Podcasts about Tyre

Psalms and Wisdom: Ecclesiastes 3:9–22 Ecclesiastes 3:9–22 (Listen) The God-Given Task 9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. 14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.1 From Dust to Dust 16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. 18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.2 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him? Footnotes [1] 3:15 Hebrew what has been pursued [2] 3:19 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2) (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Joshua 4 Joshua 4 (Listen) Twelve Memorial Stones from the Jordan 4 When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.'” 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?' 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” 8 And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the LORD told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down1 there. 9 And Joshua set up2 twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day. 10 For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people passed over in haste. 11 And when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of the LORD and the priests passed over before the people. 12 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh passed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them. 13 About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life. 15 And the LORD said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests bearing the ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” 18 And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, as before. 19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?' 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.' 23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”3 Footnotes [1] 4:8 Or to rest [2] 4:9 Or Joshua had set up [3] 4:24 Or all the days (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Zephaniah 3:9–20 Zephaniah 3:9–20 (Listen) The Conversion of the Nations 9   “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples    to a pure speech,  that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD    and serve him with one accord.10   From beyond the rivers of Cush    my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,    shall bring my offering. 11   “On that day you shall not be put to shame    because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;  for then I will remove from your midst    your proudly exultant ones,  and you shall no longer be haughty    in my holy mountain.12   But I will leave in your midst    a people humble and lowly.  They shall seek refuge in the name of the LORD,13     those who are left in Israel;  they shall do no injustice    and speak no lies,  nor shall there be found in their mouth    a deceitful tongue.  For they shall graze and lie down,    and none shall make them afraid.” Israel's Joy and Restoration 14   Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;    shout, O Israel!  Rejoice and exult with all your heart,    O daughter of Jerusalem!15   The LORD has taken away the judgments against you;    he has cleared away your enemies.  The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;    you shall never again fear evil.16   On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:  “Fear not, O Zion;    let not your hands grow weak.17   The LORD your God is in your midst,    a mighty one who will save;  he will rejoice over you with gladness;    he will quiet you by his love;  he will exult over you with loud singing.18   I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,    so that you will no longer suffer reproach.119   Behold, at that time I will deal    with all your oppressors.  And I will save the lame    and gather the outcast,  and I will change their shame into praise    and renown in all the earth.20   At that time I will bring you in,    at the time when I gather you together;  for I will make you renowned and praised    among all the peoples of the earth,  when I restore your fortunes    before your eyes,” says the LORD. Footnotes [1] 3:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Matthew 15 Matthew 15 (Listen) Traditions and Commandments 15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,' and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”1 6 he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word2 of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8   “‘This people honors me with their lips,    but their heart is far from me;9   in vain do they worship me,    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'” What Defiles a Person 10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides.3 And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?4 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” The Faith of a Canaanite Woman 21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.5 Jesus Heals Many 29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand 32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. Footnotes [1] 15:5 Or is an offering [2] 15:6 Some manuscripts law [3] 15:14 Some manuscripts add of the blind [4] 15:17 Greek is expelled into the latrine [5] 15:28 Greek from that hour (ESV)

Jeremiah 46–48 Jeremiah 46–48 (Listen) Judgment on Egypt 46 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. 2 About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 3   “Prepare buckler and shield,    and advance for battle!4   Harness the horses;    mount, O horsemen!  Take your stations with your helmets,    polish your spears,    put on your armor!5   Why have I seen it?  They are dismayed    and have turned backward.  Their warriors are beaten down    and have fled in haste;  they look not back—    terror on every side!      declares the LORD. 6   “The swift cannot flee away,    nor the warrior escape;  in the north by the river Euphrates    they have stumbled and fallen. 7   “Who is this, rising like the Nile,    like rivers whose waters surge?8   Egypt rises like the Nile,    like rivers whose waters surge.  He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,    I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.'9   Advance, O horses,    and rage, O chariots!  Let the warriors go out:    men of Cush and Put who handle the shield,    men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.10   That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts,    a day of vengeance,    to avenge himself on his foes.  The sword shall devour and be sated    and drink its fill of their blood.  For the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice    in the north country by the river Euphrates.11   Go up to Gilead, and take balm,    O virgin daughter of Egypt!  In vain you have used many medicines;    there is no healing for you.12   The nations have heard of your shame,    and the earth is full of your cry;  for warrior has stumbled against warrior;    they have both fallen together.” 13 The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt: 14   “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;    proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;  say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,    for the sword shall devour around you.'15   Why are your mighty ones face down?    They do not stand1    because the LORD thrust them down.16   He made many stumble, and they fell,    and they said one to another,  ‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people    and to the land of our birth,    because of the sword of the oppressor.'17   Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,    ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.' 18   “As I live, declares the King,    whose name is the LORD of hosts,  like Tabor among the mountains    and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come.19   Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,    O inhabitants of Egypt!  For Memphis shall become a waste,    a ruin, without inhabitant. 20   “A beautiful heifer is Egypt,    but a biting fly from the north has come upon her.21   Even her hired soldiers in her midst    are like fattened calves;  yes, they have turned and fled together;    they did not stand,  for the day of their calamity has come upon them,    the time of their punishment. 22   “She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away;    for her enemies march in force  and come against her with axes    like those who fell trees.23   They shall cut down her forest,      declares the LORD,    though it is impenetrable,  because they are more numerous than locusts;    they are without number.24   The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;    she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.” 25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the LORD. 27   “But fear not, O Jacob my servant,    nor be dismayed, O Israel,  for behold, I will save you from far away,    and your offspring from the land of their captivity.  Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,    and none shall make him afraid.28   Fear not, O Jacob my servant,      declares the LORD,    for I am with you.  I will make a full end of all the nations    to which I have driven you,    but of you I will not make a full end.  I will discipline you in just measure,    and I will by no means leave you unpunished.” Judgment on the Philistines 47 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down Gaza. 2   “Thus says the LORD:  Behold, waters are rising out of the north,    and shall become an overflowing torrent;  they shall overflow the land and all that fills it,    the city and those who dwell in it.  Men shall cry out,    and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.3   At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,    at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,  the fathers look not back to their children,    so feeble are their hands,4   because of the day that is coming to destroy    all the Philistines,  to cut off from Tyre and Sidon    every helper that remains.  For the LORD is destroying the Philistines,    the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.5   Baldness has come upon Gaza;    Ashkelon has perished.  O remnant of their valley,    how long will you gash yourselves?6   Ah, sword of the LORD!    How long till you are quiet?  Put yourself into your scabbard;    rest and be still!7   How can it2 be quiet    when the LORD has given it a charge?  Against Ashkelon and against the seashore    he has appointed it.” Judgment on Moab 48 Concerning Moab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:   “Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste!    Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;  the fortress is put to shame and broken down;2     the renown of Moab is no more.  In Heshbon they planned disaster against her:    ‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!'  You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence;    the sword shall pursue you. 3   “A voice! A cry from Horonaim,    ‘Desolation and great destruction!'4   Moab is destroyed;    her little ones have made a cry.5   For at the ascent of Luhith    they go up weeping;3  for at the descent of Horonaim    they have heard the distressed cry4 of destruction.6   Flee! Save yourselves!    You will be like a juniper in the desert!7   For, because you trusted in your works and your treasures,    you also shall be taken;  and Chemosh shall go into exile    with his priests and his officials.8   The destroyer shall come upon every city,    and no city shall escape;  the valley shall perish,    and the plain shall be destroyed,    as the LORD has spoken. 9   “Give wings to Moab,    for she would fly away;  her cities shall become a desolation,    with no inhabitant in them. 10 “Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed. 11   “Moab has been at ease from his youth    and has settled on his dregs;  he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,    nor has he gone into exile;  so his taste remains in him,    and his scent is not changed. 12 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his5 jars in pieces. 13 Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. 14   “How do you say, ‘We are heroes    and mighty men of war'?15   The destroyer of Moab and his cities has come up,    and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter,    declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.16   The calamity of Moab is near at hand,    and his affliction hastens swiftly.17   Grieve for him, all you who are around him,    and all who know his name;  say, ‘How the mighty scepter is broken,    the glorious staff.' 18   “Come down from your glory,    and sit on the parched ground,    O inhabitant of Dibon!  For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;    he has destroyed your strongholds.19   Stand by the way and watch,    O inhabitant of Aroer!  Ask him who flees and her who escapes;    say, ‘What has happened?'20   Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;    wail and cry!  Tell it beside the Arnon,    that Moab is laid waste. 21 “Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24 and Kerioth, and Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, declares the LORD. 26 “Make him drunk, because he magnified himself against the LORD, so that Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he too shall be held in derision. 27 Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head? 28   “Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,    O inhabitants of Moab!  Be like the dove that nests    in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.29   We have heard of the pride of Moab—    he is very proud—  of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,    and the haughtiness of his heart.30   I know his insolence, declares the LORD;    his boasts are false,    his deeds are false.31   Therefore I wail for Moab;    I cry out for all Moab;    for the men of Kir-hareseth I mourn.32   More than for Jazer I weep for you,    O vine of Sibmah!  Your branches passed over the sea,    reached to the Sea of Jazer;  on your summer fruits and your grapes    the destroyer has fallen.33   Gladness and joy have been taken away    from the fruitful land of Moab;  I have made the wine cease from the winepresses;    no one treads them with shouts of joy;    the shouting is not the shout of joy. 34 “From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the LORD, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and makes offerings to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-hareseth. Therefore the riches they gained have perished. 37 “For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. On all the hands are gashes, and around the waist is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like a vessel for which no one cares, declares the LORD. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.” 40   For thus says the LORD:  “Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle    and spread his wings against Moab;41   the cities shall be taken    and the strongholds seized.  The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day    like the heart of a woman in her birth pains;42   Moab shall be destroyed and be no longer a people,    because he magnified himself against the LORD.43   Terror, pit, and snare    are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!      declares the LORD.44   He who flees from the terror    shall fall into the pit,  and he who climbs out of the pit    shall be caught in the snare.  For I will bring these things upon Moab,    the year of their punishment,      declares the LORD. 45   “In the shadow of Heshbon    fugitives stop without strength,  for fire came out from Heshbon,    flame from the house of Sihon;  it has destroyed the forehead of Moab,    the crown of the sons of tumult.46   Woe to you, O Moab!    The people of Chemosh are undone,  for your sons have been taken captive,    and your daughters into captivity.47   Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab    in the latter days, declares the LORD.”  Thus far is the judgment on Moab. Footnotes [1] 46:15 Hebrew He does not stand

