ESV: One-Year Tract Bible Reading Plan

November 20: 1 Chronicles 15, James 2, Amos 9, Psalm 91

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0800

1 Chronicles 15 (Listen)

The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

15:1 David built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the LORD had chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister to him forever. And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place, which he had prepared for it. And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his brothers; of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with 220 of his brothers; of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with 130 of his brothers; of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his brothers; of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with 80 of his brothers; of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with 112 of his brothers. Then David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. Because you did not carry it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel. And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD.

David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brothers Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their brothers, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; and with them their brothers of the second order, Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound bronze cymbals; Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth; but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to the Sheminith. Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, should direct the music, for he understood it. Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, should blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were to be gatekeepers for the ark.

So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom with rejoicing. And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod. So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres.

And as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and rejoicing, and she despised him in her heart.

James 2 (Listen)

The Sin of Partiality

2:1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Amos 9 (Listen)

The Destruction of Israel

9:1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said:

“Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake,
  and shatter them on the heads of all the people;
and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword;
  not one of them shall flee away;
  not one of them shall escape.

“If they dig into Sheol,
  from there shall my hand take them;
if they climb up to heaven,
  from there I will bring them down.
If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
  from there I will search them out and take them;
and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
  there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
And if they go into captivity before their enemies,
  there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;
and I will fix my eyes upon them
  for evil and not for good.”

The Lord GOD of hosts,
he who touches the earth and it melts,
  and all who dwell in it mourn,
and all of it rises like the Nile,
  and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;
who builds his upper chambers in the heavens
  and founds his vault upon the earth;
who calls for the waters of the sea
  and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
the LORD is his name.

“Are you not like the Cushites to me,
  O people of Israel?” declares the LORD.
“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
  and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir?
Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom,
  and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground,
  except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”
declares the LORD.

“For behold, I will command,
  and shake the house of Israel among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
  but no pebble shall fall to the earth.
All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
  who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

The Restoration of Israel

“In that day I will raise up
  the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
  and raise up its ruins
  and rebuild it as in the days of old,
that they may possess the remnant of Edom
  and all the nations who are called by my name,”
  declares the LORD who does this.

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD,
  “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper
  and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
  and all the hills shall flow with it.
I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
  and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
  and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
I will plant them on their land,
  and they shall never again be uprooted
  out of the land that I have given them,”
says the LORD your God.

Psalm 91 (Listen)

My Refuge and My Fortress

91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
  and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
  and under his wings you will find refuge;
  his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
  nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
  nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,
  ten thousand at your right hand,
  but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes
  and see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you
  to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
  lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder;
  the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
  I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
  I will be with him in trouble;
  I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
  and show him my salvation.” (ESV)

Footnotes

[1] 15:1 Hebrew He
[2] 2:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 14
[3] 2:16 Or benefit
[4] 9:1 Or on
[5] 9:1 Hebrew all of them
[6] 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint (compare Acts 15:17) that the remnant of mankind and all the nations who are called by my name may seek the Lord
[7] 91:2 Septuagint He will say
[8] 91:9 Or For you, O Lord, are my refuge! You have made the Most High your dwelling place

November 19: 1 Chronicles 13-14, James 1, Amos 8, Psalm 90

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0800

1 Chronicles 13-14 (Listen)

The Ark Brought from Kiriath-Jearim

13:1 David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the LORD our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us. Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.

Uzzah and the Ark

So David assembled all Israel from the Nile of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD who sits enthroned above the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio were driving the cart. And David and all Israel were rejoicing before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.

And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God. And David was angry because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza to this day. And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?” So David did not take the ark home into the city of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

David's Wives and Children

14:1 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him. And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.

And David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David fathered more sons and daughters. These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Beeliada and Eliphelet.

Philistines Defeated

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went out against them. Now the Philistines had come and made a raid in the Valley of Rephaim. And David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up, and I will give them into your hand.” And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim. And they left their gods there, and David gave command, and they were burned.

And the Philistines yet again made a raid in the valley. And when David again inquired of God, God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations.

James 1 (Listen)

Greeting

1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Testing of Your Faith

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Amos 8 (Listen)

The Coming Day of Bitter Mourning

8:1 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the LORD said to me,

“The end has come upon my people Israel;
I will never again pass by them.
The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,”
declares the Lord GOD.
“So many dead bodies!”
“They are thrown everywhere!”
“Silence!”

Hear this, you who trample on the needy
  and bring the poor of the land to an end,
saying, “When will the new moon be over,
  that we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath,
  that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great
  and deal deceitfully with false balances,
that we may buy the poor for silver
  and the needy for a pair of sandals
  and sell the chaff of the wheat?”

The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
“Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who dwells in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?”

“And on that day,” declares the Lord GOD,
  “I will make the sun go down at noon
  and darken the earth in broad daylight.
I will turn your feasts into mourning
  and all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on every waist
  and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only son
  and the end of it like a bitter day.

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD,
  “when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
  but of hearing the words of the LORD.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
  and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD,
  but they shall not find it.

