Bible Reading Plan – Day 51

₁“Listen, people of Israel! Today you are about to cross the River Jordan and occupy the land belonging to nations greater and more powerful than you. Their cities are large, with walls that reach the sky. ₂The people themselves are tall and strong; they are giants, and you have heard it said that no one can stand against them. ₃But now you will see for yourselves that the LORD your God will go ahead of you like a raging fire. He will defeat them as you advance, so that you will drive them out and destroy them quickly, as he promised.

₄“After the LORD your God has driven them out for you, do not say to yourselves that he brought you in to possess this land because you deserved it. No, the LORD is going to drive these people out for you because they are wicked. ₅It is not because you are good and do what is right that the LORD is letting you take their land. He will drive them out because they are wicked and because he intends to keep the promise that he made to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ₆You can be sure that the LORD is not giving you this fertile land because you deserve it. No, you are a stubborn people.

₇“Never forget how you made the LORD your God angry in the desert. From the day that you left Egypt until the day you arrived here, you have rebelled against him. ₈Even at Mount Sinai you made the LORD angry — angry enough to destroy you. ₉I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets on which was written the covenant that the LORD had made with you. I stayed there forty days and nights and did not eat or drink anything. ₁₀Then the LORD gave me the two stone tablets on which he had written with his own hand what he had said to you from the fire on the day that you were gathered there at the mountain. ₁₁Yes, after those forty days and nights the LORD gave me the two stone tablets on which he had written the covenant.

₁₂“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Go down the mountain at once, because your people, whom you led out of Egypt, have become corrupt and have done evil. They have already turned away from what I commanded them to do, and they have made an idol for themselves.’

₁₃“The LORD also said to me, ‘I know how stubborn these people are. ₁₄Don't try to stop me. I intend to destroy them so that no one will remember them any longer. Then I will make you the father of a nation larger and more powerful than they are.’

₁₅“So I turned and went down the mountain, carrying the two stone tablets on which the covenant was written. Flames of fire were coming from the mountain. ₁₆I saw that you had already disobeyed the command that the LORD your God had given you, and that you had sinned against him by making yourselves a metal idol in the form of a bull calf. ₁₇So there in front of you I threw the stone tablets down and broke them to pieces. ₁₈Then once again I lay face downwards in the LORD's presence for forty days and nights and did not eat or drink anything. I did this because you had sinned against the LORD and had made him angry. ₁₉I was afraid of the LORD's fierce anger, because he was furious enough to destroy you; but once again the LORD listened to me. ₂₀The LORD was also angry enough with Aaron to kill him, so I prayed for Aaron at the same time. ₂₁I took that sinful thing that you had made — that metal bull calf — and threw it into the fire. Then I broke it in pieces, ground it to dust, and threw the dust into the stream that flowed down the mountain.

₂₂“You also made the LORD your God angry when you were at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth Hattaavah. ₂₃And when he sent you from Kadesh Barnea with orders to go and take possession of the land that he was giving you, you rebelled against him; you did not trust him or obey him. ₂₄Ever since I have known you, you have rebelled against the LORD.

₂₅“So I lay face downwards in the LORD's presence those forty days and nights, because I knew that he was determined to destroy you. ₂₆And I prayed, ‘Sovereign LORD, don't destroy your own people, the people you rescued and brought out of Egypt by your great strength and power. ₂₇Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and do not pay any attention to the stubbornness, wickedness, and sin of this people. ₂₈Otherwise, the Egyptians will say that you were unable to take your people into the land that you had promised them. They will say that you took your people out into the desert to kill them, because you hated them. ₂₉After all, these are the people whom you chose to be your own and whom you brought out of Egypt by your great power and might.’

₁“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Cut two stone tablets like the first ones and make a wooden box to put them in. Come up to me on the mountain, ₂and I will write on those tablets what I wrote on the tablets that you broke, and then you are to put them in the box.’

₃“So I made a box of acacia wood and cut two stone tablets like the first ones and took them up the mountain. ₄Then the LORD wrote on those tablets the same words that he had written the first time, the Ten Commandments that he gave you when he spoke from the fire on the day you were gathered at the mountain. The LORD gave me the tablets, ₅and I turned and went down the mountain. Then, just as the LORD had commanded, I put them in the box that I had made — and they have been there ever since.”

₆(The Israelites set out from the wells that belonged to the people of Jaakan, and went to Moserah. There Aaron died and was buried, and his son Eleazar succeeded him as priest. ₇From there they went to Gudgodah and then on to Jotbathah, a well-watered place. ₈At the mountain the LORD appointed the men of the tribe of Levi to be in charge of the Covenant Box, to serve him as priests, and to pronounce blessings in his name. And these are still their duties. ₉That is why the tribe of Levi received no land as the other tribes did; what they received was the privilege of being the LORD's priests, as the LORD your God promised.)