With family: Joshua 7; Psalms 137–138 Joshua 7 (Listen) Israel Defeated at Ai 7 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel. 2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water. 6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?” The Sin of Achan 10 The LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction.1 I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. 13 Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the LORD, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” 14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the LORD takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the LORD takes shall come near by households. And the household that the LORD takes shall come near man by man. 15 And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.'” 16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD God of Israel and give praise2 to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels,3 then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23 And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the LORD. 24 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The LORD brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.4 Footnotes [1] 7:12 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction) [2] 7:19 Or and make confession [3] 7:21 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 7:26 Achor means trouble (ESV) Psalms 137–138 (Listen) How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song? 137   By the waters of Babylon,    there we sat down and wept,    when we remembered Zion.2   On the willows1 there    we hung up our lyres.3   For there our captors    required of us songs,  and our tormentors, mirth, saying,    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4   How shall we sing the LORD's song    in a foreign land?5   If I forget you, O Jerusalem,    let my right hand forget its skill!6   Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,    if I do not remember you,  if I do not set Jerusalem    above my highest joy! 7   Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites    the day of Jerusalem,  how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,    down to its foundations!”8   O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,    blessed shall he be who repays you    with what you have done to us!9   Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones    and dashes them against the rock! Give Thanks to the Lord Of David. 138   I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;    before the gods I sing your praise;2   I bow down toward your holy temple    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,    for you have exalted above all things    your name and your word.23   On the day I called, you answered me;    my strength of soul you increased.3 4   All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD,    for they have heard the words of your mouth,5   and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,    for great is the glory of the LORD.6   For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,    but the haughty he knows from afar. 7   Though I walk in the midst of trouble,    you preserve my life;  you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,    and your right hand delivers me.8   The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;    your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.    Do not forsake the work of your hands. Footnotes [1] 137:2 Or poplars [2] 138:2 Or you have exalted your word above all your name [3] 138:3 Hebrew you made me bold in my soul with strength (ESV) In private: Jeremiah 1; Matthew 15 Jeremiah 1 (Listen) 1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. The Call of Jeremiah 4 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5   “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,  and before you were born I consecrated you;  I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the LORD said to me,   “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth';  for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,  and whatever I command you, you shall speak.8   Do not be afraid of them,  for I am with you to deliver you,      declares the LORD.” 9 Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me,   “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.10   See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,  to pluck up and to break down,  to destroy and to overthrow,  to build and to plant.” 11 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond1 branch.” 12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” 13 The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north disaster2 shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the LORD, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 But you, dress yourself for work;3 arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.” Footnotes [1] 1:11 Almond sounds like the Hebrew for watching (compare verse 12) [2] 1:14 The Hebrew word can mean evil, harm, or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jeremiah [3] 1:17 Hebrew gird up your loins (ESV) Matthew 15 (Listen) Traditions and Commandments 15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,' and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”1 6 he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word2 of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8   “‘This people honors me with their lips,    but their heart is far from me;9   in vain do they worship me,    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'” What Defiles a Person 10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides.3 And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?4 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” The Faith of a Canaanite Woman 21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.5 Jesus Heals Many 29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand 32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. Footnotes [1] 15:5 Or is an offering [2] 15:6 Some manuscripts law [3] 15:14 Some manuscripts add of the blind [4] 15:17 Greek is expelled into the latrine [5] 15:28 Greek from that hour (ESV)

Morning: Job 29–30 Job 29–30 (Listen) Job's Summary Defense 29 And Job again took up his discourse, and said: 2   “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,    as in the days when God watched over me,3   when his lamp shone upon my head,    and by his light I walked through darkness,4   as I was in my prime,1    when the friendship of God was upon my tent,5   when the Almighty was yet with me,    when my children were all around me,6   when my steps were washed with butter,    and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!7   When I went out to the gate of the city,    when I prepared my seat in the square,8   the young men saw me and withdrew,    and the aged rose and stood;9   the princes refrained from talking    and laid their hand on their mouth;10   the voice of the nobles was hushed,    and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.11   When the ear heard, it called me blessed,    and when the eye saw, it approved,12   because I delivered the poor who cried for help,    and the fatherless who had none to help him.13   The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,    and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.14   I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;    my justice was like a robe and a turban.15   I was eyes to the blind    and feet to the lame.16   I was a father to the needy,    and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.17   I broke the fangs of the unrighteous    and made him drop his prey from his teeth.18   Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,    and I shall multiply my days as the sand,19   my roots spread out to the waters,    with the dew all night on my branches,20   my glory fresh with me,    and my bow ever new in my hand.' 21   “Men listened to me and waited    and kept silence for my counsel.22   After I spoke they did not speak again,    and my word dropped upon them.23   They waited for me as for the rain,    and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.24   I smiled on them when they had no confidence,    and the light of my face they did not cast down.25   I chose their way and sat as chief,    and I lived like a king among his troops,    like one who comforts mourners. 30   “But now they laugh at me,    men who are younger than I,  whose fathers I would have disdained    to set with the dogs of my flock.2   What could I gain from the strength of their hands,    men whose vigor is gone?3   Through want and hard hunger    they gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation;4   they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,    and the roots of the broom tree for their food.25   They are driven out from human company;    they shout after them as after a thief.6   In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,    in holes of the earth and of the rocks.7   Among the bushes they bray;    under the nettles they huddle together.8   A senseless, a nameless brood,    they have been whipped out of the land. 9   “And now I have become their song;    I am a byword to them.10   They abhor me; they keep aloof from me;    they do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me.11   Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,    they have cast off restraint3 in my presence.12   On my right hand the rabble rise;    they push away my feet;    they cast up against me their ways of destruction.13   They break up my path;    they promote my calamity;    they need no one to help them.14   As through a wide breach they come;    amid the crash they roll on.15   Terrors are turned upon me;    my honor is pursued as by the wind,    and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud. 16   “And now my soul is poured out within me;    days of affliction have taken hold of me.17   The night racks my bones,    and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.18   With great force my garment is disfigured;    it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.19   God4 has cast me into the mire,    and I have become like dust and ashes.20   I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;    I stand, and you only look at me.21   You have turned cruel to me;    with the might of your hand you persecute me.22   You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,    and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.23   For I know that you will bring me to death    and to the house appointed for all living. 24   “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,    and in his disaster cry for help?525   Did not I weep for him whose day was hard?    Was not my soul grieved for the needy?26   But when I hoped for good, evil came,    and when I waited for light, darkness came.27   My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;    days of affliction come to meet me.28   I go about darkened, but not by the sun;    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.29   I am a brother of jackals    and a companion of ostriches.30   My skin turns black and falls from me,    and my bones burn with heat.31   My lyre is turned to mourning,    and my pipe to the voice of those who weep. Footnotes [1] 29:4 Hebrew my autumn days [2] 30:4 Or warmth [3] 30:11 Hebrew the bridle [4] 30:19 Hebrew He [5] 30:24 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV) Evening: Acts 12 Acts 12 (Listen) James Killed and Peter Imprisoned 12 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. Peter Is Rescued 6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.”1 Then he departed and went to another place. 18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there. The Death of Herod 20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain,2 they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. 24 But the word of God increased and multiplied. 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from3 Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark. Footnotes [1] 12:17 Or brothers and sisters [2] 12:20 That is, trusted personal attendant [3] 12:25 Some manuscripts to (ESV)

Click here to subscribe to my new podcast feed! If you subscribe with your email address on this page, you will get an email when new content is added to the feed. Or you may subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.   Luke 10:1–20 (ESV) Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two 10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!' 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. Woe to Unrepentant Cities 13 “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, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. 16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” The Return of the Seventy-Two 17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

View the bulletin for Sunday July 3, 20228:00 a.m. - Worship9:15 a.m. - Adult/Teen Bible Study & Sunday School10:30 a.m. - WorshipAll are welcomeView our current COVID-19 ProtocolsDOWNLOAD ORDER FORM: Easter LiliesArchive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”Old Testament Reading – Isaiah 66:10–14 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance.” For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.” Epistle Reading – Galatians 6:1–10, 14–18 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. . . . But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the tenth chapter. After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. “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, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Psalms and Wisdom: Ecclesiastes 2:12–17 Ecclesiastes 2:12–17 (Listen) The Vanity of Living Wisely 12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly. For what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what has already been done. 13 Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. 14 The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, “What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?” And I said in my heart that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Deuteronomy 34 Deuteronomy 34 (Listen) The Death of Moses 34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 And the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. 8 And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. 9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. 10 And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Nahum 3:5–19 Nahum 3:5–19 (Listen) 5   Behold, I am against you,    declares the LORD of hosts,    and will lift up your skirts over your face;  and I will make nations look at your nakedness    and kingdoms at your shame.6   I will throw filth at you    and treat you with contempt    and make you a spectacle.7   And all who look at you will shrink from you and say,  “Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?”    Where shall I seek comforters for you? 8   Are you better than Thebes1    that sat by the Nile,  with water around her,    her rampart a sea,    and water her wall?9   Cush was her strength;    Egypt too, and that without limit;    Put and the Libyans were her2 helpers. 10   Yet she became an exile;    she went into captivity;  her infants were dashed in pieces    at the head of every street;  for her honored men lots were cast,    and all her great men were bound in chains.11   You also will be drunken;    you will go into hiding;  you will seek a refuge from the enemy.12   All your fortresses are like fig trees    with first-ripe figs—  if shaken they fall    into the mouth of the eater.13   Behold, your troops    are women in your midst.  The gates of your land    are wide open to your enemies;    fire has devoured your bars. 14   Draw water for the siege;    strengthen your forts;  go into the clay;    tread the mortar;    take hold of the brick mold!15   There will the fire devour you;    the sword will cut you off.    It will devour you like the locust.  Multiply yourselves like the locust;    multiply like the grasshopper!16   You increased your merchants    more than the stars of the heavens.    The locust spreads its wings and flies away. 17   Your princes are like grasshoppers,    your scribes3 like clouds of locusts  settling on the fences    in a day of cold—  when the sun rises, they fly away;    no one knows where they are. 18   Your shepherds are asleep,    O king of Assyria;    your nobles slumber.  Your people are scattered on the mountains    with none to gather them.19   There is no easing your hurt;    your wound is grievous.  All who hear the news about you    clap their hands over you.  For upon whom has not come    your unceasing evil? Footnotes [1] 3:8 Hebrew No-amon [2] 3:9 Hebrew your [3] 3:17 Or marshals (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Matthew 11 Matthew 11 (Listen) Messengers from John the Baptist 11 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. 2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers1 are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man2 dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet?3 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,   “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,    who will prepare your way before you.' 11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,4 and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear,5 let him hear. 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.”6 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.” Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest 25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.7 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Footnotes [1] 11:5 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 [2] 11:8 Or Why then did you go out? To see a man . . . [3] 11:9 Some manuscripts Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? [4] 11:12 Or has been coming violently [5] 11:15 Some manuscripts omit to hear [6] 11:19 Some manuscripts children (compare Luke 7:35) [7] 11:26 Or for so it pleased you well (ESV)

