Monday, September 18, 2023

Bible Readings for September 18, 2023

Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Isaiah 28:14–30:11; Galatians 3:23–4:31; Psalm 62:1-12; and Proverbs 23:19-21. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. 


Isaiah 28:14-30:11 (Contemporary English Version)

False Security Is Fatal

 14You rulers of Jerusalem
   do nothing but sneer;
   now you must listen
   to what the LORD says.
    15Do you think you have
   an agreement with death
   and the world of the dead?
   Why do you trust in your lies
   to keep you safe from danger
   and the mighty flood?
    16And so the LORD says,
   "I'm laying a firm foundation
   for the city of Zion.
   It's a valuable cornerstone
   proven to be trustworthy;
   no one who trusts it
   will ever be disappointed.
    17Justice and fairness
   will be the measuring lines
   that help me build."
   Hailstones and floods
   will destroy and wash away
   your shelter of lies.
    18Your agreement with death
   and the world of the dead
   will be broken.
   Then angry, roaring waves
   will sweep over you.
    19Morning, noon, and night
   an overwhelming flood
   will wash you away.
   The terrible things that happen
   will teach you this lesson:
    20Your bed is too short,
   your blanket too skimpy. [a] 21The LORD will fiercely attack
   as he did at Mount Perazim [b] and in Gibeon Valley. [c] But this time the LORD
   will do something surprising,
   not what you expect.
    22So you had better stop sneering
   or you will be in worse shape
   than ever before.
   I heard the LORD All-Powerful
   threaten the whole country
   with destruction.   

All Wisdom Comes from the LORD

 23Pay close attention
   to what I am saying.
    24Farmers don't just plow
   and break up the ground.
    25When a field is ready,
   they scatter the seeds
   of dill and cumin;
   they plant the seeds
   of wheat and barley
   in the proper places.
    26They learn this from their God.
    27After dill and cumin
   have been harvested,
   the stalks are pounded,
   not run over with a wagon.
    28Wheat and barley are pounded,
   but not beaten to pulp;
   they are run over with a wagon,
   but not ground to dust.
    29This wonderful knowledge comes
   from the LORD All-Powerful,
   who has such great wisdom.
   

Isaiah 29

Jerusalem Will Suffer
The LORD said:

 1Jerusalem, city of David,
   the place of my altar, [d] you are in for trouble!
   Celebrate your festivals
   year after year.
    2I will still make you suffer,
   and your people will cry
   when I make an altar of you. [e] 3I will surround you and prepare
   to attack from all sides. [f] 4From deep in the earth,
   you will call out for help
   with only a faint whisper.
    5Then your cruel enemies
   will suddenly be swept away
   like dust in a windstorm.
    6I, the LORD All-Powerful,
   will come to your rescue
   with a thundering earthquake
   and a fiery whirlwind.
    7Every brutal nation
   that attacks Jerusalem
   and makes it suffer
   will disappear like a dream
   when night is over.
    8Those nations that attack
   Mount Zion
   will suffer from hunger
   and thirst.
   They will dream of food and drink
   but wake up weary and hungry
   and thirsty as ever.   

Prophets Who Fool Themselves

 9Be shocked and stunned,
   you prophets!
   Refuse to see.
   Get drunk and stagger,
   but not from wine.
    10The LORD has made you drowsy;
   he put you into a deep sleep
   and covered your head.
    11Now his message is like a sealed letter to you. Some of you say, "We can't read it, because it's sealed." 12Others say, "We can't read it, because we don't know how to read."
    13The Lord has said:
   "These people praise me
   with their words,
   but they never really
   think about me.
   They worship me by repeating
   rules
   made up by humans.
    14So once again I will do things
   that shock and amaze them,
   and I will destroy the wisdom
   of those who claim to know
   and understand."
    15You are in for trouble,
   if you try to hide your plans
   from the LORD!
   Or if you think what you do
   in the dark can't be seen.
    16You have it all backwards.
   A clay dish doesn't say
   to the potter,
   "You didn't make me.
   You don't even know how."   

Hope for the Future

 17Soon the forest of Lebanon
   will become a field with crops,
   thick as a forest. [g] 18The deaf will be able to hear
   whatever is read to them;
   the blind will be freed
   from a life of darkness.
    19The poor and the needy
   will celebrate and shout
   because of the LORD,
   the holy God of Israel.
    20All who are cruel and arrogant
   will be gone forever.
   Those who live by crime
   will disappear,
    21together with everyone
   who tells lies in court
   and keeps innocent people
   from getting a fair trial.
    22The LORD who rescued Abraham
   has this to say
   about Jacob's descendants:
   "They will no longer
   be ashamed and disgraced.
    23When they see how great
   I have made their nation,
   they will praise and honor me,
   the holy God of Israel.
    24Everyone who is confused
   will understand,
   and all who have complained
   will obey my teaching."
   

