April 20

Judges 17

[1] There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. [2] And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD.” [3] And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, “I dedicate the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” [4] So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah. [5] And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest. [6] In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

[7] Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. [8] And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. [9] And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place.” [10] And Micah said to him, “Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living.” And the Levite went in. [11] And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. [12] And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. [13] Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest.”

Judges 18

[1] In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them. [2] So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go and explore the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. [3] When they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” [4] And he said to them, “This is how Micah dealt with me: he has hired me, and I have become his priest.” [5] And they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” [6] And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the LORD.”

[7] Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. [8] And when they came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” [9] They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. [10] As soon as you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

[11] So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, [12] and went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place is called Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim. [13] And they passed on from there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

[14] Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.” [15] And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and asked him about his welfare. [16] Now the 600 men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. [17] And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. [18] And when these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” [19] And they said to him, “Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” [20] And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.

[21] So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and the goods in front of them. [22] When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. [23] And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” [24] And he said, “You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” [25] And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” [26] Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.

[27] But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. [28] And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it. [29] And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was Laish at the first. [30] And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. [31] So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

Psalm 89:19-52

    [19] Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:

        “I have granted help to one who is mighty;

        I have exalted one chosen from the people. 

    [20] I have found David, my servant;

        with my holy oil I have anointed him, 

    [21] so that my hand shall be established with him;

        my arm also shall strengthen him. 

    [22] The enemy shall not outwit him;

        the wicked shall not humble him. 

    [23] I will crush his foes before him

        and strike down those who hate him. 

    [24] My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,

        and in my name shall his horn be exalted. 

    [25] I will set his hand on the sea

        and his right hand on the rivers. 

    [26] He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,

        my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ 

    [27] And I will make him the firstborn,

        the highest of the kings of the earth. 

    [28] My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,

        and my covenant will stand firm for him. 

    [29] I will establish his offspring forever

        and his throne as the days of the heavens. 

    [30] If his children forsake my law

        and do not walk according to my rules, 

    [31] if they violate my statutes

        and do not keep my commandments, 

    [32] then I will punish their transgression with the rod

        and their iniquity with stripes, 

    [33] but I will not remove from him my steadfast love

        or be false to my faithfulness. 

    [34] I will not violate my covenant

        or alter the word that went forth from my lips. 

    [35] Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;

        I will not lie to David. 

    [36] His offspring shall endure forever,

        his throne as long as the sun before me. 

    [37] Like the moon it shall be established forever,

        a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah

    [38] But now you have cast off and rejected;

        you are full of wrath against your anointed. 

    [39] You have renounced the covenant with your servant;

        you have defiled his crown in the dust. 

    [40] You have breached all his walls;

        you have laid his strongholds in ruins. 

    [41] All who pass by plunder him;

        he has become the scorn of his neighbors. 

    [42] You have exalted the right hand of his foes;

        you have made all his enemies rejoice. 

    [43] You have also turned back the edge of his sword,

        and you have not made him stand in battle. 

    [44] You have made his splendor to cease

        and cast his throne to the ground. 

    [45] You have cut short the days of his youth;

        you have covered him with shame. Selah

    [46] How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?

        How long will your wrath burn like fire? 

    [47] Remember how short my time is!

        For what vanity you have created all the children of man! 

    [48] What man can live and never see death?

        Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah

    [49] Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,

        which by your faithfulness you swore to David? 

    [50] Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,

        and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations, 

    [51] with which your enemies mock, O LORD,

        with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.

    [52] Blessed be the LORD forever!

    Amen and Amen.

1 Corinthians 13

[1] If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. [3] If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

[4] Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant [5] or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [6] it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. [7] Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

[8] Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. [9] For we know in part and we prophesy in part, [10] but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. [11] When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. [12] For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

[13] So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Mark 8:1-13

[1] In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, [2] “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. [3] And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” [4] And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” [5] And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” [6] And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. [7] And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. [8] And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. [9] And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. [10] And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

[11] The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. [12] And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” [13] And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.