Day 246 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 136:10–18

¹⁰He struck down the firstborn of Egypt His loving devotion endures forever. ¹¹and brought Israel out from among them His loving devotion endures forever. ¹²with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. His loving devotion endures forever. ¹³He divided the Red Sea in two His loving devotion endures forever. ¹⁴and led Israel through the midst, His loving devotion endures forever. ¹⁵but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea. His loving devotion endures forever. ¹⁶He led His people through the wilderness. His loving devotion endures forever. ¹⁷He struck down great kings His loving devotion endures forever. ¹⁸and slaughtered mighty kings— His loving devotion endures forever.

New Testament·1 Corinthians 7:1–25

¹Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations. ²But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. ³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife. ⁵Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control. ⁶I say this as a concession, not as a command. ⁷I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. ⁸Now to the unmarried and widows I say this: It is good for them to remain unmarried, as I am. ⁹But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. ¹⁰To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. ¹¹But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. ¹²To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. ¹⁵But if the unbeliever leaves, let him go. The believing brother or sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace. ¹⁶How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? ¹⁷Regardless, each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is what I prescribe in all the churches. ¹⁸Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man still uncircumcised when called? He should not be circumcised. ¹⁹Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commandments is what counts. ²⁰Each one should remain in the situation he was in when he was called. ²¹Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity. ²²For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. ²³You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. ²⁴Brothers, each one should remain in the situation he was in when God called him. ²⁵Now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.

Old Testament·Job 18–19

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: ²“How long until you end these speeches? Show some sense, and then we can talk. ³Why are we regarded as cattle, as stupid in your sight? ⁴You who tear yourself in anger— should the earth be forsaken on your account, or the rocks be moved from their place? ⁵Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow. ⁶The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him goes out. ⁷His vigorous stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up. ⁸For his own feet lead him into a net, and he wanders into its mesh. ⁹A trap seizes his heel; a snare grips him. ¹⁰A noose is hidden in the ground, and a trap lies in his path. ¹¹Terrors frighten him on every side and harass his every step. ¹²His strength is depleted, and calamity is ready at his side. ¹³It devours patches of his skin; the firstborn of death devours his limbs. ¹⁴He is torn from the shelter of his tent and is marched off to the king of terrors. ¹⁵Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling. ¹⁶The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away. ¹⁷The memory of him perishes from the earth, and he has no name in the land. ¹⁸He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world. ¹⁹He has no offspring or posterity among his people, no survivor where he once lived. ²⁰Those in the west are appalled at his fate, while those in the east tremble in horror. ²¹Surely such is the dwelling of the wicked and the place of one who does not know God.”

19Then Job answered: ²“How long will you torment me and crush me with your words? ³Ten times now you have reproached me; you shamelessly mistreat me. ⁴Even if I have truly gone astray, my error concerns me alone. ⁵If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me and use my disgrace against me, ⁶then understand that it is God who has wronged me and drawn His net around me. ⁷Though I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice. ⁸He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; He has veiled my paths with darkness. ⁹He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. ¹⁰He tears me down on every side until I am gone; He uproots my hope like a tree. ¹¹His anger burns against me, and He counts me among His enemies. ¹²His troops advance together; they construct a ramp against me and encamp around my tent. ¹³He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me. ¹⁴My kinsmen have failed me, and my friends have forgotten me. ¹⁵My guests and maidservants count me as a stranger; I am a foreigner in their sight. ¹⁶I call for my servant, but he does not answer, though I implore him with my own mouth. ¹⁷My breath is repulsive to my wife, and I am loathsome to my own family. ¹⁸Even little boys scorn me; when I appear, they deride me. ¹⁹All my best friends despise me, and those I love have turned against me. ²⁰My skin and flesh cling to my bones; I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. ²¹Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me. ²²Why do you persecute me as God does? Will you never get enough of my flesh? ²³I wish that my words were recorded and inscribed in a book, ²⁴by an iron stylus on lead, or chiseled in stone forever. ²⁵But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth. ²⁶Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. ²⁷I will see Him for myself; my eyes will behold Him, and not as a stranger. How my heart yearns within me! ²⁸If you say, ‘Let us persecute him, since the root of the matter lies with him,’ ²⁹then you should fear the sword yourselves, because wrath brings punishment by the sword, so that you may know there is a judgment.”