With family: Joshua 3; Psalms 126–128 Joshua 3 (Listen) Israel Crosses the Jordan 3 Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits1 in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” 6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. 7 The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'” 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth2 is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.” 14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan. Footnotes [1] 3:4 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 3:11 Hebrew the ark of the covenant, the Lord of all the earth (ESV) Psalms 126–128 (Listen) Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord A Song of Ascents. 126   When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,    we were like those who dream.2   Then our mouth was filled with laughter,    and our tongue with shouts of joy;  then they said among the nations,    “The LORD has done great things for them.”3   The LORD has done great things for us;    we are glad. 4   Restore our fortunes, O LORD,    like streams in the Negeb!5   Those who sow in tears    shall reap with shouts of joy!6   He who goes out weeping,    bearing the seed for sowing,  shall come home with shouts of joy,    bringing his sheaves with him. Unless the Lord Builds the House A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. 127   Unless the LORD builds the house,    those who build it labor in vain.  Unless the LORD watches over the city,    the watchman stays awake in vain.2   It is in vain that you rise up early    and go late to rest,  eating the bread of anxious toil;    for he gives to his beloved sleep. 3   Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,    the fruit of the womb a reward.4   Like arrows in the hand of a warrior    are the children1 of one's youth.5   Blessed is the man    who fills his quiver with them!  He shall not be put to shame    when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.2 Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord A Song of Ascents. 128   Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,    who walks in his ways!2   You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;    you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. 3   Your wife will be like a fruitful vine    within your house;  your children will be like olive shoots    around your table.4   Behold, thus shall the man be blessed    who fears the LORD. 5   The LORD bless you from Zion!    May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem    all the days of your life!6   May you see your children's children!    Peace be upon Israel! Footnotes [1] 127:4 Or sons [2] 127:5 Or They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate (ESV) In private: Isaiah 63; Matthew 11 Isaiah 63 (Listen) The Lord's Day of Vengeance 63   Who is this who comes from Edom,    in crimsoned garments from Bozrah,  he who is splendid in his apparel,    marching in the greatness of his strength?  “It is I, speaking in righteousness,    mighty to save.” 2   Why is your apparel red,    and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? 3   “I have trodden the winepress alone,    and from the peoples no one was with me;  I trod them in my anger    and trampled them in my wrath;  their lifeblood1 spattered on my garments,    and stained all my apparel.4   For the day of vengeance was in my heart,    and my year of redemption2 had come.5   I looked, but there was no one to help;    I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;  so my own arm brought me salvation,    and my wrath upheld me.6   I trampled down the peoples in my anger;    I made them drunk in my wrath,    and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.” The Lord's Mercy Remembered 7   I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD,    the praises of the LORD,  according to all that the LORD has granted us,    and the great goodness to the house of Israel  that he has granted them according to his compassion,    according to the abundance of his steadfast love.8   For he said, “Surely they are my people,    children who will not deal falsely.”    And he became their Savior.9   In all their affliction he was afflicted,3    and the angel of his presence saved them;  in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;    he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10   But they rebelled    and grieved his Holy Spirit;  therefore he turned to be their enemy,    and himself fought against them.11   Then he remembered the days of old,    of Moses and his people.4  Where is he who brought them up out of the sea    with the shepherds of his flock?  Where is he who put in the midst of them    his Holy Spirit,12   who caused his glorious arm    to go at the right hand of Moses,  who divided the waters before them    to make for himself an everlasting name,13     who led them through the depths?  Like a horse in the desert,    they did not stumble.14   Like livestock that go down into the valley,    the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest.  So you led your people,    to make for yourself a glorious name. Prayer for Mercy 15   Look down from heaven and see,    from your holy and beautiful5 habitation.  Where are your zeal and your might?    The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion    are held back from me.16   For you are our Father,    though Abraham does not know us,    and Israel does not acknowledge us;  you, O LORD, are our Father,    our Redeemer from of old is your name.17   O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways    and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?  Return for the sake of your servants,    the tribes of your heritage.18   Your holy people held possession for a little while;6    our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.19   We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,    like those who are not called by your name. Footnotes [1] 63:3 Or their juice; also verse 6 [2] 63:4 Or the year of my redeemed [3] 63:9 Or he did not afflict [4] 63:11 Or Then his people remembered the days of old, of Moses [5] 63:15 Or holy and glorious [6] 63:18 Or They have dispossessed your holy people for a little while (ESV) Matthew 11 (Listen) Messengers from John the Baptist 11 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. 2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers1 are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man2 dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet?3 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,   “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,    who will prepare your way before you.' 11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,4 and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear,5 let him hear. 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.”6 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.” Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest 25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.7 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Footnotes [1] 11:5 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 [2] 11:8 Or Why then did you go out? To see a man . . . [3] 11:9 Some manuscripts Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? [4] 11:12 Or has been coming violently [5] 11:15 Some manuscripts omit to hear [6] 11:19 Some manuscripts children (compare Luke 7:35) [7] 11:26 Or for so it pleased you well (ESV)

Mark 7:24-37   24 Now Jesus got up and went from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know about it; and yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician descent. And she repeatedlyasked Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs.”29 And He said to her, “Because of this answer, go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And after going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. 31 Again He left the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis. 32 And they *brought to Him one who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they *begged Him to lay His hand on him. 33 And Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers in his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva;34 and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!”that is, “Be opened!” 35 And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. 36 And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. 37 And they were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even those who are deaf hear, and those who are unable to talk, speak.”   GIVE - The Listener's Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   SUBSCRIBE - to receive updates and resources sent to your inbox, subscribe at https://www.listenerscommentary.com     MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net  

Psalms 86–89 Psalms 86–89 (Listen) Great Is Your Steadfast Love A Prayer of David. 86   Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,    for I am poor and needy.2   Preserve my life, for I am godly;    save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.3   Be gracious to me, O Lord,    for to you do I cry all the day.4   Gladden the soul of your servant,    for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.5   For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,    abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.6   Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;    listen to my plea for grace.7   In the day of my trouble I call upon you,    for you answer me. 8   There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,    nor are there any works like yours.9   All the nations you have made shall come    and worship before you, O Lord,    and shall glorify your name.10   For you are great and do wondrous things;    you alone are God.11   Teach me your way, O LORD,    that I may walk in your truth;    unite my heart to fear your name.12   I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,    and I will glorify your name forever.13   For great is your steadfast love toward me;    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. 14   O God, insolent men have risen up against me;    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,    and they do not set you before them.15   But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.16   Turn to me and be gracious to me;    give your strength to your servant,    and save the son of your maidservant.17   Show me a sign of your favor,    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame    because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me. Glorious Things of You Are Spoken A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song. 87   On the holy mount stands the city he founded;2     the LORD loves the gates of Zion    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.3   Glorious things of you are spoken,    O city of God. Selah 4   Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;    behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush1—    “This one was born there,” they say.5   And of Zion it shall be said,    “This one and that one were born in her”;    for the Most High himself will establish her.6   The LORD records as he registers the peoples,    “This one was born there.” Selah 7   Singers and dancers alike say,    “All my springs are in you.” I Cry Out Day and Night Before You A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil2 of Heman the Ezrahite. 88   O LORD, God of my salvation,    I cry out day and night before you.2   Let my prayer come before you;    incline your ear to my cry! 3   For my soul is full of troubles,    and my life draws near to Sheol.4   I am counted among those who go down to the pit;    I am a man who has no strength,5   like one set loose among the dead,    like the slain that lie in the grave,  like those whom you remember no more,    for they are cut off from your hand.6   You have put me in the depths of the pit,    in the regions dark and deep.7   Your wrath lies heavy upon me,    and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah 8   You have caused my companions to shun me;    you have made me a horror3 to them.  I am shut in so that I cannot escape;9     my eye grows dim through sorrow.  Every day I call upon you, O LORD;    I spread out my hands to you.10   Do you work wonders for the dead?    Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah11   Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?12   Are your wonders known in the darkness,    or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13   But I, O LORD, cry to you;    in the morning my prayer comes before you.14   O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?    Why do you hide your face from me?15   Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.416   Your wrath has swept over me;    your dreadful assaults destroy me.17   They surround me like a flood all day long;    they close in on me together.18   You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;    my companions have become darkness.5 I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord A Maskil6 of Ethan the Ezrahite. 89   I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever;    with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.2   For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;    in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”3   You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;    I have sworn to David my servant:4   ‘I will establish your offspring forever,    and build your throne for all generations.'” Selah 5   Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,    your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!6   For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?    Who among the heavenly beings7 is like the LORD,7   a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,    and awesome above all who are around him?8   O LORD God of hosts,    who is mighty as you are, O LORD,    with your faithfulness all around you?9   You rule the raging of the sea;    when its waves rise, you still them.10   You crushed Rahab like a carcass;    you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.11   The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;    the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.12   The north and the south, you have created them;    Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.13   You have a mighty arm;    strong is your hand, high your right hand.14   Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;    steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.15   Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,    who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,16   who exult in your name all the day    and in your righteousness are exalted.17   For you are the glory of their strength;    by your favor our horn is exalted.18   For our shield belongs to the LORD,    our king to the Holy One of Israel. 19   Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one,8 and said:    “I have granted help to one who is mighty;    I have exalted one chosen from the people.20   I have found David, my servant;    with my holy oil I have anointed him,21   so that my hand shall be established with him;    my arm also shall strengthen him.22   The enemy shall not outwit him;    the wicked shall not humble him.23   I will crush his foes before him    and strike down those who hate him.24   My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,    and in my name shall his horn be exalted.25   I will set his hand on the sea    and his right hand on the rivers.26   He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,    my God, and the Rock of my salvation.'27   And I will make him the firstborn,    the highest of the kings of the earth.28   My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,    and my covenant will stand firm9 for him.29   I will establish his offspring forever    and his throne as the days of the heavens.30   If his children forsake my law    and do not walk according to my rules,1031   if they violate my statutes    and do not keep my commandments,32   then I will punish their transgression with the rod    and their iniquity with stripes,33   but I will not remove from him my steadfast love    or be false to my faithfulness.34   I will not violate my covenant    or alter the word that went forth from my lips.35   Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;    I will not lie to David.36   His offspring shall endure forever,    his throne as long as the sun before me.37   Like the moon it shall be established forever,    a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah 38   But now you have cast off and rejected;    you are full of wrath against your anointed.39   You have renounced the covenant with your servant;    you have defiled his crown in the dust.40   You have breached all his walls;    you have laid his strongholds in ruins.41   All who pass by plunder him;    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.42   You have exalted the right hand of his foes;    you have made all his enemies rejoice.43   You have also turned back the edge of his sword,    and you have not made him stand in battle.44   You have made his splendor to cease    and cast his throne to the ground.45   You have cut short the days of his youth;    you have covered him with shame. Selah 46   How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?    How long will your wrath burn like fire?47   Remember how short my time is!    For what vanity you have created all the children of man!48   What man can live and never see death?    Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah 49   Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,    which by your faithfulness you swore to David?50   Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,    and how I bear in my heart the insults11 of all the many nations,51   with which your enemies mock, O LORD,    with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed. 52   Blessed be the LORD forever!      Amen and Amen. Footnotes [1] 87:4 Probably Nubia [2] 88:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms [3] 88:8 Or an abomination [4] 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [5] 88:18 Or darkness has become my only companion [6] 89:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [7] 89:6 Hebrew the sons of God, or the sons of might [8] 89:19 Some Hebrew manuscripts godly ones [9] 89:28 Or will remain faithful [10] 89:30 Or my just decrees [11] 89:50 Hebrew lacks the insults (ESV)

