DEUTERONOMY 18:1-20:20
LUKE 9:28-50
PSALM 73:1-28
PROVERBS 12:10
DEUTERONOMY 18:1-20:20
" Remember that the Levitical priests and the rest of the tribe of Levi will not be given an inheritance of land like the other tribes in Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites will eat from the offerings given to the LORD by fire, for that is their inheritance. 2 They will have no inheritance of their own among the Israelites. The LORD himself is their inheritance, just as he promised them. 3 " These are the parts the priests may claim as their share from the oxen and sheep that the people bring as offerings: the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. 4 You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time. 5 For the LORD your God chose the tribe of Levi out of all your tribes to minister in the LORD's name forever. 6 " Any Levite who so desires may come from any town in Israel, from wherever he is living, to the place the LORD chooses. 7 He may minister there in the name of the LORD his God, just like his fellow Levites who are serving the LORD there. 8 He may eat his share of the sacrifices and offerings, even if he has a private source of income.9 " When you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. 10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is an object of horror and disgust to the LORD. It is because the other nations have done these things that the LORD your God will drive them out ahead of you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 The people you are about to displace consult with sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the LORD your God forbids you to do such things. 15 " The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites, and you must listen to that prophet. 16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the LORD your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You begged that you might never again have to listen to the voice of the LORD your God or see this blazing fire for fear you would die. 17 " Then the LORD said to me, ` Fine, I will do as they have requested. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will tell that prophet what to say, and he will tell the people everything I command him. 19 I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. 20 But any prophet who claims to give a message from another god or who falsely claims to speak for me must die.' 21 You may wonder, ` How will we know whether the prophecy is from the LORD or not?' 22 If the prophet predicts something in the LORD's name and it does not happen, the LORD did not give the message. That prophet has spoken on his own and need not be feared.19:1 " THE LORD your God will soon destroy the nations whose land he is giving you, and you will displace them and settle in their towns and homes. 2 Then you must set apart three cities of refuge in the land the LORD your God is giving you to occupy. 3 Divide the land the LORD your God is giving you into three districts, with one of these cities in each district. Keep the roads to these cities in good repair so that anyone who has killed someone can flee there for safety. 4 " If someone accidentally kills a neighbor without harboring any previous hatred, the slayer may flee to any of these cities and be safe. 5 For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood. And suppose one of them swings an ax and the ax head flies off the handle, killing the other person. In such cases, the slayer could flee to one of the cities of refuge and be safe. 6 If the distance to the nearest city of refuge was too far, an enraged avenger might be able to chase down and kill the person who caused the death. The slayer would die, even though there was no death sentence and the first death had been an accident. 7 That is why I am commanding you to set aside three cities of refuge. 8 " If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he solemnly promised your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised them, 9 you must designate three additional cities of refuge. (He will give you this land if you obey all the commands I have given you--if you always love the LORD your God and walk in his ways.) 10 That way you will prevent the death of innocent people in the land the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, and you will not be held responsible for murder. 11 " But suppose someone hates a neighbor and deliberately ambushes and murders that neighbor and then escapes to one of the cities of refuge. 12 In that case, the leaders of the murderer's hometown must have the murderer brought back from the city of refuge and handed over to the dead person's avenger to be killed. 13 Do not feel sorry for that murderer! Purge the guilt of murder from Israel so all may go well with you. 14 " When you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, never steal someone's land by moving the boundary markers your ancestors set up to mark their property. 15 " Never convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of just one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 16 If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime, 17 then both the accuser and accused must appear before the priests and judges who are on duty before the LORD. 18 They must be closely questioned, and if the accuser is found to be lying, 19 the accuser will receive the punishment intended for the accused. In this way, you will cleanse such evil from among you. 20 Those who hear about it will be afraid to do such an evil thing again. 21 You must never show pity! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.20:1 " WHEN you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The LORD your God, who brought you safely out of Egypt, is with you! 2 Before you go into battle, the priest will come forward to speak with the troops. 3 He will say, ` Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight today! Do not lose heart or panic. 4 For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!' 5 " Then the officers of the army will address the troops and say, ` Has anyone just built a new house but not yet dedicated it? If so, go home! You might be killed in the battle, and someone else would dedicate your house! 6 Has anyone just planted a vineyard but not yet eaten any of its fruit? If so, go home! You might die in battle, and someone else would eat from it! 7 Has anyone just become engaged? Well, go home and get married! You might die in the battle, and someone else would marry your fiancé ' 8 Then the officers will also say, ` Is anyone terrified? If you are, go home before you frighten anyone else.' 9 When the officers have finished saying this to their troops, they will announce the names of the unit commanders. 10 " As you approach a town to attack it, first offer its people terms for peace. 11 If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor. 12 But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town. 13 When the LORD your God hands it over to you, kill every man in the town. 14 But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the spoils of your enemies that the LORD your God has given you. 15 But these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of nations nearby. 16 " As for the towns of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing in them. 17 You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the LORD your God has commanded you. 18 This will keep the people of the land from teaching you their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against the LORD your God. 19 " When you are besieging a town and the war drags on, do not destroy the trees. Eat the fruit, but do not cut down the trees. They are not enemies that need to be attacked! 20 But you may cut down trees that you know are not valuable for food. Use them to make the equipment you need to besiege the town until it falls."
