Daily Bible Reading: July 16

Joshua’s Final Charge to Israel

Joshua 23. Now it happened after many days, after Yahweh had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads, and their judges and their officers, and said to them, I am old, advanced in years.

And you have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations because of you. For Yahweh your God is He who has been fighting for you. See, I have allotted to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the great sea toward the setting of the sun.

And Yahweh your God, He will thrust them out from before you and dispossess them from before you, and you will possess their land, just as Yahweh your God promised you. Be very strong then to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you will not go along with these nations, these which remain among you, and you will not mention the name of their gods, and you will not make anyone swear by them, and you will not serve them, and you will not bow down to them.

But you are to cling to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day. For Yahweh has dispossessed great and mighty nations from before you, and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. One of your men will pursue one thousand, for Yahweh your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you.

So keep your souls very carefully to love Yahweh your God. For if you ever turn back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you go along with them and they with you, know with certainty that Yahweh your God will not continue to dispossess these nations from before you, but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you.

Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which Yahweh your God spoke concerning you has failed, and all have come to pass for you, not one word of them has failed.

And it will be that just as all the good words which Yahweh your God spoke to you have come upon you, so Yahweh will bring upon you all the calamitous words, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you.

When you trespass against the covenant of Yahweh your God which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of Yahweh will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.

Peter and John Heal the Lame Man

Acts 3. Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. And a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried, whom they used to set down daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.

When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. But when Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him, he said, Look at us. And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said, I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk. And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up, and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.

And leaping up, he stood upright and began to walk. And he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. And they were recognizing him, that he was the one who used to sit at the beautiful gate of the temple to beg alms.

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. And while he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the portico called Solomon's, full of wonder.

But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety that we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.

But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the author of life, whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. And on the basis of faith in his name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know.

And the faith which is through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled.

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things, about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient time.

Moses said, The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. To him you shall listen to everything he says to you. And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.

And likewise all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward also proclaim these days. It is you who are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

For you first God raised up his servant, and sent him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways. Jeremiah 12. Righteous are you, O Yahweh, when I would plead my case with you. Indeed, I would speak matters of justice with you.

Why is the way of the wicked succeeded? Why are all those who deal in treachery complacent? You have planted them, they have also taken root. They grow, they have even produced fruit. You are near to their lips, but far from their inmost being.

But you, O Yahweh, you know me, you see me, and you test my heart's attitude toward you. Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for a day of carnage. How long is the land to mourn, and the plants of the field to dry up?

Because of the evil of those who inhabit it, animals and birds have been swept away. Because men have said, He will not see our latter ending. If you have run with footmen, and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses?

If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? For even your brothers in the household of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you, even they have called aloud after you.

Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you. I have forsaken my house, I have abandoned my inheritance, I have given the beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest.

She has given forth its voice against me, therefore I have come to hate her. Is my inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to me? Are the birds of prey against her on every side? Go, gather all the beasts of the field, bring them to devour.

Many shepherds have ruined my vineyard, they have trampled down my portion, they have made my desired portion a desolate wilderness. It has been made a desolation, desolate it mourns before me. The whole land has been made desolate, because no man sets it upon his heart.

On all the bare heights in the wilderness destroyers have come. For a sword of Yahweh is devouring from the one end of the land even to the other. There is no peace for any flesh. They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns, they have strained themselves to no profit.

But be ashamed of your produce because of the burning anger of Yahweh. Thus says Yahweh concerning all my evil neighbors, who beat at the inheritance with which I have caused my people Israel to inherit.

Behold, I am about to uproot them from their land and will uproot the house of Judah from among them. And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will return and have compassion on them, and I will cause them to return, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.

Then, if they will really learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, as Yahweh lives, even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of my people. But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and make it perish, declares Yahweh.

Jesus Predicts His Death, the Last Supper, and Gethsemane

Matthew 26. Now it happened that when Jesus had finished all these words, he said to his disciples, You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be delivered over for crucifixion.

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas, and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they were saying, Not during the festival, lest a riot occur among the people.

Now when Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly perfume, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at the table. But when the disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, Why this waste?

For this perfume might have been sold for a high price in the money given to the poor. But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good work to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.

For when she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.

Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priest and said, What are you willing to give me to deliver him to you? And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. And from then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.

Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover? And he said, Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, The teacher says, My time is near.

I am keeping the Passover at your house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples.

And as they were eating, he said, Truly I say to you that one of you will betray me. And being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to him, Surely not I, Lord? And he answered and said, He who dipped his hand with me in the bowl is the one who will betray me.

The Son of Man is going, just as it is written of him. But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born. And Judas, who was betraying him, answered and said, Surely not I, Rabbi?

Jesus said to him, You yourself said it. Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing he broke it. And giving it to the disciples, he said, Take, eat, this is my body. And when he had taken a cup and given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you.

For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.

But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee. But Peter answered and said to him, Even though all may fall away because of you, I will never fall away. Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny me three times.

Peter said to him, Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you. All the disciples said the same thing too. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, Sit here while I go over there and pray.

And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then he said to them, My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and keep watch with me.

And he went a little beyond them, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but as you will. And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, So, you men cannot keep watch with me for one hour.

Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again a second time, and prayed, saying, My father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, your will be done.

And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And he left them again, and went away, and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting?

Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us go. Behold, the one who betrays me is at hand. And while he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up, and with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

Now he who was betraying him gave them a sign, saying, Whomever I kiss, he is the one, seize him. And immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, Greetings, Rabbi, and kissed him. And Jesus said to him, Friend, do what you have come for.

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and seized him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew out a sword, and struck the slave of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

Therefore, how will the Scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must happen this way? At that time Jesus said to the crowds, Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as you would against a robber?

Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place in order that the Scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Now those who had seized Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. But Peter was following him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome.

Now the chief priest and the whole Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death. And they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward.

But later on two came forward, and said, This man stated, I am able to destroy the sanctuary of God and to rebuild it in three days. And the high priest stood up and said to him, Do you not answer? What are these men testifying against you?

But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to him, I put you under oath by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said to him, You yourself said it. Nevertheless, I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.

Then the high priest tore his garments and said, He has blasphemed. What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy. What do you think? They answered and said, He deserves death.

Then they spat in his face and beat him with their fists, and others slapped him and said, Prophesy to us, O Christ, who is the one who hit you? Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him and said, You too are with Jesus the Galilean.

But he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you are talking about. And when he had gone out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him and said to those who were there, This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.

And again he denied it with an oath, I do not know the man. A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, Surely you too are one of them, for even the way you talk gives you away. Then he began to curse and swear, I do not know the man.

And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, Before a rooster crows, you will deny me three times. And he went out and cried bitterly.