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Fri 2023-07-21 Numbers24 Psalms66 Psalms67 Isaiah14 1 Peter2
Numbers 24.
24:1 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert.
24:2 When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him
24:3 and he uttered his oracle: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
24:4 the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:
24:5 "How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!
24:6 "Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the waters.
24:7 Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water. "Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted.
24:8 "God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces; with their arrows they pierce them.
24:9 Like a lion they crouch and lie down, like a lioness--who dares to rouse them? "May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!"
24:10 Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, "I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times.
24:11 Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the LORD has kept you from being rewarded."
24:12 Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell the messengers you sent me,
24:13 'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD--and I must say only what the LORD says'?
24:14 Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come."
24:15 Then he uttered his oracle: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
24:16 the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:
24:17 "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.
24:18 Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong.
24:19 A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city."
24:20 Then Balaam saw Amalek and uttered his oracle: "Amalek was first among the nations, but he will come to ruin at last."
24:21 Then he saw the Kenites and uttered his oracle: "Your dwelling place is secure, your nest is set in a rock;
24:22 yet you Kenites will be destroyed when Asshur takes you captive."
24:23 Then he uttered his oracle: "Ah, who can live when God does this?
24:24 Ships will come from the shores of Kittim; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will come to ruin."
24:25 Then Balaam got up and returned home and Balak went his own way.
Psalms 66.
66:1 Shout with joy to God, all the earth!
66:2 Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!
66:3 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
66:4 All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name." Selah
66:5 Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf!
66:6 He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot--come, let us rejoice in him.
66:7 He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations--let not the rebellious rise up against him. Selah
66:8 Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard;
66:9 he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.
66:10 For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver.
66:11 You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
66:12 You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.
66:13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you--
66:14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
66:15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats. Selah
66:16 Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.
66:17 I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.
66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
66:19 but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.
66:20 Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!
Psalms 67.
67:1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, Selah
67:2 that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.
67:3 May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.
67:4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. Selah
67:5 May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.
67:6 Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us.
67:7 God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Isaiah 14.
14:1 The LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. Aliens will join them and unite with the house of Jacob.
14:2 Nations will take them and bring them to their own place. And the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the LORD'S land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.
14:3 On the day the LORD gives you relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage,
14:4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended!
14:5 The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers,
14:6 which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression.
14:7 All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing.
14:8 Even the pine trees and the cedars of Lebanon exult over you and say, "Now that you have been laid low, no woodsman comes to cut us down."
14:9 The grave below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you--all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones--all those who were kings over the nations.
14:10 They will all respond, they will say to you, "You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us."
14:11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you.
14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
14:13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
14:14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
14:15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.
14:16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble,
14:17 the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?"
14:18 All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb.
14:19 But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
14:20 you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again.
14:21 Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the sins of their forefathers; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities.
14:22 "I will rise up against them," declares the LORD Almighty. "I will cut off from Babylon her name and survivors, her offspring and descendants," declares the LORD.
14:23 "I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction," declares the LORD Almighty.
14:24 The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.
14:25 I will crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample him down. His yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden removed from their shoulders."
14:26 This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations.
14:27 For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?
14:28 This oracle came in the year King Ahaz died:
14:29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken; from the root of that snake will spring up a viper, its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.
14:30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety. But your root I will destroy by famine; it will slay your survivors.
14:31 Wail, O gate! Howl, O city! Melt away, all you Philistines! A cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there is not a straggler in its ranks.
14:32 What answer shall be given to the envoys of that nation? "The LORD has established Zion, and in her his afflicted people will find refuge."
1 Peter 2.
2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
2:2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
2:3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
2:4 As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--
2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
2:6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
2:7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,"
2:8 and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for.
2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
2:10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
2:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority,
2:14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
2:15 For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
2:16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
2:17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
2:18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.
2:19 For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.
2:20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
2:22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."
2:23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
2:25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.