSO, very much of the time.And When I returned to [00:02:00] Toronto in 1968, one of the first things I saw was an essay of Ivan's. It usually circulates under the name he never gave it, which is, "To Hell With Good Intentions." A talk he had given in Chicago to some young volunteers in a Catholic organization bound for Mexico.And it made sense to me in a radical and surprising way. So, I would say it began there. I went to CDOC the following year. The year after that we brought Ivan to Toronto for a teach in, in the fashion of the time, and he was then an immense celebrity, so we turned people away from a 600 seat theater that night when he lectured in Toronto.I kept in touch subsequently through reading mainly and we didn't meet again until the later 1980s when he came to Toronto.[00:03:00] He was then working on, in the history of literacy, had just published a book called ABC: the Alphabetization of the Western Mind. And that's where we became more closely connected. I went later that year to State College, Pennsylvania, where he was teaching at Penn State, and recorded a long interview, radically long.And made a five-hour Ideas series, but by a happy chance, I had not thought of this, his friend Lee Hoinacki asked for the raw tapes, transcribed them, and eventually that became a published book. And marked an epoch in Ivan's reception, as well as in my life because a lot of people responded to the spoken or transcribed Illich in a way that they didn't seem to be able to respond to his writing, which was scholastically condensed, let's [00:04:00] say.I always found it extremely congenial and I would even say witty in the deep sense of wit. But I think a lot of people, you know, found it hard and so the spoken Illich... people came to him, even old friends and said, you know, "we understand you better now." So, the following year he came to Toronto and stayed with us and, you know, a friendship blossomed and also a funny relationship where I kept trying to get him to express himself more on the theme of the book you mentioned, The Rivers North of the Future, which is his feeling that modernity, in the big sense of modernity can be best understood as perversionism. A word that he used, because he liked strong words, but it can be a frightening word."Corruption" also has its difficulties, [00:05:00] but sometimes he said "a turning inside out," which I like very much, or "a turning upside down" of the gospel. So, when the world has its way with the life, death and resurrection and teaching of Jesus Christ which inevitably becomes an institution when the world has its way with that.The way leads to where we are. That was his radical thought. And a novel thought, according to the philosopher Charles Taylor, a Canadian philosopher, who was kind enough to write a preface to that book when it was published, and I think very much aided its reception, because people knew who Charles Taylor was, and by then, they had kind of forgotten who Ivan Illich was.To give an example of that, when he died, the New York [00:06:00] Times obituary was headlined "Priest turned philosopher appealed to baby boomers in the 60s." This is yesterday's man, in other words, right? This is somebody who used to be important. So, I just kept at him about it, and eventually it became clear he was never going to write that book for a whole variety of reasons, which I won't go into now.But he did allow me to come to Cuernavaca, where he was living, and to do another very long set of interviews, which produced that book, The Rivers North of the Future. So that's the history in brief. The very last part of that story is that The Rivers North of the Future and the radio series that it was based on identifies themes that I find to be quite explosive. And so, in a certain way, the book you mentioned, Ivan Illich: An Intellectual Journey, [00:07:00] was destined from the moment that I recorded those conversations. Chris: Hmm, yeah, thank you, David. So much of what you said right there ends up being the basis for most of my questions today, especially around the corruption or the perversion what perhaps iatrogenesis also termed as iatrogenesis But much of what I've also come to ask today, stems and revolves around Illich's reading of the Good Samaritan story, so I'd like to start there, if that's alright.And you know, for our listeners who aren't familiar either with the story or Illich's take on it, I've gathered some small excerpts from An Intellectual Journey so that they might be on the same page, so to speak. So, from Ivan Illich, An Intellectual Journey:"jesus tells the story after he has been asked how to, quote, 'inherit eternal life,' end quote, and has replied that one must love God and one's neighbor, [00:08:00] quote, 'as oneself,' but, quote, who is my neighbor? His interlocutor wants to know. Jesus answers with his tale of a man on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho, who is beset by robbers, beaten, and left, quote, 'half dead' by the side of the road.Two men happen along, but, quote, 'pass by on the other side.' One is a priest and the other a Levite, a group that assisted the priests at the Great Temple, which, at that time, dominated the landscape of Jerusalem from the Temple Mount. Then, a Samaritan comes along. The Samaritans belonged to the estranged northern kingdom of Israel, and did not worship at the Temple.Tension between the Samaritans and the Judeans in the Second Temple period gives the name a significance somewhere between 'foreigner' and 'enemy.' [00:09:00] In contemporary terms, he was, as Illich liked to say, 'a Palestinian.' The Samaritan has, quote, 'compassion' on the wounded one. He stops, binds his wounds, takes him to an inn where he can convalesce and promises the innkeeper that he will return to pay the bill.'And so Jesus concludes by asking, 'Which of the three passers by was the neighbor?'Illich claimed that this parable had been persistently misunderstood as a story about how one ought to act. He had surveyed sermons from the 3rd through 19th centuries, he said, 'and found a broad consensus that what was being proposed was a, quote, rule of conduct.' But this interpretation was, in fact, quote, 'the opposite of what Jesus wanted to point out.'He had not been asked how to act toward a neighbor, but rather, 'who is my neighbor?' And he had replied, [00:10:00] scandalously, that it could be anyone at all. The choice of the Samaritan as the hero of the tale said, 'in effect, it is impossible to categorize who your neighbor might be.' The sense of being called to help the other is experienced intermittently and not as an unvarying obligation.A quote, 'new kind of ought has been established,' Illich says, which is not related to a norm. It has a telos, it aims at somebody, some body, but not according to a rule. And finally, The Master told them that who your neighbor is is not determined by your birth, by your condition, by the language which you speak, but by you.You can recognize the other man who is out of bounds culturally, who is foreign linguistically, who, you can [00:11:00] say by providence or pure chance, is the one who lies somewhere along your road in the grass and create the supreme form of relatedness, which is not given by creation, but created by you. Any attempt to explain this 'ought,' as correspond, as, as corresponding to a norm, takes out the mysterious greatness from this free act.And so, I think there are at least, at the very least, a few major points to take away from this little summary I've extracted. One, that the ability to choose one's neighbor, breaks the boundaries of ethnicity at the time, which were the bases for understanding one's identity and people and place in the world.And two, that it creates a new foundation for hospitality and interculturality. And so I'm [00:12:00] curious, David, if you'd be willing to elaborate on these points as you understand them.David: Well if you went a little farther on in that part of the book, you'd find an exposition of a German teacher and writer and professor, Claus Held, that I found very helpful in understanding what Ivan was saying. Held is a phenomenologist and a follower of Husserl, but he uses Husserl's term of the home world, right, that each of us has a home world. Mm-Hmm. Which is our ethnos within which our ethics apply.It's a world in which we can be at home and in which we can somehow manage, right? There are a manageable number of people to whom we are obliged. We're not universally obliged. So, what was interesting about Held's analysis is then the condition in which the wounded [00:13:00] man lies is, he's fallen outside of any reference or any home world, right?Nobody has to care for him. The priest and the Levite evidently don't care for him. They have more important things to do. The story doesn't tell you why. Is he ritually impure as one apparently dead is? What? You don't know. But they're on their way. They have other things to do. So the Samaritan is radically out of line, right?He dares to enter this no man's land, this exceptional state in which the wounded man lies, and he does it on the strength of a feeling, right? A stirring inside him. A call. It's definitely a bodily experience. In Ivan's language of norms, it's not a norm. It's not a duty.It's [00:14:00] not an obligation. It's not a thought. He's stirred. He is moved to do what he does and he cares for him and takes him to the inn and so on. So, the important thing in it for me is to understand the complementarity that's involved. Held says that if you try and develop a set of norms and ethics, however you want to say it, out of the Samaritan's Act, it ends up being radically corrosive, it ends up being radically corrosive damaging, destructive, disintegrating of the home world, right? If everybody's caring for everybody all the time universally, you're pretty soon in the maddening world, not pretty soon, but in a couple of millennia, in the maddening world we live in, right? Where people Can tell you with a straight face that their actions are intended to [00:15:00] save the planet and not experience a sense of grandiosity in saying that, right?Not experiencing seemingly a madness, a sense of things on a scale that is not proper to any human being, and is bound, I think, to be destructive of their capacity to be related to what is at hand. So, I think what Ivan is saying in saying this is a new kind of ought, right, it's the whole thing of the corruption of the best is the worst in a nutshell because as soon as you think you can operationalize that, you can turn everyone into a Samaritan and You, you begin to destroy the home world, right?You begin to destroy ethics. You begin to, or you transform ethics into something which is a contradiction of ethics. [00:16:00] So, there isn't an answer in it, in what he says. There's a complementarity, right? Hmm. There's the freedom to go outside, but if the freedom to go outside destroys any inside, then, what have you done?Right? Hmm. You've created an unlivable world. A world of such unending, such unimaginable obligation, as one now lives in Toronto, you know, where I pass homeless people all the time. I can't care for all of them. So, I think it's also a way of understanding for those who contemplate it that you really have to pay attention.What are you called to, right? What can you do? What is within your amplitude? What is urgent for you? Do that thing, right? Do not make yourself mad with [00:17:00] impossible charity. A charity you don't feel, you can't feel, you couldn't feel. Right? Take care of what's at hand, what you can take care of. What calls you.Chris: I think this comes up quite a bit these days. Especially, in light of international conflicts, conflicts that arise far from people's homes and yet the demand of that 'ought' perhaps of having to be aware and having to have or having to feel some kind of responsibility for these things that are happening in other places that maybe, It's not that they don't have anything to do with us but that our ability to have any kind of recourse for what happens in those places is perhaps flippant, fleeting, and even that we're stretched to the point that we can't even tend and attend to what's happening in front of us in our neighborhoods.And so, I'm curious as to how this came to be. You mentioned "the corruption" [00:18:00] and maybe we could just define that, if possible for our listeners this notion of "the corruption of the best is the worst." Would you be willing to do that? Do you think that that's an easy thing to do? David: I've been trying for 30 years.I can keep on trying. I really, I mean, that was the seed of everything. At the end of the interview we did in 1988, Ivan dropped that little bomb on me. And I was a diligent man, and I had prepared very carefully. I'd read everything he'd written and then at the very end of the interview, he says the whole history of the West can be summed up in the phrase, Corruptio Optimi Pessima.He was quite fluent in Latin. The corruption of the best is the worst. And I thought, wait a minute, the whole history of the West? This is staggering. So, yes, I've been reflecting on it for a long time, but I think there are many ways to speak [00:19:00] about the incarnation, the idea that God is present and visible in the form of a human being, that God indeed is a human being in the person of Jesus Christ.One way is to think of it as a kind of nuclear explosion of religion. Religion had always been the placation of a god. Right? A sacrifice of some kind made to placate a god. Now the god is present. It could be you. Jesus is explicit about it, and I think that is the most important thing for Iman in reading the gospel, is that God appears to us as one another.Hmm. If you can put it, one another in the most general sense of that formula. So, that's explosive, right? I mean, religion, in a certain way, up to that moment, is society. It's the [00:20:00] integument of every society. It's the nature of the beast to be religious in the sense of having an understanding of how you're situated and in what order and with what foundation that order exists. It's not an intellectual thing. It's just what people do. Karl Barth says religion is a yoke. So, it has in a certain way exploded or been exploded at that moment but it will of course be re instituted as a religion. What else could happen? And so Ivan says, and this probably slim New Testament warrant for this, but this was his story, that in the very earliest apostolic church. They were aware of this danger, right? That Christ must be shadowed by "Antichrist," a term that Ivan was brave enough to use. The word just has a [00:21:00] terrible, terrible history. I mean, the Protestants abused the Catholics with the name of Antichrist. Luther rages against the Pope as antichrist.Hmm. And the word persists now as a kind of either as a sign of evangelical dogmatism, or maybe as a joke, right. When I was researching it, I came across a book called "How to Tell If Your Boyfriend Is The Antichrist." Mm-Hmm. It's kind of a jokey thing in a way, in so far as people know, but he dared to use it as to say the antichrist is simply the instituted Christ.Right. It's not anything exotic. It's not anything theological. It's the inevitable worldly shadow of there being a Christ at all. And so that's, that's the beginning of the story. He, he claims that the church loses sight of this understanding, loses sight of the basic [00:22:00] complementarity or contradiction that's involved in the incarnation in the first place.That this is something that can never be owned, something that can never be instituted, something that can only happen again and again and again within each one. So, but heaven can never finally come to earth except perhaps in a story about the end, right? The new heaven and the new earth, the new Jerusalem come down from heaven.Fine. That's at the end, not now. So that's the gist of what he, what he said. He has a detailed analysis of the stages of that journey, right? So, within your theme of hospitality the beginnings of the church becoming a social worker in the decaying Roman Empire. And beginning to develop institutions of hospitality, [00:23:00] places for all the flotsam and jetsam of the decaying empire.And then in a major way from the 11th through the 13th century, when the church institutes itself as a mini or proto state, right? With a new conception of law. Every element of our modernity prefigured in the medieval church and what it undertook, according to Ivan. This was all news to me when he first said it to me.So yeah, the story goes on into our own time when I think one of the primary paradoxes or confusions that we face is that most of the people one meets and deals with believe themselves to be living after Christianity and indeed to great opponents of Christianity. I mean, nothing is more important in Canada now than to denounce residential schools, let's say, right? Which were [00:24:00] the schools for indigenous children, boarding schools, which were mainly staffed by the church, right?So, the gothic figure of the nun, the sort of vulpine, sinister. That's the image of the church, right? So you have so many reasons to believe that you're after that. You've woken up, you're woke. And, and you see that now, right? So you don't In any way, see yourself as involved in this inversion of the gospel which has actually created your world and which is still, in so many ways, you.So, leftists today, if I'm using the term leftists very, very broadly, "progressives," people sometimes say, "woke," people say. These are all in a certain way super Christians or hyper Christians, but absolutely unaware of themselves as Christians and any day you can read an analysis [00:25:00] which traces everything back to the Enlightenment.Right? We need to re institute the Enlightenment. We've forgotten the Enlightenment. We have to get back to the, right? There's nothing before the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment is the over, that's an earlier overcoming of Christianity, right? So modernity is constantly overcoming Christianity. And constantly forgetting that it's Christian.That these are the ways in which the Incarnation is working itself out. And one daren't say that it's bound to work itself out that way. Ivan will go as far as to say it's seemingly the will of God that it should work itself out that way. Right? Wow. So, that the Gospel will be preached to all nations as predicted at the end of the Gospels." Go therefore and preach to all nations," but it will not be preached in its explicit form. It will enter, as it were, through the [00:26:00] back door. So that's a very big thought. But it's a saving thought in certain ways, because it does suggest a way of unwinding, or winding up, this string of finding out how this happened.What is the nature of the misunderstanding that is being played out here? So. Chris: Wow. Yeah, I mean, I, I feel like what you just said was a kind of nuclear bomb unto its own. I remember reading, for example, James Hillman in The Terrible Love of War, and at the very end he essentially listed all, not all, but many of the major characteristics of modern people and said if you act this way, you are Christian.If you act this way, you are Christian. Essentially revealing that so much of modernity has these Christian roots. And, you know, you said in terms of this message and [00:27:00] corruption of the message going in through the back door. And I think that's what happens in terms of at least when we see institutions in the modern time, schools, hospitals, roads essentially modern institutions and lifestyles making their way into non modern places.And I'm very fascinated in this in terms of hospitality. You said that the church, and I think you're quoting Illich there, but " the church is a social worker." But also how this hospitality shows up in the early church and maybe even how they feared about what could happen as a result to this question of the incarnation.In your book it was just fascinating to read this that you said, or that you wrote, that "in the early years of Christianity it was customary in a Christian household to have an extra mattress, a bit of candle, and some dry bread in case the Lord Jesus should knock at the door in the form of a stranger without a roof, a form of behavior that was utterly [00:28:00] foreign to the cultures of the Roman Empire."In which many Christians lived. And you write, "you took in your own, but not someone lost on the street." And then later "When the emperor Constantine recognized the church, Christian bishops gained the power to establish social corporations." And this is, I think, the idea of the social worker. The church is a social worker.And you write that the first corporations they started were Samaritan corporations, which designated certain categories of people as preferred neighbors. For example, the bishops created special houses financed by the community that were charged with taking care of people without a home. Such care was no longer the free choice of the householder, it was the task of an institution.The appearance of these xenodocheia? Literally, quote, 'houses for foreigners' signified the beginning of a change in the nature of the church." And then of course you write and you mentioned this but "a gratuitous and truly [00:29:00] free choice of assisting the stranger has become an ideology and an idealism." Right. And so, this seems to be how the corruption of the Samaritan story, the corruption of breaking that threshold, or at least being able to cross it, comes to produce this incredible 'ought,' as you just kind of elaborated for us.And then this notion of, that we can't see it anymore. That it becomes this thing in the past, as you said. In other words, history. Right? And so my next question is a question that comes to some degree from our late mutual friend Gustavo, Gustavo Esteva. And I'd just like to preface it by a small sentence from An Intellectual Journey where he wrote that, "I think that limit, in Illich, is always linked to nemesis, or to what Jung calls [00:30:00] enantiodromia, his Greek word for the way in which any tendency, when pushed too far, can turn into its opposite. And so, a long time ago, Illich once asked Gustavo if he could identify a word that could describe the era after development, or perhaps after development's death.And Gustavo said, "hospitality." And so, much later, in a private conversation with Gustavo, in the context of tourism and gentrification, the kind that was beginning to sweep across Oaxaca at the time, some years ago, he told me that he considered "the sale of one's people's radical or local hospitality as a kind of invitation to hostility in the place and within the ethnos that one lives in."Another way of saying it might be that the subversion and absence of hospitality in a place breeds or can breed hostility.[00:31:00] I'm curious what you make of his comment in the light of limits, enantiodromia and the corruption that Illich talks about.David: Well I'd like to say one thing which is the thought I was having while you, while you were speaking because at the very beginning I mentioned a reservation a discomfort with words like perversion and corruption. And the thought is that it's easy to understand Illich as doing critique, right? And it's easy then to moralize that critique, right? And I think it's important that he's showing something that happens, right? And that I daren't say bound to happen, but is likely to happen because of who and what we are, that we will institutionalize, that we will make rules, that we will, right?So, I think it's important to rescue Ivan from being read [00:32:00] moralistically, or that you're reading a scold here, right? Hmm. Right. I mean, and many social critics are or are read as scolds, right? And contemporary people are so used to being scolded that they, and scold themselves very regularly. So, I just wanted to say that to rescue Ivan from a certain kind of reading. You're quoting Gustavo on the way in which the opening up of a culture touristically can lead to hostility, right? Right. And I think also commenting on the roots of the words are the same, right? "hostile," "hospice." They're drawing on the same, right?That's right. It's how one treats the enemy, I think. Hmm. It's the hinge. Hmm. In all those words. What's the difference between hospitality and hostility?