DEUTERONOMY 32:28-52
LUKE 12:35-59
PSALM 78:56-64
PROVERBS 12:24
DEUTERONOMY 32:28-52
" Israel is a nation that lacks sense;
the people are foolish, without understanding.
29 Oh, that they were wise and could understand this!
Oh, that they might know their fate!
30 How could one person chase a thousand of them,
and two people put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
unless the LORD had given them up?
31 But the rock of our enemies is not like our Rock,
as even they recognize.
32 Their vine grows from the vine of Sodom,
from the vineyards of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poison,
and their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is the venom of snakes,
the deadly poison of vipers.
34 " ` I am storing up these things,
sealing them away within my treasury.
35 I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it.
In due time their feet will slip.
Their day of disaster will arrive,
and their destiny will overtake them.'
36 " Indeed, the LORD will judge his people,
and he will change his mind about his servants,
when he sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave or free.
37 Then he will ask, ` Where are their gods,
the rocks they fled to for refuge?
38 Where now are those gods,
who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their offerings?
Let those gods arise and help you!
Let them provide you with shelter!
39 Look now; I myself am he!
There is no god other than me!
I am the one who kills and gives life;
I am the one who wounds and heals;
no one delivers from my power!
40 Now I raise my hand to heaven
and declare, " As surely as I live,
41 when I sharpen my flashing sword
and begin to carry out justice,
I will bring vengeance on my enemies
and repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword will devour flesh--
the blood of the slaughtered and the captives,
and the heads of the enemy leaders."'
43 " Rejoice with him, O heavens,
and let all the angels of God worship him,
for he will avenge the blood of his servants.
He will take vengeance on his enemies
and cleanse his land and his people."
44 So Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people. 45 When Moses had finished reciting these words to Israel, 46 he added: " Take to heart all the words I have given you today. Pass them on as a command to your children so they will obey every word of this law. 47 These instructions are not mere words--they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to occupy." 48 That same day the LORD said to Moses, 49 " Go to Moab, to the mountains east of the river, and climb Mount Nebo, which is across from Jericho. Look out across the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the people of Israel as their own possession. 50 Then you must die there on the mountain and join your ancestors, just as Aaron, your brother, died on Mount Hor and joined his ancestors. 51 For both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. You failed to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel there. 52 So you will see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel."
LUKE 12:35-59
" Be dressed for service and well prepared, 36 as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 There will be special favor for those who are ready and waiting for his return. I tell you, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, there will be special favor for his servants who are ready! 39 " Know this: A homeowner who knew exactly when a burglar was coming would not permit the house to be broken into. 40 You must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected." 41 Peter asked, " Lord, is this illustration just for us or for everyone?" 42 And the Lord replied, " I'm talking to any faithful, sensible servant to whom the master gives the responsibility of managing his household and feeding his family. 43 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 44 I assure you, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 45 But if the servant thinks, ` My master won't be back for a while,' and begins oppressing the other servants, partying, and getting drunk--46 well, the master will return unannounced and unexpected. He will tear the servant apart and banish him with the unfaithful. 47 The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it. 48 " But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given.49 " I have come to bring fire to the earth, and I wish that my task were already completed! 50 There is a terrible baptism ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to bring strife and division! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against--or the other way around. 53 There will be a division between father and son, mother and daughter, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law." 54 Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, " When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ` Here comes a shower.' And you are right. 55 When the south wind blows, you say, ` Today will be a scorcher.' And it is. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but you can't interpret these present times. 57 " Why can't you decide for yourselves what is right? 58 If you are on the way to court and you meet your accuser, try to settle the matter before it reaches the judge, or you may be sentenced and handed over to an officer and thrown in jail. 59 And if that happens, you won't be free again until you have paid the last penny."
PSALM 78:56-64
Yet though he [God] did all this for them,
they continued to test his patience.
They rebelled against the Most High
and refused to follow his decrees.
57 They turned back and were as faithless as their parents had been.
They were as useless as a crooked bow.
58 They made God angry by building altars to other gods;
they made him jealous with their idols.
59 When God heard them, he was very angry,
and he rejected Israel completely.
60 Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,
the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people.
61 He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured;
he surrendered his glory into enemy hands.
62 He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword,
because he was so angry with his own people--his special possession.
63 Their young men were killed by fire;
their young women died before singing their wedding songs.
64 Their priests were slaughtered,
and their widows could not mourn their deaths.
PROVERBS 12:24
Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and become a slave.
