Nowata Methodists Podcast

So the continued divvying up of the land proceeds in Joshua, but things change pace as Joshua seems to run out steam in the process. After getting the project about half done, he commissions the remaining tribes to go and scout out the remaining land, deciding where the borders need to be, and this time a couple more regions get figured out. We continue to see the Anakim and the Rephaim referred to as groups to be eliminated. Remember, according to legend, these were the giant tribes remaining, which practiced great evil in the sight of the Lord. We also see an increased reluctance on the part of the Israelites to take the land by force, even though they knew the Lord would give them power to do so. Many themes are repeated again, as the Levites not being given a portion, or five women without brothers being given their father’s inheritance.

The Acts portion covers a good deal of movement, the formation of many churches, the persecution that followed Paul from town to town, the new believers made and new leaders equipped. Priscilla and Aquila, Timothy, Apollos all appear now alongside Silas and Paul. The famous Mars Hill sermon is delivered, and the faithful Bereans receive the good news. Enjoy!

Joshua 16

The allotment for the descendants of Joseph extended from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east, through the wilderness that goes up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel. 

It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz) and proceeded to the border of the Archites in Ataroth. 

Then it descended westward to the border of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth-horon and on to Gezer, and it ended at the Sea. 

So Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, received their inheritance. This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: 

The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar in the east to Upper Beth-horon and out toward the Sea. From Michmethath on the north it turned eastward toward Taanath-shiloh and passed by it to Janoah on the east. 

From Janoah it went down to Ataroth and Naarah, and then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. From Tappuah the border went westward to the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Sea. 

This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, along with all the cities and villages set apart for the descendants of Ephraim within the inheritance of Manasseh. 

But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.

Joshua 17

Now this was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn son, namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because Machir was a man of war. 

So this allotment was for the rest of the descendants of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. 

But Zelophehad son of Hepher (the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh) had no sons but only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 

They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” 

So Joshua gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers, in keeping with the command of the LORD. 

Thus ten shares fell to Manasseh, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond the Jordan, because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh. 

Now the border of Manasseh went from Asher to Michmethath near Shechem, then southward to include the inhabitants of En-tappuah. The region of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself, on the border of Manasseh, belonged to Ephraim. 

From there the border continued southward to the Brook of Kanah. There were cities belonging to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh, but the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook and ended at the Sea. 

Ephraim’s territory was to the south, and Manasseh’s was to the north, having the Sea as its border and adjoining Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements. 

But the descendants of Manasseh were unable to occupy these cities, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land. 

However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they failed to drive them out completely. 

Then the sons of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one portion as an inheritance? We have many people, because the LORD has blessed us abundantly.” 

Joshua answered them, “If you have so many people that the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go to the forest and clear for yourself an area in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.” 

“The hill country is not enough for us,” they replied, “and all the Canaanites who live in the valley have iron chariots, both in Beth-shean with its towns and in the Valley of Jezreel.” 

So Joshua said to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You have many people and great strength. You shall not have just one allotment, because the hill country will be yours as well. It is a forest; clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours. Although the Canaanites have iron chariots and although they are strong, you can drive them out.”

Joshua 18

Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them, there were still seven tribes of Israel who had not yet received their inheritance. 

So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you put off entering and possessing the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? 

Appoint three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to survey the land and map it out, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me and divide the land into seven portions. Judah shall remain in their territory in the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in their territory in the north. 

When you have mapped out the seven portions of land and brought it to me, I will cast lots for you here in the presence of the LORD our God. 

The Levites, however, have no portion among you, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received the inheritance that Moses the servant of the LORD gave them beyond the Jordan to the east.” 

As the men got up to go out, Joshua commanded them to map out the land, saying, “Go and survey the land, map it out, and return to me. Then I will cast lots for you here in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD.” 

So the men departed and went throughout the land, mapping it city by city into seven portions. Then they returned with the document to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. 

And Joshua cast lots for them in the presence of the LORD at Shiloh, where he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their divisions. 

The first lot came up for the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph: 

On the north side their border began at the Jordan, went up past the northern slope of Jericho, headed west through the hill country, and came out at the wilderness of Beth-aven. 

From there the border crossed over to the southern slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth-addar on the hill south of Lower Beth-horon. 

On the west side the border curved southward from the hill facing Beth-horon on the south and came out at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the western side. 

On the south side the border began at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim and extended westward to the spring at the Waters of Nephtoah. 

Then it went down to the foot of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim and ran down the Valley of Hinnom toward the southern slope of the Jebusites and downward to En-rogel. 

From there it curved northward and proceeded to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth facing the Ascent of Adummim, and continued down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. 

Then it went on to the northern slope of Beth-arabah  and went down into the valley. The border continued to the northern slope of Beth-hoglah and came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the mouth of the Jordan. This was the southern border. 

On the east side the border was the Jordan. 

These were the borders around the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. 

These were the cities of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve cities, along with their villages. Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus  (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim —fourteen cities, along with their villages. 

This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.

Acts 16

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father. The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 

Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 

As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions handed down by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 

So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. 

After the Holy Spirit had prevented them from speaking the word in the province of Asia, they traveled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. 

And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 

During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 

As soon as Paul had seen the vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. We sailed from Troas straight to Samothrace, and the following day on to Neapolis. From there we went to the Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. 

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer. After sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there. 

Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 

And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. 

One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling. 

This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!” 

She continued this for many days. Eventually Paul grew so aggravated that he turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” And the spirit left her at that very moment. 

When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace. 

They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.” 

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods. 

And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely. 

On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 

Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. 

When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped. 

But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself! We are all here!” 

Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. 

At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized. 

Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them. So he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God. 

When daylight came, the magistrates sent their officers with the order: “Release those men.” 

The jailer informed Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders to release you. Now you may go on your way in peace.” 

But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!” 

So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 

They came to appease them and led them out, requesting that they leave the city. 

After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house to see the brothers and encourage them. Then they left the city.

Acts 17

When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 

As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he declared. 

Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few leading women. 

The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people. 

But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!” 

On hearing this, the crowd and city officials were greatly disturbed. And they collected bond from Jason and the others, and then released them. 

As soon as night had fallen, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went into the Jewish synagogue. 

Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true. 

As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men. 

But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that Paul was also proclaiming the word of God in Berea, they went there themselves to incite and agitate the crowds. 

The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. 

Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. 

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols. 

So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace with those he met each day. 

Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection. 

So they took Paul and brought him to the Areopagus, where they asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 

For you are bringing some strange notions to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.” 

Now all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing more than hearing and articulating new ideas. 

Then Paul stood up in the meeting  of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. 

For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: 

TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. 

Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you. 

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands. 

Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 

From one man  He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands. 

God intended that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. 

‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’ 

Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination. 

Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent. 

For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.” 

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.” At that, Paul left the Areopagus. 

But some  joined him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others who were with them.

Acts 18

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 

There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them, and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was. 

Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike. 

And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. 

But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 

So Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titus Justus, a worshiper of God. 

Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his whole household believed in the Lord. And many of the Corinthians who heard the message believed and were baptized. 

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent. 

For I am with you and no one will lay a hand on you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching the word of God among the Corinthians. 

While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat. “This man is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law,” they said. 

But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio told the Jews, “If this matter involved a wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to hear your complaint. 

But since it is a dispute about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of such things.” And he drove them away from the judgment seat. 

At this, the crowd seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio. 

Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. 

When they reached Ephesus, Paul parted ways with Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue there and reasoned with the Jews. 

When they asked him to stay for a while longer, he declined. But as he left, he said, “I will come back  to you if God is willing.” And he set sail from Ephesus. 

When Paul had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem. Then he went down to Antioch. 

