Day 243 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 135:1–12

¹Hallelujah! Praise the name of the LORD. Give praise, O servants of the LORD, ²who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God. ³Hallelujah, for the LORD is good; sing praises to His name, for it is lovely. ⁴For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own, Israel as His treasured possession. ⁵For I know that the LORD is great; our Lord is above all gods. ⁶The LORD does all that pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths. ⁷He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses. ⁸He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of both man and beast. ⁹He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. ¹⁰He struck down many nations and slaughtered mighty kings: ¹¹Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan. ¹²He gave their land as an inheritance, as a heritage to His people Israel.

New Testament·1 Corinthians 4

¹So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. ²Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. ³I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. ⁶Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over another. ⁷For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? ⁸Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you! ⁹For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men. ¹⁰We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. ¹¹To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. ¹²We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³when we are slandered, we answer gently. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. ¹⁴I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. ¹⁵Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. ¹⁶Therefore I urge you to imitate me. ¹⁷That is why I have sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which is exactly what I teach everywhere in every church. ¹⁸Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. ¹⁹But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have. ²⁰For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. ²¹Which do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and with a gentle spirit?

Old Testament·Job 11–12

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: ²“Should this stream of words go unanswered and such a speaker be vindicated? ³Should your babbling put others to silence? Will you scoff without rebuke? ⁴You have said, ‘My doctrine is sound, and I am pure in Your sight.’ ⁵But if only God would speak and open His lips against you, ⁶and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves. ⁷Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? ⁸They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know? ⁹Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. ¹⁰If He comes along to imprison you, or convenes a court, who can stop Him? ¹¹Surely He knows the deceit of men. If He sees iniquity, does He not take note? ¹²But a witless man can no more become wise than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man! ¹³As for you, if you direct your heart and lift up your hands to Him, ¹⁴if you put away the iniquity in your hand, and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents, ¹⁵then indeed you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and unafraid. ¹⁶For you will forget your misery, recalling it only as waters gone by. ¹⁷Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning. ¹⁸You will be secure, because there is hope, and you will look around and lie down in safety. ¹⁹You will lie down without fear, and many will court your favor. ²⁰But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”

12Then Job answered: ²“Truly then you are the people with whom wisdom itself will die! ³But I also have a mind; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these? ⁴I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock. ⁵The one at ease scorns misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping. ⁶The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure— those who carry their god in their hands. ⁷But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you. ⁸Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; let the fish of the sea inform you. ⁹Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? ¹⁰The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind. ¹¹Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes its food? ¹²Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life. ¹³Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are His. ¹⁴What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released. ¹⁵If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land. ¹⁶True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His. ¹⁷He leads counselors away barefoot and makes fools of judges. ¹⁸He loosens the bonds placed by kings and fastens a belt around their waists. ¹⁹He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows the established. ²⁰He deprives the trusted of speech and takes away the discernment of elders. ²¹He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. ²²He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into light. ²³He makes nations great and destroys them; He enlarges nations, then disperses them. ²⁴He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland. ²⁵They grope in the darkness without light; He makes them stagger like drunkards.