Deuteronomy 9 - 10

Israel Provoked Yahweh

“Hear, O Israel! You are crossing over the Jordan today to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, great cities fortified to heaven, 2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak?’ 3 So you shall know today that it is Yahweh your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them, and He will subdue them before you, so that you may dispossess them and make them perish quickly, just as Yahweh has spoken to you. 4 “Do not say in your heart when Yahweh your God has driven them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness Yahweh has brought me in to possess this land,’ but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that Yahweh is dispossessing them before you. 5 It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that Yahweh your God is dispossessing them before you, in order to confirm the oath which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 6 “So you shall know it is not because of your righteousness that Yahweh your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people. 7 Remember, do not forget how you provoked Yahweh your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you went out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against Yahweh. 8 Even at Horeb you provoked Yahweh to wrath, and Yahweh was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you. 9 When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which Yahweh had cut with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 And Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which Yahweh had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11 Now it happened at the end of forty days and nights, that Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12 Then Yahweh said to me, ‘Arise, go down from here quickly, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made a molten image for themselves.’ 13 Yahweh spoke further to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, they are a stiff-necked people. 14 Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and more numerous than they.’ 15 “So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And I saw that you had indeed sinned against Yahweh your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which Yahweh had commanded you. 17 And I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands and shattered them before your eyes. 18 And I fell down before Yahweh, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of Yahweh to provoke Him to anger. 19 For I was afraid of the anger and the wrath with which Yahweh was provoked against you in order to destroy you, but Yahweh listened to me that time also. 20 And Yahweh was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time. 21 Now I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain. 22 “Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to wrath. 23 When Yahweh sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God; you did not believe Him, and you did not listen to His voice. 24 You have been rebellious against Yahweh from the day I knew you. 25 “So I fell down before Yahweh the forty days and the forty nights, which I did because Yahweh had said He would destroy you. 26 And I prayed to Yahweh and said, ‘O Lord Yahweh, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a strong hand. 27 Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stiff-neck of this people or at their wickedness or their sin, 28 lest the land from which You brought us say, “Because Yahweh was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.” 29 Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.’

The Tablets Rewritten

“At that time Yahweh said to me, ‘Carve out for yourself two tablets of stone like the former ones, and come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood for yourself. 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered, and you shall put them in the ark.’ 3 So I made an ark of acacia wood and carved out two tablets of stone like the former ones and went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 And He wrote on the tablets, like the former writing, the Ten Commandments which Yahweh had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; and Yahweh gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as Yahweh commanded me.” 6 (Now the sons of Israel set out from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died, and there he was buried, and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his place. 7 From there they set out to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of brooks of water. 8 At that time Yahweh set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, to stand before Yahweh to minister for Him and to bless in His name to this day. 9 Therefore, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers; Yahweh is his inheritance, just as Yahweh your God spoke to him.) 10 “I, moreover, stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights like the first time, and Yahweh listened to me that time also; Yahweh was not willing to destroy you. 11 Then Yahweh said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey ahead of the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’

Circumcise Your Heart

12 “So now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God ask from you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of Yahweh and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, to Yahweh your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. 15 Yet on your fathers did Yahweh set His affection to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16 So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer. 17 For Yahweh your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the fearsome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. 18 He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows love for the sojourner by giving him food and clothing. 19 So show love for the sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 Yahweh your God you shall fear; Him you shall serve, and to Him you shall cling, and by His name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done these great and fearsome things for you which your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now Yahweh your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

1 Corinthians 3 - 4

Jesus Christ, Our Foundation

And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshly men, as to infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are still not able, 3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident, for the day will indicate it because it is revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are a sanctuary of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the sanctuary of God, God will destroy him, for the sanctuary of God is holy, and that is what you are. 18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”; 20 and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.” 21 So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Servants of Christ

Let a man consider us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found faithful. 3 But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court. In fact, I do not even examine myself. 4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted. But the one who examines me is the Lord. 5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and make manifest the motives of hearts. And then each one’s praise will come to him from God. 6 Now these things, brothers, I have applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to go beyond what is written, so that no one of you will become puffed up on behalf of one against the other. 7 For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? 8 You are already filled, you have already become rich, you have ruled without us—and how I wish that you had ruled indeed so that we also might rule with you. 9 For, I think that God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men. 10 We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are prudent in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are glorious, but we are without honor! 11 To this present hour we hunger and thirst, and are poorly clothed, and roughly treated, and homeless; 12 and we labor, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; 13 when we are slandered, we try to plead; we have become as the scum of the world, the grime of all things, even until now. 14 I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16 Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. 17 For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. 18 Now some have become puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall know, not the words of those who are puffed up but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. 21 What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?

Psalm 109 - 110

O God, Do Not Be Silent

For the choir director. Of David. A Psalm.

O God of my praise,

Do not be silent!

For they have opened a wicked mouth and a deceitful mouth against me;

They have spoken to me with a lying tongue.

They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,

And fought against me without cause.

In return for my love they accuse me;

But I am in prayer.

Thus they have set upon me evil for good

And hatred for my love.

Appoint a wicked man over him,

And let an accuser stand at his right hand.

When he is judged, let him come forth a wicked man,

And let his prayer become sin.

Let his days be few;

Let another take his office.

Let his sons be orphans

And his wife a widow.

Let his sons wander aimlessly and beg;

And let them search for food from their ruined homes.

Let the creditor seize all that he has,

And let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.

Let there be none to extend lovingkindness to him,

And let there be none to be gracious to his orphans.

Let those who follow him be cut off;

In a following generation let their name be blotted out.

Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before Yahweh,

And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.

Let them be before Yahweh continually,

That He may cut off their memory from the earth;

Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness,

But persecuted the afflicted, the needy man,

And the disheartened to put them to death.

He also loved cursing, so it came to him;

And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.

But he clothed himself with cursing as his garment,

And it came into his inward parts like water

And like oil into his bones.

Let it be to him as a garment with which he wraps himself,

And for a belt with which he constantly girds himself.

This is the reward of my accusers from Yahweh,

And of those who speak evil against my soul.

But as for You, O Yahweh, O Lord, deal with me for Your name’s sake;

Because Your lovingkindness is good, deliver me;

For I am afflicted and needy,

And my heart is pierced within me.

I am passing like a shadow when it is stretched out;

I am shaken off like the locust.

My knees are feeble from fasting,

And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.

As for me, I have become a reproach to them;

They see me, they wag their head.

Help me, O Yahweh my God;

Save me according to Your lovingkindness.

And let them know that this is Your hand;

You, O Yahweh, have done it.

Let them curse, but You bless;

They arise and will be put to shame,

But Your slave shall be glad.

Let my accusers be clothed with dishonor,

And let them wrap themselves with their own shame as with a robe.

With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to Yahweh;

And in the midst of many I will praise Him.

For He stands at the right hand of the needy,

To save him from those who judge his soul.

You Are a Priest Forever

Of David. A Psalm.

Yahweh says to my Lord:

“Sit at My right hand

Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.”

Yahweh will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,

“Have dominion in the midst of Your enemies.”

Your people will offer themselves freely in the day of Your power;

In the splendor of holiness, from the womb of the dawn,

The dew of Your youthfulness will be Yours.

Yahweh has sworn and will not change His mind,

“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.”

The Lord is at Your right hand;

He will crush kings in the day of His anger.

He will render justice among the nations,

He will fill them with corpses,

He will crush the head that is over the wide earth.

He will drink from the brook by the wayside;

Therefore He will lift up His head.