Psalms 80–85 Psalms 80–85 (Listen) Restore Us, O God To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm. 80   Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,    you who lead Joseph like a flock.  You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.2     Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,  stir up your might    and come to save us! 3   Restore us,1 O God;    let your face shine, that we may be saved! 4   O LORD God of hosts,    how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?5   You have fed them with the bread of tears    and given them tears to drink in full measure.6   You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,    and our enemies laugh among themselves. 7   Restore us, O God of hosts;    let your face shine, that we may be saved! 8   You brought a vine out of Egypt;    you drove out the nations and planted it.9   You cleared the ground for it;    it took deep root and filled the land.10   The mountains were covered with its shade,    the mighty cedars with its branches.11   It sent out its branches to the sea    and its shoots to the River.212   Why then have you broken down its walls,    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?13   The boar from the forest ravages it,    and all that move in the field feed on it. 14   Turn again, O God of hosts!    Look down from heaven, and see;  have regard for this vine,15     the stock that your right hand planted,    and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.16   They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;    may they perish at the rebuke of your face!17   But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!18   Then we shall not turn back from you;    give us life, and we will call upon your name! 19   Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!    Let your face shine, that we may be saved! Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.3 Of Asaph. 81   Sing aloud to God our strength;    shout for joy to the God of Jacob!2   Raise a song; sound the tambourine,    the sweet lyre with the harp.3   Blow the trumpet at the new moon,    at the full moon, on our feast day. 4   For it is a statute for Israel,    a rule4 of the God of Jacob.5   He made it a decree in Joseph    when he went out over5 the land of Egypt.  I hear a language I had not known:6   “I relieved your6 shoulder of the burden;    your hands were freed from the basket.7   In distress you called, and I delivered you;    I answered you in the secret place of thunder;    I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah8   Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!    O Israel, if you would but listen to me!9   There shall be no strange god among you;    you shall not bow down to a foreign god.10   I am the LORD your God,    who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.    Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 11   “But my people did not listen to my voice;    Israel would not submit to me.12   So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,    to follow their own counsels.13   Oh, that my people would listen to me,    that Israel would walk in my ways!14   I would soon subdue their enemies    and turn my hand against their foes.15   Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him,    and their fate would last forever.16   But he would feed you7 with the finest of the wheat,    and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” Rescue the Weak and Needy A Psalm of Asaph. 82   God has taken his place in the divine council;    in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:2   “How long will you judge unjustly    and show partiality to the wicked? Selah3   Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;    maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.4   Rescue the weak and the needy;    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” 5   They have neither knowledge nor understanding,    they walk about in darkness;    all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6   I said, “You are gods,    sons of the Most High, all of you;7   nevertheless, like men you shall die,    and fall like any prince.”8 8   Arise, O God, judge the earth;    for you shall inherit all the nations! O God, Do Not Keep Silence A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. 83   O God, do not keep silence;    do not hold your peace or be still, O God!2   For behold, your enemies make an uproar;    those who hate you have raised their heads.3   They lay crafty plans against your people;    they consult together against your treasured ones.4   They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”5   For they conspire with one accord;    against you they make a covenant—6   the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,    Moab and the Hagrites,7   Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,    Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;8   Asshur also has joined them;    they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah 9   Do to them as you did to Midian,    as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,10   who were destroyed at En-dor,    who became dung for the ground.11   Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,12   who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves    of the pastures of God.” 13   O my God, make them like whirling dust,9    like chaff before the wind.14   As fire consumes the forest,    as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,15   so may you pursue them with your tempest    and terrify them with your hurricane!16   Fill their faces with shame,    that they may seek your name, O LORD.17   Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;    let them perish in disgrace,18   that they may know that you alone,    whose name is the LORD,    are the Most High over all the earth. My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.10 A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 84   How lovely is your dwelling place,    O LORD of hosts!2   My soul longs, yes, faints    for the courts of the LORD;  my heart and flesh sing for joy    to the living God. 3   Even the sparrow finds a home,    and the swallow a nest for herself,    where she may lay her young,  at your altars, O LORD of hosts,    my King and my God.4   Blessed are those who dwell in your house,    ever singing your praise! Selah 5   Blessed are those whose strength is in you,    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.116   As they go through the Valley of Baca    they make it a place of springs;    the early rain also covers it with pools.7   They go from strength to strength;    each one appears before God in Zion. 8   O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;    give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah9   Behold our shield, O God;    look on the face of your anointed! 10   For a day in your courts is better    than a thousand elsewhere.  I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.11   For the LORD God is a sun and shield;    the LORD bestows favor and honor.  No good thing does he withhold    from those who walk uprightly.12   O LORD of hosts,    blessed is the one who trusts in you! Revive Us Again To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 85   LORD, you were favorable to your land;    you restored the fortunes of Jacob.2   You forgave the iniquity of your people;    you covered all their sin. Selah3   You withdrew all your wrath;    you turned from your hot anger. 4   Restore us again, O God of our salvation,    and put away your indignation toward us!5   Will you be angry with us forever?    Will you prolong your anger to all generations?6   Will you not revive us again,    that your people may rejoice in you?7   Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,    and grant us your salvation. 8   Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,    for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;    but let them not turn back to folly.9   Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,    that glory may dwell in our land. 10   Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;    righteousness and peace kiss each other.11   Faithfulness springs up from the ground,    and righteousness looks down from the sky.12   Yes, the LORD will give what is good,    and our land will yield its increase.13   Righteousness will go before him    and make his footsteps a way. Footnotes [1] 80:3 Or Turn us again; also verses 7, 19 [2] 80:11 That is, the Euphrates [3] 81:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [4] 81:4 Or just decree [5] 81:5 Or against [6] 81:6 Hebrew his; also next line [7] 81:16 That is, Israel; Hebrew him [8] 82:7 Or fall as one man, O princes [9] 83:13 Or like a tumbleweed [10] 84:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [11] 84:5 Hebrew lacks to Zion (ESV)

Jeremiah 26–29 Jeremiah 26–29 (Listen) Jeremiah Threatened with Death 26 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD: 2 “Thus says the LORD: Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the LORD all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. 3 It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds. 4 You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.'” 7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. 8 And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant'?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. 10 When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of the LORD and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the LORD. 11 Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.” 12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. 13 Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the LORD your God, and the LORD will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. 14 But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the LORD sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.” Jeremiah Spared from Death 16 Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.” 17 And certain of the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, 18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts,   “‘Zion shall be plowed as a field;    Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,    and the mountain of the house a wooded height.' 19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and did not the LORD relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.” 20 There was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. 21 And when King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. 22 Then King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, Elnathan the son of Achbor and others with him, 23 and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people. 24 But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death. The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar 27 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah1 the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD. 2 Thus the LORD said to me: “Make yourself straps and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3 Send word2 to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: 5 “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave. 8 “‘“But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the LORD, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.' 10 For it is a lie that they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 But any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares the LORD.”'” 12 To Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people and live. 13 Why will you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the LORD has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,' for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 15 I have not sent them, declares the LORD, but they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.” 16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the LORD's house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,' for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city become a desolation? 18 If they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, then let them intercede with the LORD of hosts, that the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19 For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, when he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem—21 thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 They shall be carried to Babylon and remain there until the day when I visit them, declares the LORD. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.” Hananiah the False Prophet 28 In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD's house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the LORD, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.” 5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD, 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the LORD, and all the exiles. 7 Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet.” 10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way. 12 Sometime after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 13 “Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the LORD: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations an iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they shall serve him, for I have given to him even the beasts of the field.'” 15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the LORD.'” 17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died. Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles 29 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: 4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,3 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the LORD. 10 “For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare4 and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. 15 “Because you have said, ‘The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,' 16 thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: 17 ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, behold, I am sending on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the LORD, that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the LORD.' 20 Hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. 22 Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” 23 because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, they have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and they have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. I am the one who knows, and I am witness, declares the LORD.'” Shemaiah's False Prophecy 24 To Shemaiah of Nehelam you shall say: 25 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 ‘The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have charge in the house of the LORD over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and neck irons. 27 Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who is prophesying to you? 28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”'” 29 Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 31 “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah had prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, 32 therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the LORD, for he has spoken rebellion against the LORD.'” Footnotes [1] 27:1 Or Jehoiakim [2] 27:3 Hebrew Send them [3] 29:8 Hebrew your dreams, which you cause to dream [4] 29:11 Or peace (ESV)