Isaiah 30

Don't Expect Help from Egypt

 1This is the LORD's message for his rebellious people:
   "You follow your own plans
   instead of mine;
   you make treaties
   without asking me,
   and you keep on sinning.
    2You trust Egypt for protection.
   So you refuse my advice
   and send messengers to Egypt
   to beg their king for help.
    3You will be disappointed,
   completely disgraced
   for trusting Egypt.
    4The king's power reaches
   from the city of Zoan
   as far south as Hanes. [h] 5But Egypt can't protect you,
   and to trust that nation
   is useless and foolish."
    6This is a message
   about the animals
   of the Southern Desert:
   You people carry treasures
   on donkeys and camels.
   You travel to a feeble nation
   through a troublesome desert
   filled with lions
   and flying fiery dragons.
    7Egypt can't help you!
   That's why I call that nation
   a helpless monster."[i]

Israel Refuses To Listen

 8The LORD told me to write down his message for his people, so that it would be there forever. 9They have turned against the LORD and can't be trusted. They have refused his teaching 10and have said to his messengers and prophets:
   Don't tell us what God has shown you and don't preach the truth. Just say what we want to hear, even if it's false. 11Stop telling us what God has said! We don't want to hear any more about the holy God of Israel.
   
Footnotes:
  1. Isaiah 28:20 Your bed. . . skimpy: Isaiah quotes a popular saying to teach that the treaty made with Egypt (verse 18) cannot give the nation security from its enemies.
  2. Isaiah 28:21 Mount Perazim: This may refer to David's defeat of the Philistines at Baal Perazim (2 Samuel 5.17-21).
  3. Isaiah 28:21 Gibeon Valley: This refers to Joshua's victory at Gibeon (Joshua 10.1-11).
  4. Isaiah 29:1 the place of my altar: One possible meaning for "ariel, ariel" of the Hebrew text. In Hebrew "ariel" can mean "God's hero" or "God's lion" or "God's altar."
  5. Isaiah 29:2 when. . . you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. Isaiah 29:3 from all sides: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. One ancient translation has "like David."
  7. Isaiah 29:17 with. . . forest: Or "and Mount Carmel will be covered with forests."
  8. Isaiah 30:4 Zoan. . . Hanes: Or "Your messengers have reached the city of Zoan and gone as far as Hanes." Zoan was in northeast Egypt; Hanes was to the south.
  9. Isaiah 30:7 a helpless monster: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.



Galatians 3:23-4:31 (Contemporary English Version)


23The Law controlled us and kept us under its power until the time came when we would have faith. 24In fact, the Law was our teacher. It was supposed to teach us until we had faith and were acceptable to God. 25But once a person has learned to have faith, there is no more need to have the Law as a teacher.
    26All of you are God's children because of your faith in Christ Jesus. 27And when you were baptized, it was as though you had put on Christ in the same way you put on new clothes. 28Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. 29So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham's family, [a] and you will be given what God has promised.

Galatians 4


 1Children who are under age are no better off than slaves, even though everything their parents own will someday be theirs. 2This is because children are placed in the care of guardians and teachers until the time their parents have set. 3That is how it was with us. We were like children ruled by the powers of this world.
    4But when the time was right, God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him. His Son obeyed the Law, 5so he could set us free from the Law, and we could become God's children. 6Now that we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. And his Spirit tells us that God is our Father. 7You are no longer slaves. You are God's children, and you will be given what he has promised.   

Paul's Concern for the Galatians

 8Before you knew God, you were slaves of gods that are not real. 9But now you know God, or better still, God knows you. How can you turn back and become the slaves of those weak and pitiful powers? [b] 10You even celebrate certain days, months, seasons, and years. 11I am afraid I have wasted my time working with you. 12My friends, I beg you to be like me, just as I once tried to be like you. Did you mistreat me 13when I first preached to you? No you didn't, even though you knew I had come there because I was sick. 14My illness must have caused you some trouble, but you didn't hate me or turn me away because of it. You welcomed me as though I were one of God's angels or even Christ Jesus himself. 15Where is that good feeling now? I am sure that if it had been possible, you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me. 16Am I now your enemy, just because I told you the truth?
    17Those people may be paying you a lot of attention, but it isn't for your good. They only want to keep you away from me, so you will pay them a lot of attention. 18It is always good to give your attention to something worthwhile, even when I am not with you. 19My children, I am in terrible pain until Christ may be seen living in you. 20I wish I were with you now. Then I would not have to talk this way. You really have me puzzled.   

