Sunday, April 26, 2020

Nu 4; Ps 38; Song 2; Heb 2

Psalm 38:21-22 
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
My God, do not remain far away from me.
22 Hurry and help me, O Lord, my deliverer.

Hebrews 2:1-4
Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken through angels proved to be so firm that every violation or disobedience received its just penalty, 3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him, 4 while God confirmed their witness with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Nu 3; Ps 37; Song 1; Heb 1

Numbers 3:40-48
40 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number all the firstborn males of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names. 41 And take the Levites for me—I am the Lord—instead of all the firstborn males among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites.” 42 So Moses numbered all the firstborn males among the Israelites, as the Lord had commanded him. 43 And all the firstborn males, by the number of the names from a month old and upward, totaled 22,273.

44 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn males among the Israelites, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. And the Levites will be mine. I am the Lord. 46 And for the redemption of the 273 firstborn males of the Israelites who exceed the number of the Levites, 47 collect five shekels for each one individually; you are to collect this amount in the currency of the sanctuary shekel (this shekel is twenty gerahs). 48 And give the money for the redemption of the excess number of them to Aaron and his sons.”

Hebrews 1:1-4
After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, 2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. 3 The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 Thus he became so far better than the angels as he has inherited a name superior to theirs.

Friday, April 24, 2020

Nu 2; Ps 36; Eccl 12; Philemon 1

Psalm 36:1-4
An evil man is rebellious to the core.
He does not fear God,
2 for he is too proud
to recognize and give up his sin.
3 The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful;
he does not care about doing what is wise and right.
4 While he lies in bed he plans ways to sin.
He is committed to a sinful lifestyle;
he does not reject what is evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 So remember your Creator in the days of your youth — before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Nu 1; Ps 35; Eccl 11; Tit 3

The biking forecast... he who puts too much stock in the weather report will not ride.
Ecclesiates 11:4 He who watches the wind will not sow,
and he who observes the clouds will not reap.

Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young,
and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.
Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes,
but know that God will judge your motives and actions.

Titus 3:3-7 
3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending our lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 5 he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 And so, since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life.”

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Lev 27; Ps 34; Eccl 10; Tit 2

Related to Jephtha? (Judges 11)
Leviticus 27:28-29
28 “‘Surely anything that a man permanently dedicates to the Lord from all that belongs to him, whether from people, animals, or his landed property, must be neither sold nor redeemed; anything permanently dedicated is most holy to the Lord. 29 Any human being who is permanently dedicated to the Lord must not be ransomed; such a person must be put to death.

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed is the one who takes shelter in him.
Note: tn This verb is normally used of tasting food, as in eating a little bit of food (1 Sam 14:43; Jonah 3:7) or evaluating it (Job 12:11; 34:3). The two references to the physical senses stand for invitation and realization. Even a small or beginning experience of God reveals that he is good.

Psalm 34:20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
Note: sn Not one of them is broken. The author of the Gospel of John saw a fulfillment of these words in Jesus’ experience on the cross (see John 19:31-37), for the Roman soldiers, when they saw that Jesus was already dead, did not break his legs as was customarily done to speed the death of crucified individuals. John’s use of the psalm seems strange, for the statement in its original context suggests that the Lord protects the godly from physical harm. Jesus’ legs may have remained unbroken, but he was brutally and unjustly executed by his enemies. John seems to give the statement a literal sense that is foreign to its original literary context by applying a promise of divine protection to a man who was seemingly not saved by God. However, John saw in this incident a foreshadowing of Jesus’ ultimate deliverance and vindication. His unbroken bones were a reminder of God’s commitment to the godly and a sign of things to come. Jesus’ death on the cross was not the end of the story; God vindicated him, as John goes on to explain in the following context (John 19:38-20:18).

Ecclesiastes 10:10 If an iron axhead is blunt and a workman does not sharpen its edge,
he must exert a great deal of effort;
so wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Lev 26; Ps 33; Eccl 9; Tit 1

Leviticus 26:1 “‘You must not make for yourselves idols, so you must not set up for yourselves a carved image or a pillar, and you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down before it, for I am the Lord your God. 
Note: sn For the literature regarding the difficult etymology and meaning of the term for “idols” (אֱלִילִם, ʾelilim), see the literature cited in the note on Lev 19:4. It appears to be a diminutive play on words with אֵל (ʾel, “god, God”) and, perhaps at the same time, recalls a common Semitic word for “worthless, weak, powerless, nothingness.” Snaith suggests a rendering of “worthless godlings.”

Psalm 33:3 Sing to him a new song.
Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him.

Psalm 33:13-15, 18-22
13 The Lord watches from heaven;
he sees all people.
14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
15 He is the one who forms every human heart,
and takes note of all their actions.
18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers,
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness
19 by saving their lives from death
and sustaining them during times of famine.
20 We wait for the Lord;
he is our deliverer and shield.
21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord,
for we wait for you.

Ecclesiastes 9:17-18
17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet,
more than the shouting of a ruler is heard among fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner can destroy much that is good.

Monday, April 20, 2020

Lev 25; Ps 32; Eccl 8; 2Ti 4

Psalm 32:5-6
5 Then I confessed my sin;
I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.
I said, “I will confess my rebellious acts to the Lord.”
And then you forgave my sins. (Selah)
6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers should pray to you
while there is a window of opportunity.
Certainly when the surging water rises,
it will not reach them.

Psalm 32:10 An evil person suffers much pain,
but the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him.

Ecclesiastes 8:17 then I discerned all that God has done:
No one really comprehends what happens on earth.
Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it.
Even if a wise person claimed that he understood,
he would not really comprehend it.