“In that day the lovely virgins and the young men
  shall faint for thirst.
Those who swear by the Guilt of Samaria,
  and say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan,’
and, ‘As the Way of Beersheba lives,’
  they shall fall, and never rise again.”

Psalm 90 (Listen)

Book Four

From Everlasting to Everlasting

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

90:1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
  in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
  or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
  from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You return man to dust
  and say, “Return, O children of man!”
For a thousand years in your sight
  are but as yesterday when it is past,
  or as a watch in the night.

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.

For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.

For all our days pass away under your wrath;
  we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
The years of our life are seventy,
  or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
  they are soon gone, and we fly away.
Who considers the power of your anger,
  and your wrath according to the fear of you?

So teach us to number our days
  that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Return, O LORD! How long?
  Have pity on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
  that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
  and for as many years as we have seen evil.
Let your work be shown to your servants,
  and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
  and establish the work of our hands upon us;
  yes, establish the work of our hands! (ESV)

Footnotes

[1] 13:3 Or him
[2] 13:5 Hebrew Shihor
[3] 13:7 Or and his brother
[4] 13:11 Perez-uzza means the breaking out against Uzzah
[5] 14:11 Baal-perazim means Lord of breaking through
[6] 1:1 Or slave; Greek bondservant
[7] 1:2 Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God's family, the church; also verses 16, 19
[8] 1:10 Or a wild flower
[9] 1:17 Some manuscripts variation due to a shadow of turning
[10] 8:2 The Hebrew words for end and summer fruit sound alike
[11] 8:3 Or palace
[12] 8:3 Or The singing women of the palace shall wail
[13] 8:5 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
[14] 90:1 Some Hebrew manuscripts (compare Septuagint) our refuge
[15] 90:3 Or of Adam
[16] 90:10 Or pride
[17] 90:17 Or beauty

November 18: 1 Chronicles 11-12, Hebrews 13, Amos 7, Psalm 89

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0800

1 Chronicles 11-12 (Listen)

David Anointed King

11:1 Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the LORD your God said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel.’” So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel.

David Takes Jerusalem

And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, that is, Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will not come in here.” Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. David said, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites first shall be chief and commander.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. And David lived in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. And he built the city all around from the Millo in complete circuit, and Joab repaired the rest of the city. And David became greater and greater, for the LORD of hosts was with him.

David's Mighty Men

Now these are the chiefs of David's mighty men, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel. This is an account of David's mighty men: Jashobeam, a Hachmonite, was chief of the three. He wielded his spear against 300 whom he killed at one time.

And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite. He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines were gathered there for battle. There was a plot of ground full of barley, and the men fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and killed the Philistines. And the LORD saved them by a great victory.

Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam, when the army of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. And David said longingly, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the LORD and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men.

Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the thirty. And he wielded his spear against 300 men and killed them and won a name beside the three. He was the most renowned of the thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two heroes of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. And he struck down an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear like a weaver's beam, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and won a name beside the three mighty men. He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

The mighty men were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, Shammoth of Harod, Helez the Pelonite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer of Anathoth, Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah, Heled the son of Baanah of Netophah, Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, Benaiah of Pirathon, Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Baharum, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sachar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, Hezro of Carmel, Naarai the son of Ezbai, Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri, Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a leader of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, Hanan the son of Maacah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite, Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, Eliel, and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite.

The Mighty Men Join David

12:1 Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men who helped him in war. They were bowmen and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the left hand; they were Benjaminites, Saul's kinsmen. The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah of Gibeah; also Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu of Anathoth, Ishmaiah of Gibeon, a mighty man among the thirty and a leader over the thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah, Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite; Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites; And Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.

From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were swift as gazelles upon the mountains: Ezer the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third, Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, Jeremiah tenth, Machbannai eleventh. These Gadites were officers of the army; the least was a match for a hundred men and the greatest for a thousand. These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west.

And some of the men of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship to help me, my heart will be joined to you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no wrong in my hands, then may the God of our fathers see and rebuke you.” Then the Spirit clothed Amasai, chief of the thirty, and he said,

“We are yours, O David,
  and with you, O son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
  and peace to your helpers!
  For your God helps you.”

Then David received them and made them officers of his troops.

Some of the men of Manasseh deserted to David when he came with the Philistines for the battle against Saul. (Yet he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines took counsel and sent him away, saying, “At peril to our heads he will desert to his master Saul.”) As he went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh deserted to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh. They helped David against the band of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor and were commanders in the army. For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God.

These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops who came to David in Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, according to the word of the LORD. The men of Judah bearing shield and spear were 6,800 armed troops. Of the Simeonites, mighty men of valor for war, 7,100. Of the Levites 4,600. The prince Jehoiada, of the house of Aaron, and with him 3,700. Zadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two commanders from his own fathers' house. Of the Benjaminites, the kinsmen of Saul, 3,000, of whom the majority had to that point kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. Of the Ephraimites 20,800, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers' houses. Of the half-tribe of Manasseh 18,000, who were expressly named to come and make David king. Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. Of Zebulun 50,000 seasoned troops, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David with singleness of purpose. Of Naphtali 1,000 commanders with whom were 37,000 men armed with shield and spear. Of the Danites 28,600 men equipped for battle. Of Asher 40,000 seasoned troops ready for battle. Of the Reubenites and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh from beyond the Jordan, 120,000 men armed with all the weapons of war.