[00:33:00] So, I think that thought is profound and profoundly fruitful. So, I think Gustavo had many resources in expressing it.I couldn't possibly express it any better. And I never answered you at the beginning how I met Gustavo, but on that occasion in 1988 when I was interviewing Illich, they were all gathered, a bunch of friends to write what was called The Development Dictionary, a series of essays trying to write an epilogue to the era of development.So, Gustavo, as you know, was a charming man who spoke a peculiarly beautiful English in which he was fluent, but somehow, you could hear the cadence of Spanish through it without it even being strongly accented. So I rejoiced always in interviewing Gustavo, which I did several times because he was such a pleasure to listen to.But anyway, I've digressed. Maybe I'm ducking your question. Do you want to re ask it or? Chris: Sure. [00:34:00] Yeah, I suppose. You know although there were a number of essays that Gustavo wrote about hospitality that I don't believe have been published they focused quite a bit on this notion of individual people, but especially communities putting limits on their hospitality.And of course, much of this hospitality today comes in the form of, or at least in the context of tourism, of international visitors. And that's kind of the infrastructure that's placed around it. And yet he was arguing essentially for limits on hospitality. And I think what he was seeing, although it hadn't quite come to fruition yet in Oaxaca, was that the commodification, the commercialization of one's local indigenous hospitality, once it's sold, or once it's only existing for the value or money of the foreigner, in a kind of customer service worldview, that it invites this deep [00:35:00] hostility. And so do these limits show up as well in Illich's work in terms of the stranger?Right? Because so much of the Christian tradition is based in a universal fraternity, universal brotherhood. David: I said that Ivan made sense to me in my youth, as a 22 year old man. So I've lived under his influence. I took him as a master, let's say and as a young person. And I would say that probably it's true that I've never gone anywhere that I haven't been invited to go.So I, I could experience that, that I was called to be there. And he was quite the jet setter, so I was often called by him to come to Mexico or to go to Germany or whatever it was. But we live in a world that is so far away from the world that might have been, let's say, the world that [00:36:00] might be.So John Milbank, a British theologian who's Inspiring to me and a friend and somebody who I found surprisingly parallel to Illich in a lot of ways after Ivan died and died I think feeling that he was pretty much alone in some of his understandings. But John Milbank speaks of the, of recovering the future that we've lost, which is obviously have to be based on some sort of historical reconstruction. You have to find the place to go back to, where the wrong turning was, in a certain way. But meanwhile, we live in this world, right? Where even where you are, many people are dependent on tourism. Right? And to that extent they live from it and couldn't instantly do without. To do without it would be, would be catastrophic. Right? So [00:37:00] it's it's not easy to live in both worlds. Right? To live with the understanding that this is, as Gustavo says, it's bound to be a source of hostility, right?Because we can't sell what is ours as an experience for others without changing its character, right, without commodifying it. It's impossible to do. So it must be true and yet, at a certain moment, people feel that it has to be done, right? And so you have to live in in both realities.And in a certain way, the skill of living in both realities is what's there at the beginning, right? That, if you take the formula of the incarnation as a nuclear explosion, well you're still going to have religion, right? So, that's inevitable. The [00:38:00] world has changed and it hasn't changed at the same time.And that's true at every moment. And so you learn to walk, right? You learn to distinguish the gospel from its surroundings. And a story about Ivan that made a big impression on me was that when he was sent to Puerto Rico when he was still active as a priest in 1956 and became vice rector of the Catholic University at Ponce and a member of the school board.A position that he regarded as entirely political. So he said, "I will not in any way operate as a priest while I'm performing a political function because I don't want these two things to get mixed up." And he made a little exception and he bought a little shack in a remote fishing village.Just for the happiness of it, he would go there and say mass for the fishermen who didn't know anything about this other world. So, but that was[00:39:00] a radical conviction and put him at odds with many of the tendencies of his time, as for example, what came to be called liberation theology, right?That there could be a politicized theology. His view was different. His view was that the church as "She," as he said, rather than "it," had to be always distinguished, right? So it was the capacity to distinguish that was so crucial for him. And I would think even in situations where tourism exists and has the effect Gustavo supposed, the beginning of resistance to that and the beginning of a way out of it, is always to distinguish, right?To know the difference, which is a slim read, but, but faith is always a slim read and Ivan's first book, his first collection of published essays was [00:40:00] called Celebration of Awareness which is a way of saying that, what I call know the difference. Chris: So I'm going to, if I can offer you this, this next question, which comes from James, a friend in Guelph, Canada. And James is curious about the missionary mandate of Christianity emphasizing a fellowship in Christ over ethnicity and whether or not this can be reconciled with Illich's perhaps emphatic defense of local or vernacular culture.David: Well, yeah. He illustrates it. I mean, he was a worldwide guy. He was very far from his roots, which were arguably caught. He didn't deracinate himself. Hmm. He was with his mother and brothers exiled from Split in Dalmatia as a boy in the crazy atmosphere of the Thirties.But he was a tumbleweed after [00:41:00] that. Mm-Hmm. . And so, so I think we all live in that world now and this is confuses people about him. So, a historian called Todd Hart wrote a book still really the only book published in English on the history of CIDOC and Cuernavaca, in which he says Illich is anti-missionary. And he rebukes him for that and I would say that Ivan, on his assumptions cannot possibly be anti missionary. He says clearly in his early work that a Christian is a missionary or is not a Christian at all, in the sense that if one has heard the good news, one is going to share it, or one hasn't heard it. Now, what kind of sharing is that? It isn't necessarily, "you have to join my religion," "you have to subscribe to the following ten..." it isn't necessarily a catechism, it may be [00:42:00] an action. It may be a it may be an act of friendship. It may be an act of renunciation. It can be any number of things, but it has to be an outgoing expression of what one has been given, and I think he was, in that sense, always a missionary, and in many places, seeded communities that are seeds of the new church.Right? He spent well, from the time he arrived in the United States in 51, 52, till the time that he withdrew from church service in 68, he was constantly preaching and talking about a new church. And a new church, for him, involved a new relation between innovation and tradition. New, but not new.Since, when he looked back, he saw the gospel was constantly undergoing translation into new milieu, into new places, into new languages, into new forms.[00:43:00] But he encountered it in the United States as pretty much in one of its more hardened or congealed phases, right? And it was the export of that particular brand of cultural and imperialistic, because American, and America happened to be the hegemon of the moment. That's what he opposed.The translation of that into Latin America and people like to write each other into consistent positions, right? So, he must then be anti missionary across the board, right? But so I think you can be local and universal. I mean, one doesn't even want to recall that slogan of, you know, "act locally, think globally," because it got pretty hackneyed, right?And it was abused. But, it's true in a certain way that that's the only way one can be a Christian. The neighbor, you said it, I wrote it, Ivan said it, " the neighbor [00:44:00] can be anyone." Right?But here I am here now, right? So both have to apply. Both have to be true. It's again a complementary relation. And it's a banal thought in a certain way, but it seems to be the thought that I think most often, right, is that what creates a great deal of the trouble in the world is inability to think in a complementary fashion.To think within, to take contradiction as constituting the world. The world is constituted of contradiction and couldn't be constituted in any other way as far as we know. Right? You can't walk without two legs. You can't manipulate without two arms, two hands. We know the structure of our brains. Are also bilateral and everything about our language is constructed on opposition.Everything is oppositional and yet [00:45:00] when we enter the world of politics, it seems we're going to have it all one way. The church is going to be really Christian, and it's going to make everybody really Christian, or communist, what have you, right? The contradiction is set aside. Philosophy defines truth as the absence of contradiction.Hmm. Basically. Hmm. So, be in both worlds. Know the difference. Walk on two feet. That's Ivan. Chris: I love that. And I'm, I'm curious about you know, one of the themes of the podcast is exile. And of course that can mean a lot of things. In the introduction to An Intellectual Journey, you wrote that that Illich, "once he had left Split in the 30s, that he began an experience of exile that would characterize his entire life."You wrote that he had lost "not just the home, but the very possibility [00:46:00] of home." And so it's a theme that characterizes as well the podcast and a lot of these conversations around travel, migration, tourism, what does it mean to be at home and so, this, This notion of exile also shows up quite a bit in the Christian faith.And maybe this is me trying to escape the complementarity of the reality of things. But I tend to see exile as inherently I'll say damaging or consequential in a kind of negative light. And so I've been wondering about this, this exilic condition, right? It's like in the Abrahamic faith, as you write "Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all begin in exile.And eventually this pattern culminates. Jesus is executed outside the gates of the city, nailed to a cross that excludes him even from his native earth." And you write that "exile is in many ways the [00:47:00] Christian condition." And so, you know, I've read that in the past, Christian monks often consider themselves to be homeless, removed from the sort of daily life of the local community in the monasteries and abbeys and yet still of a universal brotherhood. And so I'd like to ask you if you feel this exilic condition, which seems to be also a hallmark of modernity, this kind of constant uprooting this kind of as I would call it, cultural and spiritual homelessness of our time, if you think that is part of the corruption that Illich based his work around?David: Well, one can barely imagine the world in which Abram, who became Abraham said to God, no, I'm staying in Ur. Not going, I'm not going. Right? I mean, if you go back to Genesis and you re read that passage, when God shows [00:48:00] Abraham the land that he will inherit, it says already there, "there were people at that time living in the land," right?Inconvenient people, as it turns out. Palestinians. So, there's a profound contradiction here, I think. And the only way I think you can escape it is to understand the Gospel the way Ivan understood it, which is as something super added to existing local cultures, right? A leaven, right?Hmm. Not everything about a local culture or a local tradition is necessarily good. Mm hmm. And so it can be changed, right? And I would say that Illich insists that Christians are and must be missionaries. They've received something that they it's inherent in what they've [00:49:00] received that they pass it on.So the world will change, right? But Ivan says, this is in Rivers North of the Future, that it's his conviction that the Gospel could have been preached without destroying local proportions, the sense of proportion, and he put a great weight on the idea of proportionality as not just, a pleasing building or a pleasing face, but the very essence of, of how a culture holds together, right, that things are proportioned within it to one another that the gospel could have been preached without the destruction of proportions, but evidently it wasn't, because the Christians felt they had the truth and they were going to share it. They were going to indeed impose it for the good of the other.So, I think a sense of exile and a sense of home are as [00:50:00] necessary to one another as in Ivan's vision of a new church, innovation, and tradition, or almost any other constitutive couplet you can think of, right? You can't expunge exile from the tradition. But you also can't allow it to overcome the possibility of home.I mean, Ivan spoke of his own fate as a peculiar fate, right? He really anticipated the destruction of the Western culture or civilization. I mean, in the sense that now this is a lament on the political right, mainly, right? The destruction of Western civilization is something one constantly hears about.But, he, in a way, in the chaos and catastrophe of the 30s, already felt the death of old Europe. And even as a boy, I think, semi consciously at least, took the roots inside himself, took them with him [00:51:00] and for many people like me, he opened that tradition. He opened it to me. He allowed me to re inhabit it in a certain way, right?So to find intimations of home because he wasn't the only one who lost his home. Even as a man of 78, the world in which I grew up here is gone, forgotten, and to some extent scorned by younger people who are just not interested in it. And so it's through Ivan that I, in a way, recovered the tradition, right?And if the tradition is related to the sense of home, of belonging to something for good or ill, then that has to be carried into the future as best we can, right? I think Ivan was searching for a new church. He didn't think. He had found it. He didn't think he knew what it was.I don't think he [00:52:00] described certain attributes of it. Right. But above all, he wanted to show that the church had taken many forms in the past. Right. And it's worldly existence did not have to be conceived on the model of a monarchy or a parish, right, another form that he described in some early essays, right.We have to find the new form, right? It may be radically non theological if I can put it like that. It may not necessarily involve the buildings that we call churches but he believed deeply in the celebrating community. As the center, the root the essence of social existence, right? The creation of home in the absence of home, or the constant recreation of home, right? Since I mean, we will likely never again live in pure [00:53:00] communities, right? Yeah. I don't know if pure is a dangerous word, but you know what I mean?Consistent, right? Closed. We're all of one kind, right? Right. I mean, this is now a reactionary position, right? Hmm. You're a German and you think, well, Germany should be for the Germans. I mean, it can't be for the Germans, seemingly. We can't put the world back together again, right?We can't go back and that's a huge misreading of Illich, right? That he's a man who wants to go back, right? No. He was radically a man who wanted to rediscover the future. And rescue it. Also a man who once said to hell with the future because he wanted to denounce the future that's a computer model, right? All futures that are projections from the present, he wanted to denounce in order to rediscover the future. But it has to be ahead of us. It's not. And it has to recover the deposit that is behind us. So [00:54:00] both, the whole relation between past and future and indeed the whole understanding of time is out of whack.I think modern consciousness is so entirely spatialized that the dimension of time is nearly absent from it, right? The dimension of time as duration as the integument by which past, present and future are connected. I don't mean that people can't look at their watch and say, you know, "I gotta go now, I've got a twelve o'clock." you know.So, I don't know if that's an answer to James.Chris: I don't know, but it's food for thought and certainly a feast, if I may say so. David, I have two final questions for you, if that's all right, if you have time. Okay, wonderful. So, speaking of this notion of home and and exile and the complementarity of the two and you know you wrote and [00:55:00] spoke to this notion of Illich wanting to rediscover the future and he says that "we've opened a horizon on which new paradigms for thought can appear," which I think speaks to what you were saying and At some point Illich compares the opening of horizons to leaving home on a pilgrimage, as you write in your book."And not the pilgrimage of the West, which leads over a traveled road to a famed sanctuary, but rather the pilgrimage of the Christian East, which does not know where the road might lead and the journey end." And so my question is, What do you make of that distinction between these types of pilgrimages and what kind of pilgrimage do you imagine might be needed in our time?David: Well, I, I mean, I think Ivan honored the old style of pilgrimage whether it was to [00:56:00] Canterbury or Santiago or wherever it was to. But I think ivan's way of expressing the messianic was in the word surprise, right? One of the things that I think he did and which was imposed on him by his situation and by his times was to learn to speak to people in a way that did not draw on any theological resource, so he spoke of his love of surprises, right? Well, a surprise by definition is what you don't suspect, what you don't expect. Or it couldn't be a surprise.So, the The cathedral in Santiago de Compostela is very beautiful, I think. I've only ever seen pictures of it, but you must expect to see it at the end of your road. You must hope to see it at the end of your road. Well the surprise is going to be something else. Something that isn't known.[00:57:00] And it was one of his Great gifts to me that within the structure of habit and local existence, since I'm pretty rooted where I am. And my great grandfather was born within walking distance of where I am right now. He helped me to look for surprises and to accept them also, right?That you're going to show up or someone else is going to show up, right? But there's going to be someone coming and you want to look out for the one who's coming and not, but not be at all sure that you know who or what it is or which direction it's coming from. So, that was a way of life in a certain way that I think he helped others within their limitations, within their abilities, within their local situations, to see the world that way, right. That was part of what he did. Chris: Yeah, it's really beautiful and I can [00:58:00] see how in our time, in a time of increasing division and despondency and neglect, fear even, resentment of the other, that how that kind of surprise and the lack of expectation, the undermining, the subversion of expectation can find a place into perhaps the mission of our times.And so my final question comes back to friendship. and interculturality. And I have one final quote here from An Intellectual Journey, which I highly recommend everyone pick up, because it's just fascinating and blows open so many doors. David: We need to sell a few more books, because I want that book in paperback. Because I want it to be able to live on in a cheaper edition. So, yes. Chris: Of course. Thank you. Yeah. Please, please pick it up. It's worth every penny. So in An Intellectual Journey, it is written[00:59:00] by Illich that "when I submit my heart, my mind, my body, I come to be below the other. When I listen unconditionally, respectfully, courageously, with the readiness to take in the other as a radical surprise, I do something else. I bow, bend over toward the total otherness of someone. But I renounce searching for bridges between the other and me, recognizing that a gulf separates us.Leaning into this chasm makes me aware of the depth of my loneliness, and able to bear it in the light of the substantial likeness between the Other and myself. All that reaches me is the Other in His Word, which I accept on faith."And so, David at another point in the biography you quote Illich describing faith as foolish. Now assuming that faith elicits a degree of danger or [01:00:00] betrayal or that it could elicit that through a kind of total trust, is that nonetheless necessary to accept the stranger or other as they are? Or at least meet the stranger or other as they are? David: I would think so, yeah. I mean the passage you've quoted, I think to understand it, it's one of the most profound of his sayings to me and one I constantly revert to, but to accept the other in his word, or on his word, or her word, is, I think you need to know that he takes the image of the word as the name of the Lord, very, very seriously, and its primary way of referring to the Christ, is "as the Word."Sometimes explicitly, sometimes not explicitly, you have to interpret. So, when he says that he renounces looking for bridges, I think he's mainly referring [01:01:00] to ideological intermediations, right, ways in which I, in understanding you exceed my capacity. I try to change my name for you, or my category for you, changes you, right?It doesn't allow your word. And, I mean, he wasn't a man who suffered fools gladly. He had a high regard for himself and used his time in a fairly disciplined way, right? He wasn't waiting around for others in their world. So by word, what does he mean?What is the other's word? Right? It's something more fundamental than the chatter of a person. So, I think what that means is that we can be linked to one another by Christ. So that's [01:02:00] the third, right? That yes, we're alone. Right? We haven't the capacity to reach each other, except via Christ.And that's made explicit for him in the opening of Aylred of Riveau's Treatise on Friendship, which was peculiarly important to him. Aylred was an abbot at a Cistercian monastery in present day Yorkshire, which is a ruin now. But he wrote a treatise on friendship in the 12th century and he begins by addressing his brother monk, Ivo, and says, you know, " here we are, you and I, and I hope a third Christ."So, Christ is always the third, right? So, in that image of the gulf, the distance, experiencing myself and my loneliness and yet renouncing any bridge, there is still a word, the word, [01:03:00] capital W, in which a word, your word, my word, participates, or might participate. So, we are building, according to him, the body of Christ but we have to renounce our designs on one another, let's say, in order to do that. So I mean, that's a very radical saying, the, the other in his word and in another place in The Rivers North of the Future, he says how hard that is after a century of Marxism or Freudianism, he mentions. But, either way he's speaking about my pretension to know you better than you know yourself, which almost any agency in our world that identifies needs, implicitly does. I know what's best for you. So Yeah, his waiting, his ability to wait for the other one is, is absolutely [01:04:00] foundational and it's how a new world comes into existence. And it comes into existence at every moment, not at some unimaginable future when we all wait at the same time, right? My friend used to say that peace would come when everybody got a good night's sleep on the same night. It's not very likely, is it? Right, right, right. So, anyway, there we are. Chris: Wow. Well, I'm definitely looking forward to listening to this interview again, because I feel like just like An Intellectual Journey, just like your most recent book my mind has been, perhaps exploded, another nuclear bomb dropped.David: Chris, nice to meet you. Chris: Yeah, I'll make sure that that book and, of course, links to yours are available on the end of the website. David: Alright, thank you. Chris: Yeah, deep bow, David. Thank you for your time today. David: All the best. And thank you for those questions. Yeah. That was that was very interesting. You know, I spent my life as an interviewer. A good part of my [01:05:00] life. And interviewing is very hard work. It's much harder than talking. Listening is harder than talking. And rarer. So, it's quite a pleasure for me, late in life, to be able to just let her rip, and let somebody else worry about is this going in the right direction? So, thank you. Get full access to ⌘ Chris Christou ⌘ at chrischristou.substack.com/subscribe