₁₀“I stayed on the mountain forty days and nights, as I did the first time. The LORD listened to me once more and agreed not to destroy you. ₁₁Then he told me to go and lead you, so that you could take possession of the land that he had promised to give to your ancestors.

₁₂“Now, people of Israel, listen to what the LORD your God demands of you: worship the LORD and do all that he commands. Love him, serve him with all your heart, ₁₃and obey all his laws. I am giving them to you today for your benefit. ₁₄To the LORD belong even the highest heavens; the earth is his also, and everything on it. ₁₅But the LORD's love for your ancestors was so strong that he chose you instead of any other people, and you are still his chosen people. ₁₆So then, from now on be obedient to the LORD and stop being stubborn. ₁₇The LORD your God is supreme over all gods and over all powers. He is great and mighty, and he is to be feared. He does not show partiality, and he does not accept bribes. ₁₈He makes sure that orphans and widows are treated fairly; he loves the foreigners who live with our people, and gives them food and clothes. ₁₉So then, show love for those foreigners, because you were once foreigners in Egypt. ₂₀Obey the LORD your God and worship only him. Be faithful to him and make your promises in his name alone. ₂₁Praise him — he is your God, and you have seen with your own eyes the great and astounding things that he has done for you. ₂₂When your ancestors went to Egypt, there were only seventy of them. But now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

₁“Love the LORD your God and always obey all his laws. ₂Remember today what you have learned about the LORD through your experiences with him. It was you, not your children, who had these experiences. You saw the LORD's greatness, his power, his might, ₃and his miracles. You saw what he did to the king of Egypt and to his entire country. ₄You saw how the LORD completely wiped out the Egyptian army, along with their horses and chariots, by drowning them in the Red Sea when they were pursuing you. ₅You know what the LORD did for you in the desert before you arrived here. ₆You recall what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab of the tribe of Reuben. In the sight of everyone the earth opened up and swallowed them, along with their families, their tents, and all their servants and animals. ₇Yes, you are the ones who have seen all these great things that the LORD has done.

₈“Obey all the laws that I have given you today. Then you will be able to cross the river and occupy the land that you are about to enter. ₉And you will live a long time in the rich and fertile land that the LORD promised to give your ancestors and their descendants. ₁₀The land that you are about to occupy is not like the land of Egypt, where you lived before. There, when you sowed seed, you had to work hard to irrigate the fields; ₁₁but the land that you are about to enter is a land of mountains and valleys, a land watered by rain. ₁₂The LORD your God takes care of this land and watches over it throughout the year.

₁₃“So then, obey the commands that I have given you today; love the LORD your God and serve him with all your heart. ₁₄If you do, he will send rain on your land when it is needed, in the autumn and in the spring, so that there will be corn, wine, and olive oil for you, ₁₅and grass for your livestock. You will have all the food you want. ₁₆Do not let yourselves be led away from the LORD to worship and serve other gods. ₁₇If you do, the LORD will become angry with you. He will hold back the rain, and your ground will become too dry for crops to grow. Then you will soon die there, even though it is a good land that he is giving you.

₁₈“Remember these commands and cherish them. Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. ₁₉Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. ₂₀Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates. ₂₁Then you and your children will live a long time in the land that the LORD your God promised to give to your ancestors. You will live there as long as there is a sky above the earth.

₂₂“Obey faithfully all the laws that I have given you: Love the LORD your God, do everything he commands, and be faithful to him. ₂₃Then he will drive out all those nations as you advance, and you will occupy the land belonging to nations greater and more powerful than you. ₂₄All the ground that you march over will be yours. Your territory will extend from the desert in the south to the Lebanon Mountains in the north, and from the River Euphrates in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. ₂₅Wherever you go in that land, the LORD your God will make the people fear you, as he has promised, and no one will be able to stop you.

₂₆“Today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse — ₂₇a blessing, if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; ₂₈but a curse, if you disobey these commands and turn away to worship other gods that you have never worshipped before. ₂₉When the LORD brings you into the land that you are going to occupy, you are to proclaim the blessing from Mount Gerizim and the curse from Mount Ebal. ₃₀(These two mountains are west of the River Jordan in the territory of the Canaanites who live in the Jordan Valley. They are towards the west, not far from the sacred trees of Moreh near the town of Gilgal.) ₃₁You are about to cross the River Jordan and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take it and settle there, ₃₂be sure to obey all the laws that I am giving you today.