All these, men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with full intent to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king. And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brothers had made preparation for them. And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

Hebrews 13 (Listen)

Sacrifices Pleasing to God

13:1 Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. Grace be with all of you.

Amos 7 (Listen)

Warning Visions

7:1 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,

“O Lord GOD, please forgive!
  How can Jacob stand?
  He is so small!”
The LORD relented concerning this:
  “It shall not be,” said the LORD.

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. Then I said,

“O Lord GOD, please cease!
  How can Jacob stand?
  He is so small!”
The LORD relented concerning this:
  “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD.

This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“Behold, I am setting a plumb line
  in the midst of my people Israel;
  I will never again pass by them;
the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
  and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
  and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Amos Accused

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said,

“‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.’”

And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now therefore hear the word of the LORD.

“You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

Therefore thus says the LORD:

“‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,
  and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
  and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
  and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”

Psalm 89 (Listen)

I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the LORD

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

89:1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever;
  with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;
  in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”
You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
  I have sworn to David my servant:
‘I will establish your offspring forever,
  and build your throne for all generations.’”     Selah

Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
  your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?
  Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
  and awesome above all who are around him?
O LORD God of hosts,
  who is mighty as you are, O LORD,
  with your faithfulness all around you?
You rule the raging of the sea;
  when its waves rise, you still them.
You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
  you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
  the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
The north and the south, you have created them;
  Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
You have a mighty arm;
  strong is your hand, high your right hand.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
  steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
  who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,
who exult in your name all the day
  and in your righteousness are exalted.
For you are the glory of their strength;
  by your favor our horn is exalted.
For our shield belongs to the LORD,
  our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:
  “I have granted help to one who is mighty;
  I have exalted one chosen from the people.
I have found David, my servant;
  with my holy oil I have anointed him,
so that my hand shall be established with him;
  my arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not outwit him;
  the wicked shall not humble him.
I will crush his foes before him
  and strike down those who hate him.
My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
  and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
I will set his hand on the sea
  and his right hand on the rivers.
He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
  my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
And I will make him the firstborn,
  the highest of the kings of the earth.
My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
  and my covenant will stand firm for him.
I will establish his offspring forever
  and his throne as the days of the heavens.
If his children forsake my law
  and do not walk according to my rules,
if they violate my statutes
  and do not keep my commandments,
then I will punish their transgression with the rod
  and their iniquity with stripes,
but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
  or be false to my faithfulness.
I will not violate my covenant
  or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
  I will not lie to David.
His offspring shall endure forever,
  his throne as long as the sun before me.
Like the moon it shall be established forever,
  a faithful witness in the skies.”     Selah

But now you have cast off and rejected;
  you are full of wrath against your anointed.
You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
  you have defiled his crown in the dust.
You have breached all his walls;
  you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
All who pass by plunder him;
  he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
  you have made all his enemies rejoice.
You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
  and you have not made him stand in battle.
You have made his splendor to cease
  and cast his throne to the ground.
You have cut short the days of his youth;
  you have covered him with shame.     Selah

How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?
  How long will your wrath burn like fire?
Remember how short my time is!
  For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
What man can live and never see death?
  Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?     Selah

Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
  which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
  and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
with which your enemies mock, O LORD,
  with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.

Blessed be the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen. (ESV)

Footnotes

[1] 11:11 Compare 2 Samuel 23:8; Hebrew thirty, or captains
[2] 11:14 Compare 2 Samuel 23:12; Hebrew they . . . their
[3] 11:20 Syriac; Hebrew three
[4] 11:21 Compare 2 Samuel 23:19; Hebrew more renowned among the two
[5] 11:21 Syriac; Hebrew three
[6] 11:22 Syriac; Hebrew the son of a valiant man
[7] 11:23 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
[8] 11:27 Compare 2 Samuel 23:25; Hebrew the Harorite
[9] 11:34 Compare Septuagint and 2 Samuel 23:32; Hebrew the sons of Hashem
[10] 12:4 Hebrew verse 5
[11] 12:5 Hebrew verse 6
[12] 12:33 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks David
[13] 13:21 Some manuscripts you
[14] 13:22 Or brothers and sisters
[15] 7:14 Or am; twice in this verse
[16] 89:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
[17] 89:6 Hebrew the sons of God, or the sons of might
[18] 89:19 Some Hebrew manuscripts godly ones
[19] 89:28 Or will remain faithful
[20] 89:30 Or my just decrees
[21] 89:50 Hebrew lacks the insults

November 17: 1 Chronicles 9-10, Hebrews 12, Amos 6, Psalms 87-88

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0800

1 Chronicles 9-10 (Listen)

A Genealogy of the Returned Exiles

9:1 So all Israel was recorded in genealogies, and these are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith. Now the first to dwell again in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants. And some of the people of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem: Uthai the son of Ammihud, son of Omri, son of Imri, son of Bani, from the sons of Perez the son of Judah. And of the Shilonites: Asaiah the firstborn, and his sons. Of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel and their kinsmen, 690. Of the Benjaminites: Sallu the son of Meshullam, son of Hodaviah, son of Hassenuah, Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, Elah the son of Uzzi, son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, son of Reuel, son of Ibnijah; and their kinsmen according to their generations, 956. All these were heads of fathers' houses according to their fathers' houses.