This short psalm describes David's betrayal by the Ziphites - a mob of fellow Judeans - men who should have been loyal to their brother, David. Verses 1-3 are David's prayer for help; verses 4-7 are David's words of praise and commitment to God. A short, powerful psalm that teaches us to never give up hope even when there is not hope! For more teachings by Grant Luton (and to print the notes), visit our website: https://www.TorahTodayMinistries.org And when you visit, be sure to subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter, which will keep you up to date with news, photos, and upcoming events at Torah Today Ministries.

Basic Bible Study | Lamentations & Obadiah (Part 5) This is part 5 of 5 In today's podcast, join Chris and Robyn as they continue their discussion in Lamentations & Obadiah. Here is a breakdown of what was discussed: - the Gedaliah story unfolds much slower in Jeremiah - Jeremiah served as a prophet for 40 years - the remaining Judeans went against God & traveled to Egypt - what to read for next time “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOUT Opening a Bible for the first time can be intimidating. Join Amy & Robyn in an easy-to-follow discussion. This Basic Bible Study is perfect for beginners & those who have never read the Bible. Look for new podcasts every Tuesday & Friday! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIBLE RESOURCES https://biblehub.com/ https://www.bible.com/ http://betterdaysarecoming.com/bible/pronunciation.html https://biblespeak.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/mybasicbiblestudy WEBSITE http://www.mybasicbiblestudy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can contact us through e-mail or regular old snail-mail: Basic Bible Study 7797 N. 1st St. #34 Fresno, CA 93720 basicbiblestudy19@gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Son Unveiled in Me Galatians 1:10-17 by William Klock As I was digging around in our crawlspace this week, I found my 1970s Tupperware lunchbox full of my old Star Wars action figures.  Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan and Darth Vader have these neat little light sabres hidden in their arms that slide out when it's time for them to duel.  At one point I had Luke's X-wing fighter and I was remembering putting him in the cockpit and flying around the house, looking for the Death Star's thermal exhaust port.  Luke might have been in the cockpit, but I was going to destroy the Death Star and save the galaxy.  As the week went on I was thinking about our text from Galatians 1and particularly Paul's background.  I started wondering what sort of games and role-playing young Paul would have engaged in?  Who were his heroes?  Based on what he tells us about himself and from what we know of First Century Judaism and of the Pharisees, it isn't too hard to imagine Paul playing with his brothers or his neighbourhood friends and taking on the part of, say, Phinehas, Aaron's grandson.  When the men of Israel were enticed into sexual sin and idolatry by the pagan women of Peor, Phinehas, in an act of holy zeal, ran the ringleader through with a spear, pinning him to the ground along with his Midianite paramour.  Or maybe Elijah.  Even though it seemed that everyone in Israel had turned to pagan idols, Elijah dared to confront the prophets of Baal.  On them mountain top, Elijah taunted them and made fun of their god, then—again with holy zeal—called down fire from heaven.  Or Mattathias, the zealous priest who sparked the Maccabean Revolt.  Antiochus Epiphanes offered him the title “Friend of the King” if he would offer a sacrifice to the Greek gods.  Matthias refuse, but another priest offered to make the sacrifice in his place.  Matthias slaughtered that people-pleasing priest on the altar and called on everyone who was zealous for torah and the covenant to join him. These were the heroes of the Pharisees and all the other faithful in Israel in the days of Paul.  In light of that, it's ironic that the people in Galatia have accused him of being a “people pleaser”, because that's exactly what Paul—in his old days—would have called any Jews who weren't as zealous as him in keeping torah.  Of course, it's the false teachers in Galatia who are being the real people pleasers, but Paul won't say that until the end of the letter. So let's start where we left off last Sunday, with verse 10 of Galatians 1.  Paul has written some pretty scathing words to the Galatians.  He's outlined the essentials of his gospel and he's pronounced a curse on anyone who teaches anything else.  And now he writes: Well now, does that sound as though I'm trying to make up to people—or to God?  Or that I'm trying to curry favour with people?  If I were still pleasing people, I wouldn't be a slave of the Messiah.   It's a safe bet that when you hear someone warning about false gospels and pronouncing curses on those who teach such things, you're not dealing with a people pleaser.  Paul makes that clear.  And then he turns the accusation back on them.  “If I were still pleasing people,” he writes.  As much as Paul the Pharisee had devoted his life to going after the people pleasers who compromised torah in order to curry the favour of the gentiles, well now, from the perspective of life in Jesus and the Spirit, that old life of his turns out—ironically—to have been a life of people pleasing.  He was a slave to them even though it didn't seem that way at the time, but now he's a slave to the Messiah and his only interest is in faithfully proclaiming his message and pleasing the God who sent him. But Paul needs to explain himself a good bit more, so he does something that he doesn't do very often: he tells them—and us—about himself.  Whenever Paul does tell one of these before and after stories, it's always to end with Jesus.  He does this in Philippians 3 to make the point that for the sake of Jesus and the gospel he's given up his privileges.  What he says here comes to a climax later in Chapter 2 as he passionately declares that “I am crucified with the Messiah” so that “I through the law died to the law” because “the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me.”  In the end, none of this is about Paul.  It's about Jesus and the only reason Paul writes any of this is to defend against the charge that his gospel is of human origin and, therefore, in some way deficient.  So he begins in verses 11 and 12: You see, Brothers, let me make it clear to you: the gospel announced by me is not a mere human invention.  I did not receive it from a human being, not was I taught it; it came through an unveiling of Jesus the Messiah.   Literally, “I would have you know, Brothers”.  This is important.  Paul first defended his apostleship.  He was commissioned directly by Jesus himself and he speaks for Jesus and no one else.  Now he defends his gospel.  It's not something he cooked up himself, nor is it something he got second-hand from others. This is worth spending a little time parsing out.  The gospel that you and I know and preach came to us from others.  It was passed down from our parents and grandparents, from our Sunday school teachers and pastors, maybe from a preacher we watched on TV or a book we read.  But somehow all of us here are believers in Jesus the Messiah because someone else proclaimed the good news about him to us and now we—I hope—proclaim it to others.  Even if we first encountered the gospel through the pages of scripture, it came from some other person.  Maybe from Matthew or John or even Paul, but from someone.  Part of the work of the Spirit has been to see that this gospel has been preserved and passed down from one person to the next faithfully.  Even if you or I get it wrong, the Spirit-inspired scriptures are there to set it right again.  But Paul's point is that he didn't get the gospel from another human being.  If he'd got his gospel from someone else—even from Peter or James—it's always possible he got something confused or wrong in the transmission.  If he'd got it from another human, then it's possible their accusation could stick.  So Paul stresses: “I didn't get it from anyone else.  It wasn't taught to me by anyone else.  The gospel came to me directly through an unveiling—he uses that word apocalypse, the same one John uses to describe his “revelation” of Jesus—the gospel came to Paul through an unveiling of Jesus the Messiah.  In other words, Jesus, who was raised from the dead and now enthroned in heaven, suddenly and unexpectedly became visible to Paul.  God's future was revealed to Paul in the present and it changed everything, because Paul now can't help but see everything in light of this Jesus whom he knew to be crucified and now knows with absolute certainty, has risen from the dead.  Brothers and Sisters, the reality that Jesus rose from the dead changes everything.  It changed everything for Paul.  It should change everything for us.  It's the lens through which we should see everything. Paul surely must have told the Galatians the story of his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.  They already knew the details so he doesn't recount them all here.  It's that they've forgotten why that day was so important to Paul, so in the next five verses he explains why that event was so important.  He writes in verse 13: You've heard the way I behaved when I was still within “Judaism”.  I persecuted the church of God violently and ravaged it.  I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age and people.  I was extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.   Paul's giving them a before and after portrait of himself.  This is the “before”.  Think of Paul when Stephen was stoned to death for proclaiming the good news about Jesus.  He held people's coats so they could throw stones.  A few years later he sought out authorisation from the Jewish officials so that he could actually hunt down these Christians and bring them in for “justice”.  Paul wasn't fooling around.  It helps us understand why and it helps us understand what Saul of Tarsus was all about if we understand what he means here by “Judaism”.  To us “Judaism” means a religion the same way we think of “Christianity” or “Islam” or Buddhism” as religions.  But in the First Century no one thought that way.  Paul certainly didn't think of “Judaism” over against “Christianity”.  Paul uses this uncommon word Judaismos that seems to have been coined by the author of 2 Maccabees.  It doesn't just refer to a set of beliefs and practises in the sense that modern people think about a “religion”.  Instead, it describes the Judeans who were loyal to Jewish faith and practise, who actively promoted and advocated these traditional ways of Jewish life, and who actively defended it against the Pagans and, especially, defended it against those Jews who would compromise it for the sake of the pagans—people pleasers. As he says, he was “zealous” for those ancestral traditions.  He was out to purify the Jewish people: to fend off pagan influences, to get his fellow Jews to take a stand for the covenant, and to bring compromisers and people-pleasers to heel.  Paul had grown up with these values.  His heroes were the men of the past who were also zealous for the Lord and for his law.  There are various writings from that time period that give us a sense of how Paul would have thought.  One of the best is the opening chapters of 1 Maccabees, where we read about Mattathias and his rebellion against the Greek king Antiochus Epiphanes.  As I said before, Mattathias was a priest, and when the Greeks tried to entice him to offer a sacrifice to their gods, he refused.  When another of his fellow priests agreed to offer the sacrifice, Mattathias had had enough.  He killed that priest right there on the altar, along with the Greek official.  His rebellion went up not just against their pagan Greek rulers, but against any of their fellow Jews who were compromising the ancestral traditions in order to get along with the pagans.  Mattathias' speech meant to rouse his fellow Jews to action, focuses on the long line of Jewish heroes who were loyal to the Lord's covenant, from Abraham right down to what was the present day.  Mattathias emphasised especially Phinehas and Elijah.  The later rabbis did the same.  Phinehas had run a spear right through the compromising Zimri and his pagan paramour.  Elijah taunted the prophets of Baal before he slaughtered them and called on the people of Israel to purge pagan influence from the land.  The Maccabees called on that same tradition about two centuries before Jesus, when they went up against the Greeks and against their own people who would compromise with the pagans.  This is what Paul is talking about when he says he was zealous for the ancestral traditions.  I ran around the backyard with Luke Skywalker in his X-wing to destroy the Death Star.  If Paul had grown up with action figures, he'd have had a Phinehas with “real spear action” and an Elijah playset where he could build an altar and call down fire from heaven on the prophets of Baal.  He might have had a little Mattathias, a sword in one hand to take on the Greeks and a knife in the other to circumcise the Jewish people pleasers.  This is the zealous background that drove him to persecute the church.  Paul knew that Jesus had claimed to be the Messiah.  He knew that Jesus had been crucified.  And he didn't believe the tales for one second that Jesus had been raised from the dead.  As far as he was concerned, Jesus was dead and that meant he couldn't be the Messiah and all these Jews claiming to follow a dead Messiah, well, they were going to undermine the faith and practise of God's people. It's also worth noting how Paul refers to the “church of God”.  It's literally “assembly of God”.  Paul likes to use this phrase to distinguish the church from the Jews and from the Greeks.  He borrows it from the Greek version of the Old Testament, which talks about Israel as the “assembly of Israel”, “assembly of the Lord”, or “assembly of God”.  And Paul's point in using it to refer to the church is that now this multiethnic body of Jews and gentiles—now it is the assembly of God.  And not just the local assemblies, but it makes the point that they're all part of this bigger thing, this bigger assembly. So Paul looks back to his past life and reminds the Galatians who he was.  He was zealous for the traditions of his ancestors.  Not just that, but he was no novice.  He was a diaspora Jew, but he wasn't like some others who knew just enough of the ancestral customs to get by.  He was steeped in it all and he was utterly devoted to it—again, to the point that he actually sought out permission from the Jewish officials to hunt down Christians in Damascus.  And, of course, that's when everything changed for Paul. He goes on in verses 15-17: But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, was pleased to unveil his son in me, so that I might announce the good news about him among the nations—immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood.  Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me.  No, I went away to Arabia, and afterward returned to Damascus.   This is another point in Paul's story where we have to be careful.  As modern people we read this and we think about it in terms of Paul “converting” from Judaism to Christianity.  Again, that's a very modern understanding of “religion” that didn't exist in Paul's day.  Paul never stopped being zealous for the God of Abraham, for the law and the prophets, and the promises of God.  He was a faithful Jew and as a faithful Jew he longed for the coming of the Messiah.  He prayed for the coming of the Messiah, for the Lord to come and rescue his people and set the world to rights.  It's just that when it came to Jesus—well—the idea of a crucified Messiah was blasphemous.  That's why he hated Christians and persecuted them.  But then the risen Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and it changed everything.  Because suddenly Paul knew that all the stories about Jesus having been raised from the dead were true.  He'd been wrong.  The impossible had happened.  The Jews and the Romans had killed Jesus, they—just as Paul had been doing—ruled him a false Messiah, but then God raised him from the dead and, in doing that, God vindicated his son.  That meant that Jesus really was the Messiah.  The God of Israel proved it.  And for Paul this meant that all the stories he'd grown up with, all the promises of God he'd longed to see fulfilled, all of it, all of them were fulfilled in Jesus. Again, Paul uses that word “unveiled” again.  This same God who had set him apart in his mother's womb, this same God who had called Paul by his grace—think of that as Paul personalizing what Jews thought of themselves as a people chosen and called by God's grace to be his people—this same God of Israel had now unveiled his son. And as Paul writes this, if you know the Hebrew scriptures, it's really obvious that he's telling his story in a way that will make people think of the old prophets, especially Jeremiah and Isaiah.  Jeremiah wrote about the Lord knowing him and calling him before he was even formed in his mother's womb.  And when Isaiah writes about the servant—the one who in some places embodies Israel and in other places stands over against the people of Israel—Isaiah writes about the Lord forming him in the womb—calling him and naming him, giving him his prophetic vocation—before he's even born.  I think Paul calls back to the calling of Jeremiah and to Isaiah's servant, because when Jesus met him on the road to Damascus he gave him just this sort of divine calling…like the servant, the Lord “formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him”.  And as the Lord said to Jeremiah, “I appoint you a prophet to the nations” and to Isaiah, “I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” So these people in Galatia are claiming that Paul has forsaken the faith and traditions of his people, but what Paul is saying in response is that, one, it was Jesus himself who called him to this work and, two, that he has in no way forsaken the faith and traditions of his people.  To the contrary, he knows those traditions well and in light of this revelation that Jesus really is Israel's Messiah, then this good news isn't just for Israel…it's for everyone.  They think that Paul, in going to the gentiles—or maybe better in the way he's going to the gentiles—they see him as a people pleaser who is disloyal to the faith and Paul's saying that, no, it's just the opposite.  His message to the gentiles is the fulfilment of that faith—the fulfilment of Israel's calling and of the law and the prophets.  Paul had thought that being zealous for the law meant opposing Jesus, when in fact, in light of Jesus having risen from the dead, being zealous for the law means being zealous for Jesus and even taking this good news to the gentiles. This transformation in Paul and in his thinking points to another thing we might miss—or, in some cases, that's obscured by some translations—but Paul says that God unveiled his son in me.  We might expect him to say to me, but that's not how he puts it.  It's in me and I think Paul chose his words—as always—very carefully.  It's not just that God commissioned Paul to proclaim the good news about Jesus to the nations, as if it was just about what he said.  It is that, but I think Paul's key point here is that Paul himself has become a sort of embodiment of the gospel.  This Pharisee who was zealous for God, but in such a way that it made him zealous in his hatred for the gentiles and any Jews who might compromise with them, this Pharisee has been so transformed by the unveiling of God's son in Jesus, that his zeal for God has been turned upside-down—or maybe we should say, right-side-up—and now that zeal is taking him to the nations with that good news. Now, it took Paul a good while to work this out.  Meeting the risen Jesus forced him into a massive paradigm shift in his thinking and even his identity.  He had questions.  Big questions.  But he stresses he didn't go to “flesh and blood” to ask his questions or to get help sorting it all out.  Again, people were accusing him of having a human-made gospel and Paul reiterates that it not only came directly from Jesus, but even in sorting it all out for himself, he went to the Lord, not to other people.  Specifically, he says, he didn't go up to Jerusalem.  That's what most people probably would have expected him to do.  That's what I would have done, if I were in Paul's shoes.  That's where Peter and James were.  They were the chief apostles and the leaders of the church.  They'd been wrestling with all this good news stuff for a while already.  They were the ones who had spent years with Jesus himself.  They had the answers. But instead, Paul says he went to Arabia—in First Century geography, that meant Mount Sinai.  Why did Paul do that?  Because, again, he knew the prophets.  This time Paul echoes the story of Elijah.  If you're a First Century man of zeal, it makes sense to follow in the footsteps of Elijah—one of the greatest heroes of zeal. Think of the story of Elijah.  After the events on Mount Carmel and Elijah's slaughter of the prophets of Baal, King Ahab was angry.  Elijah was forced to run and hide, so he ran to Mount Sinai.  It made sense.  That was the place where the Lord had made his promises to Israel.  So Elijah went there.  He was tired.  He was depressed.  Despite all the Lord had done through him, Elijah was done.  He'd lost hope.  He went there to tell God as much.  He'd done everything he was supposed to do and—he thought—he'd failed.  He declares to the Lord, “I have been very zealous for the Lord of Hosts.”  (Notice how much that sounds like Paul.)  But the Lord wouldn't let go of Elijah.  He wouldn't accept his resignation.  Instead, he sent him to the wilderness of Damascus (again, sound familiar?) and there Elijah would be given the task to anoint a new king and a new prophet. So Saul of Tarsus, zealous for the Lord, on his way to Damascus, is met by the risen Jesus.  It was the most natural thing in the world, for Paul, to go from there to Mount Sinai, to take his zeal to the Lord, and to wrestle with the God of Abraham—to work it out until it all made sense again in light of Jesus the Messiah.  And from Mount Sinai, Paul says, the Lord sent him back to Damascus (just like Elijah) to announce the new king: Jesus the Messiah. So Paul's point is that after he met Jesus, he didn't go to Jerusalem—as his enemies seem to think he did.  He didn't go to work this all out with the original apostles.  He went, as Bishop Wright puts it so well, “he went off to do business with God, and he came to do business for God.”  And this business was to announce to the whole world that this Jesus, who was crucified and risen, Israel's Messiah, is the world's true Lord.  Paul includes these echoes of the old prophets to show how rather than being a betrayer of Israel, he's actually smack in the middle of God's Israel-shaped promises.  In calling back to Elijah, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, he's making the point that if anyone is being disloyal to the God of Israel or to the covenant—well—it's definitely not him.  The real betrayers are those who reject God's calling of Paul and his commission to take the good news of Jesus to the nations. That's as far as I'll go today.  There's a bit more to Paul's introduction and his telling of his own story, but we'll look at that next week.  So what does this mean for us?  Brothers and Sisters, notice again how everything for Paul is about Jesus the Messiah and how Jesus's resurrection from the dead is the lens through which he sees everything.  It ought to be the same way for us.  We need to be clear about what the gospel is and then we need to live in that gospel, live in this story with Jesus as its centre.  The gospel is the good news that this Jesus who was crucified has been raised from the dead and that he's the world's true Lord.  His death for sins has won the victory over sin and death and inaugurated God's new creation.  Brothers and Sisters, that's the story, that's the reality we need to live with and to live in.  Consider how it reshaped Paul.  He was zealous for the Lord, he was zealous for the covenant, he was zealous for the scriptures—for all the right things, but in the wrong way.  Meeting the risen Messiah didn't mean throwing it all away; it meant refocusing that zeal through a different lens—through Jesus.  For others—I'm thinking of those who came from a zealously pagan background—inhabiting the gospel was different in that it meant throwing everything away.  Or maybe it meant seeing the world, seeing life, seeing others through the new lens of Jesus rather than the lens of the old pagan gods or their old sinful ways of life or through the corrupt systems of the present evil age.  Inhabiting the gospel and reorienting ourselves and our lives around Jesus isn't an easy thing to do.  Even Paul had to go to Sinai for three years to wrestle with the reality of the risen Jesus.  But however hard it is and however long it may take, Brothers and Sisters, it's essential that we do this—we personally and we the church.  Part of being gospel people—of being slaves of the Messiah, as Paul puts it—means taking every thought captive to Jesus the Messiah and filtering it through this gospel lens.  Every thought, every value, every priority, every act, every bit of our zeal and turning it over and turning it inside-out, deciding whether we keep it or throw it away or rethink it in light of the good news about Jesus the Messiah. Let's pray: Heavenly Father, as you've unveiled your Son in Paul, you have also unveiled him in each of us.  We pray now for the grace to be faithful to this gospel calling and this gospel life—that your Son, Jesus, would truly be unveiled to everyone around us by the gospel work you are working in us by the power of your Spirit.  Keep Jesus, his cross, and his resurrection always before us, keep our eyes focused on him, and by your Spirit, help us to truly live in your good news.  Through Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Saturday, 31 August 2024   But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Matthew 3:7   “And having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming about his immersion, he said to them, ‘Vipers' offspring! Who disclosed to you to flee from the coming wrath?'” (CG).   In the previous verse, it noted that those who went out to John the Baptist were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. Now Matthew, while speaking of John, says, “And having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”   These are the main two groups addressed in the gospel narratives in relation to spiritual matters. However, there are other groups that are mentioned at times in leadership positions, such as the Herodians. As for these two groups, there are many extensive commentaries on them. One of the most detailed is that of Albert Barnes. For brevity, the commentary of Cambridge is provided –   Pharisees] The name signifies “Separatists;” the party dates from the revival of the National life, and observances of the Mosaic Law under the Maccabees. Their ruling principle was a literal obedience to the written law and to an unwritten tradition. Originally they were leaders of a genuine reform. But in the hands of less spiritual successors their system had become little else than a formal observance of carefully prescribed rules. “The real virtues of one age become the spurious ones of the next.” Prof. Mozley, Sermon on Pharisees. The “hypocrisy” of the Pharisees, which stifled conscience and made them “incapable of repentance,” is the special sin of the day rebuked more than any other by the Saviour. Politically they were the popular party, supporters of an isolating policy, who would make no terms with Rome or any other foreign power. The Zealots may be regarded as the extreme section of the Pharisees. The Sadducees were the aristocratic and priestly party, they acquiesced in foreign rule, and foreign civilization. They refused to give the same weight as the Pharisees to unwritten tradition, but adhered strictly to the written law of Moses. Their religious creed excluded belief in a future life, or in angels and spirits (Acts 23:8). The name is probably derived from Zadok the priest in David's time. Others with less probability connect it with Zadok, a disciple of Antigonus of Socho, who lived in the second century b. c. The derivation from tsaddik (righteous) is untenable.   Of these two groups, Matthew notes that they were “coming about his immersion.”   They probably had questions about his authority, purpose, doctrine, intent, and so forth. If so many people were coming to him, was he a threat to their authority and teaching? And if this was the case, how could they trap him in his own words, etc.?   We can assume that the questions these groups will ask of Jesus, as recorded in the gospels, were similar to those they would have asked John about now. Therefore, knowing their lives and form of religion, “he said to them, ‘Vipers' offspring!'”   The word is echidna, a poisonous snake. The identification of this snake should not be pressed too far because the same word is used when referring to a snake on the island of Malta in Acts 28.   The serpent was introduced at the fall of man in Genesis 3. This is probably a reference to that. Serpents continue to be noted in Scripture after that. One instance is especially highlighted in the account of the time during the wilderness wanderings in Numbers 21. There, the people were bit by serpents, and many died. In this, the people acknowledged their sins, and a remedy was given by the Lord to heal the people.   As such, the main thought of John is probably that of these men being the spawn of Satan who cause the people to sin, separating them from God. They were the evil offspring of their evil parent acting in crafty and malevolent ways. After so addressing them, John next says, “Who disclosed to you to flee from the coming wrath?'”   He uses the word hupodeiknumi. It is a compound word signifying “to exhibit under the eyes.” It is only used six times in the New Testament, and it is variously translated. Many translations say something like “warned,” or “forewarned.” Contextually, that may be the idea, but it is more of a paraphrase. For example, the word is used in Acts 20 when speaking about what one should do –   “I have shown [hupodeiknumi] you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” Acts 20:35   For a word that gives the underlying sense of the meaning, disclose is sufficient. John questioned these men, asking who had disclosed to them to flee from the coming wrath. It would be difficult to think that John meant this literally as if they truly were coming to hear his message and reconsider their ways.   Whether John knew their true intent or not, or whether he merely suspected it, Jesus knew exactly what these men were thinking. Their words were often duplicitous toward Him. Two examples of this are found in Matthew 22:15-33 where first the Pharisees and then the Sadducees tried to trip Him up.   Understanding this, John may have been speaking to them in a tongue-in-cheek manner with a sarcastic emphasis in his question to them. In other words, “Wrath is coming, it will come on all offenders, but you don't think you even lie in that category, so what are you doing here inquiring about my immersion for repentance?”   As for the wrath that lay ahead, it had been prophesied in the Scriptures that Israel would be exiled twice. Exile implies war, famine, and death. It implies the destruction of their land. But there is also the final wrath of judgment when all men stand before God. These men probably felt secure that they would escape both.   Paul, however, addresses the issue of coming wrath several times (Ephesians 5:6, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, etc.). One main time, specifically speaking of these particular Jews, he writes –   “For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.” 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16   Life application: The wrath of God is something that cannot be dismissed when the Bible is read and accepted at face value. To sin is to miss the mark with God. In this, judgment must come. The very nature of God demands it. To not accept His provision for forgiveness and atonement of sin means that His wrath, by default, remains upon that person.   The religious leaders of Israel were under God's judgment for sin. They were offered forgiveness through the atoning work of Jesus Christ, but most of them never accepted God's offer. They remained under His wrath because of this. We must remember that no person is good enough or can do enough good to be pleasing to God. That belongs to the Lord alone who fully pleased His Father. Therefore, only by coming to God through Jesus can one be saved. Be wise and accept the offer that God has made in the giving of Jesus!   “And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 16 However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:14-17   Heavenly Father, You have sent Jesus! Thank You, O God, for having done for us what we could never do. You alone are to be praised for Your goodness to us in reconciling us through the precious blood of Jesus our Lord. Hallelujah to You. Amen.

