NUMBERS 11:24-13:33
MARK 14:22-52
PSALM 52:1-9
PROVERBS 11:1-3
NUMBERS 11:24-13:33
So Moses went out and reported the LORD's words to the people. Then he gathered the seventy leaders and stationed them around the Tabernacle. 25 And the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. He took some of the Spirit that was upon Moses and put it upon the seventy leaders. They prophesied as the Spirit rested upon them, but that was the only time this happened. 26 Two men, Eldad and Medad, were still in the camp when the Spirit rested upon them. They were listed among the leaders but had not gone out to the Tabernacle, so they prophesied there in the camp. 27 A young man ran and reported to Moses, " Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!" 28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' personal assistant since his youth, protested, " Moses, my master, make them stop!" 29 But Moses replied, " Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his Spirit upon them all!" 30 Then Moses returned to the camp with the leaders of Israel. 31 Now the LORD sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall into the camp and all around it! For many miles in every direction from the camp there were quail flying about three feet above the ground. 32 So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail out all over the camp. 33 But while they were still eating the meat, the anger of the LORD blazed against the people, and he caused a severe plague to break out among them. 34 So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah--" the graves of craving"--because they buried the people there who had craved meat from Egypt. 35 From there the Israelites traveled to Hazeroth, where they stayed for some time.12:1 WHILE they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. 2 They said, " Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Hasn't he spoken through us, too?" But the LORD heard them. 3 Now Moses was more humble than any other person on earth. 4 So immediately the LORD called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, " Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!" And the three of them went out. 5 Then the LORD descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. " Aaron and Miriam!" he called, and they stepped forward. 6 And the LORD said to them, " Now listen to me! Even with prophets, I the LORD communicate by visions and dreams. 7 But that is not how I communicate with my servant Moses. He is entrusted with my entire house. 8 I speak to him face to face, directly and not in riddles! He sees the LORD as he is. Should you not be afraid to criticize him?" 9 The LORD was furious with them, and he departed. 10 As the cloud moved from above the Tabernacle, Miriam suddenly became white as snow with leprosy. When Aaron saw what had happened, 11 he cried out to Moses, " Oh, my lord! Please don't punish us for this sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Don't let her be like a stillborn baby, already decayed at birth." 13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, " Heal her, O God, I beg you!" 14 And the LORD said to Moses, " If her father had spit in her face, wouldn't she have been defiled for seven days? Banish her from the camp for seven days, and after that she may return." 15 So Miriam was excluded from the camp for seven days, and the people waited until she was brought back before they traveled again. 16 Then they left Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.13:1 THE LORD now said to Moses, 2 " Send men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to Israel. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes." 3 So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. 4 These were the tribes and the names of the leaders: Tribe Leader Reuben Shammua son of Zaccur 5 Simeon Shaphat son of Hori 6 Judah Caleb son of Jephunneh 7 Issachar Igal son of Joseph 8 Ephraim Hoshea son of Nun 9 Benjamin Palti son of Raphu 10 Zebulun Gaddiel son of Sodi 11 Manasseh son of Joseph Gaddi son of Susi 12 Dan Ammiel son of Gemalli 13 Asher Sethur son of Michael 14 Naphtali Nahbi son of Vophsi 15 Gad Geuel son of Maki16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. By this time Moses had changed Hoshea's name to Joshua. 17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: " Go northward through the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls or are they unprotected? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Enter the land boldly, and bring back samples of the crops you see." (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.) 21 So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 Going northward, they passed first through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai--all descendants of Anak--lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) 23 When they came to what is now known as the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also took samples of the pomegranates and figs. 24 At that time the Israelites renamed the valley Eshcol--" cluster"--because of the cluster of grapes they had cut there. 25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the people of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27 This was their report to Moses: " We arrived in the land you sent us to see, and it is indeed a magnificent country--a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit as proof. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their cities and towns are fortified and very large. We also saw the descendants of Anak who are living there! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley." 30 But Caleb tried to encourage the people as they stood before Moses. " Let's go at once to take the land," he said. " We can certainly conquer it!" 31 But the other men who had explored the land with him answered, " We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!" 32 So they spread discouraging reports about the land among the Israelites: " The land we explored will swallow up any who go to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. We felt like grasshoppers next to them, and that's what we looked like to them!"
MARK 14:22-52
As they [the disciples] were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God's blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, " Take it, for this is my body." 23 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And he said to them, " This is my blood, poured out for many, sealing the covenant between God and his people. 25 I solemnly declare that I will not drink wine again until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God." 26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 " All of you will desert me," Jesus told them. "For the Scriptures say, ` God will strike the Shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.'
28 But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there." 29 Peter said to him, " Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will." 30 " Peter," Jesus replied, " the truth is, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." 31 " No!" Peter insisted. " Not even if I have to die with you! I will never deny you!" And all the others vowed the same.32 And they came to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, " Sit here while I go and pray." 33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be filled with horror and deep distress. 34 He told them, " My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me." 35 He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. 36 " Abba, Father," he said, " everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine." 37 Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. " Simon!" he said to Peter. " Are you asleep? Couldn't you stay awake and watch with me even one hour? 38 Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak." 39 Then Jesus left them again and prayed, repeating his pleadings. 40 Again he returned to them and found them sleeping, for they just couldn't keep their eyes open. And they didn't know what to say. 41 When he returned to them the third time, he said, " Still sleeping? Still resting? Enough! The time has come. I, the Son of Man, am betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Up, let's be going. See, my betrayer is here!" 43 And immediately, as he said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a mob that was armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent out by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders. 44 Judas had given them a prearranged signal: " You will know which one to arrest when I go over and give him the kiss of greeting. Then you can take him away under guard." 45 As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. " Teacher!" he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss. 46 Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 47 But someone pulled out a sword and slashed off an ear of the high priest's servant.48 Jesus asked them, " Am I some dangerous criminal, that you come armed with swords and clubs to arrest me? 49 Why didn't you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about me." 50 Meanwhile, all his disciples deserted him and ran away. 51 There was a young man following along behind, clothed only in a linen nightshirt. When the mob tried to grab him, 52 they tore off his clothes, but he escaped and ran away naked.
PSALM 52:1-9
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Doeg the Edomite told Saul that Ahimelech had given refuge to David.
1 You call yourself a hero, do you?
Why boast about this crime of yours,
you who have disgraced God's people?
2 All day long you plot destruction.
Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor;
you're an expert at telling lies.
3 You love evil more than good
and lies more than truth.
Interlude4 You love to say things that harm others,
you liar!
5 But God will strike you down once and for all.
He will pull you from your home
and drag you from the land of the living.
Interlude6 The righteous will see it and be amazed.
They will laugh and say,
7 " Look what happens to mighty warriors
who do not trust in God.
They trust their wealth instead
and grow more and more bold in their wickedness."
8 But I am like an olive tree,
thriving in the house of God.
I trust in God's unfailing love
forever and ever.
9 I will praise you forever, O God,
for what you have done.
I will wait for your mercies
in the presence of your people.
PROVERBS 11:1-3
The LORD hates cheating, but he delights in honesty. Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Good people are guided by their honesty; treacherous people are destroyed by their dishonesty.