Of the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin, and Azariah the son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the chief officer of the house of God; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, son of Jahzerah, son of Meshullam, son of Meshillemith, son of Immer; besides their kinsmen, heads of their fathers' houses, 1,760, mighty men for the work of the service of the house of God.

Of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari; and Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal and Mattaniah the son of Mica, son of Zichri, son of Asaph; and Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites.

The gatekeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their kinsmen (Shallum was the chief); until then they were in the king's gate on the east side as the gatekeepers of the camps of the Levites. Shallum the son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, and his kinsmen of his fathers' house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent, as their fathers had been in charge of the camp of the LORD, keepers of the entrance. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the chief officer over them in time past; the LORD was with him. Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was gatekeeper at the entrance of the tent of meeting. All these, who were chosen as gatekeepers at the thresholds, were 212. They were enrolled by genealogies in their villages. David and Samuel the seer established them in their office of trust. So they and their sons were in charge of the gates of the house of the LORD, that is, the house of the tent, as guards. The gatekeepers were on the four sides, east, west, north, and south. And their kinsmen who were in their villages were obligated to come in every seven days, in turn, to be with these, for the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted to be over the chambers and the treasures of the house of God. And they lodged around the house of God, for on them lay the duty of watching, and they had charge of opening it every morning.

Some of them had charge of the utensils of service, for they were required to count them when they were brought in and taken out. Others of them were appointed over the furniture and over all the holy utensils, also over the fine flour, the wine, the oil, the incense, and the spices. Others, of the sons of the priests, prepared the mixing of the spices, and Mattithiah, one of the Levites, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with making the flat cakes. Also some of their kinsmen of the Kohathites had charge of the showbread, to prepare it every Sabbath.

Now these, the singers, the heads of fathers' houses of the Levites, were in the chambers of the temple free from other service, for they were on duty day and night. These were heads of fathers' houses of the Levites, according to their generations, leaders. These lived in Jerusalem.

Saul's Genealogy Repeated

In Gibeon lived the father of Gibeon, Jeiel, and the name of his wife was Maacah, and his firstborn son Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth; and Mikloth was the father of Shimeam; and these also lived opposite their kinsmen in Jerusalem, with their kinsmen. Ner fathered Kish, Kish fathered Saul, Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal, and Merib-baal fathered Micah. The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. And Ahaz fathered Jarah, and Jarah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. And Zimri fathered Moza. Moza fathered Binea, and Rephaiah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. Azel had six sons and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan; these were the sons of Azel.

The Death of Saul and His Sons

10:1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died. Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together. And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled, and the Philistines came and lived in them.

The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. And they put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. But when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

Hebrews 12 (Listen)

Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Do Not Grow Weary

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

Amos 6 (Listen)

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

6:1 “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
  and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
the notable men of the first of the nations,
  to whom the house of Israel comes!
Pass over to Calneh, and see,
  and from there go to Hamath the great;
  then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
  Or is their territory greater than your territory,
O you who put far away the day of disaster
  and bring near the seat of violence?

“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
  and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
  and calves from the midst of the stall,
who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
  and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
who drink wine in bowls
  and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
  but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
  and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”

The Lord GOD has sworn by himself, declares the LORD, the God of hosts:

“I abhor the pride of Jacob
and hate his strongholds,
and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”

And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. And when one's relative, the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, “Silence! We must not mention the name of the LORD.”

For behold, the LORD commands,
  and the great house shall be struck down into fragments,
  and the little house into bits.
Do horses run on rocks?
  Does one plow there with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison
  and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
you who rejoice in Lo-debar,
  who say, “Have we not by our own strength
  captured Karnaim for ourselves?”
“For behold, I will raise up against you a nation,
  O house of Israel,” declares the LORD, the God of hosts;
“and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath
  to the Brook of the Arabah.”

Psalms 87-88 (Listen)

Glorious Things of You Are Spoken

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song.

87:1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
  the LORD loves the gates of Zion
  more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
Glorious things of you are spoken,
  O city of God.     Selah

Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
  behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—
  “This one was born there,” they say.
And of Zion it shall be said,
  “This one and that one were born in her”;
  for the Most High himself will establish her.
The LORD records as he registers the peoples,
  “This one was born there.”     Selah

Singers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

88:1 O LORD, God of my salvation;
I cry out day and night before you.
Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry!