Jeremiah 23–25 Jeremiah 23–25 (Listen) The Righteous Branch 23 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. 2 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the LORD. 3 Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the LORD. 5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.' 7 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' 8 but ‘As the LORD lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he1 had driven them.' Then they shall dwell in their own land.” Lying Prophets 9 Concerning the prophets:   My heart is broken within me;    all my bones shake;  I am like a drunken man,    like a man overcome by wine,  because of the LORD    and because of his holy words.10   For the land is full of adulterers;    because of the curse the land mourns,    and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up.  Their course is evil,    and their might is not right.11   “Both prophet and priest are ungodly;    even in my house I have found their evil,      declares the LORD.12   Therefore their way shall be to them    like slippery paths in the darkness,    into which they shall be driven and fall,  for I will bring disaster upon them    in the year of their punishment,      declares the LORD.13   In the prophets of Samaria    I saw an unsavory thing:  they prophesied by Baal    and led my people Israel astray.14   But in the prophets of Jerusalem    I have seen a horrible thing:  they commit adultery and walk in lies;    they strengthen the hands of evildoers,    so that no one turns from his evil;  all of them have become like Sodom to me,    and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”15   Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets:  “Behold, I will feed them with bitter food    and give them poisoned water to drink,  for from the prophets of Jerusalem    ungodliness has gone out into all the land.” 16 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you'; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.'” 18   For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD    to see and to hear his word,    or who has paid attention to his word and listened?19   Behold, the storm of the LORD!    Wrath has gone forth,  a whirling tempest;    it will burst upon the head of the wicked.20   The anger of the LORD will not turn back    until he has executed and accomplished    the intents of his heart.  In the latter days you will understand it clearly. 21   “I did not send the prophets,    yet they ran;  I did not speak to them,    yet they prophesied.22   But if they had stood in my council,    then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,  and they would have turned them from their evil way,    and from the evil of their deeds. 23 “Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!' 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD. 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal my words from one another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the LORD.' 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the LORD. 33 “When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?' you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden,2 and I will cast you off, declares the LORD.' 34 And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the LORD,' I will punish that man and his household. 35 Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the LORD answered?' or ‘What has the LORD spoken?' 36 But ‘the burden of the LORD' you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man's own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. 37 Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the LORD answered you?' or ‘What has the LORD spoken?' 38 But if you say, ‘The burden of the LORD,' thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the LORD,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the LORD,'” 39 therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up3 and cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. 40 And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.'” The Good Figs and the Bad Figs 24 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me this vision: behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the LORD. 2 One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. 3 And the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.” 4 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 5 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. 8 “But thus says the LORD: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will make them a horror4 to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.” Seventy Years of Captivity 25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 3 “For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened. 4 You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, 5 saying, ‘Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. 6 Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.' 7 Yet you have not listened to me, declares the LORD, that you might provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm. 8 “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, 9 behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10 Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste. 13 I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings shall make slaves even of them, and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.” The Cup of the Lord's Wrath 15 Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.” 17 So I took the cup from the LORD's hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, 20 and all the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of the land of Uz and all the kings of the land of the Philistines (Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; 26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Babylon5 shall drink. 27 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.' 28 “And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink! 29 For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of hosts.' 30 “You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:   “‘The LORD will roar from on high,    and from his holy habitation utter his voice;  he will roar mightily against his fold,    and shout, like those who tread grapes,    against all the inhabitants of the earth.31   The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,    for the LORD has an indictment against the nations;  he is entering into judgment with all flesh,    and the wicked he will put to the sword,      declares the LORD.' 32   “Thus says the LORD of hosts:  Behold, disaster is going forth    from nation to nation,  and a great tempest is stirring    from the farthest parts of the earth! 33 “And those pierced by the LORD on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground. 34   “Wail, you shepherds, and cry out,    and roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,  for the days of your slaughter and dispersion have come,    and you shall fall like a choice vessel.35   No refuge will remain for the shepherds,    nor escape for the lords of the flock.36   A voice—the cry of the shepherds,    and the wail of the lords of the flock!  For the LORD is laying waste their pasture,37     and the peaceful folds are devastated    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.38   Like a lion he has left his lair,    for their land has become a waste  because of the sword of the oppressor,    and because of his fierce anger.” Footnotes [1] 23:8 Septuagint; Hebrew I [2] 23:33 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew What burden? [3] 23:39 Or surely forget you [4] 24:9 Compare Septuagint; Hebrew horror for evil [5] 25:26 Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon (ESV)

Today's Co-Hosts: Ben Criddle (@criddlebenjamin) Subscribe to the Cougar Sports with Ben Criddle podcast:Apple Podcastshttps://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/cougar-sports-with-ben-criddle/id996764363Google Podcastshttps://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3ByZWFrZXIuY29tL3Nob3cvMTM2OTkzOS9lcGlzb2Rlcy9mZWVkSpotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/7dZvrG1ZtKkfgqGenR3S2mPocket Castshttps://pca.st/SU8aOvercasthttps://overcast.fm/itunes996764363/cougar-sports-with-ben-criddle-byuSpreakerhttps://www.spreaker.com/show/cougar-sports-with-ben-criddleStitcherhttps://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=66416iHeartRadiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/966-cougar-sports-with-29418022TuneInhttps://tunein.com/podcasts/Sports-Talk--News/Cougar-Sports-with-Ben-Criddle-p731529/

