DEUTERONOMY 2:1-3:29
LUKE 6:12-38
PSALM 67:1-7
PROVERBS 11:27
DEUTERONOMY 2:1-3:29
" Then we [Moses and the Israelites] turned around and set out across the wilderness toward the Red Sea, just as the LORD had instructed me, and we wandered around Mount Seir for a long time. 2 Then at last the LORD said to me, 3 ` You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn northward. 4 Give these orders to the people: " You will be passing through the country belonging to your relatives the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. The Edomites will feel threatened, so be careful. 5 Don't bother them, for I have given them all the hill country around Mount Seir as their property, and I will not give you any of their land. 6 Pay them for whatever food or water you use. 7 The LORD your God has blessed everything you have done and has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the LORD your God has been with you and provided for your every need so that you lacked nothing."' 8 So we went past our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and avoided the road through the Arabah Valley that comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber. " Then as we traveled northward along the desert route through Moab, 9 the LORD warned us, ` Do not bother the Moabites, the descendants of Lot, or start a war with them. I have given them Ar as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.' " 10 (A numerous and powerful race of giants called the Emites had once lived in the area of Ar. They were as tall as the Anakites, another race of giants. 11 Both the Emites and the Anakites are often referred to as the Rephaites, but the Moabites called them Emites. 12 In earlier times the Horites had lived at Mount Seir, but they were driven out and displaced by the descendants of Esau. In a similar way the peoples in Canaan were driven from the land that the LORD had assigned to Israel.) 13 Moses continued, " Then the LORD told us to cross Zered Brook, and we did. 14 So thirty-eight years passed from the time we first arrived at Kadesh-barnea until we finally crossed Zered Brook! For the LORD had vowed that this could not happen until all the men old enough to fight in battle had died in the wilderness. 15 The LORD had lifted his hand against them until all of them had finally died. 16 " When all the men of fighting age had died, 17 the LORD said to me, 18 ` Today you will cross the border of Moab at Ar 19 and enter the land of Ammon. But do not bother the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot, or start a war with them. I have given the land of Ammon to them as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.' " 20 (That area, too, was once considered the land of the Rephaites, though the Ammonites referred to them as Zamzummites. 21 They were a numerous and powerful race, as tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them so the Ammonites could occupy their land. 22 He had similarly helped the descendants of Esau at Mount Seir, for he destroyed the Horites so they could settle there in their place. The descendants of Esau live there to this day. 23 A similar thing happened when the Caphtorites from Crete invaded and destroyed the Avvites, who had lived in villages in the area of Gaza.) 24 Moses continued, " Then the LORD said, ` Now cross the Arnon Gorge! Look, I will help you defeat Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and I will give you his land. Attack him and begin to occupy the land. 25 Beginning today I will make all people throughout the earth terrified of you. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble with dread and fear.' 26 " Then from the wilderness of Kedemoth I sent ambassadors to King Sihon of Heshbon with this proposal of peace: 27 ` Let us pass through your land. We will stay on the main road and won't turn off into the fields on either side. 28 We will pay for every bite of food we eat and all the water we drink. All we want is permission to pass through your land. 29 The descendants of Esau at Mount Seir allowed us to go through their country, and so did the Moabites, who live in Ar. Let us pass through until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God has given us.' 30 But King Sihon refused to allow you to pass through, because the LORD your God made Sihon stubborn and defiant so he could help you defeat them, as he has now done.31 " Then the LORD said to me, ` Look, I have begun to hand King Sihon and his land over to you. Begin now to conquer and occupy his land.' 32 Then King Sihon declared war on us and mobilized his forces at Jahaz. 33 But the LORD our God handed him over to us, and we crushed him, his sons, and all his people. 34 We conquered all his towns and completely destroyed everyone--men, women, and children. Not a single person was spared. 35 We took all the livestock as plunder for ourselves, along with anything of value from the towns we ransacked. 36 " The LORD our God helped us conquer Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, the town in the gorge, and the whole area as far as Gilead. No town had walls too strong for us. 37 However, we stayed away from the Ammonites along the Jabbok River and the towns in the hill country--all the places the LORD our God had commanded us to leave alone.3:1 " NEXT we headed for the land of Bashan, where King Og and his army attacked us at Edrei. 2 But the LORD told me, ` Do not be afraid of him, for I have given you victory over Og and his army, giving you his entire land. Treat him just as you treated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.' 3 So the LORD our God handed King Og and all his people over to us, and we killed them all. 4 We conquered all sixty of his towns, the entire Argob region in his kingdom of Bashan. 5 These were all fortified cities with high walls and barred gates. We also took many unwalled villages at the same time. 6 We completely destroyed the kingdom of Bashan, just as we had destroyed King Sihon of Heshbon. We destroyed* all the people in every town we conquered--men, women, and children alike. 7 But we kept all the livestock for ourselves and took plunder from all the towns. 8 " We now possessed all the land of the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River--from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon. 9 (Mount Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.) 