For my soul is full of troubles,
  and my life draws near to Sheol.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
  I am a man who has no strength,
like one set loose among the dead,
  like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
  for they are cut off from your hand.
You have put me in the depths of the pit,
  in the regions dark and deep.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
  and you overwhelm me with all your waves.     Selah

You have caused my companions to shun me;
  you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
  my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
  I spread out my hands to you.
Do you work wonders for the dead?
  Do the departed rise up to praise you?     Selah
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
  or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Are your wonders known in the darkness,
  or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

But I, O LORD, cry to you;
  in the morning my prayer comes before you.
O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
  Why do you hide your face from me?
Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
  I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
Your wrath has swept over me;
  your dreadful assaults destroy me.
They surround me like a flood all day long;
  they close in on me together.
You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
  my companions have become darkness. (ESV)

Footnotes

[1] 9:41 Compare 8:35; Hebrew lacks and Ahaz
[2] 10:7 Hebrew they
[3] 12:23 Or church
[4] 6:12 Or the sea
[5] 6:12 Or into bitter fruit
[6] 6:13 Lo-debar means nothing
[7] 6:13 Karnaim means horns (a symbol of strength)
[8] 87:4 Probably Nubia
[9] 88:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms
[10] 88:8 Or an abomination
[11] 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
[12] 88:18 Or darkness has become my only companion

November 16: 1 Chronicles 7-8, Hebrews 11, Amos 5, Psalm 86

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0800

1 Chronicles 7-8 (Listen)

Descendants of Issachar

7:1 The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses, namely of Tola, mighty warriors of their generations, their number in the days of David being 22,600. The son of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, all five of them were chief men. And along with them, by their generations, according to their fathers' houses, were units of the army for war, 36,000, for they had many wives and sons. Their kinsmen belonging to all the clans of Issachar were in all 87,000 mighty warriors, enrolled by genealogy.

Descendants of Benjamin

The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three. The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of fathers' houses, mighty warriors. And their enrollment by genealogies was 22,034. The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. And their enrollment by genealogies, according to their generations, as heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, was 20,200. The son of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. All these were the sons of Jediael according to the heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, 17,200, able to go to war. And Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, Hushim the son of Aher.

Descendants of Naphtali

The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shallum, the descendants of Bilhah.

Descendants of Manasseh

The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore; she bore Machir the father of Gilead. And Machir took a wife for Huppim and for Shuppim. The name of his sister was Maacah. And the name of the second was Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had daughters. And Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. The son of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh. And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer and Mahlah. The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

Descendants of Ephraim

The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to raid their livestock. And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. And Ephraim went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son. And he called his name Beriah, because disaster had befallen his house. His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son, Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, Nun his son, Joshua his son. Their possessions and settlements were Bethel and its towns, and to the east Naaran, and to the west Gezer and its towns, Shechem and its towns, and Ayyah and its towns; also in possession of the Manassites, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these lived the sons of Joseph the son of Israel.

Descendants of Asher

The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. The sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who fathered Birzaith. Heber fathered Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the sons of Japhlet. The sons of Shemer his brother: Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. The sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah. Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. The sons of Ulla: Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. All of these were men of Asher, heads of fathers' houses, approved, mighty warriors, chiefs of the princes. Their number enrolled by genealogies, for service in war, was 26,000 men.

A Genealogy of Saul

8:1 Benjamin fathered Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, Aharah the third, Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. And Bela had sons: Addar, Gera, Abihud, Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram. These are the sons of Ehud (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and they were carried into exile to Manahath): Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera, that is, Heglam, who fathered Uzza and Ahihud. And Shaharaim fathered sons in the country of Moab after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives. He fathered sons by Hodesh his wife: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers' houses. He also fathered sons by Hushim: Abitub and Elpaal. The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with its towns, and Beriah and Shema (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who caused the inhabitants of Gath to flee); and Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth. Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were sons of Beriah. Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei. Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. These were the heads of fathers' houses, according to their generations, chief men. These lived in Jerusalem.

Jeiel the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon, and the name of his wife was Maacah. His firstborn son: Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, and Mikloth (he fathered Shimeah). Now these also lived opposite their kinsmen in Jerusalem, with their kinsmen. Ner was the father of Kish, Kish of Saul, Saul of Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab and Eshbaal; and the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal was the father of Micah. The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. Ahaz fathered Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri fathered Moza. Moza fathered Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. Azel had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. The sons of Eshek his brother: Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. The sons of Ulam were men who were mighty warriors, bowmen, having many sons and grandsons, 150. All these were Benjaminites.

Hebrews 11 (Listen)

By Faith

11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Amos 5 (Listen)

Seek the LORD and Live

5:1 Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

“Fallen, no more to rise,
is the virgin Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with none to raise her up.”

For thus says the Lord GOD:

“The city that went out a thousand
  shall have a hundred left,
and that which went out a hundred
  shall have ten left
  to the house of Israel.”

For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:

“Seek me and live;
  but do not seek Bethel,
and do not enter into Gilgal
  or cross over to Beersheba;
for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
  and Bethel shall come to nothing.”

Seek the LORD and live,
  lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
  and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,
O you who turn justice to wormwood
  and cast down righteousness to the earth!

He who made the Pleiades and Orion,
  and turns deep darkness into the morning
  and darkens the day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea
  and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
the LORD is his name;
who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
  so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

They hate him who reproves in the gate,
  and they abhor him who speaks the truth.
Therefore because you trample on the poor
  and you exact taxes of grain from him,
you have built houses of hewn stone,
  but you shall not dwell in them;
you have planted pleasant vineyards,
  but you shall not drink their wine.
For I know how many are your transgressions
  and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,
  and turn aside the needy in the gate.
Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time,
  for it is an evil time.