Hagar and Sarah

 21Some of you would like to be under the rule of the Law of Moses. But do you know what the Law says? 22In the Scriptures we learn that Abraham had two sons. The mother of one of them was a slave, while the mother of the other one had always been free. 23The son of the slave woman was born in the usual way. But the son of the free woman was born because of God's promise.
    24All of this has another meaning as well. Each of the two women stands for one of the agreements God made with his people. Hagar, the slave woman, stands for the agreement that was made at Mount Sinai. Everyone born into her family is a slave. 25Hagar also stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia [c] and for the present city of Jerusalem. She [d] and her children are slaves. 26But our mother is the city of Jerusalem in heaven above, and she isn't a slave. 27The Scriptures say about her,
   "You have never had children,
   but now you can be glad.
   You have never given birth,
   but now you can shout.
   Once you had no children,
   but now you will have
   more children
   than a woman
   who has been married
   for a long time."
    28My friends, you were born because of this promise, just as Isaac was. 29But the child who was born in the natural way made trouble for the child who was born because of the Spirit. The same thing is happening today. 30The Scriptures say, "Get rid of the slave woman and her son! He won't be given anything. The son of the free woman will receive everything." 31My friends, we are children of the free woman and not of the slave.
   
Footnotes:
  1. Galatians 3:29 you are now part of Abraham's family: Paul tells the Galatians that faith in Jesus Christ is what makes someone a true child of Abraham and of God (see the note at 3.7).
  2. Galatians 4:9 powers: Spirits were thought to control human lives and were believed to be connected with the movements of the stars.
  3. Galatians 4:25 Hagar also stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia: Some manuscripts have " Sinai is a mountain in Arabia." This sentence would then be translated: " Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, and Hagar stands for the present city of Jerusalem."
  4. Galatians 4:25 She: " Hagar" or " Jerusalem."



Psalm 62:1-12 (Contemporary English Version)


Psalm 62

(A psalm by David for Jeduthun, the music leader.)
God Is Powerful and Kind

 1Only God can save me,
   and I calmly wait for [a] him. 2God alone is the mighty rock [b] that keeps me safe
   and the fortress
   where I am secure.
    3I feel like a shaky fence
   or a sagging wall.
   How long will all of you
   attack and assault me?
    4You want to bring me down
   from my place of honor.
   You love to tell lies,
   and when your words are kind,
   hatred hides in your heart.
    5Only God gives inward peace,
   and I depend on him.
    6God alone is the mighty rock
   that keeps me safe,
   and he is the fortress
   where I feel secure.
    7God saves me and honors me.
   He is that mighty rock
   where I find safety.
    8Trust God, my friends,
   and always tell him
   each one of your concerns.
   God is our place of safety.
    9We humans are only a breath;
   none of us are truly great.
   All of us together weigh less
   than a puff of air.
    10Don't trust in violence
   or depend on dishonesty
   or rely on great wealth.
    11I heard God say two things:
   "I am powerful,
    12and I am very kind."
   The Lord rewards each of us
   according to what we do.
   
Footnotes:
  1. Psalm 62:1 calmly wait for: Or " am at peace with."
  2. Psalm 62:2 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.




Proverbs 23:19-21 (Contemporary English Version)

-15-

 19 Listen to me, my children!
   Be wise and have enough sense
   to follow the right path.
    20Don't be a heavy drinker
   or stuff yourself with food.
    21It will make you feel drowsy,
   and you will end up poor
   with only rags to wear.




Thought for the Day
 

“Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves. Care about them as much as you care about yourselves” (Philippians 2:3-4 - Contemporary English Version) We're told to love one another as we've been loved by God. And this we can do by simply being humble, considerate and compassionate. 



Quote for the Day

American-Canadian scholar and cultural critic, Henry Giroux wrote, "A citizen is a political and moral agent who in fact has a shared sense of hope and responsibility to others and not just to him or herself."



A Joke for Today

A sweet grandmother telephoned St. Joseph 's Hospital. She timidly asked,

'Is it possible to speak to someone who can tell me how a patient is doing?'

The operator said, 'I'll be glad to help, dear. What's the name and room number?'

The grandmother, in her weak tremulous voice said, ''Norma Findlay, Room 302.'

The operator replied, 'Let me place you on hold while I check with her nurse.'

After a few minutes the operator returned to the phone and said, 'Oh, I have good news. Her nurse told me that Norma is doing very well.. Her blood pressure is fine; her blood work is normal and her physician, Dr. Cohen, has scheduled her to be discharged on Tuesday.'

The grandmother said, 'Thank you. That's wonderful! I was so worried! God bless you for the good news.'

The operator replied, 'You're more than welcome. Is Norma your daughter?'

The grandmother said, 'No, I'm Norma Findlay in 302. No one tells me anything.'



A Prayer Request

As Christians, we can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Below is the need that we're laying before God today.

That the racial, ethnic, religious, and political divisions within the United States be healed.

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