In this episode, we explore Ezekiel 22, offering unique insights into the religious life of Judeans during the Babylonian exile. Key points to look forward to:• Gain an insider's view of the exiled community's spiritual atmosphere• Discover Ezekiel's harsh critique of Jerusalem's sins and their consequences• Explore powerful metaphors of metallurgy used to describe God's judgment• Understand the prophet's role in reframing the mindset of the exiles• Learn how this chapter helps explain the fall of Jerusalem from a theological perspectiveWhether you're a biblical scholar, history enthusiast, or simply curious about ancient prophecies, this episode promises to offer fresh perspectives and thought-provoking analysis. Don't miss this opportunity to deepen your understanding of the Bible and its historical context!"Support the Show.

(Thanks for bearing with us while this episode was delayed—Rose was recovering from a bout of COVID!) This episode takes us into the first two books of the Bible, written c. 580 BCE during the Babylonian Captivity of the Judeans and Israelites. Stretching from the creation of the world to the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt, these two books contain some of the most memorable and influential stories that inform the faith of Jews, Christians, and Muslims around the world.Want to read the transcript? It's here at the website for our great books podcast, www.booksofalltime.co.uk. You can also find us on Bluesky, Instagram, and Facebook (we also post at Formerly Twitter, but just for the SEO). If you like what you hear, leave us a rating or review! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"A City of Galilee named Nazareth”   Luke 1:26-33 26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."   Only the Gospel of Luke gives us a detail account and description of the angel appearing to the virgin Mary with the announcement of her miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit of the Son of God. Neither Mark's or John's Gospels mentioned it in their introductions to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Matthew's Gospel simply says, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18).   In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, Gabriel brought a second birth announcement, this time to a young virgin in Nazareth named Mary. The people in Judah disdained the Jews in Galilee and claimed they were not "kosher" because of their contacts with the Gentiles there (Matt. 4:15). The fact that Herod had raised pagan temples and held pagan sports activities in Galilee increased their scorn They especially despised the people from Nazareth.   Nazareth was located where Greek merchants, Jewish priests and Levites, troops of entertainers, and people from all parts of the great Gentile world passed by. The population was probably some fifteen thousand. The city of Nazaret had a reputation for corruption. Remember Nathanael's question when he was invited by Philip to come and meet “Jesus of Nazareth"? He asked, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). Nathanael came from nearby Cana, so he was in a position to know all about Nazareth.   Galilee! The very word was one of scorn to the Jews in Jerusalem. The whole region was overrun by Gentiles whose very accent grated on the ears of the sophisticated Judeans. In Matthew's Gospel, it is called “a place of darkness”, and the “region and shadow of death…” (Matthew 4:17). But God in His grace chose a girl from Nazareth in Galilee to be the mother of the promised Messiah!   When it comes to Mary, people tend to go to one of two extremes. They either magnify her so much that Jesus takes second place (Luke 1:32), or they ignore her and fail to give her the esteem she deserves (Luke 1:48). Elizabeth, filled with the Spirit, called her "the mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43); and that is reason enough to honor her.   What do we know about Mary? She was a Jewess of the tribe of Judah, a descendant of David, and a virgin (Isa. 7:14). She was engaged to a carpenter in Nazareth named Joseph (Matt 13:55), and apparently both of them were poor (Lev. 12:8; Luke 2:24). Among the Jews at that time, engagement was almost as binding as marriage and could be broken only by divorce. In fact, the man and the woman were called "husband" and "wife" even before the marriage took place (compare Matt. 1:19 and Luke 2:5). Since Jewish girls married young, it is likely that Mary was a teenager when the angel appeared to her.   Isn't it amazing how our God choses the most unlikely places and people to do the most awesome things! God is still at work in this dark world, and who knows how He might use you in the place you are right now!   God bless!

The crowds are following Jesus, but Jesus is throwing them for a loop again. Jesus is saying he is the bread of life that has come down from heaven. This can't be as he is the son of Joseph, and they know his father and mother. Now he is claiming to be God? The Judeans say that they know the truth. They seem to be so closed minded. This idea that this Jesus who they knew as a child and knew his family could not be God. This was contrary to scripture. It was blowing their mind. They had been following him to eat physical and spiritual food, but this was too much. Jesus doesn't argue with them, he tells them that God drew them to him. I would think that really confounded them. When their ancestors ate manna in the wilderness they died. God had sent the manna day by day to meet their needs, and still they complained. Now Jesus is saying that he himself is the bread from heaven and connecting with him will give them eternal life. Jesus says that he will give his life for the world and his flesh is the work he did on the cross. For John feasting on the bread of life is about being in relationship with Jesus. This looks different for everyone. The closer that we get in any relationship means that there will be changes, it means that we will be called to pivot in grace. The only thing that stays the same with Jesus is Jesus' love for us. Without the willingness to pivot in grace, relationships do not grow and may end. Jesus will not give up on us, but there are times that we may give up on Jesus. To be church today means pivoting in grace. Churches that are not willing to pivot in grace will likely die. I would like us to think about what pivoting in grace means. It means not doing things the way that they have been done before. That can be a hard pill to swallow, but it is the truth. The church as we knew it even a few years ago is not the same because our world is not the same. When we hear ourselves saying, we've always done it that way, it is time to examine that way. If the world has changed and people have changed, the approach to many things needs to change. Hiring a new staff person may not grow a program. It takes looking at different approaches and being willing to pivot in grace and look at different options. What things looked like in the past will never look that way again. That is a hard truth. It is much easier to try and recreate what we used to have, but since the world has changed, that does not work. People are at different places, thus the approach must be different. Jesus was pivoting in grace all of the time. His message stayed the same, but people were always presenting him with different ideas, challenging him with their fears and anxieties. As I have said, Jesus did not argue with the crowd, the Judeans. He was challenging them to change their way of thinking, their way of viewing and identifying him. In our individual lives, there are many times that we are called to pivot in grace. Some of them are not easy and some we would rather not have to, but in order to move forward they are necessary. Yesterday, I heard dripping in the basement. Of course I was getting ready to go to our ecumenical pride service. I didn't fully know what was wrong, but I called Bob and asked him, who do I call.  The plumbers were able to get to my place later in the afternoon. Unfortunately, after trying to unplug the pipes, it did not work They are coming back Monday to put in a cleanout in to run the unclogger out to the street and back in the house from outside. No useable plumbing, thus I cannot stay at my house until they fix it. Thus, I had to find a place to stay. I just happened to have enough Wyndam points to stay 2 nights at the Ramada Inn with a free breakfast. I was still able to go to the Pride event. I'm not able to go to Saugatuck as planned after church, but that is okay. It is not always easy, but I believe God works things out for us. Thankfully, we believe as Christians, we are not left alone to do these pivots in grace. We are promised that God will never leave us nor forsake us. God does amazing things, and we are called to trust and believe. This is where feasting on the bread of life, Jesus, comes in. Often, the difficulty in pivoting in grace comes from our unwillingness to do it. It can be scary, and it often brings out fears and anxieties. Jesus, the bread of life, comes to us and says, open yourself up to me and I will give you what you need when you need it. For me this is what it means to not be hungry and thirsty. To look at what and who I have and realize that they are all gifts from God and be thankful This is what helps me to make pivot in grace. If I try and make pivots by myself or not at all, it will be more of a struggle. This is where I am challenged to trust God in Jesus Christ, to have faith that God knows what God is doing. This is not easy as it means letting go of old ways of thinking and of doing things. Those things that brought security, we are often challenged to let go of in order for a pivot in grace to happen. This is what John says, faith is believing and trusting in Jesus and what is required to be in relationship with Jesus. This is what the Judeans struggled with and so do we. As we move forward here at Faith, be prepared to pivot in grace, to look at things in a broader spectrum. I do not believe that Jesus says keep doing things the way that you have been. We are called to look at what we have learned about who we are and who are neighbors are. How can we connect with them directly is the challenge? This does not mean that we wait until the next pastor comes. Jesus the bread of life calls us to do this work now. We have developed 3 goals:  Increase participation in Youth and Education programs. Restructure system (time, money and resources) to support the goals for ministry. Continue to develop strategies to connect with our community to better understand and celebrate our diversity and inclusion in the community. These goals have come from our times together this past year. We are strengthened through the bread of life to carry out these goals. Throughout the fall the council will be figuring out how to carry out these goals.  I believe Faith Lutheran Church has what is needed, from what God has already blessed us with. The question becomes are we ready to do new and exciting things? We will be called to pivot in grace, to find new ways of doing things. This is when we are called to trust and believe in God in Jesus Christ. Jesus the bread of life first of all strengthens us to do the work we are called to do, but then we become bearers of the bread of life as we carry out this ministry. This is when we also carry out Paul's challenge: 1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Come feast on Jesus the bread of life, be strengthened to pivot in grace and carry out the goals set before us. May we be imitators of God's love and share the bread of life with others. Let us pray: Gracious God, you give us all that we need and more to do the ministry that you have called us to do. May your Holy Spirit help us further define how to carry out the goals that you set before us. AS we feed on Jesus the bread of life, give us the strength and wisdom to pivot in grace as share your love, share Jesus, the bread of life. Amen

Sacrilegious Discourse Q&A: Daniel Chapters 1-5 - Unveiling the Babylonian PropagandaThis Q&A episode dives deep into the historical context and literary devices of Daniel Chapters 1-5. Get ready for a snarky exploration of:Daniel's Dubious Authorship: Husband & Wife dissect evidence pointing to the book's later composition and fictional nature, challenging its claims of prophecy.Nebuchadnezzar's Power Plays: Discover how Nebuchadnezzar used hostage-taking and indoctrination tactics to control the conquered Judeans.The Chaldean Conundrum: Learn about the rise of the Chaldeans, their scientific achievements, and how they cleverly seized power in Babylon.The King's Madness: Explore the real-life condition behind Nebuchadnezzar's bizarre behavior and the hidden messages in his dreams.Belshazzar's Banquet and Babylon's Fall: Uncover the historical events behind the dramatic feast and the mysterious handwriting on the wall.If you're ready to challenge your biblical assumptions and laugh at the absurdity of ancient propaganda, this episode is for you!Visit us at: SACRILEGIOUSDISCOURSE.COM and join us on Discord, it's where we interact the most AND have live episodes every Wednesday: https://discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC Join Acast+ to enjoy our podcast adfree! https://plus.acast.com/s/sacrilegiousiscourse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE BOOK OF HAGGAI Lesson 3, Chapter 2 Let's open Haggai chapter 2 by summing up chapter 1. The focus is clearly the Temple that still lay in ruins after close to 2 decades of the Judeans returning to their former homeland. Their former homeland is now but a Persian province called Yehud, and the […] The post Lesson 03 – Haggai Ch 2 appeared first on Torah Class.

After Haman's execution, Ahasuerus gives Haman's house to Esther, and he gives his signet ring to Mordecai. Esther risks going before the king a second time, and he extends his scepter to her again. She asks for a second decree to be made to counteract the first, since the first could not be repealed under Persian law. With the king's authority, Mordecai writes a decree that allows the people of God to defend themselves from those who would attack them. This causes some residents of the Persian empire to join themselves to the Judeans and brings joy to the people of God.  Rev. Carl Roth, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Esther 8:1-17.  "For Such a Time As This” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Esther. Although God is never explicitly named in the book of Esther, He remains the One who directs all the events of the book. Happenings that seem coincidence, chance, or luck are truly God at work. He puts Mordecai and Esther in the right places and moments to work through them to deliver His people.  

1 Thessalonians 2:13-20 New King James Version: Their Conversion 13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. Longing to See Them 17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. 18 Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy.

In this episode, Cliff talks about the introduction of the word "Israel" in Paul's discussion in Romans and how this term is different from the terms "Jews" or "Judeans" of the first century (Rom. 9:9-10).

NEHEMIAH Lesson 5, Chapter 3 When we ended chapter 2 of Nehemiah, he had concluded his assessment of the situation with the destroyed walls surrounding Jerusalem and called together the Judeans of various levels of society to enlist them to the mammoth task of rebuilding. As a leader with authority he could have dogmatically ordered […] The post Lesson 5 – Nehemiah Chapter 3 appeared first on Torah Class.