Seek good, and not evil,
  that you may live;
and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you,
  as you have said.
Hate evil, and love good,
  and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,
  will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord:

“In all the squares there shall be wailing,
  and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmers to mourning
  and to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,
and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,
  for I will pass through your midst,”
says the LORD.

Let Justice Roll Down

Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!
  Why would you have the day of the LORD?
It is darkness, and not light,
  as if a man fled from a lion,
  and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
  and a serpent bit him.
Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light,
  and gloom with no brightness in it?

“I hate, I despise your feasts,
  and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
  I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
  I will not look upon them.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
  to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
But let justice roll down like waters,
  and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.

Psalm 86 (Listen)

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

A Prayer of David.

86:1 Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,
  for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am godly;
  save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
Be gracious to me, O Lord,
  for to you do I cry all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
  for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
  abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
  listen to my plea for grace.
In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
  for you answer me.

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
  nor are there any works like yours.
All the nations you have made shall come
  and worship before you, O Lord,
  and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things;
  you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O LORD,
  that I may walk in your truth;
  unite my heart to fear your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
  and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward me;
  you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
  a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
  and they do not set you before them.
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
  slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Turn to me and be gracious to me;
  give your strength to your servant,
  and save the son of your maidservant.
Show me a sign of your favor,
  that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
  because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me. (ESV)

Footnotes

[1] 7:1 Syriac (compare Vulgate); Hebrew And to the sons
[2] 7:3 Hebrew sons; also verses 10, 12, 17
[3] 7:23 Beriah sounds like the Hebrew for disaster
[4] 7:27 Hebrew Non
[5] 8:7 Hebrew and Naaman
[6] 8:7 Or he carried them into exile
[7] 8:29 Compare 9:35; Hebrew lacks Jeiel
[8] 11:37 Some manuscripts add they were tempted
[9] 5:7 Or to bitter fruit
[10] 5:11 Or you tax

November 15: 1 Chronicles 5-6, Hebrews 10, Amos 4, Psalm 85

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0800

1 Chronicles 5-6 (Listen)

Descendants of Reuben

5:1 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son; though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph), the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria carried away into exile; he was a chief of the Reubenites. And his kinsmen by their clans, when the genealogy of their generations was recorded: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, and Bela the son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel, who lived in Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal-meon. He also lived to the east as far as the entrance of the desert this side of the Euphrates, because their livestock had multiplied in the land of Gilead. And in the days of Saul they waged war against the Hagrites, who fell into their hand. And they lived in their tents throughout all the region east of Gilead.

Descendants of Gad

The sons of Gad lived over against them in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah: Joel the chief, Shapham the second, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan. And their kinsmen according to their fathers' houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber, seven. These were the sons of Abihail the son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. Ahi the son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was chief in their fathers' houses, and they lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasturelands of Sharon to their limits. All of these were recorded in genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.

The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had valiant men who carried shield and sword, and drew the bow, expert in war, 44,760, able to go to war. They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. And when they prevailed over them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands, for they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea because they trusted in him. They carried off their livestock: 50,000 of their camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 men alive. For many fell, because the war was of God. And they lived in their place until the exile.

The Half-Tribe of Manasseh

The members of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land. They were very numerous from Bashan to Baal-hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. These were the heads of their fathers' houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty warriors, famous men, heads of their fathers' houses. But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and whored after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan, to this day.

Descendants of Levi

6:1 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Eleazar fathered Phinehas, Phinehas fathered Abishua, Abishua fathered Bukki, Bukki fathered Uzzi, Uzzi fathered Zerahiah, Zerahiah fathered Meraioth, Meraioth fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Ahimaaz, Ahimaaz fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Johanan, and Johanan fathered Azariah (it was he who served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem). Azariah fathered Amariah, Amariah fathered Ahitub, Ahitub fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Shallum, Shallum fathered Hilkiah, Hilkiah fathered Azariah, Azariah fathered Seraiah, Seraiah fathered Jehozadak; and Jehozadak went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. And these are the names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimei. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their fathers. Of Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son. The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. The sons of Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth, Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. The sons of Samuel: Joel his firstborn, the second Abijah. The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, and Asaiah his son.

These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there. They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they performed their service according to their order. These are the men who served and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman the singer the son of Joel, son of Samuel, son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai, son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah, son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel; and his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, namely, Asaph the son of Berechiah, son of Shimea, son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malchijah, son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi. On the left hand were their brothers, the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch, son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shemer, son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi. And their brothers the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

But Aaron and his sons made offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense for all the work of the Most Holy Place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. These are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son.

These are their dwelling places according to their settlements within their borders: to the sons of Aaron of the clans of Kohathites, for theirs was the first lot, to them they gave Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands, but the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge: Hebron, Libnah with its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, Hilen with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, Ashan with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands; and from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon, Geba with its pasturelands, Alemeth with its pasturelands, and Anathoth with its pasturelands. All their cities throughout their clans were thirteen.

