April 8

Mark 3:1-19

A Man with a Withered Hand

[1] Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. [2] And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. [3] And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” [4] And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. [5] And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. [6] The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

A Great Crowd Follows Jesus

[7] Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea [8] and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. [9] And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, [10] for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. [11] And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” [12] And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

The Twelve Apostles

[13] And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. [14] And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach [15] and have authority to cast out demons. [16] He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); [17] James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); [18] Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, [19] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Flee Sexual Immorality

[12] “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. [13] “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. [14] And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. [15] Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! [16] Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” [17] But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. [18] Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. [19] Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, [20] for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Psalm 78:40-72

    [40] How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness

        and grieved him in the desert! 

    [41] They tested God again and again

        and provoked the Holy One of Israel. 

    [42] They did not remember his power

        or the day when he redeemed them from the foe, 

    [43] when he performed his signs in Egypt

        and his marvels in the fields of Zoan. 

    [44] He turned their rivers to blood,

        so that they could not drink of their streams. 

    [45] He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,

        and frogs, which destroyed them. 

    [46] He gave their crops to the destroying locust

        and the fruit of their labor to the locust. 

    [47] He destroyed their vines with hail

        and their sycamores with frost. 

    [48] He gave over their cattle to the hail

        and their flocks to thunderbolts. 

    [49] He let loose on them his burning anger,

        wrath, indignation, and distress,

        a company of destroying angels. 

    [50] He made a path for his anger;

        he did not spare them from death,

        but gave their lives over to the plague. 

    [51] He struck down every firstborn in Egypt,

        the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham. 

    [52] Then he led out his people like sheep

        and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. 

    [53] He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid,

        but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 

    [54] And he brought them to his holy land,

        to the mountain which his right hand had won. 

    [55] He drove out nations before them;

        he apportioned them for a possession

        and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

    [56] Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God

        and did not keep his testimonies, 

    [57] but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;

        they twisted like a deceitful bow. 

    [58] For they provoked him to anger with their high places;

        they moved him to jealousy with their idols. 

    [59] When God heard, he was full of wrath,

        and he utterly rejected Israel. 

    [60] He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,

        the tent where he dwelt among mankind, 

    [61] and delivered his power to captivity,

        his glory to the hand of the foe. 

    [62] He gave his people over to the sword

        and vented his wrath on his heritage. 

    [63] Fire devoured their young men,

        and their young women had no marriage song. 

    [64] Their priests fell by the sword,

        and their widows made no lamentation. 

    [65] Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,

        like a strong man shouting because of wine. 

    [66] And he put his adversaries to rout;

        he put them to everlasting shame.

    [67] He rejected the tent of Joseph;

        he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, 

    [68] but he chose the tribe of Judah,

        Mount Zion, which he loves. 

    [69] He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,

        like the earth, which he has founded forever. 

    [70] He chose David his servant

        and took him from the sheepfolds; 

    [71] from following the nursing ewes he brought him

        to shepherd Jacob his people,

        Israel his inheritance. 

    [72] With upright heart he shepherded them

        and guided them with his skillful hand.

Joshua 18

Allotment of the Remaining Land

[1] Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.

[2] There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. [3] So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? [4] Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. [5] They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. [6] And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the LORD our God. [7] The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the LORD is their heritage. And Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.”

[8] So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the LORD in Shiloh.” [9] So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, [10] and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, to each his portion.

The Inheritance for Benjamin

[11] The lot of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to its clans came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. [12] On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. Then the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and it ends at the wilderness of Beth-aven. [13] From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon. [14] Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city belonging to the people of Judah. This forms the western side. [15] And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron, to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. [16] Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim. And it then goes down the Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to En-rogel. [17] Then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it goes down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, [18] and passing on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-arabah it goes down to the Arabah. [19] Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. [20] The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, according to their clans, boundary by boundary all around.

[21] Now the cities of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to their clans were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, [22] Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, [23] Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, [24] Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, Geba—twelve cities with their villages: [25] Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, [26] Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, [27] Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, [28] Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin according to its clans.

Joshua 19

The Inheritance for Simeon

[1] The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the people of Simeon, according to their clans, and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah. [2] And they had for their inheritance Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, [3] Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, [4] Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, [5] Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, [6] Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen cities with their villages; [7] Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities with their villages, [8] together with all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negeb. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Simeon according to their clans. [9] The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.

The Inheritance for Zebulun

[10] The third lot came up for the people of Zebulun, according to their clans. And the territory of their inheritance reached as far as Sarid. [11] Then their boundary goes up westward and on to Mareal and touches Dabbesheth, then the brook that is east of Jokneam. [12] From Sarid it goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chisloth-tabor. From there it goes to Daberath, then up to Japhia. [13] From there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Neah, [14] then on the north the boundary turns about to Hannathon, and it ends at the Valley of Iphtahel; [15] and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve cities with their villages. [16] This is the inheritance of the people of Zebulun, according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Issachar

[17] The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the people of Issachar, according to their clans. [18] Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, [19] Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, [20] Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, [21] Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez. [22] The boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and its boundary ends at the Jordan—sixteen cities with their villages. [23] This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Issachar, according to their clans—the cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Asher

[24] The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans. [25] Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, [26] Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west it touches Carmel and Shihor-libnath, [27] then it turns eastward, it goes to Beth-dagon, and touches Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel. Then it continues in the north to Cabul, [28] Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as Sidon the Great. [29] Then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre. Then the boundary turns to Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab, Achzib, [30] Ummah, Aphek and Rehob—twenty-two cities with their villages. [31] This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Naphtali

[32] The sixth lot came out for the people of Naphtali, for the people of Naphtali, according to their clans. [33] And their boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and it ended at the Jordan. [34] Then the boundary turns westward to Aznoth-tabor and goes from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun at the south and Asher on the west and Judah on the east at the Jordan. [35] The fortified cities are Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, [36] Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, [37] Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, [38] Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—nineteen cities with their villages. [39] This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Naphtali according to their clans—the cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Dan

[40] The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans. [41] And the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, [42] Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, [43] Elon, Timnah, Ekron, [44] Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, [45] Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, [46] and Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the territory over against Joppa. [47] When the territory of the people of Dan was lost to them, the people of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and after capturing it and striking it with the sword they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. [48] This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Joshua

[49] When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. [50] By command of the LORD they gave him the city that he asked, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he rebuilt the city and settled in it.

[51] These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed by lot at Shiloh before the LORD, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.