ISAIAH 19:1- 21:17
GALATIANS 2:1- 16
PSALM 59:1- 17
PROVERBS 23:13- 14
This message came to me [Isaiah] concerning Egypt:Look! The LORD is advancing against Egypt, riding on a swift cloud. The idols of Egypt tremble. The hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear. 2 "I will make the Egyptians fight against each other-- brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, province against province. 3 The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom. They will call on spirits, mediums, and psychics to show them which way to turn. 4 I will hand Egypt over to a hard, cruel master, to a fierce king," says the Lord, the LORD Almighty. 5 The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry. 6 The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will become foul with rotting reeds and rushes. 7 All the greenery along the riverbank will wither and blow away. All the crops will dry up, and everything will die. 8 The fishermen will weep for lack of work. Those who fish with hooks and those who use nets will all be unemployed. 9 The weavers will have no flax or cotton, for the crops will fail. 10 The weavers and all the workers will be sick at heart. 11 What fools are the counselors of Zoan! Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is stupid and wrong. Will they still boast of their wisdom? Will they dare tell Pharaoh about their long line of wise ancestors? 12 What has happened to your wise counselors, Pharaoh? If they are so wise, let them tell you what the LORD Almighty is going to do to Egypt. 13 The wise men from Zoan are fools, and those from Memphis are deluded. The leaders of Egypt have ruined the land with their foolish counsel. 14 The LORD has sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so all their suggestions are wrong. They cause the land of Egypt to stagger like a sick drunkard. 15 Nobody in Egypt, whether rich or poor, important or unknown, can offer any help. 16 In that day the Egyptians will be as weak as women. They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the LORD Almighty. 17 Just to speak the name of Israel will strike deep terror in their hearts, for the LORD Almighty has laid out his plans against them. 18 In that day five of Egypt's cities will follow the LORD Almighty. They will even begin to speak the Hebrew language. One of these will be Heliopolis, the City of the Sun. 19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the LORD for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them. 21 In that day the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the LORD and will give their sacrifices and offerings to him. They will make promises to the LORD and keep them. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt in a way that will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas and heal them. 23 In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will worship the same God. 24 And Israel will be their ally. The three will be together, and Israel will be a blessing to them. 25 For the LORD Almighty will say, "Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession!" 20:1 IN the year when King Sargon of Assyria captured the Philistine city of Ashdod, 2 the LORD told Isaiah son of Amoz, "Take off all your clothes, including your sandals." Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot. 3 Then the LORD said, "My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign-- a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia. 4 For the king of Assyria will take away the Egyptians and Ethiopians as prisoners. He will make them walk naked and barefoot, both young and old, their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 How dismayed will be the Philistines, who counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt! 6 They will say, `If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? For we counted on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria. '" 21:1 THIS message came to me concerning the land of Babylonia:Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert, like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev. 2 I see an awesome vision:I see you plundered and destroyed. Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes, take part in the siege. Babylon will fall, and the groaning of all the nations she enslaved will end. 3 My stomach aches and burns with pain. Sharp pangs of horror are upon me, like the pangs of a woman giving birth. I grow faint when I hear what God is planning; I am blinded with dismay. 4 My mind reels; my heart races. The sleep I once enjoyed at night is now a faint memory. I lie awake, trembling. 5 Look! They are preparing a great feast. They are spreading rugs for people to sit on. Everyone is eating and drinking. Quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle! You are being attacked! 6 Meanwhile, the Lord said to me, "Put a watchman on the city wall to shout out what he sees. 7 Tell him to sound the alert when he sees chariots drawn by horses and warriors mounted on donkeys and camels." 8 Then the watchman called out, "Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord. Night after night I have remained at my post. 9 Now at last-- look! Here come the chariots and warriors!" Then the watchman said, "Babylon is fallen! All the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground!" 10 O my people, threshed and winnowed, I have told you everything the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, has said. 11 This message came to me concerning Edom:Someone from Edom keeps calling to me, "Watchman, how much longer until morning? When will the night be over?" 12 The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but night will soon follow. If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask." 13 This message came to me concerning Arabia:O caravans from Dedan, hide in the deserts of Arabia. 14 O people of Tema, bring food and water to these weary refugees. 15 They have fled from drawn swords and sharp arrows and the terrors of war. 16 "But within a year," says the Lord, "all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17 Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the LORD, the God of Israel, have spoken!"
Then fourteen years later I [Paul] went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. 2 I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I talked privately with the leaders of the church. I wanted them to understand what I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure they did not disagree, or my ministry would have been useless. 3 And they did agree. They did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile. 4 Even that question wouldn't have come up except for some so- called Christians there-- false ones, really-- who came to spy on us and see our freedom in Christ Jesus. They wanted to force us, like slaves, to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to listen to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the Good News for you. 6 And the leaders of the church who were there had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) 7 They saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the Good News to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. 8 For the same God who worked through Peter for the benefit of the Jews worked through me for the benefit of the Gentiles. 9 In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co- workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. 10 The only thing they suggested was that we remember to help the poor, and I have certainly been eager to do that. 11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him publicly, speaking strongly against what he was doing, for it was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who don't bother with circumcision. But afterward, when some Jewish friends of James came, Peter wouldn't eat with the Gentiles anymore because he was afraid of what these legalists would say. 13 Then the other Jewish Christians followed Peter's hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was influenced to join them in their hypocrisy. 14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter in front of all the others, "Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you trying to make these Gentiles obey the Jewish laws you abandoned? 15 You and I are Jews by birth, not `sinners' like the Gentiles. 16 And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ-- and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law."
