To The Word – Day 49

₁“Honour the LORD your God by celebrating Passover in the month of Abib; it was on a night in that month that he rescued you from Egypt. ₂Go to the one place of worship and slaughter there one of your sheep or cattle for the Passover meal to honour the LORD your God. ₃When you eat this meal, do not eat bread prepared with yeast. For seven days you are to eat bread prepared without yeast, as you did when you had to leave Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread — it will be called the bread of suffering — so that as long as you live you will remember the day you came out of Egypt, that place of suffering. ₄For seven days no one in your land is to have any yeast in the house; and the meat of the animal killed on the evening of the first day must be eaten that same night.

_5-6“Slaughter the Passover animals at the one place of worship — and nowhere else in the land that the LORD your God will give you. Do it at sunset, the time of day when you left Egypt. ₇Boil the meat and eat it at the one place of worship; and the next morning return home. ₈For the next six days you are to eat bread prepared without yeast, and on the seventh day assemble to worship the LORD your God, and do no work on that day.

₉“Count seven weeks from the time that you begin to harvest the corn, ₁₀and then celebrate the Harvest Festival, to honour the LORD your God, by bringing him a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing he has given you. ₁₁Be joyful in the LORD's presence, together with your children, your servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your towns. Do this at the one place of worship. ₁₂Be sure that you obey these commands; do not forget that you were slaves in Egypt.

₁₃“After you have threshed all your corn and pressed all your grapes, celebrate the Festival of Shelters for seven days. ₁₄Enjoy it with your children, your servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your towns. ₁₅Honour the LORD your God by celebrating this festival for seven days at the one place of worship. Be joyful, because the LORD has blessed your harvest and your work.

₁₆“All the men of your nation are to come to worship the LORD three times a year at the one place of worship: at Passover, Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Shelters. Each man is to bring a gift ₁₇as he is able, in proportion to the blessings that the LORD your God has given him.

₁₈“Appoint judges and other officials in every town that the LORD your God gives you. These men are to judge the people impartially. ₁₉They are not to be unjust or show partiality in their judgements; and they are not to accept bribes, for gifts blind the eyes even of wise and honest men, and cause them to give wrong decisions. ₂₀Always be fair and just, so that you will occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you and will continue to live there.

₂₁“When you make an altar for the LORD your God, do not put beside it a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah. ₂₂And do not set up any stone pillar for idol worship; the LORD hates them.

₁“Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God cattle or sheep that have any defects; the LORD hates this.

₂“Suppose you hear that in one of your towns some man or woman has sinned against the LORD and broken his covenant ₃by worshipping and serving other gods or the sun or the moon or the stars, contrary to the LORD's command. ₄If you hear such a report, then investigate it thoroughly. If it is true that this evil thing has happened in Israel, ₅then take that person outside the town and stone him to death. ₆However, he may be put to death only if two or more witnesses testify against him; he is not to be put to death if there is only one witness. ₇The witnesses are to throw the first stones, and then the rest of the people are to stone that person; in this way you will get rid of this evil.

₈“It may be that some cases will be too difficult for the local judges to decide, such as certain cases of property rights or of bodily injury or those cases that involve a distinction between murder and manslaughter. When this happens, go to the one place of worship chosen by the LORD your God, ₉and present your case to the levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time, and let them decide the case. ₁₀They will give their decision, and you are to do exactly as they tell you. ₁₁Accept their verdict and follow their instructions in every detail. ₁₂Anyone who dares to disobey either the judge or the priest on duty is to be put to death; in this way you will remove this evil from Israel. ₁₃Then everyone will hear of it and be afraid, and no one else will dare to act in such a way.

₁₄“After you have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is going to give you and have settled there, then you will decide you need a king like all the nations round you. ₁₅Make sure that the man you choose to be king is the one whom the LORD has chosen. He must be one of your own people; do not make a foreigner your king. ₁₆The king is not to have a large number of horses for his army, and he is not to send people to Egypt to buy horses, because the LORD has said that his people are never to return there. ₁₇The king is not to have many wives, because this would make him turn away from the LORD; and he is not to make himself rich with silver and gold. ₁₈When he becomes king, he is to have a copy of the book of God's laws and teachings made from the original copy kept by the levitical priests. ₁₉He is to keep this book near him and read from it all his life, so that he will learn to honour the LORD and to obey faithfully everything that is commanded in it. ₂₀This will keep him from thinking that he is better than his fellow-Israelites and from disobeying the LORD's commands in any way. Then he will reign for many years, and his descendants will rule Israel for many generations.

₁“The priestly tribe of Levi is not to receive any share of land in Israel; instead, they are to live on the offerings and other sacrifices given to the LORD. ₂They are to own no land, as the other tribes do; their share is the privilege of being the LORD's priests, as the LORD has promised.