After Paul had spent some time in Antioch, he traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. 

Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures. 

He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 

And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him in and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 

When Apollos resolved to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 

For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Lots of places to visit today. Hebrew/Canaanite and Greek city names. Some terrain, but mostly place names. I have seen maps of these places. In fact, I’ll put a couple maps down below for you to consult as you make your way through the material. You’re welcome.

Get through the Joshua reading, and there’s a lot of great stuff in Acts. Joshua is great for its own reasons, but Acts is easier to appreciate.

Joshua 13

Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed. This is the land that remains: 

All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, 

from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites; to the south, all the land of the Canaanites, from Mearah  of the Sidonians to Aphek, as far as the border of the Amorites; the land of the Gebalites; and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath. 

All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim—all the Sidonians—I Myself will drive out before the Israelites. Be sure to divide it by lot as an inheritance to Israel, as I have commanded you. 

Now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.” 

The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them: 

The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon, and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the Ammonites; also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah— the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and had remained as a remnant of the Rephaim. 

Moses had struck them down and dispossessed them, but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath dwell among the Israelites to this day. 

To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The offerings made by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as He had promised them. 

This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Reuben: 

The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba, to Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 

Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley, Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth— all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land. 

The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword. And the border of the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan. 

This was the inheritance of the clans of the Reubenites, including the cities and villages. 

This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Gad: 

The territory of Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, near Rabbah; the territory from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir; and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the territory on the east side of the Jordan up to the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth ). 

This was the inheritance of the clans of the Gadites, including the cities and villages. 

This is what Moses had given to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh: 

The territory from Mahanaim through all Bashan—all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, including all the towns of Jair that are in Bashan, sixty cities; half of Gilead; and Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan. 

All this was for the clans of the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh, that is, half of the descendants of Machir. 

These were the portions Moses had given them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho. 

To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as He had promised them.

Joshua 14

Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel. 

Their inheritance was assigned by lot for the nine and a half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses. 

For Moses had given the inheritance east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes. But he granted no inheritance among them to the Levites. 

The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion of the land was given to the Levites, except for cities in which to live, along with pasturelands for their flocks and herds. 

So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they divided the land. 

Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me. 

I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back to him an honest report. 

Although my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear, I remained loyal to the LORD my God. 

On that day Moses swore to me, saying, ‘Surely the land on which you have set foot will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’ 

Now behold, as the LORD promised, He has kept me alive these forty-five years since He spoke this word to Moses, while Israel wandered in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old, still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. As my strength was then, so it is now for war, for going out, and for coming in. 

Now therefore give me this hill country that the LORD promised me on that day, for you yourself heard then that the Anakim were there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps with the LORD’s help I will drive them out, as the LORD has spoken.” 

Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 

Therefore Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. 

(Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.) 

Then the land had rest from war.

Joshua 15

Now the allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah extended to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin at the extreme southern boundary: 

Their southern border started at the bay on the southern tip of the Salt Sea, proceeded south of the Ascent of Akrabbim, continued on to Zin, went over to the south of Kadesh-barnea, ran past Hezron up to Addar, and curved toward Karka. 

It proceeded to Azmon, joined the Brook of Egypt, and ended at the Sea. This was their  southern border. 

The eastern border was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan. 

The northern border started from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan, went up to Beth-hoglah, proceeded north of Beth-arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. 

Then the border went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, turning north to Gilgal, which faces the Ascent of Adummim south of the ravine. It continued along the waters of En-shemesh and came out at En-rogel. 

From there the border went up the Valley of Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom on the west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. 

From the hilltop the border curved to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, and then bent around toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). 

The border curled westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, and crossed to Timnah. 

Then it went out to the northern slope of Ekron, curved toward Shikkeron, proceeded to Mount Baalah, went on to Jabneel, and ended at the Sea. 

And the western border was the coastline of the Great Sea. 

These are the boundaries around the clans of the descendants of Judah. 

According to the LORD’s command to him, Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah—Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) 

And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. 

From there he marched against the inhabitants of Debir (formerly known as Kiriath-sepher). 

And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.” 

So Othniel son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage. 

One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him  to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?” 

“Give me a blessing,” she answered. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well.” 

So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs. 

This is the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Judah. These were the southernmost cities of the tribe of Judah in the Negev toward the border of Edom: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), Amam, Shema, Moladah, Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, Baalah, Iim, Ezem, Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages. 

These were in the foothills: 

Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim)—fourteen cities, along with their villages. Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel, Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish, Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah—sixteen cities, along with their villages. Libnah, Ether, Ashan, Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah—nine cities, along with their villages. Ekron, with its towns and villages; from Ekron to the sea, all the cities near Ashdod, along with their villages; Ashdod, with its towns and villages; Gaza, with its towns and villages, as far as the Brook of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea. 

These were in the hill country: 

Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—eleven cities, along with their villages. Arab, Dumah, Eshan, Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—nine cities, along with their villages. Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—ten cities, along with their villages. Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon—six cities, along with their villages. Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah—two cities, along with their villages. 

These were in the wilderness: 

Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi—six cities, along with their villages. 

But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.

Acts 13

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul. 

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 

And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 

So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 

When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. And John was with them as their helper. 

They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 

But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 

Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 

Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 

When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. 

After setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 

And from Perga, they traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down. 

After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent word to them: “Brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak.” 

Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and began to speak: “Men of Israel and you Gentiles who fear God, listen to me! 

The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land. 

He endured their conduct for about forty years in the wilderness. And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance. 

All this took about 450 years. 

After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin. 

After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’ 

From the descendants of this man, God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised. 

Before the arrival of Jesus, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 

As John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not that One. But He is coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ 

Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. 

The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 

And though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed. 

When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead, and for many days He was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people. 

And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: 

‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.’ 

In fact, God raised Him from the dead, never to see decay. As He has said: 

‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ 

So also, He says in another Psalm: 

‘You will not let Your Holy One see decay.’ 

For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay. 

But the One whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. 

Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 

Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 

Watch out, then, that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you: 

‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’” 

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people urged them to continue this message on the next Sabbath. 

After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. 

On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying. 

Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 

For this is what the Lord has commanded us: 

‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” 

When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. 

And the word of the Lord spread throughout that region. 

The Jews, however, incited the religious women of prominence and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district. 

So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 14

At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue, where they spoke so well that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. 

But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 

So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. 

The people of the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews, and others with the apostles. 

But when the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, set out to mistreat and stone them, they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding region, where they continued to preach the gospel. 

In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 

This man was listening to the words of Paul, who looked intently at him and saw that he had faith to be healed. 

In a loud voice Paul called out, “Stand up on your feet!” And the man jumped up and began to walk. 

When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices in the Lycaonian language: “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 

Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 

The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates, hoping to offer a sacrifice along with the crowds. 

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul found out about this, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, shouting, 

“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 

In past generations, He let all nations go their own way. Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.” 

Even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could hardly stop the crowds from sacrificing to them. 

Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead. 

But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. And the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. 

They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. 

Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed. 

After passing through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 

From Attalia they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had just completed. 

When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 

And they spent a long time there with the disciples.

Acts 15

Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 

And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 

Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers. 

On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and apostles and elders, to whom they reported all that God had done through them. 

But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.” 

So the apostles and elders met to look into this matter. 

After much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that the Gentiles would hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 

And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us. 

He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts by faith. 

Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 

On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” 

The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 

When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me! Simon  has told us how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own. 

The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written: 

‘After this I will return and rebuild the fallen tent of David. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, so that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does these things that have been known for ages.’ 

It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 

Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood. 

For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” 

Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to select men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, two leaders among the brothers, and sent them with this letter: 

The apostles and the elders, your brothers, 

To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: 

Greetings. 

