the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Daily Bible Reading
March 14 - Straight Thru the Bible
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Joshua 24
Chapter 24
Review of Israel's History
1 Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem(a) and summoned Israel's elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God.(b) 2 Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah,(c) the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants.(d) I gave him Isaac,(e) 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.(f) I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession,(g) but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.(h)
5 "‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron;(i) I plagued Egypt by what I did there and afterward I brought you out. 6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt and you reached the Red Sea,(j) the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen as far as the sea. 7 Your fathers cried out to the Lord , so He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them, engulfing them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt. After that, you lived in the wilderness a long time.
8 "‘Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan.(k) They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You possessed their land, and I annihilated them before you. 9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab,(l) set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you, and I delivered you from his hand.
11 "‘You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho.(m) The people of Jericho—as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites—fought against you, but I handed them over to you. 12 I sent the hornet[a](n) ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings(o) before you. It was not by your sword or bow. 13 I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build,(p) though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.'
The Covenant Renewal
14 "Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth.(q) Get rid of the gods your fathers worshiped(r) beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship Yahweh. 15 But if it doesn't please you to worship Yahweh, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship: the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living.(s) As for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh."
16 The people replied, "We will certainly not abandon the Lord to worship other gods! 17 For the Lord our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery,(t) and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us all along the way we went and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through. 18 The Lord drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship the Lord , because He is our God."
19 But Joshua told the people, "You will not be able to worship Yahweh, because He is a holy God. He is a jealous God;(u) He will not remove your transgressions and sins.(v) 20 If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, He will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy(w) you, after He has been good to you."
21 "No!" the people answered Joshua. "We will worship the Lord ."
22 Joshua then told the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship Yahweh."
"We are witnesses," they said.
23 "Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and offer your hearts to the Lord , the God of Israel."
24 So the people said to Joshua, "We will worship the Lord our God and obey Him."
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them. 26 Joshua recorded these things in the book of the law of God;(x) he also took a large stone and set it up there under the oak next to the sanctuary of the Lord . 27 And Joshua said to all the people, "You see this stone—it will be a witness against us,(y) for it has heard all the words the Lord said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God." 28 Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
Burial of Three Leaders
29 After these things, the Lord 's servant, Joshua son of Nun, died at the age of 110. 30 They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim(z) north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel worshiped Yahweh throughout Joshua's lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua(aa) and who had experienced all the works Yahweh had done for Israel.
32 Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt,(ab) were buried at Shechem in the parcel of land Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for 100 qesitahs.[b](ac) It was an inheritance for Joseph's descendants.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah,[c] which had been given to his son Phinehas(ad) in the hill country of Ephraim.
Judges 1-2
Chapter 1
Judah's Leadership against the Canaanites
1 After the death of Joshua,(a) the Israelites inquired of the Lord ,(b) "Who will be the first to fight for us against the Canaanites?"
2 The Lord answered, "Judah(c) is to go.(d) I have handed the land over to him."(e)
3 Judah said to his brother Simeon, "Come with me to my territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. I will also go with you to your territory." So Simeon went with him.
4 When Judah attacked, the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites(f) over to them. They struck down 10,000 men in Bezek.(g) 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, fought against him, and struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites.
6 When Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.(h) 7 Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps[a] under my table. God has repaid me for what I have done." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire. 9 Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the Judean foothills.[b] 10 Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron(i) (Hebron was formerly named Kiriath-arba(j)). They struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.(k) 11 From there they marched against the residents of Debir(l) (Debir was formerly named Kiriath-sepher).
12 Caleb(m) said, "Whoever strikes down and captures Kiriath-sepher, I will give my daughter Achsah(n) to him as a wife." 13 So Othniel(o) son of Kenaz, Caleb's youngest brother, captured it, and Caleb gave his daughter Achsah to him as his wife.
14 When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel[c] to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her,[d] "What do you want?" 15 She answered him, "Give me a blessing. Since you have given me land in the Negev,(p) give me springs of water also." So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.[e](q)
16 The descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law,(r) had gone up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms[f](s) to the Wilderness of Judah, which was in the Negev of Arad.(t) They went to live among the people.
