EXODUS 15:19-17:7
MATTHEW 22:1-33
PSALM 27:1-6
PROVERBS 6:20-26
EXODUS 15:19-17:7
When Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and charioteers rushed into the sea, the LORD brought the water crashing down on them. But the people of Israel had walked through on dry land! 20 Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine and led all the women in rhythm and dance. 21 And Miriam sang this song: " I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
he has thrown both horse and rider into the sea."
22 Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the Shur Desert. They traveled in this desert for three days without water. 23 When they came to Marah, they finally found water. But the people couldn't drink it because it was bitter. (That is why the place was called Marah, which means " bitter.") 24 Then the people turned against Moses. " What are we going to drink?" they demanded. 25 So Moses cried out to the LORD for help, and the LORD showed him a branch. Moses took the branch and threw it into the water. This made the water good to drink. It was there at Marah that the LORD laid before them the following conditions to test their faithfulness to him: 26 " If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and laws, then I will not make you suffer the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you." 27 After leaving Marah, they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the springs.16:1 THEN they left Elim and journeyed into the Sin Desert, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there a month after leaving Egypt. 2 There, too, the whole community of Israel spoke bitterly against Moses and Aaron. 3 " Oh, that we were back in Egypt," they moaned. " It would have been better if the LORD had killed us there! At least there we had plenty to eat. But now you have brought us into this desert to starve us to death." 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, " Look, I'm going to rain down food from heaven for you. The people can go out each day and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 Tell them to pick up twice as much as usual on the sixth day of each week." 6 Then Moses and Aaron called a meeting of all the people of Israel and told them, " In the evening you will realize that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 In the morning you will see the glorious presence of the LORD. He has heard your complaints, which are against the LORD and not against us. 8 The LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. Yes, your complaints are against the LORD, not against us." 9 Then Moses said to Aaron, " Say this to the entire community of Israel: ` Come into the LORD's presence, and hear his reply to your complaints.' " 10 And as Aaron spoke to the people, they looked out toward the desert. Within the guiding cloud, they could see the awesome glory of the LORD. 11 And the LORD said to Moses, 12 " I have heard the people's complaints. Now tell them, ` In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.' " 13 That evening vast numbers of quail arrived and covered the camp. The next morning the desert all around the camp was wet with dew. 14 When the dew disappeared later in the morning, thin flakes, white like frost, covered the ground. 15 The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. " What is it?" they asked. And Moses told them, " It is the food the LORD has given you. 16 The LORD says that each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each person." 17 So the people of Israel went out and gathered this food--some getting more, and some getting less. 18 By gathering two quarts for each person, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed. 19 Then Moses told them, " Do not keep any of it overnight." 20 But, of course, some of them didn't listen and kept some of it until morning. By then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. And Moses was very angry with them. 21 The people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need. And as the sun became hot, the food they had not picked up melted and disappeared. 22 On the sixth day, there was twice as much as usual on the ground--four quarts for each person instead of two. The leaders of the people came and asked Moses why this had happened. 23 He replied, " The LORD has appointed tomorrow as a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. On this day we will rest from our normal daily tasks. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow." 24 The next morning the leftover food was wholesome and good, without maggots or odor. 25 Moses said, " This is your food for today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD. There will be no food on the ground today. 26 Gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is a Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground for you on that day." 27 Some of the people went out anyway to gather food, even though it was the Sabbath day. But there was none to be found. 28 " How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions?" the LORD asked Moses. 29 " Do they not realize that I have given them the seventh day, the Sabbath, as a day of rest? That is why I give you twice as much food on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must stay in your places. Do not pick up food from the ground on that day." 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. 31 In time, the food became known as manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey cakes. 32 Then Moses gave them this command from the LORD: " Take two quarts of manna and keep it forever as a treasured memorial of the LORD's provision. By doing this, later generations will be able to see the bread that the LORD provided in the wilderness when he brought you out of Egypt."33 Moses said to Aaron, " Get a container and put two quarts of manna into it. Then store it in a sacred place as a reminder for all future generations." 34 Aaron did this, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. He eventually placed it for safekeeping in the Ark of the Covenant. 35 So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived in the land of Canaan, where there were crops to eat. 36 (The container used to measure the manna was an omer, which held about two quarts.)17:1 AT the LORD's command, the people of Israel left the Sin Desert and moved from place to place. Eventually they came to Rephidim, but there was no water to be found there. 2 So once more the people grumbled and complained to Moses. " Give us water to drink!" they demanded. " Quiet!" Moses replied. " Why are you arguing with me? And why are you testing the LORD?" 3 But tormented by thirst, they continued to complain, " Why did you ever take us out of Egypt? Why did you bring us here? We, our children, and our livestock will all die!" 4 Then Moses pleaded with the LORD, " What should I do with these people? They are about to stone me!" 5 The LORD said to Moses, " Take your shepherd's staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile. Then call some of the leaders of Israel and walk on ahead of the people. 6 I will meet you by the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come pouring out. Then the people will be able to drink." Moses did just as he was told; and as the leaders looked on, water gushed out. 7 Moses named the place Massah--" the place of testing"--and Meribah--" the place of arguing"--because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the LORD by saying, " Is the LORD going to take care of us or not?"