For the choir director:A psalm of David, regarding the time Saul sent soldiers to watch David's house in order to kill him. To be sung to the tune "Do Not Destroy!"
1 Rescue me from my enemies, O God.
Protect me from those who have come to destroy me.
2 Rescue me from these criminals;
save me from these murderers.
3 They have set an ambush for me.
Fierce enemies are out there waiting,
though I have done them no wrong, O LORD.
4 Despite my innocence, they prepare to kill me.
Rise up and help me! Look on my plight!
5 O LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel,
rise up to punish hostile nations.
Show no mercy to wicked traitors.
Interlude6 They come at night,
snarling like vicious dogs
as they prowl the streets.
7 Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths,
the piercing swords that fly from their lips.
"Who can hurt us?" they sneer.
8 But LORD, you laugh at them.
You scoff at all the hostile nations.
9 You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me,
for you, O God, are my place of safety.
10 In his unfailing love, my God will come and help me.
He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.
11 Don't kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons;
stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees,
O Lord our shield.
12 Because of the sinful things they say,
because of the evil that is on their lips,
let them be captured by their pride,
their curses, and their lies.
13 Destroy them in your anger!
Wipe them out completely!
Then the whole world will know
that God reigns in Israel.
Interlude14 My enemies come out at night,
snarling like vicious dogs
as they prowl the streets.
15 They scavenge for food
but go to sleep unsatisfied.
16 But as for me, I will sing about your power.
I will shout with joy each morning because of your unfailing love.
For you have been my refuge,
a place of safety in the day of distress.
17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises,
for you, O God, are my refuge,
the God who shows me unfailing love.
Don't fail to correct your children. They won't die if you spank them. Physical discipline may well save them from death.
GALATIANS 2:1- 16
PSALM 59:1- 17
PROVERBS 23:13- 14
This message came to me [Isaiah] concerning Egypt:Look! The LORD is advancing against Egypt, riding on a swift cloud. The idols of Egypt tremble. The hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear. 2 "I will make the Egyptians fight against each other-- brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, province against province. 3 The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom. They will call on spirits, mediums, and psychics to show them which way to turn. 4 I will hand Egypt over to a hard, cruel master, to a fierce king," says the Lord, the LORD Almighty. 5 The waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields. The riverbed will be parched and dry. 6 The canals of the Nile will dry up, and the streams of Egypt will become foul with rotting reeds and rushes. 7 All the greenery along the riverbank will wither and blow away. All the crops will dry up, and everything will die. 8 The fishermen will weep for lack of work. Those who fish with hooks and those who use nets will all be unemployed. 9 The weavers will have no flax or cotton, for the crops will fail. 10 The weavers and all the workers will be sick at heart. 11 What fools are the counselors of Zoan! Their best counsel to the king of Egypt is stupid and wrong. Will they still boast of their wisdom? Will they dare tell Pharaoh about their long line of wise ancestors? 12 What has happened to your wise counselors, Pharaoh? If they are so wise, let them tell you what the LORD Almighty is going to do to Egypt. 13 The wise men from Zoan are fools, and those from Memphis are deluded. The leaders of Egypt have ruined the land with their foolish counsel. 14 The LORD has sent a spirit of foolishness on them, so all their suggestions are wrong. They cause the land of Egypt to stagger like a sick drunkard. 15 Nobody in Egypt, whether rich or poor, important or unknown, can offer any help. 16 In that day the Egyptians will be as weak as women. They will cower in fear beneath the upraised fist of the LORD Almighty. 17 Just to speak the name of Israel will strike deep terror in their hearts, for the LORD Almighty has laid out his plans against them. 18 In that day five of Egypt's cities will follow the LORD Almighty. They will even begin to speak the Hebrew language. One of these will be Heliopolis, the City of the Sun. 19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the LORD for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them. 21 In that day the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians. Yes, they will know the LORD and will give their sacrifices and offerings to him. They will make promises to the LORD and keep them. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt in a way that will bring healing. For the Egyptians will turn to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas and heal them. 23 In that day Egypt and Assyria will be connected by a highway. The Egyptians and Assyrians will move freely between their lands, and they will worship the same God. 24 And Israel will be their ally. The three will be together, and Israel will be a blessing to them. 25 For the LORD Almighty will say, "Blessed be Egypt, my people. Blessed be Assyria, the land I have made. Blessed be Israel, my special possession!" 20:1 IN the year when King Sargon of Assyria captured the Philistine city of Ashdod, 2 the LORD told Isaiah son of Amoz, "Take off all your clothes, including your sandals." Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot. 3 Then the LORD said, "My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign-- a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia. 4 For the king of Assyria will take away the Egyptians and Ethiopians as prisoners. He will make them walk naked and barefoot, both young and old, their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5 How dismayed will be the Philistines, who counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt! 6 They will say, `If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? For we counted on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria. '" 21:1 THIS message came to me concerning the land of Babylonia:Disaster is roaring down on you from the desert, like a whirlwind sweeping in from the Negev. 