Prepare yourself for an irreverent romp through the ancient temple tantrums of the almighty as we dive headfirst into Ezekiel Chapter 8 on our latest episode of the most blasphemously hilarious podcast this side of the Pearly Gates. Our dynamic atheist duo tears into the Biblical drama with the kind of snark only true skeptics can muster, proving that divine visions can be as laughable as they are fiery.Ezekiel's getting the celestial Uber treatment again, folks! This time, his VIP pass to God's own peep show reveals Israel's fondness for idol worship and other gods, much to Yahweh's chagrin. Watch out, because when God's temper flares, it's more than just brimstone and smite – it's a full-on divine comedy of wrath that even Dante would double-take at.In this episode, our hosts aren't just poking fun at the holy fireworks; they're questioning the sanity of a deity who throws heavenly hissy fits at the sight of a few misplaced idols. The ancient Judeans are turning to every deity but Yahweh, and honestly, who can blame them? With Babylon knocking on their doors, our podcasters speculate that it might just be time to swipe right on some new divine profiles.Between cheeky banter and candid observations, we also discuss the mysterious rituals of yore, like the baffling "branch to the nose" gesture that has our hosts scratching their heads. Was it an ancient bird flip, a religious rave, or just another divine typo lost in translation? Who knows, but it sure does make for an entertaining debate!Join us as we dissect every idol curve and prophetic misadventure, where we don't just walk through the valley of the shadow of death – we crack jokes and take names. If you thought the Old Testament was just fire and brimstone, prepare to be enlightened by the only light we need: the spotlight on absurdity. And hey, while you're here, why not support us on Patreon for more sacrilegious banter that's worth every penny? Or don't. After all, in the end, it's just another day in Ezekiel's wacky world of wrath and repentance.Join us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/8RwwMrb5zKNOW hosting LIVE episodes every Monday and Wednesday night on YouTube and Twitch!**Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/sacreligious_discourse**YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5rpfCzaWhEaP198xgY7CFwSkip the ads by joining Patreon https://patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourseThank you for stopping by Sacrilegious Discourse - Bible Study BY Atheists!Check out these links for more information about our podcast and merchandise:Our Homepage: https://sacrilegiousdiscourse.com/. Join Acast+ to enjoy our podcast adfree! https://plus.acast.com/s/sacrilegiousiscourse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will the Israeli State Survive to Celebrate 100 years? So it is currently May 14th, Israel's Independence Day. And there's a whole mess of contention about its long-term, existential survival. Will domestic fury and fierce civil strife cumber all the parts of Israel Proper? Israel does have a polarizing civil unrest problem on its hands, and statistics like “60 percent of Israelis believe the IDF isn't using enough force in Gaza” give us outsiders that mistaken impression that Israeli society is a monolithic violent colonial entity, instead of a multipolar violent colonial entity that is incidentally experiencing a period of unprecedented socio-cultural fragmentation. So... eventual civil war? This is Part 1. Thumbnail Image Credit: Itai Ron #news #politics #youtube #antiimperialism #globalaffairs #antiimperialism #uspolitics #humanrights #militaryindustrialcomplex #ceasefire #foreignaffairs #israelhamaswar #decolonize #progressive #leftist #democrats #liberal #counterterrorism #militaryintelligence #militaryintervention #uspolitics #bidenvstrump #independentjournalism

Basic Bible Study | Jeremiah: Chapters 11-18, 35 & 49 (Part 5) This is part 5 of 5 In today's podcast, join Chris and Robyn as they continue their discussion in Jeremiah: Chapters 11-18, 35 & 49. Here is a breakdown of what was discussed: - the potter & the clay - the Judeans didn't think they needed Jeremiah - what to read for next time “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOUT Opening a Bible for the first time can be intimidating. Join Amy & Robyn in an easy-to-follow discussion. This Basic Bible Study is perfect for beginners & those who have never read the Bible. Look for new podcasts every Tuesday & Friday! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIBLE RESOURCES https://biblehub.com/ https://www.bible.com/ http://betterdaysarecoming.com/bible/pronunciation.html https://biblespeak.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/mybasicbiblestudy WEBSITE http://www.mybasicbiblestudy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can contact us through e-mail or regular old snail-mail: Basic Bible Study 7797 N. 1st St. #34 Fresno, CA 93720 basicbiblestudy19@gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 4, 2024 Today's Reading: Psalm 66:1-2, 8-9, 20; antiphon: Psalm 66:16Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:21-33, 39-44, Numbers 1:1-2:34, Luke 14:1-24Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me! (Psalm 66:20)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is a common misunderstanding about prayer. Many people think that God hears prayers better if more people pray. That's why many people ask anyone and everyone to pray for their sick relative or their friend who is suffering. Now don't get me wrong. Christians should pray. God commands us in the Second Commandment to pray and use His name rightly. God also promises to hear us when we pray, and will answer our prayers by what is best in His good and gracious will.But it's not true that God hears prayers better if more people pray. The prayers of many are not louder to God than prayers made by just one. The amount of people who pray doesn't matter as much as the faith of the people who pray. Everywhere in Scripture, prayer is connected with faith in Christ. Those who have saving faith in Christ are heard and blessed. Those who do not have saving faith in Christ, or who pray to false gods, are not heard and not blessed. So, for example, God refused to hear the prayers of the unrepentant Israelites in Isaiah 1:5, whose hands were covered with blood - metaphorically speaking. Or consider when God spoke to the idolatrous Judeans who blended their worship with their idol-worshiping neighbors' worship. Jeremiah writes of this in Lamentations 3:44, saying, “you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.”This is why the Psalmist today is so cheered that God hears his prayers. It is a sign that this psalm-writer is still in God's love and grace. He has not fallen out of saving faith in the Christ who was to come (who has come now, Jesus). Rather, the Psalmist is relieved that God hears His prayers because that also means that he will not be condemned like the unbelieving world.What about your prayers? If you don't pray regularly, repent and believe the Gospel, and then do it. Make prayer part of your routine, saying many private prayers throughout the day. Where God does not say yes right away, that does not mean you are lacking in saving faith. It might mean God has better plans. It might mean God wants you to wait a little bit so your heart is in better condition to appreciate His Gifts. But where God does answer your prayers with a resounding “yes,” you can be thankful, cheered, and moved just like the Psalmist. For your loving heavenly Father knows your needs, and by answering your prayers, it shows that you continue to be His dear child through faith in Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Heavenly Father, continue to look on us in grace, that believing in Your Son and His salvation, we offer up regular prayers, trusting in Your good and gracious will.  Amen.- Pastor. Robert Mayes is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church and Zion St. John Lutheran Church in Beemer and Wisner, NE.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

Get ready for an irreverent romp through the biblical end-times with our scathing review of Jeremiah Chapter 52! In this episode, your favorite godless guides take you on a rollercoaster ride of ancient drama as we dissect the so-called divine hand behind the downfall of Zedekiah and his not-so-merry band of Judeans. Buckle up as we question the celestial management skills that led to the epic facepalm moment of Jerusalem's destruction.Our snark-infused commentary doesn't hold back on the absurdities of divine retribution, as we wonder aloud if the Big Guy upstairs might have benefited from a crash course in Anger Management 101. With a healthy dose of skepticism, we poke fun at the supposed spells and curses that sound more like a high fantasy novel than a revered text.As the last king of Judah, Zedekiah's catastrophic fail gets the full treatment, and we're not talking about a spa day. We can't help but marvel at the divine fickleness, where heavenly favor seems as stable as a game of Jenga during an earthquake. And don't even get us started on the loot-and-scoot strategy of Nebuchadnezzar's goons as they plunder Jerusalem's treasures, including every last bronze spoon – because who doesn't need a divine set of cutlery?And just when you thought it couldn't get any more riveting, we bid adieu to the book of Jeremiah with the anticipation of diving headfirst into the abyss of Lamentations. Spoiler alert: we're not expecting a feel-good rom-com. So join us for this blasphemous breakdown and remember, whether you're a believer or a proud heathen, there's no better place to indulge in some holy mockery than right here with us.Don't forget to subscribe for more godless goodness as we continue our quest to find logic in the labyrinth of scripture. And hey, while you're at it, drop us a line during our Q&A session where we tackle the tough questions, like "Can pomegranates get you into heaven?" or "How many Babylonians does it take to screw in a bronze lampstand?"Tag along for a divine comedy, or tragedy, depending on how you look at it, and let's see if we can cast our own spell of reason on these ancient texts. Until next time, keep your wits sharp and your blasphemy sharper!Join us on DISCORD: https://discord.gg/8RwwMrb5zKSkip the ads by joining Patreon https://patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourseThank you for stopping by Sacrilegious Discourse - Bible Study BY Atheists!Check out these links for more information about our podcast and merchandise:Our Homepage: https://sacrilegiousdiscourse.com/. Join Acast+ to enjoy our podcast adfree! https://plus.acast.com/s/sacrilegiousiscourse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Behold, the Man! St. John 19 by William Klock The more things change, the more they stay the same.  At the end of John 18 there's that familiar scene of Jesus before Pilate.  On the one hand Pilate has no interest in crucifying Jesus, but he's also finding the whole situation a pain in the neck.  Pilate's only real interest was in keeping the peace in Judea and these Jews weren't making it easy for him.  And so he had Jesus brought to him and he asked, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  And Jesus responded, “Are you asking because you're interested or because that's what you've heard people say about me?”  And Pilate responds, “Am I Jew?  Why should I care if you're King of the Jews or not?  It's your skin on the line.  Your own people—your own priests!—arrested you and handed you over to me.  I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself.  So what do you have to say?” Jesus goes on to explain in those well-known (and often misunderstood words), “My kingdom is not from this world.  If it were, my disciples would have taken up arms to save me from the soldiers of the high priest.”  And Pilate, confused and getting annoyed asks, “So are you a king or not?”  And Jesus responded, “You're the one calling me a king.  I was born for this.  I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  And we can hear the annoyance and the exasperation in Pilate's famous answer, “What is truth?”  And with that he went back out to address the Judeans.  He didn't understand what Jesus was saying, but that didn't mean Jesus was guilty.  Pilate went out and told them as much.  It was usual for the governor to free a Jewish prisoner at Passover, so Pilate offered them a choice: Jesus or Barabbas.  Barabbas was a monster.  Surely they'd choose Jesus, because they certainly didn't want Barabbas out of prison.  But, no, to Pilates' great surprise, they shouted out for the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus.  Pilate gave up.  He symbolically washed his hands and declared to the people, this is on you, not me.  And they took Jesus off to die. Just like Pilate, people have been stumbling over these words of Jesus for two thousand years.  People hear him say that his kingdom is not from or not of this world and they then say to us, “Well, then leave me alone.  Go worship in your church and leave the rest of us be.  Enjoy your pie in the sky when you die.”  Even Christians have misunderstood this to mean that we should disengage from the world.  But that's not it at all.  Jesus' kingdom may not be from this world, but it is most certainly for this world.  It's the only hope this world has.  It's what Jesus means when he tells us to pray “on earth as it is in heaven”—to look forward to, to hope for, and to pray for that day when God has set his creation to rights, when earth and heaven and God and man are back together as they—as we—should be.  As he created it all and us in the beginning.  This is what Jesus bore witness to and it's what we, forgiven and washed and filled with his Spirit are called not only to pray for but to witness to the world and the people around us.  It's that kingdom that comes not by the sword—which is the only kind of kingdom Pilate could think of.  Instead, it's the kingdom that comes by the love we saw last night as Jesus shared bread and wine with his disciples and then washed their feet.  It's the kingdom that we see coming today, on Good Friday, as Jesus goes to the cross. On Good Friday, at the cross, all the great stories of the love of God come together in one place.  As John tells us the story of Good Friday, he brings all these other stories together.  There's Psalm 22 and Psalm 69 and there's Isaiah and Zechariah, and there's the Passover lamb whose bones were not broken and it all points us to the big story of the God of Israel and his people and his love for them—a love that was meant to be, through them, for everyone and for all of creation.  They were his agents for challenging the power of evil in the world, for being light in the darkness.  And, of course, as we read the Old Testament, we see that their story—not very surprisingly—their story got stuck in the very problem for which it was supposed to be an answer—the great problem of rebellion and sin.  And yet, Israel's failure was God's opportunity to announce his love once again.  He would be faithful to his people.  He would send his Messiah and his Messiah would fulfil his purposes for the world. Think of that bigger story.  Going back to the beginning we're told about the men of Babel and their tower.  They'd lost all knowledge of their creator.  They grasped at divinity themselves, reaching towards heaven.  God confused their languages.  There's that “What is truth?” question all the way back there!  And there, in the midst of deep darkness, just as the human race seems well and truly and utterly lost, God shows up to make himself known to Abraham and to announce that through Abraham and his family, he will make himself known to the world.  A glimmer of light in the darkness.  And then that family winds up enslaved in Egypt, so the Lord sends Moses  to confront Pharaoh and to lead his people out of bondage—and Passover happens.  There are centuries of ups and downs for Israel, but each time things go bad, the Lord sends a deliverer.  And then finally he gives Israel a king—Saul—and the Philistines kill him.  So the Lord raises up the lowly shepherd, David, who establishes a great kingdom and the Lord promises him a future heir who will be God's own son and who will rule forever and ever.  And then more centuries of ups and downs, of faithfulness and failure—mostly failure—until Babylon brings Israel down in shame and takes her off into exile.  And when Israel is at her lowest, shamed and disgraced, that's when the Lord points to her through the Prophet and declares: Behold, my servant.  And then, as we've seen in Daniel, the great empires rose from the sea and over them all the Lord exalts the son of man as their judge. And, Brothers and Sisters, this story echoes all through our Good Friday Gospel today.  We see Rome, another of those imperial monsters rising from the sea.  And Rome does what Rome did best, brutally killing a rebel king.  John shows us Pilate as he brings Jesus out to the people the day before Passover and announced, “Behold your king!”  But those Sadducees priests didn't want a Messiah any more than they wanted a resurrection.  In fact, they didn't want a Messiah so much that they shouted out the unthinkable, “We have no king but Caesar!”  John shows us Babel and Egypt and Philistia and Babylon at their worst and then he shows us the seed of Abraham, the one greater than Moses, the son of David, the servant of the Lord and declares, “Behold the man!  Behold your king!” And yet, for all it seems that Rome and the Sadducees are out of control, they never really are.  As we've seen in Daniel, the beasts rise from the sea and they rage, but the God of Israel never ceases to be sovereign.  Even in their evil, the beasts of empire serve his purpose.  So, ironically, it's Pilate the Roman governor, the man cynical of the very idea of truth, who in God's providence, declares the truth to the people as he announces to them, “Here is your king!”  Even as the priests protest his placard on the cross, Pilate again stand firm on the truth, insisting, “What I have written, I have written.”  John powerfully reminds us that even this cynical, self-serving servant of Caesar will serve the Lord's purposes.  Jesus had said to him, “You have no authority over me unless it is given to you from above.”  So Rome does what Rome does best.  It mocks and it kills and yet, in doing that, it providentially serves God's purposes and proves the point that the God of Abraham and Moses and David does not fight the battle against evil with the weapons of the world, but with love.  Everyone that day thought that Caesar had won.  The devils were dancing with joy that Friday.  And yet Caesar and the priests and the devils all played right into God's hand.  As evil rose to its full height, as it was concentrated all in one place, God won the victory against it on Good Friday. At the cross, God's project to set his creation to rights is finally accomplished.  This why John opens his Gospel with those powerful echoes of Genesis.  In Genesis we read that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  John echoes those words as he tells us that in the beginning was the word and the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us—bringing heaven and earth back together.  All through John there are these creation themes.  There's light and darkness.  There's the seed that will bear fruit and multiply.  And now on Friday, the sixth day of the week, the day when God crowned his work of creation with the creation of man to rule his new world, John shows us Pilate bringing out Jesus, robed in purple and wearing a crown of thorns, and he declares to the people, “Behold the man!”  Jesus is the true image of God and the world is so mired in rebellion and sin that God's own people, confronted with the image of God in Jesus can only shout out, “Crucify him!”  The people who prayed for the return of the Lord to his temple, turned their eyes away when he did return and demanded his death.  They were so mired I darkness that they couldn't bear the light. And yet the love of God marched sovereignly on—to the cross.  At the end of the sixth day in Genesis, God finished his work and now on this sixth day in John's Gospel we hear Jesus announce that “It is finished” as he takes his last breath.  It was finished.  His work was accomplished.  Humanity was forgiven and creation was healed.  Evil had risen to its full height, giving the love of God the opportunity to rise even higher on the cross.  Of course, no one understood that on Friday.  It would take the resurrection, in which Jesus was vindicated by his Father, in which is victory was brought out into the light for everyone to see, it would take that before they would know and understand and believe.  But on the cross, as Jesus breathed his last and slumped, hanging on those nails, it was finished.  Once and for all.  A full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of Israel, for the sins of all of the nations—for the sins of the whole world.  A sacrifice that would finally heal the breach and bring an answer to our prayer: on earth as it is in heaven. And now, Brothers and Sisters, you and I stand gathered at the foot of the cross, confronted by the very image of God and by his amazing love.  Here is the man who represents what we were created to be in the beginning and what, if we will only commit ourselves to him, God will make us to be.  Here is our King, who has inaugurated his kingdom—this new creation, this world set to rights, a world founded on love—and not the world's idea of love, but the love defined by the story of God and his people and by Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross.  Here we're confronted by the King and his kingdom and by a vision of the world set to rights.  What will we do?  We are so often stuck in the kingdom of Caesar.  We put our trust in Caesar's sword and in Caesar's coins—even in Caesar's gods.  Like those Sadducee priests who were so dead set on holding on to what they had, that they declared the unthinkable, that they declared the very thing they knew so well was false: We have no king but Caesar.  And John reminds us today that whatever power Caesar may have, has been given to him by God and to fulfil his purposes, not Caesar's.  Brothers and Sisters, let go of Caesar and take hold of Jesus.  Let go everything else and take hold of the love of God made manifest at the cross. Good Friday reminds us.  We look up to the cross and we see Jesus.  Behold the man.  Behold the king.  He is the image of God and as we look in his face we see the God who loved his people, who loved the world so much, that he gave his own son that we might be forgiven and set to rights and welcomed back into his fellowship—who sent his son not to condemn, but to save.  Here is the good shepherd who lays down his own life for his sheep out of love.  Here is the one who shows the greatest love we can ever know as he lays down his life for his friends.  Jesus, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the uttermost.  This love we see at the cross is the very love that shone so brightly out of the darkness at the very moment when we thought the light had been overcome.  This is the love that redeems and renews us, but even more important than that, this is the love that glorifies the God who is love. And so, Brothers and Sisters, this Good Friday, be transformed by this love.  Our brother and our king has given his life and by that love he give us life and hope and a lens through which we should, more and more each day, see every part of our lives and of the world.  This is the love that forgives our sins and heals our hurts.  This is the love that is making creation new and that, one day, will wipe away our tears.  This is the love that we, as Jesus' people, manifest to the world.  This is the truth we witness for the sake of the world and to the glory of God.