₃“Whenever cattle or sheep are sacrificed, the priests are to be given the shoulder, the jaw, and the stomach. ₄They are to receive the first share of the corn, wine, olive oil, and wool. ₅The LORD chose from all your tribes the tribe of Levi to serve him as priests for ever.

₆“Any Levite who wants to may come from any town in Israel to the one place of worship ₇and may serve there as a priest of the LORD his God, like the other Levites who are serving there. ₈He is to receive the same amount of food as the other priests, and he may keep whatever his family sends him.

₉“When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, don't follow the disgusting practices of the nations that are there. ₁₀Don't sacrifice your children in the fires on your altars; and don't let your people practise divination or look for omens or use spells ₁₁or charms, and don't let them consult the spirits of the dead. ₁₂The LORD your God hates people who do these disgusting things, and that is why he is driving those nations out of the land as you advance. ₁₃Be completely faithful to the LORD.”

₁₄Then Moses said, “In the land you are about to occupy, people follow the advice of those who practise divination and look for omens, but the LORD your God does not allow you to do this. ₁₅Instead, he will send you a prophet like me from among your own people, and you are to obey him.

₁₆“On the day that you were gathered at Mount Sinai, you begged not to hear the LORD speak again or to see his fiery presence any more, because you were afraid you would die. ₁₇So the LORD said to me, ‘They have made a wise request. ₁₈I will send them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will tell him what to say, and he will tell the people everything I command. ₁₉He will speak in my name, and I will punish anyone who refuses to obey him. ₂₀But if any prophet dares to speak a message in my name when I did not command him to do so, he must die for it, and so must any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods.’

₂₁“You may wonder how you can tell when a prophet's message does not come from the LORD. ₂₂If a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and what he says does not come true, then it is not the LORD's message. That prophet has spoken on his own authority, and you are not to fear him.

₁“After the LORD your God has destroyed the people whose land he is giving you and after you have taken their cities and houses and settled there, _2-3divide the territory into three parts, each with a city that can be easily reached. Then anyone who kills someone will be able to escape to one of them for protection. ₄If someone accidentally kills someone who is not an enemy, he may escape to any of these cities and be safe. ₅For example, if two men go into the forest together to cut wood and if, as one of them is chopping down a tree, the head of the axe comes off the handle and kills the other, he can run to one of those three cities and be safe. ₆If there were only one city, the distance to it might be too great, and the relative who is responsible for taking revenge for the killing might catch him and in his anger kill an innocent neighbour. After all, it was by accident that he killed his neighbour who was not his enemy. ₇This is why I order you to set aside three cities.

₈“When the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he told your ancestors he would, and gives you all the land he has promised, ₉then you are to select three more cities. (He will give you this land if you do everything that I command you today and if you love the LORD your God and live according to his teachings.) ₁₀Do this, so that innocent people will not die and so that you will not be guilty of putting them to death in the land that the LORD is giving you.

₁₁“But suppose someone deliberately murders an enemy in cold blood and then escapes to one of those cities for protection. ₁₂In that case, the leaders of his own town are to send for him and hand him over to the relative responsible for taking revenge for the murder, so that he may be put to death. ₁₃Show him no mercy. Rid Israel of this murderer, so that all will go well with you.

₁₄“Do not move your neighbour's boundary mark, established long ago in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

₁₅“One witness is not enough to convict a man of a crime; at least two witnesses are necessary to prove that a man is guilty. ₁₆If someone tries to harm someone else by false accusation, ₁₇both are to go to the one place of worship and be judged by the priests and judges who are then in office. ₁₈The judges will investigate the case thoroughly; and if someone has made a false accusation against a fellow-Israelite, ₁₉that person is to receive the punishment the accused would have received. In this way you will get rid of this evil. ₂₀Then everyone else will hear what happened; they will be afraid, and no one will ever again do such an evil thing. ₂₁In such cases show no mercy; the punishment is to be a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot.

₁“When you go out to fight against your enemies and you see chariots and horses and an army that outnumbers yours, do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who rescued you from Egypt, will be with you. ₂Before you start fighting, a priest is to come forward and say to the army, ₃‘Men of Israel, listen! Today you are going into battle. Do not be afraid of your enemies, or lose courage, or panic. ₄The LORD your God is going with you, and he will give you victory.’

₅“Then the officers will address the men and say, ‘Is there any man here who has just built a house, but has not yet dedicated it? If so, he is to go home. Otherwise, if he is killed in battle, someone else will dedicate his house. ₆Is there any man here who has just planted a vineyard, but has not yet had the chance to harvest its grapes? If so, he is to go home. Otherwise, if he is killed in battle, someone else will enjoy the wine. ₇Is there anyone here who is engaged to be married? If so, he is to go home. Otherwise, if he is killed in battle, someone else will marry the woman he is engaged to.’