It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said. 

So we all agreed to choose men to send to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to tell you in person the same things we are writing. 

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements: 

You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. 

Farewell. 

So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they assembled the congregation and delivered the letter. 

When the people read it, they rejoiced at its encouraging message. 

Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 

After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers in peace to return to those who had sent them. 

But Paul and Barnabas remained at Antioch, along with many others, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord. 

Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.” 

Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark. But Paul thought it best not to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work. 

Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 

And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Stories of victory are enthralling. The story yesterday of Israel’s route of the hostile city of Ai was invigorating. Today is the story of all of the major city-states of Canaan. The Lord goes to war with them to the degree that he rains down hailstones from the skies against his enemies and halts the sun in the sky so that his people can keep slaying their enemies.

In Acts, we get the opening of God’s covenant people to the Gentiles. Another victorious expansion of the forces of light against darkness. Another miraculous victory of God over the powers of destruction and decay. It is easy for him. It is not a challenge.

The question is not if God can achieve victory. The only question is if we want to join him. We have been commissioned to beat back the gates of hell, to go as laborers into the harvest. If God can stop the sun, rain hail boulders, divide waters, send plagues, send visions, reveal dreams—nothing is going to stand in his way.

Joshua 10

Now Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction —doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king—and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them. 

So Adoni-zedek and his people were greatly alarmed, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were mighty. 

Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, 

“Come up and help me. We will attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” 

So the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces and advanced with all their armies. They camped before Gibeon and made war against it. 

Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, because all the kings of the Amorites from the hill country have joined forces against us.” 

So Joshua and his whole army, including all the mighty men of valor, came from Gilgal. 

The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have delivered them into your hand. Not one of them shall stand against you.” 

After marching all night from Gilgal, Joshua caught them by surprise. 

And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 

As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites. 

On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: 

“O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance upon its enemies. 

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? 

“So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.” 

There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man, because the LORD fought for Israel. 

Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal. 

Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. And Joshua was informed: “The five kings have been found; they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.” 

So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men there to guard them. 

But you, do not stop there. Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Do not let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand.” 

So Joshua and the Israelites continued to inflict a terrible slaughter until they had finished them off, and the remaining survivors retreated to the fortified cities. 

The whole army returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one dared to utter a word against the Israelites. 

Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” 

So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 

When they had brought the kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” 

So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks. 

“Do not be afraid or discouraged,” Joshua said. “Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will do this to all the enemies you fight.” 

After this, Joshua struck down and killed the kings, and he hung their bodies on five trees  and left them there until evening. 

At sunset Joshua ordered that they be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave in which they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are there to this day. 

On that day Joshua captured Makkedah and put it to the sword, along with its king. He devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. So he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho. 

Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah. 

And the LORD also delivered that city and its king into the hand of Israel, and Joshua put all the people to the sword, leaving no survivors. And he did to the king of Libnah as he had done to the king of Jericho. 

And Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish. They laid siege to it and fought against it. 

And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, and Joshua captured it on the second day. He put all the people to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. 

At that time Horam king of Gezer went to help Lachish, but Joshua struck him down along with his people, leaving no survivors. 

So Joshua moved on from Lachish to Eglon, and all Israel with him. They laid siege to it and fought against it. 

That day they captured Eglon and put it to the sword, and Joshua devoted to destruction everyone in the city, just as he had done to Lachish. 

Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and fought against it. They captured it and put to the sword its king, all its villages, and all the people. Joshua left no survivors, just as he had done at Eglon; he devoted to destruction Hebron and everyone in it. 

Finally Joshua and all Israel with him turned toward Debir and fought against it. And they captured Debir, its king, and all its villages. They put them to the sword and devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. Joshua did to Debir and its king as he had done to Hebron and as he had done to Libnah and its king. 

So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. 

Joshua conquered the area from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon. 

And because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel, Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign. 

Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

Joshua 11

Now when Jabin king of Hazor heard about these things, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon; to the kings of Shimron and Achshaph; to the kings of the north in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Chinnereth, in the foothills, and in Naphoth-dor  to the west; to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 

So these kings came out with all their armies, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, along with a great number of horses and chariots. 

All these kings joined forces and encamped at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. 

Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for by this time tomorrow I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn up their chariots.” 

So by the waters of Merom, Joshua and his whole army came upon them suddenly and attacked them, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who struck them down and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down, leaving no survivors. 

Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots. 

At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword, because Hazor was formerly the head of all these kingdoms. 

The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction. Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself. 

Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and put them to the sword. He devoted them to destruction, as Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded. 

Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua burned. 

The Israelites took for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but they put all the people to the sword until they had completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone who breathed. 

As the LORD had commanded His servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses. 

So Joshua took this entire region: the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and their foothills, from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death. 

Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long period of time. No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites living in Gibeon; all others were taken in battle. 

For it was of the LORD to harden  their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

At that time Joshua proceeded to eliminate the Anakim from the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction, along with their cities. 

No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did any survive. 

So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.

Joshua 12

Now these are the kings of the land whom the Israelites struck down and whose lands they took beyond the Jordan to the east, from the Arnon Valley to Mount Hermon, including all the Arabah eastward: 

Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along the middle of the valley, up to the Jabbok River (the border of the Ammonites), that is, half of Gilead, as well as the Arabah east of the Sea of Chinnereth  to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea ), eastward through Beth-jeshimoth, and southward below the slopes of Pisgah. 

And Og king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all of Bashan up to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. 

Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the Israelites had struck them down and given their land as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 

And these are the kings of the land that Joshua and the Israelites conquered beyond the Jordan to the west, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir (according to the allotments to the tribes of Israel, Joshua gave them as an inheritance the hill country, the foothills, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negev—the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites): 

the king of Jericho, one; 

the king of Ai, which is near Bethel, one; 

the king of Jerusalem, one; 

the king of Hebron, one; 

the king of Jarmuth, one; 

the king of Lachish, one; 

the king of Eglon, one; 

the king of Gezer, one; 

the king of Debir, one; 

the king of Geder, one; 

the king of Hormah, one; 

the king of Arad, one; 

the king of Libnah, one; 

the king of Adullam, one; 

the king of Makkedah, one; 

the king of Bethel, one; 

the king of Tappuah, one; 

the king of Hepher, one; 

the king of Aphek, one; 

the king of Lasharon, one; 

the king of Madon, one; 

the king of Hazor, one; 

the king of Shimron-meron, one; 

the king of Achshaph, one; 

the king of Taanach, one; 

the king of Megiddo, one; 

the king of Kedesh, one; 

the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; 

the king of Dor in Naphath-dor, one; 

the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one; 

and the king of Tirzah, one. 

So there were thirty-one kings in all.

Acts 10

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment. He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly. 

One day at about the ninth hour, he had a clear vision of an angel of God who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” 

Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” 

The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God. 

Now send men to Joppa to call for a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 

When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among his attendants. 

He explained what had happened and sent them to Joppa. 

The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 

He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 

He saw heaven open and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 

It contained all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air. Then a voice said to him: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” 

“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure  or unclean.” 

The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” 

This happened three times, and all at once the sheet was taken back up into heaven. 

While Peter was puzzling over the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and approached the gate. 

They called out to ask if Simon called Peter was staying there. 

As Peter continued to reflect on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 

So get up! Go downstairs and accompany them without hesitation, because I have sent them.” 

So Peter went down to the men  and said, “Here am I, the one you are looking for. Why have you come?” 

“Cornelius the centurion has sent us,” they said. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation. A holy angel instructed him to request your presence in his home so he could hear a message from you.” 

So Peter invited them in as his guests. And the next day he got ready and went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa. 