To the rest of the Kohathites were given by lot out of the clan of the tribe, out of the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, ten cities. To the Gershomites according to their clans were allotted thirteen cities out of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Manasseh in Bashan. To the Merarites according to their clans were allotted twelve cities out of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. So the people of Israel gave the Levites the cities with their pasturelands. They gave by lot out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin these cities that are mentioned by name.

And some of the clans of the sons of Kohath had cities of their territory out of the tribe of Ephraim. They were given the cities of refuge: Shechem with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, Jokmeam with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands, Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its pasturelands, and Bileam with its pasturelands, for the rest of the clans of the Kohathites.

To the Gershomites were given out of the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands and Ashtaroth with its pasturelands; and out of the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, Ramoth with its pasturelands, and Anem with its pasturelands; out of the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, Hukok with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands; and out of the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, Hammon with its pasturelands, and Kiriathaim with its pasturelands. To the rest of the Merarites were allotted out of the tribe of Zebulun: Rimmono with its pasturelands, Tabor with its pasturelands, and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the wilderness with its pasturelands, Jahzah with its pasturelands, Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands; and out of the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands.

Hebrews 10 (Listen)

Christ's Sacrifice Once for All

10:1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
  but a body have you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings
  you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
  as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,

“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”

then he adds,

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

The Full Assurance of Faith

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For,

“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Amos 4 (Listen)

4:1 “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,
  who are on the mountain of Samaria,
who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,
  who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’
The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness
  that, behold, the days are coming upon you,
when they shall take you away with hooks,
  even the last of you with fishhooks.
And you shall go out through the breaches,
  each one straight ahead;
  and you shall be cast out into Harmon,”
declares the LORD.

“Come to Bethel, and transgress;
  to Gilgal, and multiply transgression;
bring your sacrifices every morning,
  your tithes every three days;
offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened,
  and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them;
  for so you love to do, O people of Israel!”
declares the Lord GOD.

Israel Has Not Returned to the LORD

“I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
and lack of bread in all your places,
yet you did not return to me,”
declares the LORD.

“I also withheld the rain from you
  when there were yet three months to the harvest;
I would send rain on one city,
  and send no rain on another city;
one field would have rain,
  and the field on which it did not rain would wither;
so two or three cities would wander to another city
  to drink water, and would not be satisfied;
yet you did not return to me,”
declares the LORD.

“I struck you with blight and mildew;
your many gardens and your vineyards,
your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured;
yet you did not return to me,”
declares the LORD.

“I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt;
I killed your young men with the sword,
and carried away your horses,
and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils;
yet you did not return to me,”
declares the LORD.

“I overthrew some of you,
as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning;
yet you did not return to me,”
declares the LORD.

“Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind,
  and declares to man what is his thought,
who makes the morning darkness,
  and treads on the heights of the earth—
  the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name!

Psalm 85 (Listen)

Revive Us Again

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

85:1 LORD, you were favorable to your land;
  you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
  you covered all their sin.     Selah
You withdrew all your wrath;
  you turned from your hot anger.

Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
  and put away your indignation toward us!
Will you be angry with us forever?
  Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
Will you not revive us again,
  that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
  and grant us your salvation.

Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
  for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
  but let them not turn back to folly.
Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
  that glory may dwell in our land.

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
  righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
  and righteousness looks down from the sky.
Yes, the LORD will give what is good,
  and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him
  and make his footsteps a way. (ESV)

Footnotes

[1] 5:6 Hebrew Tilgath-pilneser; also verse 26
[2] 5:24 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew and Epher
[3] 6:1 Ch 5:27 in Hebrew
[4] 6:16 Ch 6:1 in Hebrew
[5] 6:28 Septuagint, Syriac (compare verse 33 and 1 Samuel 8:2); Hebrew lacks Joel
[6] 6:28 Hebrew and Abijah
[7] 6:60 Septuagint, Syriac (compare Joshua 21:17); Hebrew lacks Gibeon
[8] 10:5 Greek he
[9] 10:12 Greek this one
[10] 10:19 Or brothers and sisters
[11] 4:10 Hebrew along with the captivity of your horses
[12] 4:11 That is, a burning stick

November 14: 1 Chronicles 3-4, Hebrews 9, Amos 3, Psalms 83-84

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0800

1 Chronicles 3-4 (Listen)

Descendants of David

3:1 These are the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelite; the second, Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelite, the third, Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah; six were born to him in Hebron, where he reigned for seven years and six months. And he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. These were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon, four by Bath-shua, the daughter of Ammiel; then Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. All these were David's sons, besides the sons of the concubines, and Tamar was their sister.

The son of Solomon was Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, Amon his son, Josiah his son. The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. The descendants of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son; and the sons of Jeconiah, the captive: Shealtiel his son, Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah; and the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei; and the sons of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith was their sister; and Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed, five. The sons of Hananiah: Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, his son Rephaiah, his son Arnan, his son Obadiah, his son Shecaniah. The son of Shecaniah: Shemaiah. And the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat, six. The sons of Neariah: Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam, three. The sons of Elioenai: Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani, seven.

