NUMBERS 33:40-35:34
LUKE 5:12-28
PSALM 65:1-13
PROVERBS 11:23
NUMBERS 33:40-35:34
It was then that the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard that the people of Israel were approaching his land. 41 Meanwhile, the Israelites left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42 Then they left Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43 They left Punon and camped at Oboth. 44 They left Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab. 45 They left Iye-abarim and camped at Dibon-gad. 46 They left Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim. 47 They left Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains east of the river, near Mount Nebo. 48 They left the mountains east of the river and camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 49 Along the Jordan River they camped from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim on the plains of Moab.50 While they were camped near the Jordan River on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho, the LORD said to Moses, 51 " Speak to the Israelites and tell them: ` When you cross the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, 52 you must drive out all the people living there. You must destroy all their carved and molten images and demolish all their pagan shrines. 53 Take possession of the land and settle in it, because I have given it to you to occupy. 54 You must distribute the land among the clans by sacred lot and in proportion to their size. A larger inheritance of land will be allotted to each of the larger clans, and a smaller inheritance will be allotted to each of the smaller clans. The decision of the sacred lot is final. In this way, the land will be divided among your ancestral tribes. 55 But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live. 56 And I will do to you what I had planned to do to them.' " 34:1 THEN the LORD said to Moses, 2 " Give these instructions to the Israelites: When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your special possession, these will be the boundaries. 3 The southern portion of your country will extend from the wilderness of Zin, along the edge of Edom. The southern boundary will begin on the east at the Dead Sea. 4 It will then run south past Scorpion Pass in the direction of Zin. Its southernmost point will be Kadesh-barnea, from which it will go to Hazar-addar, and on to Azmon. 5 From Azmon the boundary will turn toward the brook of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean Sea. 6 " Your western boundary will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. 7 " Your northern boundary will begin at the Mediterranean Sea and run eastward to Mount Hor, 8 then to Lebo-hamath, and on through Zedad 9 and Ziphron to Hazar-enan. This will be your northern boundary. 10 " The eastern boundary will start at Hazar-enan and run south to Shepham, 11 then down to Riblah on the east side of Ain. From there the boundary will run down along the eastern edge of the Sea of Galilee, 12 and then along the Jordan River to the Dead Sea. These are the boundaries of your land." 13 Then Moses told the Israelites, " This is the territory you are to divide among yourselves by sacred lot. The LORD commands that the land be divided up among the nine and a half remaining tribes. 14 The families of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance of land 15 on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho." 16 And the LORD said to Moses, 17 " These are the men who are to divide the land among the people: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. 18 Also enlist one leader from each tribe to help them with the task. 19 These are the tribes and the names of the leaders: Tribe Leader Judah Caleb son of Jephunneh 20 Simeon Shemuel son of Ammihud 21 Benjamin Elidad son of Kislon 22 Dan Bukki son of Jogli 23 Manasseh son of Joseph Hanniel son of Ephod 24 Ephraim son of Joseph Kemuel son of Shiphtan 25 Zebulun Elizaphan son of Parnach 26 Issachar Paltiel son of Azzan 27 Asher Ahihud son of Shelomi 28 Naphtali Pedahel son of Ammihud29 These are the men the LORD has appointed to oversee the dividing of the land of Canaan among the Israelites." 35:1 WHILE Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab, across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses, 2 " Instruct the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands. 3 These towns will be their homes, and the surrounding lands will provide pasture for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock. 4 The pastureland assigned to the Levites around these towns will extend 1,500 feet from the town walls in every direction. 5 Measure off 3,000 feet outside the town walls in every direction--east, south, west, north--with the town at the center. This area will serve as the larger pastureland for the towns. 6 " You must give the Levites six cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety. In addition, give them forty-two other towns. 7 In all, forty-eight towns with the surrounding pastureland will be given to the Levites. 8 These towns will come from the property of the people of Israel. The larger tribes will give more towns to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer. Each tribe will give in proportion to its inheritance." 9 And the LORD said to Moses, 10 " Say this to the people of Israel: ` When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 designate cities of refuge for people to flee to if they have killed someone accidentally. 12 These cities will be places of protection from a dead person's relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be killed before being tried by the community. 