The following day he arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 

As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him. But Peter helped him up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” 

As Peter talked with him, he went inside and found many people gathered together. 

He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. 

So when I was invited, I came without objection. I ask, then, why have you sent for me?” 

Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this, the ninth hour. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God. 

Therefore send to Joppa for Simon, who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ 

So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has instructed you to tell us.” 

Then Peter began to speak: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism, but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right. 

He has sent this message to the people of Israel, proclaiming the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 

You yourselves know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee with the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him. 

We are witnesses of all that He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And although they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree, God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be seen— not by all the people, but by the witnesses God had chosen beforehand, by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. 

And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. 

All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” 

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard his message. 

All the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 

For they heard them speaking in tongues and exalting God. 

Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water to baptize these people? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have!” 

So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.

Acts 11

The apostles and brothers throughout Judea soon heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers  took issue with him and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 

But Peter began and explained to them the whole sequence of events: 

“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me. 

I looked at it closely and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’ 

‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure  or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 

But the voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 

This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven. 

Just then three men sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 

The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s home. 

He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 

He will convey to you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.’ 

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning. 

Then I remembered the word of the Lord, as He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 

So if God gave them the same gift He gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder the work of God?” 

When they heard this, their objections were put to rest, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” 

Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews. 

But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks  as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus. 

The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 

When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 

When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts. 

Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. 

In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 

One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.) 

So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 12

About that time, King Herod  reached out to harm  some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 

And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 

He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him. 

On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison. 

Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. “Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 

So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision. 

They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him. 

Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.” 

And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying. 

He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. 

When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she forgot to open the gate, but ran inside and announced, “Peter is standing at the gate!” 

“You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” 

But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded. 

Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place. 

At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 

After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there. 

Now Herod was in a furious dispute  with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food. 

On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people. And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” 

Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. 

But the word of God continued to spread and multiply. 

When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark.

The Parable of the Weeds, The Mustard Seed, & The Yeast. This week we continue our way through Matthew chapter 13, in this section we hear three different parables from Jesus describing the kingdom of heaven.

"I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” - Matthew 13:35

God has been really great to us as we have made our way through these readings. Just as he formed a people out of the Hebrews, and a new people out of the Jews who followed Jesus, so he continues to form new disciples today. Those of us who are drawn to him recognize his scriptures as true and trustworthy.

That isn’t to say that the bible is easy to accept or understand. But it is to say that the witness of the Spirit is that our scriptures are essential for a right walk with our Savior. Continue to strive to understand what you read here!

Joshua 7

The Israelites, however, acted unfaithfully regarding the things devoted to destruction. Achan  son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of what was set apart. So the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites. 

Meanwhile, Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. 

On returning to Joshua, they reported, “There is no need to send all the people; two or three thousand men are enough to go up and attack Ai. Since the people of Ai are so few, you need not wear out all our people there.” 

So about three thousand men went up, but they fled before the men of Ai. 

And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries  and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water. 

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads. 

“O, Lord GOD,” Joshua said, “why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to be destroyed? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 

O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies? 

When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?” 

But the LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions. 

This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction. 

Get up and consecrate the people, saying, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them. 

In the morning you must present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD selects shall come forward clan by clan, and the clan that the LORD selects shall come forward family by family, and the family that the LORD selects shall come forward man by man. 

The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage in Israel.’ ” 

So Joshua arose early the next morning and had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected. 

He had the clans of Judah come forward, and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward, and the family of Zabdi was selected. 

And he had the family of Zabdi come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected. 

So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 

“It is true,” Achan replied, “I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did: 

When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” 

So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there it all was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 

They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out before the LORD. 

Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen and donkeys and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor. 

“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies. 

And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor  to this day.

Joshua 8

Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. See, I have delivered into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 

And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set up an ambush behind the city.” 

So Joshua and the whole army set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out at night with these orders: “Pay attention. You are to lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it. All of you must be ready. 

Then I and all the troops with me will advance on the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them. 

They will pursue us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘The Israelites are running away from us as they did before.’ So as we flee from them, you are to rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. 

And when you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do as the LORD has commanded! See, I have given you orders.” 

So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush and lay in wait between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua spent that night among the people. 

Joshua got up early the next morning and mobilized his men, and he and the elders of Israel marched before them up to Ai. 

Then all the troops who were with him marched up and approached the city. They arrived in front of Ai and camped to the north of it, with the valley between them and the city. 

Now Joshua had taken about five thousand men and set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 

So the forces were stationed with the main camp to the north of the city and the rear guard to the west of the city. And that night Joshua went into the valley. 

When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out early in the morning with the men of the city to engage them in battle at an appointed place overlooking the Arabah. But he did not know that an ambush had been set up against him behind the city. 

Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness. 

Then all the men of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they followed Joshua and were drawn away from the city. 

Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city wide open while they pursued Israel. 

Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out your battle lance  toward Ai, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out his battle lance toward Ai, and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They rushed forward, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. 

When the men of Ai turned and looked back, the smoke of the city was rising into the sky. They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers. 

When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. 

Meanwhile, those in the ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces on both sides. So Israel struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained. 

But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. 

When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai who had pursued them into the field and wilderness, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and put it to the sword as well. 

A total of twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. 

Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction  all who lived in Ai. 

Israel took for themselves only the cattle and plunder of that city, as the LORD had commanded Joshua. 

So Joshua burned Ai  and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolation to this day. 

He hung the king of Ai on a tree  until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take down the body from the tree and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And over it they raised a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. 

At that time Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the LORD, the God of Israel, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of uncut stones on which no iron tool has been used.” And on it they offered burnt offerings to the LORD, and they sacrificed peace offerings. 

And there in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. 

All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel. 

Afterward, Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 

There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua failed to read before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who lived among them.

Joshua 9

Now when news of this reached all the kings west of the Jordan—those in the hill country, the foothills, and all along the coast of the Great Sea  toward Lebanon (the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites)— they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel. 

But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 

They put worn, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies, and their whole supply of bread was dry and moldy. 

They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land; please make a treaty  with us.” 

But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell near us. How can we make a treaty with you?” 

“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. 

Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where have you come from?” 

“Your servants have come from a very distant land,” they replied, “because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard the reports about Him: all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 

So the elders and inhabitants of our land told us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go to meet them and say to them: We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us.’ 

This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But take a look, it is now dry and moldy. 

These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.” 

Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions, but did not seek the counsel of the LORD. 

And Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them. 

Three days after they had made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites learned that they were neighbors, living among them. 

So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 

But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. 

All the leaders answered, “We have sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. This is how we will treat them: We will let them live, so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them.” 

They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation.” So the leaders kept their promise. 

Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us? 

Now therefore you are under a curse and will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” 

The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we have done this. 

Now we are in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.” 

So Joshua did this and delivered them from the hands of the Israelites, and they did not kill the Gibeonites. 

On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers, as they are to this day for the congregation of the LORD and for the altar at the place He would choose.

Acts 7

Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?” 

And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and told him, ‘Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land I will show you.’ 

So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living. 

He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child. 

God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 

‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come forth and worship Me in this place.’ 

Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. 

Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household. 

Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food. 

When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. 

On their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity to  his brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all. 

So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died. 

Their bones were carried back  to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver. 

As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased greatly in number. Then another king, who knew nothing of Joseph, arose over Egypt. 

He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die. 

At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God. For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house. 

When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 

So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. 

When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 

And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him. 

He assumed his brothers would understand that God was using him to deliver them, but they did not. 

The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’ 

But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 

At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons. 

After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 

When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight. As he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came to him: 

‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. 

Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’ 

This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel  who appeared to him in the bush. 

