6 Tishrei 5994 / 21 September 2023
Day 264 Readings
Torah: Ha'azinu, 5th Portion Devarim (Deuteronomy) 32:29-39
29 Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this,That they would consider their latter end!
30 How could one chase a thousand,And two put ten thousand to flight,Unless their Rock had sold them,And the Lord had surrendered them?
31 For their rock is not like our Rock,Even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 For their vine is of the vine of SodomAnd of the fields of Gomorrah;Their grapes are grapes of gall,Their clusters are bitter.
33 Their wine is the poison of serpents,And the cruel venom of cobras.
34 ‘Is this not laid up in store with Me,Sealed up among My treasures?
35 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense;Their foot shall slip in due time;For the day of their calamity is at hand,And the things to come hasten upon them.’
36 “For the Lord will judge His peopleAnd have compassion on His servants,When He sees that their power is gone,And there is no one remaining, bond or free.
37 He will say: ‘Where are their gods,The rock in which they sought refuge?
38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices,And drank the wine of their drink offering?Let them rise and help you,And be your refuge.
39 ‘Now see that I, even I, am He,And there is no God besides Me;I kill and I make alive;I wound and I heal;Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
Bible Study Together
Joshua 7:1-26
10 So the Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also violated My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things designated for destruction, and have both stolen and kept it a secret. Furthermore, they have also put them among their own things. 12 Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their [g]backs before their enemies, because they have become designated for destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you eliminate from your midst the things designated for destruction. 13 Stand up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has said this: “There are things designated for destruction in your midst, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you have removed the designated things from your midst.” 14 So in the morning you shall come forward by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the Lord selects by lot shall come forward by families, and the family which the Lord selects shall come forward by households, and the household which the Lord selects shall come forward man by man. 15 And it shall be that the one who is selected with the things designated for destruction shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has violated the covenant of the Lord, and because he has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”
24 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his [k]oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the Valley of [l]Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you this day.” And all Israel stoned [m]them with stones; and they burned them with fire [n]after they had stoned them with stones. 26 Then they erected over him a large heap of stones that stands to this day, and the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of [o]Achor to this day.
Psalm 108
New King James Version
Assurance of God’s Victory over Enemies
A Song. A Psalm of David.
1 O God, my heart is steadfast;I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.2 Awake, lute and harp!I will awaken the dawn.3 I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples,And I will sing praises to You among the nations.4 For Your mercy is great above the [a]heavens,And Your truth reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,And Your glory above all the earth;6 That Your beloved may be delivered,Save with Your right hand, and [b]hear me.
7 God has spoken in His holiness:“I will rejoice;I will divide ShechemAnd measure out the Valley of Succoth.8 Gilead is Mine; Manasseh is Mine;Ephraim also is the [c]helmet for My head;Judah is My lawgiver.9 Moab is My washpot;Over Edom I will cast My shoe;Over Philistia I will triumph.”
10 Who will bring me into the strong city?Who will lead me to Edom?11 Is it not You, O God, who cast us off?And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies?12 Give us help from trouble,For the help of man is useless.13 Through God we will do valiantly,For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
Mark 9:2-13
Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— 6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.
7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” 8 Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.
9 Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.
11 And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
12 Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”
365 Daily Kingdom Living
Check The Mirror
The picture Paul gives us here is someone who has tripped along the road; his/her foot hit a stone or a hole and smashed face-first in the dirt. Paul is not talking about someone walking down the middle of the road or tempting fate by choosing to walk along a tightrope or covering his/her eyes and hoping for the best. But rather he is showing us that since we all need forgiveness at some time or another, restoration should be our first objective.
Prayer: Father God, forgive me for being so quick to judge others, and so slow to judge my own actions. Time after time you've reminded us how easy it is to lose our focus on you and fall into sin. Help me to be a person of forgiveness and encouragement; someone known for restoration and peacemaking. And protect me from yielding to temptation today. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Scripture
Isaiah 37
33 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He shall not come into this city,Nor shoot an arrow there,Nor come before it with shield,Nor build a siege mound against it.34 By the way that he came,By the same shall he return;And he shall not come into this city,’Says the Lord.35 ‘For I will defend this city, to save itFor My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’ ”
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death
36 Then the angel[c] of the Lord went out, and [d]killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. 38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
Isaiah 38
Hezekiah’s Life Extended
1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a [e]loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Galatians 6
1 Brethren, if a man is [a]overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.
Psalms 65
4 Blessed is the one You choose and allow to approach You;He will dwell in Your courtyards.We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,Your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, God of our salvation,You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and the farthest [e]sea;6 Who establishes the mountains by His strength,Who is encircled with might;7 Who stills the roaring of the seas,The roaring of their waves,And the turmoil of the nations.8 They who dwell at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;You make the [f]sunrise and the sunset shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and cause it to overflow;You greatly enrich it;The [g]stream of God is full of water;You prepare their grain, for so You prepare [h]the earth.10 You water its furrows abundantly,You [i]settle its ridges,You soften it with showers,You bless its growth.11 You have crowned the year [j]with Your goodness,And Your [k]paths drip with fatness.12 The pastures of the wilderness drip,And the hills encircle themselves with rejoicing.13 The meadows are clothed with flocksAnd the valleys are covered with grain;They shout for joy, yes, they sing.
Proverbs 23:24
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.