Monday, 14 Nissan 5784 / April 22, 2024
Day 478 Readings
Torah: Parshat Acharei, 2nd Portion Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:18-16:24
Leviticus 16:18-24
English Standard Version
18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.
20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.
23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place and shall leave them there. 24 And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people.
BIble Study Together
2 Chronicles 28
English Standard Version
Ahaz Reigns in Judah
1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done, 2 but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, 3 and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering,[a] according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.
Judah Defeated
5 Therefore the Lord his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. 6 For Pekah the son of Remaliah killed 120,000 from Judah in one day, all of them men of valor, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. 7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, killed Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the commander of the palace and Elkanah the next in authority to the king.
8 The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. 9 But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the Lord, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand, but you have killed them in a rage that has reached up to heaven. 10 And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves. Have you not sins of your own against the Lord your God? 11 Now hear me, and send back the captives from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.”
12 Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war 13 and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the Lord in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” 14 So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the assembly. 15 And the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.
2 Kings 16:1-9
English Standard Version
Ahaz Reigns in Judah
1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God, as his father David had done, 3 but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering,[a] according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.
5 Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to wage war on Jerusalem, and they besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him. 6 At that time Rezin the king of Syria recovered Elath for Syria and drove the men of Judah from Elath, and the Edomites came to Elath, where they dwell to this day. 7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria. 9 And the king of Assyria listened to him. The king of Assyria marched up against Damascus and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir, and he killed Rezin.
Isaiah 7:1-9
English Standard Version
Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz
1 In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with[a] Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz[b] and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
3 And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub[c] your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. 4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it[d] for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord God:
“‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin.And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.If you[e] are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’”
Dear AVI,
Blessed are YOU O LORD JESUS KING of the Universe. HOLY is YOUR Name Almighty GOD YAWEH, JEHOVAH, however it is pronounce HASHEM! I wonder why this is the word that spoke to me this morning. I am standing O LORD in my faith that YOU will not allow anything to enter our household that is a defiled spirit. But I am indeed shaken when it comes to YOUR promise of me being married to Stephen, because YOU have spoken many things to me in the past that did not come to pass but I stood by it, only to be broken by it because it did not happen. If I was wrong in holding on to the desire for so long then help me not to hold on to these fleeting things anymore. I have already let go of Stephen since Friday but YOU brought him to our place on Saturday and I released the blue bird as a sign of my release of Stephen, but YOU did not let the blue bird fly away. I didn't want it to be by the cats and die as a result of its freedom so I brought back the blue bird instead I asked Rose and Jane to find me a yellow bird to match the blue bird and true indeed, the blue bird was a female and the yellow bird male. Now it's quite funny that Earl yesterday at church wore a very bright yellow shirt. But his was only a clothing, the yellow bird symbolized the yellow skin of Stephen coz he is pure Chinese and the blue symbolized me or I can say that the yellow bird symbolized Earl just to keep thinks fun because at the restaurant yesterday with BF Julie, Pastor Macky beside me asked me "What if Earl and I agreed to get married since he also is single, would I agree?" And I told him very honestly yes I would have before but right now no more! hahahaha that was really a fun conversation with Pastor Macky. He is such a people person, and it's so nice to talk to him but honestly I already have a word regarding Earl as Jericho and I should not rebuild Jericho and I am standing firm in that. YOU WORD always has the final say in my life so I am praying right now let my heart be steadfast and not shaken O GOD. Let my heart be steadfast and not be shaken let me firmly stand in YOU KING JESUS. So, I pray that YOU will cause the work of my hands to succeed, bring success to the mission of Raquel this day, bring success to everything I do O GOD, I pray that YOU will close the business TIN of mom soon and let her main TIN be transferred to BIR Mandaue from Cebu, I am asking YOU this favor O GOD, I am asking YOU many things because YOU are My Shepherd, my Guide, my Mentor, my Everything!!! Do not let me fail O GOD! Regarding Stephen, I release my hopes in marrying him, because to be his friend is already very hard. I cannot connect to him because he is very close with his life but I have learned to respect his boundaries and I pray that YOU will send me another man to marry, someone who loves me. Please send Julie and I faithful and loving men to marry, who loves YOU first. Please GOD, nothing is too difficult for YOU. I know YOU can do it with a snap of the finger but if we are the ones not ready O GOD prepare us for marriage and for building a family. O GOD, make us worthy to be entrusted with relationships and with a family. They told me in church to let go of the dream but YOU also said to keep on asking for what we desire and to pray without ceasing so here I am, hear me O GOD, let YOUR ears be inclined to my pleas, my smallest sigh, my heart. O GOD, My GOD, do not turn me away I am desperate like the woman who bled for 12 years coz I've been hurting more than 12 years already. Hear me O GOD, be merciful to me and remember me, remember YOUR Promises O GOD.
In the Name of JESUS I ask all these things with faith and trust, Amen!
ESV Readings
Scripture
Psalm 112
English Standard Version
The Righteous Will Never Be Moved
1 [a] Praise the Lord!Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. 5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. 6 For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. 7 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. 8 His heart is steady;[b] he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. 9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. 10 The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish!
Leviticus 18
Isaiah 23
Galatians 3
English Standard Version
By Faith, or by Works of the Law?
3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by[a] the flesh? 4 Did you suffer[b] so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify[c] the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”[d] 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit[e] through faith.
The Law and the Promise
15 To give a human example, brothers:[f] even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[g] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.