He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness. This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ 

He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. And he received living words to pass on to us. 

But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 

They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us! As for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ 

At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands. 

But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: 

‘Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’ 

Our fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the wilderness. It was constructed exactly as God had directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 

And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built the house for Him. 

However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: 

‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or where will My place of repose be? Has not My hand made all these things?’ 

You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. 

Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers— you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.” 

On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him. 

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 

“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 

At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him. 

They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 

While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 

Falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 8

And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. 

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 

God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. 

But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. 

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them. 

The crowds gave their undivided attention to Philip’s message and to the signs they saw him perform. 

With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many of the paralyzed and lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city. 

Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.” 

They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery. 

But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 

Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed. 

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. On their arrival, they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit. 

For the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 

Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 

When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money. “Give me this power as well,” he said, “so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 

But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and captive to iniquity.” 

Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” 

And after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many of the Samaritan villages. 

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 

So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his return was sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet. 

The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to that chariot and stay by it.” 

So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 

The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: 

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so He did not open His mouth. In His humiliation He was deprived of justice. Who can recount His descendants? For His life was removed from the earth.” 

“Tell me,” said the eunuch, “who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 

Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 

As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?” 

And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. 

But Philip appeared at Azotus and traveled through that region, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Acts 9

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 

As Saul drew near to Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” 

“Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. 

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone. 

Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see a thing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 

For three days he was without sight, and he did not eat or drink anything. 

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!” 

“Here I am, Lord,” he answered. 

“Get up!” the Lord told him. “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 

In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 

But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 

And now he is here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.” 

“Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.” 

So Ananias went to the house, and when he arrived, he placed his hands on Saul. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 

At that instant, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and his sight was restored. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. And he spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 

Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.” 

All who heard him were astounded and asked, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem on those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 

But Saul was empowered all the more, and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. 

After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him. 

One night, however, his disciples took him and lowered him in a basket through a window in the wall. 

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. 

Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus. 

So Saul stayed with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 

He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit. 

As Peter traveled throughout the area, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. 

“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you! Get up and put away your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up, and all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. 

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity. 

At that time, however, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upper room. 

Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to urge him, “Come to us without delay.” 

So Peter got up and went with them. On his arrival, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, weeping and showing him the tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. 

Then Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down and prayed, and turning toward her body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. 

Peter took her by the hand and helped her up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her to them alive. 

This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. And Peter stayed for several days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.

We are told in this portion of Joshua that the two spies that Joshua sent out were young men, and that they stayed in the domicile of a prostitute named Rahab. Take note that the men are not named, but the prostitute is. Also take note that Rahab, again, a prostitute, is named as a saint in the New Testament book of Hebrews. I have never known what to make of this. It isn’t good to be a prostitute or do prostitute things. Even so, the bible doesn’t look away from such things. It is what it is. Of course, God can redeem prostitutes. Nobody has a problem with that. It’s just strange when all we know about her is that she was a prostitute. Did she turn from her wanton ways? I wish we were told that she did.

In Acts, I think the important word to know is ‘flogged.’ When the apostles are flogged by the Sanhedrin, that means they were whipped with these sharp instruments that stripped little bits of their skin off. It was terribly painful. The fact that the story spends zero time on their suffering and a great deal of energy conveying their joy at being counted worthy to suffer…this says something profound.

See what other profound things you can find. There are a number of them. Enjoy!

Joshua 4

When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and command them: ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing, carry them with you, and set them down in the place where you spend the night.’ ” 

So Joshua summoned the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ you are to tell them, ‘The waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters were cut off.’ Therefore these stones will be a memorial to the Israelites forever.” 

Thus the Israelites did as Joshua had commanded them. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe of Israel, just as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them to the camp, where they set them down. 

Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant stood. And the stones are there to this day. 

Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until the people had completed everything the LORD had commanded Joshua to tell them, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried across, and after everyone had finished crossing, the priests with the ark of the LORD crossed in the sight of the people. 

The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over before the Israelites, armed for battle as Moses had instructed them. 

About 40,000 troops armed for battle crossed over before the LORD into the plains of Jericho. 

On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses. 

Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Command the priests who carry the ark of the Testimony  to come up from the Jordan.” 

So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan.” 

When the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up out of the Jordan and their feet touched the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their course and overflowed all the banks as before. 

On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 

And there at Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan. 

Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ you are to tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 

For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as He did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. 

He did this so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God.”

Joshua 5

Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast  heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and their spirits failed for fear of the Israelites. 

At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. 

Now this is why Joshua circumcised them: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of war—had died on the journey in the wilderness after they had left Egypt. 

Though all who had come out were circumcised, none of those born in the wilderness on the journey from Egypt had been circumcised. 

For the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness forty years, until all the nation’s men of war who had come out of Egypt had died, since they did not obey the LORD. So the LORD vowed never to let them see the land He had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 

And Joshua raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones he circumcised. Until this time they were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way. 

And after all the nation had been circumcised, they stayed there in the camp until they were healed. 

Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So that place has been called Gilgal  to this day. 

On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover. 

The day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land. 

And the day after they had eaten from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. There was no more manna for the Israelites, so that year they began to eat the crops of the land of Canaan. 

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?” 

“Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army.” 

Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence  and asked Him, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?” 

The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” 

And Joshua did so.

Joshua 6

Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 

And the LORD said to Joshua, “Behold, I have delivered Jericho into your hand, along with its king and its mighty men of valor. 

March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. 

Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark. Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns. 

And when there is a long blast of the ram’s horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse  and all your people will charge straight into the city.” 

So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the LORD.” 

And he told the people, “Advance and march around the city, with the armed troops going ahead of the ark of the LORD.” 

After Joshua had spoken to the people, seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the horns, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. 

While the horns continued to sound, the armed troops marched ahead of the priests who blew the horns, and the rear guard followed the ark. 

But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard; do not let one word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!” 

So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. And the people returned to the camp and spent the night there. 

Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests took the ark of the LORD. 

And the seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns kept marching ahead of the ark of the LORD and blowing the horns. The armed troops went in front of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the horns kept sounding. 

So on the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days. 

Then on the seventh day, they got up at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. That was the only day they circled the city seven times. 

After the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns, and Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! 

Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies we sent. 

But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster upon it. 

For all the silver and gold and all the articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they must go into His treasury.” 

So when the rams’ horns sounded, the people shouted. When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. Then all the people charged straight into the city and captured it. 

At the edge of the sword they devoted to destruction everything in the city—man and woman, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys. 

Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised her.” 

So the young spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel. 

Then the Israelites burned up the city and everything in it. However, they put the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house. 

And Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father’s household and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho. So she has lived among the Israelites to this day. 

At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: 

“Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.” 

So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.

Acts 4

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, greatly disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day. 

But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. 

The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and many others from the high priest’s family. 

They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” 

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people! 

If we are being examined today about a kind service to a man who was lame, to determine how he was healed, then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 

This Jesus is 

‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 

Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” 

When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus. 

And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in response. 

So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin  and then conferred together. “What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it. 

But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.” 

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 

But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God. For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 

After further threats they let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. 

On their release, Peter and John returned to their own people and reported everything that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 

When the believers heard this, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “You made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 

You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant, our father David: 

‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One.’ 

In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed. 

They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen. 

And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness, as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” 

After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 

The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned. 

With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all. 

There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need. 

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Acts 5

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land? 

Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!” 

On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened. 

Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 

About three hours later his wife also came in, unaware of what had happened. “Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?” 

“Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.” 

“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 

At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 

And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events. 

The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 

Although the people regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them. Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord—large numbers of both men and women. 

As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 

Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed. 

Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying, 

“Go, stand in the temple courts  and tell the people the full message of this new life.” 