MATTHEW 22:1-33
Jesus told them [the leading priests and Pharisees] several other stories to illustrate the Kingdom. He said, 2 " The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. 3 Many guests were invited, and when the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify everyone that it was time to come. But they all refused! 4 So he sent other servants to tell them, ` The feast has been prepared, and choice meats have been cooked. Everything is ready. Hurry!'5 But the guests he had invited ignored them and went about their business, one to his farm, another to his store. 6 Others seized his messengers and treated them shamefully, even killing some of them. 7 " Then the king became furious. He sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their city. 8 And he said to his servants, ` The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren't worthy of the honor. 9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.' 10 " So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn't wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. 12 ` Friend,' he asked, ` how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?' And the man had no reply. 13 Then the king said to his aides, ` Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14 For many are called, but few are chosen." 15 Then the Pharisees met together to think of a way to trap Jesus into saying something for which they could accuse him. 16 They decided to send some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to ask him this question: " Teacher, we know how honest you are. You teach about the way of God regardless of the consequences. You are impartial and don't play favorites. 17 Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to the Roman government or not?" 18 But Jesus knew their evil motives. " You hypocrites!" he said. " Whom are you trying to fool with your trick questions? 19 Here, show me the Roman coin used for the tax." When they handed him the coin, 20 he asked, " Whose picture and title are stamped on it?" 21 " Caesar's," they replied. " Well, then," he said, " give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God." 22 His reply amazed them, and they went away. 23 That same day some Sadducees stepped forward--a group of Jews who say there is no resurrection after death. They posed this question: 24 " Teacher, Moses said, ` If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will be the brother's heir.' 25 Well, there were seven brothers. The oldest married and then died without children, so the second brother married the widow. 26 This brother also died without children, and the wife was married to the next brother, and so on until she had been the wife of each of them. 27 And then she also died. 28 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For she was the wife of all seven of them!"29 Jesus replied, " Your problem is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God. 30 For when the dead rise, they won't be married. They will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead--haven't you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said, 32 ` I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' So he is the God of the living, not the dead." 33 When the crowds heard him, they were impressed with his teaching.
PSALM 27:1-6
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation--
so why should I be afraid?
The LORD protects me from danger--
so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to destroy me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will know no fear.
Even if they attack me,
I remain confident.
4 The one thing I ask of the LORD--
the thing I seek most--
is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
delighting in the LORD's perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high,
above my enemies who surround me.
At his Tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the LORD with music.
PROVERBS 6:20-26
My son, obey your father's commands, and don't neglect your mother's teaching. Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck. Wherever you walk, their counsel can lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up in the morning, they will advise you. For these commands and this teaching are a lamp to light the way ahead of you. The correction of discipline is the way to life. These commands and this teaching will keep you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of an adulterous woman. Don't lust for her beauty. Don't let her coyness seduce you. For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, and sleeping with another man's wife may cost you your very life.
