October 16

John 5:16-30

[16] And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. [17] But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Jesus Is Equal with God

[18] This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

The Authority of the Son

[19] So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. [20] For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. [21] For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. [22] For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, [23] that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. [24] Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

[25] “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. [26] For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. [27] And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. [28] Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice [29] and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Witnesses to Jesus

[30] “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

1 Peter 2:1-8

A Living Stone and a Holy People

[1] So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. [2] Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—[3] if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

[4] As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, [5] you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. [6] For it stands in Scripture: 

    “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,

        a cornerstone chosen and precious,

    and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

    [7] So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, 

    “The stone that the builders rejected

        has become the cornerstone,”

    [8] and 

    “A stone of stumbling,

        and a rock of offense.”

    They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 

Song of Solomon 1

[1] The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.

The Bride Confesses Her Love

She

    [2] Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!

    For your love is better than wine; 

    [3]     your anointing oils are fragrant;

    your name is oil poured out;

        therefore virgins love you. 

    [4] Draw me after you; let us run.

        The king has brought me into his chambers.

    Others

    We will exult and rejoice in you;

        we will extol your love more than wine;

        rightly do they love you.

    She

    [5] I am very dark, but lovely,

        O daughters of Jerusalem,

    like the tents of Kedar,

        like the curtains of Solomon. 

    [6] Do not gaze at me because I am dark,

        because the sun has looked upon me.

    My mother’s sons were angry with me;

        they made me keeper of the vineyards,

        but my own vineyard I have not kept! 

    [7] Tell me, you whom my soul loves,

        where you pasture your flock,

        where you make it lie down at noon;

    for why should I be like one who veils herself

        beside the flocks of your companions?

    Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other

He

    [8] If you do not know,

        O most beautiful among women,

    follow in the tracks of the flock,

        and pasture your young goats

        beside the shepherds’ tents.

    [9] I compare you, my love,

        to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. 

    [10] Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,

        your neck with strings of jewels.

    Others

    [11] We will make for you ornaments of gold,

        studded with silver.

    She

    [12] While the king was on his couch,

        my nard gave forth its fragrance. 

    [13] My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh

        that lies between my breasts. 

    [14] My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms

        in the vineyards of Engedi.

    He

    [15] Behold, you are beautiful, my love;

        behold, you are beautiful;

        your eyes are doves.

    She

    [16] Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.

    Our couch is green; 

    [17]     the beams of our house are cedar;

        our rafters are pine.

Jeremiah 44

Judgment for Idolatry

[1] The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, [2] “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, [3] because of the evil that they committed, provoking me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. [4] Yet I persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do not do this abomination that I hate!’ [5] But they did not listen or incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to other gods. [6] Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day. [7] And now thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? [8] Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you may be cut off and become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of the earth? [9] Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of the kings of Judah, the evil of their wives, your own evil, and the evil of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? [10] They have not humbled themselves even to this day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I set before you and before your fathers.

[11] “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. [12] I will take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. [13] I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, [14] so that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, except some fugitives.”

[15] Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: [16] “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. [17] But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. [18] But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” [19] And the women said, “When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

[20] Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who had given him this answer: [21] “As for the offerings that you offered in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them? Did it not come into his mind? [22] The LORD could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. [23] It is because you made offerings and because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey the voice of the LORD or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day.”

[24] Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. [25] Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Then confirm your vows and perform your vows! [26] Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the Lord GOD lives.’ [27] Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them. [28] And those who escape the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word will stand, mine or theirs. [29] This shall be the sign to you, declares the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may know that my words will surely stand against you for harm: [30] Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and sought his life.”

Jeremiah 45

Message to Baruch

[1] The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: [2] “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: [3] You said, ‘Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.’ [4] Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. [5] And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the LORD. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”

Jeremiah 46

Judgment on Egypt

[1] The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

[2] About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

    [3] “Prepare buckler and shield,

        and advance for battle! 

    [4] Harness the horses;

        mount, O horsemen!

    Take your stations with your helmets,

        polish your spears,

        put on your armor! 

    [5] Why have I seen it?

    They are dismayed

        and have turned backward.

    Their warriors are beaten down

        and have fled in haste;

    they look not back—

        terror on every side!

    declares the LORD.

    [6] “The swift cannot flee away,

        nor the warrior escape;

    in the north by the river Euphrates

        they have stumbled and fallen.

    [7] “Who is this, rising like the Nile,

        like rivers whose waters surge? 

    [8] Egypt rises like the Nile,

        like rivers whose waters surge.

    He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,

        I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’ 

    [9] Advance, O horses,

        and rage, O chariots!

    Let the warriors go out:

        men of Cush and Put who handle the shield,

        men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow. 

    [10] That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts,

        a day of vengeance,

        to avenge himself on his foes.

    The sword shall devour and be sated

        and drink its fill of their blood.

    For the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice

        in the north country by the river Euphrates. 

    [11] Go up to Gilead, and take balm,

        O virgin daughter of Egypt!

    In vain you have used many medicines;

        there is no healing for you. 

    [12] The nations have heard of your shame,

        and the earth is full of your cry;

    for warrior has stumbled against warrior;

        they have both fallen together.”

    [13] The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

    [14] “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;

        proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;

    say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,

        for the sword shall devour around you.’ 

    [15] Why are your mighty ones face down?

        They do not stand

        because the LORD thrust them down. 

    [16] He made many stumble, and they fell,

        and they said one to another,

    ‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people

        and to the land of our birth,

        because of the sword of the oppressor.’ 

    [17] Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,

        ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

    [18] “As I live, declares the King,

        whose name is the LORD of hosts,

    like Tabor among the mountains

        and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come. 

    [19] Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,

        O inhabitants of Egypt!

    For Memphis shall become a waste,

        a ruin, without inhabitant.

    [20] “A beautiful heifer is Egypt,

        but a biting fly from the north has come upon her. 

    [21] Even her hired soldiers in her midst

        are like fattened calves;

    yes, they have turned and fled together;

        they did not stand,

    for the day of their calamity has come upon them,

        the time of their punishment.

    [22] “She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away;

        for her enemies march in force

    and come against her with axes

        like those who fell trees. 

    [23] They shall cut down her forest,

    declares the LORD,

        though it is impenetrable,

    because they are more numerous than locusts;

        they are without number. 

    [24] The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;

        she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.”

    [25] The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. [26] I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the LORD.

    [27] “But fear not, O Jacob my servant,

        nor be dismayed, O Israel,

    for behold, I will save you from far away,

        and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

    Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

        and none shall make him afraid. 

    [28] Fear not, O Jacob my servant,

    declares the LORD,

        for I am with you.

    I will make a full end of all the nations

        to which I have driven you,

        but of you I will not make a full end.

    I will discipline you in just measure,

        and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”