JOSHUA 21:1-22:20
LUKE 20:1-26
PSALM 89:1-13
PROVERBS 13:15-16
JOSHUA 21:1-22:20
Then the leaders of the tribe of Levi came to consult with Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the other tribes of Israel. 2 They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, " The LORD instructed Moses to give us towns to live in and pasturelands for our cattle." 3 So by the command of the LORD the Levites were given as their inheritance the following towns with their pasturelands. 4 The descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi, were given thirteen towns that were originally assigned to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The other families of the Kohathite clan were allotted ten towns from the territories of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 6 The clan of Gershon received thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 7 The clan of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 8 So the Israelites obeyed the LORD's command to Moses and assigned these towns and pasturelands to the Levites by casting sacred lots.9 The Israelites gave the following towns from the tribes of Judah and Simeon 10 to the descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi, since the sacred lot fell to them first: 11 Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding pasturelands. (Arba was an ancestor of Anak.) 12 But the fields beyond the city and the surrounding villages were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh. 13 The following towns with their pasturelands were given to the descendants of Aaron the priest: Hebron (a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Libnah, 14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh--nine towns from these two tribes. 17 From the tribe of Benjamin the priests were given the following towns with their surrounding pasturelands: Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anathoth, and Almon--four towns. 19 So thirteen towns were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 20 The rest of the Kohathite clan from the tribe of Levi was allotted these towns and pasturelands from the tribe of Ephraim: 21 Shechem (a city of refuge for those who accidentally killed someone), Gezer, 22 Kibzaim, and Beth-horon--four towns. 23 The following towns and pasturelands were allotted to the priests from the tribe of Dan: Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon--four towns.25 The half-tribe of Manasseh allotted the following towns with their pasturelands to the priests: Taanach and Gath-rimmon--two towns. 26 So ten towns with their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clan. 27 The descendants of Gershon, another clan within the tribe of Levi, received two towns with their pasturelands from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge) and Be-eshterah. 28 From the tribe of Issachar they received Kishion, Daberath, 29 Jarmuth, and En-gannim--four towns with their pasturelands. 30 From the tribe of Asher they received Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkath, and Rehob--four towns and their pasturelands.32 From the tribe of Naphtali they received Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan--three towns with their pasturelands. 33 So thirteen towns and their pasturelands were allotted to the clan of Gershon.34 The rest of the Levites--the Merari clan--were given the following towns from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, 35 Dimnah, and Nahalal--four towns with their pasturelands. 36 From the tribe of Reuben they received Bezer, Jahaz, 37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath--four towns with their pasturelands. 38 From the tribe of Gad they received Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge), Mahanaim, 39 Heshbon, and Jazer--four towns with their pasturelands. 40 So twelve towns were allotted to the clan of Merari. 41 The total number of towns and pasturelands within Israelite territory given to the Levites came to forty-eight. 42 Every one of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it. 43 So the LORD gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they conquered it and settled there. 44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD helped them conquer all their enemies. 45 All of the good promises that the LORD had given Israel came true.22:1 THEN Joshua called together the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 2 He told them, " You have done as Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded you, and you have obeyed every order I have given you. 3 You have not deserted the other tribes, even though the campaign has lasted for such a long time. You have been careful to obey the commands of the LORD your God up to the present day. 4 And now the LORD your God has given the other tribes rest, as he promised them. So go home now to the land Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave you on the east side of the Jordan River. 5 But be very careful to obey all the commands and the law that Moses gave to you. Love the LORD your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, be faithful to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul." 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them home. 7 Now Moses had given the land of Bashan to the half-tribe of Manasseh east of the Jordan. The other half of the tribe was given land west of the Jordan. As Joshua sent them away, he blessed them 8 and said, " Share with your relatives back home the great wealth you have taken from your enemies. Share with them your large herds of cattle, your silver and gold, your bronze and iron, and your clothing." 9 So the men of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the rest of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. They started the journey back to their own land of Gilead, the territory that belonged to them according to the LORD's command through Moses. 10 But while they were still in Canaan, before they crossed the Jordan River, Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built a very large altar near the Jordan River at a place called Geliloth. 11 When the rest of Israel heard they had built the altar at Geliloth west of the Jordan River, in the land of Canaan, 12 the whole assembly gathered at Shiloh and prepared to go to war against their brother tribes. 13 First, however, they sent a delegation led by Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest. They crossed the river to talk with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 14 In this delegation were ten high officials of Israel, one from each of the ten tribes, and each a leader within the family divisions of Israel. 15 When they arrived in the land of Gilead, they said to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 16 " The whole community of the LORD demands to know why you are betraying the God of Israel. How could you turn away from the LORD and build an altar in rebellion against him? 17 Was our sin at Peor not enough? We are not yet fully cleansed of it, even after the plague that struck the entire assembly of the LORD. 18 And yet today you are turning away from following the LORD. If you rebel against the LORD today, he will be angry with all of us tomorrow. 19 If you need the altar because your land is defiled, then join us on our side of the river, where the LORD lives among us in his Tabernacle, and we will share our land with you. But do not rebel against the LORD or draw us into your rebellion by building another altar for yourselves. There is only one true altar of the LORD our God. 20 Didn't God punish all the people of Israel when Achan, a member of the clan of Zerah, sinned by stealing the things set apart? He was not the only one who died because of that sin."