Fallen is Babylon Revelation 18 by William Klock Sometimes gospel—good news—isn't what we expect.  The gospel is a multifaceted message, but the church in every age has a tendency to focus on one part of it, while deemphasising or even ignoring others.  John wrote his letter to the churches of Asia in part to get them straight on this kind of problem.  We do the same thing in our ways.  We modern, western Christians have a tendency to emphasise the personal aspects of the gospel over the corporate.  We tend to view the gospel as a primarily spiritual thing.  And we emphasise those parts of the gospel that are most likely to make people feel good, while down-playing or ignoring what might make them feel bad.  Some aspects of the gospel just confuse us—so we sort of pretend they aren't there.  Such is our passage today, which continues—and more-or-less—concludes John's vision of God's judgement on Rome. So what do we do with judgement in the Bible?  I don't think we have a problem with judgement itself—maybe we don't, but some do.  I mentioned a couple of weeks ago the Canadian prayer book, which butchered the Psalter, because its revisers back in the 1950s concluded that the imprecatory psalms have no place in Christian worship.  But it's not just the Psalmist who pleads with the Lord for the judgement of the wicked and then praises their fall.  From the Israelites joyfully singing about the victory of God over Egypt while they watched the dead bodies of Pharoah's army float on the waters to Isaiah singing “Fallen is Babylon and shattered are her gods!” to Mary's song in which she praises the Lord for throwing down the mighty from their seats, Brothers and Sisters, God's people have always and still ought to plead for his judgement on the wicked then praise his victories.  We plead for deliverance and we pray for an end to evil and for his justice to prevail.  When he answers our prayers, we shouldn't be squeamish about singing joyfully in praise that he has defeated his enemies.  But for some reason we are.  I know Friday's Supreme Court ruling in the States isn't much consolation for Canadians.  I'm not inclined to get overly enthusiastic about what it means for the US.  It's a return to Federalism on the issue of abortion and it remains to be seen what the States will do in light of it.  But it's a victory, it's a big one, it's and answer to fifty years of prayer, even if only in part.  And Christians ought to rejoice and to praise God.  But if you've done that on social media in the last few days, there's a good chance you got rebuked for it by other Christians.  Why?  Because we're squeamish about judgement and about praising God when he defeats his enemies.  But the Lord defeating his enemies and the enemies of his people is good news, it's gospel.  Back in Revelation 14 John wrote about the angel who came declaring gospel—good news—and that the good news was a proclamation of judgement and a summons to repentance: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water” (14:7).  It's an echo of the gospel St. Paul proclaimed to the men of Athens: “Turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them” (Acts 14:15).  Or, as we sing from Psalm 96 in Morning Prayer, “For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth; and with righteousness to judge the world, and the peoples with his truth.”  So our passage today, Revelation 18, is timely.  Let's look at verses 1-3. After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory.  And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!          She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit,          a haunt for every unclean bird,          a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk          the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,          and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”   The great prostitute John saw in Chapter 17, the woman deceptively clothed in fine garments and expensive jewelry, whose chalice of wine contained only filth and abominations—who invited the nations to join her in her fun—fun which consisted of rank idolatry, the murder of the Lord Jesus, and the persecution of his people—the great prostitute has fallen. And John's imagery, borrowed from the Old Testament prophets, gives us another lesson—some important insight into how biblical prophecy works and how we ought to read it.  I've spent quite a bit of time explaining that when John wrote of “Babylon”, he was writing about Rome.  But not everyone reads the text that way.  Others will tell you that “Babylon” was Jerusalem.  And there are others who will tell you that “Babylon” is Rome, but not historical Rome, but some Rome of the future—maybe the Roman Church or some future European empire.  I don't know if it's still a popular theory, but back in the 70s and 80s, a lot of people saw here the European Union—especially when it had only ten nations—ten horns and all of that.  Now, if we just read the text and if we read it with the big biblical narrative in mind, it's really obvious—inescapable, I think—that John was speaking of Rome in his own day.  The problem for a lot of folks is that they don't know how to read biblical prophecy and if John was talking about historic Rome, then it all looks like a failed prophecy.  Rome didn't cease to exist.  It wasn't demolished to leave a barren wasteland as the angel's song describes.  Some interpreters then turn to Jerusalem.  That is, more or less, what did happen to Jerusalem—although not in a.d. 70.  John describes the fall of Jerusalem in terms of the events that were soon to unfold, and yet things settled down quickly after the war with Rome and Jewish life returned to a kind of normal in Jerusalem, albeit with the temple gone.  It wouldn't be until after the Bar Kokhba Revolt, a little over fifty years later, that Jerusalem really would be wiped out and the Jewish people scattered.  That right there gives us a hint at how we ought to be reading things.  But, similarly, since these things didn't literally happen to Rome, others respond by pushing it all into the far future.  They try to save John's prophecy, but in doing that they undermine the clear teaching of Jesus and the apostles that judgement was soon to come.  It helps if we look at how John uses the Old Testament prophets.  Here he draws from the passage from Isaiah 21 that I read earlier: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods          he has shattered to the ground.”   Babylon, in the Old Testament, embodied opposition to the Lord.  It all went back to the Tower of Babel and only got worse from there.  And Babylon wasn't satisfied to keep her idolatrous harlotries to herself.  For centuries she afflicted Israel, eventually conquering Jerusalem and taking God's people into exile.  One of the keys for understanding Revelation is to remember that the prophets—like Isaiah—had warned Israel that her conquest by pagan armies was judgement for her own adulteries.  This the historical pattern given meaning by the prophets: Israel, the Lord's bride, is rebellious and plays the harlot with foreign gods.  The Lord is patient, but she continues to be unfaithful.  So the Lord judges Israel by allowing her to be defeated by her pagan neighbours—in this case Babylon.  Judgement brings Israel to repentance—at least for a while—and the Lord vindicates her by then judging the pagan nations that had oppressed her.  That's the pattern we see in Revelation.  First the Lord uses pagan Rome to bring judgement on rebellious Jerusalem.  Through it he spares and vindicates his people.  Then he comes in judgement on Rome herself.  This is why John uses Babylon as an image of Rome.  Isaiah writes that Babylon would be a haunt of jackals and hyenas—and demons, too, in the Greek OT (Isaiah 34:13-14). Jeremiah writes: 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.  (Jeremiah 51:7) And the prophet Nahum wrote: And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute,          graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings,          and peoples with her charms.  (Nahum 3:4) John also draws on Ezekiel's oracle against the city of Tyre: When your wares came from the seas,          you satisfied many peoples; with your abundant wealth and merchandise          you enriched the kings of the earth.  (Ezekiel 27:33)   So, like Babylon (and like Tyre), Rome will fall because of her idolatry, because of her wickedness, and because she has spilled the blood of Jesus and the saints.  But did Babylon fall?  If we take Isaiah and the other Old Testament prophets literally, we have the same problem we have with John.  John writes later, in verse 21, that Babylon (Rome) will “be thrown down with violence and will be found no more”—which certainly didn't happen literally.  Rome has had its problems, it would even be defeated and the city sacked by enemies, but there's a reason it's called the “Eternal City”.  And despite Jeremiah writing that Babylon would be “a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert”, “her walls…thrown down”, “overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah, no one will live there”, it was many centuries before the city of Babylon eventually declined.  Babylon was defeated, as the prophets said it would be, by the Medes, but they didn't destroy the city.  They diverted the river and sneaked into the city while its people were having a holiday.  The Medes and the Persians made Babylon their capital and it flourished for centuries.  What this shows us is that prophetic language of judgement isn't necessarily literal.  It's dramatic and over-the-top.  It often speaks of judgement in terms of de-creation: the sun ceasing to shine, stars falling from the sky, the ground itself falling apart and opening up to swallow armies and cities.  The key point of the Old Testament prophets and of John in Revelation, is that the oppressors and persecutors of the Lord's people will face his wrathful and righteous judgement in repayment for their deeds.  Nebuchadnezzar was defeated and his kingdom destroyed, leading to the restoration of Israel in Judea, even though Babylon remained under different management.  Similarly, Rome will be defeated in such a way that the Christians martyrs would be vindicated and the way paved for the triumph of the gospel over this once pagan empire.  The gods of Rome will be shattered and Caesar's claims of divinity will be exposed in the light of the gospel, which proclaims Jesus as the true son of God.  Caesar will be defeated and Jesus will reign—and the world would see the birth of “Christendom” as we called it for centuries.  Why does is it work this way?  Because even though God did not create man to govern man, but to live under his kingship, he has ordained earthly kings and governments to curb the chaos of the fall.  As St. Paul writes, governing authorities are established by God to reward those who do good and to be a terror to those who do evil.  But when that gets reversed, particularly when those authorities persecute God's people, he will bring his justice and take them down.  Nebuchadnezzar was taken down and the Medes took his place and Cyrus return the Israelites to Judea.  Good rules—or less bad ones, at any rate, will replace the wicked.  And just so with Nero and his ilk. At this point a second angel joins the first.  Look at verses 4-8. Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people,          lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven,          and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,          and repay her double for her deeds;          mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,          so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says,          ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow,          and mourning I shall never see.' For this reason her plagues will come in a single day,          death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire;          for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”   In light of the coming judgement, the angel warns Jesus' people to get out—not necessarily literally, but not to have anything to do with the wickedness and the idolatry of the pagans.  This echoes the warnings to the churches at the beginning of Revelation.  The great prostitute is, again, deceptively attractive.  Her wine looks appealing and everyone else is drunk on it.  Rome and all the nations submitted to her have the appearance of wealth and security.  In contrast, those little groups of Christians were facing opposition—and it was soon to get worse—and all because they proclaimed Jesus as Lord instead of Caesar.  They were the ones willing to openly say that the emperor had no clothes—or that the harlot's chalice was full of filth—but that's not what anyone wanted to hear.  Compromise was so enticing and so easy.  A pinch of incense offered to Caesar, a meal in the temple of Aphrodite—never mind the orgy going on—and everyone would accept you.  But Israel had tried that, offering sacrifices to the Lord in his temple, but also erecting altars to Baal and Asherah.  It never works.  You cannot serve two masters.  Either Jesus is Lord or he isn't.  And Babylon is a graphic testament to what happens to those who worship false gods—and soon Rome will be, too.  So, “Come out of her my people, lest you take part in her sins,” calls the angel. Her sins are heaped high.  In other words, her judgment is overdue and coming soon.  She will be paid back.  In fact, she'll be paid back double for her deeds.  The angel echoes Jeremiah's prophecy against Babylon: Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has proudly defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. (Jeremiah 50:29) Now, the long middle section of the chapter shows us the response of the nations as they stand watching Rome's fall.  They were once drunk on the prostitute's wine, but the Lord's judgement sobers them up quickly—as the one in whom they had invested everything now falls.  Look at verse 9 and following:   And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.    John echoes Ezekiel's prophecy of Babylon's fall: The merchants among the peoples hiss at you;          you have come to a dreadful end          and shall be no more forever.'” (Ezekiel 27:36)   One of the thing that stands out here is that this isn't the end of the world.  This is a judgment that happens in history as the nations watch.  Continuing… They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city,          you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”   And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.   Slavery is what made the ancient world turn, and especially Rome and it was the sanctifying influence of the gospel that eventually brought it to an end, as with so many other things: human sacrifice, gladiatorial games, and abortion and infanticide.  Jesus spoke about being salt and light and that's just what those first Christians were and by the gospel they taught the pagans mercy and the value of life.  But in the meantime, the nations mourn.  The prostitute and her chalice are gone.  The party is over.  And the angel's imagery draws very closely on Ezekiel's prophecy of Tyre's destruction: At the sound of the cry of your pilots          the countryside shakes, and down from their ships          come all who handle the oar. The mariners and all the pilots of the sea          stand on the land and shout aloud over you          and cry out bitterly. They cast dust on their heads          and wallow in ashes;  (Ezekiel 27:28-30) This is key, because the reason Ezekiel says that Tyre was judged was because it's king had boasted: “I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods” (Ezekiel 28:1).  Now it's Caesar's turn to be brought low for his blasphemies.  In the meantime the nations continue to mourn:   “The fruit for which your soul longed          has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors          are lost to you,          never to be found again!”   The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, “Alas, alas, for the great city          that was clothed in fine linen,                          in purple and scarlet,          adorned with gold,                          with jewels, and with pearls! For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.” And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city?”   And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city          where all who had ships at sea          grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste. Rejoice over her, O heaven,          and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!” (Revelation 18:9-20) The suitors of the harlot mourn, but notice that the angels calls out to God's people: “Rejoice!”  Specifically, “Rejoice over her—over fallen Rome—because God has judged her.”  And not just that, notice the angel makes the point, “God has given judgement for you against her!”  This is the vindication of the saints.  God has judged the wicked on behalf of all those saints in those little churches in Asia Minor and across the empire—the saints who were mocked, maligned, and even martyred, the saints who watched as their brothers and sisters died in the arena or were crucified and lit on fire to light Nero's garden parties.  For you God has judged the harlot.  Brothers and Sisters, the Lord hears the cries of his people.  He heard the Hebrews crying out from their bondage in Egypt.  He heard the Israelites crying out from their captivity in Babylon.  He heard his Church crying out from their persecution by Rome.  And for the Lord to hear is always for the Lord to answer.  And the natural response is for the song of praise sung by the redeemed to be even louder than the lament of those wailing over their judgement.  In Proverbs we read the truth that “when justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous” even as it is “terror to evildoers”.  Brothers and Sisters, rejoice and praise God for his triumph, even as the wicked wail and lament. Finally, now, verses 21-24.  The joyful song of the saints is contrasted with the deathly silence of the judged city. Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence,          and will be found no more; and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,          will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft          will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill          will be heard in you no more, and the light of a lamp          will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride          will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth,          and all nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,          and of all who have been slain on earth.” (Revelation 18:21-24) Jeremiah wrote: When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 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.'”   The description of the musicians being silenced is straight from Ezekiel's oracle against Tyre: And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more.  (Ezekiel 26:13) The bit about Rome deceiving the nations by her sorcery calls back to Nahum's denouncement of Nineveh: And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute,          graceful and of deadly [sorceries], who betrays nations with her whorings,          and peoples with her [sorceries].  (Nahum 3:4) I don't think anyone amongst John's readers would have struggled to rejoice at these words of judgement, but the angel does drive home the point one more time in verse 20.  He reminds us that in her was the blood of the prophets and saints.  He even goes a step further, saying that the bloodguilt of all who have been slain lies with her.  Rome wasn't guilty of every murder that ever happened, but remember that behind the prostitute and behind the beast lies the dragon, the Satan.  Rome was the current embodiment, the height of human wickedness, all fed by the lies of the devil.  The devil and all the world's wickedness rose up to its full height at the cross when Jesus was put to death.  Evil, concentrated all in one place, did its worst and was dealt a death blow by God.  And, once again in Rome and with the persecution of Jesus' people it rose up again, and yet again God would strike it down.  That's the promise here.  Remember John's three themes: tribulation, perseverance, and kingdom.  The saints are not walking anywhere that Jesus has not gone before them and the Lord will vindicate them just as he vindicated Jesus.  They would know mourning, but judgement was coming.  It was a sure thing.  And not too far in the future they would have reason to rejoice as the millstone that was Caesar and Rome was cast into the sea to make way for the gospel of Jesus the Messiah. Brothers and Sisters, there's a word here for us, too.  We will know new Romes and Babylons before the Lord returns.  We will know opposition and maybe even persecution, tribulation, and martyrdom.  Persevere.  Know that Jesus is Lord.  Do not be enticed by the harlot and her chalice.  Pray for her downfall, for her downfall, as it always has been, will open the way for our proclamation of the gospel.  When that day comes—and it always does—praise the Lord for his righteousness and his faithfulness, and go forth with the good news.  For Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again. Let's pray: O Lord God, the unfailing helper and governor of those whom you bring up in your steadfast fear and love: Keep us, we pray, under the protection of your good providence and give us a continual reverence and love for your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

