26 Av 5983 / 13 August 2023
Day 225 Readings
Parshat Shoftim, 1st Portion Deuteronomy 16:18-17:13
Justice Must Be Administered
18 “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your [a]gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 19 You shall not pervert justice; you shall not [b]show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and [c]twists the words of the righteous. 20 You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
Bible Study Together Deuteronomy 22:1-30
5 “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are [c]an abomination to the Lord your God.
10 “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
12 “You shall make tassels on the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself.
28 “If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has (violated) humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.
365 Daily Kingdom Living
Prayer: Lord, thank you for all the knowledge that you have given us and the intelligence to understand many things but Lord, let not knowledge lead to arrogance and pride. And Lord, we ask that we will always grow in love for you and for others knowing that love will always build and never destroy. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Scripture
Nehemiah 5
6 And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, “Each of you is [a]exacting usury from his brother.” So I [b]called a great assembly against them. 8 And I said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?”
The Generosity of Nehemiah
14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor’s provisions. 15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God. 16 Indeed, I also continued the work on this wall, and [e]we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work.
17 And at my table were one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us. 18 Now that which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of this I did not demand the governor’s provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people.
19 Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.
Nehemiah 6
8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.”
9 For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.”
Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.
11 And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” 12 Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.
1 Corinthians 8
Take Care with Your Liberty
8 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge [a]makes one conceited, but love edifies people. 2 If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; 3 but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.
4 Therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is [b]nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
7 However, not all people have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Now food will not bring us [c]close to God; we are neither [d]the worse if we do not eat, nor [e]the better if we do eat. 9 But take care that this [f]freedom of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
Psalm 33:1-11
The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History
1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!For praise from the upright is beautiful. 2 Praise the Lord with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. 3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is right,And all His work is done in truth. 5 He loves righteousness and justice;The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;He lays up the deep in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. 9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.
10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.
Proverbs 21:8-10
8 The way of a guilty person is crooked, But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.
9 It is better to live on a corner of a roof Than[b]in a house shared with a contentious woman.
10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor is shown no compassion in his eyes.