LUKE 9:28-50
About eight days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 Then two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking of how he was about to fulfill God's plan by dying in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and the others were very drowsy and had fallen asleep. Now they woke up and saw Jesus' glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, " Master, this is wonderful! We will make three shrines--one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 34 But even as he was saying this, a cloud came over them; and terror gripped them as it covered them. 35 Then a voice from the cloud said, " This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him." 36 When the voice died away, Jesus was there alone. They didn't tell anyone what they had seen until long after this happened.37 The next day, after they had come down the mountain, a huge crowd met Jesus. 38 A man in the crowd called out to him, " Teacher, look at my boy, who is my only son. 39 An evil spirit keeps seizing him, making him scream. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It is always hitting and injuring him. It hardly ever leaves him alone. 40 I begged your disciples to cast the spirit out, but they couldn't do it." 41 " You stubborn, faithless people," Jesus said, " how long must I be with you and put up with you? Bring him here." 42 As the boy came forward, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a violent convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and healed the boy. Then he gave him back to his father. 43 Awe gripped the people as they saw this display of God's power. While everyone was marveling over all the wonderful things he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, 44 " Listen to me and remember what I say. The Son of Man is going to be betrayed." 45 But they didn't know what he meant. Its significance was hidden from them, so they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about it. 46 Then there was an argument among them as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side. 48 Then he said to them, " Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest." 49 John said to Jesus, " Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons. We tried to stop him because he isn't in our group."50 But Jesus said, " Don't stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you."
PSALM 73:1-28
A psalm of Asaph.
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those whose hearts are pure.
2 But as for me, I came so close to the edge of the cliff!
My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.
3 For I envied the proud
when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.
4 They seem to live such a painless life;
their bodies are so healthy and strong.
5 They aren't troubled like other people
or plagued with problems like everyone else.
6 They wear pride like a jeweled necklace,
and their clothing is woven of cruelty.
7 These fat cats have everything
their hearts could ever wish for!
8 They scoff and speak only evil;
in their pride they seek to crush others.
9 They boast against the very heavens,
and their words strut throughout the earth.
10 And so the people are dismayed and confused,
drinking in all their words.
11 " Does God realize what is going on?" they ask.
" Is the Most High even aware of what is happening?"
12 Look at these arrogant people--
enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.
13 Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure
and kept myself from doing wrong?
14 All I get is trouble all day long;
every morning brings me pain.
15 If I had really spoken this way,
I would have been a traitor to your people.
16 So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.
But what a difficult task it is!
17 Then one day I went into your sanctuary, O God,
and I thought about the destiny of the wicked.
18 Truly, you put them on a slippery path
and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.
19 In an instant they are destroyed,
swept away by terrors.
20 Their present life is only a dream
that is gone when they awake.
When you arise, O Lord,
you will make them vanish from this life.
21 Then I realized how bitter I had become,
how pained I had been by all I had seen.
22 I was so foolish and ignorant--
I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
23 Yet I still belong to you;
you are holding my right hand.
24 You will keep on guiding me with your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
I desire you more than anything on earth.
26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
he is mine forever.
27 But those who desert him will perish,
for you destroy those who abandon you.
28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God!
I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter,
and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.
PROVERBS 12:10
The godly are concerned for the welfare of their animals, but even the kindness of the wicked is cruel.
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