With family: 2 Chronicles 19–20; Revelation 8 2 Chronicles 19–20 (Listen) Jehoshaphat's Reforms 19 Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. 2 But Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the LORD. 3 Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.” 4 Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers. 5 He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6 and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the LORD. He is with you in giving judgment. 7 Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes.” 8 Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel, to give judgment for the LORD and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem. 9 And he charged them: “Thus you shall do in the fear of the LORD, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart: 10 whenever a case comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or rules, then you shall warn them, that they may not incur guilt before the LORD and wrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt. 11 And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king's matters, and the Levites will serve you as officers. Deal courageously, and may the LORD be with the upright!”1 Jehoshaphat's Prayer 20 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,2 came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,3 from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 and said, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. 7 Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,4 or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.' 10 And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy—11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 And the Spirit of the LORD came5 upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.” 18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. 19 And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,   “Give thanks to the LORD,    for his steadfast love endures forever.” 22 And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. The Lord Delivers Judah 24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there6 were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah,7 for there they blessed the LORD. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the LORD. 29 And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around. 31 Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 He walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. 33 The high places, however, were not taken away; the people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their fathers. 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of Jehu the son of Hanani, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel. The End of Jehoshaphat's Reign 35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. 36 He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, and they built the ships in Ezion-geber. 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish. Footnotes [1] 19:11 Hebrew the good [2] 20:1 Compare 26:7; Hebrew Ammonites [3] 20:2 One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts Aram (Syria) [4] 20:9 Or the sword of judgment [5] 20:14 Or was [6] 20:24 Hebrew they [7] 20:26 Beracah means blessing (ESV) Revelation 8 (Listen) The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer 8 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings,1 flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. The Seven Trumpets 6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. 7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. 8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood.2 A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter. 12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night. 13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!” Footnotes [1] 8:5 Or voices, or sounds [2] 8:11 Wormwood is the name of a plant and of the bitter-tasting extract derived from it (ESV) In private: Zechariah 4; John 7 Zechariah 4 (Listen) A Vision of a Golden Lampstand 4 And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3 And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. 7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!'” 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. 10 For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. “These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth.” 11 Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil1 is poured out?” 13 He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones2 who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” Footnotes [1] 4:12 Hebrew lacks oil [2] 4:14 Hebrew two sons of new oil (ESV) John 7 (Listen) Jesus at the Feast of Booths 7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews1 were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers2 said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not3 going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee. 10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him. 14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,4 when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone's will is to do God's5 will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Can This Be the Christ? 25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, ‘Where I am you cannot come'?” Rivers of Living Water 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as6 the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Division Among the People 40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. 45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” [The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]7 The Woman Caught in Adultery 53 [[They went each to his own house, Footnotes [1] 7:1 Or Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [2] 7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10 [3] 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet [4] 7:15 Or this man knows his letters [5] 7:17 Greek his [6] 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As [7] 7:53 Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text (ESV)

Old Testament: Daniel 4–5 Daniel 4–5 (Listen) Nebuchadnezzar Praises God 4 1 King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! 2 It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. 3   How great are his signs,    how mighty his wonders!  His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,    and his dominion endures from generation to generation. Nebuchadnezzar's Second Dream 4 2 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. 5 I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. 6 So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. 8 At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods3—and I told him the dream, saying, 9 “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. 10 The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. 13 “I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. 14 He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. 17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.' 18 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” Daniel Interprets the Second Dream 19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! 20 The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, 21 whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived—22 it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. 23 And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,' 24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, 25 that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. 26 And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” Nebuchadnezzar's Humiliation 28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws. Nebuchadnezzar Restored 34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,   for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,    and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;35   all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,    and he does according to his will among the host of heaven    and among the inhabitants of the earth;  and none can stay his hand    or say to him, “What have you done?” 36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. The Handwriting on the Wall 5 King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. 2 Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father4 had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. 5 Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. 6 Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 7 The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared5 to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed. 10 The queen,6 because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.7 In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.” Daniel Interprets the Handwriting 13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. 14 I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods8 is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16 But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. 20 But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 22 And you his son,9 Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. 24 “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered10 the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 TEKEL, you have been weighed11 in the balances and found wanting; 28 PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”12 29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31 13 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. Footnotes [1] 4:1 Ch 3:31 in Aramaic [2] 4:4 Ch 4:1 in Aramaic [3] 4:8 Or Spirit of the holy God; also verses 9, 18 [4] 5:2 Or predecessor; also verses 11, 13, 18 [5] 5:7 Aramaic answered and said; also verse 10 [6] 5:10 Or queen mother; twice in this verse [7] 5:11 Or Spirit of the holy God [8] 5:14 Or Spirit of God [9] 5:22 Or successor [10] 5:26 Mene sounds like the Aramaic for numbered [11] 5:27 Tekel sounds like the Aramaic for weighed [12] 5:28 Peres (the singular of Parsin) sounds like the Aramaic for divided and for Persia [13] 5:31 Ch 6:1 in Aramaic (ESV) New Testament: John 7:1–52 John 7:1–52 (Listen) Jesus at the Feast of Booths 7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews1 were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers2 said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not3 going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee. 10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him. 14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,4 when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone's will is to do God's5 will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Can This Be the Christ? 25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, ‘Where I am you cannot come'?” Rivers of Living Water 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as6 the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Division Among the People 40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. 45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” Footnotes [1] 7:1 Or Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [2] 7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10 [3] 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet [4] 7:15 Or this man knows his letters [5] 7:17 Greek his [6] 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 131 Psalm 131 (Listen) I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul A Song of Ascents. Of David. 131   O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;    my eyes are not raised too high;  I do not occupy myself with things    too great and too marvelous for me.2   But I have calmed and quieted my soul,    like a weaned child with its mother;    like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3   O Israel, hope in the LORD    from this time forth and forevermore. (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 29:21–22 Proverbs 29:21–22 (Listen) 21   Whoever pampers his servant from childhood    will in the end find him his heir.122   A man of wrath stirs up strife,    and one given to anger causes much transgression. Footnotes [1] 29:21 The meaning of the Hebrew word rendered his heir is uncertain (ESV)

In over seventy episodes over the course of two years, we have done a deep dive into the 12 Minor Prophets, a monthlong minicourse on why prophecy ended, and then tackled the postexilic books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The next book on the horizon for Bible Fiber is Ezekiel. But before we start a new book, I am giving a minicourse on the Peoples of the Bible. One of the many things we have learned since October 7th is that neighbors really matter, and neighbors can be very problematic for the tiny nation of Israel. Israel did not exist in a bubble during biblical times, and it does not live in a bubble now. This week we are learning about the Babylonians, one empire that seems to have permeated the entire Old Testament story. The name Babylon occurs 289 times in the Hebrew scriptures, starting in Genesis and ending with Habakkuk. In Genesis, even though the story of the Tower of Babel is critical of Babylon's misplaced arrogance, it credits Babylonia as being the birthplace of many cultures, languages, and civilizations. After Genesis, Babylon was synonymous with evil and greed. God used Babylon to punish Judah when she had strayed too far from the covenant and refused to repent. Despite serving as God's agent of punishment, Babylon then becomes the target of God's wrath as he swore to vindicate his covenant people. They are the villains of the Old Testament because they were the army that ransacked Jerusalem, looted, and burned the First Temple, and carted off Judeans into captivity.  

Old Testament: Jeremiah 51–52 Jeremiah 51–52 (Listen) The Utter Destruction of Babylon 51   Thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer    against Babylon,    against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai,12   and I will send to Babylon winnowers,    and they shall winnow her,  and they shall empty her land,    when they come against her from every side    on the day of trouble.3   Let not the archer bend his bow,    and let him not stand up in his armor.  Spare not her young men;    devote to destruction2 all her army.4   They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,    and wounded in her streets.5   For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken    by their God, the LORD of hosts,  but the land of the Chaldeans3 is full of guilt    against the Holy One of Israel. 6   “Flee from the midst of Babylon;    let every one save his life!  Be not cut off in her punishment,    for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance,    the repayment he is rendering her.7   Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD's hand,    making all the earth drunken;  the nations drank of her wine;    therefore the nations went mad.8   Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;    wail for her!  Take balm for her pain;    perhaps she may be healed.9   We would have healed Babylon,    but she was not healed.  Forsake her, and let us go    each to his own country,  for her judgment has reached up to heaven    and has been lifted up even to the skies.10   The LORD has brought about our vindication;    come, let us declare in Zion    the work of the LORD our God. 11   “Sharpen the arrows!    Take up the shields! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance for his temple. 12   “Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon;    make the watch strong;  set up watchmen;    prepare the ambushes;  for the LORD has both planned and done    what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.13   O you who dwell by many waters,    rich in treasures,  your end has come;    the thread of your life is cut.14   The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself:  Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts,    and they shall raise the shout of victory over you. 15   “It is he who made the earth by his power,    who established the world by his wisdom,  and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.16   When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.  He makes lightning for the rain,    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.17   Every man is stupid and without knowledge;    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,  for his images are false,    and there is no breath in them.18   They are worthless, a work of delusion;    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.19   Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,    for he is the one who formed all things,  and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 20   “You are my hammer and weapon of war:  with you I break nations in pieces;    with you I destroy kingdoms;21   with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider;    with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;22   with you I break in pieces man and woman;    with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth;  with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman;23     with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock;  with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team;    with you I break in pieces governors and commanders. 24 “I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the LORD. 25   “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,      declares the LORD,    which destroys the whole earth;  I will stretch out my hand against you,    and roll you down from the crags,    and make you a burnt mountain.26   No stone shall be taken from you for a corner    and no stone for a foundation,  but you shall be a perpetual waste,    declares the LORD. 27   “Set up a standard on the earth;    blow the trumpet among the nations;  prepare the nations for war against her;    summon against her the kingdoms,    Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz;  appoint a marshal against her;    bring up horses like bristling locusts.28   Prepare the nations for war against her,    the kings of the Medes, with their governors and deputies,    and every land under their dominion.29   The land trembles and writhes in pain,    for the LORD's purposes against Babylon stand,  to make the land of Babylon a desolation,    without inhabitant.30   The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting;    they remain in their strongholds;  their strength has failed;    they have become women;  her dwellings are on fire;    her bars are broken.31   One runner runs to meet another,    and one messenger to meet another,  to tell the king of Babylon    that his city is taken on every side;32   the fords have been seized,    the marshes are burned with fire,    and the soldiers are in panic.33   For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:  The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor    at the time when it is trodden;  yet a little while    and the time of her harvest will come.” 34   “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me;    he has crushed me;  he has made me an empty vessel;    he has swallowed me like a monster;  he has filled his stomach with my delicacies;    he has rinsed me out.435   The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon,”    let the inhabitant of Zion say.  “My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”    let Jerusalem say.36   Therefore thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I will plead your cause    and take vengeance for you.  I will dry up her sea    and make her fountain dry,37   and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins,    the haunt of jackals,  a horror and a hissing,    without inhabitant. 38   “They shall roar together like lions;    they shall growl like lions' cubs.39   While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast    and make them drunk, that they may become merry,  then sleep a perpetual sleep    and not wake, declares the LORD.40   I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,    like rams and male goats. 41   “How Babylon5 is taken,    the praise of the whole earth seized!  How Babylon has become    a horror among the nations!42   The sea has come up on Babylon;    she is covered with its tumultuous waves.43   Her cities have become a horror,    a land of drought and a desert,  a land in which no one dwells,    and through which no son of man passes.44   And I will punish Bel in Babylon,    and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed.  The nations shall no longer flow to him;    the wall of Babylon has fallen. 45   “Go out of the midst of her, my people!    Let every one save his life    from the fierce anger of the LORD!46   Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful    at the report heard in the land,  when a report comes in one year    and afterward a report in another year,  and violence is in the land,    and ruler is against ruler. 47   “Therefore, behold, the days are coming    when I will punish the images of Babylon;  her whole land shall be put to shame,    and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.48   Then the heavens and the earth,    and all that is in them,  shall sing for joy over Babylon,    for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,      declares the LORD.49   Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,    just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth. 50   “You who have escaped from the sword,    go, do not stand still!  Remember the LORD from far away,    and let Jerusalem come into your mind:51   ‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach;    dishonor has covered our face,  for foreigners have come    into the holy places of the LORD's house.' 52   “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,    when I will execute judgment upon her images,  and through all her land    the wounded shall groan.53   Though Babylon should mount up to heaven,    and though she should fortify her strong height,  yet destroyers would come from me against her,    declares the LORD. 54   “A voice! A cry from Babylon!    The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!55   For the LORD is laying Babylon waste    and stilling her mighty voice.  Their waves roar like many waters;    the noise of their voice is raised,56   for a destroyer has come upon her,    upon Babylon;  her warriors are taken;    their bows are broken in pieces,  for the LORD is a God of recompense;    he will surely repay.57   I will make drunk her officials and her wise men,    her governors, her commanders, and her warriors;  they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake,    declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 58   “Thus says the LORD of hosts:  The broad wall of Babylon    shall be leveled to the ground,  and her high gates    shall be burned with fire.  The peoples labor for nothing,    and the nations weary themselves only for fire.” 59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60 Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62 and say, ‘O LORD, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.' 63 When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.'” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted 52 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the anger of the LORD it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. 5 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled and went out from the city by night by the way of a gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. 10 The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. 11 He put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death. The Temple Burned 12 In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. 13 And he burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. 17 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18 And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service; 19 also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and the lampstands and the dishes for incense and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 20 As for the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea,6 and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,7 its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. 22 On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was five cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around. The People Exiled to Babylon 24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 25 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and seven men of the king's council, who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city. 26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 104 Psalm 104 (Listen) O Lord My God, You Are Very Great 104   Bless the LORD, O my soul!    O LORD my God, you are very great!  You are clothed with splendor and majesty,2     covering yourself with light as with a garment,    stretching out the heavens like a tent.3   He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;  he makes the clouds his chariot;    he rides on the wings of the wind;4   he makes his messengers winds,    his ministers a flaming fire. 5   He set the earth on its foundations,    so that it should never be moved.6   You covered it with the deep as with a garment;    the waters stood above the mountains.7   At your rebuke they fled;    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.8   The mountains rose, the valleys sank down    to the place that you appointed for them.9   You set a boundary that they may not pass,    so that they might not again cover the earth. 10   You make springs gush forth in the valleys;    they flow between the hills;11   they give drink to every beast of the field;    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.12   Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;    they sing among the branches.13   From your lofty abode you water the mountains;    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. 14   You cause the grass to grow for the livestock    and plants for man to cultivate,  that he may bring forth food from the earth15     and wine to gladden the heart of man,  oil to make his face shine    and bread to strengthen man's heart. 16   The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.17   In them the birds build their nests;    the stork has her home in the fir trees.18   The high mountains are for the wild goats;    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. 19   He made the moon to mark the seasons;1    the sun knows its time for setting.20   You make darkness, and it is night,    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.21   The young lions roar for their prey,    seeking their food from God.22   When the sun rises, they steal away    and lie down in their dens.23   Man goes out to his work    and to his labor until the evening. 24   O LORD, how manifold are your works!    In wisdom have you made them all;    the earth is full of your creatures.25   Here is the sea, great and wide,    which teems with creatures innumerable,    living things both small and great.26   There go the ships,    and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.2 27   These all look to you,    to give them their food in due season.28   When you give it to them, they gather it up;    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.29   When you hide your face, they are dismayed;    when you take away their breath, they die    and return to their dust.30   When you send forth your Spirit,3 they are created,    and you renew the face of the ground. 31   May the glory of the LORD endure forever;    may the LORD rejoice in his works,32   who looks on the earth and it trembles,    who touches the mountains and they smoke!33   I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.34   May my meditation be pleasing to him,    for I rejoice in the LORD.35   Let sinners be consumed from the earth,    and let the wicked be no more!  Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 104:19 Or the appointed times (compare Genesis 1:14) [2] 104:26 Or you formed to play with [3] 104:30 Or breath (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 13 2 Kings 13 (Listen) Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel 13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them. 3 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. 4 Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. 5 (Therefore the LORD gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly. 6 Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin, but walked1 in them; and the Asherah also remained in Samaria.) 7 For there was not left to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 9 So Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place. Jehoash Reigns in Israel 10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash2 the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He also did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. 12 Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13 So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. The Death of Elisha 14 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” 18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.” 20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet. 22 Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now. 24 When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. 25 Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel. Footnotes [1] 13:6 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, Vulgate; Hebrew he walked [2] 13:10 Jehoash is an alternate spelling of Joash (son of Jehoahaz) as in verses 9, 12–14; also verse 25 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Malachi 3:13–4:6 Malachi 3:13–4:6 (Listen) 13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?' 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.'” The Book of Remembrance 16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. 1 The Great Day of the Lord 4 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts. 4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules2 that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”3 Footnotes [1] 3:18 Ch 4:1–6 is ch 3:19–24 in Hebrew [2] 4:4 Or and just decrees [3] 4:6 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 7 John 7 (Listen) Jesus at the Feast of Booths 7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews1 were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers2 said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not3 going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee. 10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him. 14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,4 when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone's will is to do God's5 will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Can This Be the Christ? 25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, ‘Where I am you cannot come'?” Rivers of Living Water 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as6 the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Division Among the People 40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. 45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” [The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]7 The Woman Caught in Adultery 53 [[They went each to his own house, Footnotes [1] 7:1 Or Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [2] 7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10 [3] 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet [4] 7:15 Or this man knows his letters [5] 7:17 Greek his [6] 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As [7] 7:53 Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text (ESV)

