the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
May 6 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Judges 6
Chapter 6
Midian Oppresses Israel
1 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord . So the Lord handed(a) them over to Midian seven years, 2 and they oppressed Israel.(b) Because of Midian, the Israelites made hiding places(c) for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and the Qedemites(d) came and attacked them. 4 They encamped against them and destroyed the produce of the land, even as far as Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to eat, as well as no sheep, ox or donkey. 5 For the Midianites came with their cattle and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were without number, and they entered the land to waste it. 6 So Israel became poverty-stricken because of Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the Lord .
7 When the Israelites cried out to Him because of Midian, 8 the Lord sent a prophet(e) to them. He said to them, "This is what the Lord (f) God of Israel says: ‘I brought you out of Egypt and out of the place of slavery.(g) 9 I delivered you from the power of Egypt and the power of all who oppressed(h) you. I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I said to you: I am Yahweh your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in. But you did not obey Me.'"
The Lord Calls Gideon
11 The Angel[a] of the Lord (i) came, and He[b] sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the wine vat in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior."
13 Gideon said to Him, "Please Sir,[c] if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened?[d] And where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Hasn't the Lord brought us out of Egypt?' But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian."
14 The Lord [e] turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you?"
15 He said to Him, "Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house."
16 "But I will be with you,"(j) the Lord said to him. "You will strike Midian down as if it were one man."
17 Then he said to Him, "If I have found favor in Your sight,(k) give me a sign(l) that You are speaking with me. 18 Please do not leave this place until I return to You. Let me bring my gift and set it before You."
And He said, "I will stay until you return."
19 So Gideon went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from a half bushel[f] of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought them out and offered them to Him under the oak.
20 The Angel of God(m) said to him, "Take the meat with the unleavened bread, put it on this stone, and pour the broth on it." And he did so.
21 The Angel of the Lord extended the tip of the staff that was in His hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the Angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.
22 When Gideon realized that He was the Angel of the Lord , he said, "Oh no, Lord God !(n) I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!"(o)
23 But the Lord said to him, "Peace to you. Don't be afraid, for you will not die." 24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it Yahweh Shalom.[g] It is in Ophrah of the Abiezrites until today.
Gideon Tears Down a Baal Altar
25 On that very night the Lord said to him, "Take your father's young bull and a second bull seven years old. Then tear down the altar of Baal(p) that belongs to your father and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. 26 Build a well-constructed altar to the Lord your God on the top of this rock.(q) Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down." 27 So Gideon took 10 of his male servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father's household and the men of the city to do it in the daytime, he did it at night.
28 When the men of the city got up in the morning, they found Baal's altar torn down, the Asherah pole beside it cut down, and the second bull offered up on the altar that had been built. 29 They said to each other, "Who did this?" After they made a thorough investigation, they said, "Gideon son of Joash did it."
30 Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son. He must die, because he tore down Baal's altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it."
31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Would you plead Baal's case for him? Would you save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead his own case because someone tore down his altar." 32 That day, Gideon's father called him Jerubbaal, saying, "Let Baal plead his case with him," because he tore down his altar.
The Sign of the Fleece
33 All the Midianites, Amalekites, and Qedemites gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.(r)
34 The Spirit of the Lord took control of[h] Gideon, and he blew the ram's horn and the Abiezrites rallied behind him. 35 He sent messengers throughout all of Manasseh, who rallied behind him. He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, who also came to meet him.
36 Then Gideon said to God, "If You will deliver Israel by my hand, as You said, 37 I will put a fleece of wool here on the threshing floor. If dew is only on the fleece, and all the ground is dry, I will know that You will deliver Israel by my strength, as You said." 38 And that is what happened. When he got up early in the morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung dew out of it, filling a bowl with water.
39 Gideon then said to God, "Don't be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me to make one more test with the fleece. Let it remain dry, and the dew be all over the ground." 40 That night God did as Gideon requested: only the fleece was dry, and dew was all over the ground.
Job 36
Chapter 36
1 Then Elihu continued, saying:
2 Be patient with me a little longer, and I will inform you,
for there is still more to be said on God's behalf.
3 I will get my knowledge from a distant place
and ascribe justice to my Maker.
4 For my arguments are without flaw;[a]
one who has perfect knowledge is with you.
5 Yes, God is mighty, but He despises no one;
He understands all things.[b](a)
6 He does not keep the wicked alive,(b)
but He gives justice to the afflicted.
7 He does not remove His gaze from the righteous,
but He seats them forever with enthroned kings,
and they are exalted.
8 If people are bound with chains
and trapped by the cords of affliction,
9 God tells them what they have done
and how arrogantly they have transgressed.
10 He opens their ears(c) to correction
and insists they repent from iniquity.
11 If they serve Him obediently,
they will end their days in prosperity
and their years in happiness.(d)
12 But if they do not obey,
they will cross the river of death[c]
and die without knowledge.(e)
13 Those who have a godless heart harbor anger;
even when God binds them, they do not cry for help.
14 They die in their youth;
their life ends among male cult prostitutes.(f)
15 God rescues the afflicted by their affliction;
He instructs them by their torment.
16 Indeed, He lured you from the jaws[d] of distress
to a spacious and unconfined place.
Your table was spread with choice food.
17 Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice have seized you.
18 Be careful that no one lures you with riches;[e]
do not let a large ransom[f] lead you astray.(g)
19 Can your wealth[g] or all your physical exertion
keep you from distress?(h)
20 Do not long for the night
when nations will disappear from their places.
21 Be careful that you do not turn to iniquity,
for that is why you have been tested by[h] affliction.
22 Look, God shows Himself exalted by His power.
Who is a teacher like Him?
23 Who has appointed His way for Him,
and who has declared, "You have done wrong"?(i)
24 Remember that you should praise His work,
which people have sung about.(j)
25 All mankind has seen it;
people have looked at it from a distance.(k)
26 Yes, God is exalted beyond our knowledge;(l)
the number of His years cannot be counted.(m)
27 For He makes waterdrops evaporate;[i]
they distill the rain into its[j] mist,(n)
28 which the clouds pour out
and shower abundantly on mankind.
29 Can anyone understand how the clouds spread out
or how the thunder roars from God's pavilion?(o)
30 See how He spreads His lightning(p) around Him
and covers the depths of the sea.
31 For He judges the nations with these;
He gives food in abundance.(q)
32 He covers His hands with lightning
and commands it to hit its mark.
33 The[k] thunder declares His presence;[l]
the cattle also, the approaching storm.
Acts 17:1-15
Chapter 17
A Short Ministry in Thessalonica
1 Then they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica,(a) where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As usual, Paul went to the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,(b) 3 explaining and showing that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead: "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah."(c) 4 Then some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, including a great number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number[a] of the leading women.(d)
Riot in the City
5 But the Jews became jealous, and they brought together some scoundrels from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. Attacking Jason's house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly.(e) 6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, 7 and Jason has received them as guests! They are all acting contrary to Caesar's decrees,(f) saying that there is another king—Jesus!"(g) 8 The Jews stirred up the crowd and the city officials who heard these things. 9 So taking a security bond from Jason and the others, they released them.
The Bereans Search the Scriptures
10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea.(h) On arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 The people here were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, since they welcomed the message with eagerness and examined the Scriptures(i) daily to see if these things were so. 12 Consequently, many of them believed, including a number of the prominent Greek women as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that God's message had been proclaimed by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and disturbing[b] the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to go to the sea, but Silas and Timothy(j) stayed on there. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.(k)
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