Descendants of Judah

4:1 The sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. Reaiah the son of Shobal fathered Jahath, and Jahath fathered Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites. These were the sons of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi, and Penuel fathered Gedor, and Ezer fathered Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem. Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah; Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. The sons of Helah: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan. Koz fathered Anub, Zobebah, and the clans of Aharhel, the son of Harum. Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai. Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim, so-called because they were craftsmen. The sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the son of Elah: Kenaz. The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. These are the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married; and she conceived and bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa. And his Judahite wife bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maacathite. The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben-zoheth. The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the clans of the house of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and returned to Lehem (now the records are ancient). These were the potters who were inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the king's service.

Descendants of Simeon

The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul; Shallum was his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son. Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, nor did all their clan multiply like the men of Judah. They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities until David reigned. And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five cities, along with all their villages that were around these cities as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record.

Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah the son of Amaziah, Joel, Jehu the son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, Ziza the son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah— these mentioned by name were princes in their clans, and their fathers' houses increased greatly. They journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks, where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, quiet, and peaceful, for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham. These, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and destroyed their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and marked them for destruction to this day, and settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks. And some of them, five hundred men of the Simeonites, went to Mount Seir, having as their leaders Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. And they defeated the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.

Hebrews 9 (Listen)

The Earthly Holy Place

9:1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

Redemption Through the Blood of Christ

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Amos 3 (Listen)

Israel's Guilt and Punishment

3:1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

“You only have I known
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.

“Do two walk together,
  unless they have agreed to meet?
Does a lion roar in the forest,
  when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from his den,
  if he has taken nothing?
Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
  when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
  when it has taken nothing?
Is a trumpet blown in a city,
  and the people are not afraid?
Does disaster come to a city,
  unless the LORD has done it?

“For the Lord GOD does nothing
  without revealing his secret
  to his servants the prophets.
The lion has roared;
  who will not fear?
The Lord GOD has spoken;
  who can but prophesy?”

Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod
  and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria,
  and see the great tumults within her,
  and the oppressed in her midst.”
“They do not know how to do right,” declares the LORD,
  “those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

“An adversary shall surround the land
and bring down your defenses from you,
and your strongholds shall be plundered.”

Thus says the LORD: “As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.

“Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,”
  declares the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,
“that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions,
  I will punish the altars of Bethel,
and the horns of the altar shall be cut off
  and fall to the ground.
I will strike the winter house along with the summer house,
  and the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses shall come to an end,”
declares the LORD.

Psalms 83-84 (Listen)

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

83:1 O God, do not keep silence;
  do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
  those who hate you have raised their heads.
They lay crafty plans against your people;
  they consult together against your treasured ones.
They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
  let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
For they conspire with one accord;
  against you they make a covenant—
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
  Moab and the Hagrites,
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
  Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
Asshur also has joined them;
  they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.     Selah

Do to them as you did to Midian,
  as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
who were destroyed at En-dor,
  who became dung for the ground.
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
  all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
  of the pastures of God.”

O my God, make them like whirling dust,
  like chaff before the wind.
As fire consumes the forest,
  as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
so may you pursue them with your tempest
  and terrify them with your hurricane!
Fill their faces with shame,
  that they may seek your name, O LORD.
Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
  let them perish in disgrace,
that they may know that you alone,
  whose name is the LORD,
  are the Most High over all the earth.

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the LORD

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

84:1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
  O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints
  for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
  to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
  and the swallow a nest for herself,
  where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
  my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
  ever singing your praise!     Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
  in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the Valley of Baca
  they make it a place of springs;
  the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
  each one appears before God in Zion.

O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!

For a day in your courts is better
  than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
  than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
  the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
  from those who walk uprightly.
O LORD of hosts,
  blessed is the one who trusts in you! (ESV)

Footnotes

[1] 3:21 Septuagint (compare Syriac, Vulgate); Hebrew sons of; four times in this verse
[2] 3:22 Hebrew sons
[3] 4:3 Septuagint (compare Vulgate); Hebrew father
[4] 4:9 Jabez sounds like the Hebrew for pain
[5] 4:10 Or evil
[6] 4:13 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks Meonothai
[7] 4:14 Ge-harashim means valley of craftsmen
[8] 4:15 Hebrew sons
[9] 4:17 The clause These are . . . married is transposed from verse 18
[10] 4:17 Hebrew lacks and bore
[11] 4:22 Vulgate (compare Septuagint); Hebrew and Jashubi-lahem
[12] 4:22 Or matters
[13] 9:2 Or tabernacle; also verses 11, 21
[14] 9:2 Greek the presentation of the loaves
[15] 9:3 Greek tent; also verses 6, 8
[16] 9:9 Or which is symbolic for the age then present
[17] 9:11 Some manuscripts good things to come
[18] 9:13 Or For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies
[19] 9:14 Some manuscripts your
[20] 9:15 The Greek word means both covenant and will; also verses 16, 17
[21] 3:11 Hebrew An adversary, one who surrounds the land—he shall bring down
[22] 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
[23] 3:15 Or and many houses
[24] 83:13 Or like a tumbleweed
[25] 84:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
[26] 84:5 Hebrew lacks to Zion