The Spirit Explodes Part 20 of 22 - Jewish justice. Acts 21:1 – 23:11 by Roger Kirby From this point on Luke tells his story with big incidents, difficult to ask questions about. These first two and a half chapters are about how Paul was tried before the Jewish authorities and found innocent; the next two and a half are about how the Romans found him innocent; the last two tell the story about his voyage to Rome. We will have to take them in those big chunks with more explanation and less questioning than we have been used to.  But first Paul still has to get to Jerusalem. Luke is still with him on this journey and so we get a vivid account of where they went. Read Acts 21: 1–16. Luke must have been aware that he was leaving a great puzzle behind for all this readers. In the last chapter he records Paul saying: ‘compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem'. Here he tells us the Christians in Tyre ‘through the Spirit urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem'. Question 1: How can the Spirit have said these two apparently contradictory things? How can we resolve the conflict and what should we learn from it? Question 2: Would they be able to do carry out those or equivalent ministries in your church? If, why not? Read Acts 21:17–22:22. Question 3: What particular aspects of human nature does this teach us about? Read Acts 22:23–23:11. Question 4: Why did he not do so? What should we learn from his experience? Right Mouse click to download episode 20 as an audio mp3 file  

Do rail workers really earn £13,000 a year more than nurses? As rail strikes severely hit services we look at some of the claims being made around pay – and explain how you can measure average pay in different ways. Plus we investigate claims that Chancellor Rishi Sunak wasted £11bn by paying too much interest on Britain's national debt. Is pollution from tyres really 2000 times worse than pollution from exhausts? And we look at sex and statistics in America. Produced in partnership with the Open University. Credits: Presenter: Tim Harford Series Producer: Charlotte McDonald Reporters: Nathan Gower, Jon Bithrey Production Coordinator: Janet Staples Sound Engineer: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

Rev. Charles St-Onge, missionary pastor at Ascension Lutheran Church in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Acts 21:1-16. Paul and his companions continue their journey toward Jerusalem, taking short trips by sea along the coast before a long voyage across the Mediterranean Sea to Tyre. Those who encounter Paul along the way know the same thing he knows: suffering awaits him in Jerusalem. From Tyre, they make their way to Ptolemais and Caesarea, where they stay with Philip the evangelist. There, Agabus confirms yet again through a visual prophecy that Paul will be bound in Jerusalem. While everyone else urges Paul to avoid this suffering, Paul is ready to suffer and die, if necessary, for the name of Jesus. As the church prays for God's will to be done, Paul and his companions finish their trip to Jerusalem. “To the End of the Earth” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Acts. In his second volume, St. Luke records all the things that Jesus continued to do through the ministry of His Church. By the end of the book, the proclamation of the Lord's Word that began in Jerusalem grows all the way to Rome. By God's grace, even now, that same Word is proclaimed to us.

Psalms 40–45 Psalms 40–45 (Listen) My Help and My Deliverer To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 40   I waited patiently for the LORD;    he inclined to me and heard my cry.2   He drew me up from the pit of destruction,    out of the miry bog,  and set my feet upon a rock,    making my steps secure.3   He put a new song in my mouth,    a song of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear,    and put their trust in the LORD. 4   Blessed is the man who makes    the LORD his trust,  who does not turn to the proud,    to those who go astray after a lie!5   You have multiplied, O LORD my God,    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;    none can compare with you!  I will proclaim and tell of them,    yet they are more than can be told. 6   In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,    but you have given me an open ear.1  Burnt offering and sin offering    you have not required.7   Then I said, “Behold, I have come;    in the scroll of the book it is written of me:8   I delight to do your will, O my God;    your law is within my heart.” 9   I have told the glad news of deliverance2    in the great congregation;  behold, I have not restrained my lips,    as you know, O LORD.10   I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;  I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness    from the great congregation. 11   As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain    your mercy from me;  your steadfast love and your faithfulness will    ever preserve me!12   For evils have encompassed me    beyond number;  my iniquities have overtaken me,    and I cannot see;  they are more than the hairs of my head;    my heart fails me. 13   Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me!    O LORD, make haste to help me!14   Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether    who seek to snatch away my life;  let those be turned back and brought to dishonor    who delight in my hurt!15   Let those be appalled because of their shame    who say to me, “Aha, Aha!” 16   But may all who seek you    rejoice and be glad in you;  may those who love your salvation    say continually, “Great is the LORD!”17   As for me, I am poor and needy,    but the Lord takes thought for me.  You are my help and my deliverer;    do not delay, O my God! O Lord, Be Gracious to Me To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 41   Blessed is the one who considers the poor!3    In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;2   the LORD protects him and keeps him alive;    he is called blessed in the land;    you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.3   The LORD sustains him on his sickbed;    in his illness you restore him to full health.4 4   As for me, I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me;    heal me,5 for I have sinned against you!”5   My enemies say of me in malice,    “When will he die, and his name perish?”6   And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,    while his heart gathers iniquity;    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.7   All who hate me whisper together about me;    they imagine the worst for me.6 8   They say, “A deadly thing is poured out7 on him;    he will not rise again from where he lies.”9   Even my close friend in whom I trusted,    who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.10   But you, O LORD, be gracious to me,    and raise me up, that I may repay them! 11   By this I know that you delight in me:    my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.12   But you have upheld me because of my integrity,    and set me in your presence forever. 13   Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,    from everlasting to everlasting!      Amen and Amen. Book Two Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul? To the choirmaster. A Maskil8 of the Sons of Korah. 42   As a deer pants for flowing streams,    so pants my soul for you, O God.2   My soul thirsts for God,    for the living God.  When shall I come and appear before God?93   My tears have been my food    day and night,  while they say to me all the day long,    “Where is your God?”4   These things I remember,    as I pour out my soul:  how I would go with the throng    and lead them in procession to the house of God  with glad shouts and songs of praise,    a multitude keeping festival. 5   Why are you cast down, O my soul,    and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,    my salvation10 6 and my God.   My soul is cast down within me;    therefore I remember you  from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,    from Mount Mizar.7   Deep calls to deep    at the roar of your waterfalls;  all your breakers and your waves    have gone over me.8   By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,    and at night his song is with me,    a prayer to the God of my life.9   I say to God, my rock:    “Why have you forgotten me?  Why do I go mourning    because of the oppression of the enemy?”10   As with a deadly wound in my bones,    my adversaries taunt me,  while they say to me all the day long,    “Where is your God?” 11   Why are you cast down, O my soul,    and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,    my salvation and my God. Send Out Your Light and Your Truth 43   Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause    against an ungodly people,  from the deceitful and unjust man    deliver me!2   For you are the God in whom I take refuge;    why have you rejected me?  Why do I go about mourning    because of the oppression of the enemy? 3   Send out your light and your truth;    let them lead me;  let them bring me to your holy hill    and to your dwelling!4   Then I will go to the altar of God,    to God my exceeding joy,  and I will praise you with the lyre,    O God, my God. 5   Why are you cast down, O my soul,    and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,    my salvation and my God. Come to Our Help To the choirmaster. A Maskil11 of the Sons of Korah. 44   O God, we have heard with our ears,    our fathers have told us,  what deeds you performed in their days,    in the days of old:2   you with your own hand drove out the nations,    but them you planted;  you afflicted the peoples,    but them you set free;3   for not by their own sword did they win the land,    nor did their own arm save them,  but your right hand and your arm,    and the light of your face,    for you delighted in them. 4   You are my King, O God;    ordain salvation for Jacob!5   Through you we push down our foes;    through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.6   For not in my bow do I trust,    nor can my sword save me.7   But you have saved us from our foes    and have put to shame those who hate us.8   In God we have boasted continually,    and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah 9   But you have rejected us and disgraced us    and have not gone out with our armies.10   You have made us turn back from the foe,    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.11   You have made us like sheep for slaughter    and have scattered us among the nations.12   You have sold your people for a trifle,    demanding no high price for them.13   You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,    the derision and scorn of those around us.14   You have made us a byword among the nations,    a laughingstock12 among the peoples.15   All day long my disgrace is before me,    and shame has covered my face16   at the sound of the taunter and reviler,    at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. 17   All this has come upon us,    though we have not forgotten you,    and we have not been false to your covenant.18   Our heart has not turned back,    nor have our steps departed from your way;19   yet you have broken us in the place of jackals    and covered us with the shadow of death.20   If we had forgotten the name of our God    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,21   would not God discover this?    For he knows the secrets of the heart.22   Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 23   Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!24   Why do you hide your face?    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?25   For our soul is bowed down to the dust;    our belly clings to the ground.26   Rise up; come to our help!    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love! Your Throne, O God, Is Forever To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil13 of the Sons of Korah; a love song. 45   My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;    I address my verses to the king;    my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. 2   You are the most handsome of the sons of men;    grace is poured upon your lips;    therefore God has blessed you forever.3   Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,    in your splendor and majesty! 4   In your majesty ride out victoriously    for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;    let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!5   Your arrows are sharp    in the heart of the king's enemies;    the peoples fall under you. 6   Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.    The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;7     you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.  Therefore God, your God, has anointed you    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;8     your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.  From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;9     daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;    at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. 10   Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:    forget your people and your father's house,11     and the king will desire your beauty.  Since he is your lord, bow to him.12     The people14 of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,    the richest of the people.15 13   All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.14     In many-colored robes she is led to the king,    with her virgin companions following behind her.15   With joy and gladness they are led along    as they enter the palace of the king. 16   In place of your fathers shall be your sons;

Join Megan and Shawn as they talk about updates regarding their previous stories; Tyre Sampson, Chris Watts, Karen Read and Moriah Wilson. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/crime-on-tap/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/crime-on-tap/support

Noted in his own time for his wisdom and virtue, he was called Eubolos, meaning "of good counsel." He was among the first to oppose the heretical writings of Origen. He was bishop in Patara (according to some sources) or Olympia (according to others), then of Tyre in Phoenecia. Under the Emperor Maximinus, he was attacked by the pagans and received the crown of martyrdom in Chalkis in Greece.