At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people. 

When the high priest and his associates arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 

But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they returned with the report: 

“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 

When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening. 

Then someone came in and announced, “Look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people!” 

At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles—but not by force, for fear the people would stone them. 

They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them. 

“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.” 

But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. 

God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” 

When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved  to put the apostles to death. 

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time. 

“Men of Israel,” he said, “consider carefully what you are about to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 

After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail. 

But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.” 

At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them. 

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 

Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

Acts 6

In those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews among them began to grumble against the Hebraic Jews  because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 

So the Twelve summoned all the disciples and said, “It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. 

Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will appoint this responsibility to them and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 

They presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 

So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith. 

Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 

But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. 

Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.” 

So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes and confronted Stephen. They seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin, where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 

For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” 

All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

As the Hebrews are finally entering the promised land at the start of Joshua, we also begin Acts of the Apostles, as many prophecies are fulfilled in the coming of the promised Holy Spirit. As the Old Testament covenant community draws closer to the Lord through physical warfare, the New Testament covenant community instantly does spiritual warfare from the moment of their inception. God has ever and always been faithful to his people. These two segments in history were profound and undeniable times of God’s faithfulness to his people.

If you know of anyone who would benefit from doing these readings alongside us, make sure to get them subscribed here!

Joshua 1

Now after the death of His servant Moses, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, 

“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore arise, you and all these people, and cross over the Jordan into the land that I am giving to the children of Israel. 

I have given you every place where the sole of your foot will tread, just as I promised to Moses. 

Your territory shall extend from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great River Euphrates—all the land of the Hittites—and west as far as the Great Sea. 

No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 

Be strong and courageous, for you shall give these people the inheritance of the land that I swore to their fathers I would give them. 

Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go. 

This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do. 

Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people: “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you will cross the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’ ” 

But to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, “Remember what Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you when he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land.’ 

Your wives, your young children, and your livestock may remain in the land that Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But all your mighty men of valor must be armed for battle to cross over ahead of your brothers and help them, until the LORD gives them rest as He has done for you, and your brothers also possess the land that the LORD your God is giving them. Then you may return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of that which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the east side of the Jordan.” 

So they answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. 

Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. 

Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words, all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!”

Joshua 2

Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. 

And it was reported to the king of Jericho: “Behold, some men of Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 

So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they have come to spy out the whole land.” 

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 

At dusk, when the gate was about to close, the men went out, and I do not know which way they went. Pursue them quickly, and you may catch them!” 

(But Rahab had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had laid out there.) 

So the king’s men set out in pursuit of the spies along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they had gone out, the gate was shut. 

Before the spies lay down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you. 

For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea  before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites across the Jordan, whom you devoted to destruction. 

When we heard this, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below. 

Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD that you will indeed show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will deliver us from death.” 

“Our lives for your lives!” the men agreed. “If you do not report our mission, we will show you kindness and faithfulness when the LORD gives us the land.” 

Then Rahab let them down by a rope through the window, since the house where she lived was built into the wall of the city. 

“Go to the hill country,” she said, “so that your pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there for three days until they have returned; then go on your way.” 

The men said to her, “We will not be bound by this oath you made us swear unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother and brothers and all your family into your house. 

If anyone goes out the door of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if a hand is laid on anyone with you in the house, his blood will be on our heads. 

And if you report our mission, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.” 

“Let it be as you say,” she replied, and she sent them away. And when they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord in the window. 

So the spies went out into the hill country and stayed there three days, until their pursuers had returned without finding them, having searched all along the road. 

Then the two men started back, came down from the hill country, and crossed the river. So they came to Joshua son of Nun and reported all that had happened to them. 

“The LORD has surely delivered the entire land into our hands,” they said to Joshua. “Indeed, all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of us.”

Joshua 3

Early the next morning Joshua got up and left Shittim  with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 

After three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, you are to set out from your positions and follow it. 

But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits  between yourselves and the ark. Do not go near it, so that you can see the way to go, since you have never traveled this way before.” 

Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” 

And he said to the priests, “Take the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people.” So they carried the ark of the covenant and went ahead of them. 

Now the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you just as I was with Moses. 

Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the waters, stand in the Jordan.’ ” 

So Joshua told the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God.” 

He continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will surely drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. 

Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go ahead of you into the Jordan. 

Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will stand up in a heap.” 

So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of them. 

Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season. But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea ) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 

The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.

Acts 1

In my first book, O Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach, until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen. 

After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 

And while they were gathered together, He commanded them: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift the Father promised, which you have heard Me discuss. 

For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 

So when they came together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 

Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

After He had said this, they watched as He was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. 

They were looking intently into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.” 

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is near the city, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 

When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 

With one accord they all continued in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. 

In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (a gathering of about a hundred and twenty) and said, 

“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” 

(Now with the reward for his wickedness Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong and burst open in the middle, and all his intestines spilled out. This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so they called that field in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 

“For it is written in the book of Psalms: 

‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ 

and, 

‘May another take his position.’ 

Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism until the day Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” 

So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 

And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.” 

Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Acts 2

When the day of Pentecost  came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 

They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 

Now there were dwelling  in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 

And when this sound rang out, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking his own language. 

Astounded and amazed, they asked, “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? How is it then that each of us hears them in his own native language? 

Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 

Astounded and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 

But others mocked them and said, “They are drunk on new wine!” 

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words. 

These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 

‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on My menservants and maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 

Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. 

He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. 

But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches. 

David says about Him: 

‘I saw  the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell in hope, because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’ 

Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 

But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne. 

Foreseeing this, David spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His body see decay. 

God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses. 

Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 

For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: 

‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’ 

Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!” 

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 

With many other words he testified, and he urged them, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.” 

Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day. 

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 

A sense of awe  came over everyone, and the apostles performed many wonders and signs. 

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they shared with anyone who was in need. 

With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts  and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 3

One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 

And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts. 

When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 

Peter looked directly at him, as did John. “Look at us!” said Peter. So the man gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 

But Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” 

Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were made strong. 

He sprang to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and leaping and praising God. 

When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 

While the man clung to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and ran to them in the walkway called Solomon’s Colonnade. 

And when Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you surprised by this? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant  Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him. 

You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 

You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of the fact. 

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know has been made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given him this complete healing in your presence. 

And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 

But in this way God has fulfilled what He foretold through all the prophets, saying that His Christ would suffer. Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you. 

Heaven must take Him in until the time comes for the restoration of all things, which God announced long ago through His holy prophets. 

For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you. 

Everyone who does not listen to Him will be completely cut off from among his people.’ 

Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have proclaimed these days. 

And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’ 

When God raised up His Servant, He sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

The “Deuteronomy 32 Worldview” is obviously covered this week. I spent a couple of years reading and listening to Dr. Michael Heiser. He was great at opening up the supernatural worldview of the Old Testament to me. We don’t realize that the heavenly realm is occupied by many different beings, beings who exercise influence in our world. We would do well to learn about these things from God’s holy scriptures. We aren’t meant to know everything about that realm, but we are told some things. It would be wrong to act as though we know nothing.

After today, we will have read the five books of Moses, the Torah, the Pentateuch, in their entirety. These are the backbone of the rest of the bible. We have already covered so much! Let’s keep going with it.

Tomorrow is a catch-up day. So catch up!

