JUDGES 21:1--RUTH 1:22
JOHN 4:4-42
PSALM 105:1-15
PROVERBS 14:25
JUDGES 21:1--RUTH 1:22
The Israelites had vowed at Mizpah never to give their daughters in marriage to a man from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 And the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. 3 " O LORD, God of Israel," they cried out, " why has this happened? Now one of our tribes is missing!" 4 Early the next morning the people built an altar and presented their burnt offerings and peace offerings on it. 5 Then they said, " Was any tribe of Israel not represented when we held our council in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah?" At that time they had taken a solemn oath in the LORD's presence, vowing that anyone who refused to come must die. 6 The Israelites felt deep sadness for Benjamin and said, " Today we have lost one of the tribes from our family; it is nearly wiped out. 7 How can we find wives for the few who remain, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?" 8 So they asked, " Was anyone absent when we presented ourselves to the LORD at Mizpah?" And they discovered that no one from Jabesh-gilead had attended. 9 For after they counted all the people, no one from Jabesh-gilead was present. 10 So they sent twelve thousand warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. 11 " This is what you are to do," they said. " Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin." 12 Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. 13 The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the little remnant of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon. 14 Then the men of Benjamin returned to their homes, and the four hundred women of Jabesh-gilead who were spared were given to them as wives. But there were not enough women for all of them. 15 The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had left this gap in the tribes of Israel. 16 So the Israelite leaders asked, " How can we find wives for the few who remain, since all the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead? 17 There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel will not be lost forever. 18 But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God's curse."19 Then they thought of the annual festival of the LORD held in Shiloh, between Lebonah and Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. 20 They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, " Go and hide in the vineyards. 21 When the women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to be your wife! 22 And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, ` Please be understanding. Let them have your daughters, for we didn't find enough wives for them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead. And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since you did not give your daughters in marriage to them.' " 23 So the men of Benjamin did as they were told. They kidnapped the women who took part in the celebration and carried them off to the land of their own inheritance. Then they rebuilt their towns and lived in them. 24 So the assembly of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes. 25 In those days Israel had no king, so the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.1:1 IN the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a man from Bethlehem in Judah left the country because of a severe famine. He took his wife and two sons and went to live in the country of Moab. 2 The man's name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. During their stay in Moab, 3 Elimelech died and Naomi was left with her two sons. 4 The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her husband or sons. 6 Then Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah. 8 But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, " Go back to your mothers' homes instead of coming with me. And may the LORD reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. 9 May the LORD bless you with the security of another marriage." Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept. 10 " No," they said. " We want to go with you to your people." 11 But Naomi replied, " Why should you go on with me? Can I still give birth to other sons who could grow up to be your husbands? 12 No, my daughters, return to your parents' homes, for I am too old to marry again. And even if it were possible, and I were to get married tonight and bear sons, then what? 13 Would you wait for them to grow up and refuse to marry someone else? No, of course not, my daughters! Things are far more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD himself has caused me to suffer." 14 And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth insisted on staying with Naomi. 15 " See," Naomi said to her, " your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same."16 But Ruth replied, " Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 I will die where you die and will be buried there. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!" 18 So when Naomi saw that Ruth had made up her mind to go with her, she stopped urging her. 19 So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was stirred by their arrival. " Is it really Naomi?" the women asked. 20 " Don't call me Naomi," she told them. " Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me home empty. Why should you call me Naomi when the LORD has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy?" 22 So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
JOHN 4:4-42
He [Jesus] had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, " Please give me a drink." 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, " You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?" 10 Jesus replied, " If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." 11 " But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, " and this is a very deep well. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his cattle enjoyed?" 13 Jesus replied, " People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. 14 But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life." 15 " Please, sir," the woman said, " give me some of that water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to haul water." 16 " Go and get your husband," Jesus told her. 17 " I don't have a husband," the woman replied.Jesus said, " You're right! You don't have a husband--18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren't even married to the man you're living with now." 19 " Sir," the woman said, " you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?" 21 Jesus replied, " Believe me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know so little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming and is already here when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." 25 The woman said, " I know the Messiah will come--the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus told her, " I am the Messiah!" 27 Just then his disciples arrived. They were astonished to find him talking to a woman, but none of them asked him why he was doing it or what they had been discussing. 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and went back to the village and told everyone, 29 " Come and meet a man who told me everything I ever did! Can this be the Messiah?" 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him. 31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus to eat. 32 " No," he said, " I have food you don't know about." 33 " Who brought it to him?" the disciples asked each other.34 Then Jesus explained: " My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ` One person plants and someone else harvests.' And it's true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn't plant; others had already done the work, and you will gather the harvest." 39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, " He told me everything I ever did!" 40 When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay at their village. So he stayed for two days, 41 long enough for many of them to hear his message and believe. 42 Then they said to the woman, " Now we believe because we have heard him ourselves, not just because of what you told us. He is indeed the Savior of the world."
PSALM 105:1-15
Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
2 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his miracles.
3 Exult in his holy name;
O worshipers of the LORD, rejoice!
4 Search for the LORD and for his strength,
and keep on searching.
5 Think of the wonderful works he has done,
the miracles and the judgments he handed down,
6 O children of Abraham, God's servant,
O descendants of Jacob, God's chosen one.
7 He is the LORD our God.
His rule is seen throughout the land.
8 He always stands by his covenant--
the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
9 This is the covenant he made with Abraham
and the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to the people of Israel as a never-ending treaty:
11 " I will give you the land of Canaan
as your special possession."
12 He said this when they were few in number,
a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
13 They wandered back and forth between nations,
from one kingdom to another.
14 Yet he did not let anyone oppress them.
He warned kings on their behalf:
15 " Do not touch these people I have chosen,
and do not hurt my prophets."
PROVERBS 14:25
A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is a traitor.