13 Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves, 14 three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan. 15 These cities are for the protection of Israelites, resident foreigners, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety.16 " ` But if someone strikes and kills another person with a piece of iron, it must be presumed to be murder, and the murderer must be executed. 17 Or if someone strikes and kills another person with a large stone, it is murder, and the murderer must be executed. 18 The same is true if someone strikes and kills another person with a wooden weapon. It must be presumed to be murder, and the murderer must be executed. 19 The victim's nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must execute the murderer. 20 So if in premeditated hostility someone pushes another person or throws a dangerous object and the person dies, it is murder. 21 Or if someone angrily hits another person with a fist and the person dies, it is murder. In such cases, the victim's nearest relative must execute the murderer when they meet. 22 " ` But suppose someone pushes another person without premeditated hostility, or throws something that unintentionally hits another person, 23 or accidentally drops a stone on someone, though they were not enemies, and the person dies. 24 If this should happen, the assembly must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim's nearest relative. 25 They must protect the slayer from the avenger, and they must send the slayer back to live in a city of refuge until the death of the high priest. 26 " ` But if the slayer leaves the city of refuge, 27 and the victim's nearest relative finds him outside the city limits and kills him, it will not be considered murder. 28 The slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his own property. 29 These are permanent laws for you to observe from generation to generation, wherever you may live.30 " ` All murderers must be executed, but only if there is more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 31 Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death. 32 And never accept a ransom payment from someone who has fled to a city of refuge, allowing the slayer to return to his property before the death of the high priest. 33 This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no atonement can be made for murder except by the execution of the murderer. 34 You must not defile the land where you are going to live, for I live there myself. I am the LORD, who lives among the people of Israel.' "
LUKE 5:12-28
In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he fell to the ground, face down in the dust, begging to be healed. " Lord," he said, " if you want to, you can make me well again." 13 Jesus reached out and touched the man. " I want to," he said. " Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared. 14 Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, " Go right to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy, so everyone will have proof of your healing." 15 Yet despite Jesus' instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. 17 One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord's healing power was strongly with Jesus. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to push through the crowd to Jesus, 19 but they couldn't reach him. So they went up to the roof, took off some tiles, and lowered the sick man down into the crowd, still on his mat, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, " Son, your sins are forgiven." 21 " Who does this man think he is?" the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to each other. " This is blasphemy! Who but God can forgive sins?" 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, " Why do you think this is blasphemy? 23 Is it easier to say, ` Your sins are forgiven' or ` Get up and walk'? 24 I will prove that I, the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, " Stand up, take your mat, and go on home, because you are healed!" 25 And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped to his feet, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe. And they praised God, saying over and over again, " We have seen amazing things today." 27 Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax-collection booth. " Come, be my disciple!" Jesus said to him. 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.
PSALM 65:1-13
For the choir director: A psalm of David. A song.
1 What mighty praise, O God,
belongs to you in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to you,
2 for you answer our prayers,
and to you all people will come.
3 Though our hearts are filled with sins,
you forgive them all.
4 What joy for those you choose to bring near,
those who live in your holy courts.
What joys await us
inside your holy Temple.
5 You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,
O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
even those who sail on distant seas.
6 You formed the mountains by your power
and armed yourself with mighty strength.
7 You quieted the raging oceans
with their pounding waves
and silenced the shouting of the nations.
8 Those who live at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets,
you inspire shouts of joy.
9 You take care of the earth and water it,
making it rich and fertile.
The rivers of God will not run dry;
they provide a bountiful harvest of grain,
for you have ordered it so.
10 You drench the plowed ground with rain,
melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers
and bless its abundant crops.
11 You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
12 The wilderness becomes a lush pasture,
and the hillsides blossom with joy.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,
and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!
PROVERBS 11:23
The godly can look forward to happiness, while the wicked can expect only wrath.