Deuteronomy 32

Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching fall like rain and my speech settle like dew, like gentle rain on new grass, like showers on tender plants. For I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Ascribe greatness to our God! He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He. His people have acted corruptly toward Him; the spot on them is not that of His children, but of a perverse and crooked generation. Is this how you repay the LORD, O foolish and senseless people? Is He not your Father and Creator? Has He not made you and established you? Remember the days of old; consider the years long past. Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will inform you. When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance. He found him in a desert land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, He instructed him, He guarded him as the apple  of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, He spread His wings to catch them and carried them on His pinions. The LORD alone led him, and no foreign god was with him. He made him ride on the heights of the land and fed him the produce of the field. He nourished him with honey from the rock and oil from the flinty crag, with curds from the herd and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs, with rams from Bashan, and goats, with the choicest grains of wheat. From the juice of the finest grapes you drank the wine. But Jeshurun  grew fat and kicked— becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation. They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations. They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear. You ignored the Rock who brought you forth; you forgot the God who gave you birth. When the LORD saw this, He rejected them, provoked to anger by His sons and daughters. He said: “I will hide My face from them; I will see what will be their end. For they are a perverse generation— children of unfaithfulness. They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding. For a fire has been kindled by My anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol; it consumes the earth and its produce, and scorches the foundations of the mountains. I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend My arrows against them. They will be wasted from hunger and ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague; I will send the fangs of wild beasts against them, with the venom of vipers that slither in the dust. Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, terror will strike the young man and the young woman, the infant and the gray-haired man. I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind, if I had not dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest their adversaries misunderstand and say: ‘Our own hand has prevailed; it was not the LORD who did all this.’ ” Israel is a nation devoid of counsel, with no understanding among them. If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate. How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up? For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies concede. But their vine is from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poisonous; their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras. “Have I not stored up these things, sealed up within My vaults? Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.” For the LORD will vindicate His people  and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free. He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge, which ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let them give you shelter! See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand. For I lift up My hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen My flashing sword, and My hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood, while My sword devours flesh— the blood of the slain and captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.” Rejoice, O heavens, with Him, and let all God’s angels worship Him.  Rejoice, O nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His children. He will take vengeance on His adversaries and repay those who hate Him; He will cleanse His land and His people. 

Then Moses came with Joshua  son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. When Moses had finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 

he said to them, “Take to heart all these words I testify among you today, so that you may command your children to carefully follow all the words of this law. 

For they are not idle words to you, because they are your life, and by them you will live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” 

On that same day the LORD said to Moses, 

“Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites as their own possession. 

And there on the mountain that you climb, you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. 

For at the waters of Meribah-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you broke faith with Me among the Israelites by failing to treat Me as holy in their presence. 

Although you shall see from a distance the land that I am giving the Israelites, you shall not enter it.”

Deuteronomy 33

This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death. He said: 

“The LORD came from Sinai 

and dawned upon us  from Seir; 

He shone forth from Mount Paran 

and came with myriads of holy ones, 

with flaming fire at His right hand. 

Surely You love the people; 

all the holy ones are in Your hand, 

and they sit down at Your feet; 

each receives Your words— 

the law that Moses gave us, 

the possession of the assembly of Jacob. 

So the LORD became King in Jeshurun  

when the leaders of the people gathered, 

when the tribes of Israel came together. 

Let Reuben live and not die, 

nor  his men be few.” 

And concerning Judah he said: 

“O LORD, hear the cry of Judah 

and bring him to his people. 

With his own hands he defends his cause, 

but may You be a help against his foes.” 

Concerning Levi he said: 

“Give Your Thummim to Levi 

and Your Urim to Your godly one, 

whom You tested at Massah  

and contested at the waters of Meribah. 

He said of his father and mother, 

‘I do not consider them.’ 

He disregarded his brothers 

and did not know his own sons, 

for he kept  Your word 

and maintained Your covenant. 

He will teach Your ordinances to Jacob 

and Your law to Israel; 

he will set incense before You 

and whole burnt offerings on Your altar. 

Bless his substance, O LORD, 

and accept the work of his hands. 

Smash the loins of those who rise against him, 

and of his foes so they can rise no more.” 

Concerning Benjamin he said: 

“May the beloved of the LORD 

rest secure in Him; 

God shields  him all day long, 

and upon His shoulders he rests.” 

Concerning Joseph he said: 

“May his land be blessed by the LORD 

with the precious dew from heaven above 

and the deep waters that lie beneath, 

with the bountiful harvest from the sun 

and the abundant yield of the seasons, 

with the best of the ancient mountains 

and the bounty of the everlasting hills, 

with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it, 

and with the favor of Him who dwelt in the burning bush. 

May these rest on the head of Joseph 

and crown the brow of the prince of his brothers. 

His majesty is like a firstborn bull, 

and his horns are like those of a wild ox. 

With them he will gore the nations, 

even to the ends of the earth. 

Such are the myriads of Ephraim, 

and such are the thousands of Manasseh.” 

Concerning Zebulun he said: 

“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys, 

and Issachar, in your tents. 

They will call the peoples to a mountain; 

there they will offer sacrifices of righteousness. 

For they will feast on the abundance of the seas 

and the hidden treasures of the sand.” 

Concerning Gad he said: 

“Blessed is he who enlarges 

the domain of Gad! 

He lies down like a lion 

and tears off an arm or a head. 

He chose the best land for himself, 

because a ruler’s portion was reserved for him there. 

He came with the leaders of the people; 

he administered the LORD’s justice 

and His ordinances for Israel.” 

Concerning Dan he said: 

“Dan is a lion’s cub, 

leaping out of Bashan.” 

Concerning Naphtali he said: 

“Naphtali is abounding with favor, 

full of the blessing of the LORD; 

he shall take possession 

of the sea  and the south.” 

And concerning Asher he said: 

“May Asher be the most blessed of sons; 

may he be the most favored among his brothers 

and dip his foot in oil. 

May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze, 

and may your strength match your days.” 

“There is none like the God of Jeshurun, 

who rides the heavens to your aid, 

and the clouds in His majesty. 

The eternal God is your dwelling place, 

and underneath are the everlasting arms. 

He drives out the enemy before you, 

giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’ 

So Israel dwells securely; 

the fountain of Jacob lives untroubled 

in a land of grain and new wine, 

where even the heavens drip with dew. 

Blessed are you, O Israel! 

Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? 

He is the shield that protects you, 

the sword in which you boast. 

Your enemies will cower before you, 

and you shall trample their high places.”

Deuteronomy 34

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho. And the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead as far as Dan, 

all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho (the City of Palms) all the way to Zoar. 

And the LORD said to him, “This is the land that I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it.” 

So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, as the LORD had said. 

And He buried him  in a valley in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows the location of his grave. 

Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not diminished. 

The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end. 

Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. 

Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face— 

no prophet who did all the signs and wonders that the LORD sent Moses to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his officials and all his land, 

and no prophet who performed all the mighty acts of power and awesome deeds  that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Hebrews 3

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, set your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 

For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 

And every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 

Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be spoken later. 

But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly  to our confidence and the hope of which we boast. 

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: 

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways.’ So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’ ” 

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. 

But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 

We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first. As it has been said: 

“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.” 

For who were the ones who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 

And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 

And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed? So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.

Psalm 95

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout to the Rock of our salvation! Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him in song. 

For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. 

O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. 

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness, where your fathers tested and tried Me, though they had seen My work. For forty years I was angry with that generation, and I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known My ways.” So I swore on oath in My anger, “They shall never enter My rest.”

Despite the fact that this segment covers the crucifixion of Christ, it isn’t quite as dark as yesterday. Rather, light and dark seem pretty evenly balanced today. Deuteronomy reminds us that there are conditions to covenant faithfulness with God. Blessings and curses result from how we live in response to God’s good care of us. The gospel account today reminds us of what our God has done to save us from ourselves. Few know that the words he utters from the cross are from Psalm 22, which we read today. We also read from Hebrews 5, which explains how the sacrifice of Christ on the cross atones for our sins vicariously. It is a good set of readings.