2 I see an awesome vision:I see you plundered and destroyed. Go ahead, you Elamites and Medes, take part in the siege. Babylon will fall, and the groaning of all the nations she enslaved will end. 3 My stomach aches and burns with pain. Sharp pangs of horror are upon me, like the pangs of a woman giving birth. I grow faint when I hear what God is planning; I am blinded with dismay. 4 My mind reels; my heart races. The sleep I once enjoyed at night is now a faint memory. I lie awake, trembling. 5 Look! They are preparing a great feast. They are spreading rugs for people to sit on. Everyone is eating and drinking. Quick! Grab your shields and prepare for battle! You are being attacked! 6 Meanwhile, the Lord said to me, "Put a watchman on the city wall to shout out what he sees. 7 Tell him to sound the alert when he sees chariots drawn by horses and warriors mounted on donkeys and camels." 8 Then the watchman called out, "Day after day I have stood on the watchtower, my lord. Night after night I have remained at my post. 9 Now at last-- look! Here come the chariots and warriors!" Then the watchman said, "Babylon is fallen! All the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground!" 10 O my people, threshed and winnowed, I have told you everything the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, has said. 11 This message came to me concerning Edom:Someone from Edom keeps calling to me, "Watchman, how much longer until morning? When will the night be over?" 12 The watchman replies, "Morning is coming, but night will soon follow. If you wish to ask again, then come back and ask." 13 This message came to me concerning Arabia:O caravans from Dedan, hide in the deserts of Arabia. 14 O people of Tema, bring food and water to these weary refugees. 15 They have fled from drawn swords and sharp arrows and the terrors of war. 16 "But within a year," says the Lord, "all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17 Only a few of its courageous archers will survive. I, the LORD, the God of Israel, have spoken!"
Then fourteen years later I [Paul] went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. 2 I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I talked privately with the leaders of the church. I wanted them to understand what I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure they did not disagree, or my ministry would have been useless. 3 And they did agree. They did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile. 4 Even that question wouldn't have come up except for some so- called Christians there-- false ones, really-- who came to spy on us and see our freedom in Christ Jesus. They wanted to force us, like slaves, to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to listen to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the Good News for you. 6 And the leaders of the church who were there had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) 7 They saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the Good News to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. 8 For the same God who worked through Peter for the benefit of the Jews worked through me for the benefit of the Gentiles. 9 In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co- workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. 10 The only thing they suggested was that we remember to help the poor, and I have certainly been eager to do that. 11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him publicly, speaking strongly against what he was doing, for it was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who don't bother with circumcision. But afterward, when some Jewish friends of James came, Peter wouldn't eat with the Gentiles anymore because he was afraid of what these legalists would say. 13 Then the other Jewish Christians followed Peter's hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was influenced to join them in their hypocrisy. 14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter in front of all the others, "Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you trying to make these Gentiles obey the Jewish laws you abandoned? 15 You and I are Jews by birth, not `sinners' like the Gentiles. 16 And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ-- and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law."
For the choir director:A psalm of David, regarding the time Saul sent soldiers to watch David's house in order to kill him. To be sung to the tune "Do Not Destroy!"
1 Rescue me from my enemies, O God.
Protect me from those who have come to destroy me.
2 Rescue me from these criminals;
save me from these murderers.
3 They have set an ambush for me.
Fierce enemies are out there waiting,
though I have done them no wrong, O LORD.
4 Despite my innocence, they prepare to kill me.
Rise up and help me! Look on my plight!
5 O LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel,
rise up to punish hostile nations.
Show no mercy to wicked traitors.
Interlude6 They come at night,
snarling like vicious dogs
as they prowl the streets.
7 Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths,
the piercing swords that fly from their lips.
"Who can hurt us?" they sneer.
8 But LORD, you laugh at them.
You scoff at all the hostile nations.
9 You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me,
for you, O God, are my place of safety.
10 In his unfailing love, my God will come and help me.
He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.
11 Don't kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons;
stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees,
O Lord our shield.
12 Because of the sinful things they say,
because of the evil that is on their lips,
let them be captured by their pride,
their curses, and their lies.
13 Destroy them in your anger!
Wipe them out completely!
Then the whole world will know
that God reigns in Israel.
Interlude14 My enemies come out at night,
snarling like vicious dogs
as they prowl the streets.
15 They scavenge for food
but go to sleep unsatisfied.
16 But as for me, I will sing about your power.
I will shout with joy each morning because of your unfailing love.
For you have been my refuge,
a place of safety in the day of distress.
17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises,
for you, O God, are my refuge,
the God who shows me unfailing love.
Don't fail to correct your children. They won't die if you spank them. Physical discipline may well save them from death.