LUKE 20:1-26
One day as Jesus was teaching and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests and teachers of religious law and other leaders came up to him. 2 They demanded, " By whose authority did you drive out the merchants from the Temple? Who gave you such authority?" 3 " Let me ask you a question first," he replied. 4 " Did John's baptism come from heaven, or was it merely human?" 5 They talked it over among themselves. " If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn't believe him. 6 But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us, because they are convinced he was a prophet." 7 Finally they replied, " We don't know." 8 And Jesus responded, " Then I won't answer your question either." 9 Now Jesus turned to the people again and told them this story: " A man planted a vineyard, leased it out to tenant farmers, and moved to another country to live for several years. 10 At grape-picking time, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers attacked the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. 11 So the owner sent another servant, but the same thing happened; he was beaten up and treated shamefully, and he went away empty-handed. 12 A third man was sent and the same thing happened. He, too, was wounded and chased away.13 " ` What will I do?' the owner asked himself. ` I know! I'll send my cherished son. Surely they will respect him.' 14 " But when the farmers saw his son, they said to each other, ` Here comes the heir to this estate. Let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves!' 15 So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him. " What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to those farmers?" Jesus asked. 16 " I'll tell you--he will come and kill them all and lease the vineyard to others."" But God forbid that such a thing should ever happen," his listeners protested. 17 Jesus looked at them and said, " Then what do the Scriptures mean? ` The stone rejected by the builders
has now become the cornerstone.'
18 All who stumble over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls." 19 When the teachers of religious law and the leading priests heard this story, they wanted to arrest Jesus immediately because they realized he was pointing at them--that they were the farmers in the story. But they were afraid there would be a riot if they arrested him. 20 Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent secret agents pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. 21 They said, " Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You sincerely teach the ways of God. 22 Now tell us--is it right to pay taxes to the Roman government or not?" 23 He saw through their trickery and said, 24 " Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?" " Caesar's," they replied. 25 " Well then," he said, " give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God." 26 So they failed to trap him in the presence of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they were silenced.
PSALM 89:1-13
A psalm of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of the tender mercies of the LORD forever!
Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.
2 Your unfailing love will last forever.
Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.
3 The LORD said, " I have made a solemn agreement with David, my chosen servant.
I have sworn this oath to him:
4 ` I will establish your descendants as kings forever;
they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.' "
Interlude5 All heaven will praise your miracles, LORD;
myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness.
6 For who in all of heaven can compare with the LORD?
What mightiest angel is anything like the LORD?
7 The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God.
He is far more awesome than those who surround his throne.
8 O LORD God Almighty!
Where is there anyone as mighty as you, LORD?
Faithfulness is your very character.
9 You are the one who rules the oceans.
When their waves rise in fearful storms, you subdue them.
10 You are the one who crushed the great sea monster.
You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
everything in the world is yours--you created it all.
12 You created north and south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name.
13 Powerful is your arm!
Strong is your hand!
Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
PROVERBS 13:15-16
A person with good sense is respected; a treacherous person walks a rocky road. Wise people think before they act; fools don't and even brag about it!
