Friday, January 31, 2020

January 31 Reading through the Bible Day 31



EXODUS 12:14-13:16
MATTHEW 20:29-21:22
PSALM 25:16-22
PROVERBS 6:12-15


" You must remember this day forever. Each year you will celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. 15 For seven days, you may eat only bread made without yeast. On the very first day you must remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast at any time during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel. 16 On the first day of the festival, and again on the seventh day, all the people must gather for a time of special worship. No work of any kind may be done on these days except in the preparation of food. 17 " Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent regulation for you, to be kept from generation to generation. 18 Only bread without yeast may be eaten from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month. 19 During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes. Anyone who eats anything made with yeast during this week will be cut off from the community of Israel. These same regulations apply to the foreigners living with you, as if they had been born among you. 20 I repeat, during those days you must not eat anything made with yeast. Wherever you live, eat only bread that has no yeast in it." 21 Then Moses called for the leaders of Israel and said, " Tell each of your families to slaughter the lamb they have set apart for the Passover. 22 Drain each lamb's blood into a basin. Then take a cluster of hyssop branches and dip it into the lamb's blood. Strike the hyssop against the top and sides of the doorframe, staining it with the blood. And remember, no one is allowed to leave the house until morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through the land and strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the LORD will pass over your home. He will not permit the Destroyer to enter and strike down your firstborn. 24 " Remember, these instructions are permanent and must be observed by you and your descendants forever. 25 When you arrive in the land the LORD has promised to give you, you will continue to celebrate this festival. 26 Then your children will ask, ` What does all this mean? What is this ceremony about?' 27 And you will reply, ` It is the celebration of the LORD's Passover, for he passed over the homes of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he killed the Egyptians, he spared our families and did not destroy us.' " Then all the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 So the people of Israel did just as the LORD had commanded through Moses and Aaron. 29 And at midnight the LORD killed all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn son of the captive in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. 30 Pharaoh and his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died. 31 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. " Leave us!" he cried. " Go away, all of you! Go and serve the LORD as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, and be gone. Go, but give me a blessing as you leave." 33 All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought, " We will all die!" 34 The Israelites took with them their bread dough made without yeast. They wrapped their kneading bowls in their spare clothing and carried them on their shoulders. 35 And the people of Israel did as Moses had instructed and asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold. 36 The LORD caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So, like a victorious army, they plundered the Egyptians! 37 That night the people of Israel left Rameses and started for Succoth. There were about 600,000 men, plus all the women and children. And they were all traveling on foot. 38 Many people who were not Israelites went with them, along with the many flocks and herds. 39 Whenever they stopped to eat, they baked bread from the yeastless dough they had brought from Egypt. It was made without yeast because the people were rushed out of Egypt and had no time to wait for bread to rise. 40 The people of Israel had lived in Egypt for 430 years. 41 In fact, it was on the last day of the 430th year that all the LORD's forces left the land. 42 This night had been reserved by the LORD to bring his people out from the land of Egypt, so this same night now belongs to him. It must be celebrated every year, from generation to generation, to remember the LORD's deliverance. 43 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, " These are the regulations for the festival of Passover. No foreigners are allowed to eat the Passover lamb. 44 But any slave who has been purchased may eat it if he has been circumcised. 45 Hired servants and visiting foreigners may not eat it. 46 All who eat the lamb must eat it together in one house. You must not carry any of its meat outside, and you may not break any of its bones. 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate this festival at the same time. 48 " If there are foreigners living among you who want to celebrate the LORD's Passover, let all the males be circumcised. Then they may come and celebrate the Passover with you. They will be treated just as if they had been born among you. But an uncircumcised male may never eat of the Passover lamb. 49 This law applies to everyone, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner who has settled among you." 50 So the people of Israel followed all the LORD's instructions to Moses and Aaron. 51 And that very day the LORD began to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, division by division.13:1 THEN the LORD said to Moses, 2 " Dedicate to me all the firstborn sons of Israel and every firstborn male animal. They are mine." 3 So Moses said to the people, " This is a day to remember forever--the day you left Egypt, the place of your slavery. For the LORD has brought you out by his mighty power. (Remember, you are not to use any yeast.) 4 This day in early spring will be the anniversary of your exodus. 5 You must celebrate this day when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites. This is the land he swore to give your ancestors--a land flowing with milk and honey. 6 For seven days you will eat only bread without yeast. Then on the seventh day, you will celebrate a great feast to the LORD. 7 Eat only bread without yeast during those seven days. In fact, there must be no yeast in your homes or anywhere within the borders of your land during this time. 8 " During these festival days each year, you must explain to your children why you are celebrating. Say to them, ` This is a celebration of what the LORD did for us when we left Egypt.' 9 This annual festival will be a visible reminder to you, like a mark branded on your hands or your forehead. Let it remind you always to keep the LORD's instructions in your minds and on your lips. After all, it was the LORD who rescued you from Egypt with great power.10 " So celebrate this festival at the appointed time each year. 11 And remember these instructions when the LORD brings you into the land he swore to give your ancestors long ago, the land where the Canaanites are now living. 12 All firstborn sons and firstborn male animals must be presented to the LORD. 13 A firstborn male donkey may be redeemed from the LORD by presenting a lamb in its place. But if you decide not to make the exchange, the donkey must be killed by breaking its neck. However, you must redeem every firstborn son. 14 " And in the future, your children will ask you, ` What does all this mean?' Then you will tell them, ` With mighty power the LORD brought us out of Egypt from our slavery. 15 Pharaoh refused to let us go, so the LORD killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why we now offer all the firstborn males to the LORD--except that the firstborn sons are always redeemed.' 16 Again I say, this ceremony will be like a mark branded on your hands or your forehead. It is a visible reminder that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt with great power."

