Day 38 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 27:1–5

¹The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread? ²When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell. ³Though an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; though a war breaks out against me, I will keep my trust. ⁴One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple. ⁵For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.

New Testament·Matthew 24:1–17

¹As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings. ²“Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” ³While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” ⁴Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. ⁵For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All these are the beginning of birth pains. ⁹Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, ¹¹and many false prophets will arise and mislead many. ¹²Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. ¹³But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. ¹⁵So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), ¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.

Old Testament·Exodus 18–19

¹Now Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about all that God had done for Moses and His people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. ²After Moses had sent back his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had received her, ³along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.” ⁴The other son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my father was my helper and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.” ⁵Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, along with Moses’ wife and sons, came to him in the desert, where he was encamped at the mountain of God. ⁶He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.” ⁷So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent. ⁸Then Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships they had encountered along the way, and how the LORD had delivered them. ⁹And Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had rescued from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰Jethro declared, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.” ¹²Then Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God. ¹³The next day Moses took his seat to judge the people, and they stood around him from morning until evening. ¹⁴When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone as judge, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?” ¹⁵“Because the people come to me to inquire of God,” Moses replied. ¹⁶“Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me to judge between one man and another, and I make known to them the statutes and laws of God.” ¹⁷But Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸Surely you and these people with you will wear yourselves out, because the task is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone. ¹⁹Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their causes to Him. ²⁰Teach them the statutes and laws, and show them the way to live and the work they must do. ²¹Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²²Have these men judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you any major issue, but all minor cases they can judge on their own, so that your load may be lightened as they share it with you. ²³If you follow this advice and God so directs you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people can go home in peace.” ²⁴Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²⁶And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves. ²⁷Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own land.

19In the third month, on the same day of the month that the Israelites had left the land of Egypt, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. ²After they had set out from Rephidim, they entered the Wilderness of Sinai, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain. ³Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, “This is what you are to tell the house of Jacob and explain to the sons of Israel: ⁴‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. ⁵Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine. ⁶And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.” ⁷So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him. ⁸And all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the LORD has spoken.” So Moses brought their words back to the LORD. ⁹The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in you.” And Moses relayed to the LORD what the people had said. ¹⁰Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes ¹¹and be prepared by the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹²And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. ¹³No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.” ¹⁴When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵“Be prepared for the third day,” he said to the people. “Do not draw near to a woman.” ¹⁶On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled. ¹⁷Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. ¹⁹And as the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder. ²⁰The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the summit. So Moses went up, ²¹and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish. ²²Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.” ²³But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, for You solemnly warned us, ‘Put a boundary around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’” ²⁴And the LORD replied, “Go down and bring Aaron with you. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break out against them.” ²⁵So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.