We live in a culture of ease and convenience. Many are just not willing to do much reading. Even fewer are really willing to put the energy into understanding what they read. A recent report came out, showing that students at some of America’s most elite academic institutions are increasingly unable to read books. They are failing. Our culture is rotting from the inside. If we cannot find it in ourselves to read any book, well, that’s a great way for the evil one to block us off from the only book that truly matters. Read that book. Your soul depends on it.

Deuteronomy 29

These are the words of the covenant that the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant He had made with them at Horeb. 

Moses summoned all Israel and proclaimed to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land. 

You saw with your own eyes the great trials, and those miraculous signs and wonders. Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear. 

For forty years I led you in the wilderness, yet your clothes and sandals did not wear out. You ate no bread and drank no wine or strong drink, so that you might know that I am the LORD your God. 

When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we defeated them. 

We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 

So keep and follow the words of this covenant, that you may prosper in all you do. 

All of you are standing today before the LORD your God—you leaders of tribes, elders, officials, and all the men of Israel, your children and wives, and the foreigners in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water— so that you may enter into the covenant of the LORD your God, which He is making with you today, and into His oath, and so that He may establish you today as His people, and He may be your God as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

I am making this covenant and this oath not only with you, but also with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God, as well as with those who are not here today. 

For you yourselves know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we passed through the nations on the way here. 

You saw the abominations and idols among them made of wood and stone, of silver and gold. 

Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure there is no root among you that bears such poisonous and bitter fruit, because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself, saying, ‘I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart.’ 

This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. 

The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse written in this book will fall upon him. The LORD will blot out his name from under heaven 

and single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law. 

Then the generation to come—your sons who follow you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land—will see the plagues of the land and the sicknesses the LORD has inflicted on it. 

All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His fierce anger. 

So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’ 

And the people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. 

They went and served other gods, and they worshiped gods they had not known—gods that the LORD had not given to them. 

Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against this land, and He brought upon it every curse written in this book. 

The LORD uprooted them from their land in His anger, rage, and great wrath, and He cast them into another land, where they are today.’ 

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

Deuteronomy 30

“When all these things come upon you—the blessings and curses I have set before you—and you call them to mind in all the nations to which the LORD your God has banished you, and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey His voice with all your heart and all your soul according to everything I am giving you today, then He will restore you from captivity  and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you. 

Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there. 

And the LORD your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply more than your fathers. 

The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. 

Then the LORD your God will put all these curses upon your enemies who hate you and persecute you. 

And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and follow all His commandments I am giving you today. 

So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your goodness, as He delighted in that of your fathers, if you obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 

For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 

It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven  to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’ 

And it is not beyond the sea, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea  to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’ 

But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it. 

See, I have set before you today life and goodness, as well as death and disaster. 

For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and increase, and the LORD your God may bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 

But if your heart turns away and you do not listen, but are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 

I declare to you today that you will surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. 

I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live, and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Deuteronomy 31

When Moses had finished speaking  these words to all Israel, 

he said to them, “I am now a hundred and twenty years old; I am no longer able to come and go, and the LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ 

The LORD your God Himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will dispossess them. Joshua will cross ahead of you, as the LORD has said. 

And the LORD will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, when He destroyed them along with their land. 

The LORD will deliver them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you. 

Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. 

The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” 

So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. 

Then Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of remission of debt, during the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes before the LORD your God at the place He will choose, you are to read this law in the hearing of all Israel. 

Assemble the people—men, women, children, and the foreigners within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and to follow carefully all the words of this law. 

Then their children who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, the time of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, so that I may commission him.” 

So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting. 

Then the LORD appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the tent. 

And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them. 

On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. 

On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’ 

And on that day I will surely hide My face because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. 

Now therefore, write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them. 

When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to other gods and worship them, and they will reject Me and break My covenant. 

And when many troubles and afflictions have come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants. For I know their inclination, even before I bring them into the land that I swore to give them.” 

So that very day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites. 

Then the LORD commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land that I swore to give them, and I will be with you.” 

When Moses had finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD: 

“Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, so that it may remain there as a witness against you. 

For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are already rebelling against the LORD while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after my death! 

Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officers so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 

For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. And in the days to come, disaster will befall you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger by the work of your hands.” 

Then Moses recited aloud to the whole assembly of Israel the words of this song from beginning to end:

Mark 15

Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin  devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate. 

So Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 

“You have said so,” Jesus replied. 

And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things. 

Then Pilate questioned Him again, “Have You no answer? Look how many charges they are bringing against You!” 

But to Pilate’s amazement, Jesus made no further reply. 

Now it was Pilate’s custom at the feast to release to the people  a prisoner of their choosing. 

And a man named Barabbas was imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection. 

So the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to keep his custom. 

“Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” Pilate asked. For he knew it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over. 

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead. 

So Pilate asked them again, “What then do you want me to do with the One you call the King of the Jews?” 

And they shouted back, “Crucify Him!” 

“Why?” asked Pilate. “What evil has He done?” 

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!” 

And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified. 

Then the soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called the whole company together. 

They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head. And they began to salute Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!” 

They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him. 

After they had mocked Him, they removed the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him. 

Now Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry the cross of Jesus. 

They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull. There they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it. 

And they crucified Him. 

They also divided His garments by casting lots to decide what each of them would take. 

It was the third hour  when they crucified Him. And the charge inscribed against Him read: 

THE KING OF THE JEWS. 

Along with Jesus, they crucified two robbers, one on His right and one on His left. 

And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, come down from the cross and save Yourself!” 

In the same way, the chief priests and scribes mocked Him among themselves, saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself! 

Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” And even those who were crucified with Him berated Him. 

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour  darkness came over all the land. 

At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 

When some of those standing nearby heard this, they said, “Behold, He is calling Elijah.” 

And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.” 

But Jesus let out a loud cry and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 

When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus saw how He had breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” 

And there were also women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 

These women had followed Jesus and ministered to Him while He was in Galilee, and there were many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with Him. 

Now it was already evening. Since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), 

Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. 

Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so. 

When Pilate had confirmed it with the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. 

So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. 

Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph  saw where His body was placed.

Mark 16

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus. 

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?” 

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, even though it was extremely large. 

When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 

But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here! See the place where they put Him. 

But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’ ” 

So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone. 

Early on the first day of the week, after Jesus had risen, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had driven out seven demons. 

She went and told those who had been with Him, who were mourning and weeping. And when they heard that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they did not believe it. 

After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked along in the country. 

And they went back and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. 

Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 

they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.” 

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 

And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning? I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest. Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads: “He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD deliver him; let the LORD rescue him, since He delights in him.” Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon You; from my mother’s womb You have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me. My strength  is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones; they stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of wild dogs. Save me from the mouth of the lion; at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me! I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the assembly. You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All descendants of Jacob, honor Him! All offspring of Israel, revere Him! For He has not despised or detested the torment of the afflicted. He has not hidden His face from him, but has attended to his cry for help. My praise for You resounds in the great assembly; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You. The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him. For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him— even those unable to preserve their lives. Posterity will serve Him; they will declare the Lord to a new generation. They will come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn— all that He has done.

Hebrews 5

Every high priest is appointed from among men to represent them in matters relating to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 

He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and misguided, since he himself is beset by weakness. That is why he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 

No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. 

So also Christ did not take upon Himself the glory of becoming a high priest, but He was called by the One who said to Him: 

“You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.” 

And in another passage God says: 

“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” 

During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. 

Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him and was designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek. 

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing. 

Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food! 

For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness. 

But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.

"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” - Matthew 13: 1-9

This week we make it through the first half of chapter 13 of the Gospel of Matthew.