Day 130 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 78:20–28

²⁰When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?” ²¹Therefore the LORD heard and was filled with wrath; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and His anger flared against Israel, ²²because they did not believe God or rely on His salvation. ²³Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of the heavens. ²⁴He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven. ²⁵Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance. ²⁶He stirred the east wind from the heavens and drove the south wind by His might. ²⁷He rained meat on them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea. ²⁸He felled them in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.

New Testament·Luke 23:27–56

²⁷A great number of people followed Him, including women who kept mourning and wailing for Him. ²⁸But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’ ³¹For if men do these things while the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” ³²Two others, who were criminals, were also led away to be executed with Jesus. ³³When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left. ³⁴Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots. ³⁵The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” ³⁶The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine. ³⁷“If You are the King of the Jews,” they said, “save Yourself!” ³⁸Above Him was posted an inscription: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. ³⁹One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him. “Are You not the Christ?” he said. “Save Yourself and us!” ⁴⁰But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same judgment? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” ⁴³And Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” ⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. ⁴⁶Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” And when He had said this, He breathed His last. ⁴⁷When the centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God, saying, “Surely this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸And when all the people who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home beating their breasts. ⁴⁹But all those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things. ⁵⁰Now there was a Council member named Joseph, a good and righteous man, ⁵¹who had not consented to their decision or action. He was from the Judean town of Arimathea, and was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵²He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. ⁵³Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was beginning. ⁵⁵The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how His body was placed. ⁵⁶Then they returned to prepare spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment.

Old Testament·Judges 17–19

¹Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim ²said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have the silver here with me; I took it.” Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!” ³And when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I wholly dedicate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit, to make a graven image and a molten idol. Therefore I will now return it to you.” ⁴So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into a graven image and a molten idol. And they were placed in the house of Micah. ⁵Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest. ⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. ⁷And there was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been residing within the clan of Judah. ⁸This man left the city of Bethlehem in Judah to settle where he could find a place. And as he traveled, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim. ⁹“Where are you from?” Micah asked him. “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he replied, “and I am on my way to settle wherever I can find a place.” ¹⁰“Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions.” So the Levite went in ¹¹and agreed to stay with him, and the young man became like a son to Micah. ¹²Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. ¹³Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”

18In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of the Danites was looking for territory to occupy. For up to that time they had not come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. ²So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. ³And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?” ⁴“Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be his priest.” ⁵Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to determine whether we will have a successful journey.” ⁶And the priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over your journey.” ⁷So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone. ⁸When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?” ⁹They answered, “Come on, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why would you fail to act? Do not hesitate to go there and take possession of the land! ¹⁰When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has delivered it into your hand. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.” ¹¹So six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war. ¹²They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called Mahaneh-dan to this day. ¹³And from there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house. ¹⁴Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image, and a molten idol? Now think about what you should do.” ¹⁵So they turned aside there and went to the home of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him. ¹⁶The six hundred Danites stood at the entrance of the gate, armed with their weapons of war. ¹⁷And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went inside and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred armed men. ¹⁸When they entered Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” ¹⁹“Be quiet,” they told him. “Put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?” ²⁰So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people. ²¹Putting their small children, their livestock, and their possessions in front of them, they turned and departed. ²²After they were some distance from Micah’s house, the men in the houses near Micah’s house mobilized and overtook the Danites. ²³When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?” ²⁴He replied, “You took the gods I had made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” ²⁵The Danites said to him, “Do not raise your voice against us, or angry men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.” ²⁶So the Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were too strong for him. ²⁷After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city. ²⁸There was no one to deliver them, because the city was far from Sidon and had no alliance with anyone; it was in a valley near Beth-rehob. And the Danites rebuilt the city and lived there. ²⁹They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish. ³⁰The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. ³¹So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.

19Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. ²But she was unfaithful to him and left him to return to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. After she had been there four months, ³her husband got up and went after her to speak kindly to her and bring her back, taking his servant and a pair of donkeys. So the girl brought him into her father’s house, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. ⁴His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay, so he remained with him three days, eating, drinking, and lodging there. ⁵On the fourth day, they got up early in the morning and prepared to depart, but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and then you can go.” ⁶So they sat down and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Please agree to stay overnight and let your heart be merry.” ⁷The man got up to depart, but his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night. ⁸On the fifth day, he got up early in the morning to depart, but the girl’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they waited until late afternoon and the two of them ate. ⁹When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close. Please spend the night. See, the day is almost over. Spend the night here, that your heart may be merry. Then you can get up early tomorrow for your journey home.” ¹⁰But the man was unwilling to spend the night. He got up and departed, and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine. ¹¹When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Please, let us stop at this Jebusite city and spend the night here.” ¹²But his master replied, “We will not turn aside to the city of foreigners, where there are no Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.” ¹³He continued, “Come, let us try to reach one of these towns to spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” ¹⁴So they continued on their journey, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. ¹⁵They stopped to go in and lodge in Gibeah. The Levite went in and sat down in the city square, but no one would take them into his home for the night. ¹⁶That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field. ¹⁷When he looked up and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going, and where have you come from?” ¹⁸The Levite replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote hill country of Ephraim, where I am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I am going to the house of the LORD; but no one has taken me into his home, ¹⁹even though there is both straw and feed for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and the maidservant and young man with me. There is nothing that we, your servants, lack.” ²⁰“Peace to you,” said the old man. “Let me supply everything you need. Only do not spend the night in the square.” ²¹So he brought him to his house and fed his donkeys. And they washed their feet and ate and drank. ²²While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house, so we can have relations with him!” ²³The owner of the house went out and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Do not commit this outrage. ²⁴Look, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine, and you can use them and do with them as you wish. But do not do such a vile thing to this man.” ²⁵But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. ²⁶Early that morning, the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, collapsed at the doorway, and lay there until it was light. ²⁷In the morning, when her master got up and opened the doors of the house to go out on his journey, there was his concubine, collapsed in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. ²⁸“Get up,” he told her. “Let us go.” But there was no response. So the man put her on his donkey and set out for home. ²⁹When he reached his house, he picked up a knife, took hold of his concubine, cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel. ³⁰And everyone who saw it said, “Nothing like this has been seen or done from the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt until this day. Think it over, take counsel, and speak up!”