Morning: Jeremiah 51–52 Jeremiah 51–52 (Listen) The Utter Destruction of Babylon 51   Thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer    against Babylon,    against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai,12   and I will send to Babylon winnowers,    and they shall winnow her,  and they shall empty her land,    when they come against her from every side    on the day of trouble.3   Let not the archer bend his bow,    and let him not stand up in his armor.  Spare not her young men;    devote to destruction2 all her army.4   They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans,    and wounded in her streets.5   For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken    by their God, the LORD of hosts,  but the land of the Chaldeans3 is full of guilt    against the Holy One of Israel. 6   “Flee from the midst of Babylon;    let every one save his life!  Be not cut off in her punishment,    for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance,    the repayment he is rendering her.7   Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD's hand,    making all the earth drunken;  the nations drank of her wine;    therefore the nations went mad.8   Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;    wail for her!  Take balm for her pain;    perhaps she may be healed.9   We would have healed Babylon,    but she was not healed.  Forsake her, and let us go    each to his own country,  for her judgment has reached up to heaven    and has been lifted up even to the skies.10   The LORD has brought about our vindication;    come, let us declare in Zion    the work of the LORD our God. 11   “Sharpen the arrows!    Take up the shields! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance for his temple. 12   “Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon;    make the watch strong;  set up watchmen;    prepare the ambushes;  for the LORD has both planned and done    what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.13   O you who dwell by many waters,    rich in treasures,  your end has come;    the thread of your life is cut.14   The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself:  Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts,    and they shall raise the shout of victory over you. 15   “It is he who made the earth by his power,    who established the world by his wisdom,  and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.16   When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.  He makes lightning for the rain,    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.17   Every man is stupid and without knowledge;    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,  for his images are false,    and there is no breath in them.18   They are worthless, a work of delusion;    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.19   Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,    for he is the one who formed all things,  and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 20   “You are my hammer and weapon of war:  with you I break nations in pieces;    with you I destroy kingdoms;21   with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider;    with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;22   with you I break in pieces man and woman;    with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth;  with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman;23     with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock;  with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team;    with you I break in pieces governors and commanders. 24 “I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the LORD. 25   “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,      declares the LORD,    which destroys the whole earth;  I will stretch out my hand against you,    and roll you down from the crags,    and make you a burnt mountain.26   No stone shall be taken from you for a corner    and no stone for a foundation,  but you shall be a perpetual waste,    declares the LORD. 27   “Set up a standard on the earth;    blow the trumpet among the nations;  prepare the nations for war against her;    summon against her the kingdoms,    Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz;  appoint a marshal against her;    bring up horses like bristling locusts.28   Prepare the nations for war against her,    the kings of the Medes, with their governors and deputies,    and every land under their dominion.29   The land trembles and writhes in pain,    for the LORD's purposes against Babylon stand,  to make the land of Babylon a desolation,    without inhabitant.30   The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting;    they remain in their strongholds;  their strength has failed;    they have become women;  her dwellings are on fire;    her bars are broken.31   One runner runs to meet another,    and one messenger to meet another,  to tell the king of Babylon    that his city is taken on every side;32   the fords have been seized,    the marshes are burned with fire,    and the soldiers are in panic.33   For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:  The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor    at the time when it is trodden;  yet a little while    and the time of her harvest will come.” 34   “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me;    he has crushed me;  he has made me an empty vessel;    he has swallowed me like a monster;  he has filled his stomach with my delicacies;    he has rinsed me out.435   The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon,”    let the inhabitant of Zion say.  “My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”    let Jerusalem say.36   Therefore thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I will plead your cause    and take vengeance for you.  I will dry up her sea    and make her fountain dry,37   and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins,    the haunt of jackals,  a horror and a hissing,    without inhabitant. 38   “They shall roar together like lions;    they shall growl like lions' cubs.39   While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast    and make them drunk, that they may become merry,  then sleep a perpetual sleep    and not wake, declares the LORD.40   I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,    like rams and male goats. 41   “How Babylon5 is taken,    the praise of the whole earth seized!  How Babylon has become    a horror among the nations!42   The sea has come up on Babylon;    she is covered with its tumultuous waves.43   Her cities have become a horror,    a land of drought and a desert,  a land in which no one dwells,    and through which no son of man passes.44   And I will punish Bel in Babylon,    and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed.  The nations shall no longer flow to him;    the wall of Babylon has fallen. 45   “Go out of the midst of her, my people!    Let every one save his life    from the fierce anger of the LORD!46   Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful    at the report heard in the land,  when a report comes in one year    and afterward a report in another year,  and violence is in the land,    and ruler is against ruler. 47   “Therefore, behold, the days are coming    when I will punish the images of Babylon;  her whole land shall be put to shame,    and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.48   Then the heavens and the earth,    and all that is in them,  shall sing for joy over Babylon,    for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north,      declares the LORD.49   Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel,    just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth. 50   “You who have escaped from the sword,    go, do not stand still!  Remember the LORD from far away,    and let Jerusalem come into your mind:51   ‘We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach;    dishonor has covered our face,  for foreigners have come    into the holy places of the LORD's house.' 52   “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,    when I will execute judgment upon her images,  and through all her land    the wounded shall groan.53   Though Babylon should mount up to heaven,    and though she should fortify her strong height,  yet destroyers would come from me against her,    declares the LORD. 54   “A voice! A cry from Babylon!    The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!55   For the LORD is laying Babylon waste    and stilling her mighty voice.  Their waves roar like many waters;    the noise of their voice is raised,56   for a destroyer has come upon her,    upon Babylon;  her warriors are taken;    their bows are broken in pieces,  for the LORD is a God of recompense;    he will surely repay.57   I will make drunk her officials and her wise men,    her governors, her commanders, and her warriors;  they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake,    declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 58   “Thus says the LORD of hosts:  The broad wall of Babylon    shall be leveled to the ground,  and her high gates    shall be burned with fire.  The peoples labor for nothing,    and the nations weary themselves only for fire.” 59 The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster. 60 Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, 62 and say, ‘O LORD, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.' 63 When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64 and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.'” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted 52 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For because of the anger of the LORD it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. 5 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled and went out from the city by night by the way of a gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. 10 The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. 11 He put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death. The Temple Burned 12 In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. 13 And he burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. 17 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18 And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service; 19 also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and the lampstands and the dishes for incense and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 20 As for the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea,6 and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight. 21 As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,7 its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. 22 On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was five cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around. The People Exiled to Babylon 24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 25 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and seven men of the king's council, who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city. 26 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its la

Old Testament: Jeremiah 42–44 Jeremiah 42–44 (Listen) Warning Against Going to Egypt 42 Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the LORD your God for us, for all this remnant—because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us—3 that the LORD your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” 4 Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your request, and whatever the LORD answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.” 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to us. 6 Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.” 7 At the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. 8 Then he summoned Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest, 9 and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: 10 If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. 11 Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the LORD, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. 12 I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. 13 But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,' disobeying the voice of the LORD your God 14 and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,' 15 then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, 16 then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die. 17 All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them. 18 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. 19 The LORD has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.' Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day 20 that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the LORD our God, and whatever the LORD our God says, declare to us and we will do it.' 21 And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in anything that he sent me to tell you. 22 Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.” Jeremiah Taken to Egypt 43 When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the LORD their God, with which the LORD their God had sent him to them, 2 Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The LORD our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there,' 3 but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.” 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the LORD, to remain in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven—6 the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7 And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the LORD. And they arrived at Tahpanhes. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes: 9 “Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah, 10 and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. 11 He shall come and strike the land of Egypt, giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword. 12 I shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin, and he shall go away from there in peace. 13 He shall break the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.'” Judgment for Idolatry 44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, 3 because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!' 5 But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. 6 Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day. 7 And now thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? 8 Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their1 wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers. 11 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. 12 I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. 13 I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, 14 so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, except some fugitives.” 15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: 16 “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. 17 But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. 18 But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” 19 And the women said,2 “When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands' approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?” 20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who had given him this answer: 21 “As for the offerings that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them? Did it not come into his mind? 22 The LORD could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. 23 It is because you made offerings and because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day.” 24 Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. 25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.' Then confirm your vows and perform your vows! 26 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the Lord GOD lives.' 27 Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them. 28 And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs. 29 This shall be the sign to you, declares the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm: 30 Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.” Footnotes [1] 44:9 Hebrew his [2] 44:19 Compare Syriac; Hebrew lacks And the women said (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 119:1–8 Psalm 119:1–8 (Listen) Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet Aleph 119   1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,    who walk in the law of the LORD!2   Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,    who seek him with their whole heart,3   who also do no wrong,    but walk in his ways!4   You have commanded your precepts    to be kept diligently.5   Oh that my ways may be steadfast    in keeping your statutes!6   Then I shall not be put to shame,    having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.7   I will praise you with an upright heart,    when I learn your righteous rules.28   I will keep your statutes;    do not utterly forsake me! Footnotes [1] 119:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem of twenty-two stanzas, following the letters of the Hebrew alphabet; within a stanza, each verse begins with the same Hebrew letter [2] 119:7 Or your just and righteous decrees; also verses 62, 106, 160, 164 (ESV) New Testament: 1 Corinthians 14 1 Corinthians 14 (Listen) Prophecy and Tongues 14 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. 6 Now, brothers,1 if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, 11 but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. 13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider2 say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. 20 Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” 22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign3 not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. Orderly Worship 26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order. Footnotes [1] 14:6 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 20, 26, 39 [2] 14:16 Or of him that is without gifts [3] 14:22 Greek lacks a sign (ESV)

Old Testament: Jeremiah 39–41 Jeremiah 39–41 (Listen) The Fall of Jerusalem 39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. 3 Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. 4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at Riblah, in the land of Hamath; and he passed sentence on him. 6 The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. 7 He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. 8 The Chaldeans burned the king's house and the house of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained. 10 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. The Lord Delivers Jeremiah 11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, 12 “Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon 14 sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard. They entrusted him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he lived among the people. 15 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard: 16 “Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. 17 But I will deliver you on that day, declares the LORD, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. 18 For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the LORD.'” Jeremiah Remains in Judah 40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he took him bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. 2 The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God pronounced this disaster against this place. 3 The LORD has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. 4 Now, behold, I release you today from the chains on your hands. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. 5 If you remain,1 then return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. 6 Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land. 7 When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, 8 they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 9 Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. 10 As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” 11 Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, 12 then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance. 13 Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14 and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. 15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, and the remnant of Judah would perish?” 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.” Gedaliah Murdered 41 In the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. As they ate bread together there at Mizpah, 2 Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. 3 Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there. 4 On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it, 5 eighty men arrived from Shechem and Shiloh and Samaria, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the LORD. 6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” 7 When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern. 8 But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions. 9 Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with2 Gedaliah was the large cistern that King Asa had made for defense against Baasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king's daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites. 11 But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12 they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at the great pool that is in Gibeon. 13 And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. 14 So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites. 16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back from Gibeon. 17 And they went and stayed at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt 18 because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. Footnotes [1] 40:5 Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [2] 41:9 Hebrew by the hand of (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 118 Psalm 118 (Listen) His Steadfast Love Endures Forever 118   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;    for his steadfast love endures forever! 2   Let Israel say,    “His steadfast love endures forever.”3   Let the house of Aaron say,    “His steadfast love endures forever.”4   Let those who fear the LORD say,    “His steadfast love endures forever.” 5   Out of my distress I called on the LORD;    the LORD answered me and set me free.6   The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.    What can man do to me?7   The LORD is on my side as my helper;    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8   It is better to take refuge in the LORD    than to trust in man.9   It is better to take refuge in the LORD    than to trust in princes. 10   All nations surrounded me;    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!11   They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!12   They surrounded me like bees;    they went out like a fire among thorns;    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!13   I was pushed hard,1 so that I was falling,    but the LORD helped me. 14   The LORD is my strength and my song;    he has become my salvation.15   Glad songs of salvation    are in the tents of the righteous:  “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,16     the right hand of the LORD exalts,    the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!” 17   I shall not die, but I shall live,    and recount the deeds of the LORD.18   The LORD has disciplined me severely,    but he has not given me over to death. 19   Open to me the gates of righteousness,    that I may enter through them    and give thanks to the LORD.20   This is the gate of the LORD;    the righteous shall enter through it.21   I thank you that you have answered me    and have become my salvation.22   The stone that the builders rejected    has become the cornerstone.223   This is the LORD's doing;    it is marvelous in our eyes.24   This is the day that the LORD has made;    let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25   Save us, we pray, O LORD!    O LORD, we pray, give us success! 26   Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!    We bless you from the house of the LORD.27   The LORD is God,    and he has made his light to shine upon us.  Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,    up to the horns of the altar! 28   You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;    you are my God; I will extol you.29   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;    for his steadfast love endures forever! Footnotes [1] 118:13 Hebrew You (that is, the enemy) pushed me hard [2] 118:22 Hebrew the head of the corner (ESV) New Testament: 1 Corinthians 12–13 1 Corinthians 12–13 (Listen) Spiritual Gifts 12 Now concerning1 spiritual gifts,2 brothers,3 I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. One Body with Many Members 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves4 or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,5 yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. The Way of Love 13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,6 but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;7 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Footnotes [1] 12:1 The expression Now concerning introduces a reply to a question in the Corinthians' letter; see 7:1 [2] 12:1 Or spiritual persons [3] 12:1 Or brothers and sisters [4] 12:13 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface [5] 12:20 Or members; also verse 22 [6] 13:3 Some manuscripts deliver up my body [to death] that I may boast [7] 13:5 Greek irritable and does not count up wrongdoing (ESV)

John 7–8 John 7–8 (Listen) Jesus at the Feast of Booths 7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews1 were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers2 said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not3 going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee. 10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him. 14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,4 when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone's will is to do God's5 will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Can This Be the Christ? 25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, ‘Where I am you cannot come'?” Rivers of Living Water 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as6 the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Division Among the People 40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. 45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” [The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]7 The Woman Caught in Adultery 53 [[They went each to his own house, 8 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]] I Am the Light of the World 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father8 who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. 21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come'?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. The Truth Will Set You Free 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free'?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave9 to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” You Are of Your Father the Devil 39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” Before Abraham Was, I Am 48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.' 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.'10 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”11 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. Footnotes [1] 7:1 Or Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [2] 7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10 [3] 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet [4] 7:15 Or this man knows his letters [5] 7:17 Greek his [6] 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As [7] 7:53 Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text [8] 8:16 Some manuscripts he [9] 8:34 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 35 [10] 8:54 Some manuscripts your God [11] 8:57 Some manuscripts has Abraham seen you? (ESV)

Old Testament: Jeremiah 37–38 Jeremiah 37–38 (Listen) Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah 37 Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. 3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray for us to the LORD our God.” 4 Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. 5 The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem. 6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “Thus says the LORD, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to its own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. They shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the LORD, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. 10 For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.'” Jeremiah Imprisoned 11 Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his portion there among the people. 13 When he was at the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” 14 And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison. 16 When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, 17 King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the LORD?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land'? 20 Now hear, please, O my lord the king: let my humble plea come before you and do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern 38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: 2 “Thus says the LORD: He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. 3 Thus says the LORD: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” 4 Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern 7 When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate—8 Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. 12 Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again 14 King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the LORD. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16 Then King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As the LORD lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.” 17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” 20 Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the LORD in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the vision which the LORD has shown to me: 22 Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,   “‘Your trusted friends have deceived you    and prevailed against you;  now that your feet are sunk in the mud,    they turn away from you.' 23 All your wives and your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.” 24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,' 26 then you shall say to them, ‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. 28 And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken. (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 117 Psalm 117 (Listen) The Lord's Faithfulness Endures Forever 117   Praise the LORD, all nations!    Extol him, all peoples!2   For great is his steadfast love toward us,    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) New Testament: 1 Corinthians 11 1 Corinthians 11 (Listen) 11 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Head Coverings 2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife1 is her husband,2 and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife3 who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.4 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God. The Lord's Supper 17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,5 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for6 you. Do this in remembrance of me.”7 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.8 31 But if we judged9 ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined10 so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 33 So then, my brothers,11 when you come together to eat, wait for12 one another—34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come. Footnotes [1] 11:3 Greek gunē. This term may refer to a woman or a wife, depending on the context [2] 11:3 Greek anēr. This term may refer to a man or a husband, depending on the context [3] 11:5 In verses 5–13, the Greek word gunē is translated wife in verses that deal with wearing a veil, a sign of being married in first-century culture [4] 11:10 Or messengers, that is, people sent to observe and report [5] 11:18 Or I believe a certain report [6] 11:24 Some manuscripts broken for [7] 11:24 Or as my memorial; also verse 25 [8] 11:30 Greek have fallen asleep (as in 15:6, 20) [9] 11:31 Or discerned [10] 11:32 Or when we are judged we are being disciplined by the Lord [11] 11:33 Or brothers and sisters [12] 11:33 Or share with (ESV)

Morning: Jeremiah 43–45 Jeremiah 43–45 (Listen) Jeremiah Taken to Egypt 43 When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the LORD their God, with which the LORD their God had sent him to them, 2 Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The LORD our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there,' 3 but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.” 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the LORD, to remain in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven—6 the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and every person whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7 And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the LORD. And they arrived at Tahpanhes. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes: 9 “Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah, 10 and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. 11 He shall come and strike the land of Egypt, giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword. 12 I shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin, and he shall go away from there in peace. 13 He shall break the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.'” Judgment for Idolatry 44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, 3 because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!' 5 But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. 6 Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day. 7 And now thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? 8 Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their1 wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers. 11 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. 12 I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. 13 I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, 14 so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, except some fugitives.” 15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: 16 “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. 17 But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. 18 But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” 19 And the women said,2 “When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands' approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?” 20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who had given him this answer: 21 “As for the offerings that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them? Did it not come into his mind? 22 The LORD could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. 23 It is because you made offerings and because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day.” 24 Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. 25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.' Then confirm your vows and perform your vows! 26 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the Lord GOD lives.' 27 Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them. 28 And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs. 29 This shall be the sign to you, declares the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm: 30 Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.” Message to Baruch 45 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 You said, ‘Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.' 4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. 5 And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the LORD. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.” Footnotes [1] 44:9 Hebrew his [2] 44:19 Compare Syriac; Hebrew lacks And the women said (ESV) Evening: Hebrews 3 Hebrews 3 (Listen) Jesus Greater Than Moses 3 Therefore, holy brothers,1 you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's2 house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.3 A Rest for the People of God 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,   “Today, if you hear his voice,8   do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,    on the day of testing in the wilderness,9   where your fathers put me to the test    and saw my works for forty years.10   Therefore I was provoked with that generation,  and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;    they have not known my ways.'11   As I swore in my wrath,    ‘They shall not enter my rest.'” 12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,   “Today, if you hear his voice,  do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. Footnotes [1] 3:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 12 [2] 3:2 Greek his; also verses 5, 6 [3] 3:6 Some manuscripts insert firm to the end (ESV)

Morning: Jeremiah 40–42 Jeremiah 40–42 (Listen) Jeremiah Remains in Judah 40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he took him bound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. 2 The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, “The LORD your God pronounced this disaster against this place. 3 The LORD has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. 4 Now, behold, I release you today from the chains on your hands. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. 5 If you remain,1 then return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. 6 Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, and lived with him among the people who were left in the land. 7 When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, 8 they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. 9 Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. 10 As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” 11 Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, 12 then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance. 13 Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14 and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. 15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, and the remnant of Judah would perish?” 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.” Gedaliah Murdered 41 In the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. As they ate bread together there at Mizpah, 2 Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. 3 Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there. 4 On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it, 5 eighty men arrived from Shechem and Shiloh and Samaria, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the LORD. 6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” 7 When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern. 8 But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions. 9 Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with2 Gedaliah was the large cistern that King Asa had made for defense against Baasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king's daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites. 11 But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12 they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at the great pool that is in Gibeon. 13 And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. 14 So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites. 16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back from Gibeon. 17 And they went and stayed at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt 18 because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. Warning Against Going to Egypt 42 Then all the commanders of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the LORD your God for us, for all this remnant—because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us—3 that the LORD your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” 4 Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the LORD your God according to your request, and whatever the LORD answers you I will tell you. I will keep nothing back from you.” 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the LORD your God sends you to us. 6 Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.” 7 At the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. 8 Then he summoned Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest, 9 and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: 10 If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. 11 Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the LORD, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. 12 I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. 13 But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,' disobeying the voice of the LORD your God 14 and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of the trumpet or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,' 15 then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, 16 then the sword that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, and there you shall die. 17 All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them. 18 “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. 19 The LORD has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.' Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day 20 that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the LORD our God, and whatever the LORD our God says, declare to us and we will do it.' 21 And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God in anything that he sent me to tell you. 22 Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.” Footnotes [1] 40:5 Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain [2] 41:9 Hebrew by the hand of (ESV) Evening: Hebrews 2 Hebrews 2 (Listen) Warning Against Neglecting Salvation 2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. The Founder of Salvation 5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,   “What is man, that you are mindful of him,    or the son of man, that you care for him?7   You made him for a little while lower than the angels;    you have crowned him with glory and honor,18     putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.2 That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,3 12 saying,   “I will tell of your name to my brothers;    in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” 13 And again,   “I will put my trust in him.” And again,   “Behold, I and the children God has given me.” 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Footnotes [1] 2:7 Some manuscripts insert and set him over the works of your hands [2] 2:11 Greek all are of one [3] 2:11 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters (ESV)