₈“The officers will also say to the men, ‘Is there any man here who has lost his nerve and is afraid? If so, he is to go home. Otherwise, he will destroy the morale of the others.’ ₉When the officers have finished speaking to the army, leaders are to be chosen for each unit.

₁₀“When you go to attack a city, first give its people a chance to surrender. ₁₁If they open the gates and surrender, they are all to become your slaves and do forced labour for you. ₁₂But if the people of that city will not surrender, but choose to fight, surround it with your army. ₁₃Then, when the LORD your God lets you capture the city, kill every man in it. ₁₄You may, however, take for yourselves the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else in the city. You may use everything that belongs to your enemies. The LORD has given it to you. ₁₅That is how you are to deal with those cities that are far away from the land you will settle in.

₁₆“But when you capture cities in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, kill everyone. ₁₇Completely destroy all the people: the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the LORD ordered you to do. ₁₈Kill them, so that they will not make you sin against the LORD by teaching you to do all the disgusting things that they do in the worship of their gods.

₁₉“When you are trying to capture a city, do not cut down its fruit trees, even though the siege lasts a long time. Eat the fruit, but do not destroy the trees; the trees are not your enemies. ₂₀You may cut down the other trees and use them in the siege mounds until the city is captured.

₁Then Jesus left that place, went to the province of Judea, and crossed the River Jordan. Crowds came flocking to him again, and he taught them, as he always did.

₂Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him. “Tell us,” they asked, “does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife?”

₃Jesus answered with a question, “What law did Moses give you?”

₄Their answer was, “Moses gave permission for a man to write a divorce notice and send his wife away.”

₅Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you because you are so hard to teach. ₆But in the beginning, at the time of creation, ‘God made them male and female,’ as the scripture says. ₇‘And for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, ₈and the two will become one.’ So they are no longer two, but one. ₉No human being then must separate what God has joined together.”

₁₀When they went back into the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter. ₁₁He said to them, “A man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against his wife. ₁₂In the same way, a woman who divorces her husband and marries another man commits adultery.”

₁₃Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people. ₁₄When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his disciples, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ₁₅I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” ₁₆Then he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on each of them, and blessed them.

₁₇As Jesus was starting on his way again, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”

₁₈“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. ₁₉You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; do not cheat; respect your father and your mother.’ ”

₂₀“Teacher,” the man said, “ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments.”

₂₁Jesus looked straight at him with love and said, “You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.” ₂₂When the man heard this, gloom spread over his face, and he went away sad, because he was very rich.

₂₃Jesus looked round at his disciples and said to them, “How hard it will be for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!”

₂₄The disciples were shocked at these words, but Jesus went on to say, “My children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! ₂₅It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.”

₂₆At this the disciples were completely amazed and asked one another, “Who, then, can be saved?”

₂₇Jesus looked straight at them and answered, “This is impossible for human beings, but not for God; everything is possible for God.”

₂₈Then Peter spoke up, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

₂₉“Yes,” Jesus said to them, “and I tell you that anyone who leaves home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and for the gospel, ₃₀will receive much more in this present age. He will receive a hundred times more houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields — and persecutions as well; and in the age to come he will receive eternal life. ₃₁But many who now are first will be last, and many who now are last will be first.”

₃₂Jesus and his disciples were now on the road going up to Jerusalem. Jesus was going ahead of the disciples, who were filled with alarm; the people who followed behind were afraid. Once again Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and spoke of the things that were going to happen to him. ₃₃“Listen,” he told them, “we are going up to Jerusalem where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn him to death and then hand him over to the Gentiles, ₃₄who will mock him, spit on him, whip him, and kill him; but three days later he will rise to life.”

₃₅Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “there is something we want you to do for us.”

₃₆“What is it?” Jesus asked them.

₃₇They answered, “When you sit on your throne in your glorious Kingdom, we want you to let us sit with you, one at your right and one at your left.”

₃₈Jesus said to them, “You don't know what you are asking for. Can you drink the cup of suffering that I must drink? Can you be baptized in the way I must be baptized?”

₃₉“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup I must drink and be baptized in the way I must be baptized. ₄₀But I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. It is God who will give these places to those for whom he has prepared them.”

₄₁When the other ten disciples heard about it, they became angry with James and John. ₄₂So Jesus called them all together to him and said, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority. ₄₃This, however, is not the way it is among you. If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest; ₄₄and if one of you wants to be first, he must be the slave of all. ₄₅For even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”

₄₆They came to Jericho, and as Jesus was leaving with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting by the road. ₄₇When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus! Son of David! Take pity on me!”

₄₈Many of the people scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, take pity on me!”

₄₉Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called the blind man. “Cheer up!” they said. “Get up, he is calling you.”

₅₀He threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

₅₁“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

“Teacher,” the blind man answered, “I want to see again.”

₅₂“Go,” Jesus told him, “your faith has made you well.”

At once he was able to see and followed Jesus on the road.