MATTHEW 20:29-21:22
As Jesus and the disciples left the city of Jericho, a huge crowd followed behind. 30 Two blind men were sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, " Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" 31 The crowd told them to be quiet, but they only shouted louder, " Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" 32 Jesus stopped in the road and called, " What do you want me to do for you?" 33 " Lord," they said, " we want to see!" 34 Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him.21:1 AS Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 " Go into the village over there," he said, " and you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them here. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ` The Lord needs them,' and he will immediately send them." 4 This was done to fulfill the prophecy, 5 " Tell the people of Israel,
` Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey--
even on a donkey's colt.' "
6 The two disciples did as Jesus said. 7 They brought the animals to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it. 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats on the road ahead of Jesus, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 He was in the center of the procession, and the crowds all around him were shouting, " Praise God for the Son of David!
Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Praise God in highest heaven!"
10 The entire city of Jerusalem was stirred as he entered. " Who is this?" they asked. 11 And the crowds replied, " It's Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee." 12 Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the merchants and their customers. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the stalls of those selling doves. 13 He said, " The Scriptures declare, ` My Temple will be called a place of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves!" 14 The blind and the lame came to him, and he healed them there in the Temple. 15 The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the little children in the Temple shouting, " Praise God for the Son of David." But they were indignant 16 and asked Jesus, " Do you hear what these children are saying?" " Yes," Jesus replied. " Haven't you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ` You have taught children and infants to give you praise.'" 17 Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight. 18 In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, 19 and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs on it, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, " May you never bear fruit again!" And immediately the fig tree withered up. 20 The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, " How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" 21 Then Jesus told them, " I assure you, if you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ` May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,' and it will happen. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

PSALM 25:16-22
Turn to me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone and in deep distress.
17 My problems go from bad to worse.
Oh, save me from them all!
18 Feel my pain and see my trouble.
Forgive all my sins.
19 See how many enemies I have,
and how viciously they hate me!
20 Protect me! Rescue my life from them!
Do not let me be disgraced, for I trust in you.
21 May integrity and honesty protect me,
for I put my hope in you.
22 O God, ransom Israel
from all its troubles.

PROVERBS 6:12-15
Here is a description of worthless and wicked people: They are constant liars, signaling their true intentions to their friends by making signs with their eyes and feet and fingers. Their perverted hearts plot evil. They stir up trouble constantly. But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken beyond all hope of healing.