10 We had now conquered all the cities on the plateau, and all Gilead and Bashan as far as the towns of Salecah and Edrei, which were part of Og's kingdom in Bashan. 11 (Incidentally, King Og of Bashan was the last of the giant Rephaites. His iron bed was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.) 12 " When we took possession of this land, I gave the territory beyond Aroer along the Arnon Gorge, plus half of the hill country of Gilead with its towns, to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. 13 Then I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan--Og's former kingdom--to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (The Argob region of Bashan used to be known as the land of the Rephaites. 14 Jair, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh, acquired the whole Argob region in Bashan all the way to the borders of the Geshurites and Maacathites. Jair renamed this region after himself, calling it the Towns of Jair, as it is still known today.) 15 I gave Gilead to the clan of Makir. 16 And to the tribes of Reuben and Gad I gave the area extending from Gilead to the middle of the Arnon Gorge, all the way to the Jabbok River on the Ammonite frontier. 17 They also received the Jordan Valley, including the Jordan River and its eastern banks, all the way from the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea, with the slopes of Pisgah on the east. 18 " At that time I gave this command to the tribes that will live east of the Jordan: ` Although the LORD your God has given you this land as your property, all your fighting men must cross the Jordan, armed and ready to protect your Israelite relatives. 19 Your wives, children, and numerous livestock, however, may stay behind in the towns I have given you. 20 When the LORD has given security to the rest of the Israelites, as he has to you, and when they occupy the land the LORD your God is giving them across the Jordan River, then you may return here to the land I have given you.' 21 " At that time I said to Joshua, ` You have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan. 22 Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the LORD your God will fight for you.' 23 " At that time I pleaded with the LORD and said, 24 ` O Sovereign LORD, I am your servant. You have only begun to show me your greatness and power. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great deeds as yours? 25 Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.' 26 " But the LORD was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. ` That's enough!' he ordered. ` Speak of it no more. 27 You can go to Pisgah Peak and view the land in every direction, but you may not cross the Jordan River. 28 But commission Joshua and encourage him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them the land you now see before you.' 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth-peor."
LUKE 6:12-38
One day soon afterward Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names: 14 Simon (he also called him Peter), Andrew (Peter's brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), 16 Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). 17 When they came down the slopes of the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed, and Jesus cast out many evil spirits. 19 Everyone was trying to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and they were all cured. 20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, " God blesses you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is given to you.
21 God blesses you who are hungry now,
for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
for the time will come when you will laugh with joy.
22 God blesses you who are hated and excluded and mocked and cursed
because you are identified with me, the Son of Man.
23 " When that happens, rejoice! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were also treated that way by your ancestors. 24 " What sorrows await you who are rich,
for you have your only happiness now.
25 What sorrows await you who are satisfied and prosperous now,
for a time of awful hunger is before you.
What sorrows await you who laugh carelessly,
for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
26 What sorrows await you who are praised by the crowds,
for their ancestors also praised false prophets.
27 " But if you are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. 28 Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other cheek. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give what you have to anyone who asks you for it; and when things are taken away from you, don't try to get them back. 31 Do for others as you would like them to do for you. 32 " Do you think you deserve credit merely for loving those who love you? Even the sinners do that! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, is that so wonderful? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, what good is that? Even sinners will lend to their own kind for a full return. 35 " Love your enemies! Do good to them! Lend to them! And don't be concerned that they might not repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to the unthankful and to those who are wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. 37 " Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven. 38 If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving--large or small--it will be used to measure what is given back to you."
PSALM 67:1-7
For the choir director: A psalm, to be accompanied by stringed instruments. A song.
1 May God be merciful and bless us.
May his face shine with favor upon us.
Interlude2 May your ways be known throughout the earth,
your saving power among people everywhere.
3 May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
4 How glad the nations will be, singing for joy,
because you govern them with justice
and direct the actions of the whole world.
Interlude5 May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
6 Then the earth will yield its harvests,
and God, our God, will richly bless us.
7 Yes, God will bless us,
and people all over the world will fear him.
PROVERBS 11:27
If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!