Morning: Jeremiah 38–39 Jeremiah 38–39 (Listen) Jeremiah Cast into the Cistern 38 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: 2 “Thus says the LORD: He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. 3 Thus says the LORD: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” 4 Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern 7 When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate—8 Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. 12 Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again 14 King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the LORD. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16 Then King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As the LORD lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.” 17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” 20 Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the LORD in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the vision which the LORD has shown to me: 22 Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,   “‘Your trusted friends have deceived you    and prevailed against you;  now that your feet are sunk in the mud,    they turn away from you.' 23 All your wives and your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.” 24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,' 26 then you shall say to them, ‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. 28 And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken. The Fall of Jerusalem 39 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. 3 Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. 4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at Riblah, in the land of Hamath; and he passed sentence on him. 6 The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. 7 He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. 8 The Chaldeans burned the king's house and the house of the people, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the people who remained. 10 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. The Lord Delivers Jeremiah 11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, 12 “Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon 14 sent and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard. They entrusted him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he lived among the people. 15 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard: 16 “Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. 17 But I will deliver you on that day, declares the LORD, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. 18 For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the LORD.'” (ESV) Evening: Hebrews 1 Hebrews 1 (Listen) The Supremacy of God's Son 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,   “You are my Son,    today I have begotten you”? Or again,   “I will be to him a father,    and he shall be to me a son”? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,   “Let all God's angels worship him.” 7 Of the angels he says,   “He makes his angels winds,    and his ministers a flame of fire.” 8 But of the Son he says,   “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.9   You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;  therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10 And,   “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,    and the heavens are the work of your hands;11   they will perish, but you remain;    they will all wear out like a garment,12   like a robe you will roll them up,    like a garment they will be changed.1  But you are the same,    and your years will have no end.” 13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,   “Sit at my right hand    until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? Footnotes [1] 1:12 Some manuscripts omit like a garment (ESV)

Old Testament: Jeremiah 32 Jeremiah 32 (Listen) Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege 32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; 4 Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. 5 And he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the LORD. Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed'?” 6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me: 7 Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.' 8 Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. 9 “And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. 11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. 12 And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13 I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, 14 ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. 15 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.' Jeremiah Prays for Understanding 16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying: 17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. 18 You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts, 19 great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 20 You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. 21 You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror. 22 And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. 24 Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. 25 Yet you, O Lord GOD, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.'” 26 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. 29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but provoke me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the LORD. 31 This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight 32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. 34 They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God 36 “Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence': 37 Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. 42 “For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. 43 Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.' 44 Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.” (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 114 Psalm 114 (Listen) Tremble at the Presence of the Lord 114   When Israel went out from Egypt,    the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,2   Judah became his sanctuary,    Israel his dominion. 3   The sea looked and fled;    Jordan turned back.4   The mountains skipped like rams,    the hills like lambs. 5   What ails you, O sea, that you flee?    O Jordan, that you turn back?6   O mountains, that you skip like rams?    O hills, like lambs? 7   Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,    at the presence of the God of Jacob,8   who turns the rock into a pool of water,    the flint into a spring of water. (ESV) New Testament: 1 Corinthians 6–7 1 Corinthians 6–7 (Listen) Lawsuits Against Believers 6 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!1 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous2 will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,3 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Flee Sexual Immorality 12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined4 to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin5 a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. Principles for Marriage 7 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 Now as a concession, not a command, I say this.6 7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. 8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 10 To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife. 12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you7 to peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? Live as You Are Called 17 Only let each person lead the life8 that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. 18 Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. 19 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. 20 Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. 21 Were you a bondservant9 when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) 22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. 23 You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. 24 So, brothers,10 in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. The Unmarried and the Widowed 25 Now concerning11 the betrothed,12 I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. 26 I think that in view of the present13 distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman14 marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. 29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. 32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. 36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed,15 if his16 passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. 37 But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. 38 So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better. 39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. 40 Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God. Footnotes [1] 6:8 Or brothers and sisters [2] 6:9 Or wrongdoers [3] 6:9 The two Greek terms translated by this phrase refer to the passive and active partners in consensual homosexual acts [4] 6:16 Or who holds fast (compare Genesis 2:24 and Deuteronomy 10:20); also verse 17 [5] 6:18 Or Every sin [6] 7:6 Or I say this: [7] 7:15 Some manuscripts us [8] 7:17 Or each person walk in the way [9] 7:21 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verses 22 (twice), 23 [10] 7:24 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 29 [11] 7:25 The expression Now concerning introduces a reply to a question in the Corinthians' letter; see 7:1 [12] 7:25 Greek virgins [13] 7:26 Or impending [14] 7:28 Greek virgin; also verse 34 [15] 7:36 Greek virgin; also verses 37, 38 [16] 7:36 Or her (ESV)

Morning: Jeremiah 31–32 Jeremiah 31–32 (Listen) The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy 31 “At that time, declares the LORD, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.” 2   Thus says the LORD:  “The people who survived the sword    found grace in the wilderness;  when Israel sought for rest,3     the LORD appeared to him1 from far away.  I have loved you with an everlasting love;    therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.4   Again I will build you, and you shall be built,    O virgin Israel!  Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines    and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.5   Again you shall plant vineyards    on the mountains of Samaria;  the planters shall plant    and shall enjoy the fruit.6   For there shall be a day when watchmen will call    in the hill country of Ephraim:  ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,    to the LORD our God.'” 7   For thus says the LORD:  “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,    and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;  proclaim, give praise, and say,    ‘O LORD, save your people,    the remnant of Israel.'8   Behold, I will bring them from the north country    and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,  among them the blind and the lame,    the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;    a great company, they shall return here.9   With weeping they shall come,    and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,  I will make them walk by brooks of water,    in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,  for I am a father to Israel,    and Ephraim is my firstborn. 10   “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,    and declare it in the coastlands far away;  say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,    and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.'11   For the LORD has ransomed Jacob    and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.12   They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,    and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,  over the grain, the wine, and the oil,    and over the young of the flock and the herd;  their life shall be like a watered garden,    and they shall languish no more.13   Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,    and the young men and the old shall be merry.  I will turn their mourning into joy;    I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.14   I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,    and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,      declares the LORD.” 15   Thus says the LORD:  “A voice is heard in Ramah,    lamentation and bitter weeping.  Rachel is weeping for her children;    she refuses to be comforted for her children,    because they are no more.” 16   Thus says the LORD:  “Keep your voice from weeping,    and your eyes from tears,  for there is a reward for your work,      declares the LORD,    and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.17   There is hope for your future,      declares the LORD,    and your children shall come back to their own country.18   I have heard Ephraim grieving,  ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,    like an untrained calf;  bring me back that I may be restored,    for you are the LORD my God.19   For after I had turned away, I relented,    and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh;  I was ashamed, and I was confounded,    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.'20   Is Ephraim my dear son?    Is he my darling child?  For as often as I speak against him,    I do remember him still.  Therefore my heart2 yearns for him;    I will surely have mercy on him,      declares the LORD. 21   “Set up road markers for yourself;    make yourself guideposts;  consider well the highway,    the road by which you went.  Return, O virgin Israel,    return to these your cities.22   How long will you waver,    O faithless daughter?  For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth:    a woman encircles a man.” 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes:   “‘The LORD bless you, O habitation of righteousness,    O holy hill!' 24 And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. 25 For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” 26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me. 27 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the LORD. 29 In those days they shall no longer say:   “‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,    and the children's teeth are set on edge.' 30 But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. The New Covenant 31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” 35   Thus says the LORD,  who gives the sun for light by day    and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,  who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—    the LORD of hosts is his name:36   “If this fixed order departs    from before me, declares the LORD,  then shall the offspring of Israel cease    from being a nation before me forever.” 37   Thus says the LORD:  “If the heavens above can be measured,    and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,  then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel    for all that they have done,      declares the LORD.” 38 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when the city shall be rebuilt for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be sacred to the LORD. It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.” Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege 32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; 4 Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. 5 And he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the LORD. Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed'?” 6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me: 7 Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.' 8 Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. 9 “And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. 11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. 12 And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13 I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, 14 ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. 15 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.' Jeremiah Prays for Understanding 16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying: 17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. 18 You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts, 19 great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 20 You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. 21 You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror. 22 And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. 24 Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. 25 Yet you, O Lord GOD, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.'” 26 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. 29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but provoke me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the LORD. 31 This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight 32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. 34 They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God 36 “Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence': 37 Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. 42 “For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. 43 Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.' 44 Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.” Footnotes [1] 31:3 Septuagint; Hebrew me [2] 31:20 Hebrew bowels (ESV) Evening: Titus 2 Titus 2 (Listen) Teach Sound Doctrine 2 But as for you, teach what accords with sound1 doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Bondservants2 are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. 15 Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Footnotes [1] 2:1 Or healthy; also verses 2, 8 [2] 2:9 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface (ESV)

Proper 24 First Psalm: Psalm 25 Psalm 25 (Listen) Teach Me Your Paths 1 Of David. 25   To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.2   O my God, in you I trust;    let me not be put to shame;    let not my enemies exult over me.3   Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;    they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 4   Make me to know your ways, O LORD;    teach me your paths.5   Lead me in your truth and teach me,    for you are the God of my salvation;    for you I wait all the day long. 6   Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,    for they have been from of old.7   Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;    according to your steadfast love remember me,    for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! 8   Good and upright is the LORD;    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.9   He leads the humble in what is right,    and teaches the humble his way.10   All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,    for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. 11   For your name's sake, O LORD,    pardon my guilt, for it is great.12   Who is the man who fears the LORD?    Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.13   His soul shall abide in well-being,    and his offspring shall inherit the land.14   The friendship2 of the LORD is for those who fear him,    and he makes known to them his covenant.15   My eyes are ever toward the LORD,    for he will pluck my feet out of the net. 16   Turn to me and be gracious to me,    for I am lonely and afflicted.17   The troubles of my heart are enlarged;    bring me out of my distresses.18   Consider my affliction and my trouble,    and forgive all my sins. 19   Consider how many are my foes,    and with what violent hatred they hate me.20   Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!    Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.21   May integrity and uprightness preserve me,    for I wait for you. 22   Redeem Israel, O God,    out of all his troubles. Footnotes [1] 25:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet [2] 25:14 Or The secret counsel (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 9; Psalm 15 Psalm 9 (Listen) I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds 1 To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben.2 A Psalm of David. 9   I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.2   I will be glad and exult in you;    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 3   When my enemies turn back,    they stumble and perish before3 your presence.4   For you have maintained my just cause;    you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment. 5   You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;    you have blotted out their name forever and ever.6   The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;    their cities you rooted out;    the very memory of them has perished. 7   But the LORD sits enthroned forever;    he has established his throne for justice,8   and he judges the world with righteousness;    he judges the peoples with uprightness. 9   The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,    a stronghold in times of trouble.10   And those who know your name put their trust in you,    for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you. 11   Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion!    Tell among the peoples his deeds!12   For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. 13   Be gracious to me, O LORD!    See my affliction from those who hate me,    O you who lift me up from the gates of death,14   that I may recount all your praises,    that in the gates of the daughter of Zion    I may rejoice in your salvation. 15   The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;    in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.16   The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment;    the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion.4 Selah 17   The wicked shall return to Sheol,    all the nations that forget God. 18   For the needy shall not always be forgotten,    and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever. 19   Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail;    let the nations be judged before you!20   Put them in fear, O LORD!    Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah Footnotes [1] 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 together follow an acrostic pattern, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they form one psalm [2] 9:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [3] 9:3 Or because of [4] 9:16 Probably a musical or liturgical term (ESV) Psalm 15 (Listen) Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill? A Psalm of David. 15   O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?    Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 2   He who walks blamelessly and does what is right    and speaks truth in his heart;3   who does not slander with his tongue    and does no evil to his neighbor,    nor takes up a reproach against his friend;4   in whose eyes a vile person is despised,    but who honors those who fear the LORD;  who swears to his own hurt and does not change;5   who does not put out his money at interest    and does not take a bribe against the innocent.  He who does these things shall never be moved. (ESV) Old Testament: Jeremiah 44:1–14 Jeremiah 44:1–14 (Listen) Judgment for Idolatry 44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, 3 because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!' 5 But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. 6 Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day. 7 And now thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? 8 Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their1 wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers. 11 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. 12 I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. 13 I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, 14 so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, except some fugitives.” Footnotes [1] 44:9 Hebrew his (ESV) New Testament: 1 Corinthians 15:30–41 1 Corinthians 15:30–41 (Listen) 30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”1 34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. The Resurrection Body 35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. Footnotes [1] 15:33 Probably from Menander's comedy Thais (ESV) Gospel: Matthew 11:16–24 Matthew 11:16–24 (Listen) 16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 17   “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;    we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.' 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”1 Woe to Unrepentant Cities 20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” Footnotes [1] 11:19 Some manuscripts children (compare Luke 7:35) (ESV)

When the exiles unexpectedly return to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding, Samaritans arrive like long lost cousins to help. When the Judeans send them packing this begins four centuries of bad relations. This podcast will explore the Samaritan religion and a unique problem surrounding their Temple. Question: Have you seen how religion can get a little wrong at first, only to be very wrong later?

Transcript Address: https://share.descript.com/view/FvaWErT45PcJoin Garry Stevens (Historyinthebible.com) and I as we take a deep into not one, but two Minor Prophets from the Old Testament, Haggai and Zechariah. This episode was featured originally in Garry and my 12 part series on the 12 Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. I wanted to reintroduce this episode to recapitulate the literary background and context for the building of the Second Temple. These prophets were instrumental in getting the 2nd Temple of Jerusalem built after the Judeans were allowed to return after the Babylonian Exile. Will this 2nd Temple will be rebuilt? Maybe it will, maybe it won't. We'll even see a taste of the apocalypse or at least the apocalyptic literature genre.You can learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe at all these great places: https://atozhistorypage.start.pageTo Subscribe: https://www.spreaker.com/show/history-of-the-papacy-podcast_1Email Us: steve@atozhistorypage.comSupport Us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historyofthepapacyParthenon Podcast Network: parthenonpodcast.comThe History of the Papacy on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@atozhistoryHelp out the show by ordering these books from Amazon! https://smile.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1MUPNYEU65NTFMusic Provided by:"Sonatina in C Minor" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Funeral March for Brass" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Crusade Heavy Perfect Loop" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Agnus Dei X - Bitter Suite Kevin MacLeaod (incomptech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Begin Transcript:This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/4899207/advertisement

Old Testament: Proverbs 9–10 Proverbs 9–10 (Listen) The Way of Wisdom 9   Wisdom has built her house;    she has hewn her seven pillars.2   She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;    she has also set her table.3   She has sent out her young women to call    from the highest places in the town,4   “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”    To him who lacks sense she says,5   “Come, eat of my bread    and drink of the wine I have mixed.6   Leave your simple ways,1 and live,    and walk in the way of insight.” 7   Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,    and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.8   Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;    reprove a wise man, and he will love you.9   Give instruction2 to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;    teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.10   The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,    and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.11   For by me your days will be multiplied,    and years will be added to your life.12   If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;    if you scoff, you alone will bear it. The Way of Folly 13   The woman Folly is loud;    she is seductive3 and knows nothing.14   She sits at the door of her house;    she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,15   calling to those who pass by,    who are going straight on their way,16   “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”    And to him who lacks sense she says,17   “Stolen water is sweet,    and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”18   But he does not know that the dead4 are there,    that her guests are in the depths of Sheol. The Proverbs of Solomon 10 The proverbs of Solomon.   A wise son makes a glad father,    but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.2   Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,    but righteousness delivers from death.3   The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry,    but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.4   A slack hand causes poverty,    but the hand of the diligent makes rich.5   He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,    but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.6   Blessings are on the head of the righteous,    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.57   The memory of the righteous is a blessing,    but the name of the wicked will rot.8   The wise of heart will receive commandments,    but a babbling fool will come to ruin.9   Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,    but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.10   Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,    and a babbling fool will come to ruin.11   The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.12   Hatred stirs up strife,    but love covers all offenses.13   On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,    but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.14   The wise lay up knowledge,    but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.15   A rich man's wealth is his strong city;    the poverty of the poor is their ruin.16   The wage of the righteous leads to life,    the gain of the wicked to sin.17   Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,    but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.18   The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,    and whoever utters slander is a fool.19   When words are many, transgression is not lacking,    but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.20   The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;    the heart of the wicked is of little worth.21   The lips of the righteous feed many,    but fools die for lack of sense.22   The blessing of the LORD makes rich,    and he adds no sorrow with it.623   Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool,    but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.24   What the wicked dreads will come upon him,    but the desire of the righteous will be granted.25   When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more,    but the righteous is established forever.26   Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,    so is the sluggard to those who send him.27   The fear of the LORD prolongs life,    but the years of the wicked will be short.28   The hope of the righteous brings joy,    but the expectation of the wicked will perish.29   The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the blameless,    but destruction to evildoers.30   The righteous will never be removed,    but the wicked will not dwell in the land.31   The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,    but the perverse tongue will be cut off.32   The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,    but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse. Footnotes [1] 9:6 Or Leave the company of the simple [2] 9:9 Hebrew lacks instruction [3] 9:13 Or full of simpleness [4] 9:18 Hebrew Rephaim [5] 10:6 Or but violence covers the mouth of the wicked; also verse 11 [6] 10:22 Or and toil adds nothing to it (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 67 Psalm 67 (Listen) Make Your Face Shine upon Us To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. 67   May God be gracious to us and bless us    and make his face to shine upon us, Selah2   that your way may be known on earth,    your saving power among all nations.3   Let the peoples praise you, O God;    let all the peoples praise you! 4   Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,    for you judge the peoples with equity    and guide the nations upon earth. Selah5   Let the peoples praise you, O God;    let all the peoples praise you! 6   The earth has yielded its increase;    God, our God, shall bless us.7   God shall bless us;    let all the ends of the earth fear him! (ESV) New Testament: John 7 John 7 (Listen) Jesus at the Feast of Booths 7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews1 were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers2 said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not3 going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee. 10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him. 14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,4 when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone's will is to do God's5 will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Can This Be the Christ? 25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, ‘Where I am you cannot come'?” Rivers of Living Water 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as6 the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Division Among the People 40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. 45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” [The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]7 The Woman Caught in Adultery 53 [[They went each to his own house, Footnotes [1] 7:1 Or Judeans; Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [2] 7:3 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10 [3] 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet [4] 7:15 Or this man knows his letters [5] 7:17 Greek his [6] 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As [7] 7:53 Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text (ESV)