Message for 06/19/2022 "Herb's Story". *All verses are NLT unless otherwise noted* John 1:47 NIV - When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” Desiring More Luke 11:13 - So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” Skeptics and Miracle Chasers Matthew 11:21 - What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. Open and Unashamed

Sunday, 19 June 2022   Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, Acts 8:14   The previous verse noted Simon's belief and baptism. This followed after the belief and baptism of “both men and women” of Samaria noted in verse 8:12. However, what has gone unnoted is any hint of the giving of the Spirit to these people. This is then a different occurrence than that which occurred in Acts 2 where Peter said to the people –   “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38   Nothing has been said of repenting here in Acts 8. Further, the Spirit was promised to come upon baptism by those in Acts 2. That has neither been promised nor has it occurred. These things will be recorded in the verses to come, and an explanation of what occurs will be made.   For now, it is simply to be noted that this is the case, demonstrating that Acts is providing a description of what occurs at the establishment of the early church, but no individual account is to be taken as either normative or prescriptive. As for the ongoing account, it next records, “Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard.”   In the scattering of the church because of the persecution that was taking place (Acts 8:1 & 8:4), the apostles had remained in Jerusalem as an anchor for the church to remain united under their teaching. Eventually, the word got back to them “that Samaria had received the word of God.”   It is an important point that is dismissed by several heretical teachings that have infected the church. How often it is for false teachers to point to the words of Jesus and insist that there is one message to the Jews and another to the Gentiles –   “These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 10:5, 6   &   “Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.' 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she cries out after us.' 24 But He answered and said, ‘I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'” Matthew 15:21-24   Such verses are pulled out of their intended context, which is Jesus' ministry to Israel to first hear and accept or reject their Messiah. It is clear and plainly evident from this verse in Acts that either the apostles were disobedient to the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:5, or they are being obedient to the commission that the one and only gospel is to go out from Jerusalem to “Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).   The latter is correct. Those who teach that there are two gospels, that baptism is not a commandment (even if not required for salvation) for those who come to Christ, or that the church began with Paul are heretics and have failed to take in the whole counsel of God. They divide the church and the message of Christ to the harm of those they teach. With this clearly seen, it next says that “they sent Peter and John to them.”   With these words, another point of poor doctrine is argued against. It is one that will be further clarified as Acts and the epistles continue to demonstrate. By noting that the “apostles” sent Peter and John, it clearly indicates that the body has come to a mutual decision, and it argues against the idea that Peter was established by Jesus as the first leader (pope) of the church as Roman Catholicism claims.   The reason for the Holy Spirit's influence in this decision will be seen as Acts continues, but these words wholly argue against Peter as being a leading figure within the body of the apostles. Though not as egregious an error as the one stated above, the Roman Catholic Church has purposefully twisted its history in order to justify innumerable other faulty claims and doctrines, such as in this case concerning Peter.   Under the influence of the Holy Spirit (as can be assumed though not specifically stated) Peter and John were selected by the body of apostles to go to Samaria.   Life application: Jesus' ministry to Israel alone was for a set and determined purpose. The covenant at Sinai was given to them. The prophets spoke to them. The promises were given to them. And the promise of a New Covenant was given to them (see Jeremiah 31:31). It was right and fitting that the earthly ministry of the Messiah was to be to Israel alone. And thus, it was.   However, the gospel was always intended to go out to the Gentiles after this time (see Isaiah 42:6, for example). This was not thwarted in Israel's rejection of Jesus. Rather, it was carried out exactly as was known by God all along. Even the Song of Moses from Deuteronomy explained this, in advance, to Israel –   “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people.” Deuteronomy 32:43   Paul cites this in Romans 15:10, explaining such things. Pay attention to the details in Acts! Think about what God is doing. He is giving a descriptive account of how the church was established, but in this process, He is taking into consideration everything recorded in the Old Testament, fairly treating Israel according to His word and according to their acceptance or rejection of it. And it is all based on one, unified, gospel message that is given to all people of the world. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:11 concerning the united ministry of all of the apostles, including himself, “Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”   Further, there is one Leader of the church, Jesus, and there are set offices below Him that are given in accord with the instructions in the epistles. There is no single authority within the faith that is set to direct the masses concerning the continuance of the church. Roman Catholicism is to be rejected based on this.   Heavenly Father, help us to think rightly concerning Your word as it unfolds before us. May we not get misdirected by those who have failed to rightly divide what is clearly presented when things are taken in context. May our doctrine be pure, and may we be pleasing followers of You as we await Your coming for us. Amen.

Proper 6 First Psalm: Psalm 87; Psalm 90 Psalm 87 (Listen) Glorious Things of You Are Spoken A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song. 87   On the holy mount stands the city he founded;2     the LORD loves the gates of Zion    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.3   Glorious things of you are spoken,    O city of God. Selah 4   Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;    behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush1—    “This one was born there,” they say.5   And of Zion it shall be said,    “This one and that one were born in her”;    for the Most High himself will establish her.6   The LORD records as he registers the peoples,    “This one was born there.” Selah 7   Singers and dancers alike say,    “All my springs are in you.” Footnotes [1] 87:4 Probably Nubia (ESV) Psalm 90 (Listen) Book Four From Everlasting to Everlasting A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. 90   Lord, you have been our dwelling place1    in all generations.2   Before the mountains were brought forth,    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,    from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3   You return man to dust    and say, “Return, O children of man!”24   For a thousand years in your sight    are but as yesterday when it is past,    or as a watch in the night. 5   You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,    like grass that is renewed in the morning:6   in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;    in the evening it fades and withers. 7   For we are brought to an end by your anger;    by your wrath we are dismayed.8   You have set our iniquities before you,    our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9   For all our days pass away under your wrath;    we bring our years to an end like a sigh.10   The years of our life are seventy,    or even by reason of strength eighty;  yet their span3 is but toil and trouble;    they are soon gone, and we fly away.11   Who considers the power of your anger,    and your wrath according to the fear of you? 12   So teach us to number our days    that we may get a heart of wisdom.13   Return, O LORD! How long?    Have pity on your servants!14   Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.15   Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,    and for as many years as we have seen evil.16   Let your work be shown to your servants,    and your glorious power to their children.17   Let the favor4 of the Lord our God be upon us,    and establish the work of our hands upon us;    yes, establish the work of our hands! Footnotes [1] 90:1 Some Hebrew manuscripts (compare Septuagint) our refuge [2] 90:3 Or of Adam [3] 90:10 Or pride [4] 90:17 Or beauty (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 136 Psalm 136 (Listen) His Steadfast Love Endures Forever 136   Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,    for his steadfast love endures forever.2   Give thanks to the God of gods,    for his steadfast love endures forever.3   Give thanks to the Lord of lords,    for his steadfast love endures forever; 4   to him who alone does great wonders,    for his steadfast love endures forever;5   to him who by understanding made the heavens,    for his steadfast love endures forever;6   to him who spread out the earth above the waters,    for his steadfast love endures forever;7   to him who made the great lights,    for his steadfast love endures forever;8   the sun to rule over the day,    for his steadfast love endures forever;9   the moon and stars to rule over the night,    for his steadfast love endures forever; 10   to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,    for his steadfast love endures forever;11   and brought Israel out from among them,    for his steadfast love endures forever;12   with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,    for his steadfast love endures forever;13   to him who divided the Red Sea in two,    for his steadfast love endures forever;14   and made Israel pass through the midst of it,    for his steadfast love endures forever;15   but overthrew1 Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,    for his steadfast love endures forever;16   to him who led his people through the wilderness,    for his steadfast love endures forever; 17   to him who struck down great kings,    for his steadfast love endures forever;18   and killed mighty kings,    for his steadfast love endures forever;19   Sihon, king of the Amorites,    for his steadfast love endures forever;20   and Og, king of Bashan,    for his steadfast love endures forever;21   and gave their land as a heritage,    for his steadfast love endures forever;22   a heritage to Israel his servant,    for his steadfast love endures forever. 23   It is he who remembered us in our low estate,    for his steadfast love endures forever;24   and rescued us from our foes,    for his steadfast love endures forever;25   he who gives food to all flesh,    for his steadfast love endures forever. 26   Give thanks to the God of heaven,    for his steadfast love endures forever. Footnotes [1] 136:15 Hebrew shook off (ESV) Old Testament: Numbers 13:31–14:25 Numbers 13:31–14:25 (Listen) 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” The People Rebel 14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” 10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. 11 And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” Moses Intercedes for the People 13 But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people. For you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.' 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.' 19 Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” God Promises Judgment 20 Then the LORD said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.” (ESV) New Testament: Romans 3:9–20 Romans 3:9–20 (Listen) No One Is Righteous 9 What then? Are we Jews1 any better off?2 No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:   “None is righteous, no, not one;11     no one understands;    no one seeks for God.12   All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;    no one does good,    not even one.”13   “Their throat is an open grave;    they use their tongues to deceive.”  “The venom of asps is under their lips.”14     “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”15   “Their feet are swift to shed blood;16     in their paths are ruin and misery,17   and the way of peace they have not known.”18     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being3 will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Footnotes [1] 3:9 Greek Are we [2] 3:9 Or at any disadvantage? [3] 3:20 Greek flesh (ESV) Gospel: Matthew 19:1–12 Matthew 19:1–12 (Listen) Teaching About Divorce 19 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”1 10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” Footnotes [1] 19:9 Some manuscripts add and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery; other manuscripts except for sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery (ESV)