17 Judah went with his brother Simeon, struck the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and completely destroyed the town. So they named the town Hormah.(u) 18 Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory.[g] 19 The Lord was with(v) Judah and enabled them to take possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out(w) the people who were living in the valley because those people had iron chariots.[h](x)
20 Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised.(y) Then Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak(z) who lived there.[i]
Benjamin's Failure
21 At the same time the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites have lived among the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day.(aa)
Success of the House of Joseph
22 The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the Lord was with(ab) them. 23 They sent spies to Bethel (the town was formerly named Luz(ac)). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the town and said to him, "Please show us how to get into town, and we will treat you well."(ad) 25 When he showed them the way into the town, they put the town to the sword but released the man and his entire family. 26 Then the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a town, and named it Luz. That is its name to this day.
Failure of the Other Tribes
27 At that time Manasseh failed to take possession of Beth-shean[j](ae) and its villages,[k] or Taanach(af) and its villages, or the residents of Dor(ag) and its villages, or the residents of Ibleam[l](ah) and its villages, or the residents of Megiddo(ai) and its villages; the Canaanites refused to leave[m] this land.(aj) 28 When Israel became stronger, they made the Canaanites serve as forced labor but never drove them out completely.(ak)
29 At that time Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived among them in Gezer.[n](al)
30 Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron or the residents of Nahalol,(am) so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced labor.
31 Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco[o] or of Sidon, or Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, because they failed to drive them out.
33 Naphtali did not drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh or the residents of Beth-anath. They lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, but the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served as their forced labor.
34 The Amorites(an) forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to go down into the valley. 35 The Amorites refused to leave[p] Har-heres, Aijalon,(ao) and Shaalbim. When the house of Joseph got the upper hand,[q] the Amorites[r] were made to serve as forced labor. 36 The territory of the Amorites extended from the Ascent of Akrabbim,(ap) that is from Sela(aq) upward.
Chapter 2
Pattern of Sin and Judgment
1 The Angel of the Lord (a) went up from Gilgal to Bochim[a] and said, "I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land(b) I had promised to your fathers.(c) I also said: I will never break My covenant with you. 2 You are not to make a covenant(d) with the people who are living in this land, and you are to tear down their altars.[b](e) But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? 3 Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you.(f) They will be thorns[c][d] in your sides,(g) and their gods will be a trap for you."(h) 4 When the Angel of the Lord had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. 5 So they named that place Bochim[e] and offered sacrifices there to the Lord .
Joshua's Death
6 Joshua sent the people away, and the Israelites went to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.(i) 7 The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua's lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived[f] Joshua. They had seen all the Lord 's great works(j) He had done for Israel.
8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord , died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim,(k) north of Mount Gaash. 10 That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord (l) or the works He had done for Israel.
11 The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord 's sight.(m) They worshiped the Baals(n) 12 and abandoned the Lord , the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods from the surrounding peoples(o) and bowed down to them. They infuriated the Lord ,(p) 13 for they abandoned Him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.(q)
14 The Lord 's anger burned against Israel, and He handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold(r) them to[g] the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. 15 Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord [h] was against them(s) and brought disaster on them, just as He had promised and sworn to them.(t) So they suffered greatly.
16 The Lord raised up(u) judges, who saved them from the power of their marauders, 17 but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted(v) themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way(w) of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the Lord 's commands. They did not do as their fathers did. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the Israelites, the Lord was with(x) him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive.[i] The Lord was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them. 19 Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly(y) than their fathers, going after other gods to worship and bow down to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate(z) ways.
20 The Lord 's anger burned against Israel, and He declared, "Because this nation has violated My covenant(aa) that I made with their fathers(ab) and disobeyed Me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left(ac) when he died.(ad) 22 I did this to test Israel and to see whether they would keep the Lord 's way(ae) by walking in it, as their fathers had."(af) 23 The Lord left these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.
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